Containment, anyone?

Well....it seems that the mystery virus that visited Jenni's little guy has moved to my family. At least, to the Monkey.

Yesterday morning, he ran to the Frog and said, "I have to go potty! I want to sit on my potty!" Since he's been waking up dry and actually using the potty pretty frequently (not daily, but lots), this wasn't a surprise. What was a surprise was what he did on the potty.

And the even bigger surprise was that that particular form of output was the first of six occurrences yesterday, with three of them practically needing hazardous material containment.

And then the part where he spiked a fever of 102.5 just following his nap--his short nap.

Please don't be sad when I tell you that we have our family on a generally strict schedule--meal and bed times are very important to us. The kids need to know what to expect, and it really helps to make our days smooth...and sane. This means that we eat lunch at about 12:15--just in time for getting settled in to watch Mister Rogers. Monkey knows about Mister Rogers coming in and switching his jacket for a sweater, and then trading his church shoes for sneakers. He knows that the Trolley means that the Neighborhood of Make-Believe is coming up in short order. He likes Daniel Striped Tiger. And he knows that when Mister Rogers feeds the fish, heads back to the bench to change shoes again, and then goes to the closet to get his jacket, it's time for a clean diaper and a cup of water and a snooze with his favorite friend--Brown Monkey. And then I get to rest as well. After all, I'm very busy. :)

He sleeps, I promise you, until nearly 4:00 every afternoon (and sometimes a little later). Three hours. Lovely, isn't it? But he knows the routine, and he knows that there is no negotiating, and he knows that after snooze time, he can have a nice snack and play trains or Legos, or he can color a picture. He looks forward to these things. It's a beautiful thing. Oh--and during this stretch of time, the Frog, the Pickle and the Reepicheep have Quiet Time. This means that they are doing something which creates little to no noise--reading, knitting, drawing or coloring, doing schoolwork, or taking a snooze themselves. By definition, their Quiet Time lasts as long as the Monkey's snooze.

Anyway, when I say that the Monkey's nap yesterday was short, I mean it was only 1 1/2 hours--which is not nearly long enough for him to be my happy Monkey. He climbed up onto my lap, and snuggled in. His head felt warm initially, but since he's always been a hot little sleeper, it didn't register in my groggy brain until I felt his little back and chest and neck...and they were just as hot. That is unusual.

Took the temp. Saw the result. Went to get him adjusted--there is actually a "fever button" acupressure point that is highly effective in bringing fevers down!--and then came back home to snuggle in. Gave him a nice coolish bath. Used a cool, wet washcloth on his head, chest and neck. encouraged him to drink lots of water. Gave him yogurt with OptiFlora. Watched his temp go down rather nicely, to hover in the lower 99 range.

This time around, his fever came back in the late evening, so we gave him ibuprofen at bedtime. Rats though--he was in our bed three times. He needed containment twice, for Pete's sake, but by the second one, it was apparent that the OptiFlora had been at work--there was a little substance in there, thanks be to God. I decided though, at 2:30 AM, that I do NOT like the new bargain brand of diapers that My Darling thought would be so cost-effective...it's not cost-effective when you have to change them twice as often, and when you have to wash everything your child comes into contact with because the bargain diapers leak in every direction. My opinion may or may not change when this is all said and done.

This morning at about 5:00 we gave him more ibuprofen, and did another round of cool washcloths and encouraged him to drink more cold water--his temp was back up to 101.5. He is still sleeping. It's 10:00, which is unheard of for him. Usually he's up with me and My Darling, somewhere in the neighborhood of 6:45 or 7:00.

So we're asking for the intercession of St. Raphael (his name means "God heals"), and I'll let him sleep, and we'll do what we need to do to keep him comfortable today. It certainly doesn't help that it's so blasted hot, but I'll keep the house closed up and we'll see how we do.

We are the games chairs for a small festival this Sunday, and it would be really wonderful if he was a much better Monkey by then......please pray for my Monkey and for all those who are not in good health of body, mind or soul.