So far, this week has felt a bit like a long one. William woke up with a fever on Saturday, and it raged on strong until today (Wednesday). We were supposed to go and watch Uncle Judah and the Big Boy Cousins play basketball on Saturday morning, and when we told William that he couldn’t go because of his fever, he started sobbing. He said “I can sit in the seat where there are no people, and they won’t get my germs!” Poor love! We were so grateful we stayed home, because he ended up getting sick—some kind of weird stomach bug plus upper respiratory thing—and Anna followed suit within 12 hours, and I have been feeling badly all week, too. (Even our dog threw up. Dis-gus-ting.) While we are not fully recovered yet, I think we are close. We are still tired but I think (and hope) that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Honestly, I had been eerily waiting for the stomach bug to hit us. This may have been the farthest into January that we’ve made it without getting sick. Actually, now that I write that, I am remembering our Valentines Sickies from last year and it was about this time two years ago when we got hit with the bug for the first time. Somehow (so far), Hudson has managed to escape the curse this go round . . . but, the sickness has still left us in our jammies for many days. Today was the first day, since Friday, that I have driven anywhere other than to the pediatrician’s office. Fun times.
I keep thinking, too, that children should be sent a Stomach Bug Kit every winter. You know how they give you a cute little bag filled with free goodies and promotions and wipes and formula and the like after you have a baby? Well, I have decided that upon that baby’s first birthday (or first winter as a tot, or whatever) the hospital should automatically send a Stomach Bug Kit. And, if I were the one to design said kits, they would come in a big brown box and include--but not be limited to--the following tools for fighting against the bug:
Cleaning Supplies: Wipes of all kinds (bleach and regular), Lysol, Hand Sanitizer, some kind of tarp or plastic tablecloth/mat that you can throw over your sofa/floor (vomiting toddlers have no aim or ability to anticipate the sickness), scented trash bags, towels (paper or cloth), plastic bowls, laundry detergent and stain remover of all kinds (for carpet, furniture, cars, clothes, etc.)
Food Items: Gatorade, Saltines, Jell-O, some kind of probiotic, bendy straws, applesauce, bananas, and cheerios (my children refuse to eat rice or chicken broth)
Baby Items: super absorbency diapers and sensitive wipes, rubber bibs with a little pocket (like baby Hudsey’s), Tylenol, a thermometer, and Nasal Saline
Entertainment Items (you may have these at home) to get you through having alternating sick and well children and to push through those last 24 hours of being certain there is no more fever or sickness before you brave onward into the public once again: Movies, Play Dough, Stickers, Crayons, a few toys from the Christmas Overflow Bin:
those weird capsules that dissolve in water and turn into spongey animal creatures (these are great because all the sick child has to do is watch and enjoy), and, in our case: a huge cardboard box:
Things you have at home that you should gather together for Stomach Bug ammunition: extra jammies that zip up/down because they are easy to get off and don’t have to go over anyone’s head, bowls, old towels that can be bleached or thrown out, extra crib/bed sheets and mattress pads, extra lovies/blankies/whatever-it-is-that-permits-your-child-to-sleep, and multiple medicine droppers, sippy cups, pacifiers and the like (and, best of luck to you, dear friend, as you try to prohibit your vomiting child from eating and drinking while simultaneously trying to feed your other one or two children . . . and, dare I say it: yourself.)
Items for Mommy: A bottle of Wine (after she has stopped being sick, of course), a free pass for a NAP, and the phone number of a great house cleaner who can come and bleach your home like nothing anyone has ever seen!
The doctors will tell you to try to be sure that no one shares sippy cups or spreads the germs amongst themselves. Best of luck with that.
Once the littles are starting to feel better, they may decided to do some volunteer work on the side and fight a fire or two . . .
You may have to turn off the fire siren one or two or ten times as to not lose your mind, but in the end, everyone will have been entertained and no one will have thrown up on you (this morning), so you will call it a success.
Despite her being sick, Sister will be generally unfazed and will continue to strike a pose in her baby-soft belly-dancing outfit.
And, you will realize that the combination of the firemen in your den plus the loud siren may be the only things that have brought a smile to your little boy’s face in the past four days.
So, you smile back, and snap a picture, and gently turn the siren off. Again.
Sister will then decide that she has had enough and she is taking her pink things and hitting the road . . . but, no one knows where she is going!
The joy from the tiny fireman spills over and she gets sucked into the rescue mission at hand . . .
And, she, too, can come up with a better plan for the siren . . .
You will then head outside for some fresh air and some remaining minutes of sunshine to draw with chalk (thinking, who cares if someone throws up outside?!? It’s outside!) And, sister will plop herself on down onto the front door mat, as though it were put there just for her tiny little self to enjoy.
Sister later decides that she is not willing to wait for anyone, so she helps herself to the wonderful dinner that The Best Neighbors Ever brought over (yes, they have brought dinner THREE nights in a row. AH-MAZING.) I was tending to the boys and walked into the kitchen to find her in action:
Then, today, per the pediatrician’s nodding and approval, we send Hudsey to school (Daddy takes him—an even bigger treat!) and the three sickies stay home together. We decide air is good for us, so we head outdoors to blow bubbles (William’s request!)
Sick or not, I could eat this little pink puff up!
And, once again, this little princess makes herself right at home on the front door mat (with a waffle crammed in her mouth and all)
Brother tells me about all of the bubble blowing he hopes to accomplish this morning . . .
And, after blowing bubbles to his delight, we decide to go on an adventure across the street to return the dinner plates to The Best Neighbors Ever (BNE).
Sister won’t walk unless we hold her hand, and it strikes me that if we had all be feeling well, we wouldn’t have had this sweet little moment where just three of us are slowing sauntering down the city sidewalk on a Wednesday morning. I have a hunch that we were a sight to behold.
And, at the home of the BNE, we stop to swing for a minute on their front porch swing, and it is very fun. We decide we want to ask Daddy for a swing for our house, too.
And, after swinging, we head home to play blocks and then to pick up Hudsey from his first day at school without his brother—Ever. And, we hear that Hudsey told his teacher at recess that he wanted to go home and be with Wee-yum . . . and, he refused to do art without his Wee-yum. She was able to convince him to make art for Wee-yum, instead. What a great idea, and what a sweet boy.
Here’s to hoping that the next 24 hours remain fever and sickness free for this tiny crew and their mama, too!
