Roseola came to visit

Sick babies are no fun at all. Look at that "I'm not feeling so hot from this fever and my eyes are glazed over" stare...it has become very familiar to me over the years. Naomi was hit with that scary high fever last month, and this month she got another slightly less high fever that actually turned out to be something called roseola. Supposedly roseola is really common, and it happens in kids from six months to three years of age. It's basically a virus that causes a high fever for several days, followed by a rash on their torso and extremities like arms and legs. I noticed it in Naomi's diaper area one night after three days of high temps, but chalked it up to diaper rash. The next morning, however, I noticed lots of spots all over her torso and diaper area as I was dressing her for the day. I knew right away it wasn't normal, and off I went to google it and ended up browsing way too many images of nasty bumps and rashes (not recommended). Lo and behold, I found it was a classic case of roseola! My older three never had it, and I had no clue what it was, but Naomi's experience was a classic case, so I was definitely happy to avoid urgent care on a perfectly good Saturday morning, when all I wanted was to be with my family.

Yup, I have gotten so sick of doctor's visits in my thirty years, I will do anything to avoid another one, including self-diagnosis. After a while you realize most times the doctor either has no idea what it is and misdiagnoses it anyway, or all the help you get is that much-loved advice to wait it out. This is definitely not for everybody, but I like to think I have good judgment about these things, and going to the doctor doesn't necessarily give me peace of mind anyway. With roseola, by the time the rash comes out, the fever is gone, and the spots aren't itchy or painful (or raised), so I was actually relieved about the bumps because they meant we were past the dangerous fever stage and on the mend. It was definitely hard to see my usually hyper-active, busy baby sprawled out so still on the couch, sick yet again, not knowing what was happening to her. So all you moms out there, if your child gets this, now you'll know what it is.

I was holding and cuddling her when she went limp in my arms and I knew she had fallen asleep sitting up, still fighting her fever. That just doesn't happen with this girl, so of course I snapped a picture.

Naomi showing off her rash, which was already going down by this point.

xoxo,
Tanya