A New Normal...Sort Of.

I had wonderful plans of a return to blogging on Friday. I was going to have wonderfully witty and pithy statements about how I managed to make it in-tact through each day: my first week with two little boys.

Monday was great: we didn't do much, but I got some tidying done and the boys were still well-behaved and in one piece. We even got to Starbucks to meet up with friends for a couple of hours. Tuesday went over a treat as well: more cleaning, successful naps, and a whole slew of errands in the morning. Wednesday was play group and a quiet afternoon in. That's when things started going wonky.

Thursday morning I woke up feeling a bit sore. Babies who occasionally sleep through nighttime feeds will do that to you. There's only so much milk a boob can hold, after all. (#keepingitreal) The day wore on, I felt more and more tired...and that soreness wasn't going away. I kept feeding (when Tristan would cooperate), kept pumping; but by the time I had to break out the paracetemol & hot water bottle, and then a fever started setting in, I came to the conclusion that - joy of joys - it was mastitis. Goody.

So I spent the night feeling awful. We limped through the next day with some much-appreciated help from my friend Nikki, - who watched the boys while I napped and settled Ethan for his nap - the Husband, - who came home early - and my GP who prescribed antibiotics. A big shout out also goes to McDonald's. Some days you just need comfort food.

So with most of Friday under my belt, imagine my mood when I realised that E was getting sick, too. He spent the whole night in our bed with a barking cough. Saturday progressed to a fever, more coughing, and lots of wheezy breathing. By Saturday night, I was convinced it was time to call someone to see what else we ought to be doing. Turns out that "what else?" meant a trip to Paediatric A&E and overnight observations. Oh yeah, and hourly sessions with an inhaler. For my two-year-old.

 

How long is it acceptable to keep your kid in the same pair of pyjamas? And do I get leniency for being in A&E last night? #mumlife
— Bryony Dick (@beginningbryony) February 2, 2014

The Husband stayed in overnight while I headed home with Tristan around 1:00 in the morning in an attempt to get a bit more sleep. Four hours of sleep later at 7:30, I was up and getting dressed to go back to the children's ward of our local hospital to see how my boys were doing.

In the end, it turns out Ethan was having a reaction to a viral infection in his chest. Loads of sessions with the inhalers and nebulizers, a couple of x-rays, numerous pokes with stethoscopes and ear thermometers, and a failed urine sample later we were finally discharged to go home with him. I now have two inhalers and a giant volumizer sitting next to my couch. Every four hours I get to listen to my poor little boy, with his hoarse croaky voice say, "Keep breathing! Keep breathing!" while I attack him with medicine for 90 seconds. It breaks my heart hearing him say that: it's just so pitiful!

So this week we're getting over our rather sensational-sounding bout of illness and attempting to get more towards whatever our new "normal" is going to look like. I have my gym membership back (le sigh, my happy place), and we have a few play dates to make good on. Add that into the mix with the ever-present cleaning that needs doing - oh, and don't forget that I ought to start looking at nursery schools soon! - and I think we've got enough to be getting on with.