Fighting the Invisible

I'm not a super-clean suburban mom, but this week I've been fighting the invisible: the rotavirus. It got into my house, but I don't know where it is, and all I do know is that bleach kills it. I'm washing toys, doorknobs, drawer pulls, and everything else I can think of. I even wiped down the box of wipes. The rotavirus can live on surfaces for 9 days.

It's day seven of the rotavirus inhabiting my boys, and it's bound to be several more days of recuperation. Wesley was sick, sick, and then progressively more sick. Just when we thought he was getting better (day 5), he became lethargic and his stomach bloated up hard. He spent 24 hours at Children's Hospital getting rehydrated and having his belly assessed. Turns out the bacteria/virus that made him vomit and diarrhea also upset the bacteria that process dairy, so his food was making his stomach bloat.

Oliver vomited at least 20 times while Wesley was gone, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't just because he missed his brother.

James and I were spared. We were both afraid to have to care for the boys while going under ourselves.

It's been a really hard week - five days of round-the-clock care, and now two days of care with nights of sleep. Yesterday the boys were happy and playing, though still napping alot and still rotavirus symptoms, but milder. I'm trying to prevent my hands from cracking and bleeding from all the hand-washing, laundry, and bleach-cleaning.

I Heart (coming home from ) New York

My baby (the grown-up one) spent the weekend in New York City with friends, and came back last night. It's so so so good to have him home, though being alone with Oliver and Wesley was wonderful. We had some laughter and some tears (often within minutes of each other), some adventures and some peace, some good meals and some bad ones...all the usual stuff.

Until yesterday. Wesley threw up all day and became weaker by the hour (he seems better today, but the jury is still out). I'll spare you the details of my panicking, but it did involve reactive vomiting on my part, and a sobbing Wesley getting four or five baths during the day. I get through situations like that by lying to myself, even out loud. "I can do anything," is my mantra, and I declare myself Super Mom. This technique shouldn't be a daily practice, but it always works for me in a pinch. By holding a clean towel over my nose, I can even clean vomit with one gloved hand. By ignoring my child's sobs, I can get him clean enough to hold him close for comfort.

And then, James safe at home again, I could sniffle a bit and let myself be tired. I'm not really even very tired, but I could be if I needed to. And I get to go to work tonight and talk about the concept of culture and South African indigenous cultures. There will be no talk of puke, diarrhea, deadly influenza, or carpet cleaning.

I just got lunch in the oven: Tuna Casserole of Joy and Selebratory Squash.

paris baby blog update

Sorry to those who left comments that never appeared. Blogger has twice reverted to comment moderation, but then doesn't alert me that there are comments to be moderated. I just found the photo studio comments. I think I fixed it now, so comments should just appear without my moderation.

And yes, Kira, name suggestions for the new Paris boy are welcome.

Last night I thought of "Barry." Well, I didn't actually think of it. We watched Harold and Maude, and the credits had some names in keeping with the 1970s era of the movie.

wesley having a good day

  

Oliver the Fireman

  

daddy and oliver and marshmallow fluff