Two sickies

Yesterday was my Dad's birthday. Rebecca refused to sleep and had very little appetite. She wouldn't even sleep in the car on the way home, even though it was past her bedtime. This was very unusual. She did, however, fall asleep when we put her in her own bed. Unfortunately, she woke up several hours later with a fever of 101F. By the morning, her fever was about 102F. After speaking with the very fine people at TeleHealth Ontario, it became evident that Becca had finally succumbed to the virus that has been plaguing Greg all this week. Fortunately, beyond any discomfort afforded by the fever, Rebecca is doing well. There are no complicating symptoms, and I even had her laughing at the breakfast table. All the same, this is the first time she has run a temperature over 100F - so I was somewhat worried last night. Now I have two sickies to look after! (I hope it doesn't become three sickies, but there's not much to be done on that front at this point). Last night, I cuddled her for about an hour and a half in her room. Her little cheeks were flushed, and even her toes felt warm. In a way, finding out she was sick was a bit of a relief because it explained some of her odd behaviour on Saturday - turning up her nose at food, being cranky, and having big mood swings in general. Apparently, she might run this fever for up to 3 days, during which time, it may get as high as 104F. Above 105F is the time to take action. So far, so good, except that it is always hard to know that your child is suffering and that time (not you!) is the best remedy.
We gave Rebecca some Tempra last night, to help ease the fever. Sometimes she will take the Tempra willingly, and other times, she will fight it off. It's never fun when she fights, because ultimately, one of us has to pin her limbs, while the otherforces her lips apart. And now, because she's figured out that we slip the dropper into the corner of her mouth, she sticks her tongue out, so that it's even harder to get the medicine in.
Taking her temperature is far simpler. After I had Rebecca, I was given the gift of a thermometer which takes temperatures from the ear. It's wonderful! It only takes a few seconds, and Rebecca can't do much to stop me (I can only imagine what it would be like to try to get her to cooperate with other routes of thermometer insertion).