104.8

Was the reading on the thermometer in the middle of the night. We stripped her down and gave her a bath in lukewarm water. As a treat we topped her off with some Tylenol. Then tried to get her back to sleep. That was not happening. The Disney Channel is horrible in the middle of the night. I think we watched Hanna Montana. Where the hell are the wiggles when we needed them? The last thing we wanted to watch was some child starlet who would end up knocked up and in rehab like the rest. All we wanted was some peacefull Aussies in colorfull shirts. We would have even settled for a purple dinosaur.

We would get Charlotte to fall asleep, but the second, literally the second she touched the coldness of her mattress instead of the warmth of our body she awoke. Each time more pissed off than the first. How often and at what time she woke up was just a blur. One thing for certain she was awake more than asleep. We all were awake more than asleep.

Dad had to visit some customers in Boston for 9am. Which means he had to spill out of the house around 7:30am. Mom was nice enough to let him sleep by taking Charlotte downstairs around 5am. Mom was in rough shape but was a trooper. As dad came down the stairs into the living room....there Charlotte was playing as if nothing happened. Mom laying on the couch exhausted and defeated.

At the doctors in the morning Charlotte didnt have a fever. They catheterized her to check for a urinary tract infection. Not a fun process and dad was glad he was not there to witness it. They said if the fever came back they would have to draw blood. Dad came straight home after his meetings to find mom parked in the driveway. Charlotte asleep in her car seat in the back of the minivan.

It didnt last long. About 15 minutes later she woke up. Dad got her out of her seat. She was drenched in sweat. He took her inside and they took her temperature. 103. She was wobbling around the house, groggy, falling all over the place. It didn't take long for dad to lose his cool. Quickly they packed up and he was driving back to the doctors with everyone. They would see him whether they liked it or not.

They did see us. They confirmed the temperature and sent us to the hospital to have her blood drawn. I won't describe the hospital experience but I will say trying to keep calm a 13 month old with a 103 fever FOR OVER AN HOUR IS (please insert expletives of your choice, I used them all) RIDICULOUS!

The doctors office ordered the results stat. On our drive home they called with one of the results which came back normal. The answer they gave us was "give her Motrin and keep her hydrated". We have another appointment tomorrow. Hopefully the rest of the tests will come back and everything will be ok.

There is something about the sound of a baby in pain, who is afraid, uncomfortable, hot. It pierces your ears and rips through your heart rattling around in there until you begin to sweat, panic, and begin to be afraid. It's a horrible feeling that no one but parents will ever understand.