Chicken pox???

Yesterday, the phone rang in the morning and as usual I didn't hear it until well after the fact. I only have a cell phone and it's never in the same room as I am. When I checked to see who called, I saw that it was Kirsten, my next door neighbor. For those of you who don't know, Kirsten has twin 16 month old boys. We live in townhouses so literally I could knock on the wall and get her attention. I love, love, love that she is so close because right now I am the Mommy who has 10,000 questions and she is like my own personal Dr. Spock. Needless to say, I am ALWAYS calling her for advice. So when she called me, I was surprised. When I called her back she was kind of quiet and I asked what was wrong, thinking that maybe I could actually help her for a change.

No such luck. It turns out that one of her twins Charlie, has chicken pox. Because we live so close to each other and it's summer, we are often out on the patio together. The day before Kirsten called me, we were all out there. Aaron was sitting on the grass farther away with the dogs and brushing them. Charlie really loves the dogs, so he was over there watching them. He walked past Esme and I maybe one time, but they never touched. Unfortunately, chicken pox is airborne. We go to the same pediatrician and she said that they had told her to call me and have me call them right away. That doesn't sound good!

So I called them and they said "We were expecting your call" (again, not a good sign) "let me get the nurse for you". The nurse got on the phone and the first thing he asked was whether or not I had had chicken pox. I have. That seemed to make him feel better because evidently Esme still has my antibodies, so she should be protected. But the incubation period can be up to 21 days. So I have to check her carefully every day and if I see anything at all, I have to call them right away. Evidently, it can be pretty serious when newborns get chicken pox.

So that was our adventure for yesterday. Hopefully, I have strong enough antibodies that they will keep those darn Bakken cooties away from us! :) Today we have an appointment with Dr. Sarkinen and I will ask her about it. I will probably ask her 1700 questions about Esme and not much about myself. It's funny because the pediatrician saw Esme every day that she was in the hospital and then after one week at home. Now they won't see her for 2 months. I have too many questions for that. I think they should have a 3 week appointment, especially for new moms. But they don't. At least I have Kirsten next door. I'm super thankful for that, chicken pox and all! :)

BTW - here's a picture of Esme and me. Since I'm the one who usually takes pictures, I'm not always in them. We'll try to get Aaron to take some pictures too.