Sick Toddler

He had more than a little bit of diarrhea.  

The kid was sick.  I had to change his diaper every 20 minutes or so, which wasn't the problem.  What was the problem was that his little bum was sore and red and cleaning him caused him to scream in pain.  I knew even the unscented wipes would hurt, so I used soft cloths and water, but it still hurt him to no end.

He didn't want to eat.  He had a slight fever.  We tried to make him comfortable on the couch with blankets and pillows.  We put Paw Patrol on the television.  Darryl went to the store and bought some Pedialyte and the little guy held his sippy cup without really drinking.

Because he was two, he was verbal enough to tell us when he needed to be changed.  Every time he had a bowel movement, which was very frequently, he would scream because it hurt so badly, calling, "change, change!"  It was heart breaking.

His little bum was too sensitive for any rash cream or ointment, and so I gave him a million baths with baking soda to help sooth his raw tush.

He did not eat dinner.

I went though his duffel bag and there were barely three changes of clothes, surely not enough clothes for the rest of the week.  I left him alone with Darryl (who he called "Daddy" and clung to desperately)  and went to Carters.  I bought him four pairs of pajamas, two pairs of pants, and three shirts.

He was happy to put on the new pajamas and kept asking, "for me?"  That broke my heart.  "Yes, baby, all for you."

We put him to bed in Bram's crib, and we decided that Darryl would sleep on the couch and put Bram in the Pack n Play downstairs. I would sleep upstairs in our bed so I could here the little boy.  He laid down without a fuss, clinging to his sippy cup but not really drinking it.


A foster child comes with a big black binder that goes with them wherever they go.  It has all there information in there too.  When he went to sleep, I thumbed through it.  Foster parents, including respites, are expected to write daily notes on how the child does each day.  I saw that this little guy was in respite at least one weekend a month!  I also saw that back in November, while on respite with his sister, he had been bitten on the nose by a dog.

Wait a minute.

I had been called about a little boy and girl who COULD NOT be in a house with a dog because he had been bitten.  This was the boy!  Apparently having dogs was no big deal now that they were desperate. 

Also, where was the sister?  She wasn't in a different respite home for the week (they place siblings together), and then it hit me:  they had taken her on vacation but not him, probably because he was sick.

Those son of a bitches.