What a weekend!

Friday was a great day. Isaac, Elise and I had a wonderful lunch with my parents and sister. Then we all had naps. After our naps, Steven called and said he'd like for us all to go out to dinner on a family date when he got home. That sounded like a plan to me! So I got the kids ready to go, and Elise was already cozied up in her carseat when Steven walked in the door. He quickly changed out of his work clothes and came downstairs to help Isaac put shoes on. At that point Isaac started to whine a little and then he sat on Steven's lap and gave him a hug. Since Isaac isn't a frequent cuddler, Steven was a little surprised at this but he was glad to get some loving from his little boy. Five seconds later the loving was gone and out of nowhere Isaac vomited all over Steven's shirt, pants, and his own clothes. Steven stayed where he was, trying not to get sick himself, and I immediately went into action cleaning the guys up (along with a large portion of the carpet at the bottom of our stairs.) The vomiting had scared Isaac, so he was in tears and so pitiful. Once I got everyone cleaned up, clothes in the washer, and new clothes on everyone, Elise was fussy and hungry. I took her out of the carseat to feed her, and the boys sat on the couch to cuddle. Five minutes into the feeding, Isaac got sick again. Yet again, Steven was covered (along with some of our couch) and both of their clothes needed to be replaced. It was at this point we decided that we might better make alternate plans for dinner. We also decided that we would put PJ's on Isaac and keep him covered with a large towel in case he got sick again. Which turned out to be a good idea because he got sick again five more times before settling into his bed around midnight. My mom was kind enough to bring our pizza, which Steven and I scarfed down in the middle of cuddles and cleanup.

Whew. We left Isaac in his bed with a towel over his sheets and went to bed ourselves. Later that night, I woke up with incredibly sore muscles and nausea. Since I have never thrown up since becoming an adult and am kind of scared of it, I took some Pepto Bismol and went back to bed hoping I'd feel much better in a half hour. Well, I didn't. All day Saturday, I literally couldn't get out of bed. I didn't throw up, but my body was sore all over, I had a fever and chills, and I was nauseated. I was so sore that I needed help while nursing Elise. I didn't even have the strength in my arms to hold her up and burp her. Steven was Mr Mom that day and took great care of the kids and me. (And Isaac was much better. He didn't eat much at all, but he drank an entire quart of Pedialyte.) My mom helped out again by bringing Steven some yummy Bojangles and also bringing some saltines, ginger ale, and ice treats. Around 8 PM I was able to get out of the bed and walk around a bit. I put away some laundry (which is hard for me to resist, not because I love laundry but because I dislike it so much that I'm always trying to keep it manageable so it doesn't pile up.), but that was all I could do. Once Isaac and Elise were in bed, Steven and I sat on the couch for about an hour, but I was still sore enough that I needed to get back in the bed. So I crawled back in the bed and went to sleep, hoping for an easier day on Sunday.

Around 5 AM Sunday morning I heard Steven stirring. He informed me that he had started vomiting at 4 AM. This kept up off and on until about 11:30 AM. Thankfully I was feeling about 75% better, and my fever had broken, so I was able to take care of the kids and Steven for the day on Sunday. Steven ended up having a fever, chills, soreness, and vomiting. He was in the bed all day. (Talk about role reversal!) I was still feeling nauseated and too much housework seemed to make me feel worse, so Isaac, Elise and I camped out in our living room and watched Sesame Street's "Let's Make Music" video three times and "Elmosize" twice. (Maybe we need some variety in our kids' video collection??!) Isaac didn't complain, though! He rarely watches movies, so he thought it was a great treat. Also, since he wasn't completely back to normal, he didn't mind sitting with me on the couch most of the day.

After naptime, Isaac hopped wanted to check in on Daddy, so we went into our bedroom with Elise to cheer Steven up. We found that he was starting to feel a little better. He still had a fever, but he could sit up in the bed for the first time that day. We all sat together and talked for a few minutes, and Elise was all smiles as usual. But all of a sudden, she started vomiting too! We were completely shocked since she'd seemed so happy right before the yucky stuff shot out of her mouth. And she was just as happy right afterwards. And stayed happy through two more vomiting episodes within the hour. We immediately called her pediatrician and were advised to watch her through the night and decrease her intake of breastmilk by only nursing her for 5 minutes at a time every 1-2 hours. (This is supposed to help keep babies hydrated without upsetting their stomach with too much milk.) A couple hours later, Steven's fever spiked to almost 102 degrees. I called my aunt Donna, who is a nurse, and she advised me to watch him to make sure it didn't get any higher. He was miserable, and we prayed the end was near.

The rest of the night was actually uneventful. We put Isaac and Elise to bed and then went to bed early ourselves. Steven and I both were able to sleep well and Elise slept the longest stretch that she's slept in a while - from 10:30 PM to 3:30 AM. I actually felt like I was on vacation when I woke up after that much good sleep! Elise slept some more after that early feeding and then she woke at 6:30 AM for the day. She was so happy when she woke up! I fed her and then left her beside Steven on the bed while I washed my face. I also decided to go ahead and wipe down the bathrooms and throw a load of laundry in since she was so happy and Isaac was still asleep. Then I heard that awful sound. Elise was throwing up again, and this time it looked like more than humanly possible. Poor thing. I hated to see her sick again. We stripped the sheets off the bed (that ended up being the load of laundry that I started.) and called the doc. I was advised that I was doing an "excellent job of keeping her hydrated" since she'd been having wet diapers and her mouth was moist. The doc said to keep doing what we were doing and watch her. Whew.

By then, Isaac was stirring and it was time for the day to begin at full-force for our family. Steven ended up working from home and cancelling a business trip to Greensboro so that he wouldn't get his coworkers or clients sick (maybe the clients will appreciate that and it'll help him make the sale?!?) Today was filled, once again, with lots of videos and resting as much as possible. Thankfully no one vomited after Elise's episode at 7 AM... Steven and I still feel a bit nauseous and sore (and maybe Isaac and Elise do too - they just can't quite tell us!) but we're a lot better than we were this weekend!

We learned a lot through this experience: 1) When your child vomits, just take his/her clothes off and sit him/her on a towel until you're sure the vomiting is over. 2) Washing machines are gifts from God. 3) When one family member starts vomiting, the rest will most likely follow. 4) Pedialyte is always a great thing to have on hand. 5) As are Ginger Ale, saltines, and Tylenol. 5) Thermometers are worth their weight in gold. 6) Pediatrics on-call nurses are worth their weight in gold. 7) There's nobody like your Momma, even when you're a Momma. 8) The grace of God meets you wherever you are - even when you're catching your own child's vomit in your hand. Especially when you're catching your own child's vomit in your hand.

Thank you Jesus for being with our family this weekend and giving us the strength and energy we needed to press through this short season of sickness. You are our ever-present help in times of trouble!