Sienna spiked a fever after her nap last Tuesday (yes, let's just real quick note that this thing has been going on a week). She was fussy, crying, and her sleep was disrupted. 101, 102, then back down to 99 or 100, not so bad. I thought maybe it was molar teething.
Wednesday morning she was up early and cranky. I went to work and left her with my mom. By noon she was up from her very short nap and screaming. Screaming so inconsolably I got a call at work to come home. I scooped her up, and brought her to the doctor where he confirmed what I was afraid of: hand foot and mouth virus. He said the sores on her throat and mouth were some of the worst he's seen.
We were sent on the way with an empathetic look and some advice: Tylenol around the clock, benedryl to help with the sleep when absolutely necessary, and Maalox/benedryl magic mouthwash on the sores in her mouth.
We should have been sent home with an rx for significantly decreased sleep for five nights. My poor girl did almost nothing but cry, whine, watch Curious George, and revert back to mostly bottles for her milk (it hurt her mouth to even use her hard tipped sippy cups! How sad!). We are finally starting to emerge from this but we survived a couple of ways.
We made sure to put on her loosest shoes that were extra wide when we went outside as to not squeeze her blisters. We tried really hard to have popsicles in the house so that if she wanted something to eat and it hurt to have other things, that was our go to. Pedialyte makes pops which make me feel better since they aren't just a bunch of fake color and sugar. We also stocked up on plain vanilla ice cream which served as dinner a few nights. You do what you have to. Some mostly frozen yogurt did the trick as well. Luckily the little one's hands were not too bad so we tried to amuse her with things that included sitting: crayons, paints, stickers. A new baby doll. We gave Tylenol every 4 hours (we can't give motrin because J is allergic), benedryl for bed time, and extra snuggles too. We did the magic mouthwash every 4 hours through a syringe in the front and sides of her cheeks. Oh, and
THIS! organic Calendula Baby Butter seems to be helping to heal the sores on her feet, even though we were told nothing would. Organic all natural healing FTW.
The foot blisters, 7 days later, are still hanging in. The mouth blisters are better but still there. We're surviving. Last night we were only awake once for 15 minutes- a huge improvement from the most intense crying we've ever heard from Sienna a few days ago.
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| This is all we did. Popsicles, blankeys, mama & dada's bed. |
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| And this- is rare. Baby on my bed and doesn't even care if I'm there. Just wants to rest. |
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| Day 3: Trying to eat. 1/2 of this melted ice cream was eaten. |
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| And on day 5 (August 2), despite being SO sick, she peed in the potty for the first time!! YAY! |
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| Sores day 4 |
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| Sores day 4 |
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| Sores day 4 |
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| Sores day 5 |
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| Just when I thought we were improving, on day 5 we had some more laying around. |
I think (THINK) we are on the upswing. We went to target today! We went to starbucks! We saw human life other than each other. Tonight I am escaping for drinks and dinner with a friend and it's just in time: a little break is welcome after a house-bound week. Then I'll tuck myself in bed for the bachelorette season finale. A good rest of the day ahead!
I do not wish this virus on ANYONE. But if you get it: pedialyte pops, benedryl, Tylenol/motrin, magic mouthwash, ice cream, and TONS of extra love!
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