Wesley has the Chickenpox!

Last night, we noticed some bumps on Wesley. Mike said he thought it might be Chickenpox but I thought, no way - he is too young. This morning, he had more bumps. Mike called the pediatrician and at first they did not want to see him. I insisted because I needed to know if we were about to endure chicken pox in triplicate.

They said they were willing to examine his bumps but because of the potential of being contagious, they did not want us to come into the office. I had to call from the PARKING LOT when I arrived with him. The nurse came out first and thought it looked like Chickenpox but had to get the doctor to confirm. He did in fact confirm that Wesley has Chickenpox!

This is the first case they have seen in a very long time. At 12 months, children are given the Chickenpox vaccine so it is rare these days to actually get Chickenpox. They also said it is VERY rare to get Chickenpox before they are 12 months old.

I had a talk with Wesley on the way home from the doctor that I appreciate his desire to be an over achiever and accomplish things early, but getting Chickenpox before the vaccine did not need to be on the list!!! Even though he is the only one of the three that has active blisters, we have purchased enough Aveeno Bath and Calamine lotion to survive triple Chickenpox.

The doc said it could take up to 14 days for it to fully run it's course and that it is contagious until the last blisters scabs over. With our first birthday less than a month away, I hope he has a light case and that it races through him. Also, if Andrew and Jared are going to get it, they get it quickly so we can experience this all at once and not spread out over the next month and a half.

If there is a silver lining to this and I am struggling to find one.... the boys that actually contract Chickenpox will not need the vaccine for Chickenpox at their 12 month visit. The other silver lining is that Wes is not old enough to ask why he had to be examined in the parking lot (what was that???).

So far, Wesley is not showing any signs of discomfort. We have also been given some medication that can possibly reduce the symptoms. Again, hopefully this will be a very minor case and maybe he will not share it with Andrew and Jared. We are not sure where we picked up this friendly illness but it is not really important because it is here now. We just need to buckle down and get through it.

Take care,