be careful what you wish for...

I, of course, never wanted Carys to get the Chicken Pox... at least not at 14 months. But every where I turned, I had people telling me: "oh, she's better off getting them now" or I had people advising me against the vaccine that she was scheduled to get. If you ever took the time to read about Chicken Pox, you'd never wish them upon your child or anyone else for that matter- and you'd especially not want them for your baby. Chicken Pox is a highly infectious, contagious and disgusting illness. It might seem that it's only about your child being covered in red spots, but it goes beyond that.

Anyway, she got them and we thought it was all fine, until she got really sick 3 days after being over the contagious part of the CP. It started with a seemingly harmless cold, watery eyes... it progressed into a nasty cough, serious congestion, green goopy eyes and a terribly clingly, sad baby. It further progressed into a fever, a rash, double bacterial eye infection and double ear infection. I was told all these things could be secondary effects from the chicken pox. It could also be because she had a weekened immune system from just getting over the CP the week before. Either way, she has been through a lot- more than a 14 month old should have to go through. Thankfully, my sweet baby is on the mend and regaining her strength. So, perhaps, you should reconsider before hoping/wishing for the Chicken Pox. It really isn't as simple as a few red spots.