We are re-Ferberizing Beck and it's awful. He has always been a champion go-to-bedder but he has been sick, and we have been traveling, and he has slept far too many nights in the big cozy bed and now it is all he wants. It used to be different. Just a little rocking in the big chair with button and blanket and he conked. Now he wants to be with us, but I'm sticking to my guns. I don't sleep well when I'm getting kicked in the head by a restless 17-month-old, or have a little finger exploring my nose.
He is crying himself hoarse right now and this is just for the nap. There is no way to NOT feel like a total bitch when you let your kid cry.
It's been a pretty stressful holiday around these parts. As I noted, Beck got sick. After 10 days of Amoxycillan, he broke out in hives over about 85 percent of his body. I noticed it Friday night and put him in the tub. We spent most of Saturday morning at his pediatrician's office and most of Saturday afternoon letting him run around the house naked rubbing up against the furniture and rolling on his back like a dog. It took OTC Benadryl, and then prescription Prendisone, Atarax and Zantac to get it under control. He has been miserable. Anyone who has ever had a sick baby will tell you that they will make you miserable too. You struggle with it.
1) I know you're sick, poor kid, and I'm sorry.
2) It's tough to be a baby and be itchy and unhappy.
3) Buddy, I'm doing everything I can here, k?
4) Gah! Give it a rest, man!
And then, right before you yell, "You suck!" you remind yourself of 1-3. These are the photos that I emailed to the doctor on her home email Sunday morning with a note emphasizing just how much worse he was getting. Thankfully, he is now on the rebound and the marks are fading to a brownish/purpleish shade.
(I made them nice and big for you. I'll give you all a moment to be properly horrified.)
And if you're not, here's another.
I'm going to try and not complain though, as my sister spent this past weekend in the ICU with my nephew Liam, who was anemic and needed three blood transfusions. Once he was stabilized, they said he had such a low red blood cell count that he was hours away from cardiac arrest. (Official freakout here.) The cause? They believe it was a result of a viral infection which is pretty rare. Either way, an infection is the best case scenario, worst case? Something like leukemia. (I just whispered that like an old jewish woman. Leukemia. ) His anemia isn't caused by anything that could remotely be considered "worse case." I know already because it can't be. And for that reason alone it won't be, but if they need peace of mind than by all means they should do a battery of tests to prove I'm right. Kid just has some freaky bone marrow/red blood cell issues. That's all. (Do you hear me, Liam? THAT'S ALL.)
Oh dear, that's horrible hon. I'm so sorry. I'm glad he's getting better! For both of your sakes!
Posted by: paige | January 02, 2006 at 05:40 PM
Yikes. Erythromycin gave me hives when I was a kid. I don't have pictures to immortalize the experience, though.
Posted by: H. McCrappyPants | January 02, 2006 at 10:38 PM
Oh, bless his heart. And yours, too.
My teen diva was sick over Christmas - mono AND pneumonia AND hepatitis A. She developed a full body rash from the hep A. It looked like your baby's, welty and red, but without any spaces of normal flesh.
She's 14, and I thank God we don't have to de-Ferberize her.
Posted by: GraceD | January 02, 2006 at 10:44 PM
oh I'm so sorry for you. one of my sons had the exact same thing with Nurofen when he was little. hope you're doing better, both of you.
Posted by: Irene | January 03, 2006 at 09:10 AM
Aww, man. Poor kid. Hope he's doing better now. Tough way to bring in the new year.
Posted by: MetroDad | January 03, 2006 at 09:21 AM
You're poor little dude. I hope he's feeling much better. Both my girls were sick last week and we enjoyed diarrhea on Christmas Eve and rang in the new year with ear infections! Taking care of sick kids is exhausting!
Posted by: Jamie | January 03, 2006 at 10:42 AM
Oh my goodness! Poor little guy... and poor Mom, too. Glad to hear he's feeling a little better.
Posted by: AVERAGE JOE | January 03, 2006 at 10:57 AM
Poor little guy!
I am allergic to amoxicillin but didn't find out until college.
Have you tried oatmeal baths like Aveeno to help him with the itching.
Posted by: momma2mingbu | January 03, 2006 at 12:04 PM
Thanks everybody! We have, thankfully maintained our sense of humor through all this:
My sister: How's Spotty?
Me: Much better. How's Whitey?
My sister: On the mend!
It's always somethin', I tell ya....
Posted by: xdm | January 03, 2006 at 12:59 PM
The B-man is definitely a trooper! (And I hear dots are the in thing in '06, so... he's ahead of the curve. But we wouldn't expect anything less!)
I hope it is getting better.
Posted by: cjd | January 03, 2006 at 01:26 PM
Oh ick. I'm a fairskinned lass myself with an incredible allergy to all things that spawned from petri-dish. Which means you'll also have to watch out for all -cillans, -mycins and about the only thing he'll be able to take is incredibly expensive designer antibiodics. You'll probably skip the grilled portabello too....
Posted by: JJ Daddy in Savannah's Baby Momma | January 04, 2006 at 08:09 AM