our long night

Matthew & Scarlett are rotten, don't get me wrong, but I love them so much more than I ever imagined I could.  They are so freaking sweet sometimes.  Scarlett will just randomly ask for hugs & kisses, and Matthew seriously gives the best hugs ever.    Last night was terrible.  It started before naps when Scarlett started screaming that her stomach hurt.  I reassured her & told her if she took a nap it would probably feel better.  She went right to sleep so I wasn't concerned.  Then she woke up screaming.  Screaming like I can't describe...the worst I've heard her scream.  I comforted her and she settled down, only to do it again about an hour later.  Then again, then again.  I thought it was probably gas so I tried rubbing her tummy but when I would touch her she would flinch.  My poor baby.  It was mainly a periodic thing, she would scream and grab her stomach, obviously in pain.  Then I realized she had a fever.  (She hadn't had one earlier.)  The fever + the screaming worried me more because I knew gas wouldn't cause a fever.  Not to mention the screaming episodes were getting more frequent.  I called our pedi & he sent us to the ER.  David was in class so I called him to meet us there.    Sigh.  It was a long night at the ER, and we had Matthew with us because every time we thought one of us should take him home, a nurse or doctor would come in to check something or talk to us, so then we would both want to wait to see what was happening.  Eventually I decided it was crazy that I took her in because she hadn't screamed since we got there and her fever had gone down (I knew from the mom's lips to baby's forehead temp checking method...I forget the fancy name for that one.)  She was still whining occasionally but not the screams of earlier.  She also didn't flinch when I rubbed her belly anymore.  After all the checking and tests, the doctor said it was a virus of some kind and to just treat the fever.    I guess it's better to have spent several hours in the ER unnecessarily than to have stayed home and have it be something serious.  Our pedi mentioned a possible diagnosis that could lead to death in 2-5 days if left untreated, so it *could* have been serious.  But man last night sucked.   However, on the ride home Matthew said "Scarlett does your tummy feel better?" She replied, "yes" and he said "i'm so glad you are better."  Melt.  Gotta love that.