warning...this post is not for those with weak stomachs!
Calvin was the first to get it. New Year's Day, in the morning after breakfast, he had been playing in the basement. Our friends Shawn and Kim and their son Caleb were visiting, and we suspect they brought along the bug because their son Caleb had thrown up the day before, but recovered quickly and seemed fine. Shawn felt sick the night before. I had just finished getting ready for the day and was filling a sippy cup of milk for Vanessa after getting her out of bed. Calvin ran upstairs and immediately emptied his stomach onto the tile floor. All I could think of it was how great it was that he didn't puke on the carpet. I cleaned everything up, cleaned Calvin and changed his clothes. Dave brushed his teeth, and the rest of the day he was fine. He seemed a bit tired, hanging out near the couch and slumping onto it many times, but ate like normal the rest of the day and hasn't been sick since.
Tonight, Vanessa emptied her stomach. And the worst part was that it was all over Violet. She had gotten Vanessa out of her bed after her nap for me. I was sleeping on the couch while V and C were watching the movie Cars. Violet heard Vanessa squealing and went up to get her to be my big helper like she loves to do. When I heard her footsteps downstairs again, I heard the hurling noise and quickly snapped out of my napping state, and Violet started screaming. She said "Mom! Mom! Vanessa won't stop throwing up!!!!" and then she started bawling. By the time I heard the puking, Vanessa had gone all over Violet. The front and back of her shirt, in her hair, all over her own clothes, on the floor, carpet, blanket, baby...you name it, was full of stomach contents. Calvin ran away and focused on his movie...I immediately carried a whimpering Vanessa upstairs and Violet continued to scream, sob and hold her hands away from her body in disgust. I stripped them down quickly and put them in the tub/shower - Violet stood in the hot water while continuing to cry...she eventually calmed down, and cleaned herself off the best by rinsing out her hair and face, then sat in the tub and I bathed the girls. Dave was already late for a meeting he was leading for the deacons so unfortunately, he was helpless and had to leave. I firmly told Calvin to stay on the couch, don't touch the puke or walk in it, and wait for me to come downstairs.
I scrubbed them head to toe with soap and got them clean. Violet was happy to put on her pajamas. I dressed Vanessa in something warm and put her in the high chair so she would stay in one spot while I started cleaning up the pukey items/floor downstairs. I can stomach almost anything...but the smell of the puke was so powerful and since I have this awesomely enhanced sense of smell since I'm pregnant, the smell permeated every part of my brain and made me weak. I was desparate for something to plug my nose while I worked to clean and disinfect every surface I could think of. I grabbed one of my magnet clips from the fridge and used a paper towel inbetween the hard squeeze to buffer the tough plastic ridges that would have been painful on the skin, and that solution worked pretty well, which made cleanup bearable. While I was doing that, Vanessa puked again all over her clean clothes and saturated every nook and cranny of the high chair with puke. I took off her dirty stuff, threw them in the laundry room sink, and took her back upstairs to the bathtub, and bathed her again. I brushed her teeth too. She seemed lethargic, miserable, and just wanted to snuggle. I stripped her down to just a diaper, carried down the exersaucer toy so she would stay in one place while I cleaned up the high chair, and surrounded her with a big towel. I heard her puke a couple more times and caught everything with the towel. The movie was over, and Calvin and Violet found things to do...coloring, playing the piano, eating the one banana that was left on the counter top, Violet microwaved some bread that was on the counter (she tried to eat it and complained about it being hard so I told her to hit 9 and start, so it warmed the bread for 9 seconds, she seemed satisfied with it after that). Vanessa puked again. I rinsed her off, put her back in the exersaucer with a new towel surrounding her, which served to catch a few smaller throw ups.
I kept checking on Vanessa while starting clean up in the laundry room. The nose plug went back on while I lifted up each gross item and sprayed it off so I could put it in the washing machine. A rather large load of items went in the washing machine for a warm rinse, then a hot wash. This cycle got everything sparkling clean, thank you Lord for a washing machine. I sprayed the house with air sanitizer and kept an eye on Vanessa, who stayed in the exersaucer and continued to puke small amounts. It eventually got dirty, so I took her out of it and she just stood in one place. I took out the cloth seat, wiped down the rest of it with disinfecting wipes, and set it aside. Violet and Calvin were getting tired...it was close to 8 pm. I was sitting on the couch with a snuggly tired sick Vanessa and I couldn't really leave her alone to put them to bed, so I told them they had to be my big helpers and put themselves to bed. Violet immediately "took charge" and said she could take care of everything but I had to yell at them from the couch downstairs each next step to getting in bed. Calvin managed to put on a pull up, get his pajamas on, brush his own teeth (don't know how well however), go to the bathroom, locate his blanket, and come downstairs to tell me he was done. Violet brought down one book, so I read them both one book, gave them a kiss/hug (all while holding a tired Vanessa), and sent them upstairs to go to bed. Turn on the fan, light off, and in beds. 5 minutes later Calvin walked out and said that Violet was talking. I told them to be quiet, and all was quiet for about 15 minutes. Vanessa puked again which required a change of my clothes, Violet then came out of bed with a disgruntled look on her face but at that point, I had had pretty much enough. I was on my way to my bedroom to change my clothes smelling something awful when I just told her to be quiet and go to bed, so she angrily shut her door and went to bed. Its been quiet for over an hour now so I can only assume they are asleep. After I changed my clothes, Vanessa fell asleep on me, so I put her to bed in a pack and play in the guest room on a big towel, forecasting another towel and pajama change before the morning comes.
Ugh....what a night. Lots to be thankful for (like I am not sick and have a great washing machine! and halfway obedient kids who put themselves to bed when they were overtired and probably hungry!)....but dealing with puke for many hours is SO not fun!
I should probably also mention that Dave caught the bug too and feels awful. Not sure how tomorrow is going to go....
****************UPDATE***************************************
The night was terrible for Dave and Violet. Violet came running into our room round 3:00 am and told us her tummy hurt. Dave dashed out of bed quickly and helped her to the toilet to throw up. She was a good sport about it though, throwing up easily. Dave got sick too and threw up 5 times. He and Violet shared the bathroom off and on for the rest of the night.
Vanessa is still sleeping, I will get her out of bed after I take Calvin to preschool. He seems perfect.
Please pray I do not catch this bug, I feel like a sitting duck.
Vanessa woke up happy (no puke in the crib!), a little snuggly, but wanted water desparately. We gave her some water but didn't want to give her a ton at once. She ate a whole cup full of crushed ice by spoon over an hour's time. Dave still feels weak but isn't throwing up anymore, Violet is recovering well and should be fine to go to school tomorrow.
Calvin was the first to get it. New Year's Day, in the morning after breakfast, he had been playing in the basement. Our friends Shawn and Kim and their son Caleb were visiting, and we suspect they brought along the bug because their son Caleb had thrown up the day before, but recovered quickly and seemed fine. Shawn felt sick the night before. I had just finished getting ready for the day and was filling a sippy cup of milk for Vanessa after getting her out of bed. Calvin ran upstairs and immediately emptied his stomach onto the tile floor. All I could think of it was how great it was that he didn't puke on the carpet. I cleaned everything up, cleaned Calvin and changed his clothes. Dave brushed his teeth, and the rest of the day he was fine. He seemed a bit tired, hanging out near the couch and slumping onto it many times, but ate like normal the rest of the day and hasn't been sick since.
Tonight, Vanessa emptied her stomach. And the worst part was that it was all over Violet. She had gotten Vanessa out of her bed after her nap for me. I was sleeping on the couch while V and C were watching the movie Cars. Violet heard Vanessa squealing and went up to get her to be my big helper like she loves to do. When I heard her footsteps downstairs again, I heard the hurling noise and quickly snapped out of my napping state, and Violet started screaming. She said "Mom! Mom! Vanessa won't stop throwing up!!!!" and then she started bawling. By the time I heard the puking, Vanessa had gone all over Violet. The front and back of her shirt, in her hair, all over her own clothes, on the floor, carpet, blanket, baby...you name it, was full of stomach contents. Calvin ran away and focused on his movie...I immediately carried a whimpering Vanessa upstairs and Violet continued to scream, sob and hold her hands away from her body in disgust. I stripped them down quickly and put them in the tub/shower - Violet stood in the hot water while continuing to cry...she eventually calmed down, and cleaned herself off the best by rinsing out her hair and face, then sat in the tub and I bathed the girls. Dave was already late for a meeting he was leading for the deacons so unfortunately, he was helpless and had to leave. I firmly told Calvin to stay on the couch, don't touch the puke or walk in it, and wait for me to come downstairs.
I scrubbed them head to toe with soap and got them clean. Violet was happy to put on her pajamas. I dressed Vanessa in something warm and put her in the high chair so she would stay in one spot while I started cleaning up the pukey items/floor downstairs. I can stomach almost anything...but the smell of the puke was so powerful and since I have this awesomely enhanced sense of smell since I'm pregnant, the smell permeated every part of my brain and made me weak. I was desparate for something to plug my nose while I worked to clean and disinfect every surface I could think of. I grabbed one of my magnet clips from the fridge and used a paper towel inbetween the hard squeeze to buffer the tough plastic ridges that would have been painful on the skin, and that solution worked pretty well, which made cleanup bearable. While I was doing that, Vanessa puked again all over her clean clothes and saturated every nook and cranny of the high chair with puke. I took off her dirty stuff, threw them in the laundry room sink, and took her back upstairs to the bathtub, and bathed her again. I brushed her teeth too. She seemed lethargic, miserable, and just wanted to snuggle. I stripped her down to just a diaper, carried down the exersaucer toy so she would stay in one place while I cleaned up the high chair, and surrounded her with a big towel. I heard her puke a couple more times and caught everything with the towel. The movie was over, and Calvin and Violet found things to do...coloring, playing the piano, eating the one banana that was left on the counter top, Violet microwaved some bread that was on the counter (she tried to eat it and complained about it being hard so I told her to hit 9 and start, so it warmed the bread for 9 seconds, she seemed satisfied with it after that). Vanessa puked again. I rinsed her off, put her back in the exersaucer with a new towel surrounding her, which served to catch a few smaller throw ups.
I kept checking on Vanessa while starting clean up in the laundry room. The nose plug went back on while I lifted up each gross item and sprayed it off so I could put it in the washing machine. A rather large load of items went in the washing machine for a warm rinse, then a hot wash. This cycle got everything sparkling clean, thank you Lord for a washing machine. I sprayed the house with air sanitizer and kept an eye on Vanessa, who stayed in the exersaucer and continued to puke small amounts. It eventually got dirty, so I took her out of it and she just stood in one place. I took out the cloth seat, wiped down the rest of it with disinfecting wipes, and set it aside. Violet and Calvin were getting tired...it was close to 8 pm. I was sitting on the couch with a snuggly tired sick Vanessa and I couldn't really leave her alone to put them to bed, so I told them they had to be my big helpers and put themselves to bed. Violet immediately "took charge" and said she could take care of everything but I had to yell at them from the couch downstairs each next step to getting in bed. Calvin managed to put on a pull up, get his pajamas on, brush his own teeth (don't know how well however), go to the bathroom, locate his blanket, and come downstairs to tell me he was done. Violet brought down one book, so I read them both one book, gave them a kiss/hug (all while holding a tired Vanessa), and sent them upstairs to go to bed. Turn on the fan, light off, and in beds. 5 minutes later Calvin walked out and said that Violet was talking. I told them to be quiet, and all was quiet for about 15 minutes. Vanessa puked again which required a change of my clothes, Violet then came out of bed with a disgruntled look on her face but at that point, I had had pretty much enough. I was on my way to my bedroom to change my clothes smelling something awful when I just told her to be quiet and go to bed, so she angrily shut her door and went to bed. Its been quiet for over an hour now so I can only assume they are asleep. After I changed my clothes, Vanessa fell asleep on me, so I put her to bed in a pack and play in the guest room on a big towel, forecasting another towel and pajama change before the morning comes.
Ugh....what a night. Lots to be thankful for (like I am not sick and have a great washing machine! and halfway obedient kids who put themselves to bed when they were overtired and probably hungry!)....but dealing with puke for many hours is SO not fun!
I should probably also mention that Dave caught the bug too and feels awful. Not sure how tomorrow is going to go....
****************UPDATE***************************************
The night was terrible for Dave and Violet. Violet came running into our room round 3:00 am and told us her tummy hurt. Dave dashed out of bed quickly and helped her to the toilet to throw up. She was a good sport about it though, throwing up easily. Dave got sick too and threw up 5 times. He and Violet shared the bathroom off and on for the rest of the night.
Vanessa is still sleeping, I will get her out of bed after I take Calvin to preschool. He seems perfect.
Please pray I do not catch this bug, I feel like a sitting duck.
Vanessa woke up happy (no puke in the crib!), a little snuggly, but wanted water desparately. We gave her some water but didn't want to give her a ton at once. She ate a whole cup full of crushed ice by spoon over an hour's time. Dave still feels weak but isn't throwing up anymore, Violet is recovering well and should be fine to go to school tomorrow.
Dramatic reading!
ReplyDeleteDAD
Dear Maria,
ReplyDeleteI don't think anything tops that.
I applaud your respite of thinking of things to be thankful for... definitely a messy job and it doesn't help when things are so unpredictable.
The thought that "this will pass" and that the Lord will enable you to maintain a level of grace trough such trials is encouraging.
You all take care!
Love,
Mom