I did not do a great job of taking my own advice this week. Kind of like when I had great intentions of staying calm and quiet throughout my labor, but then contractions snuck up on me so quick and intense that I groaned and wailed for most of the time. Well, I would say "groaned"; I'm pretty sure Steve would say "wailed."
It's hard to communicate the stress of the week now that it's mostly passed. Bella's been sick since last Thursday and it was a rough week. I can say this calmly now, because I'm starting to act like a normal person again. She wasn't deathly ill or anything, but the most she's ever been sick was maybe a longer cold or an ear infection. This is the first time that Bella's had a fever that lasted this long, coupled with a cough and a lot of sleepless nights and early hours. It just started to drain on all of us.
I swung back and forth between feeling crazy parent-guilt and wanting to put Bella out on the curb. We were stuck inside the house with cold weather and just when it seemed like she was feeling better, her fever would come back. Evelyn started coughing on Wednesday, which made us nervous, too.
I was praying like crazy on Wednesday, and that helped me stay calm and feel like a better mom, too, but Thursday was our "coup de grace". We had plans all week for Bella to travel down to Florida with Mel for the weekend and they were planning on leaving Thursday night. It was also Bella's Valentine's Day party at preschool, and I had been praying she would be healthy enough to participate.
Thursday morning she woke up with a 103 fever and her cough sounding worse. I finally called the pediatrician, and the nurse said to come in and let them test for strep. I had to call the other moms that were planning the Valentine's party with me and tell them that the craft I was supposed to bring would not be there. Then, I couldn't find my keys. Seriously, I couldn't find my keys! Two girls, completely dressed, 30 minutes until we had to be at our last-minute doctor's appointment, and I was tearing the house apart looking for my keys. It was one of those moments when I thought, "You have GOT to be kidding me!" We weren't going to make it to the party, Bella's trip to Florida was cancelled, and I was so disappointed and frazzled!
Steve was already downtown, so I had to call Mel and beg her to come home from work and drive us to the doctor. (I owe you, Mel!!!) We spent 4 hours between the pediatrician's and the lab, getting a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia. The x-ray came back clear and ironically, Bella seemed to finally be improving as the day went on. We still cancelled Florida and the party, but Steve was able to take a half day and meet me at the lab to take Evelyn home for a nap while I stayed with Bella for her x-ray. The rest of the day was pretty calm, and Steve made me an AMAZING dinner for Valentine's Day!
We put the girls to bed a little early and started dinner prep. Steve made filets with yummy toppings (mine was a thin slice of fresh mozzarella; his was mushrooms), steamed green beans, slices of tomato and mozzarella drizzled with balsamic vinegar, parmesan mashed potatoes, and chocolate-covered strawberries for dessert.
Dinner was so good and so relaxing, and it made the whole week just melt away. We got to talk and be calm and not think about sick babies. We had forgotten to buy each other Valentine's cards, so we decided to write a little note on post-it notes. Welp. We forgot to do that, too. We ended up toasting each other with our champagne served in juice glasses. ('Cause we're super classy like that.)
The weekend has been a lot better, and Steve has been an incredible help! We've chilled and let the girls rest. They still have a little bit of a cough, but the fever has been gone for a solid 48 hours. Thank you, God! Steve has off on Monday, so we're looking forward to some good, family time. We're crossing our fingers and planning on taking the girls to church tomorrow morning. Can't wait to interact with some adults!
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