It was Tuesday afternoon and I was getting ready to pick up Scott from work so that we could meet up with some friends for dinner. I plopped Micah down in his crib for some contained playtime while I scurried around the house getting the diaper bag ready, speed cleaning, etc. As I approached Micah's room, a non-too-pleasant smell reached my nostrils. Oh wow, my son had an explosive diaper (I actually don't know if he's ever had one that bad before). Ew, it even crept up his back...After stripping him, stripping the crib, and giving him the world's fastest bath, we were on our merry way. I was just thankful this explosion hadn't happened while were out at dinner.
The next day was Wednesday, and Micah was dropping bomb diapers left and right. I cannot remember the last time I had to change his outfit 3 times in one day. Poor little guy's bum was SO red - who's wouldn't be when you're leaking acid-like nastiness all day long? (Sorry, this is one of those "graphic" parts).
After a full day of diaper change after diaper change, it was time for bed. After cleaning him up real good, and giving dad a good night hug, he fell asleep real quick. Before Scott and I went to bed (pretty late - around 11:30 p.m.), I wanted to give Micah a diaper change, just in case he'd had another diarrhea incident and wouldn't have to sleep on it all night long. I hadn't quite prepared myself for the next hour ahead...
I opened Micah's bedroom door and the stench was just awful. Poor little guy, I thought to myself, he's sleeping in poo...that's okay, he'll be clean soon. Yet it turned out that his diaper was dry, but the rest of him was soaked and stinky - he had barfed all over himself and his crib! And he hadn't even cried (he was sound asleep)! I don't know if any mother can "prepare" herself for a child's barf, but it's fascinating how quickly the motherly instincts kick in and you just start doing what needs to be done - no matter how fowl it may seem.
The next hour was spent tag-teaming with my incredible husband to get everything back in place (bath, new PJ's, new crib sheets, some fluids for Micah). It was almost all done when Micah threw up again (the fluids didn't set well with him). All right, last pair of clean PJ's on, now it's really time for bed. He went done very well, very late (past midnight).
After I ran down to the basement to start a load of wash with all the barf stuff, Scott and I collapsed in bed from exhaustion. Then...
Two hours later Scott ran out of bed to the bathroom. Uh-oh. Husband and son have the same virus. All night long, about every two hours, Scott ran out of bed, did his business in the bathroom and came and passed out in bed again. Poor guy! The last early a.m. run ended around 6:30, and as he and I were falling asleep I heard Micah, my alarm clock. Guess I would have to wait on catching up on that much desired shut-eye.
Micah was dry when I went into his room (thanks, God!). He downed a very bland, basic breakfast (bananas and cheerios). I was trying to get him to drink some fluids, but he wasn't feeling it. As you can see from the picture, I tried a variety of flavors and cups (Gatorade in the bottle, apple juice and two different kinds of Pedialyte in sippy cups, as well as water)...Scott was in and out of the lavatory (I felt so bad for him!), and actually took a sick day from work (I don't know if he's done that in all his 3 1/2 years at Breakthrough). 
I had two sicko's all day long. My job was to try to keep them hydrated, keep them warm, and just take care of them (and try not to contract the same virus)! Wow, today actually wasn't that bad (aside from the barf and diarrhea). I have so much more respect for my mom who has seen more than her fair share of barf over the years (6 kids and a hubby, and she never complained while cleaning up the fowl-smelling stuff). I also got a little glimpse of the part of my vows that says "in sickness and in health..." Scott ended up getting a good amount of rest today and is feeling better, and I tricked Micah into drinking Pedialyte through a fun straw. This is but one tale of the adventures of being a wife and mom! Now it's time to go to sleep.
1 comment:
The picture of them on the couch is wonderfully pathetic. Love it.
Post a Comment