Not a Good Weekend

Well, the universe seems to be conspiring to keep me in this meh mood. Thursday night was one of the worst nights of sleep for Will since the very early newborn days. We had one good stretch at the beginning of the night but then from 10:30-2, he would cry about 10 minutes after we put him down. I tried nursing him, I took his temp (no fever), Phil tried calming him. Nothing worked. Finally at 1:30 I told Phil to just go downstairs so one of us could get some sleep. I finally got him down around 2 and he slept until 4 but then the process started over again so I was up for the day at 4 and got less than 3 hours of sleep. So fun. 

When he came home from daycare the day before, he had some hives that started around lunchtime. They said he seemed fine otherwise so assumed he maybe had an allergy to something he ate at lunch, although he didn't seem to have eaten any new foods. He's been on amoxicillin since his 1y appointment to treat his double ear infection. It was his 2nd round of this medication so I thought surely he isn't allergic to it! On Friday morning I called the nurses line around 6 am to see what I should do as he had way more hives. At this point, I was assuming it was a viral infection because kids get sooo many random rashes. While I was on hold, I gave him his morning dose of meds so I really wanted to kick myself when the nurse said I better bring him in and to hold his meds. Ugh. They were able to book us an appointment at 9. I also had sent pictures of his hives to his doctor via Mychart. She responded really quickly and said it was definitely an amoxicillin allergy and to start benadryl. I did not have benadryl, but I had texted my doctor neighbor to show her the pics and she had also said to start benadryl and kindly brought us her bottle when I said we didn't have any on hand. Good neighbors are such a gift! He looked so awful so I was glad I could get him started on an antihistamine right away. Of course during the night, I did not turn on the lights in his room so I had no idea how horrible looked, although had I seen all the spots I don't know what I would have done anyways.

After giving him the benadryl, he finally fell asleep. I of course had to wake him up to go to the doctor appointment. Luckily our pediatrician grabbed the appointment we had made so she could personally see him and check his ears. They were clear so we didn't need another antibiotics thankfully!

He napped well on Friday which was a blessing as I badly needed more sleep. I upped his dose of benadryl to the dose recommended by his doctor and it really zonked him out. I was still hopeful that we could have our babysitter come on Saturday night. But then he started to get a fever on Saturday and Phil noticed that his joints were warm and swelling. So I canceled the babysitter and called the nurses line again. The nurse went over all his symptoms and suggested I bring him into urgent care. We saw a really nice doctor there - she said that his body was still reacting to the drug allergy and to just keep giving benadryl until his symptoms improved. 

I had said we could just not go to the party, but Phil said I really deserved a break so he offered to stay home with the boys so I could go across the street to the party. The couple hosting said to send him over while I did bedtime, so he got about an hour of merriment in, then we swapped places. I had a really great time at the party! I haven't socialized in so long so it was fun to hang out with my neighbor and meet their friends! And it was a safe gathering as everyone was vaccinated. I ended up staying way too late - Phil called at midnight to ask me to come home as Will had been crying since 10:30 and he needed help. I feel bad that he didn't call me earlier but I've dealt with lots of long spells of crying so I guess I shouldn't feel too guilty. Will was running a fever again and just miserable but after motrin and nursing, he fell back asleep but was up one other time, in addition to Paul being up crying for me. Le sigh. 

Will was better during the day on Sunday and his rash was starting to clear/lighten. Here's a side by side comparison of Friday morning (left photo) and Sunday night (right photo). 

So the hives from Friday have kind of cleared and he has more new ones I guess? Phil commented on how the Sunday photo is basically a negative of the Friday photo. Our poor baby. 

Last night was a repeat of Saturday night with a fever during the night and several wake-ups. But at least with me there I could nurse and settle him much quicker. So I emailed his doctor again this morning to find out if this is related to the allergic reaction or another potential ear infection. She responded quickly and said he appears to be having a serum reaction where his body responds more strongly than average to the allergy, hence the fever and swollen/warm joints. Lucky us. He might end up going on steroids to get his body to calm down. We'll see. So he's home with us today since you can't have a fever in the last 24 hours to go to school. Getting work done with a 1yo is challenging. Phil and I have been trading on and off, and Will has earned the nickname Mr. Mischief! 

So here is hoping we turn the corner soon, although his doctor said this immune reaction will outlast the rash, so we are probably in for more tough nights. 

Oof, long post! So here is my PSA - just because you've had a med before with no issues, you can still be allergic. I so wish I hadn't given the 2 doses of amoxicillin after the initial hives. Or I wish I had texted my mom because it turns out a ridiculous number of family members are allergic to the penicillin family! The urgent care doctor told me I did not make his reaction worse by giving him more amoxicillin but I feel like she was saying that to make me feel better? Who knows. But learn from me - don't give your child or yourself anymore antibiotics after you see hives!!

How was your weekend? I hope it was a thousand times more enjoyable that mine!