This week has been a rough one up until now. Lincoln got the
chicken Pox and he hadn’t been immunized yet only because he was exposed before
immunization time. So, the same time he was meant to go to the doctors, he popped
out with the “Polk-a-Dots” (Lizzie’s words).
They showed up last Thursday morning with a few on his tummy
and a couple on his chest and by next day’s time, he was covered in all the
warmest places. He didn’t want to eat or drink (they were inside his mouth and
throat as well). He was Miserable!!
The moments when he felt his worst, the only thing that made
him feel anything better was to have me hold him and even then it didn’t help
how uncomfortable he felt. He cried himself to sleep in my arms several times.
I think that may be the worst thing in the world; to hold your baby and not
have any control over the situation; to feel completely helpless.
I had tried everything—For anyone else, dealing with the
same things, these are a few things that did help:
Warm Oatmeal baths- there’s an old wives tale that you give
your kid a warm bath to bring out the chicken pox because they don’t all come
out at the same time and it helps them to pop, basically speeding up the
process. Although, if your kid is already running a high fever, this isn’t
recommended- wait until the fevers are gone. Lincoln had high fevers for the
first couple of days so the oatmeal baths came later. He was very curious but
loved them!
Basically anything cold- Popsicles, milkshakes, smoothies,
yogurt and for some reason, Lincoln liked oyster crackers (the ones that dissolve
in your mouth). Ice, cold water, not milk. Lincoln lived off these things this
week.
Calamine Lotion and Desitin- Lots of it!!
There were several times, he’d wake up in the night crying
and the only thing that seemed to calm him down was for me to lay him on my
chest and rub or pat his back, This, however, did not help me to sleep at all,
but if a few days sleep is my sacrifice to help him feel more comfortable, then
I’ll do it!
After finding the things that worked best, I felt much more capable
of taking care of Lincoln. I cried when I was finally able to get him to eat
the first strawberry milkshake I made him, so you can imagine how I was feeling
beforehand.
Now, he’s been feeling much better and most of the “Polk-a-Dots”
have scabbed over. He’s eating solid foods again and sleeping much better at
night. Today is the first I’ve felt like things are back to their usuals.
Lizzie is prancing around the house dancing and singing, “Nothin’ can break
this” over and over and over again (a
song I’m pretty sure she made up herself), while Lincoln is still under the
impression that grapes are tiny toy balls. He insists on chucking them across
the room instead of eating them. Normal-acy is something I take for granted until I have experienced
a week like this one.
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