Vomit, Poop, and Laundry

A few things you might not know about me:

a.  I need my house to be picked up.  Clean, not so much, but I can't relax until everything is in its place.  I'm neurotic, I know.
b.  I prefer a solid 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep. However, I usually stay up too late because it is the only time I have to relax.  Inevitably I curse myself the whole next day, but I still continue to stay up too late. Its a vicious cycle.
c. A daily shower is a top priority for me.
d. The gym is my respite and 6 days a week you can find me there at 3 pm.

The past three nights have a been a blur of vomit, poop, and laundry.  Seriously.  On Wednesday night poor Abby started showing the effects of a stomach bug.  I am no doctor, but since she threw up all over her sheets three times that night, I am pretty confident with my diagnosis.  Believe it or not, that night I changed her sheets four times (three times for vomit, once due to a detached diaper).    My mother in law was impressed I even owned four sets of sheets for the crib.  Let this be a lesson, you can never have too many sheet sets.

That night Abby was needy, there was a constant mess to clean up, and I ran the washing machine twice during the night.  Ryan was great at helping, but even so, sleep was at a premium.

 On Thursday Abby and I hunkered down.  Ella went to school and swim lessons.  Ryan flew around the country. Abby's vomiting continued at night and then the diarrhea came. And came. In fact, it came right out of her diaper. Every. Single. Time.

Even when sick, nothing makes Abby happier than a bath. 

I believe this was bath number one.  

Blow out.  Gross.  Notice there are no sheets on the crib.  That saved me sheets from washing.  Mind you, she was in the crib for about 5 minutes when I bringing laundry upstairs.  Lovely surprise.  It was all over a book and a singing doll.  Both ended up in the trash. 

By Friday Abby was on the mend.  Her vomiting had all but stopped.  She did have messy diapers, but the light was at the end of the tunnel.  I dreamed of going to the gym Saturday afternoon or at least heading out of the house.  That is, until Ella woke up and "spilled up" all over the bathroom floor. 

So today the washing continued: her comforter, the sleeping bag, her two sets of sheets (yup, just two), her four pairs of pajamas she wore last night, and the contaminated throw pillow.  

Needless to say, my house has been in a state of constant disarray.  I have not logged a solid 8.5 hours of sleep these last three nights.  I have yet to shower today (but I will after the Ducks game, I promise). And at three o'clock today we were in the car on a drive, not at the gym.  And all of that is okay. 

Snot Face

Most people would say they are looking forward to warm weather for the obvious reasons: sunny days and warmer weather, outside adventures, trips to the park, and flip flops.  However, I am looking forward to Spring so my daughters will no longer have colds that leave a trail of snot wiped across their faces.  Snotty faces do not equal cute pictures.

Look for yourself:

Check out Abby's nose, Daddy's is clean... PHEW!

Running

All over the face, but still smiling

And saving the best for last, snot wiped across the face and tinted with dirt from playing outside... Classy

Week Long Run Down

It has been a week to remember.  Actually, it is a week I would like to forget.

Sunday: 
Ella began a fever.

Monday:
Ryan stayed home with Ella, Abby went to day care, and I went to work.  I left work early because I was showing signs of a bladder infection.  Wonderful.

Tuesday: 
Ryan had to fly so I stayed home with the girls.  Abby had her 9 month Well- Baby appointment and I scheduled an appointment for Ella.  4:15 could not arrive fast enough because I was dying to get out of the house and I wanted to get some meds for E.  Turns out E had an ear infection, upper respiratory infection, and a nasty virus.  Abby's well baby appointment showed that she is a jolly giant.

9 month 9 day weigh t= 24.6697 pounds (99.17%)
9 month 9 day height =  31.5 inches (above 98th%)

Meanwhile, Ella weighed in at 34 pounds.

That night I was debating whether to stay home or head in to work.  I knew Ella needed me, but my sick days are really limited and Ry had to work on Thursday.  After calling the sub and canceling her, I changed my mind.  Missy Moo was just not herself and I knew I should be home.  Daddy does a great job, but he is not mommy.  Thank goodness I called the sub back and told her to fill in for the day.

At about 8 pm Ella woke up burning hot.  She felt like she was on fire.  Our digital forehead thermometer read 106.4, 106.8, and 105.9.  It was terrifying.  I took off her Dora footy pajamas for lighter ones and called the doc.  The doctor, whom we have seen quite often lately (remember the month of December?), told me to give her a dose of acetaminophen and wait half an hour.  If her fever did not drop significantly, head to the ER.

After 20 minutes, her fever was down to 105.5.  To me, that was not significant enough.  I loaded E in the car and left Ry home with baby girl.  I think we Ry and I were both terrified.  High fevers can cause seizures.  E and I talked about visiting the "Night Doctors".  She seemed groggy and pretty relaxed.  I attribute her love of doctors due to the Dum-Dums she often receives at her check-ups.  

Anyways, we checked in and immediately we were sent into a triage room.  It was a slow night and the staff took good care of E.  She did great until the rectal temperature, but even then, she did better than I would have anticipated, maybe because she was so tired and feverish? The doctor gave her some more acetaminophen and Motrin, had her take off her shirt and then we waited until her temperature dropped.  She kept saying she wanted her shirt back on and to go home and sleep in her big girl bed.  It was so sad.  Instead we cuddled for an hour and a half.  She was begging to sleep; I was begging for her to be well.  It was not a good night.  Luckily, she was discharged at 11:30.  And I must say, a big thank you to the ER staff at our local hospital.  They were attentive, friendly, and went out of their way to make baby girl feel safe. 

Wednesday: 
Stayed home.  I was happy to be home since we had had such a long night and such a big scare.

Thursday: 
Stayed home AGAIN.  Ryan had to work.  Meanwhile, I believe we were crawling up the walls with boredom.

Friday:
Yay!  I don't think I was ever so excited to hear my alarm go off for work before.  I was just itching to get out of the house.  Besides, I have such a great class and I was totally missing them. Ryan stayed home with Abby, as E was well enough to attend school.  Abby, however, developed a bit of an earache and had a doctor appointment of her own.  Ryan, not to be outdone, also scheduled a doctor's appointment.  When all was said and done, all members of our family had visited the doctor at least once this week and were prescribed at least one medication (Ryan 2 medications, Rebecca 2 medications, Ella 1 medication, Abby 1 medication).

E begging to get her bracelet off.  Apparently it was digging into her skin.  

Tired, exhausted, sick girl after her trip to the "Night Doctor:

This just about sums up the health of my household during the month of December.