Jaxon's First Illness

Wednesday afternoon I began to show the symptoms of a cold. So when Jaxon developed a fever on Thursday afternoon, I thought he just had the same thing I did. It was his first fever ever! He was pitiful and I felt so bad for him! But he had no other symptoms besides the fever. He did nurse all night long. It was like having a little leach attached to me!


We took him to the doctor on Friday morning. He still had a fever and still had not displayed any other symptoms. The doctor checked him out and said he looked good. She said normally she would tell us to just wait a few days and see if anything else happened, but that since it was the weekend and since we live so far away (we're an hour away from the pediatrician), she would be happy to do a blood test to check his counts and ensure that it was a virus. We opted for that. 


Jaxon didn't even cry when they pricked his finger! Such a good boy! The blood test showed that it was viral and that he is slightly anemic. The doctor said I could either give him iron drops or give him more iron rich foods, like spinach and red meat. Since he only eats baby food once a day right now and rarely eats the equivalent of a jar of baby food, I'm not sure I will get enough in him that way to make a difference. So I think we will get the drops.


We took him home and gave him some Tylenol that evening so he could rest. His fever had been a solid 101 ever since it started so I thought he could use a break. It helped and he was able to get a little bit of rest. For some reason, he had not slept well that day even though you could tell he was completely exhausted. He still nursed most of the night. Since I was sick, too, I was worn out!


Saturday morning, he still had a fever, but seemed like he wasn't quite as lethargic. We went and bought some Motrin and gave it to him on Saturday afternoon. While it completely eliminated the fever (Tylenol had only brought the fever down to 99.5), it made him so fussy. He was irritable and wouldn't nap. Needless to say, we did not give him any Motrin that night! He still was restless that night and nursed constantly. 


When he woke up Sunday morning, he did not have a fever! Yay! He had a slight fever later in the morning (99.3), but that's as high as it got, and by afternoon, it was gone on its own. He seemed to be feeling better and actually ate some baby food for lunch.


Last night with Jaxon was rough, even though he seemed to be feeling better before bed. He barely slept and was super fussy (very unlike him). I would offer to nurse him and he just fussed and tossed and turned. Finally I just laid him in his pack and play and he actually got himself to sleep that time (it was about 4:45 in the morning at this point. He had already been up at least 7 times and got up 3 more times between 5 and 8.


This morning, he doesn't even act like a kid whose sleep was interrupted 10-15 times. Maybe I'm feeling the effects enough for both of us! But at least his first illness wasn't too traumatic! And I'm proud that we made it 7 1/2 months before he had his first fever!