It's the other one

Konrad came down with a cold yesterday, but has been trying to keep a smile on his face even though I can tell he's not feeling great. Here he is this afternoon with his pacy and his blankie (made by my friend Susan)...the rules about pacies and blankies only in the crib were relaxed for the occasion.

Then during lunch, Lukas suddenly complained of a pain in his stomach. He couldn't finish his lunch and went to lie down. He cried a lot about the pain. Of course, the doctor's office is closed for lunch, so we waited until they returned at 2 p.m. By the time 2 p.m. rolled around, Lukas was asking me every minute, "Please call the doctor now!"

I spoke with the receptionist who said there were no openings. I couldn't believe they wouldn't see a kid with severe abdominal pain, and I told her so. She said the triage nurse would get back to me. I asked her to call ASAP, because I was going to take Lukas to Urgent Care if I couldn't get him in to the doctor.

The nurse finally called back at 2:20 and said that if he's had abdominal pain for two hours, I should take him to the ER, since Urgent Care doesn't do an ultrasound to check for an appendicitis. Great. I'm not going to cart a sick Konrad and a healthy Natalie to Urgent Care, so I call Tom to come home. Of course, I keep asking Lukas if he's feeling better or worse or the same, and he always says "worse" or "the same."

Lukas keeps saying, "Let's go to the doctor!" I have to keep reminding him that we have to wait for Tom to get home. I've packed my toiletries in preparation for spending the night at the hospital, and a bunch of fun kids books to read while we're waiting in line at the ER. And snacks that I will have to hide from Lukas since he can't eat anything in case he needs surgery.

You can see all the things ticking through my head.

One minute before Tom arrived, I started to have my doubts. Then when Tom came in the front door, Lukas greeted him with a big smile, just like he does every time Tom comes home. I said, "I have my doubts." Tom said, "I agree."

Tom talked with Lukas for a few minutes and even though Lukas was begging to go to the doctor (which is very odd for Lukas), he eventually admitted that his stomach didn't hurt anymore. I'm glad we found that out before we sat in the ER for two hours...or three or four!

But now I'm concerned about the other one: Konrad. He has a fever and is very miserable. He's having a hard time putting that smile on his face. I gave him Tylenol and will check his temp again in an hour. He might be the one that gets to make a trip tonight.

At least I'm already packed!