103.7 or so.

Wendell keeping "his" baby boy warm on the couch tonight. Spencer loved it so much and was so comforted by it, he let me leave the room more than once without crying hysterically.

Yesterday, Spencer woke up feeling warm, so I thought. I didn't think much of it, since he had a tooth pop through the night before. But, as the day went on, and he was tired and cranky, I was a little more concerned.

He went to spend a few hours with Tarah so I could have a break to get things done around the house easily, and have a little time for myself. He slept basically the entire time he was with her. When she brought him home, he was suddenly pretty cranky... and hot. I took his clothes off to give him a bath, but feeling how hot he was, I took his temp. It was 103.5. I decided immediately I would take him to acute care, since it was only 7:50 or so, and I knew if I didn't, I probably wouldn't sleep last night due to worry.

Ugh. Acute care. I generally have fairly good experiences there, but last night, I was a little more distraught.

The doctor there took his temp, which was quite high, and then scheduled him for lab work after checking his ears, throat, lungs, and pulse. The lab work went pretty smoothly, actually. Spencer whimpered a bit but didn't really cry.

As it would go, I got a text message saying I had an email from Sanford, and the lab results were available for me to read online 15 minutes before the doctor came in and told me that they were "normal" though on the higher end, and according to the blood smear, or whatever it was, they couldn't tell if it was viral or bacterial, so to alternate Tylenol and Motrin and bring him back in the morning.

Ugh. So I did. And of course, I slept like crud with worry.

I took him in this morning, and his fever was down quite a bit at the time due to some ibuprofen, but he was still warm. After talking with the doctor(s), they decided to test his blood and urine, and run a strep and RSV test.

Well, he SCREAMED when they took his blood today. Poor little guy. And then the urine... yeah, he didn't like that at all either, and wailed and screamed. Broke my heart.

And when it was all said and done, they decided he had "something viral, probably a stomach bug" that should pass in 5-7 days. They told me I should probably keep him home the rest of the day so as to not infect others since his fevers were still so high, and alternate the aforementioned medications, and bring him in or to the ER if it were to get worse instead of better.

*sigh*

So, I brought him home. He has been super cranky, and sleepy, of course. Much of the afternoon, it seemed like his fever was going down, but then tonight, two hours after giving him medication, it was back up over 100. And just an hour ago I took it and it was over 102 again. So, I gave him a cooler than normal bath, more Tylenol and put him to bed.

I feel so bad. I wish I could just make him feel better. He is so unhappy most of the time that he doesn't want to do anything but cling to me. He whimpers in his sleep. His cheeks are so super rosy. And his fever just doesn't seem to go away.

Though, I will admit, I feel almost most "motherly" when he's sick and needs me so much.

Shower (and other stuff)!

Spencer, as you may or may not be aware of, LOVES his bath time. He could be the fussiest baby I know (okay, that's a lie, he's never reached that point), and you draw him a bath and stick him in his tub, and he's full of joy and happiness. It's amazing how a bath relaxes this little guy.

We found out a few weeks ago that he also enjoys a shower, too. He had pooped a nice big one while Jake was holding him, so Jake showered with him. Now, granted, at first, he screamed and wailed, but we figure that was the shock of the water smacking him in the face, and not long after, he was happy.

Last week, I decided to shower with SJ. I hadn't yet, and I really wanted to see how he reacted.

He LOVED it.

I laughed so hard, he was in my arms, smiling and talking, and trying his hardest to lick the stream of water coming from the shower head. Needless to say, he totally reminded me of a puppy. He was happy as could be throughout the entire shower, too, and loved being wrapped in a big towel on the bathroom floor- hence the photo from my cell phone.

This past weekend, Spencer had his first outing to the Empire Mall! Grandma Mindy and Travis brought SJ a stroller a few weeks ago, and we decided that it was a good time to break that out and go shopping.

He looked so tiny in the stroller! The stroller is pretty big, and, well, he's not. He slept for quite a while in it, until he was hungry. Later, when we were walking through the mall, he was all wide-eyed and smiles at the various stores and people. SO cute.

When we were in JCPenny for what felt like 234.3428397 days, one of the sales representatives said how cute he was, how alert, and well behaved.

I can't wait until spring (or when it's not -16 like it is today), when I can take him on walks around outside, even with Wendell! I'm sure he'll quite enjoy those.

Speaking of Wendell... Spencer is starting to really take notice in him. The other day, he was lying on my lap, and Wendell beside me, and he snuggled right up against Wendell and was rubbing his head on Wendell's fur. He was smiling and talking and laughing. It was so dang cute!! Now, if only Wendell would refrain from peeing on Spencer's things. He's now peed on his bouncy chair, and his play mat!