The downfall of Fall

Fall is my favorite time of the year, I love the colors, I love the clear sky, I love all the pumpkins and the food and everything else BUT there is one thing I do not appreciate about Fall, all the sickness that goes around.

The season has begun at our house, of course right after my mom left, Nico started to get sick, continuing with his tradition of getting sick after abuelita leaves. (Mom has been here three times, each time this had happened). Six days after she left I get a call from Nico's sweet teacher (we absolutely love her) and she says "I hate to call you to give you this news but he is sick".

Ok so here we go, I went and got him and he was laying on his little mat, so pitiful looking while his little friends are all excited about snack time and what not. Took him home, the child was HOT, since he just got the flu nasal spray vaccine I thought it could be a little reaction to that, since I always get a cold after I get the shot, so I treated the fever for a day or I thought I could treat it with regular over the counter medicine, let's just say that as soon as the medicine stop working my boy was flying up high in fever. No need to explain what a horrible evening we had that night, I don't remember the last time I saw him so sick. Thank God for a wonderful husband who got up with me and together we put cold washcloths on his forehead and took turns laying with him in the bed (a twin bed, yes my husband squeezes himself to fit on the twin bed, and so does this prego mom but that soon will come to an end when Nico moves into his new room and there he will have a queen bed, but that's a topic for another post).

After not sleeping well at all, I told him we were going to the Doctor. We were at the Doctor's office last Friday for his check up and let me just say it didn't go too well, it started great, he was happy, talkative, collaborative, until he moved to quickly when she was checking his ear and that hurt and from that point forwards it was a total disaster, having that experience fresh in our minds I knew he wasn't going to be thrilled about going. He quickly told me he didn't want to see Dr. G again, he wanted to see Dr. M (this last one has been the Doctor that has worked with all of his sickness, respiratory problems, etc), I knew we were going to see him, so I told him not to worry we were going to see Dr. M. - I love the fact that he knows his doctors by name :0) - although that play against me when Dr. G was walking by the hall when he was being check by the nurse and he gave her the dirty look and said "I'm not here to see you today, Dr. M is going to see me, not you!" GREAT, the honesty of children, I do love it though. Wish we could keep that instead of saying the politically correct stuff as we grow, people wouldn't have their feelings hurt so many times, if we were all used to saying the truth at all times, don't you think?

So of course he had STREP THROAT, the Dr. gave me the choice to do a shot or 10 days of antibiotics, being the mean mom that I am proud to be, I chose the shot!! I knew it was going to hurt him right then but I also knew it would help him quicker than dealing with oral antibiotic for 10 days. I asked the Dr. to send me a strong nurse, he knew well and sent me two of them and between the three of us the boy got his shot, I had never cried when my son got a shot, not even when he was a newborn but since I am a sensitive hormonal pregnant woman I did cry this time. I held him after it was all over and he looked so sad, I knew he was hurting, I knew I made that choice for him, I knew it was the right now but boy I hate to see him hurt like that, so yes I cried and as he was crying he looked at me and asked "Mommy are you sad??" I told him it was sad for me to seeing hurting but he didn't need to worry, it's ok to cry when we are sad. Quickly he told me "Mommy I'm sorry I made you sad". This is what kills me, the fact that he thinks is his fault, he has such a giving heart and he's always so concern about others, which worries me about his future, peer pressure and all that fun stuff ahead. Surely I can instruct myself on how to work on that before we get to that age, right? (advice wanted on this subject)

After a four hour nap the boy was back to his normal self, happy, energetic, playful, normal!!!!!! Thank God for my wonderful pediatrician!!!

It's been a couple of days since then and guess who's getting sick now ... of course ME and my Emilia inside of me, yeap we are getting something, my throat is raspy, I have a tiny cough and yes I feel it coming. Here we go with the wonderful cycle of Fall Sickness.

I don't want to put my nose at my Family Doctor's office, since it seems that every time I'm there I'm the only person under 70 years old in his waiting room, which scares me thinking about their sickness and what I could catch while waiting, considering my Doctor is not one that gives away medicine like candy, I have to literally convince him of how much I need the antibiotic for him to write the prescription, so for now I'm going with my over the counter stuff, prayers, warm water and salt gargles, tons of germ-x and faith ... cough cough