On Sunday, I had been chilled and achey, but after a nap and some Tylenol, felt quite a bit better. My stomach had felt "off" much of the day, but I didn't know if it was from questionably old leftovers or my prenatal vitamin. (I, thankfully, felt fine on Monday - other than a cold sore and my normal pregnancy-related indigestion.)
Mike had thrown up at work on Monday and Tuesday and had come down with a fever, chills and aches. Tuesday through Friday, he's been focusing on caring for his "other end" and had stopped vomiting. He has had almost NO appetite for much of the week. Sydney and I appeared to remain healthy throughout this spell; although, we did notice that we were all starting to have some rotten smelling gas.
Some nights Sydney slept fine, while other nights, he woke up a lot. Some days, he's been especially snuggly and others, he is full of his normal spunk and charm. One day, he'd have an odd diaper or two and the next, he's be fine. Some meals, he would devour EVERYTHING on his plate and the next few meals, he would eat almost nothing.
This morning when he woke, Sydney was especially thirsty. (He's normally signing EAT before I pick him up out of his crib, but he did NOT do that today.) When we went downstairs, he asked for some "betta-butta" which in today's context means blueberries. We're out of them so, grapes were substituted for the request. He also wanted some of Mike's homemade banana bread. Knowing his typical morning requests, I got him some juice as well. He ate a few bites of food and quickly requested to drink MILK instead. (Hmmmm, odd... but no warning bells YET.)
Soon, he pushed his plate away, signed ALL DONE and asked to watch "ah-lee-I-on" which is his version of "LION"... meaning that he is requesting to watch the PBS show - Between the Lions. He sat briefly in the recliner watching LIONS while I made myself a cup of chai tea and soon sat on the couch. He came over and laid down on his belly next to me so, I rubbed his back. (Hmmmm, also odd... but STILL no warning bells; silly me!)
Just a few minutes into the show, he sat up and snuggled against me. All of a sudden, he reached for my hand and started to throw up in it. (It IS normal for him to sometimes spit food into the palm of my hand so, at first, I wasn't shocked.) But it overflowed my hand so, I attempted to catch it in BOTH HANDS - hoping to contain it. Turns out, after multiple waves of it, I had puke all over my belly, arms, both hands and lap and wondered WHAT DO I DO NOW? (He's NEVER, thankfully, thrown up - like this - before.)
I instructed Sydney not to touch ANYTHING, but he seemed confused by my request. (I really didn't want it all over the couch and rug, too.) I was lucky enough to be wearing a button down fleece pajama shirt (phew, unbuttoned at least) over top of my short-sleeved pajama shirt so, I reached (carefully) to pull it off so that I could use it to contain the puke. Feeling like a turtle stuck on its back, I gained my composure and balance in order to stand up with Sydney and the mess of soaking wet pajamas plastered to my fat, pregnant body. The smell was HORRIBLE! We moved quickly to the kitchen where we stripped off nearly all of our clothes. (I left on my short-sleeved shirt because I didn't think it was best for the neighbors to witness the pregnant woman walking naked past the large picture window, knowing good and well that the teenage son is on spring break and spends A LOT of time in that nearby room playing video games.)
I started running some bath water and Sydney started to cry. I assured him that Mommy was going to come into the tub, too. Soon, he forgot that he didn't want to be there and I had to coax him to share some of the space in the tub so that I could come in to wash off, too. (He was all sprawled out in the tub, as if he was swimming.)
I washed and rinsed off as quickly as I could, dried myself and grabbed some fresh clothes to throw on. Sydney was content playing in the tub so, after I dressed, I ran downstairs to briefly assess the damage. There were a few small piles of partially digested grape skins laying in various spots on the dining room floor, as well as a trail of liquid drips; all-together, not bad at all considering what it COULD have been. I grabbed a fresh diaper for Sydney and ran back upstairs to find him still playing in the tub.
Once he finally agreed to come out of the tub, he was dried off and diapered. Within a few minutes though, he got a scared look on his face and started signing POOP. I assured him "It's OK." He ran to me as I sat on the floor; he exposed my belly, announced "betta-butta" and gently placed his cheek on my belly for comfort. (The belly, I tell you, has some magical powers that can make him feel instantly better!) It took some convincing, but I finally was able to get him out of his poopy diaper and into a fresh one. A few short minutes later, we were going through deja vu, but this time, he needed Elmo to join us for the group (fetal position) hug on the floor while he feared the next round of poop explosion. Afterwards, he was content to just stay there - curled in a ball between my legs with his cheek on my belly.
I talked to Mike and thanked him for sharing 1) his homemade banana bread and 2) his sickness. I told him about our exciting morning. He insisted that I call the doctor's office since we suspected that Sydney had been a little bit under the weather on & off - all week. They later informed me that there is a nasty G.I. stomach bug going around - a rotavirus - which sounded like what we had in our house this past week. I was warned that it can dehydrate toddlers quickly so that I should push fluids - with an emphasis on Gatorade, Powerade or Pedialyte. The nurse informed me that Sydney would most likely NOT want to eat anything at all and THAT IS OK as long as he's taking in fluids. IF, by chance, he did want to eat - keep it bland... cheerios, crackers, toast. Also, treat fever/aches/etc with Tylenol because it is gentler on the stomach.
Sydney wanted to watch tv, snuggle and read books all morning. (I did make some time to spray Lysol disinfecting spray on doorknobs, light switches, drawer/door pulls, remote controls, and telephones.) Mid-to-late-morning, Sydney asked for some cheerios so, we munched them dry while watching tv. Mike worked until noon and took over the tv-watching, snuggling and book reading duties so that I could go for a haircut and to the store. While I was gone, they enjoyed a one hour nap together.
We enjoyed some 50°F+ temps after carrying in the groceries and Sydney insisted that we draw with chalk in the driveway for a few minutes. The rest of the afternoon was hit-or-miss with playtime vs. snuggle time. When he saw mommy sit down to eat some dinner, he requested something to eat as well. He had a few bites of turkey lunchmeat and a couple of grapes before pushing away his plate to color with crayons instead.
He played a round of bedtime "HIDE" before Mike headed off to bed and we headed to the nursery to continue with bedtime routine.
I also discovered that Sydney's climbing earned him a free - headfirst - trip into Silas' crib tonight after he was climbing the one side and figured out that leaning would pull him in on his face. Unfortunately, it did NOT scare him... in fact, he - of course - found it FUN... so, looks like we will NEED the crib tent to keep Silas safe in his own bed. I reminded Sydney that "that bed is for the baby" but he pointed to himself, indicating that HE is mommy's baby. (I guess it doesn't help that I DO, in fact, still think of him as MY BABY.)
What a day! Hopefully, the illness in our household will pass quickly (and hopefully, I will remain healthy).
