102.7 Degrees

BE FOREWARNED: I will write in detail about baby boogers and phlegm at some point in this post.

Since Sunday morning, my baby sweet potato girl and I have had new matching colds, and this time around, we've had matching fevers to boot (her first fever yet), each topping at 102.7 degrees. Her fever broke yesterday, thank goodness, and mine finally went down around 10am this morning.

She's been sick for five freakin' solid weeks now, one cold after another without reprieve. Although none of her symptoms have warranted a doctors visit according to "Your Child's Health" (the book her pediatrician told us to use as a reference for anything and everything, and it's excellent, I must add), I called her peds office today for some pointers. Happily, I'll now be taking her to see her pediatrician tomorrow morning, cuz a month + of being sick is too much, as they agreed.

She really has been doing pretty well, despite being sick and sick for so long now. There's been no throwing up (knock on wood). She has runny nose at times --the worst yet has been just over the last two days; post-sneeze is the worst-- but her snot ain't exactly running down her face at all times (you know what I mean, those kids that have an endless waterfall of snot coming from their nosies?), nor has it been super green or thick. To say the very least, it's been quite manageable. As for a cough, she does cough a little, sometimes hard enough that tears well up and spill down to sit atop her chubby little cheeks, but she only coughs a little in the night, when she first wakes, and after she's eaten. Otherwise, one couldn't say she has a cough per se. And there hasn't at all been any coughing and gagging on phlegm. Although I kept her home with me yesterday and today due to her fever, she's been downright indomitable even when her fever was running hot! Me though? I didn't do nearly half as well with that fever as she had. I was shaking and sweating, and around 2am last night, it was beginning to feel like a flashback to last summer, and I was getting a little scared. Yeah, I haven't exactly been feeling all that perky, to say the very least (and it's too late for that). Oh, and I haven't been taking any cold meds because I don't want to pass anything along to her via my milk... Man, do I have a new found appreciation for cold meds! - - have I said this before?

Anyhow, over the last couple days, understandably, she's been a bit, um, clingy compared to her usual independent self, wanting to be held and carried ALLL THE TIME. I actually enjoyed it, quite a lot, but (and there is a but here, unfortunately) for over 2 weeks now, I've been sleeping propped up in bed with pillows at night to help my sinuses drain, and it's been aggravating my back. So that, coupled with the carrying of my 20 lb daughter over the last 2 days more than I have in the last 2 weeks' time combined, I woke with an angry back. By 11:40 am this morning, I sent a text to my honey-man asking him to come home as soon as he could, because my back was on its way out. And by 12:30pm, I called him to ask how close he was, because our baby girlie was in her room, awake from her nap, happily babbling away, and I was certain I wouldn't be able to pick her up out of her crib. Luckily, he was only 10 minutes from home, and I kept her entertained, standing rigid, semi-slouched over her, singing and talking to her while she remained in her crib, stalling until my honey-man's arrival.

Not being able to care for her right now is far worse than any 102.7 fever.