Yikes!

So, we've had a pretty eventful last couple of days around her... Yesterday Kimberly woke up with spots all over her, almost like the start of chicken pox or something. But she had just gotten the "Chicken Pox Vaccine" 2 weeks earlier, so I figured that that couldn't be it. Right? Or could it possibly be some sort of reaction to the vaccine? But 2 weeks later? I just wasn't sure. But they didn't seem to be bothering her at the moment, so I gave her a bath & just tried to keep an eye on it. By 3:00, the "spots" seemed to be spreading, so I called & talked to a nurse to see if this could possibly be a side-effect from the vaccine, but she didn't think so & said not to worry about it unless it seemed to be bothering her. But by 6:00 that night, they had turned into even bigger splotches & now looked like this...

AND, she now seemed to notice them & was scratching all over (as much as a 1-year-old can), but of course, all doctor's offices were now closed for the night & we'd have to wait it out throught the LONG night to figure out what was wrong with her.

The next morning she woke up terribly miserable & crabby and NOW her rash looked like THIS...
(*How do kids still manage to smile for a picture, even when they feel terrible?!?)

NOW it was turning into one great big rashy area, instead of individual spots as much, so my original conclusion of chicken pox was long gone, but I was still clueless! There is nothing so frustrating at not knowing what is wrong with your child & what you can do to help them... So we called the doctor's office as early as we could & made an appointment, hoping for answers & a solution more than just to "wait it out". By the time we got to the doctor's office, only a mere 24 hours since I'd first noticed these spots, she now had them covering almost her entire stomach, under her armpits, along her diaper line, behind her ears, on the back of her neck & even on her eyelids, which seemed to be starting to swell up. I hadn't started using any new laundry detergent, we hadn't given her any new foods in the last few days that I could think of, she wasn't on any new medications at the moment... What was wrong with my little girl?

FINALLY though, we seemed to be getting answers: She had a really bad case of HIVES! I'm not sure why, but that thought had never crossed my mind, especially since I'd been so worried about this being a reaction to her chicken pox vaccine. But the big question that's still on our minds is, What are her hives from? The doctor gave us several possibilities (like a food allergy, or from getting too hot or too cold, or it could just be your body's way of dealing with a sickness ONE TIME & it'll never happen again-- WHO KNOWS?), but of course we'll never know for sure unless maybe it happens again, which we're hoping it doesn't.

After we got home, we gave her an antihistamine & a steroid from the doctor (which he gave her because her hives were SO bad!) & she fell asleep within an hour for a 4-hour nap! After she woke up, she looked remarkably better & seemed to be feeling better as well. So for now, it looks like she's on the mend, although I think she's got a couple of days before her complection will be perfectly baby-smooth again. But WOW, thank goodness for doctors & medicines & prayers & 4-hour-naps! We're so glad to have our smiling Kimberly back with us again!