Hand Foot Mouth Disease

So i think I mentioned this in the post about my maternity pictures...but Brooke came down with these sores all over her feet that looked like tiny ant bites.  They were small little red bumps, and although they didn't itch her, you could tell that her feet hurt when she walked.  It hurt her poor feet to wear shoes, so I allowed her to wear her crocs (which I don't like) for a few days.  The morning of the maternity pics, her feet were looking even worse.  I felt awful trying to get her little navy ballet shoes on for the pictures, and I ended up carrying her a lot since she was in pain.  

That night, the bumps were looking worse, and as I was face timing with my Mom, I was telling her about the bumps on her feet, and that she also had little bumps around her mouth.  As I was stating the symptoms, it dawned on me that she may have Hand Foot Mouth disease.  I took her in to see the doctor first thing the next morning, and they confirmed my suspicions.  I hadn't been able to see any sores in her mouth, but at the office (after gagging her), they found a few in her mouth as well.  

She also had little red bumps on her bottom, so they said it was also possible that she had a GI virus as well. They ordered a urine sample, which thankfully could be done with the "bag method".  I was just relieved that they didn't make us do another catheter, but I guess this sample didn't need to be as sterile?  The bag basically attached to her vagina with sticky tape, and would collect the urine once she went.  It looked super uncomfortable, and after putting her diaper back on, she kept saying "My bum hurts".  They also ordered blood work, so we had to head to the Cook Children's medical center for labs.  I was able to distract Brooke with my phone, but she started crying as soon as they stuck her arm to get the blood.  She honestly cried harder when they made her stand on the scale to get her weight though!!

There isn't much to do as far as treatment for Hand, Foot, Mouth disease.  You basically have to let the virus run its course...but it took a long time for those sores on her feet to go away.  Thankfully the sores in and around her mouth didn't seem to bother her at all.  And all her lab work came back normal, with the exception of the white blood count, which was low.  They said that was expected since her little body was fighting an infection.  I had to take Brooke back a week later to ensure that the count was back up, which it was.

Glad my girl was back to normal!!