In Sickness and In Health - not for weak stomachs

I know dear reader, you are automatically thinking that I am referring to marriage. In some ways I am. But at this moment I am referring to the unspoken vows of family life.

This past week has been pretty full. A week ago today, we had to run both boys to the pediatrician because both had spiked rather high fevers. One was 102 and the other was nearly to 103. One was coughing and the other was having diarrhea.

Jerome and I both ventured over to the doctors office and were told that Troi had bronchitis and Kai had rotavirus.

Bronchitis - check
That ones easy, cough meds, decongestant, and Z-pak. Cool. Troi took antibiotics for 5 days and by day 2 was already back to his normal self.

rotavirus - hmm...WTF?
This one is not so easy. After the mom here decided to stop beating herself up for not keeping things "clean enough" for the little CFer, I decided to look into this further.

This virus attacks the gi system causing vomiting and diarrhea. At that point we had only witness the diarrhea and fever. On the way home, we experienced the other part. Quite unexpectedly Kai had deposited his stomach contents all over himself, the car seat, and the accompanying seat in which everything was fastened. I had no idea that he could even hold so much inside him considered he had already been excreting it out the other end. Poor guy. He did this twice over the 30 minute ride home, which seemed much longer to this smell-sensitive mother.

Once we arrived home, things got worse. Kai was unable to keep anything down so we stopped feeding him. Mind you, 99% of his calories still come from high-calorie, special-order, super-expensive formula. When advised that we couldn't give him milk, I quickly asked the doc - well, what do I do for him to get him his calories. She recommended a daily supplement of acidophilus and keep him hydrated at all costs.

That we did. He finally started eating again on Sunday in small amounts. When I say eating...I really mean drinking. He is still in OT for that.

Were it not for my darling husband through all this, I think I would have lost my mind completely. He was so good at getting up with me to sponge Kai down and he cleans up those nasty spills that I just cannot. So, marriage is not for those for the weak in stomach and neither is having kids.

I am realizing now in my ripening age, that family is a marriage not only between two people but any offspring too. So, in sickness and in health, I have an excellent partner. Thank God for his iron-clad stomach and his ability to breathe through his mouth. I for one refuse to be a mouth breather when there is something pungent lingering in the air. Why you ask dear reader? Well think about it. All odors are particulate even if in microscopic amounts. So if I can SMELL it...then I can....you get the idea.