Warning. This blog is gross. But I’m running on no sleep and I feel like talking about it.
Stomach bugs. Every parent can relate to the grimace we get on our faces at the mentioning of that word. And then add in “Toddler with Stomach Bug” and the face gets even uglier. Long nights, sleeplessly listening for the faintest sound that would trigger another episode, to be sure you can catch it in a bowl in time.
So that’s what I went through last night with Nathan. He first got sick at a friend’s house, and then 3 times in the car on the way home. Of course we were trying to get home as fast as we could, so when he’d get sick, I’d lean back and sit him up in his car seat so that it would go forward and not back on him. And when it would splatter all over me and my face, I’d just casually grab a diaper wipe and clean it off. I got home, covered his toddler bed with towels, grabbed a few extra ones just in case, and laid down next to him with a bowl nearby.
To top it off, at one point when I could tell he was getting close to getting sick, I heard Katie in the other room coughing. No, actually she was barking. She had gotten croup. I was struggling – what do I do? Leave Nathan to check on Katie? He’d probably get sick and make a big mess. Or hope for the best with Katie – who was wheezing and barking and sounding just aweful, and wait until after Nate got sick.
I decided to wait. When he was finished and back to sleep, I then checked on Katie and gave her something to drink and a little medicine. Then Lee went in to sleep with Katie and I resumed my post beside Nate, who was sick all night.
All that, and yet somehow this morning I’m still functioning. Barely, but I’m still here, and that is the complete Grace of God!
So I’m wondering – what is with the stomach bug and croup in the middle of summer? I’m used to that sort of thing in January, but August? When it’s hot and sticky and humid? Strange…
Maybe we’ll get it all out of system now and be healthy for the holidays. We’ll see.
