The Hardest Week

With Jan 27 began what has been my hardest 7 days of parenting yet. Evan started with a fever that afternoon. The next day, his fever spiked up and down and he seemed pretty unhappy - and his cough started. That night, I slept with Evan so I could monitor his fever and he coughed a few times in my mouth. The one great benefit of this was that, starting a day later, I was able to tell pretty much what Evan was going through. The week was a blur of fever, sore throat, coughing, and body aches for both of us, and Evan threw up a few times for good measure. I cannot say how hard it is to parent a sick kid when you need attention yourself.

By Thursday, things were looking better (for Evan at least) and then his fever came back with a vengeance: 104.6. I realized I did not know what emergency room to take him to should his fever go over 105. I spent the evening making emergency room plans, while Evan dozed on the sofa lethargically, hopped up on Tylenol and ibuprofen. At 9 p.m., he popped his head up, smiled, and asked for a cracker. His fever seemed to have broken.

I only realized how "off" Evan had been when I got him up on Friday morning. What a great feeling to pick up a kid with a normal temperature! I had truly forgotten what it felt like.

A trip to the doctor confirmed an ear infection (Evan's first) and so we started a course of amoxycillin.

This was definitely the worst cold I have had in 10 years. I would say it's the sickest Evan has been, but now I'm flashing back to that stomach virus a year ago. I won't take you there.