The Pox

I am a worrier by nature, and now that I have kids, I worry a lot about them being sick. I have become a germophob (if that's a word). I'm the mom you see wiping her kids hands with Clean and Go wipes after being in a store or touching anything lots of other people have touched, putting a coloring (germ-preventing) mat on the table in a restaurant and cringing when a stranger talks to or gasp, has the nerve to touch!, my sweet baby. I try to get over myself and "share" my kiddos with family and friends and let our little man have fun and get dirty but sometimes it is still a struggle for me. As many precautions as I take, my kids obviously still get sick.

I noticed a couple of red spots under our baby girl's chin and in the crease of her neck toward the middle of December. I tried not to worry too much about it and attributed it to excessive drooling. A day or two later our sweet babe's face, scalp and back were covered in red dots by the time I picked her up from my mom and step-dad's house. I fought back tears as I called the doctor to get her in to the after hours clinic, thinking it couldn't be the chicken pox because she hadn't been around anyone who had them that we knew of and I thought she was already vaccinated for them. I actually think this is the first time we have had to take her to the doctor other than well baby checks so we have been fortunate.

The doctor acted very surprised to see a baby with the chicken pox because most kids are vaccinated now, but sure enough that is what she had. I learned the vaccination is at a year old. She is a trooper and handled having them really well. She scratched her head at times and didn't sleep as well as normal but otherwise you couldn't even really tell she had them. On the bright side, that's one less vaccination she will be getting!