[MrsLMB]

So the doctor thinks she has mono. He is 98% sure that is what it is.

Her symptoms are a very sore throat, slight fever, body rash and congestion. The doc said that there are only a few things that can make a throat look as bad as hers. We did a strep test and it was negative, we also did a blood test (finger prick) for mono and it came back negative but he said that 90% of the time those tests are wrong because they aren't made for children. He said we could do a better test but it would require drawing blood from her arm and he didn't want to put her through that right now plus he was very confident that she had mono. Her fever seems to be under control, we haven't had anything over 100 in the last 24 hours. Her rash looks much worse this morning, Its red, bumpy and hot and its everywhere on her body. The doc says that it could become itchy and gave me some hydro cortisone cream for it. She went to bed last night at 5:30 and woke up at 7am this morning. He said that she will be very tired and sleep much more.

We discussed her lack of drinking and eating. She doesn't want to drink anything. I could barely get 2.5 ounces of pedialyte in her yesterday. The doc said he didn't care what she drank, as long as she drank. He said milk, gatorade, water popsicles, whatever she would take. He said right now that is the biggest concern. He doesn't care if she doesn't eat, she just needs to drink. She got some chocolate milk this morning and has almost drank all of it. She did seem to sleep better last night than the night before, no weezing and I couldn't actually hear her breathing on the monitor like I could thursday night.

I am just so sick with worry. She could be sick for a very long time. It sucks when you just want to make them better and you can't. To top it off she is totally refusing tylenol and advil this morning. She just spits it out. I wish I could get her to realize that it would help her if she just took it. I just hate this, I feel so helpless and out of control.

[survey77777]

I am so sorry to hear she is so fico...it is not fun.poor girl...poor mama.
G now screams when I bring the medication at him too. I have to force it on him unfortunately. If she needs it you can kind of squeeze he cheeks in when you give it which will force her to swallow. The major sore throat thing its not fun. The one thing that's helped us a little is doing the bathroom steam treatment before sleep so he can breathe through his nose and protect his throat a little. I hope that is not the right diagnosis and she is better quickly.

[-erin-]

Poor baby I got mono in college and it was pretty miserable. Mine was confirmed with the blood test, and after that the dr said, well we can't do anything, relax and you'll get better soon. Thanks doc. A week or so later I ended up with a really bad tonsil infection that was related to having mono, so keep an eye on that. (I had a periotonsilar abscess?). I hope she feels better soon!

[lunarmagic]

Oh goodness. Poor baby. I'm sorry she's so sick. I'm glad she's at least drinking the chocolate milk. keep us updated.

[Brookem]

I'm sorry, LeAnn. This sucks!!

I got mono when I was ~19. It's rough, but it's mostly a lathargic state that is uncomfortable, not painful (if that makes you feel any better). Like an extreme fatigue.

Mononucleosis | BabyCenter

A babycenter exerpt:

"The "advantage" to getting mono at a young age is that the younger the child, the less severe the symptoms are likely to be. In fact, infants and young children who are infected usually have mild symptoms — or no symptoms at all."

[sodagirl]

((((hugs)))) I'm sorry! I wish I could help!

[MrsLMB]

Today has been rough but not terrible. She has had a fever of 100-101 but after I finally got her to take advil it went down. Her rash is looking pretty nasty, especially on her legs and face. She has slept a lot today. She slept 14 hours last night and took a 2 hour nap this afternoon and went to bed at 5pm tonight after her bath. I have never seen a kid want to sleep as much as she does right now. She has been drinking more. Probably about 15oz of gatorade and some milk. She has been eating applesauce and I gave her some chocolate cookie just for comfort :-) She peed on the floor before taking a bath and I noticed that it wasn't dark or even very yellow so that makes me feel much better.

[Brookem]

15 oz. + milk sounds great!

I have never monitored Violet's intake but I would guess that's pretty close to what she drinks when she is feeling fine. Happy to hear it

[sarahp]

I'm sorry she's not feeling well Poor little thing. It's so hard feeling so helpless *hugs*

I'm glad she is sleeping it off though - it'd be horrible if she was exhausted and NOT able to sleep! I had it when I was maybe 10 or so, and still remember how yucko I felt. You're doing a great job!

[momoftwins]

Ugh....poor baby girl. It's miserable, so I totally feel for her and for you!! I'm sure you are worried sick and I don't blame you. It's awful to see your kid that sick and miserable. The worst.

I got it when I was 17 and I just remember the fatigue was just unreal. I have RA and I'm constantly fatigued, but that has never come anywhere NEAR the fatigue that I had from the mono. I vividly remember laying on the couch and not even having enough energy to lift my head up off the pillow, literally. Making it up the stairs to go to bed at night was impossible and my dad had to carry me. So I get why poor Claire is so exhausted!

I'm glad she's at least getting SOME fluids. Mason was hospitalized back in February for severe dehydration and it was amazing how quickly he went from sick to severely sick in a matter of less than a day. It happens so fast with little ones. Our ped told us the same thing as far as the fluid intake....doesn't matter what the fluid is, just find SOMETHING that they'll take. Mason refused the Tylenol too during that whole thing and I ended up having to lay him across my lap with his head kind of hanging upside down and giving it to him that way. He had a much harder time spitting it back out like that. Sounds kind of awful to do that, but you do what you gotta do!

I really hope she can kick this quickly. Hopefully everything is right in saying that it's easier on little kids. Hugs to sweet Claire!!! And you too!

[Will's Mommy]

Poor little girl...and mama . I would be a nervous wreck too. I think I mentioned this to someone else recently, but if you can't get them to take Tylenol, keep some suppositories on hand. You can get them behind the counter at the pharmacy. Brand name is usually Fever-All 120 mg. This is the only way I can get meds in Will. Good luck!

[MrsLMB]

Update for today:

She woke up much better, slept about 14 hours again. She had a 100.3 temp when she got up but had a sopping wet diaper! Yay! She had some gatorade and some cookie after she got up. You can tell that every swallow is painful. She took her motrin like a champ though, we just have to do it really slow. So far today she has drank 2 sippy cups of gatorade and one of chocolate milk. (she never gets choc milk so she is loving it...we bought some fresh local milk and it tastes so good!) She had a whole bunch of berry applesauce and some of my pasta for lunch. She is much less whiny today and is playing by herself. She took a 3 hour nap and woke up pretty well, still crying and screaming but not as bad as it had been.

The doctor prescribed her atarax but I havent given any to her and I dont think i will. It says its for pain but from what I have read it is also given for anxiety as well as allergies. I dont know, i just dont think she needs it. She seems to be doing fine without it.

[sodagirl]

I"m so glad she's doing better. Lots of love to the two of you!

[momoftwins]

Oh good. I'm glad she's starting to perk up a bit!

[misscari]

aww poor sweetie I'm glad she's feeling a little better, hope it keeps improving quickly!

[lunarmagic]

Oh I'm so glad she's drinking a bit! Yay! Hopefully it just keeps getting a little better each day.

[MrsLMB]

Today is unbelievable. She is still pretty sleepy but she acts almost like her regular self. She has a huge appetite and is breathing out her nose and her breath smells like normal again. Hopefully we are on our way to recovery!

[speechteach42]

Poor baby and poor momma! I'm glad to hear she's on her way to recovery.

[MrsLMB]

She is just cranky as hell!

ETA: I spoke a bit too soon. Her fever came back and she is moping around again. She hasn't napped well though. She can at least still breathe ok.

[PurpleStar]

Oh wow...so sorry to hear Claire is going through this...I hate that powerless feeling, like we can't wave a magic wand and make it all better. I hope she's on a steady road to recovery...sending you both positive juju that her good health comes back soon!