January 9th, 2007

Poor little Boo. The sniffles started on Thursday or Friday and there was a little bit of fever here and there, accompanied by some tearing eyes with swollen eyelids, but he seemed to be feeling better on Saturday.

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There was a bit of a croupy sounding cough which alarmed me, though, and then he started drooling. At that point it was Saturday night and I called the doctor, after having read that with that laundry list of symptoms, one should call the doctor immediately. She recommended Ibuprofen over Acetaminaphen, and plenty of fluids. Sometimes I think those books on children’s health, although trying to be helpful, introduce too much stress on the parents’ part. They seem to put forth the worst case scenario. I don’t want to be the one to freak out over every little thing and thus turn my child into a quivering quaking neurotic mess with little to no self-confidence. On the other hand, I don’t want to ignore or overlook things for which I ought to seek assistance. Sunday he had much more energy and the cough was less croupy. Monday he seemed energetic and boisterous. I gave him some Ibuprofen when we got home that night, just for good measure and not long after he got whiny and drowsy. I took his temperature and it was around 100. I held him and he fell asleep, but he felt very warm, so half an hour later I took his temp and it was 103.5 in one ear and 105.5 in the other. This freaked me out, so I stripped him down immediately and got in the bathtub with him, in lukewarm water. He screamed while I dabbed cool water on him. I held him close but kept gently wetting him, trying to cool him down. When his temp dropped to around 101 I put him on my lap out of the water but his temp rose immediately again, so back in the water we went. Meanwhile, we tried to reach the doctor. Finally, she called back and recommended alternating the Tylenol with the Motrin, every 2 hours, and also giving him some Sudafed. She asked that we bring him to the office in the morning, but if his fever spiked again so high before then, to take him to the ER. The Tylenol brought his fever down nicely, and we made it through an uneventful night. I’ve had the humidifier running with eucalyptus oil since Thursday, which has been somewhat of a help. Meanwhile, the full frontal onslaught of toddler coughs and sneezes has finally taken it’s toll, and today I find myself battling the bug as well.

The doctor confirmed that my 37 lb almost 2 year old has an ear infection, and possibly a throat infection as well, so prescribed antibiotics. His 2 year well child physical is next week. It’s uncanny how he manages to get sick enough to require a doctor visit one week before his regularly scheduled checkup. This has happened for the last four checkups (12, 15, 18, and 24 months). Weird. The nice part is that means he hasn’t been sick for six months.

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We went to fill his prescription, but Costco wasn’t yet open, so we went to Target to kill 45 minutes. My poor little guy was whining and crying the whole time. I felt so bad for him, but look what I found! I’ve been hoping to find dishes like these for several years now. They’re never quite right, the dishes I encounter, but these plates! Oh, these plates I adore! They remind me of the Hubble nebulae photographs, which I LOVE! The bowls and cups are a bit off. I love the glaze, but not the shape. I ought to be a designer. It’s perfectly fine to mix round with square. Just because one has square plates does not mean the bowls must also be square. Sigh. Alas, Target didn’t ask me. I bought the set anyway, on the plate merit alone. What a find. They are stunning.

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Back at Costco, we arrived 15 minutes after opening time, and it was completely packed. It’s insane. It must be senior citizen prescription filling day, because the wait at the pharmacy was two hours. TWO HOURS!! My sweet little boy fell asleep and I made a nest for him in the cart. Being the prepared mother that I am, I keep a comforter, pillow, and blanket in the car, so I can make a nest for him when he falls asleep shopping. This leaves only the space under the basket for items, which one might think would allow somebody to make it out of Costco without spending a small fortune, but somehow I managed to spend a fortune anyway. I had to kill two hours, after all. No, I didn’t need any more Method soap, but I like it, and it comes in nicely shaped bottles. I also didn’t need the 52 pack of disposable razors that I bought, even though Mr. Gadget assured me that he was getting low. Apparently he didn’t look in his cabinet where I put the 52 pack I got him the last time they had a coupon special. No more razors for at least a year. Diapers cost a fortune, but we consider them a necessity. Wipes as well, and those new Huggies wipes with aloe vera and cucumber smell so nice. Then there were the hand made thank you note cards. 30 for $10. I couldn’t pass that up. It’s easy to spend a fortune in that store, and because I’m one of those brainwashed tried and true dedicated Costco shoppers, I don’t mind. It’s Costco.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 at 6:51 PM and is filed under children, health, shopping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

5 Responses to “good things come to those who wait”

Blue Moon Girl Says:

Oh poor little guy! I really hope he feels much better soon!

I always envy the kids who are all snuggled down in the basket sleeping while mom or dad are shopping! What a way to travel! 🙂

I love the plates! So cool!

If I can make it out of Costco for less than $100, it’s a miracle! I have to say that I’m a little jealous that your Costco sells the Method stuff! I have trouble finding it here. I can get the smaller bottles at Target, but that’s it. I usually order their stuff through their website. It saves me from spending too much money at Target!

my float Says:

Poor baby. I’m always amazed how children can be so terribly sick, only to perk up as soon as they enter the doctor’s surgery, at which point the doctor just shakes her head and categorises me as a neurotic mother. Of course, as soon as we’re out the door, he goes all limp and gooey and sick again. I don’t know how they do it.

SO glad we don’t have a Costco, by the looks of it! I’d spend far too much. Those plates are lovely, very vibrant.

You are incredibly organised to have bedding for the little one in your car. Half the time I’m grateful if I’ve remembered his water bottle and sultanas!

Velcro Says:

oh poor wee guy. I hope he is feeling better now. My son does the same thing as My Float’s – get’s rushed into paediatric ER desperately ill then as soon as a doctor appears perks up and starts smiling and giggling. Doc says nothing wrong and sends him home, symptoms immediately reappear.

I wish we had Costco down here, but we don’t. grrrr

Miscellania Says:

I took one look at these photos and said MOLARS! Is he getting his molars Both our sons got really sick when cutting their 2 year molars. I hope he is MUCH better now.

And yes, Love love love Costco – the $400 club.

sueeeus Says:

Molars! You know, I just noticed that he has 10 teeth on the bottom and 8 on top. I could have sworn he only had 8 on bottom the last I checked. The ‘new’ teeth look to have been there for quite some time though. They appear to be well-established.