All checked out

Today has been a day of hanging around medical facilities.

First stop – Bubby D’s 6-8 week check. She happily follows around the little red pompom on a string with her eyes, and the doctor declares her fit and healthy, developmentally speaking.

I am not so convinced on the fit and healthy wellness front though, as she seems to have a bit of a temperature. I asked the Doctor to check and he confirms that her temperature is a little high, at 37.8. ‘Come in again if it goes above 38’ he says.

So its off to the chemist to get a thermometer (I’ve got one somewhere at home but it’d be a miracle if I could actually locate it) so it seems easier just to get a new one. And I’m amazed by the range of thermometers available! My old thermometer is a basic under the arm sort, which takes quite a time to get a reading and is often difficult to use with a squirming baby who doesn’t want it held under the arm at all. The thermometers on offer, however, use a variety of temperature taking techniques, and promise results in seconds, rather than minutes.
We settle on the Braun Thermoscan Ear Thermometer, and using it is like a dream compared to the time consuming and difficult previous method. It records up to 8 previous readings, so you can compare fluctuations over time, and it works within a second, after placing it quickly in the ear of your little one. It flashes and beeps to confirm you have put it in the correct position for an accurate temperature, and makes the whole process a lot easier! Powered by 2 AA batteries, it means even if they do run out I can quickly and easily replace them with the rechargeable ones I have in the house, rather than having to shop around for those tiny round batteries that I never seem to have spares of. Definitely worth using when you have an ill and fractious child.

Later that afternoon, and I’m sitting around in the antenatal unit waiting for a postnatal check for myself (I have to see the Consultant due to my medical condition – Hypermobility Syndrome – and the SPD I had in pregnancy). True to form, we are left in the waiting room for 2 hours as Bubby D’s temperature gets hotter and hotter. Luckily I have the thermometer with me, and checking her again it appears her temperature has risen to 38.7. Deciding I may have to abandon my own postnatal check, I telephone the Doctor. Of course, that’s when I get called in to the Consultant. Massive confusion ensues as I try and speak to the Doctor whilst being placed on hold and passed around several times, as well as discussing my own health with the Consultant – made harder by the fact that Bubby D is not happy at all

Finally, we have a verdict – physiotherapy referral for me, and calpol and monitoring for Bubby D.

A car trip home (during which Bubby D screeches like a banshee the entire way which makes me feel terrible – I hate that I cant hold her while I drive when she is upset like that) and a dose of calpol later, and Bubby D and I are both much happier. Now just getting the Wee Man to bed to deal with!