Hand, Foot, Mouth (Not to be Confused with Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes)

Yesterday, Bailey and I spent a whoooooole lot of time (like, HOURS and HOURS) like this...

While this may not look like anything abnormal, if you knew Bailey, you'd know this is craaaazy for her. Girl is ALWAYS on the go. She is simply NOT a cuddly baby. So, when she kept wanting to lay on me and fell asleep on me over and over and wouldn't let me put her down without crying the saddest cry, I knew something was up.

I gave her some Tylenol, as she was burning up and continued on. After several more hours trapped to a chair with a sleeping baby on my chest, I took her temp and it clocked in at 99.7. Not the highest, but she did have drugs already, so a little high. I assumed teething. Girl has been drool central lately, wasn't eating great, and had her hands in her mouth constantly.

She went down for the night pretty well last night, though then we had a 4am wake up, which is not like her. I nursed her and she went back down, so it wasn't too bad. Still, I thought teething.

Then, this morning when I went to get her, in the light of day, I saw this...

 

Red bumps all over her mouth. And a few on her feet and a couple scattered elsewhere on her body.

I knew immediately it was Hand, Foot, Mouth (HFM). According to the CDC:

"Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a contagious viral illness. It commonly affects infants and young children."

 

"Symptoms usually begin with a fever, reduced appetite, sore throat, and a feeling of being unwell. A day or two after the fever starts, painful sores can develop in the mouth. A skin rash with flat red spots may also develop on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. Sometimes a rash also occurs on the knees, elbows, and buttocks. This rash may blister but won't itch."

(source)

 

 

Fever? Check. Reduced appetite? Check. General feeding of unwell? Check. Skin rash with flat red spots? Check.

 

I knew right when I saw her that it was HFM. I worked at a daycare for a summer and kids there got it semi-frequently, so I've seen it before. Just to be sure, I did a google search and B met most the criteria and looked just like the pics. Awesooooome. I called her Doc just to be sure and they said it sounds just like it. Plus, the doc said it's going around like WILDFIRE right now. Greaaaat.

 

There's no treatment or drugs, as it's a viral illness. I can help her feel better with Tylenol, but that's it. Nothing a doc can do. It's just gotta run it's course. B's in better spirits today and has no temp, so that's great. You have to be fever free (w/o drugs) for 24-hours before you're not contagious anymore, so B and I are apartment-bound all day today. FUN.

What's one to do when stuck inside all day with a sick baby?

 

Clean ALL THE THINGS and make a big batch of homemade pasta sauce, obviously.

 

So, that's my life today. Fingers crossed the Hubs and I don't catch it because as crabby as B was, I feel like he or I would be a whooooole lot crabbier if we get it and adults most definitely can catch it. FINGERS CROSSED.

 

Hope your day's going better than ours! Happy Wednesday!!