Emmy has RSV. If she were younger, it might be a lot more serious, but luckily, since she is older, and healthy, it's just manifesting as a cold. She has a cough and a ridiculously runny nose, but otherwise, she seems her usual happy, cheerful self, though perhaps a little more easily tuckered out.
Thursday, they sent her home from daycare with a fever, but she was fine all that evening. She was acting so normal, in fact, that we didn't even think twice about sending her to daycare the next day. The daycare did though. They called Tom right as he was arriving at work and said she couldn't stay because she had been sent home with a fever the day before.
When I got home on Friday, Emmy's fever was back up, so I decided we would take her to the doctor on Saturday morning. (Thank goodness our doctor has Saturday/non-traditional hours)
Once we got to the doctor, they swabbed her nose for the flu and RSV, and the RSV came back positive. They also checked her ears, and they both were showing early signs of infection. So we got yet another round of antibiotics, and a follow-up appointment on Monday to check her ears and lung sounds.
She was fine all weekend, until Sunday evening. At 5:00 pm (just as the superbowl was gearing up), she was fussy and nothing was cheering her up. She wasn't hungry, and she wasn't interested in playing. This behavior almost invariably means she needs a nap. 5:00 pm is a little late for a nap (since bedtime is around 7:30-8:00,) but I knew she wouldn't be going to school on Monday, so I thought, worst-case-scenario, we could keep her up a little later.
Twenty minutes after putting her in the crib, though, she was awake and fussing, so I sent Tom to bring her back downstairs.
Thus proceeded about twenty more minutes of solid screaming, squirming, and straining in my arms. We had given her tylenol around 5 pm, so we couldn't give her any more, but clearly, something was bothering her (whether it was her ears or her teething).
So, all I could do was just hold her and try to soothe her. Around 5:45 or so, she fell asleep on my chest, and stayed there until half-time. Normally, I wouldn't put her to bed that early, especially since we hadn't really eaten dinner yet, but it seemed like she needed sleep more than dinner, so we woke her up enough to give her her nighttime dose of the antibiotics and change her diaper. After that, she slept through until 7:20 am.
This morning, I took her to the doctor, where we had a nightmarish 2 hour wait. I don't know what the delay was (they never tell you) but by 11:30, (our appt was at 10:15) Emmy was screaming and inconsolable. She didn't want me to hold her, whether I was sitting or walking, she didn't want to sit on the floor (she starting flinging her head back and would have hit it on the floor or the chairs, if I hadn't caught her each time.)
So, frustration mounting, I flung open the exam room door, walked out with her in my arms, and announced to the nurse that we needed to walk. So, we walked around and around the nurses station, and that was the key-- in an area where she could see what was happening, and see people coming and going, she stopped crying.
Shortly after that, our doctor came in and checked Emmy's ears and lungs. She sounds fine, and though her ears are swollen and fluid-filled, we have hopefully caught it early enough to stave off the worst of the infection.
On a side note, we have a new tooth. I think we're up to three now. Her open mouth screaming afforded me plenty of opportunity to view the new one.
Tom and I haven't gotten this cold yet, but it takes 4-5 days from date of infection to hit, so we'll see how we're feeling Wednesday or Thursday.
Also, special thanks to Aunt Patty (mini-weez) who is babysitting today, and possibly tomorrow.
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