January 2017 Review

Remember this post where I told you about the lovely frame that broke into pieces just as I was putting it together?  

Well, if I only knew that this would essentially represent most of January. Cuz Lawd have mercy.  Just as we were recovering from the holidays and getting put back together, everything came apart.  January should be an easy month to recap because we spent half of it being sick. But sounds like the rest of the world did too, so I feel like I can hear a resounding YES. My friend posted this on FB the other day, and I was like, AMEN. 

I think Greyson's picture here can communicate ALL of our feelings about January sickness. 

I will say that we started out strong. We had a good time pretending it was winter and playing in the snow that fell for about 2 minutes before it went back to 80 degrees.  

We went with dad to his favorite "playdate spot", the Bass Pro Shop.  

Jeremie and I even took the plunge and FINALLY purchased a new mattress and upgraded to a king, which meant another plunge to all new bedroom furniture.  Listen.  We've been Craigslist-ing and spray painting furniture all of our adult lives.  We felt like it was time to invest in a good bedroom set.  It does make me feel all grown up.  ('Bout time, I'm 32.)

Still working on what's going next to the cow print. Doesn't a baby monitor add to any decor?

My mom came to visit at the beginning of the month, so we got some good CC time in. She pretty much walked in the door, G TOLD HER he wanted popcorn and that he wanted to watch a movie, and that was it.  

They had a cup 'o tea at Playstreet.

We headed to the Ft. Worth Stock Show, and this year we actually took G to the Rodeo. He did great and seemed to enjoy it!  The Stock Show is really one of my favorite DFW traditions.  I LOVE walking through all the barns; it just takes me back to my 4-H/FFA sheep and pig showing days.  I just loved it and had so many great memories doing that.  

His favorite part really is riding the tractors in the exhibit hall. 

In the pig barn!

And that was pretty much our last happy memory in January.  We noticed at the rodeo that G was a little off and quite literally, when we pulled up in the driveway, he felt hot. He was running a 102 fever. AWESOME. So the next week, we did a lot of this:  

                          

I will admit I enjoyed the time that we got to spend in Dad's chair and watch some toons.  

I finally called it and took him to the doctor, confirming he had an upper respiratory virus.  My throat was getting scratchy too, so I made an executive decision and decided all sick babies (and mamas) deserved a DQ Blizzard.

G finally started feeling better mid-week and we decided to make a Triple Chocolate Bundt cake. (Clearly I feel like sweets are healing.) G loves to stand on his stool, wear his apron and "help". (FYI,  I found him this child size apron at Hobby Lobby for $2.79).  After his nap, he totally remembered his chocolate cake (which makes me wonder why he can't remember that a diaper change takes 2 seconds and acts like a wild bobcat EVERY TIME) so I cut him a piece and he was GIGGLING with excitement. Here's a video to show just how it made him feel....

By Friday, G we ready to bust this joint, so we headed to our buddy's for a rowdy playdate. ROWDY. These babes have been buds since birth and now they're chasing each other in circles screaming at the top of their lungs. 

So I guess I'll rescind that earlier thought and say that THIS was quite literally the last happy memory of January. Without ANY signs, symptoms, or warning, G started throwing up the next day in the middle of the living room.  At first we just thought it was a hoax, because he even acted fine afterwards. But no. Minutes later it kept coming. And didn't stop.

We stayed up ALL night long Saturday night trying to replenish G's fluids with sips of Gatorade. This was all for naught. Little guy was SO sick.

We called the on call doctor in the middle of the night and he said we could give it a shot, but "predicted you'll be headed to the ER at 4:00 a.m.".  We'll, shouldn't he win a million dollars, because precisely at 4:00 a.m., we gave up and headed to Children's ER. They gave him some anti-nausea meds and he finally kept down a juice and a Popsicle.

By the time we got home, we'd been awake like 30 hours and were LOSING OUR MINDS. So we got a couple hours sleep, but of course G was just still so miserable and couldn't rest.  Eventually, the throw up came back and we did everything we could to just get him threw the night so we could go to OUR pediatrician the next morning. So off we go first thing Monday morning with about 2 hours of sleep in two days. Our doctor barely had to walk in the door before she told us to get back to the ER for fluids.  G had lost 10% of his body weight and was completely dehydrated. This was really our first big "scare", and I was scared ya'll.  His eyes were so sunken and he was totally lethargic. Like any normal sleep deprived person, I burst into tears in the doctors office. She assured me the fluids would do wonders and off went to the ER. I sped like a maniac. They were waiting for us when we got there and got him all hooked up. (Which was a sad process in itself.)

Sure enough, the fluids DID do wonders, and we even got a mini-smile out of Lil G.

We finally got home and since he had held down some juice and wasn't dying of thirst anymore, he was finally able to rest. Manny took a shift while me and J napped on the air mattress beside him.

But the party never ends folks. That night, I got the bug and was OUT. And for some reason, even though Greyson had the green light to gorge on fluids, he didn't want to drink.  So Jeremie pretty much stayed up again all night giving him syringes of Pedialyte while I hung over the toilet. By the morning, G was doing better though and we realized I was useless, so I took a leftover Phenergran and slept all day. Jeremie was finally able to get some sleep too.

I'm thrilled to report that each day got a little better and slowly but surely, G started eating solids and getting his energy back.  He's doing great, but the doc said it'd take about a week for his tummy to recover.

Like every situation in parenthood, J and I learned a lot of things. Definitely learned what dehydration looks like and looking back, I don't think there's anything we could have done to prevent it.  I think this was just a really bad virus that got the best of G. So glad it's over and that God literally gave us the strength to get through the week.

Although for us this was traumatic, I do realize this was a typical/normal illness. This tiny hospital visit(s) really made me think about children/parents who LIVE their lives in hospitals due to illness. And this breaks my heart to the core. I know this is real for a lot of people. And I don't personally know a lot of these situations, but God does, and for these people, I pray. I just really can't imagine.

So that was January, folks. With a big thankful, happy heart, we move onto the month of LOVE!