Hand, Foot, & Mouth, oh my!

We've had quite the exciting week this week! We went to Carrollton to spend a few days with Amber and Jason. We had a great time and Emma was an angel - she slept well, and even liked Jason this time (she's always been terrified of him for some reason!). We had a really funny moment. Amber and I were at her mother's house visiting with Amber's brand new niece when Brad called. I had apparently forgotten to pack bibs and he was feeding Emma dinner. I told him to go ahead and use a dishtowel and that I would run to Walmart later to buy some bibs. This is what I saw when we got back to Amber's house! Please notice the CHIP CLIP!


Jason brought out his guitars and played for Emma. She had fun playing too!


When we got home on Thursday morning, Emma felt really warm. I took her temperature and it was 102! I immediately called the pediatrician's office and we made an appointment for right after her nap. I gave her tylenol and put her down. By the time that we got to the pediatrician's office, it was down to 99.5. However, her cheeks and arms were bright red. Dr. Hutson said that that's her body's way of ridding itself of excess heat. She was miserable. He did a quick exam and noticed one small sore in her mouth and determined that she had the coxsackie virus, commonly known as "hand, foot, and mouth disease." It's basically a really common summer virus that causes 2-5 days of a high fever and often sores in the mouth or on the hands and feet. He recommended Motrin because it has a longer half-life than tylenol. We came straight home and gave her Motrin. She was a sick little puppy.

We had a good 4 days of fever and general miserableness. She never did get any more sores (she may have had more in her mouth, but none that I could see). By the time that she was well, we had completely screwed up her sleeping schedule. I had gotten back in the habit of going in her room everytime she fussed to make sure her fever wasn't too high. Often times I would take her out of her crib, give her more Motrin, and nurse her again before putting her back down. It took 2 days of sleep training to get her back on track, but she's as good as new now! In fact, she's recently discovered the joys of sleeping late in the morning. Yesterday, she didn't get up until 9:30! It's nice.

One bad thing may have come out of her little illness though. The "fussiness" that seemed to come with it, has turned into a screaming, yelling little monster that won't go away! Emma started arching her back and throwing herself backward whenever she would get mad, upset, or generally not get her way (picture someone being touched by a faith healer - exactly). Well, THAT started a few weeks ago. NOW she's screaming and yelling when she doesn't get her way. If we're at dinner and she wants something other than what she's been served, SCREAM. If she wants to go into a room other than the one we're in, SCREAM. You get the picture. We're working on ignoring it at the moment, but it's tough! Brad actually had to take her out of TJMaxx the other day because of it. There was nothing wrong - she just didn't feel like shopping right then. It's way too early for the terrible 2's!

This is her fake "I'm mad!" screaming. As you can see, she keeps her eyes open just enough to be able to see us and tell if it's working. If it's not, she can turn it off just as quickly. She's a mess.


We've had a pretty relaxed week, aside from all of the above. I finally got to go to Spa Sydell and use a gift certificate for a facial and manicure that Brad's parents got me for my last birthday. My 29th birthday is on Wednesday and we're planning to celebrate with Amber and Jason on Tuesday night. Emma's going to be playing with her Grandmother and Grandpop and Aunt Stacie while we all go to Carrabba's for dinner! It will be nice to be able to go out for my birthday this year. Last year I had a one month old to think about, and restaurants weren't in our vocabulary. With her little attitude these days, she won't be seeing another restaurant for quite some time either! Keep us in your prayers!

I'll leave you with one more sweet picture. This is Emma's first "lovey." My Aunt Barbara gave it to me for my baby shower and Emma has fallen in love with it! She goes to sleep each night holding it and burying her face in it - it's the sweetest thing I've ever seen!