The Best Laid Holiday Plans

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This past weekend we were supposed to really get into the holiday spirit.  Nick’s daycare had a big Christmas party on Friday night.  It’s a big holiday to do with parents, siblings, and even grandparents invited.  My mother and I had planned the whole thing out since it was to occur right at the end of the work day.  My grandparents were going to watch Nick so he wouldn’t be exhausted during the party (daycare really wears him out).  I had been chosen to bring a main dish for the potluck dinner, so my grandmother was going to stick a lasagna into the oven for me so it would have enough time to cook and would (hopefully) still be warm for the party.

When I got home from school there were still a few hours until the party, so my grandparents decided they would go home and drive back in with my mom and we would all meet up at the daycare.  I had so much to still do before the party, but not long after my grandparents left Nick started to get really fussy.  I figured he was just tired so I put on a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode to keep him calm while I worked on getting stuff done.  When Mickey was done it was time for him to eat.  As soon as he had finished his meal he spit-up.  I cleaned him up and didn’t think too much about it.  He was still pretty fussy, so I picked him up and carried him into the living room, and that’s where he decided to get sick all over both of us and the floor.  I called my mother all upset and told her I didn’t think we were going to make it to the party because I thought Nick had the stomach flu.  She said that if  he did then he’d get sick again, so unless that happened she said it probably was just some weird bubbles.

Nick was such a mess that I stripped him in the living room and carried him upstairs to get changed.  He was terribly upset, and got hysterical when I put him down.  Once he was finally changed I took him downstairs and put on a different Mickey episode for him.  I usually don’t plop him in front of the TV so much, but he was so upset, and I had a big mess to clean.  Plus I still needed to get ready to go to the party, so I had to use the only thing that would keep him calm and happy.  I ran around like a crazy person getting everything done.  I called my mom to tell her that there was no way we’d be able to leave on time, but I’d do my best.

Finally the only thing left to do was to get Nick ready to go.  I took him upstairs to get his shoes.  As we were just getting back to the living room he got sick again.  At this point I knew he had the stomach flu.  The huge lasagna was still staying warm in the over, the gifts for the teacher’s were all in the car ready to go, and there I stood with a very sick little one who had just gotten sick all over both of us for the second time in less than 40 minutes.  Yep, I was officially a mom.  I called my own mother in tears and told her that we would not be leaving for the party.  I took Nick upstairs and again changed him.  This time I put him into his darkest colored pajamas.  Luckily not long after that he fell asleep and was able to sleep for the whole night.

Nick has had many colds, but they were nothing compared to how he’s been since he got the flu.  He slept 13 hours the first night, and only woke once, but he hasn’t slept well since.  If he naps at all they end up being quite short and he wakes up multiple times a night.  He also hasn’t gotten his appetite back yet.  He’s probably eating about half of what he usually eats.  We’re pushing the bottles so he can get both food and liquid, and then he might eat a little of his solid foods.  The hardest part was keeping him from getting too dehydrated.  By the time he woke up the next morning he had pretty much no liquid left in him.  On the first day we were able to get him to drink some Pedialyte, but that didn’t last much after the first day.  Jason and I both had some of it since we caught the flu too, and I don’t blame Nick for not wanting to drink it.  That stuff did not taste very good.  Luckily after about two days Nick was no longer dehydrated.  The worst part is that Nick hasn’t gotten better and now I’m worried that he might have an ear infection.  We off to the doctors first thing this morning.

Our exciting holiday weekend ended up being full of sickness and all of my planning ended up being for nothing, but I’m grateful that it didn’t happen over Christmas weekend.  Hopefully Nick feels better soon and our true holiday weekend goes much better.