Plagued

So, every single member of my family is ill.

The girl has a cough that would make most 3 pack a day smokers envious.

My son has an ear infection and a faucet for a nose.

I am still hacking and enjoying my Puffs with Vicks.

My husband spent most of Friday and Saturday vomiting and on the toilet.

Oh, have you heard about vomiting? Well, apparently it is a new illness that only MY husband has experienced. It hurts. It causes aches and pains unlike any other on earth. NO ONE else has ever had a sickness of the magnitude of this one. Nosirreebob.

This is good news for all of you because MY husband has endured the worst case of vomiting and diarrhea on record. Thus, none of us- especially ME- will ever have an illness to compare to this one. It's true.

His puking set new records. The belly ache which accompanied it was the worst ever felt by a human. His experience was simply the worst ever.

Just ask HIM.

The end.

Asthma? Not again!

My daughter has asthma. She was diagnosed at 15 months, although I am certain she was born with it. Her asthma was out of control for about 5 years because she also had a severe case of acid reflux that exacerbated her disease. Once the reflux was medicated accurately, she showed great improvement. In fact, last week at a check on her lung function with the pediatrician, he told us he was confident that she was essentially outgrowing her condition; her tests actually indicated that her lungs function about 40% better than the average girl her age and size. This was long-awaited good news.

Because of his sister's long, sordid, complicated medical history (which is at least 2 posts) with asthma, I am constantly watching The Conqueror for signs of the illness. I was suspicious in the spring that he was beginning to present with symptoms. The doctor, ever hopeful, held off on a diagnosis and commended me for breastfeeding because of the benefits associated with allergies, asthma and health in general. Now, though, the boy is sick again. He is using his sister's nebulizer and I am pretty certain that he has asthma, too.

Now, I have to admit that I am a pessimist and a wee bit of a hypochondriac. I worry needlessly about many, many things. This, though, is one of my biggest fears and one of the main reasons we put off having a second child for so long. Her Highness was sick. All. The. Time. She coughed until she vomited dozens of times some nights. She took steroids that caused her face to swell into the moon face associated with steroid use. She had CT scans, xrays, IVs and took more meds than many elderly people do. I was hopeful that breastfeeding was going to be the magic bullet for my son. Sadly, I fear that it may not have been.

I know that because we have experienced all of these things in the past, we will better deal with them and may be able to get to the root of the problem (if there really is one) much quicker than we did with Her Highness. I still have a heavy heart today after spending yet another night holding yet another coughing, wheezing child.

Why Don't I Listen...

to my mommy instinct?

I have been feeling pretty certain that there was something not quite right about The Conqueror's behavior for the last few weeks. As I've mentioned, his sleeping (and, thus, mine) went to hell and he has been a cranky pants. I had this nagging suspicion that it wasn't just teething or being spoiled, even though that was the consensus amongst my family. I just didn't want to appear like an overanxious mother so I ignored these feelings.

Well, I should've listened to my inner Super Mom. She was right. RxMan and I took Her Highness and TC to the ped this morning and he has either the beginning or ending of an ear infection. Ah-ha! That is what I was most suspicious of, too, because his cries were often pained. So, the doc gave us specific instructions on what to watch for and a prescription we are to fill only if he worsens. I feel pretty certain that he is on the tail-end of it because last night was markedly better than the previous two weeks.

As for Her Highness, well, she has either strep or mono. The rapid strep was negative but the results are pending on the full-blown throat culture. Because of her other symptoms, the doctor was also thinking it could be mono. Great. That won't show up for ten days so, hopefully, she will be all better by then but, if not, it will require a blood test.

So, the gist of this is I was right. And I should've trusted my gut that the boy isn't just a raging spoiled monster. The poor little guy hasn't been feeling well. Now, I feel really bad for being frustrated with him.

I've Got Good News And Bad News...

The good news is The Conqueror was only up twice last night. Did you hear my sigh of relief? He is still a cranky little dude but at least I got more than a couple hours of sleep in a row. Thank God.

The bad news....Her Highness is sick. Her tummy hurts. She has also a sore throat, sniffles, fever and achiness.

Being the Sherlock Holmes that I am, I have begun to suspect The Conqueror has the same thing HH does but is unable to describe his overall crappiness; thus, the incessant whining and unhappiness.

Hello? Dr. Gupta? Look out...We're coming to visit today.