Bring on the pink stuff
pamelamyers | January 4, 2012
For the last week or so, boy, has Sam been bossy. She is in the midst of the terrible twos, but only sometimes. But when she is in one of her moods, look out. Generally, she is a very good little girl, but lately she has been having tantrums at the drop of a hat, crying and screaming when she does not get her way. I have had so many talks with her about her behavior and threatened punishment in the form of taking away Elmo and candy, two of her favorite things. Today was an especially bad morning. I barely could get my shower this morning before she was freaking out about who knows what. I was so mad, I yelled at her, which I don’t like to do, and Mark came and calmed her down. I took her to my mom’s house and told her that she was not allowed to watch Elmo today as punishment for acting out. That was at about 6:50 a.m. By 7:15, my mom was calling me on my cell phone and telling me that ever since I left, Sam has been walking around saying, “Sorry Mommy” so my mom decided to call me. Sam obviously knew I was mad at her. So, Sam got on the phone and said she was “Sowwy Mommy” and I told her that I loved her and that I knew she was sorry.
At around noon, my mom called me again and Sam was screaming hysterically in the background. My mom said she kept saying, “No feel good” and crying and saying she was sad. So, of course, I came home to take her to the doctor. When I got to my mom’s she had a fever and was very lethargic. She was sleeping on my mom but woke up when I got there. She just cuddled up with me on the couch the whole time, which is really out of character for her as she is usually a big ball of goofy energy. When I took her to the doctor, her temperature read 104 degrees! My poor little girl! She also has a right ear infection. I think this has maybe been brewing for quite some time, which is probably why she has been cranky. You can imagine my guilt for yelling at her, now that I know she is sick…
Sam did smile for the doctor once though during the visit, and he said he was surprised at how she was acting — most kids with a temperature that high would be crying and freaking out and she was trying to be so good. I told him she is such a happy girl it does not surprise me.
Sam came home with a prescription for amoxicillin (her first antibiotic, which also surprised the doctor!) and told me to give her alternating doses of Motrin and Tylenol every three hours. He also said with a fever that high to be on the lookout for a body rash that is harmless, but could erupt as the fever breaks. I was happy when he ruled out meningitis as that is a pretty scary thing, but with a fever so high, they have to consider it.
Sam was pretty sad when I got her home, she napped on me almost immediately, but by the time Mark got home with her prescription and McDonald’s french fries she had perked up a bit. Her fever had gone down some and she was jumping around and smiling a lot. Right now she is snoozing away in her crib and I hope she gets a good night sleep. The medicine will likely wear off before morning comes and if the fever spikes, she will be up crying again. Tomorrow I am staying home with her to give her lots of cuddles and pretty much whatever she wants. My poor Sammy!