This Too Shall Pass (And It Does!)

Parenting isn't easy--no one ever said it would be.  Life is stressful enough on it's own but when you add a sick child to the mix it just seems to get crazier. Today, I added three sick children to the mix.  And, honestly, it was just so hectic and the kids were so demanding that I didn't have time to stress . . . well, not too much.

This week has been a long one in the Astley house already (and it's only Tuesday!).  I took Alex to the doctor on Sunday for a high fever and we had two days of going back and forth trying to decide if he needed to go to the ER for dehydration.  We would come close to taking him and then he'd keep water down.  Back and forth, back and forth.  Today Kaitlyn and Logan both woke up with high fevers and horrible coughs. I took them to the doctor thinking they had what Alex has.  Kaitlyn seems to always have breathing issues anytime she gets any respiratory ailment.  We have been the ER several times in her short life and she was hospitalized for it once when she was 10 months old. Her breathing concerned the doctor as well.  She wanted to give her a breathing treatment but they were all out so she watched Kaitlyn breathe for a while and kept telling me how concerned she was.  She finally said, "I'm going to give her a steroid and that will really help with the breathing, but if she wakes up from her nap and she's still struggling take her to the ER."  (Cue dramatic music!)

Kaitlyn fell asleep in the van on the way home so I just carried her inside and put her in her crib.  She slept for well over 3 hours and when she woke up she was still having some breathing issues.  The steroids we were given for her were pills.  On the bottle it said to crush all 7 pills and mix them into a food that Kaitlyn likes and will eat.  That is what I did.  Alex and I tried for about 20 minutes to get her to eat and she wouldn't.  She cried and cried.  I was texting Jacob and praying and realizing just how tired I was.  Alex, in a very sweet tone, said, "Little Mama, why don't you eat that good food?  It's so good and it has medicine that will keep you out of the emergency room."  He wrinkled up his cute little nose and shook his head and said, "You don't want to go there.  It's no fun."  She just looked at him.

We sat there for a few seconds watching Curious George with Kaitlyn. Suddenly Alex whispered, "Mom!"  I looked at him and he pointed at Kaitlyn.  She was eating.

And here's the cool part (at least for this tired mama who thought an ER trip was in her schedule today).  She ate most of it.

She started drinking water from her sippy.  Then, she started talking about things she saw on the TV and even started bossing Alex around. She perked up and started acting like Kaitlyn. Her fever is down to around 102 and it looks like we might have missed out on yet another trip to the ER.

Logan's fever is around 101 and he has been asking for food and more water all day.  Things are looking up! I had so many friends and family members text me, message, and call to check on the kids.  Thank you for your sweet words and for praying for my crazy little gremlins.  They all seem to be feeling a little better.  I pray they continue to feel better until they are well--and then I will pray that we get to experience what WELLNESS feels like in the Astley house for more than a few days.