Sunday, August 31, 2008

Fever

Aliza has her first fever.

I knew something was off with her yesterday. We had travelled to the beach house to be with Grams and Gramps, Auntie Beth and Uncle Scott. Aliza was fussy and crying in a very un-Aliza way. In my head I was thinking that something wasn't right, but I chalked up her behavior to a long car ride (stupid I-95 traffic), a change of scenery and a baby that naps inconsistently.

Well, today she seemed off again. Not crying as much, but sleeping during the day way more than she normally does and then not eating as much as she normally does. Aliza does many things well, and one of them is eating. We brought her home and she slept in the car, then continued to sleep once we got home. Unusual, but she had a busy weekend. Then when she woke up I tried to feed her and she felt HOT. And she fell asleep instead of eating and continued to sleep in my arms for a solid hour and a half. Finally, convinced her heat wasn't from being in the car, or being outside, we took her temperature and discovered she did, in fact, have a fever of 100.3. I gave her some Children's Tylenol and snuggled her close. Then I started doing that thing that all moms do--especially new moms...second guessing. Maybe I should have taken a rectal temperature, maybe I shouldn't have given her the Tylenol, maybe I should do something to cool her down, maybe the fact that she's not eating and sleeping a lot is an indication of something more serious.....so I called my sister who reassured me that I had done everything right and told me to call the pediatrician, if only for my own peace of mind.

So, we called the pediatrician, as well as our respective Moms to gather some advice. Everyone said the same thing- keep an eye on her, keep the Tylenol in her system, don't worry. Call again if the fever gets really high but keep in mind it might spike during the night.....OK.....

She finally ate (much to my relief--on many levels) and we got her ready for bed. While on her changing table (I swear it is one of her favorite places) she was "normal" Aliza, smiling and talking, kicking her feet and waving her arms, just like she does every night. This was reassuring to both of us, we were assuming that if something were really wrong, her behavior would be an indication. And now she is resting in her crib. I suspect she will be sleeping very well tonight, and I will not be sleeping well at all.....

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope that our little princess is feeling better. It's so sad :o(
to see little ones feeling a bit under the weather.
She was so cute, even though she didn't feel good.

JaxMom said...

One thing you will definately learn: trust your gut! And it sounds like you have. AND don't be afraid to call your doc, especially with an "easy" baby. I thought I was being the overly cautious mom, only to take him in on my gut to find, ear infections; RSV; thrush (pacifiers thru the dishwashwer often!); etc. Hang in there. My worst night hit 104. Oh, and the puking nite that I posted about.

Good luck. We have surgery in the AM.....

Kelli said...

Poor little Aliza. Hope she (& Mom!) are doing better today.

Tina said...

I am glad she is better and you did do everything right, but know this: every single time she gets sick you will worry like this. Even though you know better, you still worry. That's just motherhood...