Sick Henry

When Charlie was younger, my best friend would tell me tales of the pediatrician and how she'd neurotically keep her children outside of the doctor's office waiting rooms while purelling their hands on three minute rotation to avoid taking home something worse than what they went with. But, Charlie was a day care child so her neurosis made no sense to me. I could take Chuck to the Doctor's office for a well appointment and he could play with all the community toys {gasp!}, heck, he could've licked them, and walk out of there without a single sniffle. The acquired immunity of all-day, everyday child care with eight other snotty-nosed children was like that of a super hero.

But Henry is a different story. He's that lucky second child who was born five years later and into a bit more means than the first... so at 4 months, when I went back to work in the middle of a semester, instead of day care, he got a pretty, young, energetic nanny willing to ride out his fussiness by wearing him in a sling all day. {she did our dishes and organized our tupperware as well. man, good times.} At 8 months, when I went back to work for the full school year, we found the world's sweetest Granny to shower him with attention. And then, when my hubby's job brought us to DC when Hank turned one, sweet baby boy got his very own stay-at-home mommy.

And no super-hero immunity...

I am now that mom who freaks out at the pediatrican who can be heard two rooms over screaming...
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!"
"DON'T PUT YOUR FINGERS NEAR YOUR MOUTH!"
"OH MY GOD! NO! DON'T TOUCH YOUR EYES!!"
"TIME FOR MORE PURELL, BOYS!"

But seriously... I might as well just let them lick the doorknobs... because it never works. Henry catches something new every time we go.

Three weeks ago, Henry was at the pedi for an ear infection. A week after that, he had a fever of 105 - the culprit of the ear infection which had worsened plus some sort of viral nastiness that then plagued Mike and myself.

Charlie, of course, was fine.

But for the record, sick babies who fall asleep in the middle of the day are really the cutest.