Camp Gigi and more Sickness

On Sunday, Chris’ mom and sister were planning to stop by on their way back from Nashville to Birmingham for a little visit. Since it had been a LONG summer already, and six more weeks to go before school starts again, we thought it would be a good time for Caroline to stay at her grandparents’ house for a few days. Chris’ mom (Gigi) had been wanting to keep Caroline this summer, but when we thought we might be moving soon, we decided to wait until we were moving and would need the extra help. But, since we won’t be moving any time soon, and since Caroline had been a little bored with being out of school for so long (and was driving me crazy – ha!), we decided this would be a good time to do it! So they picked her up on Sunday afternoon and away they went!

Let me tell you what a blessing it has been!! These past few days with just Luke have been so quiet and just HEAVENLY and I am so thankful to have a little breather! I’ve really enjoyed giving Luke some one-on-one time and running errands with just one child is much easier too! Honestly, I LOVE my baby girl but after a while, you just need a break from each other! And now I feel like I’m rested and recovered and can be a better mom to her now :). We’re picking her up this afternoon and are looking forward to having her back!
But it wasn’t all roses while she was gone! Luke had been really fussy the past few days and I could see some new teeth coming in, so I figured it was just that. He had been sleeping great, so I couldn’t complain! Then Wednesday morning, he woke up with a fever. I had also noticed some peeling spots on his feet that I had thought was from his jumper or from his shoes, but I got worried that it might be a rash since he now had fever. Plus, he was still on antibiotics from the strep, so I called the doctor. They said to bring him in, just to be sure. The doctor checked his bottom for strep since it was still a little red and also swabbed his throat. They checked his blood too and everything came back normal, which meant that he probably had a virus on top of the strep (in his bottom). She also said the peeling on his feet could be from the strep, and there wasn’t much they could do! She said to just keep giving him the antibiotics and just let them know if he didn’t get better in a few days.
I had also wanted to talk to her about him being sick so much. Before I could even ask, she mentioned that he had been sick more than Caroline was at his age. I agreed and told her I was concerned about it, especially since he wasn’t in daycare or anything and I had been really trying to keep the kids’ hands washed and their things clean. Plus with all the diarrhea and tummy issues he has had, the doctor decided to refer us to an allergist/immunologist for some tests on his immune system. We’re actually seeing the same allergist who tested him for his milk allergy, and our appointment will be Tuesday morning. I’m really hoping to get some answers, but I’m hoping it’s not an immune deficiency as that would mean keeping him home all the time and basically being isolated. But if that’s what we have to do, I’m sure we can make it work.