We ended up at Urgent Care last night because Jamie just wasn’t getting better. He wasn’t vomiting anymore, but I hadn’t been to work all week because his “tummy” hurt like crazy and all he wanted to do was sleep. He made it through half a swim class on Tuesday. He went to bed right after dinner. He didn’t eat any dinner, or lunch, or breakfast. He wasn’t dehydrated, but he hurt.
The doctors, mine and the doc at Urgent Care, were/are baffled. He was really sick and then he got better, but he didn’t get totally better. He sometimes has a low-grade fever, sometimes he doesn’t. He is listless and has no appetite, but he will still drink milk and water and stay alert for RescueBots and storytime. He complains about his tummy hurting, but when he points to the spot that hurts the most, it is just under his sternum.
He has told me about a million times since Saturday, “I love you so much, mommy.” He sits quietly on the couch while his brother plays outside. He lies in his bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to muster the energy to even look at books. He takes two bites of the breakfast he begged me to get out of bed at 6 am to make and then he pathetically whines that he needs a nap. He snuggles into my side, he waits for me to buckle him into his car seat, he sat quietly at Urgent Care and allowed the nurse and doctor to poke and prod him for an hour.
We’ve ruled out appendicitis and are sticking with “3-Year-Old Mystery Illness” for now. I gave him some ibuprofen this morning (he doesn’t like the taste of the acetaminophen) and he perked up and wanted to go to daycare. I’ll give him some more painkillers this afternoon and we’ll see how things go. I never thought I’d say this, but I really miss Jamie’s contrariness and tantrums. I miss even more his singing at the top of his lungs, his playing “piano” on every surface, and his dancing in his seat at the dinner table to my and Tony’s chorus of “sit DOWN!” Jamie was a mellower baby than Charles, but he has never been what I’d call “subdued.” What a change this is from the 34 pounds of tornado he was last week.
Not for the last time, I’m sure, I’m so grateful that I have a flexible job that allows me to care for my kids when they need it. Here’s hoping none of them will need it again anytime soon.
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