Hand, Foot & Mouth

Charlie has brought home a nasty little virus called Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. I knew this one was only a matter of time for our finger-lickin' monkey boy. The poor little guy is miserable due to the blisters in his mouth that make eating a very difficult and painful thing. Charlie's quite the eater, so this is definitely not fun for him.

Virus + hungry baby that can't eat and can't talk = very stressful household

Thank God, my sister-in-law Kathy and our beautiful niece, Kelsey (Boo Boo) were here yesterday when his condition worsened. He had a fever the day before, but I had totally written it off to either teething (again) or another run-of-the-mill virus. He also had a nasty bug bite on his leg, which is not uncommon for this sweet and juicy little man. We speculated that maybe he was having some sort of allergic reaction.

When I was at physical therapy, Kathy had a really tough time feeding him and putting him down for his nap. He was pretty much inconsolable. Charlie's nap was cut short by discomfort, so I held him for a while, but it was obvious he was still hurting. We took him outside for a change of scenery, and that's when things escalated. He started making some very strange and unfamiliar faces in the swing. I had never seen these faces before, and I started to panic. I yanked him out of the swing and darted for the house. We were all looking at him and there was a moment when we were actually asking if he was breathing. The fear of God went through me, and I don't even want to admit my thoughts out loud. Let's just say that I'd been down this road before and I was terrified...

I called the doctor's office, and God bless them, they told me to bring him in immediately. Kathy drove us over, and Charlie seemed to be better in the car, which was a relief. We even got a few laughs out of him. Kelsey stayed back to play with Madi. The physician's assistant and pediatrician diagnosed Charlie right away. This is all too common in little ones. Since it's a virus, it will take a few days to run its course. They prescribed a mouth "swish", which we are applying with Q-tips. He doesn't like it much, but he seems to acquiesce if we allow him to put the swab in his own mouth. We are also giving him Ibuprofen and Tylenol to help with the pain.

On a side note, he's gained another pound:)

It was a crazy day, and I was so glad to have the support of Kathy and Kelsey, especially to help keep Madi company. Kelsey plans to study nursing in college next year, so I love having her around for her great, out-of-the-box ideas that always seem to help. The timing could not have been better for their babysitting services!

So much for an uneventful Summer!