Thursday, November 01, 2007

Man does not live by bread alone ...

... but a toddler can survive on cheerios, applesauce, and breastmilk. (Warning: this post is not for the weak stomach.)

This last week has been rather eventful (or uneventful, depending on how you look at it) for the Leathermans. It started out on Monday night when I lost my dinner. Chalking it up to a nasty chicken salad sandwich, I thought that was the end of it and was glad to have it out of my system.

Then Stephen woke up around 11:30 with some strange-sounding coughing. Upon careful inspection of his bed, we found partially mushed up macaroni and cheese. Poor guy. He had never experienced throwing up before. As Ryan pointed out, now we know the answer to the question: "Does Stephen chew his macaroni before swallowing?"

My parents (lucky them!) happened to be in town that night on their way back from Virginia, and they came over Tuesday morning to take care of both me and Stephen so Ryan could go about his day at school. I was really thankful for the help. Even though my stomach had settled down, I had not the energy to do more than just sit around. Stephen ate some dinner and then lost it an hour later that evening.

Yesterday I was back to normal, but Stephen was still very listless. His temp was a degree or two above normal, and he slept much of the day. After I put him to sleep, I was praying that he would be better today; I really wanted to avoid a trip to the dr. and so far he had seemed to be fighting it fine on his own.

Then at ten till six this morning, Ryan got up. His turn. He's been in bed most of the day, but he did have to drag himself to campus to play a half hour gig over the noon hour. Stephen and I went to watch him perform with his quartet. He played fine, but he sure did look pale.

Good news, though, for Stephen. He woke up relatively happy. He's still not at 100% but he is playing with his toys, walking, eating cheerios and applesauce ... that's the little boy I'm used to hangin' out with!

As of 10:21 this evening, the only other person who has caught it is my mother. As Stephen's grandma, she just couldn't stay away from her sweet little grandson when he wanted to play.

Here are some things I am making a mental note of:
- There is a difference between lethargy and listlessness. Apparently, in medical terminology, listlessness is perfectly normal for a sick child. They want to cuddle all day, sleep more than normal, don't play or talk much. But they do make eye contact. They are physically able to sit up and make simple requests. A lethargic child just lies on the floor, totally unable to let their needs be known - and this is when they likely need more attention. They stare right past you when you try to talk to them. Since I never ended up calling a doctor, I didn't need to know this distinction this time. But for future reference ...
- I am SO SO SO glad that I haven't weaned Stephen yet. Nursing during the first trimester was difficult at times, since I was so tired already. I had cut back significantly on the amount of nursing I let him do, and we had night-weaned him. But with the stomach virus, he really needed hydration. He does drink water, but not very much at a time. We got some pedialyte, and he reacted with hives. Nursing was what kept him hydrated and I am so thankful for that!
- Even though his colds don't take the toll that they do on adults, the stomach virus took him longer to overcome than it took for me. A friend told me that her daughter was the same way! I was starting to worry yesterday when I was feeling better and he was still fighting it.
Tonight Ryan started to feel better and had a bowl of soup for dinner. He's planning to go to school tomorrow, but to take it easy. He also has a performance tomorrow night.

I have been wanting to make spring rolls (the kind you don't cook) for a long time. I also knew that they are pretty tricky to get the hang of. So tonight I took the plunge. Yes, they were messy, but they still tasted great! Maybe after a few more trials I'll be ready to serve them to company.

2 comments:

Ryan said...

Actually, the macaroni wasn't partially mushed up--it was pretty much whole. It looked like it did in the bowl.....except for the "special sauce" Stephen added.

The Fearless Freak said...

ug, how yucky for you all. C was sick last week and I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and the rest of us to get it but we managed to dodge that bullet. Good thing too, since the last time Lizzie got sick, she spent over a week throwing up every single night.