Gesundheit

Now that the truly worrisome elements of our Festive Holiday Disease have passed, we have moved on to more amusing stuff. Amusing to me, at least. This morning upon waking, the Toddler sneezed 26 times in a row. Literally. 26 times. He just kept sneezing and sneezing, stifling, then sneezing. I was in awe and for a moment had flashbacks to the young girl who appeared on the Today Show having had hiccups for a number of weeks. Were we next? But 26 was as many consecutive outbursts as the boy had in him, I guess. Oh well.

Holiday Hospital Tour '07

We made it through Christmas Day, but just barely. After a long day of faking his way thorugh presents and naps and coughing and gagging, at 6 o'clock last night we finally decided that Lucas should probably go to the E/R at Children's Hospital. The Toddler was wearing his "Trouble is My Middle Name" jammies and a black stocking cap when Ron wrapped him in his new Lightning McQueen blanket and carried him down to the car. The kid didn't even flinch. He had been on the couch with us for half an hour trying to stop coughing, trying to get a decent breath. We had tried all the usual suspects: cool air, steam, warm juice. But nothing worked. I had read that croup allegedly peaks between days 2 and 3, and here we were at the end of day 5 with no real improvement, and over a long holiday weekend, no less, when going to the pediatrician hadn't even been an option. He was diagnosed via the Nurseline.

So they went. And I stayed here with Alex, who was sleeping, waiting for word. And I waited. And I felt very alone. Even though I knew it was probably only croup, this is the first time we have had to deal with serious coughs or truly high fevers, and I was exhausted. And once I sat down in the quiet I was overwhelmed by our living room full of toys that weren't being played with. It was just so quiet in the house. I knew Alex needed his sleep, but it took all I had not to go wake him up just so I would have company, so there would be kid noise again. The peace and quiet was unnerving.
Eventually, I got ahold of a couple of friends by phone, the kind of friends who double (when necessary) as interventionists just long enough to talk you off the ledge du jour. Because on Christmas night, when your first born is on his way to the hospital without you, and your other baby is sleeping in another room, and you are 21 weeks pregnant...well, like I said, it's lonely and it's overwhelming and it's too, too quiet.

This morning, though, at first, Lucas looks better. He should, considering he's been hooked up to Albuterol and has a steroid to boot. For awhile he is on the floor in the next room happily playing with his new Lego trains. And then he starts to fade again. And it's time for more of the oral steroid, which he immediately throws up all over himself, my husband, and the surrounding area. Then after a quick bath, it's time for a breathing treatment--ten minutes of whimpering inside his clear plastic facemask with purple dragon details. As he cries, the steam puffs out through "nostrils" on either side of the mask. My sad, unwilling little dragon.

As for me, I will be taking down the Christmas tree and decorations today. I know this should probably end with a neatly drawn vignette about rediscovering the true meaning of Christmas, about remembering what's truly important in life. And yes, while there's some of that involved, there is also a great deal of disappointment. Three years in a row. But I'm trying to let it go. What can you do but let it go?

No Place Like Home for the Holidays

It is Christmas Eve and we are under quarantine. More or less, I mean. Ron has gone out to get a few last minute items (including lunch). Lucas is miserable with full-blown croup--103+ fever, chills, coughing so hard he vomits, and so on. Alex seems to mostly have a cold with a little touch of croup thrown in. His fever is finally down today, though, so that's been a bright note. We have been really hard to find bright notes the last couple of days.

So tomorrow is Christmas. I have to keep reminding myself, as yet again it doesn't really feel like it. I had held visions of sugar plums and reading special books for the little boys all gathered around the glowing Christmas tree (it is Alex's first Christmas after all). Instead we all huddled on chairs in the master bathroom while a hot shower spray steamed up the room. It was too soggy for books. And we tried to get Lucas excited about Santa, but he just slumped back against Ron's chest and stared off.
Last year Ron & I spent Christmas night proper at Bergan Mercy Hospital trying to stop my contractions with Alex. It worked, but it still took some of the shine off the holiday.
Here's hoping.

At any rate, we will not be going to my parents' house in the morning yet again. And we will not be going to Ron's family gathering either. We will be here--wiping noses, taking temps, doling out the Tylenol drops, holding sick boys in our laps.
Merry Christmas.

What the Holidays Mean to Me

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas at our house. And it's not just the tree, the lights, the gifts waiting to be wrapped. It's mostly, well, the annual spread of Holiday Cheer, and by that I primarily mean, "Disease."

For the third year in a row, we have been blessed with a Festive Holiday Virus. Last year and the year before it was the Norovirus (or perhaps Rotovirus, those crazy twins are so hard to tell apart). But for 2007 we have received something new. It appears at this point to be a cold variation, which started with a fever and cough, then blossomed to include a runny nose, watery eyes, and the occasional sneeze. Alex was the first to fall on Thursday, followed closely, of course, by the Toddler late Friday evening. I am still waiting my turn, but that doesn't mean I've been missing out on all the Holiday Fun--I spent last night on couch duty with Alex (all the more celebratory at 21 weeks pregnant).

As for other Holiday preparations...I have not yet begun to wrap gifts. And I still need to finish the framing projects I'm working on for both sets of parents. And I need to make some brilliant kind of salad for a family gathering tomorrow. And pick up some fragrant bath something-or-others for Ron's Aunt Letha.
But first things first, I suppose. Lucas and I made pancakes this morning. [Let it be noted that powerlessness is not my strong suit, so I am all about feeding a cold as well as a fever.] And I am working diligently to maintain a saline/suction/temp-taking/Tylenol schedule with the boys. In addition, I have managed to put on a bra, brush my teeth, get dressed, and refill our bird feeders--all before noon!

I am considering that next year, perhaps, we will move into some sort of sealed bio-dome for the entire month of December in an attempt to avoid perpetuating our latest (contagious) Holiday Tradition. Please call if you know anyone with such a timeshare to rent. While the bio-dome is preferable, we would also consider a portable plastic bubble (or bubbles). Thanks!