Perfect timing

Today has not been great. Phil left early this evening to travel to the UK. He is doing an upgrade for a customer and won't be home until Wednesday evening. Before he left we went out to the local shopping centre for a walk and an ice-cream. There is a nice children's play area by the water and I held on to Michael's hands and let him walk where he wanted to go. Unfortunately he wanted to walk into the water to get a good close look at the coots and boring Mama forbade it. He was extremely distressed when he didn't get his own way but I put that down to him being overdue for a nap.

Something rather amusing happened when Phil said goodbye to Michael. Michael and I were standing in the doorway to his nursery. Phil kissed Michael and I asked Michael to wave 'bye bye' to Daddy. Instead he shut the door in Phil's face. We found this very funny. After Phil left, Michael was clingy and unhappy. This behaviour isn't unusual because his front molars are coming through. I was also a bit subdued due to Phil's departure and I guessed that was a contributing factor. Michael ate most of his dinner but wouldn't even touch the bread which was unusual. He continued to be very clingy and whiny and only breastfeeding would soothe him at all (albeit temporarily). I decided to take his temperature as he felt a little hot, only to discover that it was 39.5... the highest it has ever been. I gave him paracetamol, stripped him down to his nappy and then called the after hours doctor. They passed me from pillar to post whilst poor Michael crawled on the floor getting more distressed by the moment. They were concerned that it might be meningitis and asked me to check the signs and monitor him closely. Although he responded well to the paracetamol I was thoroughly rattled by this point.

I had intended to put Michael to bed and sit down with a good book and honey-glazed pork chops. Instead I found myself pouring out my woes to Phil on the phone and eating a hurried roast chicken sandwich. There couldn't be a worse time for Michael to get ill because I would have to take him up to the out-of-hours doctor by taxi or by bus. The local taxi firms are not keen to collect fares during the night. Michael is fast asleep now and, other than the fever, is displaying no signs of meningitis that I can discern. I was hoping to take him on some day trips over the next few days but I don't think I can risk it if he is ill. I know that teething isn't supposed to cause a high fever but I can't think what else could have caused this.

I do hope tomorrow is better!