I haven't posted for awhile because our house was recently bit pretty hard by the flu bug. I had a fever rise to 102, and I stayed home from work on Thursday. By Sunday morning we could tell Char was also a casualty, and she spent the day laying on mom who was laying on the couch. Instead of watching the Super Bowl, Daphne tried hard not to move too much and wake her daughter. With a fever on Sunday, Char couldn't go to daycare on Monday, so I stayed home with her.
If Char's sick days were movies, the first sick day is a quiet love story with a lot of cuddling. The second sick day, the sequel, is an action packed drama with high speed chases and big, tearful crashes.
Typically, Char spends her first sick day politely sleeping on the couch, our bed, and her crib. Charlotte won't let her mom out of her sight, and she'll usually go to bed early. Although she doesn't want her daughter to feel sick, Daphne secretly enjoys these times because she gets to hold her baby girl all day.
Then comes day two. That's when it's my turn to stay home. After sleeping for about 36 hours, Charlotte is full of beans, and she wants nothing to do with her two hour nap. Although I don't want my daughter to feel sick, I secretly dread these times because I get to chase after my wild child all day.
Here's Char's second sick day from last week. Poor thing, just look how run down she is.
Okay, she did cough, but that was it for her flu symptoms. By the time Mom came home from work at 4:00, I was beat and Charlotte was on her third wind. Unfortunately, Mom had caught the bug, and by the time Char went to bed Daphne had called in sick for Tuesday.
The next couple of days were pretty quiet, but Char's fever raised it's head again on Thursday evening. It wasn't too serious, but we couldn't send her to day care. Luckily, Charlotte was scheduled for a Friday with Grandma Deb, so neither Daph and I had to miss work. Char had a good day with Grandma, but she was a little slower than usual, and she took a three hour nap.
Wait a minute? She was feverish yesterday, and she slept more than usual? Oh, no. Daphne's gone from 7a.m. to 6:30 p.m. for All State Band on Saturday, and so I'll be alone for Sick Day 2, The Sequel, again? This could get ugly.
I had this idea that I'd take a picture or shoot a short video of what we were doing at the top of every hour. Here we are reading "Wacky Wednesday" at 7 a.m. At this point I'm still optimistic about the day.
Charlotte has recently discovered my change jar, and she likes to dump out the coins, "Dad, can I have all your money?" I might as well get used to that question (8:00 a.m.).
Before we could read any stories on "Mom's Bed" (we also live at "Mom's House" - why don't I own anything?), Char had to rid the bed of all offending pillows (9:00 a.m.)
She was finally interested in eating some breakfast around 9:30 a.m. If you eat pancakes and syrup with your hands you need a lot of wet wipes.
While we were eating, Maggie disemboweled a dog toy.
When we hit ten o'clock, it was time for Bubble Guppies, walking on our toes, and playing with dog toy stuffing.
Parents will notice Char's saggy diaper. Looks like someone made her Dad a present (11:00 a.m.).
Around noon, reinforcements arrived in the form of Mom. Daphne was able to take over for an hour, and I was able to take a shower. I'll spare you from a photo of that.
Daphne left around 1:00 p.m., and the chase was back on. I like this video because Char is trying to sing the Urbandale fight song while she navigates the kitchen, her dog, and the distraction of Mom's boots. Note the VW parts catalog on the kitchen island.
3:00 p.m. I tried putting Char in her crib, hoping she'd quiet down after a few minutes, but she cried, yelled, and threw herself against the sides of her crib. Then she threw every buddy and blanket out of her crib, and she got her leg caught between the crib's bars.
At 3:30 p.m. I realized that is no way Char is going to settle down; she has gotten herself too upset. I gave up on either of us getting any rest, abandoned the camera, and just concentrated on our basic survival.
The rest of the day and evening is touch and go. Anything can touch her off, and then she'll go crazy. Seriously. A girl who is very overtired, slightly ill, and a terrible two is a tough combination. I had planned on taking Char to the library or to the grocery store in the afternoon, but that looked like torture for both of us, so we stayed home all day.
Eventually Mom returned with a warm bucket of KFC and an even warmer mood, and Char went to bed a little after 8:00 p.m. Around 9:00 p.m. I finally began to relax.
Sure, I was proud of how hard I worked, but in reality I was only taking care of one child. What about parents who have more than one kid? What about parents of twins or multiples? Single parents? Daycare providers? Daycare providers who have their own children, too? How do they do it?
I don't know, but God bless them. They have my respect, that's for sure.
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