Saturday, January 31, 2009

Mucking Through Germ-Ville



Don't come in my house unless you want to take home a nasty virus. The littles have been terribly sick.

Gracie ran a fever up over 104 for days. She was puking and not eating or drinking. She was pale and her eyes sunken. She lost her happy spark. Plus she had a deep chest cough. And a double ear infection. She was so weak she couldn't walk, I've been carrying her from bed to the couch and back again.

Libby is a snotball. She just has snot and mucus flowing like a river from her little bitty nose. She also has the deep chest cough and some of her feedings shoot right back out. Her fever has not peaked over 103, but she's still a little hot potato. She has a double ear infection too.

Both of them are miserable and have big sad eyes.

We've been to the pediatrician and on the phone with her a number of times this week. Gracie got a shot of antibiotics in her leg. Her first experience with antibiotics! She got chest xrays and blood drawn. Turns out she does not have pneumonia or anything horrible, just the ear infection and dehydration from whatever virus she got. No medicine except Motrin for her fever. She got to stay home until she threw up one more time and then it was off to the hospital for an IV or two. Luckily, she drank some juice and it finally stayed down.

We went to the doctor twice this week, plus the lab and the Imaging Center for xrays. The doc was calling every couple of hours on Thursday, and a couple of times on Friday. I don't know why she didn't just admit Gracie to the hospital and get all her tests and things done all in one place and give her some IV fluids. That seems like it would have made more sense, even though I hate the thought of my little girl in being in the hospital.

Libby also gets Motrin for her fever. And she got Amoxicillin for her ear infection and Ambuterol for her wheezy chest. This is her first round of antibiotics too. She is hydrated so wasn't in as much danger as Gracie. She hates her medicine too! Just hates it! She also hates the kleenex. In trying to fight off the kleenex, she snorts to get it away and in doing so she actually blows her nose! She might be the only 4 month old who can blow her nose! I'm proud of her!

At the clinic, the girls weighed in at 32 lbs and 16lbs 7 oz, respectively.

Gracie is starting to be herself again. Yesterday she had a little bit of chicken broth for lunch. It stayed down! After another nap, she wanted to eat. She requested all sorts of things, drank juice and her fever was down! That antibiotic injection must have really kicked in, because she ate and then she played! She laughed and smiled too! Last night she slept well and this morning she's eating and playing some more. She is still pale and she lost 2 pounds this past week, but her eyes look so much better. She looks like she's getting her health back and we are so thrilled! I missed her!

Libby is still sick. She didn't come down with the icky stuff when Gracie did so I suppose she's got a few days left of battling the crud. I hope her meds keep her from getting too bad. Even though she has a snot nose and one eye crusted shut, she still has happy smiles for us. What a great baby!

In the meantime, I missed an entire week of college. All I've done all week long is snuggle. And I've been the target of kisses, coughs, snot, sneezes, tears, puke, poop, piddle, mucus, and every other germ infested yuck that the little ones could share. And I'm a tad-bit sleep deprived. Once these bullets all penetrate through my super-mom cape, I should have enough germs to keep me sick for a year.

5 comments:

Living With Cavemen said...

Aw, that picture just really makes me feel so sorry for them. Poor little girls. :(

You are doing great for it being Gracie's first bout with antibiotics. Sam had that same shot of Rocephin when he was a year and a half. It sure did help.

Glad the little's are at their turning point of getting better. It sure is scary and yucky when they are that incredibly sick. Boy do I remember those days. Sitting in Urgent Care fighting the sleep with 2 sick boys sitting on my lap both needing snuggles.

Sorry you had to deal with such nasty sickness and if you don't get sick, that's some super mom cape you have! I hope your cape keeps their germs from getting you too. No time for Mommy to be sick.

Shelley said...

Awww, poor babies, and poor mom! I'm glad Gracie is starting to feel better, hopefully Libby will soon too. Sick kids are no fun at all. Here's hoping you don't come down with something when they're better.

On the brighter side...omgosh, Libby is so big already! Wasn't she just born like, last week?

Kate said...

Poor little babies! I hope they continue to feel better! I hope you don't get sick, too!

Wolfpak5 said...

Jen and I are battling the crude too. We both have colds. Last week I lost my voice for a day so missed a day of work. For the past couple days I've had a coughing fit at 2 am, so I take another dose of Nyquil. Don't really get too much sleep.

Glad to hear that your littles are on the mend, nothing worse than sick littles. I don't miss those days, just hope that you stay healthy.

Michelle said...

Eesh. There's a lot of that stuff going around right now. My boss's son is in the hospital right now and has been since Friday... looks like he will be for awhile yet, too. Here's hoping they get better soon. It's rough. I've been there, though luckily not BOTH so bad at the same time. Drink your OJ and eat your chicken broth!