One Helluva Week

Wow. I had several people warn me that parenting takes on a whole different feel whenever your baby gets sick. I had no idea. Again, wow.

I received a call from her daycare on Monday afternoon around 1:00 letting me know that she had a fever of 101.1. They told me she had to stay home on Tuesday and could return once she didn't have a fever for 24 hours. They also mentioned that there is a virus floating around that some of the older kids (toddlers, maybe?) had contracted and it consisted of a fever and a rash. I wasn't worried. I thought I would err on the safe side and take her to the pediatrician - knowing that it was probably one of two things - either teething or an ear infection.

After sitting at the doctor's office for an hour and 15 minutes, they finally took me back, took one look in her mouth and told me she was teething. 2 top teeth (the outer top two in between the front teeth and the K-9's) were starting to surface. Phew. At least it wasn't an ear infection.

She was cranky that day, I gave her Tylenol before bed as well as some teething tablets and called it a night.

We had a Mommy and Me day on Tuesday and I SO enjoyed it. She was a little fussy, but manageable. I considered myself lucky that day to have been able to spend time with her, go to the playground, go for a walk, play indoors, etc. She was fever-free all day, so I packed her diaper bag, made bottles and hit the sack.

Then came the screaming at 2 am. I didn't even have to pick her up to know she had a fever. 102.5. And on top of that? A rash. Great.

And, honestly, it just went from bad to worse from there - everything from the actual rash itself to just how the days/nights went. I'll spare you all the details, but will say that last night - or should I say "this morning" - she went to bed at 4 am. Today, she cried almost the entire day until 4:00 when I got smart, put her in the car and literally drove around Smyrna for 2 hours. 2 hours!!! She sat there for part of the time and then finally drifted off to sleep.

I can honestly say that today was the hardest day that I have had in the 8 months of being a new mom.

I am sure tonight will be another long night - she has already woken up once in the hour that she has been in her crib. I'm planning on moving the ottoman back into her room, bringing a pillow and a blanket and am prepared to rock with her all night if I have to. As long as she lets me sit down (unlike last night where I had to walk around her room for several hours)...

But, I will say that despite all of the crappiness that this week brought, I have never been so happy to hear the words, "Mamamamamama" that came out of my baby's mouth for the first time late last night (and two times today)!