Tag: sick kids

Sick of Being Sick

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Last Thursday everyone started feeling crummy…lots of sneezing, sore throats, stuffy noses all around. And of course, Baylor’s mystery cough was still present. Auggie’s tear ducts seemed to be infected (again) so we did a family trip to the doctor. An ear infection, a possible sinus infection, low oxygen levels and an eye infection were the diagnosis (and that was just the kids!). Four prescriptions later, we were out the door and on a first name basis with the lovely pharmacist at CVS.

Medicating the team is literally a full time gig. Antibiotics can’t be taken with reflux medicine. Probiotics needed to keep the antibiotics from killing off even the good bacteria…it’s a process to say the least. Also, see the white thing in the top of the big bottle? This is the greatest invention ever – it has a tiny hole that the measuring thing fits into so you can get every last drop of medicine without spilling!

medicine

Auggie has been sleeping in his car seat in our room for a week – it’s the only way he can sleep because if he is laying down, he gets stuffed up and wakes up. Last night I found him like this:

carseat_1

Which I took to mean he was ready to get back to his crib. I elevated the mattress and he slept the entire night in there – although he didn’t sleep the entire night. I don’t know if he’s having a growth spurt or catching up from not eating much last week – man that kid can really pack it away. He’s had two long naps today so fingers crossed, if it’s a growth spurt, we’ve entered the sleepy phase. 5 hour sleep stretches please come back!!

I broke down on Tuesday and called in reinforcements so I could go to the doctor. I took whichever doctor was available and got the guy who was going to solve all my problems. After 5 minutes of scrolling through my history he deduced that I go to the doctor approximately 4 times a year with a sinus infection. It took all my strength not to say “yeah. I know because I’M THE ONE WITH THE SINUS INFECTION”. He decided (after looking at what kind of health insurance I have – i.e. the kind that would pay for a lot of crap) that I needed an x-ray of my head. I did explain that I would do pretty much whatever he wanted as long as he promised me right now that I could have antibiotics and whatever else would make my teeth stop feeling like they were going to pop out of my mouth. 4 x-rays later he proclaimed “see that little, tiny, sliver of black right there? That’s your nasal airway. You really cannot breathe!!”. If I had had slept in increments longer than 90 minutes the night before, I very well might have punched him. He made good on his promise and loaded me up with the good stuff and 48 hours later, I’m feeling much improved. I still can’t smell, but I can breathe so I’ve got that going for me. And around here, sometimes it’s not a bad thing not to be able to smell anything…I go back in 2 weeks to have my head re x-rayed to look for an underlying cause of reoccurring sinus infections. I know Peter is dying to let out all the “you need your head examend  jokes he can think of.

Oh. And Auggie’s eye infection? Totally pink eye. And we all got it (except Peter, damn him). Talk about insult to injury. The smell of Vick’s Vapo Rub and bleach is almost visible around our house.

We’re Alive :)

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Phew. I think I’m safe saying that we are all healed! What I thought was a sinus infection (and in my defense, the doctor agreed with me) turned out to be a nasty virus. Which, of course, B got too just about the time I started thinking I might not die after all. Our air conditioning went out the same weekend (thank goodness for parents who live close, pay their utility bill and weren’t home!) and there was a severe drought of sleep due to the constant coughing and sleeping in someone else’s house (Bear was thoroughly confused and literally paced allll night). It was, in a word, ugly. I don’t think PW has ever been to excited to go to work on a Monday morning.

Bay was out of school last week (this one I had planned for) so we had a week of swim lessons and play dates lined up. Every day started out with breakfast, get dressed and suddenly it was 1pm. I really have no idea where each day went. But it flew by and this week is a blur of doctor’s appointments (for me) and back to school fun late this week (for her). We spent all weekend making her room into their room so get excited for some sneak peek pics. The big reveal comes later in August on Scottsdale Mom’s Blog pregnancy week – there are 5 contributing writers all pregnant!

And thank you to those that checked in after seeing the blog was not updated – it’s nice to be loved 🙂

Working Girl

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One of the appeals of starting to work for the family business two-ish years ago was that I would be able to do it around Baylor’s schedule. And it’s worked great especially since she started preschool. 12 hours a week plus nap times is just the right amount of time to get stuff done.

Last Friday was a rare day when I had to schedule a meeting for an onsite inspection during a non school day. It also meant I had to head South to Arizona City  which would add and 2 hours + to the meeting time for commute. Thankfully Grandma had coordinated a day off of work so it would all work out brilliantly – Bay to Grandma’s house, me to AZC for a meeting with enough time on either end to get some work done around the house.

And then pneumonia.

After much discussion, PW and I figured out that with a lot of tag teaming and Grandma’s help, we could both make it to our meetings and get the munchkin healthy. I would do the x-ray as soon as the place opened at 730 while PW worked and took a meeting over the phone. I would spend the next hour prepping for my meeting and then tag PW to take B to the follow up appointment with the doctor. PW would then tag Grandma to take B home to play, eat and nap. I would return home around 2 to tag Grandma and then B and I would spend the rest of the afternoon watching Mickey Mouse in a daze of sleep deprivation and Albuterol.

It was around 1030 that morning that I realized we were going to make it. It was all going to get done and get done without being too messy. The end result was total exhaustion from the past 2 days and scrambling for the past 5 hours. I’ve always had so much respect for friends who both work AND raise awesome kids, but now that I’ve tried on their shoes, I’ve realized they should really have a super hero cape to match!

Pneumonia Sheumonia

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Phew  is the only word I can think of to describe the last 5 days.

Baylor came home crabby and running a slight fever on Wednesday last week. By Thursday afternoon, it was a full blown 104.5 fever with a cough, wheezing and labored breathing. Any one of those would mean “get to the doctor” but all four meant get there pronto.

I fully expected the doctor to say “it’s a virus, nothing we can do” and send us tired and crabbily on our way. But then he listened to her chest for a solid 5 minutes. He asked a lot more questions and then determined that her asthma might actually be pneumonia. His suggestion was a full workup of meds including a shot that makes adults cry, chest x-ray, two inhalers and oral antibiotics as well.

The good news is that her x-ray came back clear, but since it was a day behind the beginning of treatment, they moved ahead with the meds. After a few fitful hours of sleep (normally I compare sleeping with her to sleeping with a badger – this was like sleeping with a hot,  clingy badger), her fever dropped and she was able to get some real sleep. By Friday afternoon, her fever was gone and she was hungry and happy. We kept her mellow the rest of the weekend with lots of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and M&M’s to bribe her into taking the “yucky” inhaler. She was mellow to the point where she was restless and making herself and us nuts so she went happily off to school today. Fingers crossed there won’t be any calls from Teacher Jackie and we’re on the road to  really getting better this time.

Croupy Kiddo

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We’ve been hit with the croup. B came home early from preschool with a fever and then woke up from her nap barking like a puppy – but not in a fun way.

So I reluctantly took her to the doctor. I say reluctantly because she’s still at the super fun “we don’t give medicine other than Tylenol” age so there’s not always a point to handing over the $20 copay. But they do check her oxygen levels so it’s worth it when she’s got a cough. We’re lucky that she is very healthy and had clear lungs, just the inflammation in her trachea. We did walk out with a prescription, which felt like a small victory.

She’s on the mend and the cough has drastically improved. But the lack of sleep all the way around in our house is starting to take its toll. We broke down and let her sleep in bed with us last night – and now I remember why we don’t do that. She’s like sleeping with a badger. Even though she is totally asleep, she kicks, flails, throws punches, headbutts, rolls – God help her when she’s not in a crib any more, we’ll have to make her sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor to prevent injuries from falling out of bed.

I’m praying that we will all sleep well tonight and wake up ready for a busy and fun weekend. Fingers crossed!

Oh! And it’s Scottsdale Moms Blog day. Check out my snazzy bar stool makeover. It would be the perfect chilly weekend project. http://www.scottsdalemomsblog.com/

 

Sick Saturday

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PW and I spent Friday night out with my best friend Beth (no, not talking in third person) and her husband Grant at the St. Mary’s football game. It was a blast to be back at our alma mater and especially fun since it’s where PW and I met. It was made even better because the Knights won!

Bay was fast asleep when we got home. About an hour after we went to bed I heard “Mommy. Tummy. Hurt.” on the monitor. I let it go for a bit because I thought maybe she had just woken up and was looking for a reason for us to come in her room. I finally went in and discovered her tummy did hurt. It had hurt all over her crib and down the side on to the carpet. The poor thing started crying when I walked in obviously sick, embarrassed and well, grossed out. It’s amazing how the ick factor diminishes when your kiddo is hurting. Suddenly it doesn’t matter that it’s 1am or that you’re cleaning up a very gross situation, it just matters that she feels better.

Saturday morning we decided to hunker down and just rest. No errands, no nothing. Just pedialyte and cartoons. Around 11, Peter decided to test out Baylor’s wellness by taking her on a quick, don’t-get-out-of-the-car errand. In my car. It was a failed mission. If you saw a man trying to clean a munchkin off on the side of the road on Saturday, it was them. It was solidified that a quarantine and lock down was necessary.

We spent the rest of the day watching football, movies, doing some crafts and a lot of napping. It was after I woke up from a ridiculously long nap that I realized how much we all needed a down day. We needed to stay in our jammies all day. Take a long nap. Sit around and do nothing. Make frozen pizza and not worry about having veggies on the side. It something we need to schedule more often so that we can enjoy doing nothing and not worry about what we’re not doing.

On a side note, Baylor is feeling much better and as of Sunday evening, neither Peter or I are sick. Fingers crossed!!

What The Mary Poppins?

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Because B has been sick all week, we’ve been doing a lot of nothing. Our day consists of  administering Tylenol, Vicks Vapor Rub and sitting in the bathroom with the shower on and breathing in the steam. Pretty much anything that will help her breathe easier and recover from this nasty virus.

We started watching Mary Poppins two days ago – one of my all time favorite movies as a kid. As we continued watching it last night, I realized one thing – this is a strange movie. Like Alice in Wonderland / alternate meaning to scenes weird.

First, why is the neighbor’s house shaped like a ship and why does he fire off cannons? I’m not so weirded out by Mary and the children’s trip into the sidewalk chalk paintings, I am however disturbed that Mary then denies that they did this later. And what the hell is the scene with Uncle Albert all about?! Why are they all on the ceiling laughing and having a tea party?? I also think it would be Uncle Albert’s picture  next to “child molester” in the dictionary. I was going to add a picture to the post, but it freaked me out to look at it long enough to save it and add it in…

Thinking back, my other favorite movie as a kid was Old Yeller. For anyone who hasn’t seen this movie – the lovable dog and title character is shot by his master at the end of the movie because he has rabies. When I realized as an adult what actually happened to Old Yeller, I was a little concerned what this said about me and my personality. The more I thought about it, I didn’t realize the owner was killing OY. So really, I should be less concerned about deep psychological issues and more concerned with the fact that I was apparently a very dense child (yes Peter, I said CHILD. Not adult and no, there is no need for a correction).

So today, I’m feeling a little like Phoebe (from Friends, not the dog that we found last weekend) when she realized that her mother had edited all the movies she saw as a kid and never knew the full meaning behind them. I’m now a little afraid too of watching anymore childhood favorites for fear I will learn that they too have some coo coo meaning and or further prove that I was in fact, a very dumb kid.

Things I am Ungrateful For

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1. No toddler cough syrup. It amazes me that the medical world can transplant organs, cure horrible diseases, etc. And yet they can’t come up with a cough medicine for a sick 20 month old. I say we lock some scientist up with a few sick toddlers for a few days and see what they come up with. My guess would be some kick ass cough syrup.

2. Benadryl. It doesn’t  help Baylie sleep because she hates the taste and spits most of it out.

3. Rude people. People that are in line at CVS at 1pm on a Wednesday buying beer and don’t let the mom with a sick and sleeping kiddo slung over her shoulder with her enormous purse on the other arm, pedialyte pops and tylenol in her hand go in front of them. I know that was an awkward and run on sentence and no, I don’t care.

4. Mother Nature. I get that it’s winter and all, but the extreme wind that keeps blowing the blankets, towels, frost cloth, sheets, etc. off of my plants thus negating all my hard work to keep them from freezing, is a bit overkill, no? It’s fun to make it feel like winter now and then, but could we cap that low temperature around 40 degrees?

5. Stupid people. Why would someone call and leave you a voice mail stating the purpose of their call and a request for a call back without telling you their name? Idiots, that’s who.

 

January is Not Our Month

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Our family calendar:

Phew. I am so happy to see February. It seems that January 2011 has turned into our “sick month”. We started out with the stomach flu two weeks ago.

Then last week, Baylie suffered a buckle fracture in her ankle. No, I was not drinking wine and ignoring the child. She was actually at the Little Gym and is trying very hard to learn to jump. She launched herself off of a 10 inch high piece of equipment and sort of decided mid jump to make it a big step instead of a jump and landed awkwardly on her left foot. I knew instantly something was wrong – she had the “I just got 4 vaccinations” cry and then she wouldn’t walk. This kid was crawling at 6 months, she lives to move especially when she’s with her buddies so for her to insist on sitting in my lap for the remainder of class was a huge red flag. Only our kid gets hurt in a literally padded room. Thankfully the doctor insists that it will be totally fine, it’s not going to affect her softball career later in life nor is it a sign on any problem with her bones. He said it’s actually pretty common and minor enough that they don’t cast it. She’s getting around fine by crawling or scooting and has been walking more and more. I caught her trying to climb into her crib yesterday to get a pacifier so I’m thinking she’s milking it a little for the extra carry time by mom and all the pacifiers she can stand.

Thinking we’ve had our fill of doctors and hospitals for the year, I was resistant to the idea that Bay was a little congested yesterday morning. I tried to blame her phlegmy cough on her yogurt but no luck. By the time she woke up from her nap she was wheezing like an asthmatic and again, only wanted to be snuggled. It’s never a good sign when she wants to sit still. 3 hours of Vick’s Plug In Vapors, the frog shaped humidifier cranked up to high and watching Baby Einstein snuggled together in her room, she climbed out of our chair and wanted to play with her kitchen set – whenever she wants to try to feed Bear T. Dog a fake hot dog, things are looking up.

I’m very much not looking forward to yet another trip to the doctor today. Mostly because I don’t want to sit on the sick kid side of the waiting room. The only other time we’ve been to the doctor for being sick (yes, we’re extremely lucky that B is almost two years old and this is the first time she’s been sick) I thought she had an ear infection so we sat on the “well” side because I didn’t want her to catch anything. I don’t think the other moms and nannys are going to take kindly to my wheezing, juicy coughing kiddo on the well side so I’m going to have to bite the bullet, sanitize our chairs and hold my breath like the big girl that I am.

Is it February yet?

Stomach Flu 3 : Wands 0

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Warning: don’t read this over lunch 🙂

What the hell is this? Let me explain…

Baylor had the pleasure of contracting the stomach flu last week and then spreading it like wildfire to Peter and I and also various family members. Now a week later, a gallon of bleach and a washer that is tired of running 24 hours a day, I think it’s safe to say we’re done.

It started last Monday night. B woke up around midnight and after a quick rock, she was back out. I chalked it up to a bad dream. Two hours later, she was back awake and it was then I realized she was awake because she had tossed her cookies all over her crib. I felt like a horrible mom for not realizing the first time she was awake, but I don’t turn on the light when I go in and check on her and she didn’t feel wet…anyway, put a check  in the “bad mom” column.  Peter and I spent the rest of the night rotating on the couch with her and a bucket.

But by 7am, she was pale, but in good spirits. A day of the BRAT diet and it was like nothing happened so I assumed she had eaten something that didn’t agree with her or maybe a leaf from the backyard or something. So we had our play date with her cousin on Wednesday. And then I ended up in the ER that evening from the same virus. I broke my record of only having been in the hospital for my birth and then Baylie’s. Thankfully two bags of fluids, some pain meds and something to stop the vomiting and I was like new – or at least able to walk without being hunched over a bucket. I kind of remember Peter saying to the triage nurse “Listen, you couldn’t pay this woman to walk barefoot across a hospital floor let alone curl up in a ball and clutch your trash can on it”. It was ugly – but if I had to choose, I would so rather I have gotten the worse version than B. We’re very blessed that we have lots of family and all close and willing to help out so Bay went to Grandma’s house the next day and my sister came over in the afternoon after work to check in on me.

While this was great for me, it turns out it was awful for our family. We single-handedly spread the nasty bug to my sister, my sister-in-law, her infant daughter and my mother in law. When Peter came down with it this weekend, we decided it was time to quarantine ourselves and break out the bleach. The picture above is every toy that Bay has touch in the last week that would survive a bleach bath. This is them drying after soaking. Anything that could go in the dish washer, clothes washer or sink of bleach did so. The few remaining, battery operated toys got a through cleaning with antiseptic and hot water. Baylie loves to clean so being given her own pack of alcohol wipes and free rein to wipe anything and everything was like heaven. By Saturday afternoon, our home no longer smelled like a frat house after a date dash but rather a school cafeteria after it had been swabbed with bleach post lunch.

I may have burned out my sense of smell, but our house is clean, we’re all well and I won’t get any more calls from family letting me know that they too have contracted the virus from us.

That said, I wrote several blogs last weekend that didn’t get posted. So if you’re reading one about gardening that refers to “last weekend” just know it was last last weekend. And wash your hands and stay away from anyone who even KNOWS someone who has the flu!