i hate vomit

jay told me i complained too much on fb last week. sorry if i was annoying. i thought my status updates were simply honest & i tried to say something lighthearted. oh well.

to be honest - the week was HARD.

let's recap. friday feb 22 gabe was in rare form. that's our day together. normally we have fun together but that day he was grumpy & high...HIGH maintenance. i shouldn've known something was up...

we put him down around 7:30 or so. i forced myself to stay up til 8:30. yeah, i said it 8:30. jay decided he was going to the gym so he left around 9. (i dont understand working out at 9pm but he doesn't understand 5:30am so we're even...)

after working out jay decided to go to Dennys. (isn't that what everyone does..?! haha.)

so when i heard gabe crying around 11pm i laid there waiting for jay to get him. no such luck. he wasn't home.

so i opened to door to Gs room and SKADOOSH - a big nasty scent of vomit overwhelmed me. it broke my heart. i scooped him up and started cleaning him & his bed. he was crying so hard. it was pitiful. i know he must have been terrified!

jay walked in moments later. he joined right in helping to console G and clean up. we both stayed up with him for hours. he vomited all over jay and our house. it was awful.

saturday we hoped for the best and went on about our day. we sat down for supper at 6pm. jay said he wasn't very hungry...not normal. then by 8pm he was nauseous. awesome.

3:30am - loud, violent noises came from the other room. there he went.

so at 4am i am texting a lengthy request to his worship team to cover the worship sets that morning b/c jay was sick.

this is when my stress level shot up. i think it's still up.

i can spare you more details and just tell you that he did that for a solid week. 7 nights of vomit and diarrhea. so so so sad.

neither one of us slept much the entire week. G went down normally every night and acted normal ALL DAY (no sickness) but at night - vomit. we changed pjs and sheets 50 times.

i did make a doctors appointment for him on monday. but he seemed fine so jay canceled it. seemed legit. it didn't make sense that he was normal all day and then sick at night. who knew it would last so long!

tuesday started rather normal. well as normal as 3 hours of solid sleep can feel...

i wanted to make jay call and make another appointment but i gave in and called myself. so we had a plan to go see Gs doctor at 9am wed morning. moving on...

that day i had a fundraiser at work. so i had to look decent (makeup and "real" clothes!)  i went to setup and was looking forward to the night.

got home to check on G and my dad was there. what?! mom was at the doctor. STREP. awesome.

so i was 2 hours away from a HUGE fundraising dinner. my mom couldn't keep G...she would've! she's a nut. but we didn't want him to get sick and she was VERY sick. it was sad. :(

ok so when she walked out the door i started crying. G was so weak, so sad and looked awful. i called the doctor back. i cried like a COMPLETE FOOL on the voicemail. honestly i cried the entire afternoon. but really embarrassed myself with the doctor.

the nurse called me back. we talked through all of Gs symptoms, etc. she thought he'd be ok until morning.

she called back moments later and said his doctor was concerned and wanted to see him at 6pm.

mmk, i have to be at the fundraiser at 5:25. i thought about jay taking G to the doctor without me. hmmm, didn't seem like the best move.

jay is an AMAZING father. but details aren't his thing. i had notes, questions, tears, concerns, etc. i had to be there. i couldn't leave my pitiful precious boy.

so i called my fabulous understanding boss and asked for advice. he said if my speaking part was covered i was good to go. so i called aaron "i can do anything for anyone b/c i'm boss" wall and he said he'd do it.

so i snuggled in with my sick boy and waited impatiently for 6pm.

long story short - she figured he got the virus from us. but apparently babies have a harder time kickin the sickness.

my cute, still sick mom came over at midnight tuesday and slept on our couch. G woke up crying LIKE MAD at 5. but the sleep i got from 1-5 was unbelievable. seriously, what is it about having your mom around?!  it just calms & heals doesn't it?!

(sorry Gabe - not sure i'm a mom like that...!? haha)

oh no worries - i googled Gs symptoms and diagnosed him with everything out there all week. ps - really, dont do that. my word there's a lot of junk out there!!!  scary junk.

oh and yes i called the doctor again. i think it was thursday? maybe wed. but again, i made a fool out of myself. i think the message went something like this.... "hey is Gabes mom again. i know y'all hate me. i know i am being 'that mom.' i can't stop worrying. why does G only vomit at night? does he have acid reflux? i've been doing the BRAT diet. he still pukes. its ok if you guys give me the stank eye next time i come in. i understand. i cry a lot. i googled his symptoms so now i'm a wreck....etc."  yeah, i think i'll let jay do checkups for a while. haha

the sweet PA called me back. she helped me feel normal and told me i could "call as often as i'd like, that's why they're there."  she'll regret that.

wednesday night was the same. no sleep. middle of the night vomit. ripping off his sheets, blankets, pillows, pjs and throwing it in the washing machine. and giving G sprite.

thursday morning i gathered more nasty clothes and threw it all in the washer.

i heard the washer fill with water but then nothing. silence. so i went in and checked on it. it had filled up with water but then stopped. so i hit some knob and it started. oh good.

then minutes later it stopped again. awesome. the washer just died with a load of pukey/poopy clothes and water in it. i was DONE. tears, nonstop tears.

again mom came to the rescue and drained the water, took the clothes, etc. she is not human she's so awesome.

i left for work and drove straight to CCC to pray. i couldn't do anything else. (except cry)


thursday G was energetic and seemed great. he slept all night. we were convinced we'd made it!!

i sent a family text saying we'd MADE IT!!

then i walked by his bedroom door to make my coffee and SHEWWWWWWWWW - vomit and diarrhea reeked from his room. i could've cried. or vomited myself.

ripped off the nasty sheets and pjs and just threw it down b/c i couldn't wash it. 

texted mom and told her we were back in the mess.  she, of course, came over.

she played hard with G. he was happy, playful, etc. she sent jay and i to lunch. it was nice. we almost skipped lunch to sleep but really...we'd rather eat!

spent the afternoon with G. he was fun. a little less energetic than the morning but still ok.

put him down friday and night he woke up at 12am. and was WIDE awake wanting play. we were patient til about 3. then i'd had enough. i said i am the dang mom. this kid is going to bed. i dont care if he cries. 

he did but not for long and we slept. 

jay and gabe slept til 11am! i was so happy for them. well they did wake up at 7:30 but G had bfast and went back to sleep. 

he had lots, lots, lots of diarrhea on saturday. 

i was super paranoid that i was going to be sick. jay made fun of me, a lot. i was convinced i was going to vomit. i didn't. thank the LORD.

sunday was normal!! no sickness and a happy, happy, funny, playful, hilarious, delightful Gabe. we just sat in amazement and thankfulness.

now, let's talk about the hilarious moments....

when dad was keeping G he was rubbing Gs head. dad said when he'd stop rubbing that G would reach up and rub his own head. funny kid.

i threatened to get in the car around 1am one of those miserable nights and never return. i meant it.

jay texted me during a meeting wednesday and said he had vomit on his watch.

one night G and Jay were sitting on the couch and G dry heaved. he and jay got nervous and looked at each other wide-eyed waiting on some vomit. but nothing. then they both busted out laughing.

we thought G was feeling better saturday. so jay was playing with him like normal...ya know, flipping him around like a doll. G was laughing and loving it. then all of the sudden he sat up and i said "umm he doesn't look so good." and BUCKETS of vomit flew out of his mouth.

...so at 3:30am sunday after Jay got sick i asked him if it could fling him around for a while...he almost lost it again.

no exaggeration Gabe had gas that could put any grown man to shame and kill a horse. 

maybe the funniest part was jay...

who knows what night it was but he was with G. he could tell he was about to throw up so what did he do?! he held out his hands and caught it!! TWICE!! hahahahahaha. he threw it in the kitchen sink...disgusting.

ok THEN he decided he'd just throw G in the sink for a bath. (again, disgusting.) so he started to take Gs clothes off. got to the diaper and realized it was full of diarrhea. so he took it off and put it down. on the ground....

only to realize later that he's STEPPED IN IT. (with socks on at least.) but he was sure he'd tracked lime green poo all over our house.

when he came to bed and told me that story i laughed until i cried. 

i am so sure i am forgetting tons of funny things/sad things/gross things. but you get the point.

here's a couple lessons learned:

God gives one parent enough grace to cover for the other. there were moments when one of us was losing it and the other had compassion. that went back & forth all week.

a vomiting baby is the saddest thing ever.

i cry when i am scared and overwhelmed. i also say dumb things to important people...like the pediatrician.

moms are fabulous.

claire knows EVERYTHING and is perfect for wisdom, encouragement and venting when you're losing it.

having a family that is healthy and whole is NOT something to take for granted.

thanking God for healing and our precious family.