{month twenty one} Happy Golden Monthly Birthday, Fitz! đ
Itâs pretty crazy that I ended Fitzâs last update with the fact that he was âunder the weatherâ because it turns out that he was really sick. We just wouldnât know it for a few more days (given the closure of urgent care centers + the peds office for the holiday). Fitz was getting fevers that sort of rolled, for lack of a better word; heâd be high in the morning when he woke up, start to come down towards the afternoon and then start to increase again at bedtime and into the night. Seeing the 102 and 103 was, honestly, really scary. He was lethargic and basically just slept all day, unless he was vomiting. And at that point, he still hated taking medicine (which would make him SO upset that we risked him vomiting just to get the medicine in him).
Aaron spent most of Memorial Day weekend on and off of the phone with the on-call nurse at our pediatricianâs office. We COVID tested him (extremely challenging to get that nasal swap up his nose!) and just held him all weekend. We didnât have any option other than to take him to the ER over the weekend, but it didnât seem worth the risk (knowing that in the ER would be we would be exposed to COVID).
We were able to get an appointment with his pediatrician on Tuesday morning. And I got him into his car seat and to the doctorâs office without being sick – YAY! I found a COVID questionnaire waiting for me in the exam room and when the nurse came to do vitals, she was fully dressed in COVID gear: gloves, gown, N95 mask, face shield. She was expecting to give him a PCR test based on his symptoms. But his doctor didnât think it was COVID so there was no testing done, and as soon as the doctor did an exam of his ears, he knew immediately it was an ear infection. His words were actually: Oh, Fitz has a massive ear infection.
We never had to deal with ear infections with the girls (thankfully) and Fitz wasnât showing any signs of his ear hurting, so it was a little surprising. The doctor said it was also possible that Fitz had a (mild) case of pneumonia too, but since he screamed through the lung exam, the doctor couldnât tell. He wanted to wait and see about a lung x-ray for a couple of days. Thankfully, the same medicine would have been prescribed to treat both the ear and lung infections. He was prescribed a 10 day course of Amoxicillin and I was able to pick it up immediately at the pharmacy near the office.
Then we set out on our journey of dosing Fitz with meds, basically around the clock. We were alternating between Tylenol and Motrin to help get his fever down for the few days, and two daily doses of Amoxicillin. Fitz absolutely did everything in his power to prevent us giving him meds at first, but by day 4ish, he was used to it. He still didnât like it, but didnât act like we were trying to murder him every time we gave him a dose. Thankfully by the end of that week he wasnât fevering anymore and had a lot more energy. He was still eating barely anything, but was acting (mostly) normally.
We are SO thankful that we were able to get Fitz treated (and that he didnât have COVID* or something worse) and that heâs back to his normal, cheerful self!
*The current recommendation is that you wait 90 DAYS after a COVID infection to vaccinate a child⌠we have been waiting for SO long for a vaccine for Fitz, I cannot imagine having to wait another 3 months! I have been checking everywhere since Fitz became eligible for a Covid vaccine. Apparently there is a delay with shipments, so we are waiting until things are updated this week. Fingers crossed!
Like last month, Fitzâs language is exploding. The funniest thing that he started saying in the past few weeks is HEY! Like if someone takes something out of his hands (or is otherwise doing something he doesnât want you to do) he will yell HEY! He also says âsorryâ and signs it (which is rubbing your fist on your chest); LOVES eating âno noâ (yogurt); âstrongâ (hand weights or anything heavy). He also loves to list our family members and heâll point to everyone when he says their name (or ask about where everyone is first thing in the morning – since heâs always the first one up): Papa, Mama, Eh-Whee, Daph, and Fitz! He responds to Fitzgerald too but canât say it.
And, we noticed in the last few days that one of his front teeth is chipped. Honestly, we arenât sure how. A true third child.
He also (still) despises band-aids. Loves the idea of band-aids and asks for them. But if you try to put one on him, he loses his mind. And he also hates when you take them off too. đ
And finally, two sort of âbig kidâ things: Fitz can full-on run (heâs SO fast which is terrifying!) and we took the baby set off of his high chair so he is just sitting in it like a regular chair, but with safety straps. He can get in and out by himself, but heâs contained during meal time.
{weight}Â 27 pounds (I think this is from him being sick)
{hair}Â brown, but reddish in the light
{teeth}Â 12 teeth and 5 molars (+ working on his other 2 year molars)
{eyes}Â dark grey-green with light brown around his pupils (hazel)
{clothes}Â 2T, 2-3
{diapers} size 5 in Abby & Finn + Honest Overnight diapers in size 5 for nighttime
{feeding} 4-5 oz sippy cup in the morning, 4 oz sippy cups with lunch, and 4-5 oz sippy cup with dinner. solids for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and 1 or 2 snacks.
{likes}Â balls, music + dancing, food, the dining room chairs, the slide, his water cup, chewing on everything, crawling + chasing toys, faces, head & face rubs, stretching, his sisters, his reflection, Gee his giraffe stuffie, bath time (but likes to stand).
{dislikes}Â being in his car seat, diaper changes, being stuck, getting his face wiped off after meals, not being included.
And here are Eloise and Daphneâs updates.
Happy 21 months, Bud!
M