These past few days have been exhausting, sweet, frustrating, scary, and full of snuggles. Through it all, I have learned that being a mom of two has changed the way I handle these situations. I haven't been upset about our sicknesses, but just patiently taking care of our kids and loving the cuddly moments that happen when they are sick. I have just been thanking God for the gift of being a mom to these two awesome kids and for their health. I'm just grateful.
It started with Trey having a slight cough on Tuesday. I knew this would develop into something more, because he gets some type of cold on a regular basis. However, by Friday evening he had a fever going on 3 days, and his breathing seemed labored to me. I could also hear some wheezing in his breathing, so I called the doctor. I decided to wait a day and just use the humidifier as he slept, but I was so nervous that night that I hardly got any sleep. I just continued to get up to check on him, even setting alarms in case I slept too long. Early that morning when I checked on him, he sounded like he was running a marathon. I picked him up and rocked with him for 45 minutes until I was convinced that his breathing had calmed down and he was okay.
The next day, Saturday, his fever went away and I thought he was on the mend. However, after he and Gia spent sometime at our friend's house, his cough, wheezing and fever had returned, and I decided to bring him into the doctor. Thankfully, our doctor office is amazing and open 24 hours, but I had to wait until 10:30 to get an appointment. At this point, he breathing was labored and his heart was racing from the fever, along with a pretty deep wheeze. The doctor diagnosed him with RSV and an ear infection, gave him advil and a breathing treatment right there in the office, and then sent us to the pharmacy to get the breathing medicine and an antibiotic for his ear infection (the first one either of my kids have ever had). We got home at 12, and by the time the guy got to our house to drop off the breathing machine, I didn't get to bed until 1am. I then had to get up at 3am to give him a breathing treatment, and was up at 9 to get Gia ready for church. The rest of the day I was completely exhausted!
We watch "Elmo Singing with the Stars" and he just leans against me while he has his breathing treatment. Sweet snuggles!
Trey has to take an antibiotic twice a day and have breathing treatments every 4-6 hours for a few days, but he is getting better, thank God. But then last night (Sunday night) Gia threw up and I had a horrible stomach ache that kept me up from about 2am until the morning, and it continued all day on Monday. Gia seemed better in the morning, but when she woke up from her nap around 4:30, she had a fever. Poor thing looked so sad.
Trey came to keep her company and give her kisses.
Thankfully Bobby is still healthy and the most awesome husband ever. He took a couple hours off of work to watch the kids today so that I could rest. He also took them both out last night and made me promise not to clean so that I would just take an hour to myself after the night I had had. And again, tonight, he did my weekly grocery shopping for me and took both kids with him so that I could clean up and have a break. Best man God could have ever gifted me with.
My stomach still hurts and I have a feeling it will be at least a week before my kids are all better, but I am so thankful for skilled doctors who make sure my children are safe, for health insurance that makes it super affordable to treat my children, and for a supportive husband. When this third baby comes, I hope I can remain as patient and filled with thankfulness when all three of them are sick at the same time!
Gia has been doing so many things the past few months, and I know that if I don't write about them, I won't remember 2 years from now. So, this is a post where I brag on my 3 year old, and it gives the grandparents some info so that they can brag, too :)
Gia can:
count to 100 and beyond.
count by 10s
Add 2 numbers that equal 10
Spell some words (lots of 3 letter words) and read a few words (cat, Gia, Mama, Daddy, dog, and a few more)
Has memorized 10 bible verses
Identifies upper and lower case letters (has since she turned 3) and knows most of their sounds.
Can tell us easily what letter any word starts with
Is learning the months of the year
She is so sweet with her brother and quick to apologize if she accidentally hurts him or does something she shouldn't. She takes care of him, lets him play with most anything she's playing with without complaint, shares her snacks with him, and gets very excited to play with him when he wakes up. She empathizes with others so well! She LOVES to dance, sing, read books, watch Doc McStuffins or Daniel Tiger, play in the dirt, go to AWANA, and go to church.
My girl is always asking me, "Mama, what are we doing today? What are we doing tomorrow?" because she wants to know what friends we are seeing or what activity we're doing. She loves to be with people and has a few really good friends that we see on a regular basis.
She still has some tears at nap and bedtime, but it's not every night anymore and only requires a reminder of attitude (we've come a long way!). The "fear of the dark" stage has started, but her little Christmas tree helps (yep, it's still in her room because she likes the light).
Her favorite things to eat are probably Lucky Charms, M&Ms, carrots & humus, mac & cheese, strawberry smoothies, popcorn that she and Bobby make in our popper, and milk. She's still a small eater, but eats at least one good meal a day.
She's tall and thin... she wears 4T clothes now, but needs that internal belt that a lot of pants give now and has to wear the skinny-style jeans because otherwise they hang off her legs. She loves to wear her boots, especially her pink boots (thanks Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Johnny!)
She is SO excited about being a big sister again! At first she would tell people, "God's going to decide," when they asked what she thought the baby would be. But now, she wants a baby sister, so we are helping to remind her that God has already decided what the baby is and that we will be so excited no matter if it's a boy or a girl. I think that she may be a little sad if it's a boy, but we will make it fun for her and then she'll hopefully be excited.
She still goes on almost-weekly dates with Bobby. They have their routine: Doughnut from Smiths', hot cocoa at the local coffee shop with whipped cream on the side, then playing pretend/coloring/playing doctor/reading books with Daddy. They know my family at this point and look forward to seeing Bobby & Gia every week.
She says the funniest things! I need to write them down more...
She likes to brush her own teeth first.
She loves to wear tutus. And socks.
Boo-boos are a big deal... they usually require a kiss and a Doc McStuffins bandaid.
Her morning routine is hard to break. Potty, then milk while watching Doc McStuffins. If she misses this routine, she's disappointed. But thankfully she bounces back quickly.
She remembers everything! I mean, information that we talked about weeks ago. It's amazing. Also, she can hear something once and remember it, like a Bible verse or when she was learning to count. I think I showed her how to count to 100 one time, and a couple days later she just suddenly did it.
She loves to tell us that she loves us, and she is quick to thank us for things we are doing (like getting her a snack or cleaning her clothes or helping her with something). She is so sweet, this girl. She is patient and kind, feels badly when she does something wrong, rejoices with others when they accomplish something, gets excited about the little things (like fruit snacks, playing playdough or movie & popcorn night). She loves people and is learning more and more about the Lord all the time. She will quote me the Ephesians 6:1 when she obeys (Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right). She loves to help me cook, especially when it's cookies and takes pride in being a good helper. Her 3 year old stage has been so amazing. I am of course looking forward to 4 years old, but I think this will be the first age that I will miss. I just love this girl so much! I'm not quite ready for her to grow up yet.
