And then, day four.

I spoke too soon. The pox started doubling, maybe tripling, on Saturday night, and Moses woke today with them everywhere. His chest and back are just one giant blob of calamine lotion at this point, but thankfully his arms and legs aren't afflicted much. His poor little face and scalp have them, though, and one eye is red in the inside corner, which makes me wonder if he has one on or around his eye.

All things considered, he's doing well. We played a lot today: outside, prepping the backyard for summer, and inside, dancing and running around the house as we practiced counting laps. We've also been passing the time with lots of tattoos and stickers. Tonight he's resting more peacefully than last night because I remembered to give him some Benadryl to relieve the itching. I think the nights are the worst for him because he's so much more aware of the intense itchiness he's suffering.

The good news is that he's over or almost over the worst part now. I'm keeping an eye on brother though. We're nearly at the beginning of the 10-to-21-day incubation period.

How to blow a toddler's mind.

Show him pictures of himself as a baby and tell him it's him, not his baby brother, in the pictures.

Will. not. comprehend.

(We actually gave in and said, "Yes, it's baby Milo," because he wouldn't drop it and was getting very, very upset by the disconnection.)

Then, introduce him to a webcam.

Poxed-in

We're still quarantined over here. Yesterday, I questioned the chicken pox diagnosis I made when Moses woke with the same six pox he went to bed with. I'm not sure if it's just a mild case or if he's one of the lucky ones, but Moses isn't covered in a gazillion pox like I expected. I've only counted 32 so far (mainly on his chest and back), but I might be writing too soon since he developed more today than in the last two days combined. The pock marks range from teeny tiny dots to pencil eraser in size. He's been in good spirits except that every once in a while he gets fussy or clingy. The below pictures were taken after he climbed onto the couch with Milo's blanket to watch Super Why this morning. You wouldn't know it, but that's strange behavior for him. I typically have to wrangle him for breakfast and a change of clothes! My poor boy is still all smiles though.

The pox

Moses has the chicken pox!

A couple of hours ago I noticed a blister-looking bump on his back and thought it strange. I drug Moses into the bathroom and stood him on the toilet so I could better inspect him. I found 5 more pocks so I'm going to go out on a limb and saying he has the chicken pox. I knew it was going around because the nurse mentioned it at his last appointment when I politely declined the vaccine for it, again.

On one hand, I'm kind of excited that he's got them now because I didn't think it'd happen this soon, and now we'll have that virus checked off his childhood illness list (figuratively speaking of course--I'm not that organized). On the other hand, I feel sorry for him because I know the next week won't be too much fun. I'm really hoping that he won't even notice what's going on since he's such an active boy and illnesses don't typically phase his activity level.

No news on Milo yet. He doesn't have any pock marks at the moment, but I'm keeping an eye out for them. I really don't understand the incubation period of viruses and don't know what to expect when. I think the fact that I'm still breastfeeding him protects him some so we'll have to see what happens.