Strep....

So this is apparently what strep throat looks like....at least this time :) Elianna woke up Wednesday morning complaining that her throat hurt when she ate or drank. I figured it was probably just from the dry, overnight air, but figured I would keep an eye on things. She acted normal most of the day, but after looking at her throat (decently red) I figured a trip to the doctor's was in order. The earliest they could get me in was Thursday evening - which I figured would be just long enough for the throat to feel better, but better safe than sorry. I am always nervous about strep throat because of an Adventures in Odyssey broadcast from my childhood, but I digress.

We went to the doctors - Elianna for her sore throat, Janaya for her swollen eye, and Simeon for his well visit. Fortunately, Dr. Campbell was the doctor of the day (we LOVE her!!!) and she carefully examined Elianna. She told us that her glands were swollen, and though her throat didn't scream strep, she figured she would play it safe and do a strep test. Sure enough, strep. Since Janaya also had a bit of redness in her throat and swollen glands (and they sleep together, have toothbrushes together, etc.), the doctor put both of them on antibiotics.

Funny thing was, we couldn't start the antibiotics that night since the pharmacy took too long, but the next morning, Elianna came down the stairs and proudly announced to me that she felt much better. I told you Dr. Campbell was an amazing doctor..... :)

Sick :(

No, not me - Simeon. I hate when my kids are sick. Fortunately, it is not a common occurrence around her, so when it happens, it is more noticeable. Frankly, no one is really operating at 100% this week. B.J. and I are up to all hours trying to get things done (life is busy enough without the added fun of preparing for Christmas), Elianna has a lingering cough from an earlier cold, Janaya is a little 'off' somehow too. Simeon though, is the worst.

He has been running a fever since Tuesday nap time and it hasn't really changed. It is between 100.6 and 101.6 so nothing major, and we are very much of the opinion that the fever is the body's way of defending itself and as long as it doesn't get dangerously high, we leave it alone. I did take him to the doctor (which I SOOO don't usually do for a simple fever) since he had just been getting over a cold and still had a nasty cough when he got the fever. The doctor checked him out and said that his ears had some pus in them so she was going to treat him for an ear infection. Hmm. I'm not really certain that is the issue, though it might be. It just seems that to cause a fever, I would have expected a worse ear infection. I'm not convinced it isn't bronchitis based on how and what he is coughing. So, while I don't like antibiotics automatically for ear infections or bronchitis, I went with it.

He is miserable and not himself. He's not really eating which is VERY unusual for him..Okay, the constant holding isn't that unusual come to think of it. But, he is sleeping hours upon hours at nap time which is very unusual for him. He is also just cuddling with me all day long - also extremely unusual for my get-into-everything-I-possibly-can-in-two-seconds little boy. I have to admit that I am enjoying the cuddles. I am almost resenting the Christmas preparations because they are nagging at me with an ever-impending deadline, making it very hard to just sit with him. I am very glad to still be nursing because it is one of the few things he still has an appetite for right now and I know it will help him feel better faster. So, for now, I am trying to get as much done as possible while still meeting my little-guys 'needier' needs. Thank God for nursing and baby-wearing. This would have been an impossible week without both of those! I'm just praying for a speedy recovery, health for all of us, and a restful and restorative Christmas break.