Oh! Did I Say Puking Was Over? Haha! Just Kidding!

Saturday morning I came home from work and collapsed in bed with an "Ugh."

A woke up with an "Uh oh."

He made it through the morning (later L told me, "We saw Daddy throw up!") and then kicked me out of bed when he put C down for a nap.  Two hours later I heard crying upstairs, but I was busy holding E's hair back as we sat on the couch and she puked into a bowl for the 4th time in 2 hours.  A lurched down, holding a vomit covered C in his arms,  laid her on the floor, and started stripping her clothes off.  He had to leave midway through the process to puke.  He thinks he fainted briefly because the next thing he knew he was lying on the floor in the bathroom.

I held my stomach contents down through sheer force of will.  I know in my head that I will undoubtedly feel better if I let it all come up, but I hate puking so much that I will fight it until there is no other option. 

We stumbled through the rest of the day, but it was quite pathetic.  A and I were very close to being unable to provide care for our kids - it was that bad.  E puked more than a dozen times over the afternoon and evening, mainly because SOMEONE kept giving in to her whining and allowing her sips of water which she would promptly deposit in the bowl.  C would give a small warning cry and I would swoop in and direct her mouth toward the wood floor and away from carpet/furniture while A went to fetch more paper towels and baby wipes.  Otherwise, we all huddled together on the couches and watched movie after movie while the washing machine rumbled away. 

Heroically, I made L (the only non-sick one) a grilled cheese sandwich and some grapes for dinner.  Then I distributed popsicles to everyone else (E threw hers up again).  I made E take a shower with me to wash the puke out of her hair.  A shower always makes me feel better when I'm sick.  While I was in the shower and I thought she was lying, clean, wrapped in a towel on the floor, she chugged a big glass of water and then threw it all up.

I nursed C on top of a towel, expecting her to puke everything back up, but she didn't and we were all tucked into bed by 8.  At 8:10, we were up again because E was so thirsty that she wouldn't be able to sleep, she would "just cry all night long and maybe stop breathing," the drama queen.  I pulled out some antipyretics and that helped our shivering.  I woke up drowning in my own sweat a few hours later, but at least the achy feverness was gone.  There were 2 wake-ups from E that night~none for puking~just one for thirst and another because her arm fell asleep.  When I checked on her in the morning, she learned that it was Sunday and asked enthusiastically, "Are we going to eat pizza tonight?"  My assessment concluded that she was all better.

Yesterday we all kept down liquids and then solids.  I declare this stomach virus VANQUISHED. (Again.) (But this time I MEAN IT.)

Comments

[Cherish]

Wow! What a sucky weekend! Looking after a sick child while you yourself are sick is the one part of parenting that non parents just cant imagine. Im glad you are feeling better

[Jody]

Oh dear. What a weekend. Not even a chance for parental tag-teaming. {shiver}

I'm glad the bug is vanquished at last.

[CJ]

Oh, goodness, I hope all is back to normal. What a nightmare!

[Tracy]

That is horrendous. There is nothing worse than sick parents and sick children at the same time. Be gone for good, nasty virus!

[liz]

So glad you are all on the mend. Everyone sick at once is a parenting nightmare I have thus far managed to avoid.

[Kristen]

Goodness! You lived out one of my worst nightmares as a parent. But you survived!!! I'm hearing the theme from Rocky going through my head. Although I'm sure you don't feel like running up a bunch of steps and waving your arms triumphantly right now. Hope you guys are all healthy and back to normal today.

[Kate W.]

Your weekend is my worst nightmare. I am SO sorry...

[Jen A]

Good grief, what a nightmare! Man, I'm glad you're all feeling better. Do you have any idea what virus it was? Is it something you're seeing a lot at the hospital?

[shari]

Oh, we have SO been there...I feel your pain! When the first one got it she threw up while sitting/half standing on the couch in Just the Right Position so it went all over both big bottom cushions and both big back cushions.... the whole couch!! Hope you're all better soon (for real this time!)

[Shalini]

That sucks! I am so sorry that y'all were all so sick.. happened to my family once when I was in 6th grade.. and it was all flu.. so so horrible...

Get well soon! :)

[Jen LC]

dude, it's a good thing you get medals for going through this kind of combat.

oh wait.

[Cherish]

Hey LInda, I just wanted to let you know that I gave you an award over on my blog :)

[Beth]

Oh wow. What misery. So sorry you all were felled at the same time. I always thought that nothing was worse than watching your baby sick with a stomach virus and then I learned that watching your baby ill while you're ill is indeed worse. Glad to hear you've all put it behind you!