Sick Day

Our daughter woke me up in the wee hours of the morning with all her fidgeting (yes, we're co-sleepers... so sue me). I went to touch her forehead and she felt pretty warm. We took her temperature and sure enough, she had a fever. Every time this has happened before, no big deal. Wake up, make her a glass of ice-cold water. Maybe a couple tablets of baby tylenol, back to bed. Now that she's in preschool, however, it became way more of an ordeal.

Is she fighting off a bug? Did someone at school have the flu? Is this going to turn into something else? Should we keep her home from school tomorrow? I found myself googling things I'd never googled before: "Should I keep my preschooler home due to fever?", "How to deal with more exposure to germs in preschool.", "Am I the only moron who needs to google these things?", etc.Turns out, the answers were basically: yes, get over it, and no.

I'd never spent so much time fussing over a low-grade fever before. For the past three years, I've only had to think about her and how to make her feel better. Now I have to think about the well-being of her classmates, too! That's new. I decided it'd be best to keep her home. She woke up with a pretty low-grade fever, but I wasn't sure if all the excitement at school would cause it to flare up again (and I definitely didn't want to be responsible for getting any other children sick). I told her a little fib because I know how much she looks forward to preschool. I said that there was no school instead of saying she needed to stay home(terrible, I know!). Her papa almost blew my cover when he came to visit... "Hi honey bunny! Are you feeling okay? I heard you had to stay home from school today." (I was sitting behind her, shaking my head and feverishly mouthing NO NO NO!) "Ummmmm... because it's a vacation day!!!! Right??" Good save, dad.

We made art, relaxed in bed, and got some things ready for the baby (she's an excellent helper). She ate lots of cold, fresh fruit and drank lots of water and some watered down juice. She also had a popsicle free for all, really milking her supposed illness. "Mommy, I feel like I'm getting warm again. I think I need another popsicle because that will make my fever go away." This kid. It's not like I haven't had her at home with me pretty much EVERY DAY since she was born, but keeping her home and spending time with her when she was supposed to be at school felt like such a little treat! Her first sick day. Wow, my kid stayed home sick from school. I can't believe how fast she's growing up. I'm sure that some day, in the not too distant future, she will be lying to me about being sick and needing to stay home as opposed to me needing to lie to her about there being vacation in order to get her to stay home with me. Maybe not, but if she's anything like I was (and she is proving to be a little mini of this sassy mama), then it'll happen.

Side-note: Here are some featured bentos from the school week of 8/20-8/24.

 

•  Mini bear & flower-shaped cream cheese&strawberry preserves sandwiches, string cheese, craisins, baby carrots, bear-shaped cucumbers & strawberry chobani greek yogurt
• imitation crab&furikake sushi rolls, peach chobani greek yogurt, edamame & baby carrots.
• heart-shaped boiled egg, teriyaki meatballs, bear & flower-shaped musubi, edamame & craisins.