So I heart daycare. I really do. My days are so much more productive when I know Simon is being cared for and I don’t have to worry about rushing home to relieve Rob. It helps that his napping (at daycare) is kind of awesome at 2 – 3 hours. At home it’s much better. And he is taking a bottle. Or at least he’s drinking enough that I don’t worry and it hasn’t been brought up as an issue.
But with daycare comes being around other kids. A lot. For the first time. And while this is good for him it also means germs. Lots and lots of GERMS. I know kids in daycare get sick when they start, and it’s good for him to be sick and exposed to build his immune system. It’s like how first year teachers spend a year getting every illness under the sun and then never get sick again.
Kids are dirty and germy and I now have a little snot face to join the ranks. I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon. Simon started on January 3. On January 5 he threw up twice in the morning. I had a meeting so I sent him anyway (this was the first time I had mom guilt – but there was no fever). He threw up once at school and once when we got home. Two of these were in our bed. Gross. Friday he seemed better, a little clingy and cuddly, but ok. Then I got sick. It’s been years since I’ve been this sick. It was way worse than labor. I had to call Rob to come home from work early. Then Rob got it. A weekend of family sick. Gross. I really want to never do that again.
Then came the cough and congestion. And the diaper rash. Oh the never ending baby poos. These brought us to the doctor who said, put some cream on it, air him out, and keep him inclined to sleep. And it passed. And week four of daycare was good. Then came the weekend. And another cough. And this last weekend we had our first fever.
99.9 under the arm. I KNOW this is nothing to really worry about. But it was day two of him not feeling well, and I’d given him Tylenol on Friday night. And now on Saturday I know that’s what I should do again – but I just needed confirmation. I really don’t want to be the crazy call the doc all the time parent. But I also don’t want to NOT call if I should. So I put a call in to the after hours number and got a “call back the doc is busy message.” So I called Sara – who is a doctor, and she gave me mom advice and I felt better. Then the doctor called me back! And said not to worry, but that they do have Sunday hours if I felt like bringing him in to call in the morning. Tylenol and lots of cuddles and we were ok. Sunday was a sleepy day. And Monday another fever. Nothing serious.
This morning I packed him up. Dosed him with Tylenol (just in case) dropped him off and went to school. I did say he hadn’t been feeling well, and I’ve gotten no calls.
So we survived another week of the Daycare Plague and I am bracing myself for a winter of coughs and colds that coincide so well with teething. And I will pray that it’s nothing serious. And next year, he’ll have so much immunity it will be awesome.