With November came sickness. As usual. Two years ago, it lasted the whole month. Last year, it was the dreaded swine flu. This year, we seem to have drawn the mystery bag.
Miriam has a cough that won't quit. It isn't phlegmy or accompanied by any other symptoms. And the weird thing is that it usually only kicks in at night. I've taken her into the doctor every few days to try to pinpoint what, exactly, is going on. In the meantime, it's awkward because she gives the occasional hack in public and it's all I can do to restrain myself from explaining, "she's not sick, she's just got this cough..." which probably doesn't sound so reassuring.
Magdalena, on the other hand, started her sickness adventure with a fever late last week. At about 3.45 on Thursday afternoon, she told me, "Mama, my mouth hurts so bad." That is a sentence I never really wanted (or expected, come to think of it) to hear from my 2.25-year-old. The clinic closes at 4.30 on Thursdays for the weekend so I had to make a snap judgment - take her in or let it go? I took a quick look inside her mouth with a flashlight to check for obvious signs of strep throat. I didn't see any so I decided it was probably nothing.
All through Thursday night, Friday, Saturday, and early Sunday morning, I regretted that decision not to take her in to the clinic. I ended up taking her in first thing Sunday morning. Isn't that always how it goes? Kids always get sick right when the doctor's office closes or as soon as the weekend hits. Anyway, it ended up not mattering that I didn't take her in because what she has is not strep throat but something like gingivostomatitis - little cold sore things all over her mouth and gums. It's related to HFMD. There's nothing you can do about it but wait it out.
I took both girls into the clinic yesterday afternoon to check their progress and it went something like this: hold one screaming girl on my lap for the doctor to examine while the other paws and clings and sobs at my leg. Reverse and repeat. I almost joined in the crying myself I was so exhausted and stressed.
Meanwhile, Jeremy and I have been spending a lot of quality time with our girls during the hours of midnight and 5 am, which makes for tired days. The lack of sleep has taken a toll on Jeremy and he is on the verge of developing a cold. But not just any cold: A MAN COLD.
Aaaaand that's the reason I wrote this whole post, so I could share the above video. I love it I love it I love it.
Here's to a healthier month from here on out.
(PS - the one line in the clip that's difficult to catch is "you've not heard of LemSip?" which is like TheraFlu. And at the end he asks to watch cbeebies, which is like British Sesame Street.)
Miriam has a cough that won't quit. It isn't phlegmy or accompanied by any other symptoms. And the weird thing is that it usually only kicks in at night. I've taken her into the doctor every few days to try to pinpoint what, exactly, is going on. In the meantime, it's awkward because she gives the occasional hack in public and it's all I can do to restrain myself from explaining, "she's not sick, she's just got this cough..." which probably doesn't sound so reassuring.
Magdalena, on the other hand, started her sickness adventure with a fever late last week. At about 3.45 on Thursday afternoon, she told me, "Mama, my mouth hurts so bad." That is a sentence I never really wanted (or expected, come to think of it) to hear from my 2.25-year-old. The clinic closes at 4.30 on Thursdays for the weekend so I had to make a snap judgment - take her in or let it go? I took a quick look inside her mouth with a flashlight to check for obvious signs of strep throat. I didn't see any so I decided it was probably nothing.
All through Thursday night, Friday, Saturday, and early Sunday morning, I regretted that decision not to take her in to the clinic. I ended up taking her in first thing Sunday morning. Isn't that always how it goes? Kids always get sick right when the doctor's office closes or as soon as the weekend hits. Anyway, it ended up not mattering that I didn't take her in because what she has is not strep throat but something like gingivostomatitis - little cold sore things all over her mouth and gums. It's related to HFMD. There's nothing you can do about it but wait it out.
I took both girls into the clinic yesterday afternoon to check their progress and it went something like this: hold one screaming girl on my lap for the doctor to examine while the other paws and clings and sobs at my leg. Reverse and repeat. I almost joined in the crying myself I was so exhausted and stressed.
Meanwhile, Jeremy and I have been spending a lot of quality time with our girls during the hours of midnight and 5 am, which makes for tired days. The lack of sleep has taken a toll on Jeremy and he is on the verge of developing a cold. But not just any cold: A MAN COLD.
Aaaaand that's the reason I wrote this whole post, so I could share the above video. I love it I love it I love it.
Here's to a healthier month from here on out.
(PS - the one line in the clip that's difficult to catch is "you've not heard of LemSip?" which is like TheraFlu. And at the end he asks to watch cbeebies, which is like British Sesame Street.)