Noah's Not-So-Little RASH...

And these little photos are not at the PEAK of the outbreak.... So sad!!

The Story:
Yesterday, Noah took an abnormally long nap. I chalked it up to the cold he had been fighting, and the fact that perhaps his body was trying hard to heal a bit. When he finally woke, three hours later, I fed him some lunch-- a blend of mashed potatoes, corn, and veggies and rice. All stuff he's had before. I then took him to change his diaper and dress him for the day when I noticed two or three small, whiteish bumps below his belly button. They looked like.... bug bites? Chicken pox? I didn't know.... But upon closer observation, I noticed another dot, then another, then another... one on his upper arm... one on his chest... one on his forehead...

But these "bites" were few and far between, and I tried to not freak out as I got him dressed. In the five minutes it took me to get clothes on him, his 10 or so red dots became a hundred. Then two hundred. He began itching his ear, which had become very red and swollen. I was, of course, beginning to freak out, so I called the doctor's exchange line, where they put me in queue to have a nurse call me. Joe took Noah's clothes back off, and his back was covered in patchy welts. One welt, on the inside of his elbow, was particularly huge and blister-looking. His forehead was covered. We kept checking to see if his lips were swollen, and listened to his breathing. Our number one concern was, of course, an anaphlactic reaction to something, where he could stop breathing altogether. I frantically surfed the web, called a mommy friend of mine, and waited uncomfortably for the nurse to call back. Finally, just as I was beginning to bawl and think about throwing him in the car, the nurse called.

We talked through the whole thing, discussing every minute detail. She quickly ruled that he was not in immediate danger. That calmed me enough to talk about the possible causes. We ruled out food allergy-- all the food he had just eaten was familiar to him. We ruled out Roseola, since he hadn't run a high fever prior to the rash. She determined it was most likely a symptom of the viral infection (i.e. cold) he was already having. She said it was very common, and she gave me some pointers for making Noah comfortable while we rode this out. Benedryl, cool baths with oatmeal, etc., etc... By the time I got off the phone with her, Joe already had Noah in the bathtub, and we both just sat and stared at his terribly red, blotchy body as he happily splashed in the water.

(This video, taken about an hour and a half after the breakout, shows Noah with my sister-in-law, Mary, and Max the dog. Noah is in good spirits, showing off his dog sounds, and is as cute as ever, but if you look closely, you can see the rash all over his back, his face, EVERYWHERE. So sad!)



At the peak of his rash, it was pretty awful to look at. The photos above were taken about five hours later, and it had concentrated on his face and legs the most at that point, with the tips of his ears really red and swollen, too. We put him to bed last night with no problems, and when I went in to check on him at 1 am with a little flashlight, there was no sign of the hives anywhere on his face. By this morning, all traces were gone.

Today, besides sleeping in, then being a pill about his naptimes, he has been charming.

(another video, this one with Mary playing with Noah and Max the poodle... Watch Noah sort the shapes into the toy. SO smart! And of course, a baby laughing is one of the best sounds in the world! Thanks, Mary, for these great videos!!!)



And that is the tale of Noah's first real rash. Scary for me, itchy for him, but with a happy ending and fingers crossed that this won't repeat anytime soon. I'm just not sure I could handle it.