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Finally, Luke came down the stairs with Leif in his arms. Luke was frowning, and so my fears were justified.
“I think he’s hot,” Luke said and pressed his lips against Leif’s forehead. “You should get the thermometer.”
“Okay,” I said. “Does he have the sniffles?”
“He’s snorting a bit,” Luke replied. “He’s grousing a bit, too.”
“Okay.” I went to the main floor bathroom and retrieved the ear thermometer that we had in the drawer and sat beside Luke on the sofa. Leif was lying on his lap and so I turned on the thermometer and held it inside Leif’s ear until I heard the beep.
Sure enough, his temperature was raised.
“Yes,” I said and showed Luke. “It’s 100.5”
“What do we do?”
“We call the doctor and see what she says.”
I grabbed my cell and called Leif’s paediatrician, who we registered with even before Leif was born. I spoke with the receptionist and told her about Leif’s temperature and sniffles. “Can you get the doctor to call me? Let me know what we should do?”
“She’ll call you as soon as she has a break between patients.”
“Thanks,” I said and ended the call. I turned to Luke. “She’ll call during a break.”
“Okay,” Luke said. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Just a cold. Babies get fevers when they get a virus, so I’m sure if we give him some acetaminophen, he’ll be fine. Just like the baby book says.”
I nodded, but of course, I was nervous. This was our first sickness, and I wanted to handle it like a grown up, but inside I felt afraid.
Once that was done, Luke handed Leif to me and I gave him the breast, which he took happily, snuffling away while he drank with difficulty, but managing to get a decent feed in. Finally, the feeding over, and Leif on Luke’s shoulder for a burp, the doctor called, the number for the office showing up on my cell’s call display.
“Hello, Dr. Anderson? Thanks for calling.”
I told her about Leif’s temperature, and how he was stuffy and had some difficulty nursing, and she reassured us that it was common for babies to get a virus, probably brought into the house by an asymptomatic friend or family member.
“You need to keep him well hydrated and use the nasal syringe to remove any secretions regularly, so he can breathe more easily. Give him some acetaminophen as per the dosage on the package and watch him for the next couple of days. If he doesn’t improve, if he shows no interest in feeding, or if his fever doesn’t go away within say, forty-eight hours, call and make an appointment.”
“Thanks, Doctor Anderson,” I said. “We will.”
I ended the call and glanced at Luke, who was patting Leif’s back. “Well, we have a couple of days to wait and see how Leif does.”
“Okay. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Luke smiled at me encouragingly. Of course, I wasn’t as optimistic as he was. I always seemed to fear the worst.
Luke handed Leif back to me and I held him, looking up his tiny nostrils to see if they were plugged. “She said to give him acetaminophen and get the nasal syringe and clean out mucus. Can you get it for me?”
Luke went to the bathroom and retrieved the acetaminophen bottle and the red rubber bulb with the hole at the end.
“I saw it demonstrated on that baby care video,” Luke said and squeezed the bulb several times. “You insert the end into the nostril when it’s depressed just a bit and then let it inflate. It sucks the mucus out.”
I measured out the acetaminophen and gave it to Leif. He sucked away at the syringe, apparently enjoying the sweet taste. When that was done, I examined the red nasal bulb. “You want to do it?” I asked, making a face.
“Sure,” Luke said. He laid Leif on his lap with his head on Luke’s knees. Luke practiced it a couple of times and then nodded. “Okay. Here goes.” I watched, nervous, as Luke deflated the bulb a tiny bit and then inserted the very tip of the bulb into Leif’s left nostril. Leif squirmed and Luke was able to inflate the bulb, successfully removing some snot from it.
“Voila!” Luke held up the bulb and smiled at me. “Piece of cake.” He squeezed the mucus out onto a tissue and then did it again just to make sure he removed more of the material. He repeated this with the other nostril and soon, little Leif was breathing a bit easier.
“Success,” Luke said with a grin. “It’s not hard. You should try the next time. Just in case you need to do it, and I’m not here for some reason.”
“Okay,” I said and took in a deep breath. “I’ll do it the next time.”
We sat and watched Leif as he wiggled on Luke’s lap, smiling at the toy Luke held up in front of his face.
It would be a tense couple of days while we watched to see how Leif did with whatever virus was making him sick. Hopefully, it was just a cold and would pass in a few days. The most we would have to do was clean out his nose frequently, give him his regular dose of acetaminophen, and make sure his temperature was under control.
I laid my head on Luke’s shoulder and tried to enjoy our time together.
Within an hour, I took Leif’s temperature again and it was indeed down and was now only 99.4. Almost normal. Hopefully, that would be the most it would be if we kept the level of acetaminophen up in his blood and he would be better in a day or two.
Whatever the case, my idea of a nice walk along the beach in the afternoon was out. I didn’t want to make Leif either too hot or too cold, considering.
I was glad Luke was at home with me. I didn’t like the idea of being solely responsible for Leif while he was sick and once more, I realized how lucky I was to have Luke.
