RitchieRoad: March 2013

Two weeks ago, after all the illness in our house we decided to go somewhere warm for the weekend. We headed to Phoenix and stayed in a resort with 5 heated pools. We went swimming, had fun with Shaun's family and ate some yummy food. Vivian enjoyed playing with grass for the first time (she liked it a lot better than sand). Cecilia had fun swimming (as did I). And we all enjoyed the warm sun.

Shaun's sister and husband were generous enough to watch the girls while we went out to dinner with Shaun's parents. We went to a restaurant called Elements where Shaun knows the chef. He treated us like kings and we were all stuffed by the time we left. Here we are with him and the desserts. Super yummy, thanks chef Beau!

The only bad part was Shaun got sick for a day. But he is a trooper and after sleeping felt better the next day. Here's hoping we are all healthy for a bit!

This month began with a punch. Vivian got the worst cold I've seen. The poor kid had SO much drainage out her nose! It was literally constantly running. Thankfully it didn't turn into an ear infection so the worst of it was only three days then she started to get better. And she was able to take some great naps and sleep it off (just like Shaun can). Then Cecilia got the stomach flu for the second time this winter (I've also had it twice). But it hit her really hard. The poor kid was throwing up night and day for two days before I said enough is enough. I saw in her the look that I get when I'm pregnant and need an IV. I called the doctor and talked to the nurse and she told me if she gets too dehydrated, take her to Primary children's hospital to the ER and they would evaluate her and possibly give her IV fluids. After I got off the phone I knew it was time to go. I called Shaun and told him. Luckily we had a babysitter that could come, so I put down Vivian for a nap and left her with the babysitter and took Cecilia to the ER. The poor kid was so lethargic that it took her a full minute to respond to me when I told her what was going on. I drove her to the hospital and they checked us in right away. Gave Shaun and I tags with our picture and name. It was pretty high tech. Then took us right back to a room and after a few minutes the doctor came in. She said she would give her an IV just from looking at her and said they would do blood work to see how dehydrated she was, if she was bad, they needed to keep her overnight. She asked me if I wanted her to give Cecilia "something to calm her stomach". I said "Yes" with no hesitation. For two days (and nights) I heard nothing else but "my tummy hurts!" and "I want a big drink!" The poor kid was so thirsty. It killed me to see her go through something I've gone through that was so hard. I remember dreaming about water and looking at Shaun drinking it without abandon. I felt guilty drinking around Cecilia and wanted nothing more than for her tummy to settle and take the water she wanted so badly. The doctor prescribed Zofran. Which is what I take when I'm pregnant. It was very surreal. Cecilia was a champ while they put the IV in and I was really impressed at how efficient they were. Primary's is the best. We are lucky to have them so close. Cecilia started feeling better soon after the IV fluids started (she got half a bag). The Zofran kicked in quickly too and she was downing sippy's in no time. Her eyes lit up when the doctor said she could have juice and drink it as fast as she wanted (she had two cups in about 10 minutes). They ended up keeping her overnight and gave her another half bag of saline on a slow drip. The doctor told us she thought it would be a good idea to keep her but that it was up to us. I said yes, if you think she needs it and will give her more fluids then lets do it. It again threw me back to when I was pregnant and needed help getting back on top and stayed in the hospital for 4 days until I had enough fluids that I could keep something down. Shaun stayed with her while I went home and slept with Vivian. I don't think either of them got much sleep. Cecilia came home and took a 4 hour nap (if that doesn't tell you how sick she was). But the extra fluids were worth it. Cecilia made a slow recovery. I was hoping she wouldn't throw up again after she came home but that wasn't the case. We had a few more bouts and had to take it really slowly. But there was one day about a week later that I think she ate all day long and finally made up some calories. Luckily the girls didn't swap illnesses (but Shaun had a touch of yucky about a week ago and I was pretty drained for a day too). I've reaffirmed hand washing, hand sanitizer, and cart wipes at the grocery store. Hopefully we are done with illness in our house for a while. We've really had a hard time with it this winter.

Vivian's terrible cold. Poor red puffy eyes and nose and blotchy face.