Late last night, around 11:45, Rachel woke up crying and said her mouth hurt. Oh, good. Then this morning, Owen woke up with a fever.
But since we had just been to see the dr yesterday, I didn't panic because I realized that they both have a virus and their bodies are trying to fight it off. So they were given a lot of liquids and plenty of rest.
I am thankful for their doctor. He never pushes medication, he never seems alarmed about anything and he always seems to recognize whatever is going on with my kids. I have thought about switching different times because he's 25 minutes away and my doctor (who is a family dr and would see the kids) is literally 5 blocks away. Maybe when they're older we'll switch. For now, even though I do get frustrated with the 2-3 hour chunk of time that a dr's visit consumes, it's worth it for the peace of mind.
Rachel does not seem to have it as bad as Owen did. Here's hoping they're both on the mend!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
The Dr Dilemma
I used to be one of those moms who called the dr at the first sign of a fever. After 4 kids, I've learned a few things and now try to wait as long as possible before calling. Friday night, we were eating dinner and Owen started crying, saying his tongue hurt. We told him to stick it out and could see a little bump at the end of it. Oh, the poor thing had a canker sore. I tried to get him to drink milk and eat rice - anything bland that wouldn't irritate it. Of course, the pineapple was what looked good to him but certainly did not feel good.
Saturday was more of the same, except lots more crying. We were starting to lose our patience. Yes, we understood it hurt but what can we do? Saturday night, I had him stick out his tongue again and saw several canker sores on the underside. Yikes, that looks bad. Maybe this is more serious than I thought. I looked it up on-line and found out that gargling with hydrogen peroxide and water is a good cure but since toddlers don't necessarily have the correct gargling skills, you can also dab it on with a q-tip, followed by some milk of magnesia. We did that on Sunday and it seemed to be working.
Then this morning, I looked again and saw a bunch more on the sides of his tongue towards the back. This was kind of freaking me out so I called the dr's office. Apparently, sores on the tongue could mean lots of different things so I took him in. They ran a strep test, which came back negative. They took his fever and he did have a low fever. The dr explained that he had a viral infection similar to hand, foot and mouth disease but instead of a rash, he had sores on his tongue - which had some fancy name that I didn't quite catch. He told me it would probably last for a few days, it might get worse, and I could give him benadryl mixed with maalox for the mouth pain if necessary.
Tonight, I looked at his tongue before he went to bed. It looks like it's completely cleared up. I am not joking. I just have this feeling that if I wouldn't have gone to the dr's today, it'd be worse tonight. I know that's completely illogical but isn't that the way it seems to go? And I know it's good we got it checked out and it was reassuring to hear that it's just a virus but I keep thinking, "If I would have waited one more day, there would have been no reason to call." Maybe by the time they're all grown, I'll know when to wait and when to call.
Saturday was more of the same, except lots more crying. We were starting to lose our patience. Yes, we understood it hurt but what can we do? Saturday night, I had him stick out his tongue again and saw several canker sores on the underside. Yikes, that looks bad. Maybe this is more serious than I thought. I looked it up on-line and found out that gargling with hydrogen peroxide and water is a good cure but since toddlers don't necessarily have the correct gargling skills, you can also dab it on with a q-tip, followed by some milk of magnesia. We did that on Sunday and it seemed to be working.
Then this morning, I looked again and saw a bunch more on the sides of his tongue towards the back. This was kind of freaking me out so I called the dr's office. Apparently, sores on the tongue could mean lots of different things so I took him in. They ran a strep test, which came back negative. They took his fever and he did have a low fever. The dr explained that he had a viral infection similar to hand, foot and mouth disease but instead of a rash, he had sores on his tongue - which had some fancy name that I didn't quite catch. He told me it would probably last for a few days, it might get worse, and I could give him benadryl mixed with maalox for the mouth pain if necessary.
Tonight, I looked at his tongue before he went to bed. It looks like it's completely cleared up. I am not joking. I just have this feeling that if I wouldn't have gone to the dr's today, it'd be worse tonight. I know that's completely illogical but isn't that the way it seems to go? And I know it's good we got it checked out and it was reassuring to hear that it's just a virus but I keep thinking, "If I would have waited one more day, there would have been no reason to call." Maybe by the time they're all grown, I'll know when to wait and when to call.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Getting ready for summer fun
In May 2001, we bought a small metal swingset for Brendan. He was 1 and not able to do much on it but we knew he'd grow into it. We loved the looks of the wooden swingsets but the prices were a bit steep. This small one would work for now and we thought we would get something nicer in a few years or build one ourselves.
Fast-forward 8 years: it's now May 2009 and we have 4 kids. The old, metal swing set is falling apart and is now getting to be dangerous. We tear it down but aren't sure about buying a new one because we're trying to sell our house. We know we don't want another metal one and we'd hate to sell right after putting up a nice, wooden one. We make good use of a school playground close by and ride there often on our bikes.
The next year: May 2010 and our house hasn't sold. We decide it's time to make this house a better fit for us and get more use out of our backyard. Rachel and Owen are 3 and handle themselves quite well on swingsets. They can do the rock climbing wall and go down the slide and love to be pushed on the swings. Not even baby swings anymore, just regular swings. We see a swing set on sale at Toys R Us that is a good price and has the features we want.
It took a couple of Saturdays (and parts of some other days) but boy, was it worth it. Just look at these faces!
And there isn't a picture but my face is smiling, too. :) I love being able to send them out to play in our enclosed backyard and watching them from our kitchen window.
Fast-forward 8 years: it's now May 2009 and we have 4 kids. The old, metal swing set is falling apart and is now getting to be dangerous. We tear it down but aren't sure about buying a new one because we're trying to sell our house. We know we don't want another metal one and we'd hate to sell right after putting up a nice, wooden one. We make good use of a school playground close by and ride there often on our bikes.
The next year: May 2010 and our house hasn't sold. We decide it's time to make this house a better fit for us and get more use out of our backyard. Rachel and Owen are 3 and handle themselves quite well on swingsets. They can do the rock climbing wall and go down the slide and love to be pushed on the swings. Not even baby swings anymore, just regular swings. We see a swing set on sale at Toys R Us that is a good price and has the features we want.
It took a couple of Saturdays (and parts of some other days) but boy, was it worth it. Just look at these faces!
And there isn't a picture but my face is smiling, too. :) I love being able to send them out to play in our enclosed backyard and watching them from our kitchen window.
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