Last night marked our first unscheduled trip to the hospital with one of the kids. Around 9:30pm, Rebecca woke up crying. She does that sometimes, but I knew her teeth had been bothering her and she was just having a rough day, and it was definitely no-kidding-around kind of crying. so we decided to go get her. Immediately, M remarked how warm she felt. She was bright red and warm to the touch, and the thermometer confirmed a temperature of 103 (all while mid-dose of Motrin for tooth pain), despite the fact that she was almost shivering.
M asked if we should call the doctor, and I said not to bother and just go straight to our local ER. Honestly, if we called the doctor, that’s all they would have told him to do aside from Motrin/Tylenol and lukewarm baths. Might as well go straight there. There was a brief moment of debate as to which one of us would go, or if both of us would (our friend happened to be visiting from out of town – Hi M.C.! – and offered to stay with the soundly-sleeping Daniel). I made the quick decision that M should go, helped him pack a little bag, and off they went.
I had a few reasons for wanting M to go. For one, he’s much more of a worrier than I am. I probably would have been OK with keeping her at home and doing the bath and the Tylenol, but I know he’d just be worried that something serious was wrong. And if I took her, he’d be equally worried because he wouldn’t know what was going on, since we’ve discovered there’s zero cell phone reception in our hospital.
Plus, I sort of wanted him to have the opportunity to be the Daddy in Charge. Being the full-time stay-at-home mom, I’m generally the boss when it comes to all things kid. And while he’s a perfectly capable and certainly devoted Dad, he still tends to ask me what to do in most situations. I wanted this to be all him, since I obviously trust his judgment and thought it might be good to gain a touch of confidence and experience.
Anyways, after a few hours and a very thorough examination, infections were ruled out and every parent’s favorite vague diagnosis was issued: probably a virus, treat the fever with Motrin and Tylenol, call if the fever stays high even on the meds. Sleep was (and is) restless, little girl is cranky, mommy and daddy are tired (Daniel’s just peachy, thank you). Rebecca’s first late-night trip to the ER was a pretty uneventful one.
We just went through this with Kate two weekends ago. No ER visit, but a 105 fever (w/o Motrin) and several calls to the doctor. Hers was also viral and she had no other symptoms–just the high fever. She had this for 5 days, but the fever did lower to 101-103 with Motrin. The only thing I really worried about was dehydration b/c she completely stopped taking liquids. We took her to the doctor when that started. She ended up loving ice chips and banana pops. This past week I noticed her other 3 molars are now showing, so I thought it may have been from that, but I don’t know if their fevers go that high with teething. I am happy that Rebecca is OK and I think you made a wise decision of sending M to the hospital. She is a beautiful girl
I’m glad she is doing okay. It’s amazing how capable Dads can be when we let them. Penny has been really fussy (not eating, throwing up) at bedtime and Husband has insisted on taking the lead with her. It’s so wonderful to have a real partner in parenting – especially when I think of my mom who did it all herself while my dad was working all the time (surgery residency).
Oh Poor little kiddo! I’m glad she’s okay
Very glad to hear Rebecca is doing okay! We are immersed in sickness here (Roseola and a stomach virus.) NOT FUN!
I certainly hope that she was teething and didn’t have a virus! Then maybe I can blame my husband for waking me up to ask me stupid questions at 1:30AM and 5:30AM for how crappy I feel…