What A Difference A Day Makes

Friday I posted a small teaser on my Facebook page referencing the running of the bulls. That was my intended subject for Friday but, as usual, my monkeys had other plans. It was supposed to be a leisurely morning of getting my big boy off to school, then taking our time picking out cute outfits and getting ready for a twice yearly consignment sale that resembles the running of the bulls in Pamplona. But

If you remember, on Thursday my two littlest monkeys had their well visits, and both received sets of immunizations. My 2 year old recovered pretty quickly, being soothed by some snuggles, but complained immediately that his legs were hurting. Par for the course. That night he had an awful time getting to sleep, and woke up continuously through the night limping out to the big gorilla and I. Friday morning, his temp was normal but he was extremely sluggish, clingy, and willing to watch Elmo... this kid doesn't sit still for anything, not even Elmo's fuzzy cuteness. He started whining and grabbing his neck saying, "Ow, hurt" (it was heartbreakingly pitiful) so I started feeling around his neck. I felt several small pea-sized lumps on either side of his spine at the base of his head. Commence mommy freak out.

I immediately called the pediatrician, who promised to call me back in a few minutes. Commence idiotic googling. I know better, I really do. But I did it anyway. At first all I could find were references to dogs. Great, my primate has turned into a canine! No, but really, have you ever been scouring the internet for a particular subject and can't find anything? It's maddening! Then I started looking for lumps and spine together... I know, I know. Did I actually expect to find anything reassuring? Of course I didn 't. I reached out to some dear friends of mine at The Mamasphere who offered up their are and concern. When the pediatrician finally called back they pretty much told me to go straight to the ER, neck pain was nothing to mess with. I asked if it could just be a reaction to the shots, but with no clear answer and very clear instructions to head to the hospital that's where we went.

At this juncture let me say that I love my big manly protective gorilla. He is hardworking, handsome, and stupid good at math. Really, I'm jealous. But he does not have the type of job that he just leave at the drop of a hat. So, in this instance that means packing up all 3 monkeys and preparing to spend the next couple of hours with them in the ER. I packed diaper, and wipes, and granola bars, and squeezy applesauce (one of my favorite inventions EVER), juice, extra pacis, blankies, my phone, tablet, and chargers and off we went.

Amazingly as soon as I filled out the initial paperwork we were called back to triage. Little boy turned into the exorcist when the nurse tried putting the pulse-ox on his finger. We went back into a room and within minutes the nurse-practitioner came in to see us. She felt his neck and said, "Yep, it's just lymph nodes. After shots sometimes their lymph nodes swell as the immune system fights the shot and builds immunity." My immediate reaction was relief. But then, I'll be honest, I was a little irritated. Obviously, the most important thing was that my baby boy was ok, but then I couldn't help but be put out by the fact that the pediatricians office never said anything as simple as, "It could be an immune response to the shots, but go get him checked out to be safe." I still would have gone, but it would have toned down the amount of worry I had churning my stomach until the np talked to us.

3 bored monkeys, 2 hours, and 1 dose of Motrin later we were out of there. Just in time to go get the big monkey from school and hit up the consignment sale where I got babygirl a brand new pair of Pedipeds for $16! When you're a few hours late to the opening it doesn't resemble Pamplona in the least.