Jack woke up with a fever Sunday morning. It didn't seem like much, just a little warmer than usual. The first clue that he wasn't feeling himself was the fact that he slept late, past eight o'clock which is quite a luxury. The second clue was his lack of appetite. For a boy who loves to eat even the smallest refusal seems significant. He also slept a lot during the day, 2 very long naps. I didn't really think anything of it. On Monday he still felt warm to me and was even more sluggish. We went to the playground and he played well for about 20 minutes then crawled into my lap and snuggled - clearly something wasn't right. Dan and I bit the bullet that night and took his temperature. He had a fever of 102. We called the pediatrician who suggested some Tylenol and rest. We hung up and called Grandpa Doctor. The next day the fever broke and Jack was back to normal except now he was covered in small red spots on his chest and back. We waited a day as they didn't seem to be causing him any distress. The next day the spots were worse so we once again called the pediatrician who thought it might be a reaction to his recent MMR vaccination which there is no real treatment for just love. Again, we hung up and called Grandpa Doctor. Now, I like our pediatrician here, they have been really great, and I trust their diagnosis. But, it is so nice to have a Grandpa Doctor. We really don't call the pediatrician often, in fact this was only the second time, so if we do it is because something is wrong. This means that I'm generally in an unfocused frame of mind and tend to forget to ask some questions or miss some of the specifics. Also, no matter how much I like the docs, they really can't reassure me when my baby is sick. Grandpa Doctor, on the other hand, can. Trey agreed with the diagnosis and treatment and helped me feel better too. He took the time to explain to me why Jack was having this reaction, that it wasn't serious, and that snuggles really were the best treatment. What would we do without Grandpa Doctor?
