SandiSplash

We have been lucky that Squeak is 14 months old and has never had a fever before. At this age, parents are seasoned pros at what to do when fever strikes. We weren’t prepared for what was about to come the weekend. If you’re a new parent, you probably want to read this post to learn from our journey.

It all began at the start of the long weekend. My boss left work early on Friday, so I left early too so that my baby’s nanny could leave early and we could all enjoy the long weekend a bit earlier. Squeak wasn’t his usual self that afternoon. He didn’t want to play and was a bit clingy. So, I held him while he clung to me like a little monkey. He fell asleep on my chest while I sat on the couch – no rocking, no boobing – none of the usual things he needs to be able to fall asleep. Strange. When he awoke, he felt hot to the touch.

1. Trust your instincts
You really don’t need a thermometer to know that your baby has a fever. You can gauge how bad his fever is based on how warm his head and body becomes. I consoled myself with the fact that our parents didn’t have thermometers or access to 24 hour emergency room visits and we all grew up just fine. I also realised that our parents never had to deal with swollen faces, hives and difficulty breathing from a nut allergy. The point is you know your baby best. You will know when to take him to the doctor and when cuddles is the cure. A doctor’s visit will never be a waste (apart from money). Even if there is nothing the doctor can do, it might just reassure you that everything you’re doing is right.

2. Use the cheap little underarm hospital thermometer
We invested in those expensive no touch thermometers that incorrectly sent us to the emergency room when Squeak was only 6 days old. We returned the defective unit and got another one which is really handy. You point it at a baby’s forehead and take his temperature without actually touching him. While it’s useful to not aggravate a cranky baby further, I realised those cheap underarm thermometers are what they use in the hospital and is much more accurate. When I was monitoring a 39.5 degree fever, that’s the thermometer I used.

3. Don’t fear the fever
A fever is a good thing. It means your little baby’s immune system has the ability to fight off an infection. The bad thing is that the baby has an infection that needs to be fought. I’ve read a lot about allowing the body to fight off the baddies but my itty bitty baby doesn’t deserve to be uncomfortable in the process. I found that giving him Panado really helped to bring his fever down for a while. I only medicated him as a last resort. I tried to gently bring his body temperature down by cooling him off first.

4. Skin to skin
I’ve seen the benefits of skin to skin from the time Squeak was born. He would calm down the moment I took off my shirt and held him to my chest. Now, with a raging fever, I took off our clothes, kept him in a nappy and held him against my skin gently rocking him. In no time, my body helped him regulate his body temperature and he fell asleep.

5. Agree on your cut-off point
A friend gave me this advice and it is the most important tip. My husband is more of a traditional parent and I am what he calls an organic free-range mother. He likes to consult with doctors and I prefer not to medicate my child if he doesn’t need it. We, therefore, needed to discuss at which point, we should head to the hospital and stick to it. We agreed that an uncontrollable fever of 39.5 would send us to the hospital. Luckily, we didn’t need to.

6. Stay hydrated
Squeak quickly lost his appetite but he kept sticking his arm down my shirt. I felt like I had a newborn again. I didn’t mind as I knew it was his only source of calories and it helped maintain his hydration levels. I’m sure I’m not supposed to be feeding my baby iced water but he seemed to enjoy it so I kept offering whenever I had some.

7. Maintain your sanity
I didn’t get much sleep and I also didn’t want to waste a long weekend. I decided we still needed to go out. We didn’t overdo it but we stuck to our plans so that we could maintain some sanity. It gave Squeak a difference in environment and us something to do other than care for a sick child. When Squeak needed his mommy, I popped him into my sling and wore him as I socialised with my friends.

8. Keep your routine
I’m notorious for throwing Squeak’s routine out of the window during the weekends but I maintained his evening routine. Bath, supper, bed. The poor kid has enough to keep him unhappy. I could at least let him know that there is still some normality in his life so he isn’t anxious about what comes next.

72 hours later, after Twitter consultations and constantly second-guessing ourselves, Squeak was back to his normal self. He ate a bowl of pasta, drunkenly ran around and the house was filled with his giggles again. Being responsible for a helpless child is scary and it might not seem like it at the time, but I know that all my baby really needs is me, lots of love and baby cuddles.

Do you have any tips to help with a fever? Share them in the comments below so I’m better prepared next time.