1 Oh. My. God. When it rains, it certainly pours doesn't it? I can offer nothing but a shoulder, dear. Unless you'd like to come for a visit? The worst is over. It's all downhill from here, babe.

2 On no ... that's .. oh no .... Erm .... maybe you wont get it? Actually what am I saying, you are so on spot watch. Boo ... sorry. At least the babies will get it over with? Not helping is it ... I'll back away from the laptop. M

3 First months at nursery, or first months at school - whatever age they start, they go down with everything going (and so do you - hence the 'flu). At least the chickenpox will be over and done with - Small went down with it at the end of the first day of Smallest's third birthday trip to Disneyland Paris, and we had to come home (actually, we think she went down with it 24 hours earlier, and sheer willpower kept the spots at bay so she could drag us round and round "It's a sodding small world" for the best part of a day). It's bloody horrid with poorly smalls, though - and doubly so for you. Much sympathy from here.

4 I hope you don't get it. Not because I'm being nice or anything. But I've been repeatedly exposing my boys (2 years & 10 months) to the Pox in the hopes of them getting it. And they just don't. If the twins do get it, can we come over? Karie

5 Ugh. That sucks out loud. Well, hope it comes quick and leaves quicker. The better for all of you. Hope to hear from you in a few weeks?

6 Don't worry about chicken pocks to much, except for the adults. Did you and your husband have them already? For the babies the following would be a great relief when the itching starts: bathe them (without rubbing of course, just put the in the water) in lightly warm water with a little vinegar essence in it (about the same ph factor as normal skin has) and the itching will stop immediately! It does not feel burning and is not dangerous at all. I did this with my little son who had chicken pocks when he was 4 months old in the middle of the hottest summer, several times a day. And afterwards I put a simple zinc lotion on the spots all over his little body which you can get at drugstores over here in Germany (they extra mix it and it costs like nothing ("lotio alba"). The lotion does not burn either,looks funny white and prevents the pock spots to leave deep scars. After about a week of treatment the crusts will fall off and you will be astonished how quick the nightmare will be over! I hope that you adults won't get ill. Good luck!

7 It could almost be a blessing in disguise. Babies get it and get over it quick, usually have less complications and cannot continually tell you how bad it itches (believe me, you just don't want to know that). My 14 year old is still unsure if he had it when he was a baby because of only a few spots that could have easily been mosquito bites. Let's hope the teenager doesn't get it - I tried to expose him by making him play with all sorts of strangers/acquaintances until he was about nine and then gave up trying to expose him. Just keep in mind, where illnesses go with kids, the more now - the less later. Hugs all the same!

8 oh dear. I am not sure if any one else has mentioned this, and I hate to be the first one to if they haven't......... but maybe you will be luckier than we were lol. um there is a good chance if they get them now they will get them again if exposed. The pedi told me when my 4 year old gave them to my 9 month old that if they get them before the age of about 12mo? that they have a great chance of getting them again. And of course she did at age 2. The good news is.. the first time wasn't so bad. She was covered but they seemed to bother her less. My son (13) has never had them. Here in the states they make them have a vaccination for them before school age. At least in the state that I am in now. I really wasn't sure I wanted him to have it, both my girls were ok when they had them. And I was worried if it didn't work for some reason and he gets them later in life that he could become sterile because of it?? Is that really true, I have no idea lol. Keeping my fingers crossed for you that they don't get them!

9 Got all fingers and toes crossed for you, Nick and Nora.

10 Blech. Chicken pox. Sorry to hear about that babe.

11 well fuck. where's the gin?

12 Oh man- I agree Fuck is the only word that is appropriate for this! We have a vaccine here (do you guys?) but I dont think our babe's are old enough for it.. not that it would do a lick of good at this point. So sorry Helen- you and Angus have had it right???

13 It is better now rather then later. People have "Pox Parties" over here-getting all their kids together when one breaks out. The idea, my peditrician told me, is that it is better to have them young, and to be fully exposed so that they do not have a recurrence later. There is a vaccine here, but my doctor advised me agaisnt it. She said it eventually wears off as a child ages, and they do not remain immune to the virus. They could end up getting it when they are older, and especially in teens and adults it can be very harmful. So we wait. However, all that is cold comfort. Sorry babe-the timing on this, to say the least, sucks.

14 You have all my sympathies. I had chicken pox 10 years ago and it sucks having it as an adult. Two words...calamine lotion.

15 I was about 6 when I got them, and I had the worse case my doctor had ever seen. They wanted to put me in the hospital, and I can still remember screaming bloody murder as my mom put in the eye drops they gave me (I had them UNDER my eyelids - and that wasn't the worst place I got them). However, I've often heard that the younger the better, so I'm hoping you and Angus have had them and that this passes quickly. Just keep their nails trim so they can't scratch too much. You are so in my thoughts. As is that scene in Friends when Phoebe and Charlie Sheen are wearing duct taped on oven gloves. Sorry.

16 Well, it's not the worst news ever. My own darling husband was only a couple of months older than the bebes (10 months, caught it from his then 3 yr old brother) when he got the dreaded Pox, and it seems to have conferred a lifelong immunity to future infection. He has NO memory of itching or scabs or anything, as opposed to my own tortuous memories of having mittens taped to my hands to keep me from scratching myself.... I'd be more worried about the little vampires at the nursery. You really need to smear poor Nick with garlic powder next time you take him in :-)

17 As everyone else has said, babies don't react too much to chicken pox. A little fever, a few spots, a little cranky but ear infections, etc., are much much harder for them to handle. My kids had chicken pox around 2 years old each time and even at 2, they just ran around like normal. So...shouldn't be too bad and at least they will be immune later in life. Unlike me who had it at 27. Trust me, be relieved they are having it now, for THEIR sakes.

18 Both Angus and I have had the chicken pox. Angus has even had German measles and mumps, so I'm debating calling the CDC on him.

19 It's better for them to have it at an early age than it is later on. You can keep them from scratching more easily. I know it's horrible for you right now, but keep your eye on the light at the end of the tunnel.

20 My oldest had 'the pox' at 11 months - exposed at daycare, just like yours. As soon as we knew she was exposed, my mom said to put her in as hot a bath as she could stand - apparently the hot water "brings out the pox". Probably an old wive's tale - but sure enough - the next day she had bumps. Thankfully, she didn't get them too badly, and didn't know how to scratch them, so she basically was just cranky over the whole thing. My 3 stepkids all had the vaccine, which I'm very much against, but I didn't have a say in that.

21 How frustrating! Like you *really* needed another issue to wrestle with. ((hugs))

22 I run a home daycare and had a family use my services as a back-up. They failed to tell me that their regular care provider wouldn't take the kids because the oldest was coming down with the pox. Needless to say ALL the kids came down with it. I had 7 kids with the pox, 2 of my own and 5 daycare kids. My two were the oldest and seemed to be the most affected. The little ones took it in stride. Our pharmacist recommended using Benadryl for the itching and it worked a charm. Like a previous commenter said I'd be more concerned with the biting. What is the centers policy on that?

23 Oh no!!! Hoping it's mild enough not to make them too miserable but strong enough to provide them with a lasting immunity.

24 From someone that works in a daycare, it is very common for children who aren't able to speak yet, to bite. It's their way of communicating but I understand that it is upsetting you that your babies are getting hurt. The staff should be watching/keeping the biter away from little ones. I really hope they don't get the chicken pox.

25 My son got the 'pox' at 7 months and it was awful. Blisters appeared right before our eyes and ALL over the place. Dreadful disease – makes you wonder how any of us survive – but we did. It lasted three feverish and spotty weeks, but now I positively laugh when I hear of an outbreak because I know we're going to be alright. And I remember how I was told by a wiser elder that it was actually a good thing! Good luck - if they do get it, it's not quite the end of the world.

26 Oh I forgot; the biting. I had a home childcare business and my Ray was "The" biter when he was little and I did have a few other "biters" over the years as well. I was a biter too, I'm told. *looks down, shamefaced* As someone else said, it's common for some kids when they are not verbal yet to bite instead. It's very VERY hard to prevent it from happening, it does NOT mean the facility is not being vigilant. So many times I was sitting within inches of the little ones, looking right at them and suddenly, one grabs another and bites their arm. I'd grab them but it would be too late; they're quick little buggers, hehehe. It's funny, my best friend was just hell about the biting thing with her first two, pissed off whenever it would happen to her sons at daycare, ranting about it, how the parents must be doing something wrong (BS) for the child to bite, how dare another child bite HER precious sons, etc., and I would tell her to chill out, it happens, yatta, and she would, grudgingly, then her third one, a girl, became a biter herself. I couldn't help but laugh when she told me. Suddenly she was the one the other mothers were glaring at when she'd go to pick up her daughter and she didn't like it much. Heh. Anyway, my take on it, as with all things regarding kids, is that interaction with others is healthy, kids do things to each other sometimes, I'm sure Nick and Nora smack each other or they will. They might even bite each other at some point; happens. Not the end of the world. As my kids' grandfather said when they were little and I'd be frantic about whatever childish thing they were doing as, yanno...children, as long as they are not biting/wetting the bed/sucking their thumb/crying at night/etc., by college years, you did okay. ;-P

27 My daughter was exposed at day care 3 TIMES and never got it. I finally gave up worrying about it and she had the shot instead. I hope your wee ones are as lucky. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

28 Here's the deal. When a kid gets the chicken pox, it is not nearly as dangerous as if he/she gets it as an adult, where it will not leave them sterile, that's mumps that can cause that, not pox. Anyway, the thing is though, that if you have had chicken pox, or herpes simplex, which are all related, then at a later date, you can get shingles, which are painful and debilitating and can cause blindness and nerve damage. This is why doctors used to encourage pox parties when kids were young, and then they figured out that shingles might be in your future, so they developed a vacine. *This message was not approved by the surgeon general. And was also way too long, sorry.