Chicken Pox, ahhh!!!

Ah-hem. An interupption in the flow of merry Christmas posts, for a little explanation of the other side show going on since Christmas Eve, before I'm posting pictures of cute-but-speckled babies here....

Christmas morning, right after opening presents with my family and volunteer Elizabeth, and fielding a call from Italy (yes, from my Juanito, what a huge gift!!!), a caregiver from the Baby Home called my cell phone. The night before I had silently suspected chicken pox on our newest little boy, but was ignoring it and pretending it would go away and that I was guessing totally wrong. Still, I planned to call the Baby Home around noon and find out if he had more spots and where. Well, he did. So they called me first. We've never had chicken pox in the Baby Home, and on Christmas week?! Sigh. With babies already down with coughs and colds and right in the thick of staff vacations, of course. (December--February are always our rockiest months medically at the Baby Home, to the point of hospitalizations every year.)

But this will extend far beyond Christmas season, if Hogar II is any lesson. Last year it was a good full two months of spots and sick kids (it lowers your immunities) before it passed through the 15. All that time I wouldn't let the kids be in contact between homes, precisely for A. M.'s safety (and other weak babies).

Picture titled "epidemic" from Hogar II, October 2007

Our first concern was getting our A. M. any special care she would need and then separated out. The first was more complicated since her doctor is on vacation and traveling, and the best ER in town wouldn't answer their phone...or anyone else in that hospital either. Finally I reached the pediatrician (he called me back when he initially missed my call, God bless him!) and he orientated me on what to do for Ana to prevent complications with her. Obviously we were upset that she was even exposed, and of course she's already become a main friend of the new one, but another pediatrician has since told me it's better she just get it now rather than when she's potentially more immune comprimised later.

Amazingly I was easily able to find the med on Christmas Day.

The next task: a safe healthy place for A. M. It was out of the question in our already-crowded home to expect a healthy, overactive, highly sociable two year old to stay put in one room for weeks or months. We put our heads together and decided to call in the cook/housekeeper (aka, thinks she's A. M.'s mom) currently on vacation, to care for her until she's back (Jan. 8) and then we'll go from there. She was thrilled and very excitedly accepted, God bless her!!

So far, New Kid B is super spotty and itchy but no one else. I figure now's as good a time as any, since we do not have any small preemies or even newborns in the home. We hope delicate Twin G (girl) weathers it okay if she gets it. Otherwise, it would be nice if they looked okay by the time the professional photographer is here in a few weeks. And of course we have several babies/toddlers who should be leaving fairly soon (2 or 3 adoptions + 1 back to his dad). We'll be doing our share to pass this through the city..... {grin}