Sweet Sick Baby

My 3-yr-old Nathaniel has been sick for the last week. It started with a cough and runny nose and ended with a trip to the ER. Two days ago, he started having a fever. At midnight, he wakes up screaming with a fever of 104.5. I throw him in a bath and give him tylenol and call my mother-in-law, who is a nurse. In an hour, his temperature is down and I put him in bed with me for the rest of the night. The next day, I called his doctor who recommended waiting to see if it would resolve itself. In the afternoon, Nathaniel took a 4-hour nap. That is a little bit long for him, but I figured he needed it to get well. Around 5 pm, after the doctors are gone for the day, I went to check on him. He was the color of a watermellon and felt like the sun had gotten into bed with him. I immediately put him back in the tub and gave him more tylenol. When I took his temperature, it read 107. I know what you are thinking, "107, really? Go check your thermometer." My thoughts exactly, so I tried to put an oral thermometer into his mouth. Good luck with a sick baby who does not want to be in the tub. After 30 minutes, the trusty thermometer still read 106.9. After 45 minutes, it read 104.5 so I rushed him to the hospital. I have never gotten through the ER line faster than with a baby with a fever of 107 degrees. The doctors took one look at him and perscribed antibiotics. His watermellon skin is actually scarlatina and the fever is caused by strep throat. They also doubt that he actually had such a high fever since he is conscious. On the way home, I picked up the medicine and a new thermometer. So far, the old thermometer and the new one agree exactly. Makes you wonder! My sweet baby has been cheery throughout the ordeal (except while in the bathtub). When I woke him up at 2 am to give him more tylenol, he said to me, "I love you Mommy, have a good sleep." This one moment eclipsed the memory of the sleepless nights, the terror of seeing the 107 reading, and the trip to the ER, and I went to bed with a smile on my face. Aren't kids great?