Coughs, fevers and lots of snot
The following was written over the space of a week or two, charting Jake's first serious illness:
Sunday 5 October
On Thursday morning I took Jake to have his next lot of jabs. He got the meningitis one and the MMR one. He's really suffering from the meningitis one, poor thing! On Friday afternoon he started a bout of incessant crying and moaning and being extremely clingy. He's been like this on & off ever since. Last night he developed a high fever and he had it again today. I'm really hoping it will pass soon, cos I feel so sorry for him. Also, he'll start to suffer from the MMR one after 7 - 10 days, so I'd really like a break from clingy-whingey Jake for a few days!
Monday 6 October
Poor little Jake got even worse today. I woke him up this morning and he was roasting - took his temperature and he had 40.5 degrees. At that point I decided to call the doctor as this couldn't be from the vaccinations any more. He's had a cold with a nasty cough for a few weeks now, which has got worse over the last few days, so I figured it was probably that more than the jabs. While he was at my parents for a couple of hours before the dr's appointment, he was just lying listlessly against my dad on his lap and fell asleep there. He lay him on the sofa where he slept till we had to go. He never normally sits still for a second, so it was really worrying to see him like that.
The dr checked him out and he has pneumonia. Apparently the vaccinations compromise your immune system, so it was just bad timing and getting the jabs gave his cough the chance to develop into something worse. He's on antibiotics now, so hopefully he'll get better soon. I left him with my parents today and he was either asleep or slumped on one of their laps. When I got him home this evening, he just sat with me on the sofa and drank from his cup. He's thankfully been drinking bucket loads of water, but has gone completely off his food - apart from a couple of bowls of porridge, he has eaten nothing for 2 days. He still has a high temperature, but I'm really hoping that will go down tomorrow.
Tuesday 7 October
Jake's had a much better day today. He was still very clingy and preferred to be sat on a lap. If you put him down his legs would buckle. He ate tiny little bits but actually had some pasta this evening, followed by a Danone. I think the antibiotics are kicking in. He still had a fever of 39 degrees tonight though, so we're not there yet, but he's so much better than yesterday. I have faith that he will be even better tomorrow.
Thursday 9 October
Jake has taken a turn for the worse again. He woke up this morning with his PJ's and sleeping bag soaked in the most watery, sour-smelling diarrhoea I've ever seen. We actually had to give him a bath, it was everywhere. Poor boy was crying his head off and his balls and bum were bright red. All he's eaten today are 2 Danones and half a cracker. His temperature was up at 39.5 again tonight and this morning, so I think I'll go back to see the doctor tomorrow. My poor little boy!
Friday 10 October
Well, the Jake saga continues! (it is non-stop!!) Went to see the doc this morning because he also threw up all over his bed last night and he sent us on to the hospital to see a paediatrician. In the hospital they said he is recovering from the pneumonia, but he got gastroenteritis on top of that, which was exacerbated by the antibiotics. So now the main thing is to make sure he gets plenty of fluids - food isn't important, he'll 'catch up' with eating when he's feeling better. If he gets any worse over the weekend, I have to come straight back to the hospital, but the paediatrician expected him to start feeling a lot better over the next couple of days. He's lost quite a bit of weight but not enough to be admitted. I was very relieved about that. He's fast asleep now and I managed to get a few spoonfuls of porridge into him before he went to bed. Hope the doc was right and he'll be back to his laughing, climbing, playing self very soon.
He slept for a good FOUR hours this afternoon and seemed quite cheerful after that. We went to my mum's birthday and he was fairly chatty, walking around grabbing stuff and he drank LOADS and ate a few crackers. Then after 2 hours of seeming almost back to normal, he suddenly slumped and started crying incessantly, so we put him to bed. He then slept for a few hours more and when we got him up, he had a Danone and half a cracker. He's now back in bed. Friends of ours with their kids were meant to visit tomorrow, but we've cancelled as he's in no state to have visitors, especially not small kids he loves to play with. He's still running a fever, but a bit less than yesterday, so fingers crossed he's past the low point.
Saturday 11 October
I'm happy to report he really is doing a lot better. He had almost a whole bowl of porridge this afternoon, followed by a ginger biscuit. He hasn't had a fever all day, although he feels hot now. It's a massive improvement though!
Sunday 12 October
We've just got back from the hospital with Jake. Again. His fever peaked again this afternoon. The doc said it was probably just the after-effects of his pneumonia & stomach bug but to keep an eye on it. Poor little thing.
Monday 13 October
Unfortunately, Jake is still poorly. He had a high temperature again this morning so I packed him off to my parents' place, where he was really listless all morning and just wanted to sit on laps and have books read to him. He then slept for four hours, after which he was a little more lively. He didn't have much dinner this evening and he's got diarrhoea again, poor thing.
Happily, Jake has just got better & better since then, although he has a fever of 39.8 this evening. Hopefully that's just a remnant of all of the above. I've always thought that must be the worst thing about being a parent - seeing your child suffer. I was right.
Sunday 5 October
On Thursday morning I took Jake to have his next lot of jabs. He got the meningitis one and the MMR one. He's really suffering from the meningitis one, poor thing! On Friday afternoon he started a bout of incessant crying and moaning and being extremely clingy. He's been like this on & off ever since. Last night he developed a high fever and he had it again today. I'm really hoping it will pass soon, cos I feel so sorry for him. Also, he'll start to suffer from the MMR one after 7 - 10 days, so I'd really like a break from clingy-whingey Jake for a few days!
Monday 6 October
Poor little Jake got even worse today. I woke him up this morning and he was roasting - took his temperature and he had 40.5 degrees. At that point I decided to call the doctor as this couldn't be from the vaccinations any more. He's had a cold with a nasty cough for a few weeks now, which has got worse over the last few days, so I figured it was probably that more than the jabs. While he was at my parents for a couple of hours before the dr's appointment, he was just lying listlessly against my dad on his lap and fell asleep there. He lay him on the sofa where he slept till we had to go. He never normally sits still for a second, so it was really worrying to see him like that.
The dr checked him out and he has pneumonia. Apparently the vaccinations compromise your immune system, so it was just bad timing and getting the jabs gave his cough the chance to develop into something worse. He's on antibiotics now, so hopefully he'll get better soon. I left him with my parents today and he was either asleep or slumped on one of their laps. When I got him home this evening, he just sat with me on the sofa and drank from his cup. He's thankfully been drinking bucket loads of water, but has gone completely off his food - apart from a couple of bowls of porridge, he has eaten nothing for 2 days. He still has a high temperature, but I'm really hoping that will go down tomorrow.
Tuesday 7 October
Jake's had a much better day today. He was still very clingy and preferred to be sat on a lap. If you put him down his legs would buckle. He ate tiny little bits but actually had some pasta this evening, followed by a Danone. I think the antibiotics are kicking in. He still had a fever of 39 degrees tonight though, so we're not there yet, but he's so much better than yesterday. I have faith that he will be even better tomorrow.
Thursday 9 October
Jake has taken a turn for the worse again. He woke up this morning with his PJ's and sleeping bag soaked in the most watery, sour-smelling diarrhoea I've ever seen. We actually had to give him a bath, it was everywhere. Poor boy was crying his head off and his balls and bum were bright red. All he's eaten today are 2 Danones and half a cracker. His temperature was up at 39.5 again tonight and this morning, so I think I'll go back to see the doctor tomorrow. My poor little boy!
He's drinking loads, he has his cup of water in his hand all the time he's awake. The paracetamol does bring his fever down too, but as soon as enough hours have passed, his fever shoots up again. He's lost a lot of weight already and I'm a bit worried now that he's developed diarrhoea as well.
Friday 10 October
Well, the Jake saga continues! (it is non-stop!!) Went to see the doc this morning because he also threw up all over his bed last night and he sent us on to the hospital to see a paediatrician. In the hospital they said he is recovering from the pneumonia, but he got gastroenteritis on top of that, which was exacerbated by the antibiotics. So now the main thing is to make sure he gets plenty of fluids - food isn't important, he'll 'catch up' with eating when he's feeling better. If he gets any worse over the weekend, I have to come straight back to the hospital, but the paediatrician expected him to start feeling a lot better over the next couple of days. He's lost quite a bit of weight but not enough to be admitted. I was very relieved about that. He's fast asleep now and I managed to get a few spoonfuls of porridge into him before he went to bed. Hope the doc was right and he'll be back to his laughing, climbing, playing self very soon.
He slept for a good FOUR hours this afternoon and seemed quite cheerful after that. We went to my mum's birthday and he was fairly chatty, walking around grabbing stuff and he drank LOADS and ate a few crackers. Then after 2 hours of seeming almost back to normal, he suddenly slumped and started crying incessantly, so we put him to bed. He then slept for a few hours more and when we got him up, he had a Danone and half a cracker. He's now back in bed. Friends of ours with their kids were meant to visit tomorrow, but we've cancelled as he's in no state to have visitors, especially not small kids he loves to play with. He's still running a fever, but a bit less than yesterday, so fingers crossed he's past the low point.
Saturday 11 October
I'm happy to report he really is doing a lot better. He had almost a whole bowl of porridge this afternoon, followed by a ginger biscuit. He hasn't had a fever all day, although he feels hot now. It's a massive improvement though!
Sunday 12 October
We've just got back from the hospital with Jake. Again. His fever peaked again this afternoon. The doc said it was probably just the after-effects of his pneumonia & stomach bug but to keep an eye on it. Poor little thing.
Monday 13 October
Unfortunately, Jake is still poorly. He had a high temperature again this morning so I packed him off to my parents' place, where he was really listless all morning and just wanted to sit on laps and have books read to him. He then slept for four hours, after which he was a little more lively. He didn't have much dinner this evening and he's got diarrhoea again, poor thing.
Thursday 16 October
When his fever spiked again on Monday, it seems like he got rid of the last vestiges of his illness. He hasn't had a fever since, he's eating well, sleeping well and he's back to his playful, mischievous ways. He did wake up screaming at 2.30 on Tuesday night, but I think he has a tooth coming through that was giving him grief as I finally gave him a paracetamol and he went straight to sleep.
TodayWhen his fever spiked again on Monday, it seems like he got rid of the last vestiges of his illness. He hasn't had a fever since, he's eating well, sleeping well and he's back to his playful, mischievous ways. He did wake up screaming at 2.30 on Tuesday night, but I think he has a tooth coming through that was giving him grief as I finally gave him a paracetamol and he went straight to sleep.
Happily, Jake has just got better & better since then, although he has a fever of 39.8 this evening. Hopefully that's just a remnant of all of the above. I've always thought that must be the worst thing about being a parent - seeing your child suffer. I was right.
posted by MrsJ at
7:53 pm
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