Allergic reaction

It turns out Nicholas is allergic to his antibiotic, or at least that is the doctor's over-the-phone diagnosis for the bright red cheeks and splotchy rash on his arms.

From 2011 March

The lighting was off so it is hard to see how bright red his cheeks really were. The same is true in this video, although you can get a glimpse. And it is entertaining on its own account--lots of "Itsy Bitsy Spider."

From 2011 March

He did this for about 15 minutes straight. Over and over and over again.

Anyway, back to the allergy. Nicholas woke up this morning with bright red cheeks. We assumed he was flushed and had a fever. And he was a little warm off and on during the morning, but no real fever. I put some antihistamine on his cheeks in case it was a topical reaction to something, we tried to think of anything odd he had eaten in the past 24 hours he could have been allergic too, and otherwise went about our business. For awhile mid-morning it had gone down to just a few red splotches and I had high hopes that we might be able to go for our scheduled pictures this afternoon.

Did I mention we were supposed to have pictures taken today? We have a large credit that has to be used by Thursday and were able to grab the last appointment for this weekend, at 3:10 this afternoon. I knew it would be potentially problematic, but I assumed it would be because Nicholas would decide not to nap until 2. But, no, he actually slept 12-2, perfect timing to leave at 2:30. But he woke up with even brighter cheeks. I gave him some Benadryl and we headed off, hoping that by the time we got there it would have miraculously solved the problem. No such luck.

When we got home we discovered that the rash had spread, called the doctor, and got the order to stop that antibiotic. Grand scheme of things, no big deal, but I just hope this doesn't screw up the latest effort to beat the ear infection that won't go away. And I hope they can manage to schedule his now-necessary Monday doctor's appointment for a time that doesn't require Joe or I to miss work. These appointments are getting out of control. Also, honestly, I'm annoyed that this thwarted our efforts to get a family picture. I've scheduled Nicholas for pictures on Thursday evening, literally in the last couple hours before the credit for free pictures expires, but Joe will be out of town at a conference, so it will be just the boy.

I really am grateful that Nicholas is so healthy overall, but our weeks are so carefully orchestrated that even these minor things somehow manage to gum up the works.