Is this baby hot or not?

[SantasBigHelper]

Baby had underarm temp of 36.1 at around 3pm and is not at 36.3.

Google is telling me various different things about what underarm temp should be in a 12 week old and he's been ill recently.

He's a bit cranky but feeding OK.

The Braun thermoscan in war one that goes red amber and green is a godsend. Well worth the £40 odd it was.

I've got three kids and don't have a thermometer. Honestly, if they're ill enough to seek medical treatment, you are going to know. I think relying on a thermometer to tell you whether your child is ill or not is a bit risky.

If they're taking on some fluids, weeing, not burning up to the touch or sweating profulsely and you can rouse them, then a thermometer is not going to tell you anything you don't already know.

My sis is a GP and is getting about five parents through the door every single day at the moment with children whose sole symptom is a temperature. I'm not saying you would do this OP, by the way.

Have just ordered a nice Braun Thermoscan from amazon.

Raining - nothing really seems wrong at all, he seems fine. Got a bit cranky at Granny's earlier but her house is always ridiculously hot. He just drank 150ml expressed milk and has gone down without a fuss, so I think he's probably fine.

The reason I'm rather on-edge about it is that we recently had a spell in hospital for a UTI where the infection got into his blood. As a result I'm hyper vigilant/paranoid and we are meant to go out for drinks tonight for his Dad's birthday tonight so am having a slight crisis about leaving him on his own.

His Grandma who is babysitting used to be a nurse though, so can get her to take his temp periodically.

Apologies for the drip feed. I should have just laid it all out in the first place.

Janice - the problem is that when he was recently very ill he was actually fine in himself. Not even particularly grumpy. Smiling and chatting at all the doctors and nurses (until they started stabbing him with needles).

My mum has mentioned she had a nightmare with me when I was young as I always presented as fine, even when pretty ill, and when I was in induced labour the midwife told me I had a very high pain threshold (did 12 hours on the oxytocin drip with just G + A) and I'm wondering if he has inherited this trait.

We're currently on fever watch too. 9 month old DD has had a fever on and off of between 38-39.4 for the past 5 days.

I was one of those parents that went to the GP as the packaging said: any fever lasting longer than 4 days, to seek professional advice

I would look at your baby entirely and see if it's just a temperature or if they're showing other symptoms. Ours is a mix of teething and a virus.

Hope they feel better soon!

Thanks emmy I think I'm just a bit traumatised after recent experiences (see above).

I hope your DD cools down so you can all enjoy a nice relaxed Christmas together!!. xx

"I've got three kids and don't have a thermometer."

Snap. Hand on forehead here, along with general observation.

See, that's the sort of parent I thought/hoped I'd be...but read above for the problem I now have with that...

Braun thermostats are great. Mine was too large for a 12 week old though. More like 12 months for us.

I never trust thermometers they never seem accurate even the ear ones. I generally find touching my lips to their forehead the most accurate.

If you RTFT you'll see why I (sadly) can't relax and trust that method of diagnosis. x

If it's any help op, the one time ds had a bit of a raised temperature, he felt boiling hot to the touch. It was really obvious.

I bought the Braun thermometer as well, same one that they use at the doctor's and hospital. I also bought the Tempadots underarm throwaway ones; again, the ones that they use in hospital.
That was a few years ago after my two were in and out of hospital with pneumonia etc.

Ok totally misunderstood the thread title and was ready to have a rant...

I don't think your baby is broken op. Crack open the sherry.

Although yes, quick hand on the forehead is useful for minor illnesses, if you're concerned about a proper fever and they're young, get a decent in ear thermometer.

If you need to contact a doctor out of hours over the phone, being able to give an accurate temperature reading helps. If a doctor is asking you what temperature are they and you say "they're hot" then they don't know if you've got them in a boiling hot room, if you've got loads of layers on them or really what your frame of reference is for "hot". So you could end up with a misdiagnosis of just give them some calpol and see if it comes down vs. they need to be seen by a clinician.

This only matters rarely, but when it does matter, it really matters.