(104F for our far away friends)

No, we haven’t suddenly upped and gone holidaying somewhere tropical (or the desert!), that’s what Bubba’s temperature was at 4am. In fact, it was 40.2 when taken in her right ear, 39.9 in her left – so 40ish.

Hot in other words. Too hot.

Particularly as in the preceding 24 hours (despite being tempted with every conceivable food and drink/ice block combination available) she’d only eaten half a pureed pear, about one-third of a cup of risotto, and managed only 120ml (4oz) of milk and not a drop of water.

None of which she kept in.

Willing her to drink, begging her, tricking her (syringe of water or hydrolite perhaps?), holding her down and feeling revolting about it trying to force it into her – nothing worked.

And while I know none of this sickness has anything to do with me weaning her last week, the timing sure is coincidental. Way to make a mumma feel even worse!

So there we were, 4am – bleary eyed and desperate for something to change. I’d tried waking her at 11pm and 2am to get her to drink. No dice.

When I took her temperature at 4 and it was so high I just deflated, held my bubba and cried. You need to drink my Love Bug I wept into her hair, medicine to help you get better and something to rehydrate you. Will you pleeeeeeeeease drink some water?

Apparently, mumma crying was the magic. Bubba looked up at me through heavy lids and slowly nodded her head yes.

She took the ibuprofen without a struggle, then she drank a whole sippy cup of water. I cuddled her for a little while to make sure she kept it in. She fell asleep in my arms.

I checked her temperature at 6 then again at 8am. It was at the high end of normal range – but hasn’t been in normal range for 60+ hours. Yippee!

She’s still coughing, has a runny nose and – as an added bonus – seems to have top eye tooth sprouting this morning. But it feels like she’s turned the corner.

As for mumma, I’m going to ignore the ache in my ears, my sore throat and my slight temperature. I’m sure it’s just exhaustion. Or maybe that’s what happens to people when they get really old?

I feel like I’m about 84 years old today.