Monday, January 08, 2007

A Pox on Our Baby Boy

So, despite our best efforts at keeping baby Sam in quarrantine, he has come down with chicken pox. Because he is so young (not yet 3 months) the illness can be hazardous -- it is a respiratory infection, and can cause pneumonia or other problems in babies whose lungs are not yet well-developed.

So far, the news seems to be good -- he does not have a large number of blisters, and they don't seem to be bothering him that much. He is in good spirits, smiling and babbling more-or-less as usual, with only a little bit of fussiness, no more than a low-grade fever, and only minor sniffles. We've been consulting with his pediatrician by phone, and are told that he only needs to go into the office if he gets noticeably worse.

To add insult to injury, he will probably not develop immunity from this infection, which means he will either get the vaccine later or get chicken pox again. Poor Sam!

I thought I had managed to avoid infecting him, since it has been almost three weeks since my first shingles symptoms appeared. But apparently it can incubate for a long period. I'm sorry, baby Sam!

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