Ali has been a bit down today because, as she has been telling me all day, “mouf huts”. Also, to confuse the matter, a “tummy huts”, a couple “nose huts”, and a few “head huts” thrown in for good measure.
Ali is not one to cry wolf with the “hut” claim. Well, except for when she hurts her arm doing something and so gets a kiss on it, then she wants a kiss on her head too, so she says “head huts”.
Also, to further prove her “huts”, she had a 100.3 fever at naptime (just a couple of hours after some tylenol for all of her hurts), and a 101.3 fever after naptime. Not good.
Oh, and her first ever throw up incident at lunch. It certainly seemed like a choke-throw-up, but she’s literally never thrown up, since the cottage cheesy days of infanthood, so no matter the cause, it was strange.
Needless to say, this has all made her rather sad today. So when she woke up from her nap and asked me “paint piggies?”, I wholeheartedly agreed. She hadn’t asked again since her first toenail painting, and, what better time than when she’s moving rather sluggishly anyway? Obviously, she knows what it takes to make a girl feel better: primping and shopping (which we had done earlier in the day)!!!
I explained the rules again about sitting still and no touching until they’re dry, and she followed them very well. She was still quite mesmerized when I finished her toes, so I offered to paint her fingernails too. She looked at me with wonder and said, “paint fingers??”. Because she’s certainly never seen Mommy’s fingernails painted.
So I told her again that she would have to be VERY still. I started on the first one, and she said “PAINT MOUF????” and puckered up. I laughed. AND simultaneously made a mental note: Fingernail Polish MUST stay out of reach.
However, she seemed to recoup some of her energy and started wiggling around and turning all which-a-ways, which only allowed us to get two fingernails painted:
But hey – at this rate, we can have all of her nails painted by Church on Sunday!! Maybe.
Anyway, I’m pretty sure we’ll be taking a trip to the doctor in the morning. The nurse said that I should bring her in, since 101.3 (while on Tylenol) is higher than it should be for teething. She doesn’t have any other symptoms, and so I’m dreading going in.
Reason #1: I am pretty sure that my doctor doesn’t work on Thursdays.
Reason #2: Last time she had an unexplainable fever, my doctor also wasn’t there, and one of her partners had us come back three times in a week, gave her two different shots for two different things, had the nurses do catheters on two different days (which included the most 15 miserable moments of mine and Ali’s life while she couldn’t get it to work right), multiple diagnoses, and he finally admitted that he didn’t know what was wrong with her.
So. Mommies out there: What do you do when your toddler only has a fever? Is it worth taking them in? Any tips on how to make the visit more directed and pointed?
Ugh. I’m not looking forward to tomorrow. I’m just hoping my doctor has changed her schedule to Thursdays since we last went in.
p.s. – Our shopping trip today was for fall clothes at Children’s Place today – they are having a really good sale on fall stuff. We got all kinds of cute stuff!! So if you’re looking to get ahead of the curve and buy a few things at a time in preparation for fall, I suggest going to C.P. this week!
I’m so sorry she’s feeling bad:(I actually just got back from the doctor with Averi. He said she has a fever virus. My recommendation would be to wait another day because otherwise you are going to pay money only to hear them say “it’s viral” and send you home. Unless she is having some sort of other symptoms too like congestion. That’s just my opinion though:)
I am so sorry she doesn’t feel well.. i honestly think it’s harder on us mommies than it is for them. I am with Jaci. Now waiting a few more days means waiting through the weekend and if your office doesn’t do after hours that may be too much for you to be comfortable with. I would say that yes.. 101.3 is too high for teething.. but not too high. My educated guess is that it’s viral. Which means you can only treat the symptoms. which means you go to the doctor for “nothing.” But if I could tell you how many times I used to go in and pay my copay for peace of mind. And remember when they run a low grade fever its actually good for them. Their body is fighting it. I don’t give mine tylenol anymore unless they are above 102. There are bugs going around right now, both cold like symptoms and the fever/throw up virus.
Either way.. you do what makes you feel comfortable. I just always hated going in to hear the same thing.. which means just monitoring it at home and treating the symptoms unless her fever lasts longer than a few days. Just my opinion too! ;-) I will be praying. i know its frustrating.
You know, Ali’s probably a lot too young for this, but “paint mouf” could mean she wants lipstick on. :) haha.
I am so sorry that Ali is not feeling well! I just grew out of the Children’s Place! I feel old! Hope she feels better!
Giann
Aww, I’m sorry to hear Ali isn’t feeling well. It does kinda sound like a fever virus. My kids have had plenty of them and I have paid enough co-pays to self diagnose the fever virus’ now. If it continue’s for more than a few days then I would definitely take her to the doctor. Just make sure she is staying well hydrated because that can make things worse. Oh and my dr’s always tell me to alternate between children’s tylenol and motrin. Hope she gets to feeling better quickly!! :)
I agree with all the above. Wait it out. I know you mentioned all the aches and pains she seems to be having, but a fever like that will make you feel achy. Now, if she has cold-like symptoms along with the aches and fever, take her to the doctor now and ask that they give her a flu-test. I know it’s not the season, but I’ve heard a couple of people have had it recently.
Well, I’m clearly way behind and this has obviously already passed, but I don’t take Samuel in for just a fever, unless it lasts for a long time (days) or he’s obviously doing poorly. I got sick of them trying to put on antibiotics just for the heck of it and we usually just ride it out (and he’s still alive to tell about it!).
Jodi
Oh, not to sound like a fever snob or anything, but I obviously work with children who get sick a lot (due to chemo and such) and we don’t even consider it a true fever until it gets to 101 or higher. Before that, it’s just wait and see.
Jodi