Grace's Hives

When Grace got up this morning, it was obvious that the Benedryl and Zyrtec I had given her yesterday had not made a difference whatsoever. Her hives were much bigger, and there were a lot more of them, so I called and made an appointment for this morning at 11:00. The doctor said they were definitely hives, and we would probably not ever know what had caused them. She felt that Grace had probably had a virus a few days ago, because often hives like this come after a virus. She said they can come and go for up to 3 months! I hope that won't happen. To be honest, these hives remind me of Nathan's weird rash a few Christmases ago, for which we never could pinpoint a cause either. Maybe he'd had a virus before then. I don't really remember!

I actually pooh-poohed the idea of a virus to the doctor, but after we got home (at 1:45, having waited an hour at the pharmacy for more Zyrtec), Jonathan was EXTREMELY whiney. He about fell apart because he couldn't cut his sandwich in half. I was nursing, of course, but after I was done I felt him, and he seemed hot. It turns out his temperature was 102. So maybe there is a virus going around! It's always hard to tell by feeling if Grace has a fever--she just runs "hot", with her supermetabolism, so she always feels pretty warm. She certainly wasn't acting like she had a fever the past few days though!

Anyhow, it turns out that I wasn't giving her anough Benedryl or Zyrtec, so that's probably why it didn't seem to help. I'm supposed to give 1/2 tsp., so we gave that once we got home, and we'll see if these crazy things go away. At least they aren't bothering her.

Here is a picture of her once we got home. You can see how the hives have gotten bigger and bigger, although the picture really doesn't do them justice on her trunk! The hives are pretty much all over her body, even down to her fingers, which she can't really bend. Her face is a bit alarming to look at as well! She definitely looks like she has some dreaded, highly contagious skin disease!

So now she, Anna, Jonathan, and Faith are all down for naps. I think that's where I am headed. I was going to do a few other things with the boys this afternoon, but after a 3 1/2 hour jaunt to the doctor, I am tired. So much for that normal routine, huh?! No wonder I can never really get anything accomplished around here!