The Call

I knew it would happen sooner or later, it was just a matter of time... One day, I would get "the call" from the daycare sitter that my son was sick or injured, and that I needed to come ASAP. The call came on Monday this week. Fortunately, I work from home on Mondays, so I was close by and able to get there quickly.

We still aren't 100% sure what happened or why. Ms. G (our sitter who runs the in-home daycare that Nathan goes to 1-2 days per week) called me Monday afternoon around 4:30 to say that Nathan was possibly having some kind of allergic reaction. She'd just gotten him up from his afternoon nap, and his face was red, covered in blotches, and starting to swell on one side. She said none of that had been present when he went down for his nap.

I was already wrapping up my work day and planning to head over to pick him up at 5:00, so I told her I would be right there. The fire department is literally down the street from Ms. G's house (both our husbands are volunteers on it) so I knew she would call them if things suddenly got worse before I arrived. In the meantime, I called over to a doctor's office that I'd seen by the grocery store. Nathan's pediatrician is in the city (where I work), so given the time of day and rush hour traffic, I knew going to see him wasn't an option. The doctor's office (a Family Medicine practice) was open late and said I could bring him in as soon as I wanted. I told them I would be there by 5:15. I figured, worst case scenario, there was an urgent care across from the doctor's office if it looked like we were in need of emergency care.

By the time I got to Ms. G's house, it seemed like the reaction was starting to recede. His face was no longer red, but there was still some obvious swelling (mostly around his lower eyelids) and the blotches were still present on his cheeks, forehead, and nose. He was also acting like he didn't feel well. He's usually a pretty active kid (especially after a nap), but he just laid his head on my shoulder and clung to me. It was so sad! I quickly reviewed the day with Ms. G to see if there was anything new that might have contributed to the reaction. I prepare and send all his food, but she does sometimes give him a little of whatever else the other kids are having (if appropriate for his age) to keep him entertained during snack times. None of the food I had sent was new or different from what he's eaten in the past, and Ms. G had only given him a few Cheerios that day (which he's had several times before). She couldn't think of anything else new or different, and said he's been fine/normal the rest of the day.

We got to the doctor's office and he sort of perked up a bit. He's a big flirt, actually, so as soon as he saw people he didn't know, he started smiling and laughing. I was pretty certain, by this point, that we weren't facing any sort of anaphylactic situation, but I still wanted him checked out. When you're dealing with a baby, it never hurts to be cautious right? Nathan was a champ for the exam, especially considering that it was past his dinner time. By the time we saw the doctor, the swelling had gone down and he was acting much more normal, although the blotches were still there. The doctor examined them closely and said they were burst capillaries (as opposed to hives or welts), and thought it was likely some kind of allergic reaction. Since nothing he ate was new or different, it's hard to say what caused it. It could even be related to the sheet in the crib/pack 'n play at daycare, or the detergent Ms. G uses (although I didn't know off-hand if any of that had changed recently - he's been going there for several months now).

Bottom line - we don't have a definitive answer as to what caused the reaction. This is frustrating because it's hard to predict if it will happen again. However, it was good to see that it did not become severe and started to resolve without intervention. The doctor opted to observe rather than have us administer benadryl or anything like that, which I was fine with. And Nathan has been fine ever since. The blotches were gone by the next morning, and he is back to his usual self. He was home with Paul yesterday, but back at daycare again today. Fingers crossed we don't get another call!

I was also relieved to note that I stayed calm and collected through it all. It was a little stressful, and I did tell Paul I wouldn't object if he were to take emergency family leave and come home from work that evening (which he did). But overall, I did not lose it or panic or go into meltdown mode. I guess this is a good thing because I'm sure this won't be the last time it happens!