Although Lincoln's fever was minimal overnight, I was still pretty much concerned due to his congestion and his temperature still not returning to normal. I took the kids to Nancy's house in the morning since she wasn't watching any other kids and was willing to care for Lincoln and his fever. Our pediatrician's office was able to squeeze him in for an afternoon appointment which Eric was able to take him to.
The appointment went fine, the doctor cautioned Eric that if Lincoln's temperature reached over 102, to call him immediately and prepare to get to the emergency room. At this point, his temperature wasn't particularly high and we held out hope that it was on the decline. I stopped by the pharmacy on my way home from work to pick up his prescription and dinner. When I walked through the door, Eric was on the phone to the doctor's office answering service, providing them with Lincoln's current stats and requesting a call back from the doctor. With hardly a word, Eric pointed to Lincoln laying in his pack 'n play, moaning and looking sickly. His fever had spiked to 103.8 in a very short period of time. Our doctor called back within minutes and told us to get him to the emergency room to get him checked out. I ran through the house like a wild tornado, preparing a bottle and formula to toss in the diaper bag, a bottle of water for me, a trip to the bathroom and a hug for a now tearful Elaina who didn't understand what was going on and only wanted a snack.
While I broke several speed limits along the way, the emergency department ushered us into a room. After enduring at least 18 doctors, nurses and information collectors, 78 tests and 4 hours later, I was told that Lincoln was going to be admitted overnight. Thank God that all of his test results proved negative for anything to be wrong with him, but there was still something not right with him. He was given an IV and a whopping dose of kill-everything-harmful antibiotic and he rested peacefully throughout the night. I was given a plastic covered recliner for my bed and scrounged up a bagel and cappuccino for dinner at 11:30 and actually called it a good night's sleep. I was expecting to wake to feed Lincoln a short time later and only planned on getting a few short hours of uncomfortable, interrupted sleep for myself. Imagine my surprise when I woke to find a lovely, nice nurse feeding a sweet, quiet Lincoln in his bed and checking his temperature without even a peep from my little guy. Better yet, he hadn't had a fever for several hours prior and he even looked healthy and content! As I was too exhausted to move from my new found comfortable spot on the chair, I apologized for not being more attentive and thanked her for feeding my kid. And I went back to sleep! Can you believe that? My kid is getting better and my nightmare of what-could-have-been-fears actually qualified for what I almost consider a good night's rest.
The next morning, Eric stopped by on his lunch break to eat with Lincoln and allow me time to get home to shower and pack my bag for what they had told us would be another overnight stay. Throughout the course of the day and conferences with our regular pediatrician, it was determined that since all of his test results were coming up clean and his temp had remained constant (normal) that he could be released after an additional dose of the extra strength antibiotic. Our pediatrician made special arrangements to see Lincoln in her office the next day to follow up and we were able to go home. The bottom line was that he may have contracted some kind of "bug" that may have been a virus in order for him to react with a fever. We'll never know for sure.
Elaina was so excited to see her baby brother that she even pulled out her 'monica to play him a special, little song of her own. 
This experience was hard. Hard to see our sweet, little boy suffer and be poked, prodded and miserable. Hard to handle the worry that comes along with being a parent. And hard to be away from Elaina overnight. This was the first time I had ever spent a night away from her. Considering our track record caring for our sweet, sick babies, it never gets any easier. With our prior experiences, it only makes it more justifiable seeing your baby endure the painful needles and swabbing necessary to obtain every vital piece of medical information on him. Thank God that none of our babies are suffering! Lincoln has two incredible guardian angels that were with him every step of the way!
He's back at home where he belongs!
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