Sick Day

I've been blessed with incredibly healthy kids, to be honest. Until Maddie had a kidney infection last fall, she'd never been really ill, never been prescribed medication.

However, new country, maybe new germs that their little bodies have to adjust to. Boo has had a wretched cough, which only got really bad on the airplane on the way to Tenerife, and got worse over the week - to the point where the hacking was triggering his gag reflex.

Not fun.

So, first day back to school after mid-term break, Boo stays home with me. That evening, he made a fast run for the bathroom and got sick. (I say, well done, Boo, to finally figure this bit out!)

However, within 10 minutes of settling Boo back in bed, Pea did the same.

Get sick, that is.

However, she is not familiar with this phenomenon, so she just stays where she is.
In bed.
Under the covers and curled up ON her blankie.

And then again, about 20 minutes after changing out her sheets.
And then again, while Daddy is rocking her. (Who proudly announced, after the fact, "I remembered your Mom's advice 'just stay where you are'" - told to him after he last ran a spewing boy down the hallway, leaving a trail behind him. Eeew is right.)

Aaaand, just one more time, for the heck of it, cause we still had a few sheets left in the cupboard.

The next day, needless to say, both kids stayed home. And, seriously, what do you do with listless, sick kids who don't want to be in bed?

Yes, thank you, I'm one of those mommies who will just pop in a movie. Bolt, take it away....

Upon returning from the laundry room after starting yet another load of wash, I found this, instead:

That doesn't even look comfortable!

And then, there is Boo. He was out cold! Don't know what we would do without the ever classic bean bag...

One more of Sleeping Beauty. Seriously, you've got to be REALLY tired (or drunk) to sleep on the floor, in my opinion.

Needless to say, it was a very quick, quiet day - good patients they were, indeed! (Did I mention they slept for several hours like this?)

Which is good, because in the course of about 3 hours, Pea generated THIS mountain of linens.

sick princess

As if a 17 hour drive isn't bad enough, getting sick in the first 5 hours makes it REALLY long.

I didn't even hear Pea get sick. I heard a cough, and Boo shouted "She threw up. Its all in her blankie! Ewww".

Yes, the girl caught all of it in her beloved blankie. Getting sick is traumatic enough, but to mess her blankie? Oh my.

Houston, we have a problem.

Both kids slept a lot, and were bouncy when we got out. However, Pea spiked a fever as we got closer to Chicago. She was up a lot more than usual last night. She was peeing constantly. (Not a big deal for most 3yr olds, but this is the same girl who was holding it last month because, get this, she didn't want to pee. Don't even get me started on THOSE conversations....)

Last night, she pointed to her left side, and said "my back hurwts." She then pointed to her belly button, and said "hewe, too". Warning bells went off in my head.

She woke up this morning hot enough to cook eggs on her forehead. I called the pediatrician, and then , bad mommy that I am, left her with her favorite babysitter so I could finally get my crowns seated. (I'd already cancelled the last two appointments, and I was fearing that I needed a root canal on top of it all.)

That painful task out of the way, and my face half numb, I drove Pea to her doctor. 15 minutes later we were headed to the emergency room; the good doc feared a kidney infection, and as Miz Stubborn won't pee in a potty, let alone a cup, and she spiked a fever as the doc was examining her, she needed immediate attention.

Now, through mommy blogs and Twitter, I have followed a number of absolutely heartbreaking tales of kids who are ill. Truly ill. And I've had so much respect for how their parents are handling the ordeal.

Today took it to a whole new level.

As I watched the nurses dig for a vein in my poor dehydrated girlie (she wouldn't drink, either), blow a vein and then opt to try the back of her hand, I had to dig deep for composure as my babydoll cried (no tears, she was dry.) Then, they had to use a catheter to get the smallest urine sample I've ever seen. She screamed, she cried. She begged to go home. I felt two foot tall for subjecting her to all of it. Never mind that she needed it. Never mind that if she had simply peed in the damn cup, we wouldn't have to subject her to any of it. (Did I say she is a stubborn cuss?)

It was a long, scary, terrifying day. Fortunately, after 6 hours, we were allowed to leave, with a prescription in hand that cost the same (with insurance) as my last pair of Ugg boots. Oh, and a Beanie Baby fish, coloring book, princess crayons, and stickers. She made out like a bandit for all her suffering!

Since she spiked another fever right before bedtime, and still looked listless and pale under her beach tan, (and as I'm a moron, and left her bedrail in a hotel in Batesville, Indiana), I don't think I'll get much sleep tonight.

So while I'm rocking her or rubbing her back, I'll be thinking of Stellan and MckMama tonight, praying for them both, and counting each and every one of MY blessings.

The Literal Preschooler, Part 2

So I've discussed previously how literal Sam can be. (I am not going into how he is also obsessing about the police coming to get him, and the constant questioning of whether a specific action will make the police come - I'm beyond my limit with that line of queries.)

This past week in school, his class discussed GERMS. What they are, what they look like, how they make you sick. Also how you shouldn't put your fingers in your mouth, etc. The upside of this is that Sam is now OBSESSED with washing his hands - before meals, after using the bathroom, after meals - all the stuff you usually might struggle with in a 4 year old boy.

The downside of this is that Sam is now OBSESSED with washing his hand....and moreso when he forgets, or does something that can spread germs - like when he is eating lunch, licks yogurt off a finger, and then freaks because "Mommy, I put my hand in my mouth." Oh, the poor boy!

Added: The irony of this? My typically very healthy boy catches a 24-hour bug somewhere and gets very sick, very quickly, enough so to miss a long awaited birthday party.