Birthday Fun and Birthday Drama!

So Saturday (the 26th) Brooke had her first birthday party! She had grandparents and aunts and uncles who traveled long distances to be there for her party and we were so happy everyone was able to come! We had pineapple kabobs and fresh fruit smoothies, which were delicious, and Brooke had her very own two layer chocolate cake that I made her to destroy. She was not sure what to think of the cake at first, but it eventually made it all over her face. I actually don't think she ate much of it at all. The sad thing was that she had chocolate all over her hands and got tired and started rubbing it in her eyes. Unfortunately, I was so caught up in the day that the only thing we got pictures of was the cake! She got very tired (she didn't take her nap that afternoon!) and had to lay down before the party was even over and before she even opened presents! Since it was just family everyone waited for an hour or so when she woke up and opened her presents. She got the dang cutest vans, clothes, a wagon to ride in, a forward facing car seat, toys, and and push toy that is supposed to help her learn to walk.

So now for the birthday drama: when she woke up from her nap and was opening presents I noticed that she felt really hot. Her temperature was hovering around 103, which is the highest it had been. We gave her Tylenol, a bath, and a cool walk outside, but nothing was really helping to get it down. By 10:30 that night it was getting higher and we couldn't keep it down. I was worried about convulsions and because she just wasn't quite herself so we took her to the ER. Luckily for us we got there the same time life flight arrived with a trauma victim. Needless to say, we weren't seen. We were able to get her temperature down which is all that I wanted and I was sure it was a virus so we left. By the morning it was up over 103 again and I just couldn't get it down again, even though we were giving her Tylenol and Motrin around the clock! We had to take her to the urgent care because it was Sunday and when they took her temperature it was 105! It was a terrifying thing as a mother to know that it was so out of control and that nothing I was doing was helping. I was terrified that she would have a seizure or that she would have lasting problems from a very high fever (that ended up lasting for 4 days straight). After cold washcloths for an hour and more medication, we got the fever down to 103.9...and they sent us home telling us it was an ear infection. I didn't believe it because other than the fever she had no symptoms and the doctor said "her ear is maybe starting to look red"-- but we searched all night to find a 24 hour pharmacy to get her antibiotics because I was hoping something would work. Two days later she was still around 103 and we wanted to follow up because nothing was working! We took her to the pediatrician (it's funny how pediatricians are really the only ones who know what is going on with your kids) and he said that it was not an ear infection but that it was roseola...a viral infection caused by a herpes virus that causes high fever and a rash. But she didn't have a rash. He told me "I guarantee you that she will break out in a rash today or tomorrow when her fever breaks"...sure enough, that is exactly what happened. He did put a straight catheter in her tiny little bladder to get a urine sample to make sure that it wasn't a bladder infection...but that made her very mad, and he wasn't even able to get anything. She screamed and grabbed herself every time she peed for the next 24 hours. I felt so bad for her. Once the fever broke, she was feeling back to her old self and is finally better! I am just so glad that it's over because it was getting scary!