Weight Gain and The Fever

So it is time for me to start catching up on writing about my life. I haven’t been writing because, well, life is happening.

Olive keeps growing. We know this because she has added a second chin to her repertoire and because she has been to the doctor three times in as many months. The first was a regular appointment and she weighed in at a whopping 14 lbs 14 oz. This moved her up to around the 25th percentile. Those of you that know Olive or have read this blog before remember that she was at one point the Lindsey Lohan of babies, staking out her spot in the 5th percentile of weight. Yet, like a little infant Kirstie Alley, she continues to grow. A month later, Olive weighed in at 16 lbs 3 oz. Whoah. That put her into the 35 percentile. She was beginning to look like a normal baby!

Unfortunately, the reason that she was in the doctor’s office and getting a little weigh-in was that she developed the first fever of her young life. Leanne and I knew something was going on and after one of the worst nights of sleep in the past seven months, we decided that she was indeed sick and took her temp – 101. After immediately WebMD diagnosing my daughter with everything from H1N1 to polio, we decided that the best thing to do would be to give her some children’s Tylenol, put her to bed, and see if the fever changes. Next morning – 102. Okay, now I was sure she had polio.

Later that morning we found ourselves at the doctor. If you haven’t been in a doctor’s waiting room, especially a pediatrician’s waiting room, in the Swine Flu era, I can only describe it as a cross between a MASH unit and the opening scenes of a zombie movie where everyone is starting to become infected. Kids who are way too old to be cradled by their parents are being cradled by their parents. Every face the complexion of Robert Pattison in Twilight. Nurses walking around with masks on their face. Purel everywhere. Just a pathetic and sad scene. Luckily, Olive did not have H1N1 and was diagnosed with a common cold.

Sure enough, a day later the fever was gone, but the stuffy nose remained. Nothing is more pathetic than an infant with a cold. Their little mouths hacking out a mini-cough. Snot running down their lips because they haven’t figured out how to wipe or blow their nose. Sometimes, usually after a couple minutes of crying in the crib, you get the trifecta of facial fluids. Little cheeks and chin soaked with snot, tears, and drool.

Unfortunately for me, every time Olive gets sick, I seem to get stricken as well. And this last one hit me hard. Leanne, however, always comes out clean, which leads me to believe she is the carrier, or part of an alien race that is immune to the rhinovirus.

But there is lots to write about and lots that has happened in about the last month or so. Here is a little preview about what you can expect to see in upcoming episodes:
• Halloween! Little babies in ridiculous costumes!
• Teeth! Olive has two!
• The irrational fears of a new dad – H1N1, diaper rash, mountain lions, oh my!
• My new mantra: Olive will not be an 18 year old that…