Kellen's afternoon

I got a call from school at ~ 3:45 letting me know that Kellen had closed his hand in the door (the one from his room to the playground). They told me that he had a pretty bad cut on his finger, but that it wasn't gushing blood...and that they were icing it and suggested that we come and look at it.

Considering what Matt does, I called him and asked him to get to the school to check things out (in enough time to get to the dr's by 5 if we needed). Well, at 4:30 he calls me and tells me that he STILL can't find his keys and suggests that I get over to daycare (oh boy - Matt and his keys!). So I hightail it out of work and get to daycare. On the way there, Matt calls to tell me that he found his keys, so he just ends up meeting me there.

Kellen's finger has stopped bleeding by this point, has a long cut, but the cut isn't deep - so no stitches. However, the finger is SWOLLEN and if you cup your hands around his finger (without touching it) you can feel the heat radiating off of his finger. Matt tried to get him to squeeze his fingers, and he did it, but after Matt tried to get him to squeeze "good" he started crying because his finger hurt so bad.

Poor guy!

So...come to find out, he was first in line waiting to go outside and must have bumped the door. He got that finger in the door (the space between the door and the wall near the hinges) and the door must have shut. Luckily, it didn't shut completely, or his finger would have more than likely broken.

On the way home, he wanted to call his Grandma, Grandpa, MawMaw and PawPaw to tell them about his boo boo on his finger...He even left messages for them!

He's not using his right hand much at all tonight, but did show me that he could bend his fingers earlier. His finger is still oh-so-swollen, so we'll see how he's doing tomorrow.

She ate from the menu

Tatum ate from the menu at school today. Oh my, oh my.

Chicken and rice, green beans and applesauce...I'll hear more about it tomorrow I'm sure, but apparently, she fed herself the "dry" items but didn't want to touch anything that was moist...but ate it if someone fed it to her with a spoon.

She's growing up too fast!

He could stand it!

We got home from work and school today, and Kellen was watching Tatum in the living room while I was changing clothes...all of the sudden I heard an incredibly loud thud - and crying. Loud crying. Tatum had pulled over one of the TV trays...Kellen was crying because he thought Tatum was hurt and he couldn't stop her - stop it - and she was crying becauase she was scared and she HAD actually hit her head...Poor thing! She had a huge red knot on her head - so Kellen ran to get the boo boo ice, and we tried to get her to sit still long enough to put the ice on it, but well...

So I not only had to comfort Tatum because she had actually gotten hurt, but I had to comfort Kellen because Tatum had gotten hurt! He just couldn't stand to see her hurt...really...he was almost inconsolable.

She's ready, but I'm not.

I walked into daycare today to feed Tatum, and had BOTH of the teachers tell me how she KNEW it was lunchtime and how she had been eyeing the lunch that two of the older kids were having. (They get the daycare lunch at 11, I get there to nurse her ~ 12:15 or so...- trust me, she isn't starving) So apparently they're thinking (and they're probably right) that she's ready for the table food for lunch.

*sigh*

I'M NOT READY FOR HER TO BE EATING TABLE FOOD YET!

I gave her a teeny tiny bit of our spaghetti noodles the other night, and she gobbled them right up.

Where did eight and a half months go?

And Kellen...wow.

He's SUCH a GREAT big brother!!! And such a good helper!

He's transformed from my little angel to a little boy. When exactly did that happen? I can't put my finger on it, but it certainly happened. I'm excited to see the boy he's growing into, but I think I'm just having a sentimental day...

The sick saga continues

Well...despite our best efforts to avoid it, apparently it was inevitable. Kellen got the tummy bug. He made his way into our room sometime last night, and I was awoken to the sounds of sickness at about 12:30 this morning. Poor guy! His little body didn't even give him any warning...he was getting sick in his sleep! What a way to wake up. I grabbed him just as quickly as I could, ran him to the bathroom, and helped him continue to get sick...by helped of course I mean I pointed his head in the correct direction toward the toilet. When he was all through - bless his heart - we got all cleaned up, I stripped and made the bed, started a load of laundry, and we tried to go back to sleep.

That lasted for a little while until the next go-round. Luckily, the next one wasn't quite as bad as the first. But still...his poor little body isn't giving him any warning at all!

So, he is sequestered to our bedroom for the time being. (We'll see if we can manage to keep him and Tatum apart so that SHE doesn't get it again) So far this morning he's watched cartoons and has had some water. I made him some toast, but he didn't want to eat it, so I didn't force the issue. Now, at 9:30 - yes, you read that correctly - 9:30 AM, he is back asleep.

We'll see how the rest of the day goes. From the other parents with multiple kids that have gotten this, I've been told that the older kids take much less time to get over this than the younger ones. Maybe we'll just be dealing with this today and be on the recovering end of it tomorrow.

Oh, and did I mention that Tatum threw up again yesterday afternoon at daycare? AHH!!! She hasn't shown the slightest bit of this bug since early this week! I am hoping and praying that this was just a fluke. A fluke - really...can it be just a fluke?

Funny man

So Kellen came back from MawMaw and PawPaw's today. Although he got back in the state yesterday, we felt it was better for him to stay out of the "funk" of our house until we had given this junk another day to get out of Tatum and my system.

Anyway...so he walks in and I ask for a hug, he comes over, starts to give me a hug, then stops.

"I can't give you a hug because you're sick. We don't give hugs to people when they're sick because then I'll get sick. And if I get sick then EVERYBODY will be sick and that will be bad. Mommy, did your heart stop beating when you were sick?" [Note: you have to read this while NOT taking a breath to get the full effect. Really.]

My oh my...

Trying to get him to finish his dinner, which was a peanut butter sandwich, 2 fig newton cookies, a slice of a peach and a cup of milk....

"I'm full," he declares after eating his 2 fig newtons. "If I eat everything then my belly will be full and I will eat too much and it will be round and I'll be a ball like Lilo and Stitch. 'Cause they ate too much and then went bouncy, bouncy, bouncy."

I have NO idea what he was watching and when Lilo and Stitch ate so much that they turned into bouncing balls, but whatever.

Apparently he had a really good time on his trip, even thanking God during his prayers for letting him go on the airplane.

As for his sister, she was completely asymptomatic today, so I think we'll try daycare again tomorrow and see how it goes.

Relapse

-Relapse-

I took her to daycare today. She hadn't gotten sick since yesterday at 7AM, so silly me thought it was actually safe to do that so that I could actually try and get some rest (BIG kudos to those of you who don't have that daycare option for when you get sick...wow!). Anyway, I was trying to take it easy and re-hydrate myself...and got a call at 2:30...she had thrown up and they were going to watch her closely...if she threw up again I would need to come and get her. Sure enough...another phone call at 3:30...and mind you she hadn't had anything since her bottle at noon and then solids ~ 2.

UG! Poor thing! I REALLY thought that she was over this thing! But apparently I'm not the only one that this bug is tricking...several of the kids have been out, been asymptomatic, come back, and gotten sick again.

On the mend?

Tatum seems to be...she hasn't gotten sick since this morning at ~ 7 AM. Yay! That makes me SO happy...I called and talked with the nurse at the pediatrician's office this morning and she confirmed that we were doing all of the correct things for her...nursing as often as she wanted, checking her hydration levels, output, etc. She also said that the cases that they've seen recently (and they have - which confirms that there is something going around) have cycled through in a few days, depending on the baby, its immune system, age, etc. I'm hoping that tonight and tomorrow continue along this path. Maybe we really are at the tail end of this with her. Oh wait. Should I have typed that? I certainly hope I didn't just jinx myself there.

Matt seems to be doing well - he actually ate some and seems to be doing better.

Me, on the other hand, I'm just weak. Perhaps it's because I haven't eaten anything - quite literally - all day long. I've managed to drink three cups of hot tea (decaf) today. That's it. I've been trying to stay hydrated, but that's all I could make myself drink.

I'm going to try some toast now. Wish me luck!

Wellness, it's a beautiful thing probably most appreciated when it's missing. Even for a short time.

Tatum's sick

Friday
Oh goodness...she threw up at school on Friday - twice, and enough that they called me. I went to pick her up early, she didn't get her 3:30 bottle, she was gagging and turning red - like she couldn't get a good breath and/or enough force to push up whatever it is that she needs to push up. She nursed twice - about 5 minutes each time and threw up the entire bit of it seconds later...I checked her diaper later on Friday night and it wasn't wet. And I hadn't changed it since I picked her up from school at ~ 4:30.

Oh man. She's not lethargic, but is definitely not acting like herself.

She nursed earlier like she wanted some milk, then snuggled next to me and threw it all up less than 2-5 minutes later.

She slept...and I just watched her VERY closely. When she isn't having a "spell" (don't know of a better way to put that), she's acting almost like my Tatum...still talking, cooing, but I can tell that she doesn't feel well...she's way more snuggly than normal, is more pale than normal, etc.

I did take her temp and she isn't running a fever at all...so I guess that's one good thing that we have going for us. Apparently there is something going around daycare...there were just a handful of the kids there Friday (out of the class of 10) and the rest of them were out with a stomach bug and/or cold/cough stuff.

Great.

Saturday
Well...Friday night went pretty well...Matt brought her in to me at about 4 and she nursed then - and kept it down, and fell back asleep in bed with us...woke up again around 7:30 and nursed on the other side...again..it stayed down. Apparently Matt changed her diaper at 4 before he brought her to me and said that it was wet - and full. She played for a little bit and then went down for a nap...woke up with a HUGE poopy diaper (runny since she hasn't had any solids), but at least she's getting some output. She played well since she woke up and has nursed again, so we'll see how the rest of the day goes...Hopefully it was just a quick little bug.

No "incidents" on Saturday.

Sunday
Well, she didn't throw up on Saturday, but Sunday she was just "off" and ended up throwing up on me when I got back to the house after going running an errand - and that was ~ 2 hours after she had eaten.

*sigh*

And then a little later I felt of her and she felt a little warm...took her temp and she's running a very low grade fever. Not high enough to be considered a real fever (i.e., I could still take her to daycare in the morning) but elevated such that I think her body might actually be trying to fight something. Poor baby.

I'm going to play tomorrow by ear...see how she's feeling in the morning. But I might be taking a day off is she still isn't feeling well!

Monday
Well, Tatum decided to share with Mommy and Daddy last night. Isn't she sweet? Matt and I were both up getting sick - I'll spare you the details except to say that's it's a good thing we have two bathrooms in the house. And that I never thought they would both be used at the same time - in the middle of the night - by people getting sick.

I took her temp first thing this morning and she's not running a fever at all, and so I was going to get her dressed and take her to school so I could lounge at the house in misery. (Poor Matt, he actually went to work this morning and I think is going to try and find someone to cover at least part of his shift for him). Anyway, as I was getting ready to put clothes on her, she starts coughing and then throws up...lots. This was ~ 2 hours after I had fed her - since her body is still on the "old" time system.

Oh my, oh my. I think I'm calling the doctor's office this morning...at least to speak to the nurse about what's going on and if I should take her in.

Things I've learned

Things I've learned since having two kids:

• I wasn't really that organized before. (Laugh - go ahead - Laugh all you folks whose mouths are now on the floor...)
• It is possible to take two kids to a festival in downtown Bryan - by yourself. And carry the 35 lb 4-year-old back to the minivan - that's a half mile away - while pushing the stroller when they get tired and are ready to go home. Or when they're not.
• It is possible to nurse child #2 while shopping with child #1 in Toys R Us - and even manage to be discrete. And push the stroller in which no one is riding.
• It is possible to take both kids to an after hours social - and carry them both out (20 lbs & ~ 40 lbs), along with their stuff, when #1 decides that he's too tired and just doesn't want to walk through the parking lot to the car...It just makes everyone you work with think that you're supermom. :)
• Math is wrong. 1 kid = 100% love; 2 kids does NOT = 50% love/each...somehow, each kid still gets 100% love out of 1 heart. It is possible and truly amazing.
• It is possible to make your baby food without completely (and I'll stress completely) losing your mind. And it's even kind of fun and somewhat addicting.
• It really IS easier to cook everything at once, freeze and then reheat dinner rather than trying to "cook" every night.
• You really CAN'T imagine life without the 2nd, just like you couldn't remember life before the 1st.
• It is possible to leave a nursing child for 5 days (It's not fun, but it's possible) and still manage to pump some amount of milk for that child (assuming said child takes bottles, which mine does). Oh, and TSA has now changed their guidelines so that nursing moms can bring any amount of breastmilk with them on the plane - with or without their child. Go figure.
• I care even less about being discrete with #2 than I did with #1. Really. And even less as time goes on.
• Children of both sexes can squirt urine at you during a diaper change. Seriously.
• Projectile poop is not fun. Need I say much more about this one?
• When your child(ren) throw up on you, you'll comfort them, strip the sopping wet clothes from your body & put on more, AFTER you clean them up, of course, just so they can do it again.
• My house will never again be pristine (not that it was pristine a large amount of time anyway), and it doesn't bother me as much as I wish it did. (Shouldn't I be striving for that? :) )
• I love that my son loves and adores his sister, and that my daughter thinks her brother hung the moon!
• Watching your husband melt with your child really does make you fall in love with them all over again - all over again.