F*U* Flu!

This was such a long week.  I was away at Philips Andover for a work conference last Monday and Tuesday.  Luckily, the conference was over at noon on Tuesday (and we didn't have to go back to the office) because the daycare called Carlos around 11:30 to get Adrian.  Carlos and I took him to the pediatrician and they thought it was allergies and a cold.  So we gave him Claritin and some Advil for the virus.  I had to be out with him Wednesday because he has to be fever-free 24 hours to return to daycare--we had a pretty good day together.  Thursday Adrian seemed fine.  I dropped him off and went to work.  I was still eating breakfast on campus when they called me to pick him up.  He had a fever of over 101 and only wanted to be held.  Geez!!!  I went to get him and he was MISERABLE.  I took him back to the pediatrician.  This time they thought maybe he had the flu...IN THE MIDDLE OF MAY?!!?  The flu test came back positive for strain B...then, the doctor suspected he had pneumonia so she sent us to Good Samaritan for a chest X-ray.  That also came back positive--so he was battling the flu AND pneumonia...poor little guy.  They put him on an antibiotic and we had to wait out the flu with nothing but Advil.

Friday morning I brought a comparatively happyAdrian back to the pediatrician (third time in one week) for a re-check of his lungs/breathing per the doctor's request.  I also took Sebastian along with me because he had the same junky cough and runny nose Adrian had when he was diagnosed with the flu.  He was also running a temperature of 99 or 100...not technically a fever, but not normal for him, either.  Adrian was fine--his lungs sounded better already.  Sebastian was negative for the flu, but the doctor actually prescribed the same antibiotic as Adrian anyway, just in case given the high odds he'd get the same thing as his brother.

Here are some photos from the morning when Adrian appeared to be feeling better...

Turns out, both boys like chocolate chips!

Adrian and Sebastian love to run around in just their diaper.  We took his pants off (and later his shirt too) to help him cool off!

Friday afternoon after his nap, Adrian woke up with a high fever--almost 104--and was miserable.  I gave him Advil when I could (have to wait 6 hours between doses), gave him a tepid bath, and put facecloths on his body...the fever slowly came down.  But then right at dinner time, it shot up again to around 104.  I was so freaked out I called the pediatrician after hours and they talked me off the "I'm going to take him to the ER" ledge...we just had to keep the fever down and let the antibiotic run its course.  By around 8pm, Adrian finally fell asleep; the fever had started to come down to around 101 which was low enough for him to finally fall asleep.  It was so sad and painful to watch how miserable he was.

Saturday was an exact repeat of Friday.  We had to cancel plans for dinner with our NICU nurses, who I miss terribly.  I was so upset to not get to see them--it's hard to coordinate their schedules because they work so much.  Major bummer for me.  I also had to cancel Sunday brunch with 3 of my awesome friends from Harvard.  I miss them so much and was so looking forward to catching up with them over a few beers.  I was SO MAD to miss it.  But what was I going to do???  I wasn't sure how Adrian would be and it was a HANDFUL to manage him and Sebastian, too, when he was so listless, lethargic, and completely miserable.  We were about one degree from having to take him to the ER Friday and Saturday nights, so I didn't want to leave Carlos alone with both boys today.

Adrian ended up being ok today, thank God.  Relatively speaking, he is still not himself, but he was a lot better than he's been for the past few days.  He's not really eating much and is drinking just enough to barely keep himself hydrated, but I suspect that's due as much to the antibiotic upsetting his stomach as it is to the flu.  In any event, I hope we've finally broken the cycle.  He's in his crib sleeping peacefully now (he was sleeping in the pack and play in our room for the past 2 nights so we could keep an eye on him).

Sebastian, thank God, seems ok for now...I will just keep my fingers crossed and say a few prayers that he won't get the flu, too.  I can't miss any more days at work!!! I missed Wed-Friday last week, and thank God for my mother because she'll take Adrian tomorrow (Monday) and possibly Tuesday, too, if necessary to give him a few more days to recover completely.  Tomorrow is the last day of his course of antibiotics so I'm hoping he'll be 100% after that when the infection is gone and his stomach is less upset.

Here are some photos from this afternoon, once Adrian was feeling a tad better.  These are the boys' new hats for daycare (they always put hats on them when they are outside playing).  Their heads are too big for their old hats!

Sebastian was trying to go up the slide when he accidentally got himself caught in the rungs...he couldn't get out!  I had to rescue him...

My boys love their Pampers parties!!!

Adrian is such a sweet boy, even when he has the flu and pneumonia.  When he was breathing rapidly and shallowly, with a temperature of 104, I laid down on the bed next to him and put my head by his so we could look each other in the eyes.  He looked at me with the most pathetic face and just said, "Mama..."  I held his hand and he'd squeeze my finger.  It melted my heart and made me so sad for him.  There is nothing worse than seeing your kid suffer.  I hope this is IT with the illnesses for a very very very long time.  These boys have dealt with way more than their fair share.  They are such good sports!