Well, it finally happened!  I don’t know why I was looking forward to this but I was.  Last Wednesday, Valentina had her first official FEVER!

Tuesday was like any other day.  Normal. Happy. Healthy. Cold.  We had her in a fleece sleeper and and she was sleeping like an angel.  At about 1:15am (on Wednesday), I went to bed.  I had been battling a cold and cough for a few days.  As I was turning off my lamp, I started coughing.  It was dark and I was ready to lay my head on the pillow when a LOUD giggle scared me!  It seriously had me freaking out.  I turned the light back on and Valentina was sound asleep.  I had to cough again and she did it again… she was laughing in her sleep… laughing at my cough!  I grabbed my iPod and recorded her.  The last cough, she opened her eyes, looked right at me… and laughed.  Carlo and I were laughing with her and she started “talking”  I fed her for a while until she was done and we went back to sleep.

An hour later, she woke up again but quickly went to sleep without problems.  At about 3am, she woke up again.  Carlo touched her hand and said he was BOILING!  I touched her head and hands and immediately unbuttoned her pj’s.  Her legs were H.O.T!  I felt her back and stomach which were also hot.  I told Carlo I was going to wet a wash cloth.  As I got out of bed, she let out a scream….. She was officially not feeling well.  After a while, her legs and hands were getting cool but her head and body were still quite warm.  I took her temperature and it read 101.5.  I kept the washcloth on her head and occasionally wiped her neck and face.  She continued to wake up a few time… one of which was the result of a cough… that turned into VOMITING… on ME!!!  (as I turned her to pat her back, and I heard a gurgle. I picked her up and as soon as she was in my arms.. she threw up on me)

So of course, the rest of the day was more of the same. Crying. Sleeping. Cuddling.  Wednesday just so happened to be a Holiday here in Italy so the Doctor’s office was closed.  With no medicine in the house, I just did what I knew would help her most.  I changed her into light weight cotton clothes and continued with a cool wash cloth.  Knowing she would not eat anything, I breastfed her all day.  I wanted to give her a bath to help cool her down but unfortunately, she kept falling asleep.  Most of the day her fever was down but there were a few times that it went back up.  By night time, it was down to 99.6.  She slept all night and woke up on Thursday morning.. FEVER FREE and back to her usual self.

We had decided to not call the Doctor for several reasons:

1) Her fever was being controlled and was going down.

2) She was NOT dehydrated.  She had wet diapers all day and even 3 dirty diapers (that’s more than a regular day)

3) Even with a fever, she was still playing and acting somewhat normal.

On Thursday, we tried to call the Doctor but only got the Voicemail.  We figured she had taken the week off and since Valentin was feeling better, there was really no reason to call.  We just wanted to inform the Doctor of the situation and find out what medication we needed for the next time.

During this time, Valentina realized that Daddy was also good for cuddle/nap times.  She finally let Carlo rock her to sleep and now… she just wants him…. which is good for me because now I can get things done!

Like I mentioned earlier, I have been waiting for this day.  I think it’s because it would be something I KNOW I could do.  As I told Carlo, “This is the one time I don’t have to call a Doctor or consult a book.  I know what I need to do.  I didn’t spend all of that time going to school, working in Doctor’s offices & ER’s and not know what to do…. I’ve got this”

December 8, 2010- First Fever.  101.5 F