We bathed Sienna in Aveeno's Soothing Bath Treatment made of 100% Natural Colloidal Oatmeal.
Poor Sisi has caught chicken pox! What we thought was a bad heat rash from overheating in her Sleeping Beauty dress (threenager struggles), actually turned out to be the one and only Varisela.
We arrived in Phoenix the night before last to visit some family (Sienna has a half-Chilean cousin here) and by the following morning Sienna's small red spots had exploded over most parts of her body, ¡pobrecita!
I don't know how the heck we would have gone about it if it weren't for our Arizonian family out here, but luckily we got booked into a local doctor's who confirmed immediately that Sienna has indeed caught chicken pox. Since the spots had appeared less than 72 hours previously, they were able to prescribe Aciclovir which accelerates the healing process and reduces itching. Children are actually vaccinated against chicken pox in the USA so the pediatrician we saw had barely seen the rash before (lots of other members of staff were brought in to study Sienna's skin rash lol)! Being a private healthcare system here, the above was pricey to say the least. We also had to let American Airlines know about Sienna's pox as we had flown with them the day before 😞.
Since Sienna needs to have as little exposure to other people as possible until her spots have scabbed over, we didn't do or visit the things we had planned; but here are some cool places of interest around Phoenix, Arizona:
BUTTERYFLY WONDERLAND
"A rainforest experience" and America's largest butterfly pavilion where over 3,000 butterflies from across the world flutter freely. The attraction is open from 09:00-18:00, includes a reptile exhibition, an Amazonian aquarium, and the largest species of spiders and scorpions left on earth.
PHOENIX PREMIUM OUTLETS
Head here for a huge outdoor mall of big names at small prices. There are so many discounted shops here! There are also Fashion Square luxury malls in Chandler and Scottsdale (a richer area of the city), where there's also a high-street mall: Kierland Commons. All in all Phoenix is a great destination for shopping.
PHOENIX ZOO
Home to over 1,400 animals, with the only walk-through squirrel monkey exhibit in the USA, you can even meet the giraffes up close! I know Sienna would have loved this 😊.
BASEBALL GAMES
Cactus League Spring Training (major league baseball) is hosted in Arizona for a month every March (games this year run from 25th February until the 1st April). You can get tickets to see America's Premium Baseball teams play in some amazing stadiums in Phoenix and even meet them at autograph signings.
THE SPAS
Arizona is well-known worldwide for its spas and people actually come from across the globe to come here. Prices are usually over $800 USD per night here but in the summer when tourism is down because the weather is so hot, prices can go down to $160! Camelback Inn is right here in Scottsdale.
Fun facts: they have purple and white carrots, and yellow watermelon. They sell electrolyte ice pops at the chemist - I've never seen them before and think it's a great idea for little ones with a fever!
Despite not really leaving the house, Phoenix is definitely a great place for my bedhead babe to go through chicken pox...!
Water painting playdate with American-Chilean cousin, Olive.
VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to Randi and José Garcia, and little Olive, for your incredible and generous hospitality. We've LOVED seeing you!