Baby's First Stomach Bug

Wow, two major illnesses in two weeks...how did my little girl get so lucky?

Got home from work Friday evening and began Lucy's bedtime routine, like always.  Lucy refused to eat her dinner, which I thought was odd, and then she proceeded to projectile vomit all over me.  Grammy rushed over with towels and a popsicle like it was nbd.  Fast forward 30 minutes and we were heading to bed with a small bottle of Pedialyte.  Lucy guzzled 2 ounces, while I jostled her around, trying to put her pajamas on, and I was actually surprised when she threw up again.  ::shakes head::  After stripping the bed and Lucy, we moved straight to dry nursing and she fell right to sleep.  I thought we were in the clear.

10 minutes later and I was running back upstairs to more puke.  She threw up in her sleep.  The next 2 hours were spent in 15 minute intervals.  The four of us (Lulu, Me, Grammy and Uncle Cole) sat crammed in my bathroom for two of the longest hours of our lives.  I would give her a tablespoon of water, wait 15 minutes, pray she wouldn't throw it up, and repeat.  We were constantly on the verge of going to the hospital, she threw up 8 times.  It was scary AND heartbreaking.  Lulu was not only exhausted and uncomfortable, she was also extremely thirsty!  She would cry after every tablespoon of water was gone.  We finally got her to bed after she was able to keep down enough fluid, and monitored her very closely the rest of the night.

She woke twice, I'm sure from thirst, and we continued with the 15 minute rule; but increased to 1/2 ounce portions, until we reached 4 ounces.  Needless to say, it was a very, verrrrrry long night.  Lulu seemed to be good as new in the morning; the rest of the fam, however, started their 24-hour sentence with the bug.

Baby's First Lung Infection

Lucy has been in daycare for two whole weeks, and after just two days she became congested.  The congestion has been around ever since...  Which I'm fine with, I expected this (the occasional runny nose, dry cough, and maybe even an ear infection or two).  Comes with the territory, right?  Well the congestion has since expanded into a wet, hoarse cough, green mucus and swollen bronchioles.  Her cold lasted so long that it became a bacterial infection in her lungs.  Which I am not fine with, and I did not expect.

Our pediatrician didn't put an actual label on the illness, but she did put Lucy on two antibiotics.  For seven days.  I have to pin my kid down twice a day, for seven days, and squirt teaspoons of medicine into her mouth.  Do you have any freakin' clue how BIG a teaspoon is???  You think I'm kidding.  Lucy cries every time she coughs.  Her nose and throat are raw.  She absolutely hates having her nose wiped, and you can just forget about the bulb syringe - that's officially a two-person job!  But despite all the pain she's in, she is still my sweet, happy girl.  She plays, laughs, smiles...

I know we were very lucky to be able to keep Lucy out of daycare for as long as we did.  And we're also really lucky that she's never had a real, full blown illness before now, not even a fever.  But that doesn't make me feel any less guilty...for being a working mom...for supplementing with formula...  And it sure as heck doesn't make me feel any less sick.  (Because, oh yeah, the whole family caught the bug.)