we've got the chicks!

breaking (out) news!

just this morning we spotted the pox.

while Leannora and i were doing our reading learning time together, i noticed a funny looking pimple on her face. the funny thing is, i wasn't even thinking about the chicken pox. it wasn't until we were done reading that i realized she has the chicken pox. so, Leannora is the winner! she's got a few spots on her face, neck, and tummy, and lots on her back.

i excitedly checked the other children hunting for more spots, but haven't seen any that are for sure the chicken pox . . .yet. my hope is to keep the children happy about it, so as to lessen the misery of the oncoming itch. so far, Leannora is pretty thrilled to be the winner. she's also looking forward to a bath of oatmeal. Hogan did not believe that i said she could have an oatmeal bath. he thought that was pretty weird! i've also told the children we'll have lots of fun doing special things like eating popsicles and watching movies. last week i went out and stocked up on calamine lotion and goodies to eat. Shiloh has been quarentined to our bedroom for a few days already. she'll probably stay there for a bit till the contagious time wears away, just to be a bit on the safer side for her little baby body.

so, if any buddy is interested . . . you are welcome to join our craziness. we are NOT having a chicken pox party because that just sounds super weird (and i already feel weird enough about the whole thing). i also don't want everybody else's other yucky sick germs. so our home is NOT open to all sorts of who knows who children walking through to catch our bug. (but if any good friends would like their children to get the chicken pox, we'll be happy to share.)

i've done a little bit of research about this. Leannora will be contagious for a few more days i suppose. if i understand correctly, we'll be contagious until her spots scab over, but i think the peak time is a couple of days before and after breaking out. incubation time is 11 days and up to about 3 weeks. you are not contagious if you have been exposed. sometimes children show symptoms of a sore throat, headache, or fever before the spots appear. a nursing mother passes on her immunity to her babies if she has already had the chicken pox. so an infant should not become infected if they nurse regularly. the concern of shingles is not to be feared if you have had a strong case of the chicken pox as a child and if your immune system is not compromised.

hmmm. . . so we'll be updating with future reports.