40 Weeks and the Case of the Mystery Fever

Dear Nathan,
I know it was just a few weeks ago when all I wished for was one good night of sleep. Then you granted it to me. Well, I've tasted goodness, and I don't want to go back. Why must you wake up every 2-3 hours each night this week? I know you've been feeling sick, having a fever for almost 5 days and now you have this rash, but you really will get better sooner if you sleep better at night. Luckily you have a daddy who loves you and mommy so much that he will play with you early in the morning so that mommy can get some extra sleep.

We are very blessed to have a doctor live right across the street from us. He's got 3 girls of his own, so even though he's not a pediatrician, he knows what's going on. You started with a fever on Friday night and still had the fever the next day, so I took you across the street and he took a look. No ear infection, just fever. He suggested that you may have roseola, or sixth disease, and that mommy should be on the lookout for a rash in a few days. While I had suspicions of an UTI, our neighbor was right because a few nights ago, daddy discovered a rash on your back.

The next day, we found that the rash had spread to your face and torso. We were relieved to have solved the case of the mystery fever.

We felt bad because you were feeling so bad and couldn't do anything about it. We hope all the cuddles helped you feel a bit better.

As far as other events go, the prescribed remedy to fix minor issue with your private part was some pretty strong steroid cream. Unfortunately, with you sensitive baby skin, you had a pretty bad reaction and started to bleed a bit. Mommy mistook the bleeding for a UTI, but luckily it's just that your skin is irritated. I really hope that it will heal itself soon.

Baby, it's been a pretty hectic week. Oh, the joys.

At your last check up, I came to realize that you made a bunch of consonant sounds, but specifically not any "m" or "b" sounds. We've also noticed that recently you've been sticking your tongue out a little like so:

Being your google-crazed mom, with the help of the internet, I came to a conclusion that you may have poor mouth muscle tone. One of the suggestions that the "experts" made was to have you drink from a straw cup. So, I got you a really cool and colorful robot cup, filled it up with cool water, gave it to you and you just gave me a "what do you want me to do with this?" look. So I googled, "how to teach your baby to use a straw cup." The article suggested that I get you in nursing position and put the straw in your mouth. Instantly, you were drinking from a straw like a pro.  Pretty cool. I am so proud of you. Most babies don't drink from a straw until they are a bit older. 

It's also nice that you've been drooling less. Is it because you've been sick? Or have your new straw sucking skills helped you realize that you can avoid lots of embarrassment by just sucking in your spit?

Nathan, you are also growing up to be such a nice boy. You share with others. I saw when you offered some of your banana mum mums to Teddy. You know Teddy likes to eat what you're eating.

Like most kids raised in Chinese families, Teddy was a bit reluctant at first, not wanting to seem greedy, but when you knew that Teddy really wanted that cracker and pretty much shoved the cracker in Teddy's face, he quickly gave in.

Zoom, zoom! You are starting to be a fast mover. You're doing such a great job cruising along the coffee table (especially if my laptop is within reach).  I found this app called babysmash. You really like to see the shapes and letters pop up on the screen when you smash the keys on the keyboard. Hopefully you will play with this for a few more days, get tired of it, and no longer be interested in mommy's computer. Computers are really not made for babies. Since you are such a strong baby, Daddy connected an old keyboard to mommy's computer so you won't make her sad if you break it.

I like how we are communicating better. It's nice when you respond when I ask you if you want some milk. I also think it's really cool that you will smack something if I tell you "Bam!" Mommy kind of regrets accidentally teaching you this particular skill, but soon enough, you will learn what "No bam!" means.

Your crawling...it's getting...better. A least you no longer flop around. I like how you are using both of your arms at the same time to pull your body forward. You just need to figure out how to lift your butt up and crawl with your arms and knees. I also want to remind you that you can sit up anytime you want. Just pull up your knees and push yourself upright. I know you can do it, I've seen you do it in your crib lots of times. I don't know why you don't do it outside of your crib, does the carpet hurt your knees?

Mommy does not like it when you throw temper tantrums. Screaming is not the way to get what you want. I know it's the easiest way for you to tell me what you want, but eventually you will need to learn to use your words and not be so demanding all the time. You've been such a sweet baby all along and suddenly, I'm seeing a side of you that I've never seen before. I really hope you are acting this way because you are sick. Can you promise mommy that you will go back to being the nice boy that you are? I'll give you a few days.

In the meantime, get better soon. Sleep well and eat some more food. I hope to see the old Nathan really soon.