The Pox

Clara, who turned 8 months today, MIGHT have the chicken pox!

Wednesday afternoon she started running a fever. It broke by the morning, with no other symptoms. Strange, I thought. No runny nose, cough, or ANYTHING. Then this morning, while she sat on my lap, I noticed red pimply looking bumps on her feet and hands. Aha. Symptoms!

At first I panicked, wondering what in the world she had gotten into. Was it an allergic reaction... did she get bit by some mysterious Croatian bug... does she have mumps or measles... or the plague... what ARE those things?

Then my husband says, "Chicken pox?" I dismissed that idea right away, "Surely not, she's just a baby, and we haven't heard anything about chicken pox going around!" But the more I looked at those little red dots, the more convinced I was that he was right. The one thing that doesn't make sense is the fact that she doesn't have any spots on her back or abdomen, which is where they supposedly should begin, according to all the baby books and info. on the web. So, I'm scratching my chin on that one.

Within the next day or two, if it is chicken pox, we'll see the pattern of clusters popping up, blistering, and scabbing. I pray that she'll only have a light case. I had the chicken pox when I was a senior in High School. All I can say is that it was truly terrible. I had those things everywhere on my body. It was an all-out miserable invasion.

Our boys have also had the chicken pox already. ~N~ came down with it while we were vacationing in San Antonio, Texas. I have a picture of him looking pretty droopy in the early stages, riding on Dad's back, as we trekked around the boardwalk. Not long after that, being the kind of brother who likes to share EVERYTHING, ~D~ got the pox.

It's gonna be awfully sad to see my precious baby covered with the itchy red dots, but at least its one childhood illness she can cross off her list.

(Excuse me, I have to scratch my arm... and my back... and my leg...ahh, that's better.)