Chicken Pox!?! I don't have time for this!!

Nwlywed07

So I'm going to rant/vent/cry and whine for just a few minutes. LO was diagnosed with chicken pox this afternoon. All of our family is coming into town on Friday because we having a HUGE party for my MIL 50th birthday...like 60+ people type of party. Also next week we are suppose to be traveling to CA for a family vacation via airplane! I know that sounds very selfish of me to be upset that we will be missing out on all the fun but good gracious! Could this have happened at a worse time?! 

LO is doing okay so far...just covered in spots and not very hungry.  On the plus side he has been sleeping pretty well at night and not waking up to eat...now I know why. The doctor gave us a lot of good ideas on how to keep him comfortable but hopefully he will be able to kick it quickly and painlessly.

I feel horrible because I have NO IDEA how on earth he got it! I always wipe down the shopping carts with a sanitizing wipe (like scrub the surface and get weird looks with how thorough I am being). I also feel horrible because now I have to notify all of our friends and family that they have been exposed.

What a nightmare! Thanks in advance for any T & P that is sent our way. 

JamiesWife2010

Oh no! Sorry LO is sick, hopefully he stay comfortable. It always seems like they get sick at the worst times. Hope he gets better quick.

KBBH

I'm sorry you're going through this.  Well wishes to your LO...

Did you talk to your doc?  The "contagious" stage may be well over by Friday.  See what they say.  I remember when I had the chicken pox and it was only a few days that I felt crappy...the rest is just waiting for the scabbed over bumps to go away.

Good luck!

StefB28

Poor thing! There's nothing you could have done, though-- it's so contagious! I felt the same way when DS1 came down with Hand, Foot & Mouth last year. The good news is that I've heard that the earlier you get it, the less severe the outbreak is, so maybe it won't be too bad & maybe he won't get it again!

lkm2006

Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!

I'm glad he has been such a trooper and I hope that continues!

Snickerdoodle11611

Sending you hugs, thoughts and prayers!  At least you're getting it out of the way early...maybe the only bright spot.  I feel so bad for you and your little sweetie

Kaeldrasmommy

Poor thing! I sure hope he gets over it soon. 

jasnem

Poor sweet baby... and mama! Hope he recovers quick!

mbgreenwalt

Poor baby.  DD1 had it at 11 months.  She had 3 days where she broke out and then it took about 10 days for them to away (she broke out 2 days before her 1 year photos, these things do pick the worst times!).  She really wasn't bothered or itchy.  She had a mild fever and a decreased appetite for a day.  They say the younger they are the less extreme the symptoms, hopefully that is true for your LO.  If I recall it is contagious until the sores crust over.

knottie198f1ac43570b6c2

Oh no! Here is hoping for a quick recovery for baby.

smilelari

That really sucks.  I'm so sorry and you have my thoughts and prayers

Adanessa

Aww, poor guy I hope he gets better soon.

valerieanne9015

I'm so sorry!!  I hope LO gets over it soon, good luck keeping him comfortable!

Nwlywed07

Thanks for all the sweet well wishes. DS is doing okay today. Spots are becoming more defined. Hopefully they will start blistering over soon! Oatmeal baths and Tylenol to keep comfortable today.

sooner1981

Cmmo14:

I'm so sorry, it does seem as they always come down with something at exactly the right time. Our T&P are with you, and hopefully it will be over soon. The "good thing" is that at least you are getting it "out of the way" now. DH and I are thinking about TTC and my pedi insists that I expose LO to chicken pox and the like as it's really dangerous for him to get it while in the first trimester of pregnancy. 

 I hope you get to enjoy any of the activities already planned! GL 

 

What in the world?!  I cannot believe that your doctor actually told you to try to intentionally give your infant chicken pox "and the like" (whatever that means!) just to "get it over it!"  REALLY?!  How about plan to give your LO the varicella vaccine, and then he will never have to get chicken pox!  Wouldn't you feel bad if you intentionally exposed him to it, and then he was like my friend whose fever spiked so high with chicken pox as a baby that he was in the hospital for 2 weeks and he still has marks all over his skin from the pox?  Once you actually get chicken pox, then for the rest of your life, you have the risk of getting shingles, which is the same chicken pox virus that attacks your spinal nerves and the nerves in your eyes.  It can leave you blind or in such excruciating pain that you can barely walk, much less enjoy life.  I got chicken pox before the varicella vaccine had been invented, and then I got shingles in high school.  I couldn't go to school for almost 3 weeks and couldn't even put on a t-shirt because my skin/muscles/nerves felt like they were on fire all the way across my back/chest.  I luckily recovered almost all the way, but still have shooting pain across the nerves in my back occassionally.  My grandfather, on the other hand, got shingles as a 70-year-old, and he said that from that moment on, until the day that he died (10 years later!), he lived in constant pain from the shingles--and this was very recently--there are hardly any drugs that can combat that kind of nerve pain. 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't intentionally expose your child to chicken pox.  The vaccine is very effective, and the vaccine doesn't actually contain the virus itself, so if you have been vaccinated, you are also totally protected from ever getting shingles.  This is not something to joke around about--and again, if your pediatrician told you to intentionally expose your baby to chicken pox and other childhood illnesses, I would seriously look for another pedi!!!