As we set up, it became clear that Béla was not excited to get to run around in the park, and didn't really even want to play with his toys. He had only been out on grass without shoes a few times at this point, as it had been really wet, so we thought he was still being weird about touching the grass (which he was at first). But he didn't really even want to sit on the blanket either. In fact, he mostly wanted to sit curled up next to one of us, although it was a very hot day. And so we started to eat, with Béla perched on his papa's lap. It was really cute, so I tried to get a nice photo of them together, with Béla smiling.
And I tried again (but here he looks even more sad)...
...and again...
...and again...
...and again. No smiles, but a couple of half-hearted attempts at eating. And attempts are all that we got, really. He barely ate, despite the choice of tasty food that we'd brought with us.
Oh well, we decided, he must just not like eating outside. (Right, because that's the most logical explanation. Silly rationalizing parents!) Then he wanted to nurse, and after much fussing and crying, fell asleep. We finished our picnic with him sleeping in the stroller, and walked on home. When he woke up from his nap, he had a high fever, and suddenly his lack of enjoyment at the picnic made much more sense.
He had no other symptoms (no cough, runny nose, etc.), so we were pretty sure it was going to be another urinary tract infection, which was really bad news, as then it might mean that he had a congenital problem that, in the worst case, might even require surgery. (After more than one UTI with boys, they often start doing testing, which in and of itself is unpleasant, let alone the treatment.) He had a fever again on Sunday, which we treated with acetaminophen when it got to 40 C, which meant that he felt well enough to help Jeremi install the baby gate on the door to the balcony.
Little did he realize he was building his own jail cell! (Yes, that's a wrench in his mouth.)
Béla is lots of help.
He was barely eating, and mostly just wanted to nurse and cuddle. There was lots of quiet play, and many fewer smiles than usual.
On Monday we brought him in to the doctor, with a bag to collect a urine sample already on him. (Unfortunately there wasn't any pee in it when we got there, so Jeremi had to run back later with the sample. In fact, he had to run back twice, as they were closed from 12:00-4:00, which we hadn't realized.) Once they tested the sample, the good news came back: no UTI! Hooray! The doctor mentioned that it could also be this very common "three day fever" (a direct translation from the German name), which is simply three days of high fever followed by a painless rash. And so we waited, with our poor feverish baby. Here is is sleeping on my lap after falling asleep while nursing, fighting the good fight against whatever virus is attacking him.
The pictures from this 3-4 days are really heartbreaking. There isn't a smile to be seen. But here he is sitting at his new little table. When we visited the daycare he'll be going to, the woman asked us if he was used to sitting on a chair, as that's how the kids there eat their meals. We didn't have any little furniture, so we got him a little table and chair set, which is really cute. And of course he did fine with the chair!
He and the cat, surveying their new prison. You can tell he's not feeling 100% here, because he's only half a meter from the cat and is making no attempt to grab her tail or "pet" her. (We managed to teach him not to pull on her fur anymore, but now he "pets" her with an open hand in a rather robust manner. She's the most patient cat in the world.)
And finally, the rash appeared. It's hard to see here, but there were tiny red dots all over his chest, and a few on his arms, legs and face.
On the back it's a bit more clear. It was a very classic presentation of Roseola, a.k.a. sixth disease, a.k.a. exanthema subitum, a.k.a. roseola infantum, a.k.a. baby measles, a.k.a. three-day-fever. 
Once the rash appeared they're supposed to feel better right away, but it was a couple of days before he was really back to normal. In fact, I'd say he got his full energy and appetite back while we were waiting at the Mannheim train station at around 5:00 in the morning on our trip-from-hell to Paris, which took 12 hours longer than it should have. But I'll save that for the next post!
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