Recovering Caterpillar, prayerfully.

Just when we thought her fever came and went in less than a day. Boy, we were so wrong! Heh. Afterall, we are 1st-time parents handling a baby who was flu-bugged for the 1st time. So, here's what happened for the past few days:

Sunday
She had fever & nose block. Saw the GP who confirmed that she was down with a flu. Gave her medication after which her fever subsided.
Mood: Slightly sluggish & mildly irritable.
Appetite: Good! Finished everything as usual

Monday
Another night of restless sleep. Fever came back again at 5.00am. Subsided by late morning. Nose block on / off. Left ear seemed to hurt badly at touch. Not napping much.
Mood: Very irritable. Cried at every little thing. Screamed & howled - scared the crap out of her mommy.
Appetite: Satisfactory. Surprisingly, did not finish her milk during some of the feeds.

Tuesday
Thankfully, sleep was good! She slept through the night. Found some heat rashes on her arms, torso & head after she woke up though. No more fever hereon. Seems to be breathing better through her nose though still stuffy. Left ear is still painful to touch though reaction not as adverse as the day before. Two good naps. Received news that little Ashley who had a playdate with Anya on Saturday (Anya did not show any signs of having flu yet except for the heaving sound which again, due to my inexperience, did not recognize that as a stuffy nose) has come down with a temperature. :(
Mood: Back to her usual cheerful self
Appetite: Slightly off the mark ,Good during lunch & dinner where mashed carrots were served. Milk unfinished at some feed.


Wednesday
The no-direct-fan-nor-A/C policy when she sleeps had evidently taken a toll on her skin resulting in a bout of eczema attack. Plagued with itchiness on her neck, scalp & face, she simple couldn't sleep. After trying out various methods (mild atopic cream, fan etc), we gave in by moving her into our room & turned on the A/C at 430am. With that, she finally went back to sleep. Woke up with extremely blocked nose. Took one good nap.
Mood: Her usual cheerful self
Appetite: Poor! Milk unfinished. Rice cereals were rejected after a few small mouthfuls at every meal. Introduced mashed spinach at lunch, was rejected after 2 mouthfuls, even the dog rejected it when I poured the remaining stuff into her food bowl. (-_____-)

Thursday (today)
Took extra precaution by ensuring that she was well-ventilated the whole of yesterday. Gave her a bath & shampoo before her last feed to ensure her skin is nice & cool. Slept in our room so that we did not have to keep walking back & forth to check on her. Threatening to wake up at 130am. She was perspiring & starting to itch. No choice but to have the fan blowing directly at her. Thankfully she could sleep till morning after that. Nose block seems to be not as bad as the day before. Seems to have no more pain in her left ear too.
Mood: Cheerful
Appetite: Good so far. She finish all the algae, i mean, mashed spinach at lunch!

So, did we learn anything from this episode? Loads! For example, we learned that fever usually peak in the middle of the night. The reason why we need to sponge infants when they have fever is to cool down their core temperature so as to prevent fits. Our caterpillar, she is one little trooper. Despite all the discomfort that she had to endure, she was very much the happy baby she has always been - all except for one day. Even when the eczema kept her up for most part of the night, she hardly whine nor cried

Unfortunately, babies at five months old are incapable of producing their own antibodies. Prior to that, they have passive antibodies that came from their mothers which would have gradually diminish which their own immune system gradually build up. Of course, if the baby is being breastfed, they will still receive antibodies from her mother's milk. In our case, well, let's just quote from my OBGYN and say "Not all mummies are made to be cows", which may not be a bad thing for Anya since I have been plagued by sinus on/off after giving birth to her meaning it would compromised the quality of those antibodies anyway.

Having said so much, my point is to take precaution while she is still building up her immune system. My idea is not to turn into this cleanliness freak who is going to chain my children in a germ-free & sterile environment. No, that will be going the extreme. Instead, we will simply observe basic hygiene, minimize her contact with people who are down with flu / cough  etc, giving her a healthy & balanced diet. For they are still so little and are more susceptible to risks of complications when down with common ailments. What's more, our experience in the last few days tell us that a mere flu can bring us (both parents & baby) so much sleep deprivation, heartaches (that's for the parents only) and stress (Other than sleep, quick meals, quick toilet breaks & even quicker showers, I nearly devote the rest of my time to caring for her). Not to mention the thick layer of dust that has settled nicely over the entire flooring of our flat.

She loves her mashed carrots.