Fever and snow play...

Well, it was fever time again. Let's back up. Tuesday the 11th, I had the flu. Throwing up, etc. Michael stayed home from work, luckily, as I was in no shape to take care of the kids. Wednesday morning, I was still dizzy (no comments from the peanut gallery!) but by about 2pm I was feeling pretty good. So! Thursday morning, I took the kids to story hour at the library. Jonathan wouldn't sit on the cool rug they have for the kids; he just hung out on my knees. Then he didn't want the snack (Scooby bites...(shaped like bones!) and raisins which are a favorite) then said he had to go to the bathroom. I asked him if his tummy hurt and he said it did. Uh Oh! So off we hurried to the bathroom, me rushing, rushing the kids, in a sort of hurried voice, trying not to overdo the panic I was feeling (thinking he was getting what I had 2 days before) yet wanting to be in the safety of the bathroom if anything happened. False alarm...he just really had to pee. Whew! But he was sort of off...The kids went to Gramma and Papa's on the 17th and Gramma noticed he wasn't really himself. His eyes get droopy and red-rimmed when he doesn't feel well. Well, Tuesday night, the 18th, Jonathan came running into our room crying, "Daddy, I am so hot!" He had a temp of 102.3, so Michael ran a big bath and in they got. That was the cycle for the next couple of days. Tylenol, 3 hours later...Motrin, 3 hours later...Tylenol, etc. Baths in between whenever Jonathan requested them. The highest his fever got was 104.5. This time, he was really good about taking in liquids. Not like the last time. But, Ugh and Double Ugh...I hate fevers.

However, Jonathan surprised me Thursday morning (the 20th) by asking to go outside. Now, it had snowed a little overnight so he was excited. But it was a little windy (of course!) so I was hesitant. But into their snow gear they got, new helmet included for Jonathan, and out they went. Jonathan wanted to ride his bike, so he got it out of the garage. I went out to snap some pics and it was cold! I came inside and looked up the weather on the computer. It was 26 degrees (F) with a 21 mph wind bringing the RealFeel temp to 7 degrees! And my feverish kid really wanted to be out there! Crazy kiddo!




They had fun, along with some frustration with the slippery snow and its incompatability with training wheels, then came in.
My sweet Jonathan smiling for the camera. He took a pic of me too, but it wasn't worth posting. He's much cuter!!
This was taken Saturday, the 22nd. Jonathan wanted a "purple coffee" (purple gatorade slushie, basically. Do you think I drink too many iced coffees?!) But he was still feeling cold and had a low grade fever. So he was dressed in a turtleneck and sweatshirt and wrapped himself up in a woolen blanket while he drank it. Goofy boy!

Pleeease take a drink!

(This is a post I did on another blog I contribute to. I got several good suggestions from other young mothers, but I thought I'd put it out there to the rest of you...I know there are some more experienced mothers who check my blog. Help!)

Dealing with fevers here in our home...ugh! So how do you other mothers get your kids to keep drinking liquids? Especially water. Jonathan, 3 1/2, is SO stubborn. When he gets sick, he won't drink. Yesterday, he ran a temp anywhere from 102 to maxing out our temporal thermometer. It read "HI", which I read in the manual meant 107.4 or above. Pretty freaky.

So, we have tried everything...gatorade, apple juice, Pedialyte disguised as apple juice, lukewarm tea, popsicles... We try different glasses hoping one of them will interest him and he'll think it's cool to drink...Clifford cup, cool cup with built in straw/handle, just a plain blue plastic glass from the camper, his Camelbak, a big sports bottle like Daddy uses...Nothing works! Of course, when he's burning up, nothing is good. This is understandable, but it reaches a point where we are frantic to get him to drink. I fed him Saltines yesterday in hopes of getting him thirsty...it sort of worked. He did drink a little. FYI, I know he doesn't have enough liquids in him because he didn't pee today until about 1pm, not even this morning when he got up.

This morning was horrible. Now he is complaining about having "stains in his mouth from drinking the green water." (clear water from his green cup, which, btw, he specifically asked for last night.) Nothing takes the "stain" away. I brushed his teeth and tongue, he rinsed with mouthwash, I gave him 1/4 of a zinc tablet, gave him water in his blue glass, gave him a juice pouch, then resorted to yelling I was so frustrated. He whined ALL morning and it drives me absolutely bonkers. I asked him if his tongue hurt and he said yes, but couldn't explain it any further. I looked at it and it just looks like it may need more brushing...it has a whiteish film on it.

OK, so suggestions on 1) how do you get your kids to keep drinking? and 2) how do you get them to get past things like Jonathan's "stains on his tongue"?

News...

Finally sitting down to blog some this weekend. I don't know what happened in April, but I have posted some "catch ups" (not to be confused with ketchup!) so you (especially family) can be updated with kid pics.

Annisia ran a fever on Friday, really needy, took 2 naps, fine by Saturday. We all were outside most of the day cleaning up the flower beds, tying up the raspberries. This morning, Sunday, Jonathan wasn't really like himself. He ate part of his breakfast and kept complaining about being cold. So he sat with a fleecy blanket around him at the table. Soon he was feeling warm, like feverish. We watched him get worse...in an hour, his eyes were shadowed, cheeks were flushed, he walked like his clothes hurt him, and he only wanted to be bundled up and read to. I put him in our bed while I dressed for meeting and he fell asleep. Poor thing. Michael stayed home with him and he took a big bath. Annisia and I got home from meeting and he was playing outside! But he turned worse again. At about 1:45pm, we took his temp again and our temporal thermometer said "HI". We were puzzled and took another swipe across his forehead, same reading. A third swipe said 106.8, and into the bath he went again. I got the manual out for the thermometer and it said the scanner would say "HI" if the reading was 107.4 and above. YIKES! To make a short story long, he was up and down in temp all afternoon with a third bath around 5:30pm. It seemed like the fever broke because he ate quite a bit for dinner, he was animated, cheeks were normal, but around 8:30pm, he was back to 102.8. Off to bed with a dose of Tylenol and hopes for a good night's rest for that little boy.

On to better news, on Tuesday, April 29, Annisia counted to 10! Yesterday, May 3, she said her ABCs up to I! Then she'll complete them with me. I'll say, "J", she says, "K", and so on. Such a smart girl! (chuckle!)