Yes, that's Christmas paper. Like she's going to notice!
I KNOW I’ve had a right faeces of a week. Monday was meant to be all about celebrating Baby Holly’s first birthday. That point where I softly kiss goodbye to our dependent li’l bub and embrace a fully fledged toddler who’s ready to begin along a new path in life.
Sweet music was meant to play, princesses were meant to dance around the room and there was supposed to be lots of cake. Cake with pink icing. And I planned to talk about this gorgeous pop-up version of Guess How Much I Love You?
*INSERT screeching noise from old record player… or car breaks (whatever takes your fancy)*
Instead, enter skin that looks like it’s baked in the sun for four hours, chins dribblier than a cow chewing its cud for the fourth time and 4am starts to the day. Yes, welcome to Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. And before you do the “shock-horror’’ face, it has nothing to do with cows (I don’t know how many times I’ve repeated those words this week). And don’t fret, I won’t gross you out with photos of the blisters. But here’s her hands holding her birthday bracelet instead.
Here’s what I know about Hand Foot and Mouth Disease:
- It’s a mild viral illness, which includes slight fever, loss of appetite (never in this house!) and blisters on the hands, feet and mouth.
- There’s a 3-5 day incubation period.
- It’s spread through contact with the fluid in the blisters (ewww) or their faeces (double ewww).
- The blisters are infectious for as long as there is fluid in them and the faeces remain infectious for several weeks.
- No treatment is required. You basically have to allow the blisters to dry naturally (easier said than done when fingers are in mouths to help ease teething pain).
- Princess Ella and I have become slightly obsessive about hand washing.
- Bonjela (or as we call it, Bon Jovi minus the big hair) goes a long way in easing the pain of the blisters and ulcers in their mouth. They can also get a sore mouth a few days before the ulcers appear.
- The blisters on their hands and feet don’t appear to bother them.
- Someone suggested icy poles are also a good remedy for little ones who refuse to eat or drink.
Top this all off with the fact the groceries I’d ordered from Woollies online arrived yesterday – full of use-by-as-soon-as-you-can items for Holly’s birthday party. The party which has been postponed a week. I know we’ll be eating well this week.
NB: This information was gained from a leaflet provided by childcare and tweets and Facebook messages from fellow mums. Please, consult a health professional for expert advice.
Linking up Shae from Yay for Home’s Things I Know.
Oh, Kellie…that sucks ! I hope Baby Holly gets over this soon and gets to enjoy her birthday party.
Foot and mouth was running rampant at our playgroup a couple of months ago. Thanks for sharing some information.
Hope things go back to normal soon x
Thanks Grace. I have to admit, I knew nothing about it before this week. I didn’t realise how common it was until after I Facebooked and tweeted about it! Fingers crossed she’s right for a party next weekend! x
Oh nuts! At least she has caught it at the right age to recover quickly – I somehow contracted it as an adult (after my doctor told me it was impossible but I had it anyway…) and looked like I had thrid degree burns head to toe. It took weeks to recover from the pain 🙁
Enjoy the party, when it finally arrives!
Oh, I didn’t know about that having it as an adult, Nathalie. Thanks for letting me know that. Sounds dreadful. I DEFIITELY don’t want to get it then. Thankfully she seems fine in herself. And, fingers crossed, Ella hasn’t contracted it yet. Although, she was complaining about a sore mouth yesterday. Don’t know if it’s in her mind or whether she really is on the verge of getting it. 🙁
Oh Kellie…can I tell you that I started reading this over brekkie and coffee and um, now Im not so hungry!
Im not good with nasties of any sort so I can only imagine the kind of week you have experienced.
Happy Friday?
Oh dear, Kirri, so sorry about that! Hmmm, maybe not the best brekkie reading. Or reading over any meal, really! Maybe I should be including a disclaimer at the start of the post! 😉
I know your pain Kel – Olive got school sores days before her party last year and we had to cancel it. (It was her 2nd attack) All that work down the drain! We rescheduled the party 2 weeks later and had a really relaxing day. Luckily other parents completely understand.
Oh, poor Olive. I’m glad Holly has no idea that it’s been postponed. If Ella isn’t right by the weekend, we may have to cancel. The Bloke in The Shed has now come down with a really mild case of it. Well, mild so far…. xx
Poor possum 🙁
Love the pop up version of that book!
It is fabulous, Shae. Well worth the money. The girls are loving it. And, I’ll admit, so am I! 😉
Poor Baby Holly & poor mummy. I hope she’s feeling better now & I also hope you rang Woolies & complained!!!
Holly’s on the mend now, Nee. Thankfully. However, Ella has contracted it and is suffering far worse than Holly did. Has been a tough week in our house! x
Awww poor baby!! Prayers for her to get well soon and enjoy her bday celebrations. xoxo
Thanks Ai. Hopefully we’ll be able to have her li’l party this weekend. Although, Ella is now sick, so fingers crossed she’s better by then. We’ve just had a big morning at the doctors with her, after refusing to eat. x
Poor baby! My nephew suffered horribly with HFM last year.
I hope Holly makes a speedy recovery in time for postponed birthday celebrations!
Thanks Jayne. She’s pretty much right now, which is good. But Ella has now come down with it. She has no blisters on her feet and hands, but awful ulcers through her mouth and especially the back of her throat. She’s not having a good time of it at all. I really hope she’s better before Saturday. x
Bugger!
Love that pop up Guess how much…
Oh, it’s fabulous, Sam. One of our favourite bedtime books at the moment. 🙂
oh the poor little princess (and you as well) I have heard so many cases of HFM lately. Hope it has passed now and you have a wonderful party when it is finally party time
Thanks Rhianna. Holly is all better now. She has a few little scars left, but that’s about it. Ella on the other hand has come down with it hard. She’s having a terrible time. The Bloke in The Shed also discovered a blister on his foot last night. I think we have a few more rough days ahead of us. We’ll get there though. xx
ahh no! Bubbaroo got this when he was about one and it was disgusting,.. I felt like such a bad mum, but apparently its common. so common that he got it from his cousin whos mum knew he had it and let him interact with my kids anyway grrrr. it was all blisters on his hands and feet and when it went all his toe and finger nails fell out.. eekk!! not nice hope she recovers soon 🙁
Oh my goodness. Really? Fingernails and toe nails? Eww… Fingers crossed we avoid that (pardon the pun)! Holly seems to be fine now, but we’re having a few issues now Ella has contracted it. She’s just refusing to eat, which is really worrying me. Lots of crying at night too. Hopefully it’s past us sooner than later! x
Oh no! I hope she recovers quickly. I suppose the one good thing (if there is one) is that she is too young to realise that her party has been postponed. I love that Guess How Much I Love You book. 🙂
So true, Nellbe. For that, I’m very grateful. Even if we have to cancel it this weekend (Ella now has it), at least it’s not going to be too disappointing for anyone. Well, apart from probably Ella. Holly, at least, won’t have any idea! 🙂
oh no! HFandM is a bugger of a thing… sooo contagious and so miserable when you get it. I know this because I’ve had it as an adult, and it sucked.
Oh dear, Kate. That’s not good. I keep hearing reports how it’s rare for adults to get it, but once they do it’s pretty bad. The Bloke in The Shed found a blister on his foot last night. Hopefully that’s all he gets. All I need is two sick girls AND a sick husband! 😉
Oh no,what a horrible thing to happen 🙁 At least try to enjoy the party food xx
Oh, I am, Jess!! Hehe!! 😉
oh, too bad…. the unexpectedness of life….
Yes, so true. We’re getting there though. x
🙁
When it rains, it pours! x
Shame chick 🙁 Sounds like a rough week BUT at least you will eat well – silver lining and all that stuff!
Oh, for sure, Laura. The food has been amazing. Even better, I’m the only one well enough to eat it all!! Hehe!! 🙂
Oh Kel! Know what you are going through, we had it here about 2 months ago…we didn’t have it to bad and the girls were okay, mainly high fevers but it is awful and spreads like wildfire through centres and even family day care and yes people look at you like you have the plague. Even the doctor made her sit on a separate set when we took her in and then they disinfected it when we left, poor thing she didn’t realise as she is to young but if she was older she would have got a complex from that!
Oh, how terrible, Kym. We went to the doctor this morning and he was lovely. Thank goodness. Ella is suffering pretty badly with it at the moment. Much worse than Holly did last week. x
[…] in other news, Princess Ella is now battling Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. The ulcers at the back of her throat are so big they look like stalagmites. Or is that […]