BUG!!!

Grayson is dealing with a bug...

Well, even though it feels like the bug looks like the one above, it probably looks more like this:


Grayson hasn’t been feeling that great for a week or so. We tried introducing some table foods to his meals, and it didn’t go well. Whatever went down (which wasn’t much) came right back up, along with anything and everything else still in his stomach. His reaction to big people food took us by surprise.

Then, overnight it seemed, he was dealing with 3 (yes, THREE) teeth coming through! Still, he didn’t fuss much. You could just tell he was hurting. He was very quiet, and held his mouth a certain way. He even ran a temperature of about 101. We thought the fever was a result of teething.

Next, we noticed a few red spots on his chest. We didn’t think too much of it because Ray and I both have super sensitive skin, and Grayson seems to also. But a day or two ago, his skin got much worse! There were little red spots all over his chest, and they were spreading! By Saturday night, he was covered – his neck, his chest, his arms, his legs, etc.

We called our doctor’s office and made an appointment for the next day. Our wonderful doctor’s office has a weekend clinic for emergencies. When we woke up on Sunday, the rash had gotten even worse! Instead of just having small spots, he had huge patches of red all over his body. Needless to say, we were so glad we got a doctor appointment for him!

Both Ray and I were wondering how Grayson would do at the doctor’s office. He would be seeing a doctor he hasn’t ever seen before, and of course, he wasn’t feeling good. Well, he was not only good – he was GREAT! He didn’t fuss AT ALL. He had to be undressed so the doctor could check out his skin. As he took his clothes off, I worried about how he would react…it was FREEZING in there! But he was GREAT! He didn’t complain at all. And when it came time for the doctor to do things that involved Ray helping pin him down (like looking in his mouth with a tongue depressor and his ears with a light), he was very cooperative.

Honestly, I think he liked this doctor better than his. We are seriously switching to this doctor or another one on the team. Our doctor is knowledgeable, but he isn’t personable enough. It is very obvious to Ray and I, and I think Grayson can sense it too.

Anyway, the doctor knew Gray might get upset and/or bored when he had to do annoying parts of the exam. So, he handed G a bright pink highlighter. Instead of it going straight into his mouth (as we thought it would), he just held it and examined it with sparkling eyes. He thought it was very cool! Ray and I thought it was so funny! We laughed as we watched him hold it in the air above his head and smile at it. Of course, Grayson hasn’t seen much pink. He has a stuffed pig that oinks (he loves it) and that’s about it. That’s why I think he finds the color pink so interesting.

A few weeks ago, when we were visiting our friends, Scott and Heather, Gray went into their daughter’s room several times. Her room is covered in pink from top to bottom! When we laid Grayson on her changing table, he studied all the different shades of pink in every direction.

Anyway! Back to my story. We were thinking Grayson might be having an allergic reaction of some sort (to laundry detergent, to soap, or something). WRONG! Grayson has a virus. His throat and tonsils are red and irritated. The doctor thinks his lack of appetite and fever are a result of the virus. He said teething does not cause fever to be as high as 101. That’s good to know. And finally, the rash is caused by the virus also. He told us to expect the rash to get worse before it gets better. That’s where we are now. His rash has gotten much worse. I think it has begun to make him itch pretty bad.

This morning, I put some 1% Cortizone cream on him. That’s about all we can do, the doctor said. Unfortunately, there isn’t any medication we can give him to make the virus go away. It just has to run its course. The doctor estimated the rash/virus could be gone as early as tomorrow! We hope that is the case.

It is horrible knowing your child is so miserable. You can just tell by looking at him…for several days, he’s looked tired and uncomfortable. And of course, he’s covered with that red rash. Poor baby. One thing that seemed to make Gray feel better was being out and about this weekend. The weather was perfect – bright sunshine with a nice cool breeze! He loved riding in the car…well, except for having to be buckled in. He gets tired of that pretty quick. After a while, he starts fumbling with the buckle in hopes to find a way to free himself! ;) He loved going to Target, the grocery store, etc. And he especially loved the walk from the car to wherever we were going. He smiled when the wind made his hair stand up. :)

Here’s a picture of G on a stroll with his Mimi on Saturday (before the rash got bad).





















Here’s a picture of Grayson riding in his car seat Sunday morning after going to the doctor. He enjoys playing with half empty water bottles! :)

Here’s a picture of our spotted baby boy that I took with my cell phone this morning.

By this afternoon, he started feeling better! I can’t tell you how happy that makes me! We walked outside, but not for long because it was 50 degrees! He enjoyed the coolness on his face and watching the rain. Let's see - we danced to our favorite songs! It was so great to see him smile and hear him laugh!! And something else he gets a big kick out of is watching videos of himself! So, we did that too!!! Every time he laughed on the video, he would laugh! Our kiddo cracks me up! :) I think it’s amazing how happy he is and how high his spirits are despite how bad he feels. He’s a tough guy!