Hello all,
It’s been an eventful last few weeks and Arjun getting chicken pox added to it! At 14 months old, I was pretty grateful when I realised what it was – I thought it would be a painful few days but I was glad to have them out the way while he’s little and won’t remember when older.
Here’s our chicken pox diary.
Day 1: Friday
As I was changing Arjun’s nappy, I noticed two “sores”. Something inside, call it a mothers instinct, told me to have a spot check around his body. He’s had a sore or two before at nursery but I’ve never felt the need to check the rest of his body. This time felt different. He seemed well in himself. I spotted two little pimples on his arms next to each other. I decided it was probably nothing and we both got ready and set off to start our day.
We had a fun filled day at my parents house and Arjun was in good spirits.
I popped out to see my Biji with my sister Goov and Preetam and left Arjun at my parents with my parents and Harv sleeping.
When I got back, Before I even picked him up, I knew something was wrong. He didn’t look himself and wasn’t excited by the sight of me or Preetam. I’ve never seen that before. When I felt his body, I panicked. He was really hot. He’d just woken up as we’d entered. I checked his temperature and it was 39.9. He’s never had a temperature that high before. I panicked a little. He was really quiet and not really responding to our usual antics.
I gave him some Calpol, waited for it to kick in and once I was satisfied that his temperature was dropping, we took him home.
Day 2: Saturday
Arjun woke up pretty grizzly on Saturday. Again he was really quiet and had a temperature but not as bad as the night before. He felt wet and clammy but he generally is a sweaty baby during the night.
We decided a change of scenery may do him some good so decided to spend the day at Preetam’s parents house as planned where we were also joined by Preetam’s sister and husband. I welcomed the extra company to keep Arjun occupied and hopefully lift his spirits.
He spent most of the day lying down or sitting quietly. He wasn’t himself at all and was really clingy. Usually he’s running around opening every cupboard in sight or attacking the fridge magnets! He wasn’t interested by his toys or the TV remotes.
It broke my heart to see him like this. He didn’t have much of an appetite at all. I’d forgotten about the idea of chicken pox by now as I’d assumed that he’d have had more by this time if it was that.
We decided to take him for a short walk and ended up at the park which was pretty empty. He usually loves the swings and slides but he didn’t want to be put down at all. He was super clingy and very tearful. So we decided to take him back.
Day 3: Sunday
By Sunday Arjun was in much better spirits and his temperature seemed to be a lot better. I noticed a few more pimple like spots on his arms but nothing major and not in the usual places chicken pox appear (tummy and face).
His Goov Masi came to visit and they did finger painting together which he found really fun. He laughed and giggled – my boy was back!
We popped to Preetam’s parents again that evening after a drive to Starbucks. Arjun was in much better spirits and was being his cheeky self. He even managed to eat a little – pizza! I’d have been really worried had he refused his favourite food.
I wasn’t sure if it was chicken pox or a viral infection that had passed but either way I thought it was better to be safe than sorry so decided I’d keep him at home the following day.
We stocked up on Calamine lotion just in case.
Day 4: Monday
Arjun woke up in good spirits and his temperature seemed to be completely fine. He managed to have a little breakfast. He played happily while I called his nursery. As soon as I mentioned that Arjun was unwell, they asked if he had chicken pox. Boom! My initial motherly instinct was right! Two other babies had been sent home that morning as they had chicken pox and so it was highly likely that’s what Arjun had.
I almost felt relieved knowing what it was. I was also really pleased that Arjun had got them so young.
I messaged my blogging buddy BattleMum on advice on chicken pox as her baby boy had them recently too. She recommended PoxClin Mousse so I sent Preetam a message to bring some home.
He seemed fine in himself so I continued working from home as he played. While I was on a work call, I noticed his arms had started to blister. I didn’t manage to get a clear picture but they quickly started to fill on his arms. He kept touching them – I wasn’t sure if it was because they were itchy or because he was just fascinated by them but it was pretty difficult to distract him! I managed to distract him for a while with play doh and a rolling pin … Till he decided to taste it!
At his grandparents house that evening, while he was rummaging through the cupboards and finding empty yogurt containers to sit on (his new “thing”), I noticed his eye seemed a little sore and gunky. I suspected conjunctivitis. Great, just what we needed!
Day 5: Tuesday
I called the doctors to ask about Arjun’s eye. They thought it would be a good idea for us to come in given he was already unwell. I decided to walk to the doctors with Arjun but ended up carrying him for a lot of the way! We were quarantined at the doctors as Arjun was contagious. The doctor confirmed it was conjunctivitis and to wash with warm water.
Arjun was hard work on Tuesday. He decided to bypass his morning nap (not entirely his fault given his doctors appointment coincided with nap time) and didn’t want to be apart from me. He was happy when I was close by or when he was in my arms. He actually managed to eat a bit more than he had done the last few days (that wasn’t hard as he was practically on a hunger strike), he really enjoyed the homemade vegetables pies I’d made him.
After lunch, it took me a while to put him down for a nap but he slept well. I managed to get a lot of my work done during his nap and was glad to have company in the afternoon. Our friends Karan and Pavan came to spend the afternoon with us to give Arjun some extra company.
When he woke up he was in a really good mood and was kept busy by Karan and the tabla and also had some time in the garden with Pavan playing on the slide and swing.
I decided to make paneer that evening as a pick me up – I really needed comfort food! You can find the recipe here.
I decided to go to work the following day as Arjun seemed better so Preetam took the day off to be at home with Arjun.
Day 6: Wednesday
I missed Arjun so much when at work. I don’t consider myself overly googoogaga when it comes to kids but seeing your child unwell is the worst feeling. I stress even if he has a sniffly nose! They enjoyed the day together and Arjun seemed back to his normal self bar the hunger strike. They say it’s normal for a child to lose their appetite during chicken pox as the insides can also be infected making it painful.
When I got home, I was embraced by my little terror. It was the best feeling ever. We spent the evening singing nursery rhymes and blowing bubbles.
Day 7: Thursday
Karan and Pavan suggested we spent the day at theirs knowing I was pretty drained from having days on end at home with Arjun. I thought the change in environment would also do him some good. He loves it at their house.
He had a great day playing at their house and we were later joined by his Goov Masi. He kept us entertained with his usual antics and by trying to lead the way with “row row row your boat” – he has the cutest scream at the end of the rhyme!
By this day Arjun’s face had pretty much cleared up. There were still a few spots on his legs and arms.
Day 8: Friday
During the night Arjun seemed to have developed a cough and times it felt like he was slightly struggling to breath. I struggled to fall asleep worrying about him and decided to turn to Dr Google instead – big mistake. It basically told me my baby could die in a few hours if he had a chicken pox on his lung. I panicked. I’m a hypochondriac at the worst of times when it comes to Arjun so that was the last thing I needed to read!
I made a doctors appointment first thing just to be safe though. The doctor confirmed his chest didn’t sound too bad and that he should be ok but to keep an eye.
We spent the rest of the day and night at Preetam’s parents where we were also joined by Preetam’s sister. Arjun was back to his normal self – a stark difference to how he was the week before there! He was up to his usual antics – he decided to show everyone how to ab roll – a little gym buff in the making, he spent hours taking his crayola pencils out of the box and putting them back in and he played with the fridge magnets – 90% which he’s already managed to break (the remaining 10% he hasn’t managed to get his hands on just yet), and he watched his Dadi Ji tutor her students.
His Dadi Ji also made him home made play doh which he had fun playing with. You can find the recipe for the play doh here.
I also baked him cinnamon and banana cookies while we were there and he absolutely loved them! You can find the recipe here.
We had lots of fun during our sleepover and Arjun sure did keep his Dada Ji and Dadi Ji busy!
In the end we didn’t use the Calamine lotion (but it will be coming in handy for holiday in case anyone gets heat rash!) or the PoxClin as Arjun didn’t suffer from any itchiness. He only had about 15 spots in general so I don’t know if this was just a mild dose and if so perhaps he may get it again but I’m hoping we’re done with it! I’ll be sure to take Arjun around any kids that have it to test out his immunity 🙂
Have your babies had chicken pox? What are your thoughts on the vaccination?x
