Noro virus hell

2 years old!

Parenting is often fun and lovely...but quite often it is much MUCH less glamorous.

Recently we ALL came down with a bloody nasty stomach bug. I came down with it first, I suddenly woke up in the night feeling distinctly....green around the edges....and then...well, I won't go into too many details. but I got very ill. and I felt like I had been hit by a truck, I was so exhausted, I could barely leave my bed or the bathroom. I spent the next 24 hours either sleeping or being ill. I very luckily have a wonderful friend who came round to watch Tabitha, because I was in no fit state to actually effectively parent (Thank you Jenny!!!!). the problem was, its very very hard to explain to a toddler why you can't play with them, or hug them a lot or generally act normally when you are ill, because they simply don't understand the concept. I try reading her books about being poorly (like "I am ever so not well" the Charlie and Lola book") so at least she has some level of understanding, but it still leads to a frustrated upset toddler who doesn't know why mummy is suddenly not acting like mummy any more.

Finally about 48 hours later I was feeling more human again. I was still weak and wobbly, but much more human than before.

Then I was lying in bed, about 9 o'clock at night, after Tabitha had gone peacefully to sleep. and suddenly I heard a strange coughing noise from Tabitha's room. I waited listening for crying or any other sign that she had woken up upset, but heard nothing more. I tried to relax, but 10 minutes later I decided to go and have a peek at her and see if she was OK...

It was a scene of horror. she had vomit EVERYWHERE. it was all over her, her sleeping bag, her bed, it was in her hair...she had basically been sick and then fallen back asleep in the puddle of it. I quickly woke up a very grumpy Coyote (he's like a bear with a sore head if disturbed from sleep) and tried to get everything clean, I quickly got her undressed and wiped down, and got her bed cleaned (with Coyote's help). I got out the spare sleeping bag and put her in it...at which point she was sick again, all over the new sleeping bag and me. at this point it was decided that she could sleep with me in our bed and Coyote would sleep in the spare room.

I gave up on the idea of her wearing any level of pajamas's or sleeping bags, and just had her in a nappy and wrapped in towels. for the next about 4 hours or so she basically didn't stop being sick. by the end she was just dry heaving and crying while I rubbed her back and stroked her hair. she buried herself into my arms trying to get as much of her body as possible against mine. she had a temperature and was obviously exhausted. I kept on giving her sips of room temperature water. but not much stayed down...I was genuinely concerned for her, keeping on looking for signs of sever dehydration, looking for rashes...if it had kept on going I was really considering taking her for a trip to the hospital...but eventually we both went back to sleep, all cuddled up together.

The next morning we both woke up feeling like death warmed up. but at least her sickness seemed to have subsided finally. so we went for a long hot shower to get properly clean together. I was sitting under the stream of water with Tabitha on my lap, playing with bubbles and generally trying to feel better again...when Tabitha said her first full sentence to me...

"I love you mummy"

and with that it was all completely worth it.

of course 48 hours later Coyote came down with the same bug...