Hoof and Mouth

This past week has been particularly challenging.  Over the 4th of July weekend, my kids were unknowingly exposed to Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease.  Nolan was acting rather subdued all day Sunday, but by dinner time he had the chills and had no appetite.  We attributed it to him being overtired from his weekend visit with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Marcia.  However, by 8pm he woke up crying and had a high fever.  I gave him some Tylenol and got a cool rag and pretty soon he was back to sleep.  But by 1am he was up again, this time to vomit.  He vomited a couple times, but then was able to go back to sleep and it seemed like he was doing better.

The next morning, he was still running a fever and he spent most of the morning napping on the couch.  Later that afternoon, I noticed Livi had thrown up during her nap.  Figuring she had the same bug as Nolan I took her temperature.  She also had a fever, so I gave her some Tylenol and hoped for the best.

By 11:30 that night, Livi was awake with a high fever and was miserable.  I cooled her down with a cool cloth and she was able to get back to sleep, but when she and Nolan both woke the next morning, they had rashes all over their bodies, particularly around their mouths.

I took them into Dr. Slette the next morning and she quickly diagnosed them with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease.  They both had sores all over the inside of their mouths, which were keeping them from wanting to eat.  The worst news was that they were highly contagious and could not leave our house for several days until the fever and spots were gone.  

I went to the store to stock up on popsicles, pudding, bananas, and juice to help my little sweeties want to eat something.  But when it came time for Livi to go to bed that night, she just would NOT go to sleep.  I tried driving her (twice), I walked with her, I bounced her, I tried taking her in my room, the family room, and her bedroom, I tried music, I tried books, I tried a bottle, popsicles, and juice.  NOTHING worked.  I was up with her until 3 in the morning.  It was awful. Every time she tried to put her little thumb in her mouth, she ended up wailing in pain because it was covered in painful blisters, as was the inside of her mouth.  The next night was 1:30am and finally by the third night she went to sleep rather easily.

Thankfully now, 10 days out, the fevers are long gone and the spots are dried up.  I'm glad they're feeling better.  It's so hard when they're not feeling well and there's little I can do to help them! We had to laugh though, because Grandma Patti told everyone the kids had Hoof and Mouth Disease. ;)