Yesterday morning Reese woke up crying.

This never happens. She is always happy upon waking. When I hear her stirring after a nap or in the morning and open her door to find her standing up in her crib, bleary eyed but smiling, it is just the best.

When I got home from work yesterday evening my mother in law (who watches Reese for us Mon-Thurs) told me that Reese had been a bit fussy all day, but nothing crazy. She felt a little warm to me and I ended up taking her temperature while I was getting her ready for her bath.

102.9

It kind of freaked me out a little. I had never seen it that high.  I called her doctor’s office and spoke to a nurse who let me know that someone would get back to me.

I wasn’t TOO worried because she was acting like her normal self for the most part, just looking a little tired. She still wanted to play and she was happy while I gave her a bath.

After her bath I put her in her warm, footed, fleecy pajamas  (why would someone do this to a baby with a 102.9 degree fever? I am wondering the same thing today) and waited for our call back.

When the doctor called me back I was in the middle of changing Reese’s diaper. Her new thing is that she hates getting changed so she was crying a little bit. To add insult to injury, in my attempts to juggle my phone and a squirming baby, I caught Reese’s belly in the zipper as I zipped up her pajamas. I know, I know. I cringe just thinking about it. She looked stunned for a second and then did her signature, mouth wide open but no sound coming out, eyes scrunched up, face bright red, body shaking cry. It’s the worst.

The doctor instructed me to give her Tylenol, lots of fluids and not to put her in any type of “hot, fleece clothing.” She actually said this. Was she watching me?? Strike Two.

I had to change her again which really pissed her off. This followed by trying to give her the baby Tylenol that smelled like berry death. She was not having it and at some point it must have gone down the wrong way because she started choking and gasping for breath, which was also scary. At this point, I’m pretty sure she would have slapped me if she could have.

Once she had calmed down we read some books and I nursed her to sleep in the glider. She woke up a few times during the night but went right back to sleep after eating.

So, it looks like we have survived our first  fever. I won’t be presumptuous and say we survived it unscathed, because I’m not sure that’s the word Reese would use, but this morning she awoke fever free, bleary eyed smile in full effect.