Mr B turns 1

This week my littlest little man, Mr B, turned one. On 29^th September 2015 at 5.52am my chunky baby entered the world. Mr B is both the smilest and teariest baby I have ever known, and I love him for that.

Mr S was given a prescription last week which the doctor informed me was his first prescription ever. Whereas Mr B has had quite a medicine filled 1st year, poor little monkey.

When he was just over a month old he had bronchiolitis and was a wheezy, coughy ball of cuteness for around 3 weeks. His cries became really horse and strained. He still has a sound of Rod Stewart which I blame on the lasting effects of bronchiolitis.

When he was around 5 months old I took him in pets at home to look at the rabbits. He was really enjoying it cooing and reaching out to touch them. I leaned him over the edge of the rabbit enclosure to have a closer look which is when a virus struck his stomach. He vomited on the poor little rabbits and all over the floor as I pulled him away. Considering the staff in there work with animals and animals shit all day, you should have seen the disgust on their faces. I felt like saying “hi, I brought him in here to vomit and ruin your day on purpose”, I wanted the ground to swallow me. This was the start of 2 weeks of diarrhoea and vomiting. Wonderful. 

When he was 6 months old he contracted an eye infection. My poor little chunk could barely open his eye and spent the days till the drops started worked crying and rubbing it. You haven't started a day right till you've started it pinning down a baby, who suddenly develops super human strength, to put drops in.

At around 10 months he had his 1st trip to children's A&E.  He had a non-blanching rash and was very floppy and tired. I was terrified.  It was like that moment at the top of a roller coaster where your waiting to drop. He had to have blood taken while I held him down, which resulted in him crying, me crying and a very comforting nurse promising me it was for his benefit.  It turned out the rash was viral, not meningitis though. I can't explain to you the relief when I knew my boy wasn't as bad as my crazy, over active imagination had decided.

His worst illness has been this week. Ending in his 1st birthday afternoon being spent in hospital with dehydration. While we were on a family holiday last week we noticed something similar to a small graze on his chin. We presumed that his newly walking feet had lost their balance and he must have bumped his chin. A plausible excuse for the mark.  However, the day we got home these 'marks' started appearing on his nappy area. They looked quite sore, and I didn't make the link between these and his chin so I applied nappy cream and went on with my day. Within an hour they were spreading down his legs and looked more like blisters.

My first thought was chicken pox but as he seemed quite unwell, being irritable and off his food, off we went to the docs. By the time we arrived it was on his face, where suddenly the original 'mark' faded in, his hands and feet.

My poor little man had hand foot and mouth.  I had never heard of it and instantly started questioning when my little boy had been near a farm animal. The doctor reassured me that hand foot and mouth is different to the foot and mouth animals get. It is a virus which just has to run its course. It causes blister type spots on the mouth, hands, feet and nappy area. It gives ulcers inside your mouth which obviously make eating and drinking quite painful. It can also cause

 - high temperature (fever), usually around 38-39C (100.4-102.2F)

-a general sense of feeling unwell

-loss of appetite

-coughing

-abdominal (tummy) pain

-a sore throat and mouth

My poor littlest man had all of these. Which led to not eating and drinking which led to the dehydration.  It also didn't help that he was put on strong antibiotics as some of the blisters became infected, which made him feel even worse.

So my boys first birthday was his worst birthday so far, but I have everything crossed that he will be getting better very soon. Then it will be cake and cuddles all round.

Good day to you x

Linked up to