Why I dread wintertime

Late fall and wintertime in Florida is lovely. The girls have spent hours after school playing in the woods around our house lately...making their own little forts and houses, complete with palm frond beds and pine tree stump reading nooks. The weather in the middle of the day is absolutely perfect...the mosquitos are pretty much gone, it has been cold enough at night to be less concerned about snakes, and the humidity has decreased dramatically. Its truly the most perfect time of the year here.

Except for one thing...This is also the beginning of "sick season" here. And for the past 3 years, I have dreaded this time of year. Like some regular kiddos, Nate seems to stay sick during the cold months of the year. Unlike most other kiddos, his gut takes a hit each time he is sick, and it is so difficult to stay ahead of the GI issues when this happens.

Nate had a cold about a week and a half ago...a runny nose/cough cold. He laid around for a few days and had some reflux and retching, but seemed to do fairly well with the cold. That was until his GI system mutinied on us for a little bit, causing him to expel quite a bit of bile. His gut has been slow going since that, but he has still done okay. It felt like he was getting "out of the woods" and really improving...until yesterday.
His heart rate was really increased yesterday, but that isn't uncommon for the little guy either, so I didn't think much of it. However, he started complaining of intense belly pain again last night and when I picked him up, I knew instantly that he had a fever. I hate sick season.
With any fever, he tanks quickly. Its always difficult when he is sick because you never know what the illnesses will do to him. You never know when the right time to go in for fluids will be. You never know if his gut will stop functioning. You never know if this is just a measly virus or something more serious. Basically, when Nate is sick like this, we stay on pins and needles until we know that he is okay again.

I'm hoping for a measly little virus with no repercussions so he can get outside exploring the woods with his sisters like all boys should do.