Sick Baby

Hannah got sick for the first time last night (Feb. 17th).

Around 11:30 at night she was crying in bed, so I went to see what was wrong -- her covers were off. So, I put them back on her and went to bed. About 30 minutes later she was crying again, so Jon went this time, assuming he needed to pull up the covers again. Instead, he screamed "Julie" and I was scrambling for my glasses and running down the hall, thinking something horrible had happened since his yell was blood-curdling.

Hannah had thrown up in bed. While she was upset about it, she got her arms in it a bit, so I picked her up and went to take her to the bathroom to make sure she was done while Jon took the sheets off her bed. I fumbled with the gate in her doorway (I think I jumped over it to get in her room)...and she threw up all over me...a lot. I comforted her because she was really upset not understanding what was going on & then went to open the gate (again)....and she threw up on me (again). At this point, Hannah and I are both covered in puke. There is also a pile of puke on her carpet and another in her bed.

I finally get the gate opened and we go to the bathroom...and she puked on the rugs. I tried to get her to spit in the toilet, but then realized I had to teach her to spit first. That was interesting. So, we spit a little and then I undressed her. Meanwhile, Jon is trying to clean up the puke in her room and is so overcome by the smell that he almost pukes! (In his defense, it did smell really bad.) Hannah and I then proceed to take a shower together and I start a load of puke-covered laundry. We gave her a little juice to make sure she wasn't dehydrated, brushed her teeth and put her back in bed with clean sheets.

It's now 1:15am. About 15 minutes later, she throws up again. We repeat the sheet-stripping process and then start to wonder if we have any more clean twin sheets in the house (fortunately, Jon found an unopened pack and I didn't even care that they weren't washed before we put them on her bed). I took Hannah into the bathroom and sat her on the counter because she asked me for water, so I got her a small cup and she (almost immediately) puked all over the bathroom floor (narrowly avoiding me this time). I pointed her head toward the sink, but then she leaned up and puked on the floor a second time. This just wasn't our night!

By 3am we had everything cleaned up for the 2nd time, but Hannah wouldn't get back into her own bed. So, I decided to sleep with her in the guest room. It's funny how even when she is really sick she still calls our guest bed "Josh's bed" (because Uncle Josh sleeps there...and I don't think anyone else who visits sleeps in late enough to still be in bed when she gets up). All night (well, what was left of it) Hannah wanted to sleep on top of my arm - she held my arm and every now and then would reach out and touch my face to make sure I was still there. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much, but I love the fact that I can comfort her just by being close.

Poor Jon had to leave the house before 7am to go to work -- I don't know how he did it -- I was a zombie in the morning. Fortunately, my job allows me to work from home when things like this come up -- I didn't get a ton of work done, but did the essential stuff.

Despite not sleeping all night, Hannah and I were up and moving by 7:30, but I knew Hannah wasn't herself when she laid down on the couch with a blanket and watched PBS for over an hour -- something that she never does at our house (she might watch something for 15 minutes, but that's usually the max on days the TV is on at our house, which is only once or twice a week). She also spent a lot of time cuddling with me on the couch reading books. However, by the time she was up from her 3 hour afternoon nap, she was back to her good old self.

This was the first time that Hannah has been sick where she threw up....she hasn't had many colds and has been so healthy since she came home from the hospital, it was certainly a new experience for us. I guess we're earning new "stripes" as parents. It's not fun to have a sick child, but I'm glad this was a short-lived "bug" and all is well again.