Summer Sicky

Once again, Paxton is sick. In the short 17-months he's been alive, I've lost count of how many times he has been sick. I should wash his hands more often. I am embarrassed to admit that I don't think of it until there's something going around. But the boy has been teething for at least a year, so his hands are nearly always in his mouth. If there is an illness to be caught, he catches it. And once again, he has.

It's possible that I was the culprit this time around. It is hard for me to recognize when I'm suffering from allergies or something more serious. Whatever I have now started off feeling like a bad allergy. I used my Neti Pot and took some Advil to take away the throat pain. I felt a bit better until the next day. I've felt progressively worse every day since Thursday. Perhaps I really did catch a cold, and then passed it on to my little guy.

Paxton didn't start feeling poorly until yesterday. He felt feverish and a rectal reading confirmed that he was--102.3. I wasn't able to pay him as much attention as usual, because I was cleaning the house in preparation for our Memorial Day party. I felt guilty, but not enough to drop everything to focus strictly on his needs. He snubbed his breakfast--waffles, which are usually his favorite. That's usually the first sign that he's sick. He took his normal nap, and snacked a bit for lunch. Not long after lunch, I put him in his room to play with his trains while I cleaned our bathroom. I noticed that he wasn't making as much noise as usual while he played. I finally finished my chores and went into his room to get him changed. I opened the door to find him fast asleep, laying on his tummy with his legs tucked up under him. He's never fallen asleep on the floor before. It was sort of heartbreaking.

Our guests began to arrive, and their children were enjoying Paxton's array of toys. Forty minutes passed and still he didn't wake up. I finally went upstairs to rouse him. He continued to lay on the floor, barely opening his eyes to watch me clean up his toys. Finally, he stood up and came downstairs to see his guests. He was miserable. He was clingy and whiney and nothing made him happy. I hated to see him feeling so terrible. It was so fun to have our friends here, and I wanted him to be able to enjoy it. But he just wasn't.

By the end of the evening, he felt well enough to eat a bit of corn-on-the-cob--his current favorite. But he was still feverish and clingy, and readily went to bed when that time came.

Today, he woke up very quietly. I wouldn't even have known he was awake if I didn't hear one lone, loud "MEOW" come from his crib, in response to a vocal cat downstairs, awaiting breakfast. He woke up crabby, but ate all of his oatmeal. We went to a playdate, and he spent the bulk of the time sitting on my lap, watching the goings-on. He laid down for his nap at 12:30 or so and didn't wake up for three hours. At least when he woke up, he was in a pleasant mood. He was perfectly adorable, actually. But he's still not 100%. Hopefully in a day or two, he'll be back to normal. I hate seeing my sweet boy ill.

On a different note, now that summer is here, Paxton and I are spending more and more time outside. We have a few water toys in our yard. He has a little kiddie pool, and a beach ball that sprinkles water out of it when attached to the hose. They will hopefully be more fun when the days get even hotter. For now, he cries when the cool drops hit him. He shuns the baby pool. Interesting, though, that no matter how cold the water is at the community pool, I can't keep him out of it. He absolutely loves it. We have a great time there. I'm glad we splurged for a membership this summer. It will make those 100 degree days much more tolerable. Already, I have been much more pleasant about the unseasonably hot days we've had so far this year. That's not like me at all. Enjoy the pics of Paxton and his first experience with the sprinkler ball!