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Yesterday, it all went reasonably okay.  She stopped throwing up in the late morning, and it all calmed down dramatically.  While Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa went to the store, I tried to my hardest to get her to take a nap, but it wasn’t happening.  Finally, when they came home, we turned on the football game, Buttercup laid down with me on the couch, and she fell promptly asleep watching football.  It has the same effect on me.

Really though, I think that while she was exhausted earlier in the day, she didn’t want to feel like she was missing anything.  Her grandparents were here!  She was absolutely thrilled with them, and it’s always hard when they go.  She says their first names so softly, as if in utter regret.  Daddy’s parents are magical bringers of good bagels, toys, and fresh affection.  So, she slept on my lap with all of us around her, and she just looked so peaceful and comfortable.  We were all with her.

We watched The Lion King with them, and it was the first time she’d seen it.  She was so excited, and she had a million questions about the story line.  Daddy kept skipping the upsetting parts, and even though he skipped over the stampede scene, she repeatedly asked, “Where did the Daddy Lion go?”  Oh, boy.  She loved all the animals, and she asked what they all were.  The singing was fun, too.  I’d forgotten what an emotional movie it is.  My point of view on things has changed so much since she was born, and any heroic act of motherhood/fatherhood or even a damn Johnson & Johnson commercial is enough to push me over the edge into tears.

She seems much better today, and so far there’s no fever.  Here’s hoping it was a 24 hour thing.  I think we’re going to have a quiet day at home playing with the new Christmas toys, all the same.

There’s nothing quite like a puking flu to make everyday healthy life look like a paradise.  I’m not sure why, I guess it is flu season, but we’ve been hit again.  Buttercup woke up in the middle of the night.  Daddy carried her into my room, and he said, “She’s wet,” and put her in my arms.  I thought she just needed a diaper change, but oh no.  My nose immediately told me otherwise.

Her bed and the wall next to the bed were covered in vomit.  It looked like something out of a horror movie.  She made it through the rest of the night in bed with me, but this morning she’s been so violently sick to her stomach.  We’re holding down the fort with Pedialyte and crackers, but she’s just miserable.  She threw up her Tylenol promptly, which doesn’t bode well for the rest of the day.  I’m hoping this is over shortly.

I have a pile of laundry that’s so bad - I’m not sure how I’m going to get it all done today.  All the bedding in the house has to be washed.  It’s going to be a long day.

To make matters more entertaining, my in-laws are here - and I promised Buttercup and them that we’d take the tricycle they bought her to the park today and have a nice afternoon.  That is looking less and less likely.  I feel bad, and I’m going to have to be boots on the ground Mommy today.  Thank God, it’s Sunday, and Daddy’s home to help.

There are some less invasive things that have helped us a lot during this sickness.  The nurse told us most of these, and I’d always say to call the doctor’s and speak to a nurse.  It’s always helped us.

Humidity:  I’ve been keeping the house as humidified as possible through a humidifier and a pot of chicken soup that I’ve let simmer all day in the kitchen.  That’s cashed today, so I’m just slowly boiling water.

Elevation:  I put a couple pillows underneath her mattress to give her an incline to sleep.  It’s helped a good bit; she’s not draining into her chest so badly.

Chicken Broth:  While we were away, I bought a few cans of low sodium chicken broth and put a couple drops of lemon juice in it once it warmed.  That went right in the sippy-cup.  I think it’s eased her throat and loosened things up.  Apple juice warmed up helped, too.

Cold Air:  I’ve been taking her outside when it gets really bad to let the cold air shock her little airways into opening.  The nurse recommended this, and at first, I was kind of surprised, but it works rather well.  I take her on a brief walk around the porch and bring her inside.  Once inside, I give her something warm to eat or drink, and all the nastiness comes out.

Shower:  This all goes back to the humidity.  She’s always been pretty good about taking her bath, and I just let her sit in there and hang out with her toys.  There’s a baby vapor bath, but I haven’t found that it makes that much of a difference.  Then, I try and get her to blow her nose.  We’re still working on that ;)

Saline Drops:  These helped her enormously when it was her nose that was causing most of the problem.  They only give brief relief, but it’s something.

Cleaning:  I’m on a cleaning warpath.  I aired out the house, bleached everything w/Clorox Anywhere that wasn’t made of fabric, and today I’m washing the bed linens for the 43290432089432908432 time.  My mother’s big one is taking the hand towels out of the bathroom and replacing them with paper towels until the virus is out of the house.  I think it’s a smart move.  I’ve also been boiling sippy-cups:  you can never get those nasty things clean, anyway.

If anyone else has an idea, let me know.  I need them.

At the doctor’s office, Buttercup was so sad.  The minute we walked in the door, she found a little girl, walked up to her and said, “I sick.  My mommy take me to the doctor.”  It was like she found refuge in the other little girl.

The doctor scares her, and I can dig it.  We’ve talked about it, and I’ve tried to do positive speech with her and things like that.  Nevertheless, when we went into the examining room, she curled up in my lap and said, “I don’t go to doctor, I want go home.”  Oh, it kills me.  I read her a couple books, and she calmed down while I read, but the minute I stopped, it was the same shaky voice asking to go home.

When the doctor came into the room, she was so still and listening to him.  He’s a very laid-back doctor, as far as pediatricians go, and I appreciate that about him.  He listened to her lungs and checked her ears and throat.  She didn’t cry once, and I’m very proud of her for that.  She’s a brave little gal.

He says there’s a 10 - 15 day upper respiratory virus going around, and I nodded and smiled like this was news to me.  I’ve always found it best to handle doctors with an “Oh, really?  I had no idea” attitude.  They’re easily threatened creatures for being so educated and established.  Her lungs are reasonably clear, and that’s what I needed to take off my list. 

He prescribed cough syrup with codeine.  He said to me, “It’s a personal choice, but it will help her sleep at night.”  At first, I wasn’t into this little idea, and then Daddy came home and said that the pharmacist said it was fine, she gave it to her kids, etc.  So, we gave her a half-dose last night.  I swear, you’d think I’d given her poison.  I was so keyed up last night, I had to check on her until I woke her up and laid down with her.  I just felt guilty about it.

What I don’t understand is why he didn’t tell me to get regular cough syrup?  I know, he’s the doctor - but it’s the cough that’s keeping her up at night, can’t we just give her a cough suppressant and get her sleep that way?  I’m glad he did prescribe it, but at the same time, I just feel uncomfortable about it.

My mom says that cough syrup with codeine cured my sister like magic when she was little with a horrible cough.  It allowed her to get the sleep she needed to heal.  I trust my mother’s opinion, and I trust Daddy’s opinion.  I just can’t help but feel a twinge of guilt…