we've been quarantined

I feel the need to complain to someone about how bad this week sucked. I need to tell someone about my troubles in hopes that they care or maybe to remind myself in a few years when I'm thinking having another baby sounds like a good idea.

Ski came down with a stomach bug on Friday in the middle of the night and spent all of the night and the consecutive 48 hours in the bathroom. I'm not exaggerating. He was a trooper and did as much for the kids as he could but I ended up handling both of them in the middle of holiday travel. Then emptying the car by myself. Then grocery shopping with the infant. Poor me, I know.

It gets worse. Much worse.

Renee woke up in the middle of the night on Sunday night throwing up and since then, including today, she's been puking or pooping every half an hour. Count the days: FIVE DAYS OF THIS. She's skinny and tired and I feel terrible for her.

I was home alone on Wednesday with the kids and around 2PM I threw up and started feeling feverish. Then I spent the next two hours in the bathroom listening to my baby screaming and my daughter standing at the baby gate saying MAMA POOP. By the time Ski got home I was weeping, cleaning my twenty-first poopy diaper of the day (I know because they were so stinky that I had to put them in baggies to be taken out to the trash immediately). TWENTY-ONE diapers, most of which where the smelliest things you've ever come across in your life. Just thinking about the stench that is coming out of that girl makes me gag.  

Cameron didn't get the stomach bug (currently knocking on wood) but he has a cold and can't breathe very well. And he had a belly ache for two days in which he threw a hot fuss about not being able to poop. One kid was pooping every seven seconds and one kid crying because he couldn't poop. THE FRICKING IRONY.

I went to bed at 8PM on New Year's eve, freezing to death from a fever not having eaten in 12 hours. I took a drink of water before bed and spent the next hour throwing it up. I woke up today, in 2009, not having talked to a single person, not having been wished or wished another single person a Happy New Year and I spent the day moping. This is the first year that New Year's Day hasn't felt like a new beginning...like a do over. I know I'll get to see my babies grow and that makes me happy and sad at the same time. Because I'm not certain I can ever do this again. And coming to grips with that isn't easy. How can I never feel what it's like to be pregnant again? Or how can I wish away a single moment of holding my snuggly newborn baby knowing that I may well never rock another of mine to sleep again?

I do have a couple of resolutions though. A couple of things that I have been thinking about doing but haven't acted on.
1. Waste less. Waste less food, less water, less paper towels, less everything.
2. Be a better mom and wife. Figure out the meaning of the word patience.
3. It wouldn't be a New Year's if I didn't vow to lose some pounds. This year I'm hoping for 15. Better to start big, I figure.

What are your resolutions or don't you believe in them? Or tell me about a time when you were up to eyelids in puke/poop because I'm having one of those days where I feel like my situation sucks worse than anyone else's ever has and I know that somewhere someone has it worse.

Comments

[anne]

Oh my god, I don't even know what to say. I can't even begin to imagine the horror of having the stomach flu while simultaneously taking care of a newborn and a toddler who also has the stomach flu. I hope that everyone in your family gets healthy soon!! And your post totally put things into perspective- I need to stop complaining and getting all worked up about my whiny, tantrum-y, clingy child and remember that things could always be much, much worse. Hang in there...your 2009 can only get better!

[The Mommy]

I'm really not kidding. The exact.same.thing happened to us the year that our Youngest Boy was born. Exactly the same. It happened when Greg was home over Christmas break and we thought it was food poisoning because we had just gone out to eat. Oldest Boy was 22 months old, Youngest was a little over 1 month. The only difference was that everyone (except the baby - I thought they had weak immune systems?) got it at the same time. So I was sitting on the potty, puking in a garbage can, and bathing the puke off of the toddler all at the same time. Nice visual, huh? The worst for me was that it affected my ability to breastfeed for about a week. My mom and sister came over to help out (because again, we thought it was food poisoning. they're the reason we realized it wasn't.) and my mom gave the baby his first bottle - which thrilled her to bits! I ended up having to drink a beer to get my milk back (hard times, I know) and that worked for me.

You will have a good New Year. The Mommy says so! I remember how isolating having a baby is, so seriously, call or e-mail any time. For me, it didn't hit right away because I had Grandma living here - which was close enough to having another adult to talk to all.day.long. When she left, I realized my true isolation and got back in the swing of things. Don't wait too long because it can make you crazy! Good luck!

[Tara]

Bean...that stinks. I feel so bad! Hang in there and hope everyone is better.

[kim]

i'm SO, SO sorry. we've had a family stomach bug exactly once since max was born and it was my worst week as a parent, by far. and i am completely terrified of it happening again. seeing your kids sick sucks and being a sick mom sucks since you can't exactly just lay around until you feel better... i can't imagine being that sick with toddler AND newborn.

when you are all feeling better we'd love to reattempt our previous plans... maybe next weekend if you guys aren't busy. feel better.

[Davina]

Oh bean, I'm so sorry! I had a new years like that last year, over the toilet at the stroke of midnight, it'll be okay though, there are many more to come maybe next year we can celebrate together and make up for it:) You're a tough girl handling all of that at once. Hope today is better. Take care, luv ya!

[Gretchen]

Oh boy. I can't even imagine all of the chaos that you have been through in the last week. Barfing or watching other people barf is not my specialty. Bless your heart for being strong enough to take care of everyone. I know that in a few years I will be begging you to tell me how you did it. If it makes you feel better I was sleeping on the couch when the clock struck midnight. Mind you I was sleeping because A.) I'm old B.) We were watching Tropic Thunder, which is THE worst movie on earth C.) I'm old AND boring. Wishing you a wonderful new year. Talk to you soon. Call if you need anything or just want to talk.

[Pam]

I hope by now you are all coming out of it! We suffered like that last Christmas just when my sister Elizabeth and her family came to visit and I hadn't seen them in over two years. The only up thing positive was Gary didn't get it so he was on major clean-up duty. I was pregnant with the twins (although I didn't know they were twins), I hadn't eaten in 5 days and the ER Dr. told me he'd let me go 5 more days before they did anything...I could have been dehydrated and he didn't seem to care. Well we survived and all I could think about this Christmas was NOT GETTING SICK! Which we didn't thank God, but I spent way too much time worrying about it happening. As for New Years, things have changed a bit a "new year" for me is when the kids start school in Sept. So New Year's 2009 came and went thanking God for his blessings and looking forward to more surprises like Baby #7 due in July. Happy New Year Gina and Family! You are truly blessed...and if more show up you will be blessed again and again!!!