Warning: I'm showing pictures, here! If you're squeamish, beware. I didn't take any close-ups of breaking blisters or anything nasty like that, just trying to be sensitive to those with a weak stomach.
I'm not going to open up a debate about vaccinations, but I will begin by saying that none of our kids have had the chicken pox vaccine. And having gone through the chicken pox with all of my kids now, I'm thrilled with the decision not to vaccinate. The experience kept us home-bound for a while, but we all survived just fine. Each child had one really bad day, plus Kaylin had an extra thrown in there because she also had a stomach bug, so she was nauseous on the inside and miserable and the outside. Not a fun combo.
The day before the "day 1" photos below, I noticed a zit on Jason's neck. The next morning (Saturday), I noticed another above his lip. Then as I changed his diaper, I saw a few more near his waist. I'm not the sharpest crayon in the box, because I thought it was a reaction to our warm weather lately...heat rash. Mike was the one who said, "I wonder if it's chicken pox?" and I immediately knew he was right.
{day 10 - still splotchy, but happy once again}
I didn't see Ryan's first pox until this morning. Kaylin had a few pop up yesterday, similar to Jason's situation, but not Ryan. He walked into my bathroom, all ready for school, and after taking one look at him, I broke the news to him that he was probably not going to make it back to his 1st grade classroom. He was heartbroken.
Kaylin was miserable during this process, yet Ryan was exactly. the. same. I'm not sure if her case was more severe at this point or if she just doesn't tolerate pain as well...who knows. Also, she was recovering from her neck pain and was fighting a stomach virus. Regardless, I found their side-by-side cases to be fascinating to observe.
Day 2/3 for the big kids was miserable. The itching set in with full force, I was alternating between Tylenol, Calamine lotion, homeopathic drops and Benadryl before bed and naps. Not to mention giving everyone oatmeal baths and covering them with cool, wet towels and t-shirts. THAT actually helped their discomfort substantially...the cool compresses, that is.
My mom came over to relieve me during her lunch hour and I truly believe it's the only thing that kept me sane that day. The only way Ryan let me take pictures of him was because he wanted to see how bad his back was broken out.
Ryan's teacher suggested that I get him checked by the school nurse to see if he could come back for the end of the school party. Sure enough, his pox were healing so quickly that they cleared him to return for the full last three days of 1st grade! My kid was beaming. BEAMING.
All of the kids seem to have these lingering craters where the first pox appeared on their faces. And Jason is somehow right on track with the big kids, even though his first pox appeared a month ago. A FULL MONTH. When he's cold, the little faint spots become more pronounced and even blue-ish. When the kids are wet, you can see where all of their old pox are healing. But to the naked eye, strangers no longer gawk in fear while we're in public. So we're excited that this whole episode is past us, once and for all!
Oh, I should also mention that all three families who babysat my kids (hoping to infect their own children) showed signs of their first chicken pox exactly two weeks to the day that my kids were at their house. So for us, the two week exposure seemed to be the magic number for everyone.
 |
| May 22 - day 16 for Jason (he was still splotchy) and day 4 for the big kids. Everyone was happy and normal again! |
I'm not going to open up a debate about vaccinations, but I will begin by saying that none of our kids have had the chicken pox vaccine. And having gone through the chicken pox with all of my kids now, I'm thrilled with the decision not to vaccinate. The experience kept us home-bound for a while, but we all survived just fine. Each child had one really bad day, plus Kaylin had an extra thrown in there because she also had a stomach bug, so she was nauseous on the inside and miserable and the outside. Not a fun combo.
The day before the "day 1" photos below, I noticed a zit on Jason's neck. The next morning (Saturday), I noticed another above his lip. Then as I changed his diaper, I saw a few more near his waist. I'm not the sharpest crayon in the box, because I thought it was a reaction to our warm weather lately...heat rash. Mike was the one who said, "I wonder if it's chicken pox?" and I immediately knew he was right.
{day 1 - none the wiser}
{day 2 - still in good spirits}
{day 3 - itching and discomfort set in}
{day 4 - bipolar boy}
 |
| happy one minute... |
 |
| ...miserable the next. |
 |
| "WHAT is going ON with my body?!?!?" |
{day 7 - all scabbed over}
 |
| (this is one of the only times I caught him scratching...I don't think he ever figured out how to relieve the itchiness) |
 |
| (this is his look when I ask him to show me his teeth) |
{day 10 - still splotchy, but happy once again}
{day 11 - Kaylin's neck rebelled}
 |
| Kaylin woke up with a weird kink in her neck. The chiropractor suggested that her body was preparing for the pox. After her traumatic adjustment, I let her have an ice cream sundae at 9:30am |
{day 12 - Kaylin noticed a couple of pox}
 |
| To add insult to injury, Kaylin also developed a stomach bug on this day. She wouldn't eat and carried around a throw up bowl everywhere she went. We didn't notice the pox until bedtime. |
{day 13 - Kaylin and Ryan officially covered in pox}
I didn't see Ryan's first pox until this morning. Kaylin had a few pop up yesterday, similar to Jason's situation, but not Ryan. He walked into my bathroom, all ready for school, and after taking one look at him, I broke the news to him that he was probably not going to make it back to his 1st grade classroom. He was heartbroken.
Kaylin was miserable during this process, yet Ryan was exactly. the. same. I'm not sure if her case was more severe at this point or if she just doesn't tolerate pain as well...who knows. Also, she was recovering from her neck pain and was fighting a stomach virus. Regardless, I found their side-by-side cases to be fascinating to observe.
{Jason's day 14, the big kids' day 2-3 - the worst. day. ever.}
Day 2/3 for the big kids was miserable. The itching set in with full force, I was alternating between Tylenol, Calamine lotion, homeopathic drops and Benadryl before bed and naps. Not to mention giving everyone oatmeal baths and covering them with cool, wet towels and t-shirts. THAT actually helped their discomfort substantially...the cool compresses, that is.
My mom came over to relieve me during her lunch hour and I truly believe it's the only thing that kept me sane that day. The only way Ryan let me take pictures of him was because he wanted to see how bad his back was broken out.
{day 6 for the big kids - Ryan returned to school}
Ryan's teacher suggested that I get him checked by the school nurse to see if he could come back for the end of the school party. Sure enough, his pox were healing so quickly that they cleared him to return for the full last three days of 1st grade! My kid was beaming. BEAMING.
 |
| {Ryan's "end of 1st grade" luau} |
{day 14 - everyone has zit like craters a few healing pox left}
All of the kids seem to have these lingering craters where the first pox appeared on their faces. And Jason is somehow right on track with the big kids, even though his first pox appeared a month ago. A FULL MONTH. When he's cold, the little faint spots become more pronounced and even blue-ish. When the kids are wet, you can see where all of their old pox are healing. But to the naked eye, strangers no longer gawk in fear while we're in public. So we're excited that this whole episode is past us, once and for all!
 |
| Kaylin's first Marilyn Monroe chicken pock is now a crater on her face. |
Oh, I should also mention that all three families who babysat my kids (hoping to infect their own children) showed signs of their first chicken pox exactly two weeks to the day that my kids were at their house. So for us, the two week exposure seemed to be the magic number for everyone.
Posts
3 comments:
I remember so clearly the full neighborhood parties we seemed to have when people broke out with the chicken pox. "Back then" you didn't really need to be sequestered because you WANTED your kid to get them early. And then there's my sister who was exposed nearly 100 times and at 27 still hasn't gotten them....
My son had a reaction to the pox vaccination, which freaked me out since it took me three days to figure out what it was. And there was nothing I could do about it but wait it out and hope it didn't get worse; at least with the pox you can TRY and do something.
I don't know how much you know about Shingles (the adult version of the pox virus) but someday when you have free time (ha ha) read a little bit about it just so sometime in the future (I'm talking decades here) if one of the kids, or yourself or MIke, wonder about the itchy rash you form, you know it could be shingles. It is supposedly a "plus-60" virus and I was the lucky 32-year-old who got it, but kinda like you with the kids, it was the last thing I thought of and as I was on vacation I didn't do anything about it except try and put up with itching. At least with Shingles you can get meds!
So glad its over for you - now go enjoy the sun!
We keep up-to-date with the US schedule of vaccines here (have to go private to get HepB), but the pox vaccine was one we didn't want either. And since it's not available here anyway, it worked out all around! We were really happy Mr T got the pox when he did, and are even happier it's out of the house now so we didn't have to worry about Baby Sister getting it as a newborn. It might not be fun, but it's an experience all kids need to have.....and look at the great pictures and stories you get to reflect back on in the future! ;-)
Glad you all came through the other side intact and (at least relatively) sane. xoxooxoxo
Chicken Pox is really very painful situation. I myself suffered from this problem.
Smith Alan
Post a Comment