A possible diagnosis...

Charlie woke up this morning with a rash basically all over his body.  Nothing really bad but enough to make me wonder (and do a little research).  I think that he may have had (or has) roseola... that or the fifth's disease.  But after reading all the symptoms of both, it looks more like roseola than the fifth's disease.  That would explain why no one else has come down with the symptoms or fever.

Hopefully once the rash has gone we will be able to move on with a healthy little Charlie and enjoy the rest of the summer.  He is much better today and has even managed to play all on his own.

A sick Charlie...

Charlie woke  up on Sunday morning and had a small bout of vomiting after his bottle of milk.  I didn't think anything of it until he started with a fever shortly thereafter.  It lingered all day and got progressively worse.  By the time he went to bed it was somewhere around 104 degrees.  He threw up a few more times and there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to when.

Monday was much of the same.  Except for the fact that the fever just seemed to get higher and very little was bringing it down.  By last night, it was almost a whopping 105 degrees.  In the middle of the night, I gave him some Tempra and used some cold compresses to try and bring down his body temperature.  Nothing was working.  By the time morning came, he woke at 7:30 to a fever of over 103 and so I gave him a cool bath to try and bring it down.  After lots of crying, he fell fast asleep and I woke him at 10:30 to bring him to the pediatrician.

After what felt like an eternity waiting on the doctor, he was seen.  There was nothing that she could see that would be causing the fever.  His lungs, throat, mouth and body were clear of any signs of problems.  His left ear was clear but apparently there was too much harden wax in his right ear to see if it was clear.  She suggested I put a drop of olive oil to help soften the wax.  I did that during his nap and was able to remove some of the wax after he woke up.  She said to give him another dose of the meds and if his fever does not come down, to take him to the Children's Hospital.  She said they could do a urine test to see if there was anything else.  If the fever went down but climbs back up again during the night or in the morning, to bring him back tomorrow.

After a good dose of Tempra and a 3 1/2 hour nap, Charlie thankfully woke up feverless!  He even tried to play with his brothers.  He had very little energy to do anything and was quick to cry, but he was far more alert than he was been since Sunday morning.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring more of the same and then some once he gets some food in his system.  Another positive note he drink almost his entire bottle before bed and kept it down!  Things are definitely looking up...

Three musketeers in the pool

The boys had another swimming lesson this morning.  Their buddy, Thomas, was there for the lesson as well.  It started out being just the three of them which was great.  they have so much fun together!  Their teacher, Patrick, could barely stop laughing enough to teach them.

Here are a few pictures from this morning...

Zachary and Nicolas are improving quite a bit in the pool.  I am so proud of how well they are doing.

So tired...

Yesterday, while his big brothers had their swimming lessons, Charlie played around in the baby pool.  He had so much fun and played very hard. 

We got home and changed out of our bathing suits.  Then it was time for some lunch.  Zachary and Nicolas finished up pretty quickly and got down from the table while Charlie was finishing up his fruit.  I was busy cleaning up and the next thing I know, Charlie had fallen asleep in his high chair.

He was quickly woken up by his big brothers and immediately went back to finishing his fruit.

Swimming lessons for Zachary and Nicolas

The boys have been enrolled in swimming lessons since the pool at the end of the street was opened.  At first they had the same instructor, Alec, as they did 2 years ago.  This was a good thing since they remembered him. After being thrown into the pool for the first swim, they did really well.  Last Thursday was their first lesson with a new instructor.  They had to change the schedule and therefore the instructor had to change.  They did not react at all well to this change.  They both threw fits and tantrums at the pool.  I had to drag them home kicking and screaming.

I decided it was not a good idea to wait too long before getting them back in for another lesson.  So, I got them a lesson with Alec the following day.  It went amazingly well.  So, we chatted about how I wanted them to act similarly with their new instructor, Patrick.  On Monday, they had their second lesson with Patrick and they jumped right in.  They had a blast with him and did so well.  They are now unbelievably comfortable with him and are learning so much.  Their confidence in the water has improved so much.  Zachary is even confident enough to jump in from the side (with his bubble on).  Nicolas is still nervous about going under the water but is getting better with every day.

Here are some videos I took of them swimming this morning...

Nicolas:

Zachary:

Charlie is officially walking!

Charlie has pretty much been walking for a few weeks now but he has officially taken the plunge.  He is walking more and more.  He chooses to walk in most cases when he could crawl or cruise.  He still cruises quite a bit but he can now walk across a room. 

Here is a little video of him walking over to me in the kitchen this morning...

Happy Canada Day!

We got to spend the day at Auntie Carolyn and Uncle Randy's house today.  They had a fun family pool party in honor of Canada Day.  The boys had a great time and were amazing in the pool.  They were so brave and swam around with the pool noodles like champs!  It is amazing just how much courage and confidence they have built up since their first swimming lesson on Friday.

They worked so hard and had so much fun that this is what a good part of our ride home was like...

Thank you for sending me home with some very tired boys!  Should be a great night's sleep for all!!