Well, well... what a week. I guess when it rains, it pours.
It all started with an awful night on Sunday night (last week, the 15th). Andrew cried all night long. He didn't seem sick, he was just super upset for whatever reason. The poor kid probably got about 4 hours of sleep, compared to his usual 10 or 11. Mom and Dad got even less. Grrrr... This mama doesn't handle no sleep very well.
That night led to an ornery mom and an ornery Andrew on Monday morning - especially when AJ only took an hour morning nap. I honestly thought it would last about 3 hours. The babies were also off schedule, since AJ fell asleep for his morning nap at 8 a.m., about an hour after Jackson woke up for the morning. So, I figured we were doomed to a whole day of nap-taking. Once AJ woke up, I held Jackson off for his morning nap until lunch time. I figured by then that AJ would be ready to go back down again. Well, predictably so, Jackson was a tired mess by the time I got ready to put him down. I fed them both lunch (or tried... Jackson was so tired [or so I thought] that he didn't eat much) and put them down.
This is where it all becomes a blur...
Jackson started moaning after being down for about an hour. I'd go in there, and his eyes were closed, but he was crying. I don't think he even knew I was with him. Finally after about another 1/2 hour, he became quite upset, and I took him into my room and tried to see if he'd sleep next to me on my bed. He was quite agitated, but still had his eyes half-closed. Suddenly, yup you guessed it, he puked all over me, him, and my bed. YUCK. My very first thought was, "Oh great... how in the world am I going to handle two babies with stomach flu?" Andrew hadn't shown any signs of sickness besides his extreme fussiness and lack of sleep, but experience told me it was only a matter of time. A quick call was made to Daddy to "hurry and get home, there's puke everywhere!" and another call was made to Becky who angelically came running. I got everything cleaned up (while blessed AJ was finally sleeping a loooong nap) and Becky rocked a now feverish and miserable Jackson.
That night AJ woke up in the night and followed in his brother's yucky footsteps. Mark dealt with him while I put in my fourth load of puke laundry. (Sidenote - it was quite depressing to think that I'd done four loads of laundry and to see that the laundry baskets were still brimming with the regular laundry to wash... what a bugger.) Jackson woke up with problems on the other end, and once again, it was a long night. Luckily Mark was able to take Tuesday off, and we both just held feverish, fussy, clingy babies all day long. This whole time Alex was a trooper and on his best behavior in days. He did so well. I was just waiting for it to be his time however. Which leads me to Tuesday night....
Jackson went to bed with a 100 fever, and AJ 103. We loaded 'em up with ibuprofen and we all went to bed. At about 1 a.m., I hear Alex coughing. Poor kid didn't have the stomach flu, he had croup! He coughed, wheezed, and flipped out about his labored breathing until about 3 a.m. when I finally snuck into Jackson's room and got out the nebulizer and steroids that were stashed in there. It helped his breathing immensely but by then he was WIDE awake and wanted nothing to do with falling asleep. Luckily our feverish babes slept the whole night! yeah! Too bad the parents didn't.
Well, the flu hung on for a few days. On top of that, AJ got a horrible sinus infection (which he still is getting over). Jackson, of course, soon caught the cold, and we added that to our list of yuckies. Every night since, I've been up with someone at least twice a night. Our good sleeper, AJ, has been the worst sleeper ever. And then, of course, by Friday (or was it Thursday? like I said, all a blur...) I got the stomach flu. Oh joy! Luckily, I have an awesome family, and Aunt Wendy came and saved the day! She just jumped in and took great care of those babies and Alex while I spent the whole day in bed. sheesh.
Now it's the following Thursday, and last night was the first night that everyone slept thru the night in almost two weeks. Dare I say that we're finally kickin' these bugs? Maybe I ought not be so bold as to put in in black and white. The noses are still running green, the fussies are still hanging around, but I really think we're on the mend. My patience is about as long as a grain of rice, but that'll be my next project when I get a few nights of sleep under my belt. Ahhh...
So, thanks to all of you who helped, and thanks to my mommy for letting me cry over the phone one-too-many times. This motherhood can be good stuff sometimes, huh? The one thing that makes it all bearable? Those eternal cuddles from those sick babies. Too bad those only come with sickness, huh? Oh well, they sure were nice.
Mastering the tricky third finger.
The long-awaited pink Maglight flashlight!
Bubbles!
These candles are kinda tricky to blow out! (at Gma C's)
A little spit should do the job.
Jackson being silly. Blurry, but I love that face.
This is my sweet little Andrew, just over a year ago. Can he already be one-and-a-half? Sheesh, how time flies. I'm glad he was my fourth, fourth photo, because he is such a joy to have in our family. He is always so happy and pleasant, and there is just something extra special about him. He's busy, busy, busy, and into everything, but he's a tender-hearted, sweet little guy.
These guys wanted a piece of the action too. So, Jackson ended up with a faux-hawk,
And AJ's curls just got a trim. (I can't cut them off yet!!)
Overall, it was a fairly painless process. I was a little worried about handling all of them by myself, in case we had major meltdowns, but they did well! AJ even had a 103 fever (I know... don't tell the haircutter! I couldn't reschedule, I'd been talking it up for too many days with Alex. The show had to go on!) and Alex had his typical haircut phobia panic attack. But all in all, not too bad! Unfortunately it was $43! Yikes! I know! Nuts! So, I guess I'm going to have to start figuring out this haircutting thing on my own. But really? I think it was totally worth it.
And here are mom's little "helpers." Not so helpful, but loads of fun!