RSV

Well, I'm afraid that I may just deserve the "worst mother of the year award".  Not really, but hindsight is always 20-20 and looking back on the last 24 hours I feel like I should have done things differently. 

I got home after Avery was already in bed, she had been in a good mood all day and went right to sleep.  Matt and I were getting ready for bed and one of us (if not both) always check on her before we turn off the lights. I was almost asleep when Matt came walking in with our little girl in his arms.  He said he peeked into her room and she was wide awake.  I rocked her for awhile and then put her back to bed, no problem.  Around midnight I heard her fussing on the monitor.  She wakes up during the night occasionally but 99% of the time she talks to herself for a minute or two and then falls back asleep.  I rarely even get out of bed to check on her because she's crashed before I even get to her room.  Well, last night she was a little louder than normal. It was different than her normal "talking" so I went in to check on her.  I picked her up and rocked her for awhile.  She felt really warm but all I thought was how it was hot in our house so she was probably just warm in her sleep sack and PJ's.  I took her out of the sleep sack and put her back to bed.  Didn't even give it a second thought. 

This morning she was grumpy but seemed okay.  I figured lack of sleep will make anyone (especially me) grumpy. Again, the thought NEVER even crossed my mind that something may be wrong. 

At about 11:00 this morning our daycare provider sent a text saying Avery had been fussy all morning and was running a fever of 101. Immediately my mind went back to last night and the fleeting thought of  wow, she feels really warm.... why didn't I consider that she may have a fever???? I guess she's been so healthy that I just don't think about it.

Matt immediately picked her up and we scheduled an appointment with her pediatrician.  We get there and while sitting in the waiting room, all I could think was why didn't I realize she was sick?? How could my "maternal instinct" fail me like this??? Ok, I know I'm over-reacting a bit but this is the first time she's ever been really sick and I feel AWFUL that I didn't realize what was happening.

Well, the nurse confirmed that yes she was running a very high fever, 103.2 to be exact.  They ran a few tests and one came back positive. RSV.  I had never even heard of this until last winter when a friend's little boy had it.  It just sounds awful.  Turns out it is fairly common but little babies and kiddos are highly susceptible to it and the fever can last quite awhile.

Thankfully our little girl is a trooper and doesn't seem to phased by it.  She still wants to play and get into everything within sight but she's a little more laid back than normal  and definitely requires more cuddling (the only bright spot to all of this).

I still just cannot believe that while I was rocking this little girl last night and thinking, gosh she is so hot, how did I not even consider that she may have a temp???  I guess this is just part of parenting, right?? You take each situation as it comes, learn from it and hope you do better the next time around.

Thankfully at this age there is no problem that a nice warm bath can't solve... I couldn't get a smile out of her but we had fun anyway...