Just a quick note to happily report that Simon is on the mend. The whopping antibiotic shot he got Wednesday must have done a world of good, because between that and a constant regimen of Advil and Tylenol, we’ve been able to keep Simon comfortable most of the time, and he’s been fever free for a day and a half. Whew!
There have been at least two funny and/or beneficial side-effects of his rather prolonged illness. The first is that, since the antibiotic is killing bacteria everywhere in his system, I can now say with total honesty that my son’s poop doesn’t stink. No hubris here–just the facts.
We’ve also used Simon’s illness as an occasion to wean him off his pacifier, which had become a crutch ever since school began. The first night of his illness, he was so exhausted from fever that he fell asleep without wanting or needing a pacifier. He actually fell asleep in the immediate care center exam room he was so tired. The next two nights he was too conjested and in too much paint to use one. The couple of times I offered him one, he either wasn’t interested or just chewed on it.
I had hoped that after a week of being pacifier free or nearly pacifier free that weaning was pretty much over. But tonight, after a day when he felt like himself and got to go out to a park for the first time in eight days, he ran over to his crib and pulled down the bumpers, clearly looking for his old friend. We’re too far along to back down now, but it is taking him longer to fall asleep and I do hate hearing him cry when he’s cried so much this week.
As of now, it looks like we should have a fun Saturday, his party is on for Sunday, and on Monday he can go back to school. I know we’re all looking forward to getting back into our old routine, and I am looking forward to putting up the thermometer for a spell. I am, in fact, so eager to put this episode behind me that I wont’ even lament the return of smelly diapers.