Friday, Feb 8 (11 days ago)- Drive 4 hours to friends' ranch. Arrive past R's bedtime, R refuses sleeping in new place. Scream-cries till barfs...twice. Stays up 4 hours past bedtime and even still, ends up "sleeping" with me in twin size bed. Russ gets about 3 hours, I don't sleep.
Saturday, Feb 9 (10 days ago)- Russ develops cough and possible fever, drive 4 hours home back to Dallas. So much for the weekend getaway.
Sunday, Feb 10 (9 days ago)- Russ wakes up, refreshed, no fever, barely a cough. We assume he just wasn't a ranch person. Decide to let him go play for a few minutes at neighborhood play date at local gym (since I am co-hosting.) Russ decides to paint the gym with vomit. I say a few choice words, clean it up, and get the heck out of there as fast as I can. That night breathing becomes fast paced and by 10:30 fever pops up. Call on-call doctor who sounds like a 15 year old who says the word "like" too many times. Couldn't concentrate on what she had to say. Called ER but they couldn't give medical advice over the phone. Call sis-in-law (doctor) who says, "If it were me, I'd take him to ER." Arrive at ER around 11pm.
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| Daddy calming the patient with some Bob Schneider music videos |
Russ and I share hospital bed and once again, don't sleep. Mom and Dad are emotionally drained and worried about our baby.
Wait, why I am sneezing and coughing now?
Monday, Feb 11 (8 days ago)- Much better day. Daddy brought clothes, toys, books. Nice nurse brought a play mat and toys. Nap time and bed time difficult, ok awful, wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Well, if I had an enemy, I guess he/she would deserve something like this. Man- it was bad. And why do I feel so sick?
Tuesday, Feb 12 (7 days ago)- Operation "Get us out of here." We were done. After many days of no-sleep, we were determined that Russ (and family) needed to be back in own beds. Second chest x-ray made doctors change diagnosis from pneumonia to bronchiolitis and said we could go home. Upon entering his house, Russ ran from dog to dog screaming their names, played with every toy in the house, and slept like, well...a baby.
While Russ is getting better (thank God), I'm starting to feel really bad.
Wed- Friday (6-4 days ago)- Russ continues to feel better. Sleeps longer than usual which is really nice. I finally can't take how bad I feel, so I run to doctor. Upper respiratory infection. "Try to not fill antibiotics prescription since you're pregnant and have already been on them twice". Evan now has gone from taking care of everything at hospital to being Mr. Mom- putting Russ down for naps and bed, grocery shopping, getting us breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I'm laying in bed, tissues shoved in nostrils, coughing my face off.
Saturday- Sunday (3-2 days ago)- Evan continues to take over my job as "House Manager." He and Russ try to stay as far away from Germville as possible. Russ is a rock star by now!
Monday, Feb 18- Evan leaves town and Mom comes to save the day. I wake up in tears-never felt so sick and even worse, scared for new baby's health. Now have sinus infection and my right eye is crusted shut. I look like a crusty, sick pirate.
Am worked into OBGYN to do a once over. Convinced it's medication time.
TODAY, Tuesday Feb 19- Get out of bed to take Russ to and from school. My new trick- cough till you barf. It's awesome. Mom comes over to save the day, again. She is currently making chicken noodle soup while Russ is running around with no pants, shaking a maraca. Praying to feel somewhat better as I feel helpless not being able to care for my family.
Lessons Learned:
1. Taking your child to the hospital is incredibly emotional and difficult. I know, I know, obviously. However it's not all bad emotion. You are constantly feeling how much you and your spouse LOVE your baby and how you would do anything to protect him.
2. My husband is THE best. Now this isn't where I type out the cheeseball husband birthday/anniversary Facebook style shout-out. You know the ones you see pop up in your news feed every day? "Happy Birthday to the best husband and father in the entire world! We love you more than you will ever know..." Or, "5 years ago today, so-and-so became my husband. You complete me and I love you honey". THAT IS NOT what I plan on doing here. Let me just point out a few things that warmed my heart:
Evan showed up the first morning in a hospital with a bag full of goodies. For me, my ugliest comfiest granny panties. That right there is true love, people. When your husband realizes you are crammed in a hospital bed with a toddler and thinks to bring you granny panties. He also brought my other two favorite things without asking: sweatpants and cupcakes. For Russ, he brought all of his favorite toys and books from home. He also found cheddar penguin crackers. (We get a kick out of everything that comes in cheddar cracker form. So far, my favorite are the HEB brand cheddar Texas crackers. Cheddar Texases? Hilarious. (Is that how you pluralize Texas?)) Russ was thrilled.
He also gets Husband of the Year for taking over for SEVEN days. He did EVERYTHING while I was stuck in bed. Nap, diapers, food for the family, taking Russ on adventures, getting my meds, not making comments when I randomly barfed in the kitchen sink. Evan, man, you deserve a trophy.
3. Being sick is hard. Being sick and pregnant is VERY hard. Being sick and pregnant with a toddler is crazy. I'm not writing this post to get sympathy but to put it out there that I was truly a wreck (and still kind of am.) When pregnant, you read a million different things about what to do when you are sick. Don't take medicine. Take medicines only from the sheet of paper your doctor gave you at the beginning of pregnancy. Take medicine because it's safer for the baby than getting really sick. Well let me tell you after 9 days of this, I've done it all: avoided medicine, gotten really sick, and now am taking medicine (that my doctor has approved.) It still doesn't mean that I'm cool with it but I truly think it's best for both of us (baby and me.)
Hoping tomorrow, day 10 of sickness, is my lucky day. And as I said, "If life is like a box of chocolates.." then I hope tomorrow is a raspberry creamed filled day.
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