Done Adulting Vol. 1 Ch. 73 (Patreon)

“Yes, I need to make an appointment for my little ... for this morning ... he’s got a high fever, vomiting, chills, sweats, upset stomach, headache ... yeah, sounds like it ... well, I talked to Dr. Bowers’ assistant, but he hasn’t actually seen him yet, so I guess he’s a new patient ... no, his PA would be fine ... thank you. We’ll see you soon.”

“What time,” Amanda asked.

“Two hours. I’m going to run to the store and get some LittleAde for him and something to help his tummy.”

“No worries. I’ll skip class today. The prof doesn’t mind when it has to do with littles, since that’s the course.”

Rebecca left, and Amanda made another bottle of water for Jamie. He was drinking as much as he could keep down, which wasn’t much. He was back in his crib, sans sheets and with his bear safely in his recliner in case he got sick again. Amanda lowered the rail and pulled the glider close.

“Hey, buddy. You awake again,” she asked softly, teasing his back.

“Mhmm.”

“We’re going to the doctor in a couple hours. I got another bottle for you. Can you keep another one down?”

“Uh-uh. I don’t want it.”

“Ok. How about we just snuggle for a bit, and then we’ll get you cleaned up for the doctor?” She lifted him out of the crib and laid him against her chest, his arms limp at his sides. She rocked very slightly, tickling his back. She felt him cringe and his muscles contract.

“Ughmgh,” he grunted, starting to cry.

Amanda could hear and feel what his body was doing again. She rested her chin on top his head. “It’s okay, baby. I know you can’t help it.”

“It hurts,” he whimpered.

“Shhh. We’ll get you cleaned up again in a few minutes.” While waiting for his stomach cramps to stop, she sang a song her mom used to sing to her. “Manda loves, you, sweet little baby boy, Manda loves you, baby boy of mine.”

She didn’t remember the rest of it but hummed the tune. He kept sniffling. Amanda reminded herself that as bad as she felt right now, that helpless feeling when there’s nothing you can do to fix it and only a little you can do to make your person feel better, that he felt much, much worse.

They had just gotten to this topic in her little’s course. His immune system was unprepared for all the pathogens in the world that were new to his body. The vaccinations prevented or at least lessened the severity of the worst ones, but a stomach virus just was what it was. Littles were no different than toddlers in that way, just new immune systems being exposed to new germs.

“Ok, buddy, I think you’re done.” She got him on the changing table and cleaned him gently. There was nothing left in him but water, and he looked red and irritated back there. He looked sallow and felt hot everywhere she touched him, his expression listless. “Do you wanna bath?” Jamie shook his head. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

He shook his head. She applied rash cream, hoping it would help with the rawness, and put a daytime diaper on him and a nighttime diaper over that. They heard the door open, and Becky appeared in a few minutes.

“Hey, Jamie,” she said, “Feeling any better?” He shook his head again. “Aww. We’re going to take you to the doctor in a bit, but first I need you to drink this for me,” she said, holding a bottle of electrolyte solution. “Can you be a big boy and try for mommy?” Becky hadn’t intended to say that; it just came out naturally. The more pathetic Jamie looked, the stronger her urge to baby him. She took him from Amanda and cradled him while he suckled slowly on his bottle. Amanda went to shower.

If Jamie hadn’t been so miserable, he might have been more concerned about the doctor, his first experience with a big doctor having been so lousy. The waiting room was full of littles who looked like he did and bigs who hadn’t slept much the previous night. The front desk staff wore faces of forced good cheer. Jamie fell asleep on Amanda while Becky checked them in.

When they were taken back to a room, a nurse came in and took Jamie’s vitals, including his temperature in his bum, and he hardly even stirred. Last time, he’d thrown a tantrum. A knock at the door, and the PA came in, herself looking harried.

“Hi, I’m Daphne, Dr. Bower’s PA. What’s going on with this little fella?”

“He was fine yesterday until he went down for his nap. He slept for almost four hours, and when I got him up he was sluggish and just wanted to go back to bed. He had a fever,” Amanda said.

“And his fever got higher, and he woke up vomiting in the middle of the night. He couldn’t stand on his own; he was pretty dizzy. He said everything hurts,” Becky added. “He threw up a few more times overnight, and he’s had diarrhea since he stopped.”

“He did seem a little more with it this morning, but he’s hardly said a word,” Amanda added.

“Ohhh. Poor guy. How long has he been here,” Daphne asked.

“About four months,” Becky answered.

“And he’s not regressed,” Amanda said. Not that it seemed to make much difference now. Jamie was beyond helping himself for the time being. Funny, Amanda thought, all my friends and their moms say men turn into babies when they’re sick.

“Let’s get him on the table, and I’ll check him over.” Jamie submitted to the examination, Daphne’s hands checking the lymph nodes in his neck and armpits, palpating his joints, and probing his tummy. He winced a few times. She checked his throat and eyes and ears and nose and reflexes.

Daphne turned back to Becky and said, “Well, the bad news is I can’t do much for him except tell you to keep him hydrated, wipe him down with a cool cloth every hour, and give him a little’s NSAID for his aches.

“But the good news is if he’s stopped vomiting, he’s already getting better. This seems to be the virus going around right now. He should be fine in a couple days. He’ll be tired for a while. Make sure he gets all the sleep he needs, and keep him on a bland diet for the next few days. He can eat solids whenever he’s ready. See if he’ll eat a cracker or some dry cereal in the next couple hours. That should help his stomach.

“Check his temperature every time you change his diaper, and if it goes up or he starts vomiting again, go the E.R. and call our service. Most importantly, he has to stay hydrated. If he can’t drink on his own, he’s going to have to need to be admitted to the hospital so he can get IV fluids.”

“You’re sure he’s getting better,” Amanda asked.

Daphne nodded sympathetically. “Yes, I’m sure. Promise.”

“Can we give him something for his stomach at least?”

“Best that you don’t. His body just needs to get over this on its own, and that’s part of it.”

“When will he be able to go back to daycare?”

“Next week. He shouldn’t be contagious by then. And disinfect your house. You guys might get it too, but if you do get it, it won’t be nearly as bad for you.”