Meredith finally fell asleep, which was a miracle in itself. With Derek gone, worry over Bailey's fever and Zola, she was not expecting to fall asleep.
She woke up to her alarm clock, signalling that it was time to give Bailey more medicine. Looking at the bassinet, Bailey was already awake, staring at his mommy. He was probably minutes away from crying.
"Did you let mommy sleep a little longer, buddy? You're such a sweetie. Now let's check your temperature again okay?"
Bailey's temperature had risen again. It was 101, just like before the Tylenol. Meredith tried to remind herself that this was a good thing—he wasn't getting worse. But she had been hoping the fever wouldn't come back at all.
All of the sudden, Bailey began to cry loudly and his hand went toward his ear.
Meredith finally had a clue, a possible reason for her unhappy boy. He could have an ear infection.
"Are your ears hurting? Poor guy. That's no fun. Mama will give you some more medicine so you can sleep"
She held Bailey close to her chest and rocked him, hoping he would quiet down. She had left the Tylenol in the kitchen, and if she took him out of the room while he was screaming, Zola would surely wake up.
Bailey's cries became quieter. He loved having his back rubbed. Not loosening her hold on him, Meredith quickly went to the kitchen to get the Tylenol, and then took Bailey back into her bedroom.
"Okay, you drink this up. It'll help a lot. In the morning, we'll go see Dr. Patterson. We'll get you feeling better."
Meredith suspected Bailey had an ear infection because of his fever and he had pulled on his ear. But, it could be any number of things. She knew that a fever of 101 was not a normal baby thing. He had to see his pediatrician as soon as he could. She partly felt that she should just handle this on her own—but she was a general surgeon. Not a pediatrician. Besides, doctor or not, she needed to hear someone else tell her Bailey would be fine. Her mind was jumping to terrible possibilities. Zola and Bailey's pediatrician was used to Derek and Meredith's concerns.
After giving him the Tylenol, Meredith fed Bailey again. He didn't usually eat at this time-usually he slept through the night. But if he wanted to nurse, he could. Meredith was sure it was comfort more than anything.
As Bailey nursed, Meredith began to think about the day that would begin in a few hours. She would call the pediatrician, and they would hopefully be able to see Bailey that day. If not, she would get one of her friends to take a look at him. If he did have an infection, he needed to get antibiotics soon. She had two surgeries scheduled and was supposed to be available for consults all day, which was a light schedule.
But Bailey had a fever, so he could not go to daycare. Plus, she didn't want to be away from him when he was sick. She remembered when Zola was sick and she was willing to skip her boards to stay with her.
She decided to call the hospital in the morning and take the day off. This was something she hardly ever did. Usually, if one of the kids was sick she and Derek would take turns looking after them. Or sometimes, in emergencies, they would find someone else for childcare. But Meredith knew that her two surgeries tomorrow were non-emergent. They could be pushed, or they could be done by another surgeon. She wasn't on call. She silently thanked Bailey for choosing this day to be sick.
Meredith felt slightly guilty, remembering the last time Derek had gone out of town. Zola had had a fever, and Meredith had needed several coworkers to watch her while she worked. But, that was different. Zola had spent the night with Callie. Meredith had already started working when she found out Zola had a fever. Her patient had reminded her of Lexie. The girl's name had been Melissa. When Callie brought Zola to her, Melissa was crashing. Meredith did not trust the new interns to save her, she had to do it herself.
No, this was not the same. That day Meredith couldn't be with Zola because she had to do her job and save her patient. This time, she didn't have a specific patient that needed saving.
She just needed a day at home with her babies.
Bailey had fallen asleep at her breast. She was so glad the Tylenol was working. It meant they could both get a few more hours of sleep.
As Meredith lay back down in her bed, she thought about how excited Zola would be to stay home all day with her.
Suddenly, she got an idea. Something she and Zola could do together, for lunch. Something that had a very low risk of turning into a disaster like their pasta dinner.
She went back to sleep feeling proud of her perfect idea. Zola would absolutely love it.
A few hours later, Meredith woke up to silence. It was rare that she woke to silence—usually there was a child crying, or two. Or Derek in the kitchen, though he tried his best to keep the house quiet if his wife was still sleeping. Or an alarm clock. If one of the babies did not wake her, the alarm clock would. Waking to silence was unheard of. Most people prefer waking to silence instead of noise. But in a house with small children, the silence made Meredith feel slightly uneasy. She was also a little annoyed that her body had woken her before her children. She always felt sleep deprived these days.
Actually, she had been sleep deprived for several years. Especially since the beginning of her residency, almost seven years ago.
It was seven in the morning. Zola would be up very soon, if she wasn't already. Meredith was a bit concerned that Bailey was still sleeping. She had hoped he would wake up feeling all better, though she knew that was unlikely to happen overnight.
Meredith checked Bailey's vital signs—his temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate. Well, three vital signs. In the hospital, blood pressure and oxygen saturation would also be checked as part of the morning routine. As crazy as it seemed, Meredith had seen too many things during the past seven years. She would not be able to relax unless she knew as much as she could about her baby boy's sickness.
Bailey's temperature was not as high as it had been, but he still had a fever. His heart rate and breathing were good. Meredith could call the pediatrician's office in one hour when they opened.
Meredith left Bailey sleeping in his bassinet and went to check on Zola. She walked into her little girls' room to find Zola playing with her stuffed animals on her bed.
"Mama! Morning!"
"Good morning ZoZo. I thought you were still asleep!"
"No mama, I awake. But daddy told me to play in my room after I wake up, so's you can sleep longer"
Meredith could hardly believe Derek. He had made sure Zola was a good helper, and had encouraged Zola to let her sleep in. She didn't need this kind of special treatment. She could handle things without Derek making sure everything was in order. But, she did love him for everything he did. He definitely had gone all out to make sure things were as easy as possible for her.
"That was so nice of you Zo. Guess what? I have a surprise for you."
"Surprise? Baby?"
Meredith paused before she could answer. When they told Zola that she was going to be a big sister, they had said they had a surprise for her. But, Meredith and Derek had definitely surprised Zola since then. Why did she immediately think a baby was coming?
"No, no baby this time Zo. You, me and Bailey are going to stay home today"
Zola looked confused. Her parents had had days at home with her before, but usually it was planned. Today, Zola was expecting to go to daycare.
"No daycare?"
"Not today ZoZo, but tomorrow you will see your friends there. Today we're going to have fun at home, okay?"
"Yay!"
Meredith did not want to tell Zola about their lunch plans for two reasons. The first reason was that she would be so excited, she would probably want to eat lunch at breakfast time. The second reason was that Bailey's appointment, if he got one, might interfere with lunchtime. She didn't want Zola to be disappointed in case it didn't work out.
"Where's Bailey Mama?"
"He's sleeping Lovebug. Let's try not to wake him okay? He doesn't feel very good"
"That why he kept crying last night?"
"Yes, it is. Being sick makes a person sad, and since babies can't talk, they cry when they are sad, or when they need something."
"Okay. I don't want Bay to be sad!"
"I know, me too. That's why we have to let him sleep okay? People get better faster if they sleep a lot."
"Okay Mama…Daddy phone?"
"Daddy will talk to us later Zo. He had to get up really early this morning for work"
Meredith hoped Derek had woken up on time. He was up so late the night before, but she was glad he had stayed up with them. He wasn't McDreamy for nothing. He had an important meeting this morning, so he wouldn't be able to call them this morning. Meredith was very proud of her husband, although she did hope these visits to D.C. would be minimal. He had told her he would do his best to work long distance, so that he wouldn't need to be away too much. She hoped that his words were true. She was already exhausted after just 24 hours.
After calling the hospital and the daycare to let them know she and the children would not be coming in today, Meredith called the pediatrician. They fit Bailey in that morning at eleven, which was a relief. If they hadn't fit Bailey in today, Meredith would have taken him to the hospital to get Alex to look at him, or another one of her friends. If she did that, she risked getting pulled into a case. It was much better to visit the pediatrician.
Meredith and Derek really liked their pediatrician. Of course, they wouldn't have stayed with a doctor they didn't like, but their first choice had been a great fit for their family. Meredith intended to ask Dr. Patterson a couple questions about how to talk to Zola after what had happened the night before.
Soon, Bailey woke up crying. His fever had risen once again. Meredith gave him another dose of Tylenol, knowing it would likely wear off during the pediatrician appointment. It would be good for the doctor to see how Bailey was without the Tylenol. But Meredith was not looking forward to going out alone with the kids. She was especially not looking forward to having a screaming baby, and likely an upset toddler, at the doctor's office.
However, there wasn't anything to be done to change the situation. Bailey soon calmed down and the three of them enjoyed their breakfast. Meredith could hardly believe the difference—last night both kids were screaming. Now, they were both calmly having breakfast. Zola was her cheerful self, clearly excited to spend the day with her mommy.
Okay, Meredith thought, this isn't so bad. I can do this. One day down, two to go.