1 Mother 2 Another

For the past couple of days Maddie’s been running a very low fever. Yesterday she added a mild runny nose to the equation. She’s been clingy and cuddly as well.

All of these things can be explained away by something other than illness, so we’re crossing our fingers. As the weather warmed up here, I anticipated a mild round of allergies, which could be responsible for the mild runny nose. And Maddie keeps complaining that her cheek hurts and sure enough, when I peer in, she’s got a very swollen gum in the back, which would account for the fever and clinginess.

I think she’s still running a fever, but it’s hard to tell because she was so traumatized the last time I took her temperature rectally a few days ago that she still talks about it at every diaper change. “No tempature!” she requests fearfully as I lay her down on the changing table. “No ‘mometer hiney! Maddie cry!” she’ll warn, as if I couldn’t have guessed that on my own. So I hold off and rely on the old touch test – definitely warm, but not dangerously hot.

In addition, Maddie’s been having a bit of trouble sleeping again, getting up earlier in the mornings and taking a shorter nap than even last week. She’s fine as long as that Motrin is working; you can visibly see her wilt as it starts to wear off.

So we’re not sure if we’re seeing the start of a real illness, or just a bunch of things coming together to make her mildly miserable for a few days. I’m hoping of course that it’s the latter, since she’s been cold-free for several months and everyone sleeps better when she is. We’re steeling ourselves for the worst, of course, but keeping our fingers crossed nonetheless.

I’m guessing tomorrow will be the telling day, and you’ll hear all about it one way or another on Monday. Keep us in your prayers! I’m just looking for that big fat tooth . . .