Revenge of the Blueberries

We've learned the hard way that blueberries and dairy don't mix well with Bean.  This morning, I woke up (like usual) and went into Bean's room to get her up and ready for the day.  When I went in, I smelled something suspicious and immediately assessed that she had thrown up a few times in the night.  As I saw what had happened, I had a sudden realization that I had actually heard it happen! I remembered hearing what I just thought was a cough attack from her in the night.  It did sound "juicy" so I checked her on the monitor, but I saw her just lay back down and roll over.  Since there was no crying (or if there was, it was short and sweet) I assumed she was fine and rolled back over myself.

I feared that she was sick with flu again, but she seemed fine and has shown no fever all day.  I then remembered, the last time she randomly threw up (see the end of A Really Bad Day), it was in the car right after she ate some blueberries and drank milk.  This time, the last meal she had eaten was cottage cheese and blueberries!  She ate blueberries fine last week, so I guess it has to do with the combination of dairy?  Regardless, I'm not willing to test out my theory, so we're restricting blueberry consumption around here!

(What happened?! I'm pretty sure she was most upset about the fact that "Bay" - blanket - was dirty and she wasn't allowed to hold it while she was changed later.  I worked hard on it, though, and had it fresh, clean, and dry before nap time!)

(So apparently, there was more than just 1 incident of puking?? Let me just tell you about blueberry stains.  When you run them under cold water or just wash the first round, all that red turns a deep blue.  Bleach is works amazing for the white items.  Still figuring out what the best removal process is for the sheet and bumper.)

(She earned a quick trip to the bath! You know it's not going to be a good day when it has to START with a bath instead of END with a bath.  And yes, that is a blueberry skin in her hair.  Apparently those didn't get digested.  But I can tell you that some of the blueberry was digested from the diaper I changed later in the day. . . )

(She acted a little clingy in the morning, and evening laid on me for awhile while watching Sesame Street.  Other than being a little clingy, she's acted completely normal -- even eating like normal.  Fingers crossed that we don't have a round 2 and that it is just the blueberries!)

Indiana Visit & A Really Bad Day

A couple weekends ago, we headed in to Indiana for the first time since Christmas (which is too long in my book)! We were headed back so that I could judge in the annual piano contest that I've been involved with since I was young.  I've been back to be a judge for the past 4-5 years and always have a good time doing it.  

We got in Friday evening to a pretty quiet house. Just mom and Sara were home (dad was due to arrive back from a business trip later that night).  After dinner, I took mom (along with Bean) to the grocery store to pick up a few items.  My mom hurt her foot about a month ago (fell off a stage) and isn't allowed to drive.  She was going a little stir crazy and needed an outing (and groceries).  After our quick trip, we got back home and got Bean to bed.  We were all soon to follow!

I had to be up early on Saturday to be at the church for judging.  There's a meeting for judges at 7:30 with events starting at 8.  It's the same thing every year and every year it isn't needed. Oh well!  Usually, my brother and sister judge as well, but this year it was just my sis and I.  I was placed in my usual room by myself.  Kids from beginners to intermediate levels would come in the room, play a couple songs they had prepared, and then leave.  My job was to listen and critique their playing -- point out what could be done differently and praise what they did right.  I wrote my comments on a paper, assigned numbers and awarded them whatever placement they earned.  My sister got placed in a room with one of the worst judges (worse as in she wrote a novel for each student, was super nit-picky, and didn't encourage the kids).  We were both done by mid afternoon.

We all rendezvoused back at my parents house for the evening. While I was judging, Ahm (my mom) took over duty of Bean with the help of my nieces.  I'm not sure what all they but I know Bean had fun regardless! She loved all the attention! 

That night, Bean had some trouble going to bed.  She went down okay, but cried out a few times when Steve and I went to bed.  I had to go and rock her some, and then got to sleep.  Early the next morning (5:45am), Steve and I woke up to a couple bangs.  He said it sounded like a bird hit the window.  We sleep over the garage, and to me it sounded like the house door banging shut, but without the vibration.  Then we heard silence.  I was paranoid so I went in search of the noise.  I got to the upstairs foyer to find my sister walking into the bathroom kind of zombie like.  I asked her if she was okay.  She slowly turned her head to look at me, but her body continued to go forward.  She went head first over the toilet and smacked straight into the wall.  I grabbed her and got her to the floor to find her unresponsive.  I ran downstairs to yell for help from my parents.  

The next few minutes were a blur.  I know I ran back upstairs to check on Sara (just staring and not responsive) and told dad he might need to call 911 (okay, dad claims I shouted CALL 911 -- you be the judge).  My running up and down and getting help woke Bean.  So Steve was dealing with her, when I was with my sister.  She finally came to and was slowly talking to me.  She knew who I was, but was still really out of it.  My mom finally came on scene and took over.  I went and got some supplies to clean up the mess (I'll save you all the details on the mess, ha) and get stuff for Sara.  My mom finally pieced the story that Sara needed to go to the bathroom, so she got up out of bed and felt woozy.  She must have bumped into her door/desk by all the pens on the floor (those were the bangs we heard).  Sara knew she was passing out when she got to the bathroom, but thought if she could just sit down she'd be fine.  I just happened to be there right as she fainted.  Once I knew mom was in control of the situation, I went to tend to Bean.  

I was too hyped up to go back to bed, so I sent Steve back to sleep (he really wasn't involved in what all happened and was sort of out of it himself - he just new something had happened with Sara).  I rocked Bean a little bit, but she wasn't settling.  She kept crying when I put her in the crib, so we went and laid in another bed together.  She started talking to me, so I gave up and went back out (carrying her) to check on Mom/Sara.  Sara needed a bandaid, so we went to go find one.  Mom got Sara taken care of and back in bed.  While mom was finishing up cleaning stuff, Bean laid her head on my shoulder so I knew she was still tired.  I went back into the room she sleeps in and laid her in the crib with her singing glow worm.  She grabbed her blanket and quietly rolled over.  

There was no way I was going back to bed, so I just went downstairs and binged on Duggars while everyone else went back to bed (well, my dad had to be at church early, so he didn't go to bed).  My brother and his family were going to come over after lunch, so we made the decision to stick around a few extra hours than we normally do.  My sister and her family came over, too.  So it was quite the houseful.  Sara woke up and was normal (except for feeling sore).  She didn't totally grasp what all happened.  She knew she had passed out, but didn't really understand placement in bathroom and what all the commotion was. 

(Cousins! Oliver - 15 months, Emily - 11, Allie - almost 9, Bean - 17 months, 

Gabbie - almost 6, Charlotte - almost 5)

Bean took a good nap (even with the houseful of people) and woke up with a little bit of time to play with cousins.  We loaded up the car and said our goodbyes.  The drive was going smoothly and we had already decided we'd stop and get dinner on the way home.  About an hour into the drive, though.  Bean started sort of coughing, then all of a sudden projectile vomited! Steve pulled the car over as we both watched her just throw up a ton all over herself.  She was crying and really upset.  I got her out of the car and sort of held her over a field in case she was going to throw up more.  It was warm enough outside that I stripped her down to get her out of the smelly clothes.  Steve got out our suitcase and I found clean clothes to put her into.  

Next up -- clean up all the vomit.  Boy was it awful! Steve held Bean in the front seat while I cleaned it up. I had like 3 baby wipes, a couple disinfecting wipes, and that was about it.  I used her puke clothes to clean out all the blueberry bits (just what you wanted to know! She ate blueberries and drank milk in the car as we left my parents' house).  I wiped the seat and belts as much as I could, but there was no getting the smell totally out.  Poor girl had to be strapped back down in that seat.  She cried when we first put her in the seat, but I crawled in the back with her and turned Frozen on.  She was a happy girl after that.  I was poised and ready to catch any more vomit in a plastic bag, but she never threw up again.  

(For some reason in my head, there was like 10 times the amount of vomit shown.  Maybe it's just that the smell was so much worse than this picture can capture.  I washed the lining of the car seat n the washer and got the smell out of it; but I can't get the smell out of the belts/buckle/plastic seat.  I've wiped it all down multiple times with Lysol, Febreezed it, and even set it outside a couple times.  I need to rewash it all again.  Problem is the part that the belts snap into.  Vomit got down in the crevices and I can't get it out.  Ugh. The seat still stinks up the car.)

I wanted to just get home, but Steve needed a break out of the car (he was sort of zoning and also just the smell).  So we stuck to our plan and stopped for dinner.  I didn't know what to do with her -- do I allow her to eat?? What do I feed her, I had planned to feed her a fruit pouch, ravioli and yogurt prior to the puking.  Definitely not a good combo if it were to come back out! So I figured she'd ask for what she wanted (trust the 1.5 year old, right??).  She ate some applesauce pouch and a couple yogurt chips.  Then when our food came, she wanted some fries.  I let her have some, but what she really wanted was the ketchup.  She loved sticking the fry in the ketchup, and licking it off before sticking it back in.  She had a couple moments of gagging and I feared vomit.  So we called dinner done and got back on the road (okay, so maybe I had a little meltdown and completely shut down.  Steve had to just step up and say, okay - we're going home now!).  

We got home without any more problems.  As Steve unloaded the car, Bean and I got in the shower.  It was already passed bedtime, so she went right to bed.  I was worried over every sound I heard in the monitor just waiting for more puke, but none never came.  She never really acted sick after that, but she did have some issues with diarrhea and random fevers for the rest of the week.  (Side note -- my mom ended up puking all the next day and having a high fever for a few days).  So maybe Bean did have something?? Or maybe just her final 4 teeth coming in??

(One clean & happy girl with a very tired momma! Remember, my day started with my sister fainting in front of me and ended with a puking kid. If only I could tell this Lindsey what the rest of the week would look like. Probably best she didn't see it coming!)

After a long week of babysitting nearly every day (really, the babysitting was fine, just made for some long days!) and continuing on my mini-marathon training, Steve woke up on Saturday feeling very achy and had a fever - which is how my mom felt the day before she puked.  I was prepared for him to bring puke-fest back to our house, but he didn't.  He just had a fever, slept a lot, and complained of feeling crappy all weekend.  I was a freak about germs and sickness in the house again, so he wasn't allowed to be around Bean & I; meaning, Bean and I have had a lot of 1 on 1 time and I haven't gotten a "mom" break in quite some time!

A Case of the Pukies

We started off our Monday night just like any other day, except I apparently threw a curve ball by jumping in the shower at 7:20 (bed time prep starts at 7:30).  I get out of the shower to hear Steve yelling, "we need help!!"  Upon getting downstairs, I see a crying Bean and vomit all over daddy, his chair, and the floor.  Lovely.  Once I picked her up, she seemed fine.  Steve got to cleaning up the mess and I evaluated her.

She seemed fine - wasn't hot, wasn't crying, and was even giggly.  A few months ago, she had a weird night of throwing up all her milk before bedtime, but then was fine.  I chalked it up to that and got her ready for bed.  She went down without a problem, and we figured we were through the woods.  We were wrong.

She woke up about 35 min later crying, and then I heard it.  The gag.  I ran upstairs and turned on her light to find her sitting in her bed, with puke all over her and crying.  Oh no.  Fear ensued! What was happening?!  Steve drew an immediate bath.  We got her in it and then I cleaned up her bed. Luckily, I have a system where mattress pads and sheets are layered, so I just had to take off the top layers.  

She played in her bath for a little while and seemed fine.  We went ahead and gabbed a puke bucket "just in case" and set up watching Sesame Street in the living room.  My goal was to wait an hour from the last puke before putting her to bed.  We barely hit the 30 min mark when round 3 happened.  The three of us quickly became pros at helping her to puke in a bucket.  She would sit in my lap and I could sort of feel it start in her tummy.  Then we'd see "the look" on her face - tongue would stick out and she'd try to stop it.  She'd start to cry and push the bowl away, so I would hold back her arms, Steve would hold her head, and we would both hold the bowl in position.  

She just wanted Momma comforts in between, so she'd stay laying on my lap.  Steve was a trooper and would clean/swap buckets.  I soon started to fight the nausea feeling.  I kept telling Steve I knew I'd be puking by nights end.  He said to toughen up and to get it out of my head.  A little after 10 o'clock (and I think round 5 for Bean) she got really tired.  She even fell asleep on me.

(We thought with her falling asleep, we were out of the woods.)

But that sleeping only lasted 3 minutes until her puke round 6.  We'd just gotten the bowls swapped in cleaned when I started in! Ahhhhhh. Poor Steve had to then help his sick daughter AND sick wife.  This was the first time he had to "help me" puke and informed me that I was not a dainty puker.  Sorry buddy.  Luckily, Bean only went another round before she was tuckered out.  I puked a few more times, then helped get her settled into bed.  She slept the whole night.  However, I was up puking -- all night! I'd fall asleep and sleep for 40-45 min, when I'd have to get up and go puke.  Finally at 4am, I was able to just go back to sleep.  

Steve had left his laptop at work and had an important meeting to go to.  So he got up and went in at 6:30.  Then then came back home a little bit before 8 so that he could get Bean up, change her, and take her downstairs.  I made my way downstairs and set up shop on the couch in the living room.  He then ran to the store to get us a few things to help us survive. I was very weak, low-energy, nothing sounded good, and I was still fighting some nausea. Bean seemed to be doing fine though! She was her normal "bug mom" self.  I'd try to lay and she'd want to jump and climb all over me.  Steve worked in the dining room and would check on us and get us things as we needed.  Bean ate lots of crackers and drank Pedialite.  For lunch, she even ate a banana/apricot/applesauce pouch. Steve put her down for a nap.  I laid down and zonked.  He left once we were asleep to return back to work.  

I woke up a little after 3 and just laid in bed watching shows on my computer.  Bean started stirring a little bit before 4.  It took me a little bit, but I got up, got her up and changed, and brought her back down to the living room.  We survived on our own until Steve got home around 6.  I think his dinner consisted of waffles and bacon, while Bean's consisted of a cup of applesauce, and I don't think I got any.  I was feeling very crummy, fighting a fever, chills, and a headache.  I drank a lot of Powerade during the day and crackers on and off.  At 7:45, Steve put Bean in bed and I called it a night.  

We all slept great through the night - finally! I woke up on Wednesday feeling like a new person.  I still had aches, but overall was pretty functional compared to the previous day! Now are fingers are crossed and we are watching for any signs of sickness in Steve.  I don't know how I would have survived without him.  He seriously is the best!

***********

So this is where I thought the post would end. But I was wrong.  Wednesday night at midnight, Steve fell victim to the puke flu.  He was up most of the night like I was.  I helped him set-up shop in the bathroom.  Comforter to lay on, pillow, blanket, even the space heater! I knew what he was going through and wanted to help out however I could. Once I knew there was no more I could do for him, I switched rooms and slept in the guest room.  And by sleeping I mean, lay in bed until Bean cried out (I went in her room twice), or until I went and checked on Steve. 

Needless to say, we are over being sick and ready for a healthy home!  We have officially deemed this week "PukeFest2015".