First James had an ear infection. I knew it was a bad one because he took a nap, on a Saturday, while his best friend was visiting. It turned out to be so bad that his ear drum ruptured. When I took him to the doctor the following Tuesday, for a regularly scheduled well-check appointment, the doctor told me that it had ruptured “days ago” (like Saturday?). We tried to get all 20 doses of antibiotic in him, but it’s hard to remember it every breakfast and every dinner for 10 days! We may have missed a few. That’s probably why it returned two weeks later. So now we’re on antibiotics again.
Then Katie got chicken pox from the vaccine at the same Tuesday appointment. I’m nothing if not efficient with my doctor appointments. Two weeks later, she developed spots, a fever, runny nose, the whole thing. Nothing to do but give her Advil and wait it out. She was also vomiting. That was because she wasn’t feeling well and therefore not eating. But the runny nose was causing lots of mucus in her tummy. Gross. She’s finally over that.
Which is why Ellie got a stomach virus this week. James is finally feeling better (and I have a reminder on my phone to get him his medicine at 7 AM and 6 PM) and Katie is healthy, so it had to be Ellie’s turn. She started throwing up yesterday afternoon about 4. On my bed. In my bed, really. On my sheets. She continued throwing up anytime she even had water until about 7 AM today. She threw up four times during the night. I slept on the couch. Not because she puked in my bed. That was cleaned up and the sheets were back on the bed, fresh and clean. I was just tired up jumping out of bed. Somehow it seems easier to jump off the couch. I don’t know, it was 3 AM and I was pretty tired. It made sense then.
It would be one thing if they all had chicken pox or the stomach thing. But three unrelated illnesses all in three weeks? If I were looking for signs from the universe about the impending job offer, this would have to go in the “don’t do it” column. Yet another reminder why it is so hard for moms who work outside the home. Either you have to take off work to care for your children or you worry about them being without you when they are sick. Neither is acceptable, yet there is no other choice. I know there are work from home days and stuff, but then you can’t do either well, can you? I couldn’t when I tried. Somehow that conference call always coincided with a diaper blowout or the email that needed to be sent right now got put on hold because of puke clean up.
Anyway, for now, I’m home with my three recovering kids. They are all still in pajamas at 11 AM. Whatever. We don’t have anywhere to go, nothing to do, no one to see. They’ve also watched about three hours worth of My Little Pony. They’re learning about the magical properties of friendship, right?