Where I left off in my last post about the crazy beginning of my week:
Me alone sans husband for the week again. Sam vomiting like crazy over everything the night before two house showings. Me taking the day off work to clean like mad. Getting locked out of our house after the showing. More bad weather predicted for the following day.
If only I knew then the storm of misfortune that was a brewin' that I would have to weather in the days ahead...
Wednesday morning, I went to work. The winter storm warning threw down 9 inches of snow atop the ice skating rink-like roads that day. But still we had school although many around us did not or were delayed. Sam and Anna went to daycare. I got called midday about a house showing request for that evening, which isn't supposed to happen because we required overnight notice. I approved it anyway, because I hate to turn someone who might buy our house down, and I rationalized that I could pick up late from daycare and frantically clean for an hour after work. Most of it was clean from the day before, I just had beds to make, curtains to open, vacuuming and stuff to pick up. I forgot to add in the snow blowing of the 9 inches that had been dumped upon our driveway in my mental list. And I forgot that the roads would be treacherous so my usual 30ish minute drive would take twice as long. Thankfully, I was able to leave work right after the buses left, which bought me an extra half hour of time. Without that, I would have had 15 minutes to get our house showing-ready only.
So I drove as fast as I could, which meant I had only 45 minutes to do it all. I had my husband call a neighbor to quick snow blow our driveway and I was on track to get it all done in time. And then our daycare called me, and informed me that Anna was now vomiting all over. I quickly finished the last few things and headed over with a bucket, fully aware that I would have to be sitting in my car in below freezing weather, while my daughter sat in her car seat throwing up into a bucket for a hour while random strangers walked around our warm house. Thankfully, our daycare offered to let us hang out there for the hour and I just sat on the couch holding a bowl for Anna. Sam kept playing, and our dog had a blast playing with their dog in the backyard. We headed home as soon as possible, and Anna laid on our couch while I quick threw dinner together for Sam. Bedtime was only a little late.
Anna stopped vomiting after I put her to bed, but she started the waking-up-every-half-hour-or-so routine that Sam did Monday night. I started to feel a little queasy too, and ended up writing sub plans after midnight once I was sure that Thursday we wouldn't all be miraculously better. Unfortunately, since I left right after the buses left Wednesday, I was less prepared for the following day at school than I usually am. I also had a big meeting after school that had been rescheduled a bunch of times already that would need to get rescheduled again. Thursday Anna was mostly better and acted like herself, just with some diarrhea. But then our daycare provider called and told me that they all came down with the flu and would not be able to watch Sam and Anna on Friday. I was still queasy and bracing myself for the vomiting on my end so I wasn't sure what to do. I also could not be gone from school a third day if I could help it, so my husband agreed to take Friday off of work and travel home a day early. Daddy stayed home with then healthy Sam and Anna on Friday while I took my queasy self to work and pushed through it. I never threw up. I'm thinking it was from sheer willpower because I simply could not afford the time to be sick.
Saturday morning we had a Open House scheduled so we cleaned once again, but this time I at least had some help. 15 parties reportedly came through. (Here's the count so far with our house on the market in a month and a half: 13 showings. 2 Open Houses with 20 total groups through. And yet zero offers. Nada. Nothing. Not even one second showing.) Then Sunday, I'm sure you can guess what happened... Daddy caught the bug and started throwing up. Lucky him, he got to lay in bed all afternoon while sick.
It has been an epic week. An epic week that I really, really, really could have used a little break from this weekend to recharge and get down time before heading into another long week of solo parenting it Monday through Friday with double the standardized testing in Kindergarten and a long 12 hour work day on Thursday because of conferences. I hope, hope, hope that will be it with the above-and-beyond challenges though, because I'm all tapped out. And ready for a vacation someplace warm. Like Hawaii. Yes, Hawaii sounds very nice...
Showing posts with label sick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sick. Show all posts
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
24 Hours I'd Like to Never Relive
Well, it happened. Vomitting sick kid #1 while on my own solo parenting Monday-Friday. But unfortunately, the fun times didn't end with just that.
Yesterday Sam and Anna went to our old daycare because our current daycare provider was sick. Sam reportedly did not fall asleep during nap, which I can believe quite easily, with the change in day cares for the day. He's the one that is most affected by change, and less able to roll with the punches. Unfortunately he's also the child of mine that really requires a nap to function well.
Besides being a little sensitive and attention seeking once we got home, he wasn't horribly behaved though. For dinner we had his current favorite- tortellini with red sauce. He (as well as Anna) ate a ton of tortellini, something that is not unusual by any means. After dinner though, he started complaining that his tummy hurt. I thought he made had just gorged a little and needed to go to the bathroom. But minutes after tucking him in to bed for the night, that tortellini and red sauce reappeared all over his bed. I got him into the bathroom for the second and third episodes, and the fourth was in a bucket in his bed, so I actually fared pretty well in the clean up department. I am very glad that it wasn't in the middle of the night and I didn't have to clean up everything then. Sam has actually never thrown up at home before, so I've never witnessed it. Before yesterday, he had only vomited once before and that was at daycare.
Red sauce: an unfortunate choice for dinner last night.
After that, Sam ended up waking up almost every half hour all night long. Fearing more vomit, I rushed in every time, which I'm sure didn't help with the frequency. He never vomited again, but asked for water every time. I was torn about what to do for the following day- because I wasn't convinced it was the flu. He had no fever. Overtiredness and gorging on food is not a reason to stay home from daycare, IMO. I was already taking the day off of work because I had gotten notified that afternoon about two house showings occurring then and I didn't know when and how I was going to clean everything in such short notive while taking care of Sam and Anna and working. Then Sam throwing up added another layer of difficulty. I wanted to keep Sam home from daycare with me the next day if he was really sick but yet a.) the showings would have meant eliminating his nap that day too, and b.) how on earth was I going to make my home spotless with a sick and vomiting 2 year old that I'm sure would need constant mama-ing?
I am really looking forward to living near family after this crazy period of our lives is over so that I am not all on my own when stuck in situations like this.
So mom of the year award goes to me- since he didn't have a fever at night or in the morning and hadn't thrown up since the initial episodes, I sent him to daycare anyway (yes, less than 24 hours after he threw up multiple times). Now I am even more sure that he got sick because of a combination of being very overtired and overeating so I feel a little better about my choice, but I still feel guilty about it. After bringing Sam and Anna to daycare at 7 am after a night of waking up every half hour (and not truly falling asleep until almost 1 am) I hardcore cleaned until the house showings.
Fun times. Fun times. And I thought trying to teach kindergartners extremely sleep deprived and with caffeine shakes was a challenge- making your bed while extremely sleep deprived when all you want to do is climb in it because it looks so cozy and the house is so quiet takes supreme willpower.
But the fun doesn't end. Because then the last showing locked me out of my own house. We do have spare keys in a secret location under a stone outside... but because of the major freezing rain in the past 24 hours, the location was frozen solid. I used a mallet from our garage to try to pry it loose... and only succeeded in creating flying projectiles of pieces of rock towards my face. Yes, one hit me on the face and it hurt. I gave up and called our realtor to ask her nicely if she would come let us in.
So vomiting, lack of sleep, two house showings midweek with less than 24 hours notice, getting locked out of the house and work drama from trying to take the day off (I'm omitting the details of that on here).
You can bet this mama had a glass of wine after the kids went to bed tonight.
It seems like I always get locked out of something when my husband is gone though, so at least I've got that out of the way now, right?
Now tomorrow we've got a winter storm warning (More freezing rain! 9 inches of snow! Gusting winds blowing the snow over the glare ice! Yay!)so I'll be trudging precariously to work 40 minutes away after dropping off my little ones at daycare at 7 am (I am doubtful of a third snow day off a school this year). The fun never stops!
Yesterday Sam and Anna went to our old daycare because our current daycare provider was sick. Sam reportedly did not fall asleep during nap, which I can believe quite easily, with the change in day cares for the day. He's the one that is most affected by change, and less able to roll with the punches. Unfortunately he's also the child of mine that really requires a nap to function well.
Besides being a little sensitive and attention seeking once we got home, he wasn't horribly behaved though. For dinner we had his current favorite- tortellini with red sauce. He (as well as Anna) ate a ton of tortellini, something that is not unusual by any means. After dinner though, he started complaining that his tummy hurt. I thought he made had just gorged a little and needed to go to the bathroom. But minutes after tucking him in to bed for the night, that tortellini and red sauce reappeared all over his bed. I got him into the bathroom for the second and third episodes, and the fourth was in a bucket in his bed, so I actually fared pretty well in the clean up department. I am very glad that it wasn't in the middle of the night and I didn't have to clean up everything then. Sam has actually never thrown up at home before, so I've never witnessed it. Before yesterday, he had only vomited once before and that was at daycare.
Red sauce: an unfortunate choice for dinner last night.
After that, Sam ended up waking up almost every half hour all night long. Fearing more vomit, I rushed in every time, which I'm sure didn't help with the frequency. He never vomited again, but asked for water every time. I was torn about what to do for the following day- because I wasn't convinced it was the flu. He had no fever. Overtiredness and gorging on food is not a reason to stay home from daycare, IMO. I was already taking the day off of work because I had gotten notified that afternoon about two house showings occurring then and I didn't know when and how I was going to clean everything in such short notive while taking care of Sam and Anna and working. Then Sam throwing up added another layer of difficulty. I wanted to keep Sam home from daycare with me the next day if he was really sick but yet a.) the showings would have meant eliminating his nap that day too, and b.) how on earth was I going to make my home spotless with a sick and vomiting 2 year old that I'm sure would need constant mama-ing?
I am really looking forward to living near family after this crazy period of our lives is over so that I am not all on my own when stuck in situations like this.
So mom of the year award goes to me- since he didn't have a fever at night or in the morning and hadn't thrown up since the initial episodes, I sent him to daycare anyway (yes, less than 24 hours after he threw up multiple times). Now I am even more sure that he got sick because of a combination of being very overtired and overeating so I feel a little better about my choice, but I still feel guilty about it. After bringing Sam and Anna to daycare at 7 am after a night of waking up every half hour (and not truly falling asleep until almost 1 am) I hardcore cleaned until the house showings.
Fun times. Fun times. And I thought trying to teach kindergartners extremely sleep deprived and with caffeine shakes was a challenge- making your bed while extremely sleep deprived when all you want to do is climb in it because it looks so cozy and the house is so quiet takes supreme willpower.
But the fun doesn't end. Because then the last showing locked me out of my own house. We do have spare keys in a secret location under a stone outside... but because of the major freezing rain in the past 24 hours, the location was frozen solid. I used a mallet from our garage to try to pry it loose... and only succeeded in creating flying projectiles of pieces of rock towards my face. Yes, one hit me on the face and it hurt. I gave up and called our realtor to ask her nicely if she would come let us in.
So vomiting, lack of sleep, two house showings midweek with less than 24 hours notice, getting locked out of the house and work drama from trying to take the day off (I'm omitting the details of that on here).
You can bet this mama had a glass of wine after the kids went to bed tonight.
It seems like I always get locked out of something when my husband is gone though, so at least I've got that out of the way now, right?
Now tomorrow we've got a winter storm warning (More freezing rain! 9 inches of snow! Gusting winds blowing the snow over the glare ice! Yay!)so I'll be trudging precariously to work 40 minutes away after dropping off my little ones at daycare at 7 am (I am doubtful of a third snow day off a school this year). The fun never stops!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Well, That Stunk
We had an interesting chain of events in the last week at our house. First, I took Tuesday off of work to clean our house for relatives to visit. Let's face it, that's about the only way I have time to make our home presentable to what I feel is an appropriate standard for visitors. Then, Grandpa Dan was delayed a day because of car trouble. Our daycare provider took a sick day on Wednesday and since I already stayed home from work the day before, Daddy fielded that one and took that day off of work.
Then Thursday I shuttled Sam and Anna to daycare (Which is not our usual routine and means that I have about 5 minutes of their awake time before we get in the car. It's rough to get twin toddlers out the door before 7 am!) because Daddy and Grandpa went turkey hunting in the morning. Sam may have seemed extra cranky in the morning, but they usually are when I have to get them up early and drop off at daycare a half hour earlier than usual. He also coughed a nasty little cough which made me hesitate for one second and consider staying home, but since they were knee-deep in colds at the time, I kept getting Sam and Anna dressed as fast as I could anyway. I hadn't even pulled into the school parking lot at work 30 minutes after drop off before I got a call from daycare that she was certain that Sam had croup. I walked to the office before even getting to my classroom and had them call a substitute in before I turned around and left to get him and bring him to the doctor. Sam, of course, would not cough once for the pedi, but we thankfully left armed with a Rx anyway.
Friday Sam seemed much better, so we did bring them to daycare that day. However, when I picked Sam and Anna up after school (pretty soon after they woke up from their nap), we discovered that Anna had a fever that started climbing once she woke up.
Our plan for months was to leave Sam and Anna with their Grandpa Dan (who was visiting to turkey hunt anyway) and Aunt Mary Saturday to Sunday so that Daddy and I could go to a wedding of old college friends a 4+ hour drive away. We were planning of course, to stay overnight. I had been looking forward to this ever since we got the Save the Date because these are the last of our college friends to marry and quite possibly the last wedding to attend with the old group. We rarely get to see these friends and so both of us were and are extremely sad about it.
Sam's croup and Anna's fever, of course, prevented that. Ibuprofen broke Anna's fever but not before I saw her at the most lethargic I've ever seen. Sam's cough got better, but still interrupted all his sleep day and night for days so he was a cranky, mama-clingy mess all weekend.
Now Monday Anna's fever is all gone.. but now she's coughing (not croup-like yet) and Sam's still not himself, but less crabby and clingy. We missed the wedding and our friends a lot, and sick kids makes my heart just hurt for them. Needless to say, we're looking forward to a better week ahead, hopefully filled with better, happier and healthier days!
Then Thursday I shuttled Sam and Anna to daycare (Which is not our usual routine and means that I have about 5 minutes of their awake time before we get in the car. It's rough to get twin toddlers out the door before 7 am!) because Daddy and Grandpa went turkey hunting in the morning. Sam may have seemed extra cranky in the morning, but they usually are when I have to get them up early and drop off at daycare a half hour earlier than usual. He also coughed a nasty little cough which made me hesitate for one second and consider staying home, but since they were knee-deep in colds at the time, I kept getting Sam and Anna dressed as fast as I could anyway. I hadn't even pulled into the school parking lot at work 30 minutes after drop off before I got a call from daycare that she was certain that Sam had croup. I walked to the office before even getting to my classroom and had them call a substitute in before I turned around and left to get him and bring him to the doctor. Sam, of course, would not cough once for the pedi, but we thankfully left armed with a Rx anyway.
Friday Sam seemed much better, so we did bring them to daycare that day. However, when I picked Sam and Anna up after school (pretty soon after they woke up from their nap), we discovered that Anna had a fever that started climbing once she woke up.
Our plan for months was to leave Sam and Anna with their Grandpa Dan (who was visiting to turkey hunt anyway) and Aunt Mary Saturday to Sunday so that Daddy and I could go to a wedding of old college friends a 4+ hour drive away. We were planning of course, to stay overnight. I had been looking forward to this ever since we got the Save the Date because these are the last of our college friends to marry and quite possibly the last wedding to attend with the old group. We rarely get to see these friends and so both of us were and are extremely sad about it.
Sam's croup and Anna's fever, of course, prevented that. Ibuprofen broke Anna's fever but not before I saw her at the most lethargic I've ever seen. Sam's cough got better, but still interrupted all his sleep day and night for days so he was a cranky, mama-clingy mess all weekend.
Now Monday Anna's fever is all gone.. but now she's coughing (not croup-like yet) and Sam's still not himself, but less crabby and clingy. We missed the wedding and our friends a lot, and sick kids makes my heart just hurt for them. Needless to say, we're looking forward to a better week ahead, hopefully filled with better, happier and healthier days!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Mama Loves Food Pouches
Mama Loves is a linky party where mamas can share anything that has made your life easier as a mama.
Maybe you've found:
- a toy or book that captivates your child(ren)
- gear you just can't live without
- a recipe your choosy toddler gobbles down
- a parenting book that you've found perspective changing
- an activity that wears your kid(s) out (these lead to good naps, which we all love)
- an outfit that flatters your post-baby body and makes you feel fabulous
- or anything else you're loving--creativity welcome!
__________________________________________
I stick to only the pouches that have 90 calories or more in them, because my primary reason for including them in Sam and Anna's diet is to keep their weight on their growth curve. My littles have always been, well, little- so we need all the extra boost we can get. I prefer to do that in a healthy way rather than slathering on high fat additives with less nutritional value. These food pouches packed with fruits and veggies do just that.
I credit Anna and Sam's 2 lb weight gain from 18 months old to 19 months old thanks to those pouches. They were also super handy on days when we had to rush to swimming lessons and dinner was always cut short. I'm excited to use them over the holidays while we are traveling across state lines for long road trips. Now I can even credit those little pouches for helping me get some nutrition into my little ones when they were under the weather.
Yes, on top of my crazy month solo parenting almost nonstop, Sam and Anna both got sick at the same time, just after my husband left for the third trip. They hardly ate anything, Sam had diarrhea nonstop, and Anna had a fever. They would not touch any solid food (besides being sick, they are both cutting canines). We don't have much wiggle room for days of eating less. But.... Sam and Anna would eat a few pouches at a meal, so I was able to get a few hundred calories in them each time I tried, plus all the goodness that fruit and veggies provide on top of that.
I also just saw that Target is now carrying pouches in its store brand, Up&Up.
Woohoo for that, because now I can get some varieties at almost half the price as before.
Double love it!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
RSV
A student in my class had RSV a week and a half ago. Just found out my daycare provider was diagnosed with RSV this weekend. Pretty sure that Sam and Anna's fever, (vomiting with Anna), stuffy nose, and cough during the last week or so was actually RSV.
Joy.
I'm so glad it doesn't seem like they have had any breathing issues, but you can bet I'll be watching much more closely from now on. They do seem to be doing better, although the stuffy nose remains for both of them.
I'll just keep telling myself that being sick now as infants as much as they have been (albeit thankfully nothing too serious) will mean that they won't be sick as frequently when they start school. Isn't that what everybody says?
Joy.
I'm so glad it doesn't seem like they have had any breathing issues, but you can bet I'll be watching much more closely from now on. They do seem to be doing better, although the stuffy nose remains for both of them.
I'll just keep telling myself that being sick now as infants as much as they have been (albeit thankfully nothing too serious) will mean that they won't be sick as frequently when they start school. Isn't that what everybody says?
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Sickies
I made the mistake of feeding Sam and Anna blueberries Thursday night. Anna loves blueberries especially, and I was surprised to see that together they devoured the rest of the container.
It was a mistake because I was revisited by those blueberries mere hours later and a few hours after bedtime. And again a little bit after that. And can I just say, blueberry vomit stinks? Literally as well as figuratively. It's chunky. It also stains. A lot.
At first I thought- oh no. Bad mommy me, I let them eat too many and she got sick off of eating too many blueberries. But a thermometer check revealed that Anna had a rectal temp of 103.7 degrees. My poor baby girl was sick. A fitful night of sleep ensued for all but Sam. Amazingly he slept through it all, even when I lifted her mattress and changed her sheet and mattress pad inches from his sleeping head.
The next morning she kept down her morning bottle and although still had a fever, she seemed to be better. So because Sam and Anna were going to be the only two at daycare that day, and because Daddy had a work trip the day before and really needed to be at work and because it was the 100th day of school and a special helper was coming to school so Momma really needed to be at work too, to daycare they went. We really thought the worst of it was over and the vomiting was done, or we would never have made that decision. But we were wrong and not only did Anna throw up twice after lunch and her midday bottle (she did keep down a small breakfast though) but Sam was starting to look sick by the afternoon and a high temperature from him confirmed it as well.
Now it is Saturday and although they both have fevers, we're around the 101 degree range, which makes me breathe a lot easier than 103.7. Anna has not vomited in more than 24 hours, and she's starting to act like her usual self. I hope that also means she will be sleeping better/like her usual self tonight. Sam has not vomited (yet), but he's crankier than he's ever been. I'm hoping the latest dose of fever reducing meds does the trick to help him sleep better than he did last night. At the very least, Anna's improvement points to the possibility that this is a short lived illness, and hopefully they both will be in happy moods tomorrow. It does seem like her ick has turned immediately into a cold though.
One silver lining to two sick babies with fevers- cuddling with sleeping babies. Not too long ago, Sam used to conk out right at the end of his bedtime bottle and I would enjoy just holding him for a while, slumbering in my arms, before placing him in his crib. One day that just ended with no warning, and I've always been wistful that I never knew to savor that one Last Time. Plus, in a small (very small) way, I miss his MOTN feedings that lasted until he was 9 months old, for the same reason- you just can't beat holding a sleeping baby when all is quiet and peaceful in the house. Tonight I was able to recreate those moments, and it was nice. Now he has my complete blessing to sleep all they way through until morning!
It was a mistake because I was revisited by those blueberries mere hours later and a few hours after bedtime. And again a little bit after that. And can I just say, blueberry vomit stinks? Literally as well as figuratively. It's chunky. It also stains. A lot.
At first I thought- oh no. Bad mommy me, I let them eat too many and she got sick off of eating too many blueberries. But a thermometer check revealed that Anna had a rectal temp of 103.7 degrees. My poor baby girl was sick. A fitful night of sleep ensued for all but Sam. Amazingly he slept through it all, even when I lifted her mattress and changed her sheet and mattress pad inches from his sleeping head.
The next morning she kept down her morning bottle and although still had a fever, she seemed to be better. So because Sam and Anna were going to be the only two at daycare that day, and because Daddy had a work trip the day before and really needed to be at work and because it was the 100th day of school and a special helper was coming to school so Momma really needed to be at work too, to daycare they went. We really thought the worst of it was over and the vomiting was done, or we would never have made that decision. But we were wrong and not only did Anna throw up twice after lunch and her midday bottle (she did keep down a small breakfast though) but Sam was starting to look sick by the afternoon and a high temperature from him confirmed it as well.
Now it is Saturday and although they both have fevers, we're around the 101 degree range, which makes me breathe a lot easier than 103.7. Anna has not vomited in more than 24 hours, and she's starting to act like her usual self. I hope that also means she will be sleeping better/like her usual self tonight. Sam has not vomited (yet), but he's crankier than he's ever been. I'm hoping the latest dose of fever reducing meds does the trick to help him sleep better than he did last night. At the very least, Anna's improvement points to the possibility that this is a short lived illness, and hopefully they both will be in happy moods tomorrow. It does seem like her ick has turned immediately into a cold though.
One silver lining to two sick babies with fevers- cuddling with sleeping babies. Not too long ago, Sam used to conk out right at the end of his bedtime bottle and I would enjoy just holding him for a while, slumbering in my arms, before placing him in his crib. One day that just ended with no warning, and I've always been wistful that I never knew to savor that one Last Time. Plus, in a small (very small) way, I miss his MOTN feedings that lasted until he was 9 months old, for the same reason- you just can't beat holding a sleeping baby when all is quiet and peaceful in the house. Tonight I was able to recreate those moments, and it was nice. Now he has my complete blessing to sleep all they way through until morning!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Emerging Again...
The past two weeks I've pretty much been in full-force survival mode. First, I plowed through a week solo-parenting while my husband was on a work trip. This was his longest trip yet since the babies were born, and encompassed an entire work week, in which I needed to play the role of full-time kindergarten teacher and full-time single parent to twin 8 month olds at the same time. Just when reprieve came and we were able to have a weekend as a family of four again, another hectic week geared up: last week was conference week at school, so I needed to endure two loooong work days, in which I didn't see my babies awake from 7 am when I left until 6:30 am the next day when I woke them up. Throw in two teething babies into the mix last week (that had pretty restless sleep most nights), and I was barely functioning come Friday.
I thought I would have this weekend to recoup my sanity, refuel my energy, and get some decent sleep. All that fell to the wayside when the flu came knocking on our door. (Just FYI- both adults in our household DID get the flu shot, and both Sam and Anna have had their first flu booster. Their second flu booster is next week). It hit me first, and less than 24 hours later my husband fell victim to the stuff-coming-out-both-ends flu. Let me tell you, the flu is no joke when you've got two babies that need caring for, but yet you don't want to get too close in fear that you will give it to them too. So far (knocking on wood) Sam and Anna are doing okay.
I felt better Sunday night, but my husband was still in the run-to-the-bathroom-every-hour stage, so I got very little sleep. I ended up taking Monday off of work so I could disinfect our house from top to bottom to attempt to keep the flu germs out of Sam and Anna's way and so I could take a nap. A benefit to being full-time working parents? I brought them to daycare anyway today, so that someone that was healthy could take care of them (and so I had time to disinfect everything and take that nap).
I am crossing everything I've got that somehow Sam and Anna avoid this nasty little bug. I can only imagine how much worse the flu is when you're not the one who is dealing with it- your two babies are.
I thought I would have this weekend to recoup my sanity, refuel my energy, and get some decent sleep. All that fell to the wayside when the flu came knocking on our door. (Just FYI- both adults in our household DID get the flu shot, and both Sam and Anna have had their first flu booster. Their second flu booster is next week). It hit me first, and less than 24 hours later my husband fell victim to the stuff-coming-out-both-ends flu. Let me tell you, the flu is no joke when you've got two babies that need caring for, but yet you don't want to get too close in fear that you will give it to them too. So far (knocking on wood) Sam and Anna are doing okay.
I felt better Sunday night, but my husband was still in the run-to-the-bathroom-every-hour stage, so I got very little sleep. I ended up taking Monday off of work so I could disinfect our house from top to bottom to attempt to keep the flu germs out of Sam and Anna's way and so I could take a nap. A benefit to being full-time working parents? I brought them to daycare anyway today, so that someone that was healthy could take care of them (and so I had time to disinfect everything and take that nap).
I am crossing everything I've got that somehow Sam and Anna avoid this nasty little bug. I can only imagine how much worse the flu is when you're not the one who is dealing with it- your two babies are.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
I'm Gonna Be Gray By Age 35
Good Lord, what a week so far.
I stayed home with Anna yesterday because of her fever. She napped a lot (4 naps with over 6 hours of total nap sleep) but ate very little compared to her usual amount lately. During the day I had noticed that her soft spot was kind of more pronounced than usual- "bulging" out, even. I called our pedi's office just to see if that was something I should be concerned about. I was told somewhat dismissively "maybe I was just noticing it more than usual because she was sick" and that maybe she was "over-hydrated" (WTF- I had already told the nurse that she wasn't drinking as much as usual AND that she had had 6 diarrhea diapers during the day- there's NO WAY she could have been "over-hydrated" and I didn't even know that it was possible to be "over-hydrated." I ended up googling bulging fontanelle (why do I always consult Dr. Google even though I KNOW I'm going to get the worst-case-scenario??) and meningitis came up. Her other characteristics- fever, diarrhea, stiff neck (probably more related to her torticollis but aggravated by not feeling well) plus the bulging fontanelle were all listed as symptoms of meningitis. It was too late to call back by then, but we had been told to bring her in if she had the fever for 3 days anyway, so we waited for the morning to see how she was doing. I really didn't think it was something super serious, or I would have brought her to the ER. I thought we would be okay at least until morning.
Anna didn't have a fever this morning, so we brought her to daycare. Our daycare provider emailed about 10 am and said she had a fever and asked if she could give her generic Tylenol. Since we had been told to bring Anna in to be checked over if she had the fever for 3 days, my husband made an appointment to bring her in as soon as we could. (I had our first school field trip today, so it would have been really difficult to be gone from work myself. My husband has a lot more flexibility at his job than I do.)
My mommy instinct was warranted, because our pedi told my husband she had never seen a soft spot protruding that much on an infant as old as Anna before, and ordered a CT scan and bloodwork to try and figure out what was going on. Although Anna was hungry, they wouldn't let my husband feed her in case the results from the bloodwork came back bacterial and she would need a spinal tap. Good lord. She had only napped for 15 minutes all day on top of all that. I called over an hour after the appointment because I had not heard anything from him yet (I figured he would have left by then), and this is what I heard (my baby screaming in the background) "they are going to do a CT scan to rule anything out- oh, I have to go the doctor just walked in." Click. I had to wait over an hour to find out anything else. Way to make a momma want to drop everything and run to her car to get to her baby as fast as possible! BUT, as a teacher, it's not like I can leave my class high and dry with no adult to watch 16 5-year-olds. Plus, my husband was there, what was I going to do that he was not doing? So I stayed and waited not-so-patiently for more news.
The short version is that the bloodwork came back showing a viral infection, so she most definitely does not have bacterial meningitis (the bad, bad kind). And no spinal tap was needed, thank goodness. She finally got to drink her bottle and was in relatively better spirits.
She may have a mild case of viral meningitis, but neither the neurologist nor our pediatrician thinks that is the kind of viral infection she has (they don't know what kind though). She officially has a "begnin enlargement of the subarachnoid space"- basically extra fluid in the tissue layer of her head (NOT her brain and not in the layer that has veins, both of which would be bad) that is pushing her soft spot up. 16% of infants apparently have this, more commonly boys. They will be monitoring her head circumference closely as she grows and that's about it. It shouldn't cause any issues or interfere with her development.
Anna also happens to have her next cardiologist appointment tomorrow to check on her VSD and ASD heart murmurs. The plan is to get a EKG to see if they have gotten smaller. I anticipate good news, because the last couple of times her heart has been listened to, our pedi said it sounds like it has gotten smaller.
Life is certainly never dull around here! For a relatively "healthy" child, she sure has seen a lot of doctors! Besides her pediatrician she has seen a cardiologist for her heart murmur, a gastroenterologist for her GERD, a physical therapist for her torticollis, a chiropractor, and now a neurologist. I'm 31 and have never had a EKG or a CT scan. Anna's less than 7 months old and she's had both. I'm really ready for this to calm down a little around here and have a normal couple of weeks. I'm not sure I know what normal is anymore!
I stayed home with Anna yesterday because of her fever. She napped a lot (4 naps with over 6 hours of total nap sleep) but ate very little compared to her usual amount lately. During the day I had noticed that her soft spot was kind of more pronounced than usual- "bulging" out, even. I called our pedi's office just to see if that was something I should be concerned about. I was told somewhat dismissively "maybe I was just noticing it more than usual because she was sick" and that maybe she was "over-hydrated" (WTF- I had already told the nurse that she wasn't drinking as much as usual AND that she had had 6 diarrhea diapers during the day- there's NO WAY she could have been "over-hydrated" and I didn't even know that it was possible to be "over-hydrated." I ended up googling bulging fontanelle (why do I always consult Dr. Google even though I KNOW I'm going to get the worst-case-scenario??) and meningitis came up. Her other characteristics- fever, diarrhea, stiff neck (probably more related to her torticollis but aggravated by not feeling well) plus the bulging fontanelle were all listed as symptoms of meningitis. It was too late to call back by then, but we had been told to bring her in if she had the fever for 3 days anyway, so we waited for the morning to see how she was doing. I really didn't think it was something super serious, or I would have brought her to the ER. I thought we would be okay at least until morning.
Anna didn't have a fever this morning, so we brought her to daycare. Our daycare provider emailed about 10 am and said she had a fever and asked if she could give her generic Tylenol. Since we had been told to bring Anna in to be checked over if she had the fever for 3 days, my husband made an appointment to bring her in as soon as we could. (I had our first school field trip today, so it would have been really difficult to be gone from work myself. My husband has a lot more flexibility at his job than I do.)
My mommy instinct was warranted, because our pedi told my husband she had never seen a soft spot protruding that much on an infant as old as Anna before, and ordered a CT scan and bloodwork to try and figure out what was going on. Although Anna was hungry, they wouldn't let my husband feed her in case the results from the bloodwork came back bacterial and she would need a spinal tap. Good lord. She had only napped for 15 minutes all day on top of all that. I called over an hour after the appointment because I had not heard anything from him yet (I figured he would have left by then), and this is what I heard (my baby screaming in the background) "they are going to do a CT scan to rule anything out- oh, I have to go the doctor just walked in." Click. I had to wait over an hour to find out anything else. Way to make a momma want to drop everything and run to her car to get to her baby as fast as possible! BUT, as a teacher, it's not like I can leave my class high and dry with no adult to watch 16 5-year-olds. Plus, my husband was there, what was I going to do that he was not doing? So I stayed and waited not-so-patiently for more news.
The short version is that the bloodwork came back showing a viral infection, so she most definitely does not have bacterial meningitis (the bad, bad kind). And no spinal tap was needed, thank goodness. She finally got to drink her bottle and was in relatively better spirits.
She may have a mild case of viral meningitis, but neither the neurologist nor our pediatrician thinks that is the kind of viral infection she has (they don't know what kind though). She officially has a "begnin enlargement of the subarachnoid space"- basically extra fluid in the tissue layer of her head (NOT her brain and not in the layer that has veins, both of which would be bad) that is pushing her soft spot up. 16% of infants apparently have this, more commonly boys. They will be monitoring her head circumference closely as she grows and that's about it. It shouldn't cause any issues or interfere with her development.
Anna also happens to have her next cardiologist appointment tomorrow to check on her VSD and ASD heart murmurs. The plan is to get a EKG to see if they have gotten smaller. I anticipate good news, because the last couple of times her heart has been listened to, our pedi said it sounds like it has gotten smaller.
Life is certainly never dull around here! For a relatively "healthy" child, she sure has seen a lot of doctors! Besides her pediatrician she has seen a cardiologist for her heart murmur, a gastroenterologist for her GERD, a physical therapist for her torticollis, a chiropractor, and now a neurologist. I'm 31 and have never had a EKG or a CT scan. Anna's less than 7 months old and she's had both. I'm really ready for this to calm down a little around here and have a normal couple of weeks. I'm not sure I know what normal is anymore!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Poor Sweet Pea
First colds about a week ago, now Anna has her first fever. :( After checking, I know that it is not teething induced- maybe ear infection or virus? My daycare provider took her temp yesterday afternoon and it was 100.8. After generic Tylenol, it was 99.4. She was semi-fussy, and wanted to be held most of the day. Anna had 6 loose, soiled diapers throughout the day, poor bug- so she has a major diaper rash on top of feeling crummy. I decided to stay home with her today, although she could have gone to daycare (since it's just our babies and a 3 year old, she's pretty flexible about fevers/colds). The babies had a pretty rough night because Anna had frequent cry-outs in her sleep, which kept Sam from sleeping well. We also decided to bring Sam to daycare, so that I could focus on helping Anna feel better and knowing that her eating and sleeping routine would be really off today. I miss my Sam man a little more today because I know that I elected to have him not here, but I know it's for the best.
Anna had a fever of 100.2 when she woke up this morning as well. She isn't eating well, and she's sleeping a lot. She took her usual 2 hour long morning nap, woke up and ate 3 oz, and then practically fell asleep in my arms a half hour later. (She didn't actually fall asleep while I was holding her, because she's my little independent girl- even sick, she really would prefer going to sleep on her own in her crib than cuddling to sleep.) After putting her back down, she's been asleep for over an hour now.
After calling our pedi's office, they suggested bringing her in tomorrow if she continues to have a fever. My poor little sweet pea- I hope she feels better soon!
Edited to add: OMG! I realized later that this was the very first time Sam and Anna were seperated for a long period of time since, well, since they existed as a mass of rapidly dividing cells. I am glad I didn't think of this sooner, because it might have made me a little more teary-eyed to leave my little guy at daycare all day alone, without his BFF. Our daycare provider said there were a few moments he looked around and she pondered if he was wondering where Anna was. Also, my dog seemed a little more on edge today. I bet she thought I lost the other baby! Ha!
Anna had a fever of 100.2 when she woke up this morning as well. She isn't eating well, and she's sleeping a lot. She took her usual 2 hour long morning nap, woke up and ate 3 oz, and then practically fell asleep in my arms a half hour later. (She didn't actually fall asleep while I was holding her, because she's my little independent girl- even sick, she really would prefer going to sleep on her own in her crib than cuddling to sleep.) After putting her back down, she's been asleep for over an hour now.
After calling our pedi's office, they suggested bringing her in tomorrow if she continues to have a fever. My poor little sweet pea- I hope she feels better soon!
Edited to add: OMG! I realized later that this was the very first time Sam and Anna were seperated for a long period of time since, well, since they existed as a mass of rapidly dividing cells. I am glad I didn't think of this sooner, because it might have made me a little more teary-eyed to leave my little guy at daycare all day alone, without his BFF. Our daycare provider said there were a few moments he looked around and she pondered if he was wondering where Anna was. Also, my dog seemed a little more on edge today. I bet she thought I lost the other baby! Ha!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sick
My poor little baby boy has his first cold. Which means my poor little baby girl's first cold is on it's way. Which means what little sleep I get now will be wishful thinking for a while.
I am thankful that we made it over 6 months before either one got sick. I knew it was only a matter of time and I am hopeful that this means I'll have two well babies when my husband is out of town for two trips in October and two trips in November.
Crap. Do I try to reschedule 6 month photos since they will both probably look and feel sick this weekend?
I am thankful that we made it over 6 months before either one got sick. I knew it was only a matter of time and I am hopeful that this means I'll have two well babies when my husband is out of town for two trips in October and two trips in November.
Crap. Do I try to reschedule 6 month photos since they will both probably look and feel sick this weekend?
Monday, January 25, 2010
Busy Week
I'm gearing up for a busy week, with a few roadblocks. I still need to finish report card comments, but I just can't muster up the motivation to do it. The voices in my head keep whispering "go ahead and wait- if you get put on bed rest you can still do them through the Internet..." I'm trying to take it easy due to this darn cold that I can't medicate, and as always I have to try to take things one day at a time, because looking at the big picture of 34 more days at work is way too overwhelming.
Today was my easiest day this week- a long chunk of special classes so my students were out of my room for over an hour and no after school commitments- so I quickly rewarded myself for going to school and getting through the day with a two hour long nap (hey- it will probably be my only one this week). Tomorrow after school is our next peri appointment and u/s. I'm so curious to see what they weigh right now. I'm estimating that there's over 7 lbs of total baby in there, but I wonder how close to 8 lbs it will be. Wednesday we have an appointment with the pediatrician we're considering. It will be nice to cross that off the list once that is officially decided. Thursday afternoon is my work shower (I know I'm getting the co-sleeper among other stuff, so I'm excited about that! But I still have the same apprehension about showers that I mentioned in November) Friday afternoon is my OB appointment and then the guys should start arriving for their weekend. I also plan on getting The Note to release me from work so that I have it when I need it, instead of having to wait until my next appointment. We'll wrap up the weekend by celebrating hitting the 32 week milestone on Sunday!!!
Today was my easiest day this week- a long chunk of special classes so my students were out of my room for over an hour and no after school commitments- so I quickly rewarded myself for going to school and getting through the day with a two hour long nap (hey- it will probably be my only one this week). Tomorrow after school is our next peri appointment and u/s. I'm so curious to see what they weigh right now. I'm estimating that there's over 7 lbs of total baby in there, but I wonder how close to 8 lbs it will be. Wednesday we have an appointment with the pediatrician we're considering. It will be nice to cross that off the list once that is officially decided. Thursday afternoon is my work shower (I know I'm getting the co-sleeper among other stuff, so I'm excited about that! But I still have the same apprehension about showers that I mentioned in November) Friday afternoon is my OB appointment and then the guys should start arriving for their weekend. I also plan on getting The Note to release me from work so that I have it when I need it, instead of having to wait until my next appointment. We'll wrap up the weekend by celebrating hitting the 32 week milestone on Sunday!!!
Friday, January 22, 2010
This Totally Blows
Literally.
I woke up with a cold today. Like the body aches, sore muscles, swollen muscles, aching joints, hip pain, hurting stretch marks, muscle cramps, difficulty breathing, and lack of energy weren't enough with simply being pregnant with twins at over 30 weeks and still working a full-time demanding job. Now I've got the added challenge of body aches, sore muscles, aching joints, difficulty breathing, stuffy head, hurting nose and lack of energy due to a cold. Did I mention that I am sneezing a lot and sneezing makes me tinkle a little each time?
To my friend Sudafed: I will miss you this week.
*Sigh.* Bed rest is sure sounding more appealing than it was a month ago.
Thank you, dear kindergartners that pick your nose. I'm blaming you.
I woke up with a cold today. Like the body aches, sore muscles, swollen muscles, aching joints, hip pain, hurting stretch marks, muscle cramps, difficulty breathing, and lack of energy weren't enough with simply being pregnant with twins at over 30 weeks and still working a full-time demanding job. Now I've got the added challenge of body aches, sore muscles, aching joints, difficulty breathing, stuffy head, hurting nose and lack of energy due to a cold. Did I mention that I am sneezing a lot and sneezing makes me tinkle a little each time?
To my friend Sudafed: I will miss you this week.
*Sigh.* Bed rest is sure sounding more appealing than it was a month ago.
Thank you, dear kindergartners that pick your nose. I'm blaming you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)