I take back what I said about Max not being sick.
But I did take Chris' advice- padded the crib with towels, which made the night a little easier. I considered Carla's advice, but our bathrooms aren't big enough to lie down in...aaah, memories of the Barnhill luxury bathroom suite.
In the middle of the night last night, while listening to Max being sick, I had a flashback of being in labor with him. I hate the feeling of singular responsibility -- there is no one else on the planet but you who must do this work. No one will birth this baby but you. No one will comfort this stinky creature, or clean up the content of his stomach, but you. Labor and delivery was truly singular responsibility, whereas child care - in our household - is shared. There is One Great Other, besides myself, who can help. Taking the lead in vomit clean-up covers over a multitude of sins...thank you, James.
And it's Valentine's Day, the day on which I met my beloved 12 years ago. Feb. 14, 1996, Camp Cherith, New York.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
More Sick
In an attempt to live in community like the first chapter of Acts, the children of our house church shared all things in common -- the same virus that ejected the blackberries from the tummy was activated at our house, too. Highlights from Monday night:
Whether it's urine or puke, Wesley just likes to be warm. He cuddles up in warmth and sleeps deeply. We found him sealed to his sheets with dried vomit - had to crackle it into pieces to free him. (If the house gets too crowded, we could probably bed him in an outdoor compost pile.)
Oliver held out for a few more hours, but emptied his stomach onto the crib sheet and stuffed animal that James balled up and threw into the garage. Twelve hours later, I used the "I just did EIGHT loads of laundry myself!" excuse to get him to deal with it.
We were up at least 8 times from 9 pm-5 am and used at least 7 sheets and pillow cases. The next morning, Oliver drank some milk, went over and stood on the new couch, and vomited milk all over it. Couch is now (Wednesday) partially disassembled and covered with baking soda. If we invite you over (ever), you should probably decline.
Max never got sick, and neither did we.
I stayed home with the boys this morning, and it was dear. They are free of the virus, but tired as they recover. They're a bit gaunt, cuddly, and emotionally tender. We made valentines and then they played in the bathtub for an hour, and I loved every second of it.
Here's a question from your favorite stay-at-home dad: When the child vomits during the night, do you just keep changing their sheets? With two kids who can't use a vomit bucket very well, we went through about 7-8 sheets in 8 hours - is there an easier way? We also wrecked a pillow by washing it in the machine - should we have a gore-tex pillow cover?
Whether it's urine or puke, Wesley just likes to be warm. He cuddles up in warmth and sleeps deeply. We found him sealed to his sheets with dried vomit - had to crackle it into pieces to free him. (If the house gets too crowded, we could probably bed him in an outdoor compost pile.)
Oliver held out for a few more hours, but emptied his stomach onto the crib sheet and stuffed animal that James balled up and threw into the garage. Twelve hours later, I used the "I just did EIGHT loads of laundry myself!" excuse to get him to deal with it.
We were up at least 8 times from 9 pm-5 am and used at least 7 sheets and pillow cases. The next morning, Oliver drank some milk, went over and stood on the new couch, and vomited milk all over it. Couch is now (Wednesday) partially disassembled and covered with baking soda. If we invite you over (ever), you should probably decline.
Max never got sick, and neither did we.
I stayed home with the boys this morning, and it was dear. They are free of the virus, but tired as they recover. They're a bit gaunt, cuddly, and emotionally tender. We made valentines and then they played in the bathtub for an hour, and I loved every second of it.
Here's a question from your favorite stay-at-home dad: When the child vomits during the night, do you just keep changing their sheets? With two kids who can't use a vomit bucket very well, we went through about 7-8 sheets in 8 hours - is there an easier way? We also wrecked a pillow by washing it in the machine - should we have a gore-tex pillow cover?
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Worries
Can someone tell me what comes after 5T? I've been ruminating about getting summer clothes for the boys, but sometimes 5T shirts look too small, but I don't know where to go after that.
And while you're at it, tell me how shoe sizes work. We're at 9.5 toddler size - what happens after 11 or 12?
And while you're at it, tell me where the parenting manual is that explains these things. My boys came without instructions.
And while you're at it, tell me how shoe sizes work. We're at 9.5 toddler size - what happens after 11 or 12?
And while you're at it, tell me where the parenting manual is that explains these things. My boys came without instructions.
Friday, February 01, 2008
The Space Between
The babysitting episode was OK - not great, but the babysitter says she'll come again (hopefully she means it). I'm gone for that many hours on a regular basis when I go to work, though usually I run home for a nursing. Being 99 miles away from home for nine hours seems much, much further than being 1 mile from home for the same amount of time.
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