It seems like my son and Halloween just don’t mix. Last year, Gabriel got really, really sick a few days before Halloween. So ill in fact, that we had to bring him to the ER one night due to his high fever and dehydration. Although it was never “officially” confirmed, the doctors were pretty sure that he had the N1H1 strain that was so serious (and perhaps a little over-hyped!) last Fall. Of course, he recovered but not in time to go trick-or-treating on Halloween. So, I took Chloe out for her first night of Halloween adventure and we had a great time. The weather was really warm for that time of year so it was quite nice.
This year, the little guy was healthy for Halloween so Robyn and I dressed them up and took them trick-or-treating in the cold. Except for the dogs that barked at many of the houses and one creepy and very realistic mannequin in one person’s house, Chloe and Gabriel had a great time and enjoyed being able to eat a bunch of candy after dinner – especially the chocolate and peanut butter candy that they had not been able to eat until last week. Unfortunately, when we were getting the kids ready for bed, we noticed that Chloe had a couple of welts on her back and she said that they were itchy. Maybe she IS allergic to peanuts after all? Ugh! After we gave her some Benadryl, she seemed better but we were careful to check on her during the night (she was fine) and Robyn called the allergist in the morning.
My mom came down to visit for the weekend, so I had to drive her back home on Monday (the day after Halloween). On my way home from Massachusetts, I called home to tell Robyn I would be there in about 30 minutes. When she answered the phone, I could her Gabriel crying hysterically in the background. Robyn told me that he had been doing that for about an hour because he took a nap (VERY unusual for him) in the afternoon and when he woke up, he said that his throat was hurting. When I got home, he was still upset but we managed to calm him down (after fighting with him to take some medicine) and he ate some dinner. Bedtime was difficult because his throat hurt and he wasn’t tired due to the nap that he had taken so he was up and down a lot.
Today, Chloe is fine (we have an appointment next week with the allergist) and Gabriel is feeling better. Wonder what’s in store for next Halloween?