Hands, Foot, Mouth Disease

Wouldn't believe it if someone was to tell me that one day I would have to see my loved one battle through this disease... but there it is... the virus attacked 2 of my loved ones... Little Yayel and Little Lissy just a few days before my sister's birthday. Hearing the name would evoke a number of gruesome images... the fact is that the disease is quite common among pre-schoolers... this is because it is a very very contagious disease. It's not air borne, but it spreads by touching infected items and skin.

Fact is children just loves to put things in their mouth and this is why the virus travels and goes rampant when a group of toddlers are put together. Through my research from various website on the net, the virus comes form the intestinal tracts and would pass when hygiene is not practiced in disposing the pampers/stool properly. It would then go from one person to one person by touch of infected items (dirty hands touching rattle/soft toys) or from skin to skin upon contact with saliva or water discharge from the blisters that would be present on the child's hands or feet.

Though the disease works itself fast, symptoms would go away within 3-5 days, it is indeed a painful disease.

My darling Yels started having mild fever on Wed night, and by Thurs night the blisters were already apparent on his feet though it seemed mild. The first indication that had alerted my sister that something just wasn't right was the ulcers that had appear in his mouth. A trip to the ER confirmed that it was HFM. Yel seemed alright at first. Being his normal manja self, he just played and refused food, but around noon the next day the pain was starting to be too much for him. Trying to get him to drink milk was a trial itself and when I heard how he cried when they needed to give him meds to help relieve the ulcers in his mouth just brings tears to my eyes. I wish I could take the pain away!

The worse part was when my sister texted me that he wanted to eat a cookie so badly that he tried a small nibble and ended up crying when he just couldn't swallow. Oh how I cried when I read that... my sweet Yels is hungry! Later, he cried when they gave his milk using a syringe, but said "mmm, nenen dap... nak..." and finally slept... sigh... sian my sayang... :(

We were hoping that Lissy would be spared, but her fever started the next day and a trip to the doc's showed at least 7 ulcers in her mouth. Poor darling had such a rough night.. but she's a strong girl... though I know it must have hurt a lot, she managed to drink her milk at least 2 times a day. Knowing that she couldn't really communicate what she wanted made it even worse. My sis told me that she cried from 4 am and finally dozed off at 10am.

I prayed everyday that they would get better so that the pain would go away. I was also deeply scared that Shiya might come in contact from the virus. 7 days went by and nothing happened... until on the 7th day... she had a slight fever. I was so shocked that I started crying then and there. We quickly bundled her up and took her to the paed in SS19. The doc said that it wasn't HFM and that it was just a mild fever (her temp had gone down my then). So he gave us some meds to for the fever and lotion for the rash that was on her feet.

Not satisfied, I decided to go to the Paed in Shah Alam to reconfirm and they also said it wasn't HFM. Hmmm... by then Shiya no longer had a temp... but she didn't want any milk either. It takes us roughly 30 mins to pujuk her into drinking some everytime.

What can a mother do but just trust the words of her doctor... though I honestly think that she had HFM... the rash for one thing looked bad and was at her feet and a little was present on her finger... Thankfully it started to heal (they are like blisters and eventually started to dry out). She has also started to drink healthy quantity of milk again... her normal 3-4oz. Alhamdulillah...

My only worry is that we gave her clarityn to treat the itchiness from the rash. I was hoping that I don't have to give her any meds till she's a little older... but so far since her birth I have had to give her a total of 9ml of clarityn (a total from this incident and previously when she had eczema attack arnd 2months old) and 1ml of paracetamol (took that after her 2 months check up jab). That's a lot for a little baby... sigh... just hope that nothing bad comes out of it.

So the most important thing to take out of this painful incident is that we need to practice proper hygiene. Wash your hands like always, always... be aware of what your children put in their mouth... always wash their toys... and when at another person's house or places you're not familiar with, wipe the things that your child is exposed to..ie toys, chairs... you just never know what virus/germs could be lurking.

Be safe, be well... and hope for the best...  ;)

Little Lissy Listle

Little Lissy Listle is my one sole niece... being a cute 4.5kg newborn, she even beat me when I was born at a mere 4.4kg! Her cheeks were ballooned out like two yummy tomatoes that just begs you to bite...hehehe... Anyhow, this darling of mine is now 9 months old and is growing cuter and cheekier by the minute...  :)

I must admit that I wasn't able to take care of her as I did with little Yels... at the moment of her birth, my sister had moved into her own apartment after only 2 weeks confinement (thus depriving me the opportunity to help out when I'm at home). Besides that, I had also started working which took my weekdays time. Unlike Yels who came just as I had quit my job as an auditor and was able to spend 5 uninterrupted time with him. Around June was also the time that my morning sickness began... and was it bad... so everytime I visited my sister I would spend most of the time on the couch and just observing... during this 'delicate' time I was also not allowed to lift and carry both babies, though I do sometimes when I can't stand how cute they are! :)

She's such a joy to be with... now her smiles are more frequent and I'm happy that she's finally recognizing my face... at least she doesn't cry when I hold or kiss her...heheheh and I was actually able to get her to show her wide grin a few times... Learning how to crawl quickly...she's now furniture walking and shows signs that she'll start walking soon... I'm sure when she does, little Yels will have a friend to play tag with... and also competition with who gets to play with the toys... (now Lissy just watches as her brother grabs the toys she's playing with) :P

When she ties her hair in two, she reminds me of that baby girl in Monsters Inc. hehehe that's how cute she is! So I guess this post is a shout out of how much I love her... the adorable, cutey and cheeky baby... all you want to do when you see her is gomol and gomol her all day long...  :D

Growing up...

There's a new addition in the family... Her name is Alyssa Sophia. She a beautiful 4.58kg baby and when she makes that soft sweet sound that all babies make before they start fussing... *sigh* oh so comel! I can't wait to get to know her better... already I can imagine the two of them, Yayel and Lis Lis running around the house and causing super havoc! Hehehe...

All this just kept me thinking of how me and my siblings were when we were younger. Hmm, ok maybe not as young as Farel or Alyssa. :p Just us, maybe around 10 years or 15 years back. The fights we've had and the petty dinner table arguments. The birthday cakes and birthday dinners... and the special outings (very rare but that makes it all the more special) with just the three of us... :P My sis would be the baby, albeit a temperamental one. My fights with her will be loud and quick, but just as quickly, all will be forgotten.

A special memory? A birthday outing with them on my 17th birthday. We went to OU (hey, that was far for me since the furthest I ever went without my parents at that age was to Pyramid) to get my birthday present and watch a movie. All paid by my bro of course... they got me this cute purple spaghetti strap top from Sommerset Bay and we watched Blue Streak. It was so much fun! We laughed and just spent quality time. There's a million more special memories that I could write about... our time in Rome, the trips coming back from Malacca during my Uni days... needless to say... life has been an exciting journey and it gets even more precious having them near.

So I can't wait for the mischiefs that the baby duo will have soon... cause I know it'll be great... with a mummy as special as Meq and an uncle as awesome as Abang, the trip of growing up will be marvellous indeed!

Love you Alyssa darling... welcome to the family...

XOXO   ;)