pink eye and the pukes

just when i thought we were on the road to recovery, bear's whinyness increased to almost intolerable levels. over the weekend, he would wake up with crusty eyes and panic. this may come as a surprise, but that is not a fun way for anyone to wake up. the whole household would then be up to early and with crabbiness galore. not willing to invest any more money in zeeland community hospital's urgent care or emergency room, i held out till monday morn and then called dr lund. the phone lines are open at 7:30, so i called right then and there. miraculously, they had an opening at 8:15. i grabbed it and proceeded to whip clothing on and off my kids, start the veen, brush teeth, and lock and load everyone for the 30 min trip. just as we were leaving, ayla had a poop explosion. back in the house. more changing clothes. in the veen again, and we were off, only 15 mins behind schedule. i chose to obey most traffic laws and we arrived mere minutes late.



that was actually nice because we did not even have a chance to sit down before marcia the nurse called us into the room. as bear's levels of grumpy were super high, he did not exactly comply to instructions or suggestions well. taking off his boots to be weighed created a tantrum resulting in bear laying on the floor, me holding ayla, diaper bag, coats, boots, and maxer's hands, and nurses attempting to drag/carry weston into our room.



he made it. i was wishing i had worn a bikini as i was extremely flushed and hot feeling in that warm room. during weston's initial exam by the nurse, max announced time and time again that he was "a little scared of having more pokes". dr lund came in and delivered her diagnosis of a double ear infection and pink eye. in reality, i was relieved there was a reason behind the obnoxious whining. prescriptions were faxed and kids were bundled. as we were scheduling additional appointments, paying for the visit, and collecting everyone together, i noticed the whiny one was not in tow. frantic, i began searching the room we left, behind various counters, but no sign of bear.



so i assumed he had followed dr lund into the next examination room. after an embarrassing knock, bear was gently pushed out the slightly ajar door. the scheduling nurses, already irritated by our antics, suggested he would rather stay here than go home. i told them they were welcome to him :) but i really did not mean it. well, i only sort of meant it. i would have retrieved him after a couple of doses from the meds.



that night, ayla woke up crying mere moments after i went to bed. frustrated, i went to her only to find her lying in a pool of puke. poor baby. praying that she just had a fluke spit up, i began changing her only to get vomited on twice. then i got panicky worrying about an entire night of this, and ayla being so little. oh my. i woke brad from a deep slumber and asked for his assistance. he tiredly obliged, telling me ayla was fine. she did look fine, until she threw up again. and again. and again. so then i called the er. they suggested nursing her every 1/2 hr for 5 minutes for the first four hours, then giving her pedialyte, 1-2 tsp at a time every 5-10 minutes. well that made me cry almost more than the fact that she had the flu. how is that even humanly possible er nurse glenda?



thankfully, i just let her sleep and nursed when i could and she made it through. and i made it through. and no one else got it. hallelujah



let me leave you with this hilarious image. the pink eye found me and brad. well, for sure me and mostly only in brad's imagination, but that is another blog post. we went to pick up my pink eye prescription only to find the pharmacy closed. brad's eyes were really bothering him. so i suggested he look online for alternative solutions. we found one: breastmilk.



as i am conveniently lactating, i took brad into the nursery and administered a shot of healing milk. i sprayed him. and it is hard to aim really, so his entire face was sprayed. and dripping. i almost wet my pants. however, today, his eyes are better. milk? prescription? perhaps a combo. funny nonetheless.