Notice I didn't say "THE" night from hell. I'm not foolish enough to think that I won't have any other nights like last night, as much as I hope for them to cease. And I've had nights equally bad prior to last night. But no matter how you slice it, last night was a doozy. And not in a good way.

I think my least favorite thing about being a parent, the one thing I'd eliminate if I could, is the worry that overcomes you, the serious CONCERN that pervades your every fiber when a child gets sick. Because there is nothing you can do. It's one of those moments that makes atheists send up prayers. Everyone feels helpless when it's 3 in the morning, your kid is sick as a dog and you've done everything you can do. And it's still not enough. That was my night last night.

After spending 2 days in Fayetteville, we arrived home Monday evening to find that our usually amiable Brooklyn was fussy, irritable, grumpy and, I noticed as I hugged her, HOT! I kick myself now thinking that she could have been running a fever longer and I just may have missed it. But I eventually DID notice it, stuck the thermometer in her ear and it bleeped out 101.2. Where did that come from? So I give her some Tylenol and tried to figure out the source of the fever. Couldn't. No pains anywhere, no obvious sign of infection...just a sick little girl. Well, Monday night was pretty much tolerable. Tylenol seemed to work and I thought maybe we were out of the woods. But then her fever was up and down most of Tuesday, responsive to Tylenol, but still there. And she still clearly didn't feel that great. And I noticed that her diaper upon waking Tuesday morning was completely dry. And still dry at noon! NOT NORMAL! I began to suspect UTI. Called the doc and was able to get an appointment for first thing Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, Tuesday was our anniversary, and we planned to go have a quiet romantic dinner together. Brooklyn's status was critical to our decision-making process! We ultimately did leave her with my mom and dad and she seemed ok. Still running a fever, but perkier.

Since she had a fever all day and I know fevers tend to spike in the middle of the night, I put her in bed with us, rather than keep her in her own bed. And as predicted, it did start climbing as the night wore one. And by wore, I mean drag on in an incredibly miserable way. First of all, Kyle had planned to get up at 5 in order to go to Men's Fraternity at 6. And I had to get up at 7:15 to go to Bible Study at 9:15. Best laid plans and all that...

Around 11, we had lain in bed for over and hour and there was considerable tossing and turning on Brooklyn's part. Which means some aggravation on mine and Kyle's! August, bless his heart, was an angel, sleeping and eating on cue like a pro. Brooklyn, on the other hand, clearly felt horrible and kept kicking off the covers, leaving Kyle and I chilly and awake. She finally drifted off to sleep only to wake up at 1:30 crying in her sleep. Her cries became wails and it was almost exorcistish. She appeared to be awake, but there was no consoling her. We shuffled her around, took her temp which would not drop below 100, prayed for her literally without ceasing, held her, talked soothingly to her - finally, after about 3o minutes, she wrapped herself around me and fell back asleep. Just as August woke up for his meal. 3:30 - another bout of inconsolable tears and wailing, literally screams coming from my baby girl. I STRONGLY suspected UTI. We have had an issue with this little membrane thing on her bottom that grows up sometimes, covering her "parts" and potentially forming a bacteria trap for urine, prime stuff for UTI's. I found out it's pretty common. I'm pretty vigilant about checking said parts and making sure this membrane isn't closing back up, but it can happen overnight. So I wondered if that was it. Particularly when she acted like she had to pee really bad, but wouldn't or couldn't. Finally, at 4:30, I take her into the bathroom and sit her on the pot, begging with her, pleading with her to please potty - that she would feel so much better rather than holding it! My theory was that if she did have a UTI, it was probably burning when she peed and in her mind, it would make sense to NOT pee, without realizing it making her ultimate discomfort that much greater. I promised her some cheerios -in the midst of her wailing, she also told us she was hungry!

Finally, she was able to pee and I KNOW she felt better. I told Kyle she was hungry and bless his heart, he lurched his way downstairs to get her cheerios which she completely scarfed down. Three bowls of cheerios later, she was much cheerier, but still febrile. And Kyle was supposed to get up for Men's Frat in about 30 minutes. He turned off his alarm and instead decided to accompany me to the doctor in about 4 hours. By the time Brooklyn dozed off again, the first hints of sunrise were peeking through our blinds. And then August woke up to eat. Kyle and I somehow managed to wake up at 7 something for our doctor's appointment, but we felt like the dead. And B did not want to get up at all. And with her dry diaper, I felt my worries about UTI were looking more plausible than ever. But with that, I was afraid she'd refuse to pee and they'd have to catheterize her for a urine sample. I had visions of awful things. Praise the Lord, she complied and peed in the little bucket and we got a good specimen. Which showed enough bacteria to look like a febrile UTI. A prescription for antibiotics was in hand when we straggled out the door.

I managed to miss Bible study, as did Kyle. But fortunately, we figured out what was wrong with our kiddo. And B & I were able to crash this afternoon - a much needed respite considering I was supposed to be leading our Wednesday night Bible study with Chad at 7. What a day. What a night! Oh, get this, even while napping, B would wake up whimpering. And this broke my heart and at the same time, touched me like nothing else - she kept saying, "Pray for me, Mommy! Pray for Brooklyn." Every time she touched wakefulness, those were her words. Believe me, I was already praying, but it was so precious that she asked for it.

I will keep praying right on through this evening and night that her infection clears up and my bubbly little one is restored to me. It was truly a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad night. And I dread all future ones.