High fever ? feeling like a bad mum

My 9mo baby has been unwell since we pick him up from childcare on Friday. He has high temp since Saturday ranging from mid38-39 degrees. He also coughs a lot. Not feeding well and vomited after feeds.
We took him to the doctor twice already, on the last visit the doctor (after hour gp) said he has ear infection and gave him some antibiotics.
We have been giving him the antibiotics since Sat night but his temperature is still high. He had trouble sleeping during the night, kept waking up and crying. He has diarrhea too and some nappy rash (which I assume probably from the antibiotics).
I am trying to bring him to the dr again but cant get in until this arvo.
Does anyone have any advice for the time being? How long does it usually take for high fever to settle down? It has been 2 days already and panadol didnt help.

I've just returned to work recently and have to put him in childcare cause we dont have any family here. He has been unwell several times already, also had bad gastro twice and now this. I am feeling like a bad mum now, keep thinking I made him sick by putting him in childcare :wall: And giving antibiotics to a little baby is not exactly something I am proud of

Oh Agnes, do not beat yourself up about this - there really is no need at all to feel guilty on top of having to deal with the worry (not to mention the work) of having a sick bub. You are a wonderful mum - don't ever forget that!
In terms of advice re the temp - have you tried tepid bath? (do not do cold as this can make them shiver and get a shock) or flannels? i assume you are doing all the regular things like giving extra fuids etc. You are doing the right thing to do to dr as you are obviously worried and you intuition as his mother will be right.
Pls do not feel guilty about this (I have had to teahc myself this also after N was sick recently)
thinking of you - let us know how he goes.

also one more thing - after the antibiotics you may want to think about giving hima probiotic. this was suggested to me after N had 2 rounds of gastro and i think it has helped him recover. i know it is often recommended after a round of antibiotics to build up the good bacteria again.
i bought inner health kids and give N a smaller dose each day in his bfast.

Agnes, hun you are doing a wonderful job of being a mummy. Being in childcare is necessary for the wellbeing of the whole family and there are benefits for him too.

You are doing the right thing taking him back to the dr, keep taking him back as long as you need to, and if you think he needs to be seen urgently tell the receptionist why and they might be able to get him in sooner. If he has the runs perhaps he is not tolerating the ABs very well and needs a different sort. ABs are very necessary in some instances and this is one of them so don't feel bad about it.

Re the temp, P's tip of a warm-tepid bath is a good one, also plenty of drinks to keep him hydrated. Have you tried some infant nurofen instead of/along with the panadol - that might help with his sore ear too.

Thanks so much Pregpan and MD, for the suggestions and kind words. I tried the bath and he is asleep now, I am glad at least he is having a little rest.
I was so teary this morning. He is usually so happy and chatty, but has been so miserable these last few days. I've never seen him like these.
Will be going to the dr shortly. I dont have nurofen and inner health kids, might buy them on the way.

Hun even babies who don't go to childcare get sick so don't beat yourself up. Just think he will have a brilliant immune system soon he just has to adjust.
I agree with what the others have said, I found that nurofen helped Riley more than panadol for some reason, also lemonade icy poles give him liquid and help with temp (if you want to let him have one of course)

Hun even babies who don't go to childcare get sick so don't beat yourself up. Just think he will have a brilliant immune system soon he just has to adjust.
I agree with what the others have said, I found that nurofen helped Riley more than panadol for some reason, also lemonade icy poles give him liquid and help with temp (if you want to let him have one of course)

Don't feel bad about it, babies have to get sick - it's how they build up their immune system. You're lucky to get to 9months without a cold or anything!!
Just go with your gut, if you don't feel like things are right, and you don't like what the doctors said then keep pushing it until you feel happy.
I've found that nurofen helps more than panadol too, for some reason.
Once he's well again, there are natural immunity boosters you can buy to help his immune system withstand some of the bugs going around.
I used to work in childcare and it is just the unwritten law that within the first year you catch everything that is going around.
Keep up with fluids, lukewarm baths, nurofen and cuddles with mummy. and keep taking him back to the doctors if you need to! the frozen lemonade sticks are a good idea too, if you dont want him to have lemonade, you can freeze pieces of fruit like watermelon, or cold apple puree - they can be refreshing and give a bit of sugar which can help too ;)
HTH and get well soon!

Just wanted to pop in and give you a :hug: you are NOT a bad mummy hun, Izzy had 2 ear infections in one month - they are the unfortunate side effect of colds and she doesn't go to child care and still gets sick all the time. We had to give ab's too and I'm thinking we might give her a probiotic as well just to even things up as she has had 2 lots in one month. :hug: to you both and I hope he gets better soon.

I hope your little man is starting to feel better and that you are too. It's not easy when they're sick. Oskar had 2 throat infections in a month not so long ago and had antibiotics too. They can be a necessary evil I think.... my doc said that cos they're so little these things can develop into other worse nasties if we don't hit them with antibiotics sometimes. As for temp, I felt the same as you do... I couldn't get it down and called my doc and he said that they can go on for days like that and keep spiking and go up and down like that on a cycle of roughly every few hours. Keep giving panadol/nurofen and you can actually use them in conjunction with one another. Panadol is a 4 hourly whereas Nurofen is 6 hourly. eg.. you might give him nurofen at 7am then panadol at 1pm and 5pm...then nurofen a few hours later before bed. I kept a notebook with the times I took temp and what it was and what time I gave panadol and nurofen. He was having nurofen usually twice a day and definitely as the one closest to bed time as it lasts longer. As the others have said, keep fluids up and if need be you can get gastrolyte iceblocks to help replenish the salts he'll be losing from vomiting and diarrhea. :hug: to you both and it's not your fault.

Oh and I just remembered... doc said keep the panadol/nurofen up to them cos I was only doing it when his temp went up and it made it harder to keep a handle on it, but once I was giving them regularly it helped to keep it under control until it went.

Temps like that can go on for a while - when DS was sick recently, he had a temp of over 38 for a week. We did the alternating panadol/nurofen thing, as Ozziehoffy suggests. Also, dressed him in light clothing (wondersuit, but no jumper etc) & fewer blankets.

Aaaw, thanks so much everyone. You ladies really know how to comfort a worried mum :grouphug:
Thought I give you guys an update, have tried to post since Tues but kept experiencing problems.
I have given him panadol/nurofen religiuously and the fever has finally broke, thank goodness. He had bad reaction to ABs so the dr told us to stop it cause it didnt seem to make a difference.
She now suspects DS has bronchiolitis. He still vomits and coughs badly. Will be going to the dr again today (for the fifth time!) and I'll also ask for ABs for myself - having some mastitis symptoms cause he's not drinking as much.

Almost forgot, just in case someone is interested. I havent tried the icy poles but I gave him some cold fruit gel and he actually liked it. I think it's soothing for his throat.

Thanks again ladies

Agnes, I am glad the fever has broken - i was wondering how you are doing?
i hope you dont get mastitis - you poor thing.
One little thing to think about - when N had gastro he was eating the fruit gels - i kept giving them to him til i went to the dr and he told me to stop as the sugar can cause more diahorea and vomiting... i never thought of that... so maybe ask your dr? i dont want to make you feel it is the wrong thing, it was just news to me and advice i was given for Noah's situation.
let us know how you get along.

Thats a good point, pregpan. Maybe you can try and make your own puree to give with the gel? that way he can still have the gel, but if he has something in his tummy first he may handle it better. anything with a bit of starch to beef it out a bit. you can still give him puree cold. like sweet potato and carrot or something. Actually, having said that, what about those little packs of Rafferty's purees? they have fruit and vegies in them. obviously his poo will be looser but he'll be getting some nourishment too.
Just some thoughts ;) Hope you didnt end up with mastitis! thats the last thing you need. look after yourself :)

Thanks for the advice on fruit gel, thats news to me too.
My poor baby has gotten a bit better on Saturday but this morning his temp is high again, 39.2. Lucky DH can look after him today.
And unfortunately I cant avoid the mastitis, I am on ABs now and is getting an ultrasound tomorrow. The dr told me to rest cause I have a cold as well. But I've taken last week off to take care of DS and now that I am sick I dont think I'll be able to have another day off.
Thanks for reading and sorry for a self centred post, I am at work now and I feel like I want to cry but just cant. You guys are the closest shoulder I've got now.

big hugs agnes - poor you with the mastitis and the cold... and now poor DS again as well. I know how hard it is to balance work and caring for a sick bubba - i dont have any advice just a virtual hug!!!

Just a quick note: My DS gets terrible diarrhea and nappy rash from the Amoxyl antibiotic that Dr's generally give. So now I have said no more Amoxyl and they give him something else (I can't remember the name of it but it's pink).
You can also give Nurofen and Panadol together if the fever is very high and not coming down with the panadol alone. Keep in mind a fever is the body's natural way of fighting infection, though the analgesics do relieve the aches and pain that is often associated with an ear infection.
Good luck, sending your little guy a great big hug...