Stomach bugs are party poopers... that's the truth!

In our house the view has looked a lot like this...

Poor little Clara threw up very late the night before her birthday party.  She's been teething so badly (4 teeth in about 2 1/2 weeks and maybe more coming) that we thought she might have gagged herself (everything's been in her mouth including her whole hand practically).  She seemed relatively fine afterwards.  The only other sign was a lack of appetite in a baby that usually eats twice as much as her sister... or more.  Again, we thought it might possibly be teething related and decided not to cancel the party.

After a busy party day and very little sleep in many many days, I started to feel sick.  As the last guest was getting ready to leave, I tried as politely as possibly to wish them goodbye as I was only thinking how sick I was quickly becoming.  Almost as soon as they walked out the door, I started to throw up too many times to count.  I guess it wasn't the teething!

My mom came to help and stay the night as she knew Shaun had to work the next day, but she quickly went down for the count.

Poor Clara was still not feeling well and as usual not sleeping well.  The teething didn't let up just because I was sick and I knew she'd barely eaten all day, so didn't refuse her when she wanted to nurse.  Thus I was nursing Clara almost continuously while throwing up all night as she wouldn't eat or drink and was miserable and clingy.  I finally got her into her crib to sleep sometime in the middle of the night (I'm not sure what time, maybe around 3ish?) and started to head towards the bathroom thinking I was going to throw up again.  I guess I lost too many fluids, because I started to pass out. Thank GOD Shaun was in the bathroom and caught me as I began to go down, but before I hit the cast iron tub.  Thank God!  I guess I was dehydrated.

I didn't want to have to go to the hospital, so desperately tried to get some sort of hydration in me.

Shortly after that, Ava woke up in the middle of the night throwing up so we took her into bed with us.  She's two and never having thrown up didn't know what to do.  She started throwing up on me.  The bed... everything.  Between baths and sheet changes and nursing and puking... it was amazingly fun.  Thank God I was a preschool teacher and throw up doesn't ...you know ..."throw me" ;)

Ok... visualize this:  At one point were all piled in our bed (which suddenly seemed about the size of a toddler bed) exhausted and sick and in need of showers, with Clara finally asleep while nursing on one side of me, a sick Ava finally asleep on the other arm and I turned to Shaun and said, "Is this one of those moments you really love me?"  to which he replied "Yes" and my new motto became, "Forget Hollywood's version.  You don't know what true love is until you've gone through a stomach bug with two small children with someone".  There are moments when you realize you totally married the right person.  This was one of those moments.  He had been awesome taking care of all of us while my head hung in a bucket.

Thankfully it began to pass and Shaun seemed to have miraculously scathed it, so he returned to work the next day and I got busy cleaning the rugs more thoroughly.  (Let me just tell you that Oxyclean laundry spray really IS amazing!)

By that evening he came home from work and wasn't feeling well.  Uh oh.  It hit him yesterday and he spent today trying to recuperate and still not feeling 100%.  Poor guy.  He's hopefully on the mend, this bug is hopefully on it's way out and fingers crossed we can return to normal, now.

Anyone who came to our party, my humblest apologies... I'm so so so so so (x1000) sorry if it makes it to you.  We really meant only to share our love!

I'll post birthday pictures soon!

...oh, and for those who would like a few tips on how to handle stomach bugs with children, I came across THIS LINK and thought it had some good pointers.