Monday, April 26, 2010

Mommies shouldn't get sick

Do you all agree with me when I say that moms shouldn't get sick??? How are we supposed to care for sick children when we're also sick? Well, I'm lucky enough to have a husband that helps a lot, but...What if he also gets sick?

Well, that's pretty much what happened this weekend. Actually it all started last Wednesday, the 21st. It was a holiday here in Brazil and we went to a hotel. As soon as we got back at 1 a.m, my daughter started throwing up. She has been coughing a lot lately, and sometimes she would throw up in the middle of the night from coughing so much, but this time it was different. I knew it wasn't just from the cough.

After cleaning up her crib, switching her to my bed, taking off the sheets from my bed, sleeping on towels and getting new towls until we ran out, we decided to take her to the emergency room. I think I must have slept about two hours, max. It is quite funny too, because that night when we got home from our trip I was so exhausted and so happy to just lay down on my bed and sleep.

The doctor told us it was a viral infection which means the whole family would probably get it as well. On Friday (two days later) when I wrote about this on my blog and posted some pictures of Jasmine's barf (I know, gross), I started feeling a little weird. I thought it was because of that whole experience of taking pictures of throw up and looking at it on the blog. That whole day I had been feeling as if my head was floating, like everything around me was in slow motion. Now it all makes sense. That night I finally went and threw up after I couldn't possibly hold it in any longer.

(One thing is for sure: I cannot have morning sickness! I HATE throwing up! So, I don't know how some of you do it. Seriously. You're awesome)! Anyway... ;)

Then, right after me, it was my son's turn. We got sick at the same time. I only had my husband to save me and he wasn't feeling good either. It is so sad to see such a small child throwing up like an adult! It is just not fair! Poor thing, I felt so bad. And I didn't have the strength to get up and get him when I saw that he was starting to feel sick. Luckily, my husband was still sort of good.

(Okay, now single moms - I also don't know how you do it. You're amazing).

You probably already know what happened next, and I don't want to gross you out any longer.

So here's a picture of me and my son right after it happened to him. Misery!

We're doing a lot better now, although my kids are still going #3 (that's dia...you know what I mean). A lot. I hope they get better soon but right now I'm just so thankful that I'm able to take care of them. It was only a two-day ordeal for me and I know that many of you have it a lot worse.

So now I would like to hear some of your stories. Have you ever been incapable of caring for your children for one reason or another? How did you deal with it?

9 comments:

Unknown said...

I am sorry for you guys... good thing you are getting better.
I'm with you with the throwing up thing. I just can't do it. I have done it only once in my whole life, during my pregnancy. It was TERRIBLE!!! It was my first time at IHOP (never been back there since). I cried a lot :(

But going back to the question...
After atteding a family wedding we all got sick, I mean ALL. from greatgranparents to the little babies. I took me a whole week to heal because I couldn't get enough rest. I Brad and Thomas were throwing up and we were all going #3. We just stayed inside the whole week. Drinking lots of fluids and just laying down around the house. Mommies need to be so strong. Full time job with no calling in sick days.

Liesl said...

Funny you should post this today because I woke up sick today!!! Luckily my kids and I took turns, they had it first, now they are better and I have it; so they are happily playing while I lay here miserable. It IS the worst when everyone is sick at once! And who takes care of moms so that they can recover? I miss having my mom take care of me when I am sick.

I don't know if any of you other mommies have kids old enough to do this yet but it's something to look forward to. Now when I'm sick and I tell my kids that I am sick they try and take care of me! They tell me lay down on the sofa and put a movie on. They get me blankets, pillows, a cup of water, and pet my hair. It's so adorable and sweet. Sometimes they make more mess than help; but the sweetness of it is priceless :)

Rebeca Price said...

two weeks ago I had a sinus infection. I thought I was going to die..hehehehe. I had this really bad headache while i was at work and I was playing outside with the kids. Then it hurt so bad I had to get on my knees and sit on the ground. Rachel came and said: "mama, crying!"

Then I took the kinds inside and called brandon to come and help me. he couldnt come. I took a Tylenol and sat down for a while.
I got home half hour later and Brandon brought me a medicine that was supposed to help with sinus infection. I put Rachel for a nap and went for a nap myself. Took the medicine and fell asleep. I slept for 3 hours. Brandon took care of Rachel. Then I woke up much better!
It was one of the worse experiences. Thank goodness it was the only one I had so far that I felt I couldnt take care of my child because I couldnt really think straight.. I didnt even know if I could drive back home :(

Audrey Holjeson said...

This reminds me of one of the worst experiences of my LIFE! Bryan was working in another state and I was with Tiff finishing packing so we could move too and I remember that I bought a bunch of microwave meals since I didn't have anything to cook with anymore (80% of our stuff Bryan had already taken with him), so anyways, I ended up eating one of those gross food out of necessity and got EXTREMELY sick! I never felt that incapacitated before in my life, and I was all alone with a 9 month old baby who needed me for everything. We were in a nearly empty house and I didn't have the strength to do anything. I remember just putting this little dvd player and a bunch of toys for her next to me on the floor while I just lay there and tried to rest. That experience really showed me that I was much stronger than I ever thought possible. Tiffany's need were greater than anything I could possibly be feeling. I was like that for around three days I think and I still had to finish packing and cleaning the house...it turned out OK but I would've given anything to have my mom there to help me...I felt like I couldn't count on anybody!

Aline Carson said...

What Audrey said makes me think of all the times I could've helped and I didn't help. It makes me want to be more helpful and serve others when they are in need. I do have my mom living right here next to me but these days when I was sick she and my dad had calling responsibilities (like lunch with E. Nelson for example) among other things. But she left her car here with us and cooked for us. My dad also went and bought Chris some soup and gatorade at the bakery on our way home from Campinas. It sure is nice to have family around.

@bicaflor said...

I feel sooooo bad for you Aline. I know what you mean, it´s bad enough to have your kids sick, but mommies shouldn´t get sick and not be able to help them. Please, let me know if you need any help, I´m right around the corner!

Aline Carson said...

Thanks, Bianca, but you're not around the corner, you live far away! hehe. But I am feeling much better and we should get together soon.

Jenny Taylor said...

We are also just getting through a whole month of kids being sick, and mommies too. Right before Easter my oldest got pink eye, and a cold, when he was getting better, my baby got sick, and he got really sick! Poor thing, when we though he was getting better, I woke up feeling extremely sick and my oldest started throwing up as well! It was crazy, I had to ask for my husband to give me a blessing before he left for work, because I did not think I was going to make it. Luckily he only had to work for a few hours, and came home and helped. But really, like Audrey said, we realize we are so much stronger than we thought!

Kika VilaNova said...

ai que penina amiga. I'm sorry! And being sick in Brazil, with the humidity and the weather... makes it worse, huh? The only thing that makes me be sick enough to not want to do anything is the depression. it sucks. lets all feel better soon, shall we?