Mini-Measles

So, I didn't mention how cranky Matalley was the last few days of our trip to Waco. I chalked it up to being tired from all the activity or maybe teething or the yucky antibiotic for her ear. And when the low grade fever started Sat. night/Sunday, I didn't think much about it...100.4 isn't so bad. But by Tuesday, the fever continued and she really started getting cranky. I couldn't feel any possible teeth, but she didn't seem to have any other side effects that couldn't be explained by teething. On Wed. though, I notice a few red spots on her stomach. An hour later, her back was covered. I called the doctor and she said as long as they were not raised, it was okay to wait a day (for our scheduled well visit). However, 3 hours later, her hands, legs, face were covered and she was so lethargic (temp was just 102.5). I panicked and took her to urgent care, where the doctor went on a discovery quest. First he said it was strep, then chicken pox with pneumonia, and maybe an allergic reaction to the penicillin (SAY WHAT??!!). I decided he was really just prepared to handle broken arms and stab wounds. At least I left feeling like she wasn't going to die during the night, even though it ended up being pretty rough...she just felt rotten. The picture doesn't justify how badly it looked, but you get the idea.

Thankfully it was easily and quickly diagnosed by her pedi as Roseola and she is back to her normal self. So if your kid has 3 days of fever, followed by 3 days of rash...it's probably this very common mini-measle virus. I can't imagine what parents whose children are really sick, must go through. I was a nut and cried while they took blood and gave her an x-ray (she was screaming the whole time). Pretty sure you are not supposed to cry when your child is looking to you for comfort. Kudos to my friends who have dealt with so much worse.

Good news is that her 6 month appointment went well. She is doing all the things she is supposed to be doing. Her length is 25 1/2" and her weight is just 12.7 lbs. That puts her in the 50 %tile for height and down to the 5 %tile for weight. The pedi didn't harass me about it though, just told me to give her cereal everyday and in a month start veggies. I guess someone has to be below 50 right?