I really should have seen it coming. Truth be told, I was even given a preemptive warning on Friday afternoon when our daycare provider told us that several kids were out with a stomach bug. Warning flare #1.
Saturday was a calm day for us. I had small group early in the morning and then returned home for a family trip to the library. Reagan had a meltdown of sorts when we tried to leave so I was VERY glad Daddy was there to carry her suddenly-jello-like body to the car while I carried all 4 books.
Brian worked at our friends’ house which they are remodeling for most of the afternoon. Reagan and I took long naps. Then she had one of the messiest, smelliest, dirtiest diapers I had ever witnessed. And I’ve witnessed a few. This one was gold-medal worthy. Yikes. Warning flare #2. About an hour later came warning flare #3.
We all went to bed and thought nothing more of the red flags surrounding our daughter. Sunday morning we awoke to a furnace that would not fire. One call to the emergency number of our heating and cooling people, a 10 minute tune-up later, we had heat again. But not in quite enough time for both Brian and I to shower and get ready. Also, I had kinked my shoulder (this happens and it is painful stuff) the night before and wasn’t feeling really good whenever I moved, laid down, sat down or inhaled deeply. So Daddy and Reagan went off to church together while I stayed home to relax, have a cup of coffee, read my Bible and do some journaling. It was quite lovely. When Daddy and Reagan came home, she had very pink cheeks. I worried her Fifth Disease rash was flaring up again, but was not overly concerned because she did not have a fever. Warning flare #4.
We ate lunch and took lovely long naps. To which I now say, God provides for his children! Reagan woke up and had yet another contender in world’s grossest diaper. Warning flare #5. We figured all these really awful diapers were just the evidence that she had Fifth Disease over the last week. No reason to worry. We were so unplussed that we all got dressed and went to church for the evening service. She was playing and coloring very nicely in the pew when abruptly Brian scooped her up with her diaper bag and walked out of the sanctuary. I was too absorbed in the really great sermon to really think much of that. But when the service ended and I was still alone in the pew, I wondered if something had gone wrong. I exited to find that Brian and Reagan had gone home for an emergency clothing change due to yet another horrendous diaper. Warning flare #5. Once we were all home for the evening, my little girl proceeded to soil every pair of pajamas and sweat pants she owned. Warning flares #6, #7 and #8. Which is when I finally noticed the warning flares.
Reagan has not had the flu since she was about 5 weeks old. At that time, she spit up a lot on a daily basis so it wasn’t until a day or two later that I figured out my baby had had the stomach flu. And though I didn’t really want to know, I kind of always wondered what would happen were she to get the flu as a toddler. Would she just vomit all over herself or would she send me some kind of warning signal? I was thankful that I didn’t know the answer to that question.
But we got answers last night. After we had cleaned up yet another awful diaper vs. pajama battle, she began to cry really hard for no apparent reason. I grabbed her arm and pulled her into the bathroom and knew immediately she had a tummy ache of the puke variety. So we prepared for what we knew was coming in the near future. We laid out a huge layered area of blankets and towels in the living room right in front of the recliner. Brian handed me a bucket and placed sicky in my lap. Reagan grabbed the bucket with both hands and hugged it to her chest. A few minutes later we entered the world of her revisiting the contents of her stomach.
I felt so sorry for her because she just did not understand what was happening or what to do about it. Pretty soon her stomach was empty and the only thing she knew to do was to eat and drink...but that made her even more sick. She had a terrible time relaxing and getting comfortable - but somewhere around 12:30 or so she sacked out in her own bed for about 3 hours. Brian spent the rest of the night helping her find comfortable positions here, there and everywhere - in between bouts of puke.
At any rate, not a lot of sleep was had by any of us. The sleep that was obtained was quite restless and uncomfortable. And I am pretty concerned about getting the flu when I am nearly 30 weeks pregnant - that just doesn’t sound like a party to me. So if you could please lift us up in prayer (again!) that we get over this yuckiness quickly, that would be so deeply appreciated.
I don’t know when I have ever been so ready for spring!
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