Fever, Grouchies, & a Late Night Party

Poor little NHV started running a high fever just before naptime on Monday; at least that's when daddy noticed :) No other symptoms, just a high fever. So we dosed her with "fever reducer," made sure she drank plenty of fluids, and did lots and lots of cuddling.

This is my sweet NHV on Tuesday evening. Running a fever of about 104 and feeling pretty miserable. We stripped her down to her diaper, armed her with binky, kitty, and blanky, and left it up to Elmo to entertain/soothe her for a few minutes while we ate a meager dinner. If you flashback to about 15 minutes earlier, it was a big cuddle-fest, and my little darling only wanted her mommy. I was happy to provide some comfort and wished I could be sick instead of her :(

This is my not-so-sweet NHV on Wednesday afternoon. The fever was down to about 100, but the grouchies were at an all-time-high! No exaggeration, she had at least four code "red" meltdowns between waking up and going back down for a nap. It was a very trying day, and my patience was spread pretty thin. The insatiable need to cuddle was interrupted with fits of tears, writhing on the floor, and the likes. And then we'd cuddle again, and the cycle continued; now that I think about it, it was like spending the day with a miniature Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! This photo totally captures her sour mood. Once again, she's sitting in front of the TV watching Elmo because that's the only thing that was making her happy. And I was all about the "happy" ...

Speaking of happy, this is Natalie at 10:23 pm tonight ... check the clock :) Yes, she was awake. And, much more importantly, she was her usual happy, energetic, silly self. Such a relief! So why was she awake at that crazy hour? We did our usual bedtime routine, and NHV was in her crib by 8:30. Hubby and I raced for the couch to watch an episode of Friday Night Lights, Season 1 on Netflix. Seriously, peeps, it's an addiction. We just can't stop. We've been watching an average of 2 episodes per evening for the past 5 nights! But I digress ... and I'll save that for another post. Through the monitor, I could hear Natalie in her crib chatting, singing, just hanging out ... content but obviously not tired. I went up three times to "remind her" it was bedtime and even rocked her again. But just as the Panthers were taking the field, I could just tell it wasn't going to happen; she wasn't going to fall asleep. So went back up. Found her standing in her crib. Greeted by a huge smile and an enthusiastic, "Up!" I was completely bamboozled (not sure if that's the right word, but I like it) and brought her back downstairs to catch the final minutes of the show. She sat quietly and read books. For the next hour and a half, we stacked blocks, sang songs, colored pictures, and read books ... and enjoyed each other's company. Daddy didn't hang out with us the entire time - he does have to get up early to bring home the bacon, but he read a few stories and I snapped a few shots ... precious :)

I especially like this shot of CPV yawning as he reads!