Oh my word. This has been a really tough couple of weeks. Very cranky, sick kids and very little sleep for mom and dad. The sleep deprivation reminds us of having a newborn in the house. Ugh.
Last week I stayed home from work for 3 days while Turbo weathered a virus that caused sores in his mouth - he couldn't eat because they were so painful. :( The virus is said to be mild, so you just manage the symptoms, and the biggest concern is dehydration. It started to get bad enough that I was tracking urine output so that he didn't go 8-12 hours without a pee. It's a scary situation, but he turned the corner just in time.
Some funny things happened over those 3 days too. One is that Turbo saw M&Ms on the table and excitedly asked if he could have some. I knew they'd hurt his mouth, so I told him this and I'm pretty sure he ignored the warning cuz he tucked right in. They did hurt his mouth, poor guy, but the good news is that I had ice water on hand and he ended up drinking a ton of water just to get those chocolates down. He got fluids (score one for mama), and he got treats (score one for Turbo).
The best - or worst, depending on how judgy you are :) - was on the 3rd day, when he was crossing into wellness, but was still very skeptical of what he could put in his mouth. I let him eat marshmallows for dinner. As many as he wanted. When your kid hasn't eaten in 3 days, you just want him to remember that food will not hurt him. He swallowed them down with chocolate milk. Mother of the year, right here.
Oh, did I mention chocolate milk? He's nearly 3 years old, and I think it's pretty remarkable that I've avoided chocolate milk until now. In fact, a few weeks ago I had a glass of Ovaltine for breakfast and offered it to him and he sneered at me and said, "I don't like that. That's your coffee."
During the sickness I tried a hundred different options for fluid intake: popsicles, ice cream, milkshakes, warm water, cold water, anything with a straw and my stubborn little cutie wasn't going for any of it. He really was miserable. But he knows what chocolate is, and when I asked him if he wanted to try chocolate milk, he looked at me to see if I was kidding. "You mean this stuff comes in chocolate?!?" his eyes seemed to say.
So, yeah, chocolate milk was the gateway to wellness for Turbo.
Fast forward a week later and Smiley is sick. Only she can't talk and doesn't know how to use a straw and is sooo miserable (sad) and cuddly (sweet) and since I took so much time off for Turbo, my husband stayed home with her. Today I did stay home and she played some, but only if I remained in the room with her. Accessible. Otherwise, she cried and wandered around trying to find me.
She's been sick for 3 days too. Finally, I tried ibuprofen (we'd been using Tylenol) and whammo! I got a smile 23 minutes later. Why on earth hadn't I tried this before? She played fairly happily for a couple of hours - still needing me nearby, but not as much. I actually got some dishes done.
Then she saw some Cheerios on the counter pointed her chubby little finger and said, "da" which we're pretty sure means "that" as she points and "da's" all the time now.
She ate a good amount. Phew! I think the key is that since all the sores in her mouth are near the front, something like a sippy cup really hurts, but finger food she can squeeze past the opening and happily munch away. She was so happy I even let her walk around with her cup o' Cheerios.
And she finally smiled. Oh, my sweet angel, it's good to see you.
And now she is even napping. Alone - for the first time in about 5 days. My body is wrecked for holding her in chairs and on couches and in bed (nights have been awful too). I think we're finally seeing the light and can't wait to get back to some sense of normalcy.
And sleep. Please let us all sleep tonight.
So, that's where I've been. Too tired to write. I've missed it and hope to be back in it.
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