One of the kids in nursery has what... Eek! Run for the hills!

There I was feeling myself having arrived at T's school gates bang on time after having a good run through the park and streets of London despite the pouring rain. As usual one of the teachers was standing to meet us arriving parents at the gates with a smile; 'he's had a great day', she said to me as I walked by and have become accustomed to and expect. I walked to the door and heard T's name being called out to notify him of my arrival. At the same time, one of the teachers thrust a paper in my hand. I did not think anything out of the ordinary about the paper I was handed; it was usual for them to hand out a school newsletter every Friday after school since T started. Nevertheless, being the curious individual that I am, I took a quick glance at the paper, unlike all the other parents around who just folded theirs and put it in their pockets.

Shock horror, it said there is a case of head lice in the nursery and all the kids might have been exposed and need to have their hair checked with a lice comb ASAP. Forget feeling myself, I felt dirty and itchy all over instantly. Of all the stuff that T could pick up from nursery, a lice infection was one of those that I really dreaded. I scooped him up instantly and we headed to the pharmacy; never mind that it was almost 4PM and I was hungry having had a run and not having eaten lunch yet. Forget just buying a comb, I bought a comb and a lice shampoo because the last thing I wanted was to get home, check his hair, find lice and then have to run back out to get the treatment, if he doesn't have lice, we will save it just in case or use it this time as preventative measure.

Anyway, I checked his hair and I found nothing phew! It is times like this I wish I could just wrap him up in cotton wool but I don't wanna turn him into a recluse or a scaredy cat so what can one do? Boy the perils of nursery LOL. I hope this is the end of this and there won't be more cases like it in future because I just can't deal!

Bye bye chickenpox infection

Yippee!!! T's chicken pox infection is over. The last scabs have fallen off and other than the specks and spots which will fade in time, he is fully recovered. He was actually a better patient than I had expected; sweet and in control of his emotions throughout. On one occasion while I was getting him ready for a salt bath, he walked over to the mirror, stared at himself and said to me, 'daddy you gave me chickenpox but it is okay, it will all be gone soon'. That made me feel horrible but also melted my heart at the same time. Other than one night where he didn't sleep due to the discomfort coming from the rash on his scalp and having to lay his head down, he sailed through the whole episode without much fuss. I was most surprised by how he didn't cry and heeded my advise not to scratch the itch because scratching it will leave scars. Instead whenever he felt an itch, he called me, pointed at the spot and I tapped it lightly until he felt better. Having now recovered, it is one less thing for us to worry about concerning him in future.
It was not fun having to spend his birthday with scabs falling off all over his body but at least it will be one birthday to remember when he looks back at the pictures.

The chickenpox menace continues

Having just recovered from my bout of chickenpox, the infection is back and this time T is its victim. The first set of skin rash and bumps appeared yesterday on his chest and armpits and by today, it had spread to his neck, thighs and back. So far he is keeping very well, jumping around and just in general being very boisterous; unlike me during my episode. This morning when I told him we have to put our schedule and routine on hold, he walked over to the mirror, pointed and asked if it was because of the bumps on his chest. Yes, you have chickenpox I answered. 'Did you give it to me'? He asked. Yes, I replied sheepishly. 'That's okay, it will soon be gone', he said. I suppose having seen me recently go through it, he is feeling very positive about it all. Hopefully he doesn't get too many bumps and it is all over soon.

Daddy has chickenpox

As stated earlier this week, the Easter bunny was very kind and brought T lots of chocolate and fun for Easter. For me, however the Easter bunny was rather mean and nasty and instead of bringing all things good, it brought me what I had been dreading for a long time, "chickenpox".
It all started on Good Friday when I woke up feeling slightly feverish. I didn't think anything of it of course and after a quick dose of paracetamol, I was soon back to feeling well again. Saturday was pretty much the same; we had a lot of plans then and other than a slight headache when I woke up, the day passed without much discomfort or issues as we went about our business. Fast forward to Monday and I woke up feeling very sick indeed. My head and joints ached, I felt sapped of energy, and I noticed the lymph nodes beneath both ears at my chin were swollen. We had plans I had been looking forward to on the day however something told me I had to rest and stay indoors so I listened to my head and stayed home. By Monday evening, I noticed that my whole scalp felt inflamed and there was a tiny red bump on my left shoulder blade. That was when it hit me that I may have chickenpox. When I woke up on Tuesday morning, what was one tiny red bump had multiplied and my back, abdomen, chest and entire head was covered in little pus filled bumps. By Tuesday evening, I was feeling very itchy and uncomfortable, and I just wanted to grab a blade and scrape off my entire head of hair because I just kept getting this wave of painful sensation that went around my head in a circle as if someone was hammering hundred of needles down each hair follicle in procession. The Doctor who I had called earlier for advise came over, gave me an examination, confirmed I had chickenpox and put me on a prescription of antibiotics so as to limit any complications arising from my infection. Overnight I realized I could not lay my head down to sleep because regardless which way I tried; the pressure exerted by me pressing my head against my hands or on a pillow was just totally unbearable. Wednesday was the worst. Every inch of my upper body was itchy, I had a massive fever, I was exhausted and I just felt totally horrible and dirty every time I looked in the mirror. At one point I became fixated on the time and sat there looking at the clock as it ticked wishing I had the power to will time by so I did not have to go through the discomfort I was experiencing. By mid afternoon, I had reached a low point so I draped a blanket over my head and started to rock back and forth telling myself I have survived worse and this too shall soon pass. When it was bedtime, I barred myself to the living room sofa knowing sleeping in the bedroom will mean keeping the entire household awake. I was right because I did not sleep a wink that night.
It is Saturday morning now and I am feeling more energized and much better on my way to recovery. All my bumps have scabbed over and some are actually starting to fall off. The itch though as much as I would like it to stop has not stopped completely and I find myself struggling not to submit and itch here and there. Just gross!

Moving on swiftly, as much as I had dreaded being infected with chickenpox, I am also glad that between T and I (my other half is immune and has been looking after T this entire period), I got infected first and it was not the other way. So far T is showing no symptoms and that is very surprising considering he has been around me the whole time and I have an inkling we were both exposed when I became infected. Anyway that is unimportant now and what matters is that when and if he gets infected, I will be ready knowing what it feels like and what remedies to use to help him ease the discomfort. Speaking of remedies, I found Calamine lotion absolutely useless and after two days of using it and being fed up with its ineffectiveness and messiness, I switched to another product called, 'Eurex', which was recommended by T's godmother and found it generally more effective. I also tried soaking myself in a bath of 'Dead Sea Spa Magik salt', as recommended by the many users of Netmums, although I am not exactly sure if it had any real effect or not. I did feel amazing immediately after having the bath but if that is down to some placebo effect or not, I do not know and will not comment further LOL!

Consequently, in the past when people had spoken about chickenpox I have often wondered if it really is as nasty as they have described it. Now that it has happened to me, I believe it is. I have been ill too many times in the past to remember every episode bar a few but I will certainly remember this for sure. The level of discomfort and helplessness I felt was just too great to forget and I am glad it is a once in a lifetime type of infection phew! Now if this dark spots on my face can just all disappear immediately. Boy recovery is still a long way yet.

Knee trouble equals afternoon spent in A&E

T has been complaining on and off for a while now about pain in his right knee. So when on the way to the park today he suddenly stopped riding his scooter and started limping and complaining about this same knee, I had no option but to head to A&E. The change of destination did not go down well of course; he threw a massive tantrum when he learned we were heading to the hospital instead of the park and I had to scoop him up and bribe him with a lollipop in order to have his compliance and cooperation.
Upon reaching the hospital, we were called to see a pediatrician within 5 minutes of signing-in which was pretty impressive. After a thorough examination by a doctor and an x-ray of his hip and knee, I was instructed he had no fractures and the pain might just be as a result of a sore ligament or muscle fatigue brought upon by boisterous play and tiredness. Nevertheless as a precaution they sent us away with some paracetamol and ibuprofen and told us to come back next week for a routine follow-up. When it was time to leave, T turned to the doctor and asked if he could stay in the hospital to get more x-ray. From not wanting to go to the hospital, he now wanted to stay. I was like, em no thanks! I think I'll prefer us going home and never coming back in a long time. I sure hope he does not go and do something now so he can go back to the hospital LOL!
Consequently I have to say being my second time with him at A&E that I was as impressed this time around as I was the first time. Overall we were there for about 2.5 hours which is way shorter than I had expected and budgeted for. So when I come across people moaning and complaining about the NHS, I wonder if I am just lucky or perhaps less fussy because I only have good things to say about it. Of course the NHS is not perfect but I am grateful for it and all the wonderful people within it that do such amazing jobs in a very difficult and demanding environment.

New gadgets

Goodbye running to the fridge to fill T's water bottle with water from the filter jug. Goodbye running to the store to pick up bottled water when we are out and about, and run out. Hello 'Bobble', and the ability to fill up from municipal drinking water anywhere: it's nice to meet you!

And it doesn't stop there. I just got myself a new electric toothbrush so it is only right T wants and gets one too.

Ballet classes

Since we have a lot of time on our hands these days and there is hardly anything to do outside now, we decided to look up some sports and dance activity classes for T to attend around our area. Bar ballet and swimming which he already attends classes for, he was too young for all the other activities we came across. Knowing ballet can help improve his strength, focus and coordination we asked him if he would like to attend ballet classes and he asked to be signed up right away. Today was his first day and he did so well, I was proud. He was the only boy in the class but that didn't matter because he had so much fun plus it meant he was the centre of attention for both the other students and the instructor. Sitting there watching the instructor say: marching, marching, tip toe, tip toe, now flap... I was so tempted to run up and sign myself up.

His breakfast choice

I suppose T has not yet got the memo there is a recession & I am a zero earner currently being a stay home dad. Just take a look at his preferred breakfast food items. A slice of bread lightly toasted and cut into 4 squares with crust trimmed off topped with rain-forest honey, no butter. Yogurt; if it is in a tub it has to be Petits Filous chocolate or vanilla flavoured, however fruit flavored yogurt of any kind are fine as long as they are in a squeezable tube. A side of fruit; red grapes, strawberries or apple sliced wedges style. Chai tea or coffee favoured milk. A cup of cold water preferably with lemon or lime garnish. And finally they have to be served on his favorite place mat featuring a map of the entire world. Anything else and I am pushing my luck on the wastage front. Talk about being a real divo LOL! 

Ice lolly maker

We are not exactly "sugarphobes" in our household but we won't exactly sit back and watch T stuff his face with sugar and do nothing about it either. Case in point, he still has heap loads of candy and chocolate sitting in a bucket in the kitchen from Easter. One or two a day and that is it. So when we stumbled on this ice lolly makers while picking up the footstool from IKEA over the weekend, it was a welcome departure from supermarket ice lolly with all their artificial sugar and additives. Now we can juice up some left over fruits and thanks to these ice lolly makers, we have frozen fruit juice ice lollies in our own chosen flavors in hours. Here is the first trial; banana, lemon, orange and plum ice lolly. From the way T was lapping it up, I think it's thumbs up approval!

Medical update

Took T for his medical check-up today and I have to say my baby is growing into a very fine and impressionable young man. Overall the nurses were very impressed with his general health, milestones, and demeanor; he obeyed all their orders with a smile, stayed calm throughout the whole appointment, sang to them, and when I was being interrogated, backed up some of my answers with some very strong evidences. Physically he is also doing very good too: the nurse measured him to be in the 50th percentile for his weight and 75th percentile for his height. Now that is some great news. Bravo my little Sunshine! I hope you keep it all up -;)

Antibiotics drama

Just when news channels on TV were going on and on about research showing some bacteria strains are beginning to develop resistance to antibiotics, I noticed a tiny cyst on T's chest and had to take him to the Doctor's. Of course just as I had thought, the doctor put him on a dose of antibiotics.

It seems antibiotics are the cure for everything these days. You have a persistent cough? Antibiotics! You have a skin rash? Antibiotics! Your ears hurt? Antibiotics! Is it any wonder then that antibiotics are loosing their potency; everyone is swallowing them these days like no man's business. Anyhow T is now on his dose of antibiotics (Flucloxacillin to be precise) and I was reading the side-effects; nausea, diarrhea, skin rash, drowsiness, vomit, etc. All these to counter a tiny little cyst? Perhaps I should have skipped the antibiotics and let nature work its magic. Eww... there he goes again; another nappy change!