Tree Faerie only took 2 oz. of breast milk yesterday at daycare, so I finally broke down and called the nurse last night. I told her about Tree Faerie not taking the bottle and being generally fussy, and she suggested I call the doctor this morning to rule out an ear infection because she wasn't really exhibiting any other symptoms except for an occasional cough.
In the wee hours of the morning when she woke me up to nurse, I noticed she felt a bit warm, but because she didn't seem actually hot, I didn't check her temperature until after she got up. Her temperature was not high enough to keep her home from daycare (101 is the cut-off, and the highest temp reading I got was 99.9 - though she wouldn't stay still for me to take her temperature under her arm and I didn't feel it was necessary to subject her to any other temp-taking methods this morning), so I gave her a dose of Motrin and continued getting ready. Before we left the house, her fever was already coming down. When I dropped her off at daycare, it seemed to be back to normal, but I asked her teacher to watch out for an actual fever.
I'm one of those people who believes that a low-grade fever is actually beneficial to the healing process if the fever is caused by a virus. Our bodies heat up in order to make a hostile environment for the virus to live in. Our noses run to try to flush the virus out. I understand the process of how the body works to protect itself. If Tree Faerie was going to be with me all day, I may not have given her the Motrin yet and would have used other methods to make her more comfortable. Since she was going to daycare, however, I gave her the Motrin to make her more comfortable for an extended period of time.
Because she's also exhibiting other symptoms of having a cold, I decided to wait before making a doctor's appointment. I feel pretty confident now that her fussiness and such were signs of this impending cold, and antibiotics won't cure a cold. So, I'm going to keep an eye on her over the weekend and re-evaluate the situation on Monday.
In the past 11 months, I've spent a lot of time worrying about that child. It's all part of the job, right? (11 month letter coming soon)
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10 comments:
I totally agree with you that our bodies do things to protect themselves. I do what you....if they have to be with someone other than me then I give Motrin or whatever, when it is just us I try to not use the medicines until bedtime or whatever. We do baths, etc. to make them more comfortable.
Good luck with the cold!
Oh I am sorry to hear she is sick. Hopefully it is just a cold and nothing serious. Take care of her this weekend!
Andrea, You asked if I charge for the caricatures that I do. The answer is yes and many people find my rates very affordable. I don't like to post my rates on the web.
There is contact information on the righthad column of my blog. I'll be happy to answer all question that way.
http://organizeddoodles.blogspot.com/
P.S. Did I mention that my middle daughter's name is Andrea?
Good for you! I'm all about putting them in a lukewarm bath, handing out Popsicles and such instead of running to the doctor. And I hate it when doctors give you antibiotics for everything even when they know better. Sheesh.
Hope she gets to feeling better soon!
sista, you will never stop worrying about them (said the mom with the 23,soon to be 24 year old).
and i'm with you on the low grade fever theory.
oh yes. worrying is not all bad.
I hope the sickies go away fast! Have a good weekend!
I hope she starts feeling better! You sound like you're doing all the right things & you are a great mom!
I would love to say stop second guessing your mothering instincts, but you never do. I have 4 kids & I still question almost everything I do.
& Patti is right, you NEVER stop worrying! It's the sign of a good caring Mommy! Good luck with the cold!
I'm with Patti. You never stop worrying.
I hope things are better now and that you didn't spend the whole weekend feeling crummy!
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