You give me fever...and worry lines...

Hailey is sick. She was running a low grade fever over the weekend and was crazy fussy and clingy. I have never seen her act like that before. But then, she has never really been sick before. She has had runny noses and colds and fevers from reactions to immunizations. But as far as a fever to fight off something in her body...I honestly can't think of a time. I guess we have been pretty lucky. Today she woke up with a rash covering most of her body and face. I know that most baby rashes are just a symptom of the virus and not something to worry about, but the presence of a rash just raises my threat level to red. I don't know why, I guess just because it is so THERE. So after dropping Evan off at school I rushed home to call in to the Dr.'s office. The nurse told me that the rash usually appears after the fever is gone and the child is on the mend. It should be gone in a few days. She suspects it was Roseola or any other non-specific viral illness that are very common for her age group. If the fever comes back or she returns to her weekend level of fussiness I am to call her and she will get her in to be seen. In the meantime, we just wait it out. She does seem like her usual self -- just dotted.

I hate it when my kids are sick. The whole duration of their illness it seems I just have this pit in my stomach. I would give anything to take their place. I especially hate illness at Hailey's age because she can't tell me what hurts or what is going on. I know kids get sick all the time and after stories I have heard this winter, we have been so lucky. (Knock on wood) My gut knows that she will be alright, but as always when I have a sick kid, there is the scary little part in the back of my head that thinks What if she isn't? What if something is really wrong? I try not to listen to that voice and just trust my gut, but sometimes it is hard. Especially at night. Nighttime has always been the worst for me. When my kids were newborns, I hated going to sleep because there would be no one to watch over them. It is the same way now when someone is sick. I want to constantly check on them to make sure they are alright. For some reason, during the day they just don't seem as sick. The night just seems to make every worry in my head come right out to the surface. I don't know if that is just part of my hypochondriac tendencies or just part of being a Mom.