Dear Nathan,
You are now 7 months old.
You got mommy and daddy really worried when you contracted HFMD. After your jabs, you developed a fever, which was pretty usual. The fever was gone after a couple of doses of paracetamol, so we didn’t think much of it. Mommy’s friend, whose son just started attending the same infant care centre as you called mommy when I was at work. She said that her son has contracted HFMD and asked that we consider not sending you to school. However, I’ve already sent you to school that day. Coincidentally, the day before the phone call was centre closure day. So when mommy called the school, I was informed that they’ve just done a thorough cleaning during closure day, and that they’d continue to monitor the situation and do another round of cleaning. I didn’t see any point in bringing you home, since we were already halfway thru the day, and you were still behaving as usual.
When I picked you up on Friday, I noticed a small red bump on your thigh, which looked like a mosquito bite. Didn’t think much of it. The weekend went by as usual, and you had no symptoms.
On Monday, teacher Noi called about half an hour after I dropped you off at school. She noticed the same red bump on your thigh, and insisted that we brought you to the doctor. Mommy took you to see uncle EK, who said it looks like an insect bite. Besides, you had no fever, no ulcers, and no other spots. He wrote a ‘fit for school’ letter, and I took you back to school.
On Tuesday, it was business as usual. I sent you to school in the morning. That afternoon, the school called to say that you have a fever, and more spots. I got really worried, as now it really looks like you’ve developed HFMD. As uncle EK’s clinic was already closed by the time mommy picked you up, we waited till the next day before seeing him. He confirmed that you had HFMD. You had a small ulcer in your mouth, some spots around your ankles, some spots on your hands, and some on your bum. He prescribed some numbing drops for your ulcer, and asked us to use paracetamol to control your fever (if any). With that, you had to stay home till the spots disappeared, estimated to take about a week. Uncle EK says you’d be fit for school the following Tuesday.
Meanwhile, mommy had a really bad throat and a slight fever. The doctor, on hearing that you had HFMD, says that mommy could have contracted the same, though he wasn’t sure. Nonetheless, he gave me 3 days MC. Worked out nicely. Mommy could stay home with you without taking leave.
To mommy and daddy’s delight, HFMD hardly caused you any discomfort. The fever on Tuesday went down after a dose of paracetamol. After that, you had no more fever for the rest of the time. You were able to feed well, sleep well and was alert and active as usual. You woke up once or twice during the night, but was able to fall back to sleep after mommy/daddy cuddled you for a bit. We enjoyed our time at home. Meanwhile, spots started appearing on mommy’s hand and foot. So I was pretty sure that I had some degree of HFMD too. I went to see the doctor again on Monday, and was asked to stay home till the spots disappeared. Worked out perfectly, as you were only supposed to return to school on Tuesday.
HFMD aside, you are now able to hold your own milk bottle and do a good job of holding it high. You are also able to sit pretty well (don’t need to support yourself with your hands anymore), and your bottom 2 teeth have appeared… very sharp teeth if I might add.
That's a photo of you gnawing on a teething biscuit for the very first time. We've started putting you on a high chair when we eat at restaurants. I think you much prefer that since you get a better view. With your teeth, you’ve bitten mommy a few times when I was feeding you. I’ve pulled away and scolded you, and though I’m pretty certain you understood mommy when I said ‘no biting’, you still sneakily try to do it again… and again… and wait to watch my reaction. I think this is also the first time I’ve scolded you for doing something wrong. I said a firm ‘no’ and told you it was painful. You bit your lip and cried. I gave you a big hug, and said it’s ok, and not to do it again. You’d continue suckling, then you’d try again. Very cheeky!
We thank God that this episode of HFMD was pretty mild, and that you were spared from the discomfort. Mommy’s also thankful that we got to spend some mom n babe time together while we were home recovering. We continue to pray that you’d feed well, sleep well, grow up strong and healthy.
You continue to bring so much joy to mommy and daddy. We love you loads.
Hugs & kisses,
Mommy
