Sigh. Last week had been totally crazy. I went to pick my little darling girl on Monday from Infant Care and they informed me that she was down with fever! That was a shock. She had been a happy baby on Monday and there was no signs that she was getting seriously ill. Desmond decided that we should give her some medicine and monitor her condition as opposed to taking her to the doctor. I sponged her almost the entire evening after dinner. It became quite clear she was rather ill, as she lost her appetite and refused milk (how could it be?! That's her FAVORITE drink) and fell asleep really early that evening. She got better later in the evening though. The fever subsided and she started feeding again.
I thought I'll let her rest at home the next morning as her head still felt a little warm though the thermometer did not register any temperature that indicated she still had a fever. She seemed to be getting well till her temperature suddenly shot up in the late afternoon.
That was quite a nightmare. My poor little baby just wanted to be comforted the whole time and did not allow me to put her down at all. I could not attend to my sister who had come by for her GP session and I had to endure Desmond's Ah Ma who had come by incidentally and went on insistently that I should not have brought my darling girl to the zoo, that I should have brought her to the doctor last night and that I should have brought her to the doctor then. I became really concerned by Alyssa's rising temperature and decided not to wait for Desmond to come home anymore and walked to the baby clinic with my sister. Unfortunately, the baby clinic was shut and would only open for consultation an hour later. This is something I cannot understand. Why does baby clinic operate only a pathetic 5-6 hours a day while charging exorbitant fees and when babies fall sick easily and quickly?
Luckily my father-in-law came by and gave us a ride home. Desmond reached home later and we decided to take my poor little baby to KKH, Singapore's famous hospital for children and women. I was horrified upon reaching KKH, to learn that my baby's temperature had risen to 39.1. The nurse had to force feed paracetamol to her immediately to bring her temperature down. One thing I like about KKH is that waiting time is almost zero. We were allocated a doctor immediately after registration, as opposed to the usual 1 hour wait at the rest of government hospitals. It was also colourfully decorated to make children feel better. Anyway, doctor immediately ordered suctioning of Alyssa's nose to clear her nose congestion. The experience must be a terrible one for her as she was wailing inconsolably throughout the procedure. My poor little girl. Besides the fever and blocked nose, she also had a bit of a sore throat. Doctor kept us at KKH to make sure Alyssa would feed before we go home as I told her little baby had refused to feed since late afternoon.
Darling girl didn't feed immediately but took another hour or so before she did. Thank god she fed because otherwise the doctor would have kept her at KKH overnight. Fever subsided when she was at KKH and we were allowed to go home after the doctor checked on her again. The whole episode was only over at 10 plus and Desmond and I were beat and hungry by the time we got home. Luckily she fell asleep rather fast after medicine later that night and we both managed to get some rest.
It is a real nightmare for mothers when their babies fall sick. :(
However, this was not the end of the story for me.......
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