A Mess pretty much sums it up

Our house is a mess. Not only in the toys-all-over-the-place way, but the stomach flu has been like a tidal wave and now we are having problems staying connected to the internet. See what I mean...A MESS.

It started with a warning from my daughter's daycare. Two of her fellow daycare children and their mom & dad were sick. Wednesday at 4:00 I got a call to go pick her up. She vomited for the next 5 hours. The next day her daycare provider called to let us know she was sick. I admit, I wondered how bad it could possible be. Let me tell you, it was bad...BAD. I will spare you the details but that was Thursday night. Today I missed a photography class because I didn't dare sit for 4 hours with people who didn't love me enough to tolerate illness related symptoms. Now my husband is laying in bed sick. Did I mention that Friday we were supposed to go to our favorite restaurant and a movie for his birthday? Powerful little bug. Happy Birthday, here is the stomach flu.

Mommy Guilt

First off, on Saturday I decided Amelia's hair in the back was way too frizzy from sleeping. It kept tangling and let's face it, I was sick of feeling the frizz any time I would touch it. So I cut it off. I have seen my stylist cut my hair many times, how hard could it be. Famous last words. Really it was just a small area and it turned out fine but I started with a little on Saturday, then chickened out but finished on Sunday. She has the most beautiful little curls at the base of her neck and there is no way I am cutting those off. She would not stop moving! I need to get over the "do everything myself" mentality. But I feel guilty, like I am missing out on something.

On to the next guilt trip I am laying on myself (because isn't there always at least two).

About two weeks ago Amelia's daycare lady asked her if she had owies and where they were. Amelia pointed in the area of her jaw/neck. I figured she was getting teeth. That night and over the course of the next five days, she would get a slight increase in her temp, anywhere from 99 degrees to 101.2. But they didn't last and she didn't act real sick, just really crabby, so I didn't think anything of it. She stopped getting temps. On Sunday, I started getting a sore throat, by Sunday night I had body aches. My temperature has been hardly elevated. The highest it got was 100 point something. But it comes and goes, sometimes the sore throat is a dull ache, sometimes it feels like I got my tonsils out again. So today I went to the doctor because it is hard to take care of a two year old. I didn't have a fever but I did have BAD body aches and sore throat. He came to the conclusion that I most likely had strep. I have never had strep in my life and let me say, I never want it again.

I felt terrible. the parents of one of the kids at daycare both had strep and my daycare lady mentioned it when she told me about Amelia pointing to her "owies". I figured she would have a higher fever and fuss more. Her doctor was out today so I made an appointment for right away tomorrow morning. I don't know if they will even test her but I feel like such an ass. I feel like I completely ignored my daughter's symptoms, even if they were small. But on the other hand, the night before I hosted my first Thanksgiving, I had to take her to the emergency room out of fear she had pneumonia (just croup...OF COURSE. I shake my fist at you, croup.) but at least I knew. I didn't get home until almost 2:00 and didn't make it to bed until 2:30. So, the lesson I learned, not all fevers are created equal.

If anyone reads this, this is the part where you tell me that it happens to everyone, I am not a bad mom and all that other good-feeling stuff. Thanks!

Tonsillectomy - Day 4

I was late for a couple doses of pain meds last night, slowly I am catching back up and the pain is tolerable again. The migraines I have been getting are the worst. Today I haven't been so nauseous. I am very thankful for that. I ate some mashed potatoes in the middle of the night so I wasn't taking meds on an empty stomach. It seemed to help. I ate some toast dipped in hot chocolate this morning. It definitely hit the spot. My throat hurts and I only made it through two small pieces of toast before I had to stop. Now I keep falling asleep, so I am taking that as my sign to get off. I hope this post makes sense.

Tonsillectomy - Day 3 Recap

It is 2:45 am on Day 4 but Day 3 was not a very good day.

I slept the whole night with the exception of waking up and taking pain meds which meant I was not drinking as much as I should have been. I ended up with migraines all day which also meant I was nauseous all day, too. Thank goodness for the nausea medication. It got used a lot. Oddly, my throat hasn't been causing me many problems. I ate some pork roast and mashed potatoes last night for supper. I had to stop because the pain was getting bad but I am really surprised by how much I can eat and drink.

I had a pretty nasty wakeup call about an hour ago. I woke up coughing (not uncommon) and my throat started hurting BAD. I went to look at the last time I took my meds and I was 1 hour and 15 minutes overdue. Now I realize why people advise not to fall behind on medication. Luckily the percocet kicked in quick.

Amelia is sleeping on an air mattress in my parent's room. She is doing amazingly well considering this is her first time not in a crib or pack-n-play. I think I may have heard her cry once but it didn't last long. Looks like it may be time to talk about turning the crib into a toddler bed.

Well, another 1/2 hours and I can have more meds. Gonna watch a little tv and go back to bed.

Tonsillectomy - Day Two: Later That Day

I am noticing a little more pain when I swallow. I am not quite sure if it is because I haven't drank as much as I should (even though I am constantly drinking), if I have been overdoing it today by talking and eating solid foods or if it is just getting worse before it gets better. I have read other people's stories and found that many started noticing more pain on days 3 to 5. I am now due for another pain killer. I am also noticing a weird hollow feeling in my ears. So far no pain but I am sure that will be coming soon. Good thing I got Mark to take care of me. I could get used to this.

Tonsillectomy - Day 2

The pain from my gallbladder removal is starting to get better. Getting up and moving around is much easier. I am still stiff but nothing like yesterday.

The tonsillectomy pain started to get worse at around 2:00 this morning. I had eaten some banana baby food and it just started to throb. Don't know if it was from brushing my teeth, the baby food or if I scraped my throat with my pain pill. Either way the pain went away shortly. It is about 6:00 and my throat is feeling about the same as yesterday. I have not missed a dose of pain medication and I really don't plan to.

I have been living off G2 (gatorade). Glacier freeze is my favorite at the moment. I have been drinking water but the doctor told Mark that we shouldn't consider it much of a fluid because it has no electrolytes or something like that. I haven't been eating much so I drink those Special K protein shakes. They are pretty good at keeping me satisfied. My parents, bless them, brought us over some supper last night. I ate some Denny's chicken noodle soup (my favorite) and some saltines soaked in the broth. Amelia would dip crackers into the broth and feed them to me. She had been pretty upset when she couldn't get on my lap earlier. Mark tried to explain that I had owies and I can't play.

She was in such a good mood last night. Mark asked her if she wanted to watch baseball with him. Of course she did. The Knudson sports gene obviously did not skip a generation. One day she walked by the tv while Mark was watching a Twins game and she looked at the tv and started chanting "go, go, go!" with her arm up in the air.

I think it is about time for a short nap.

Tonsillectomy - Day 1: Operation Day

My surgery was scheduled for 8:00 this morning which means I made it in there around 10:00. I was in recovery until a little before 3:00 and let me say, the gallbladder removal so far has hurt FAR more than the tonsils. Completely opposite of what I thought. I keep nodding off so I am gonna make this short. Pain tolerable, not too hard to take my painkiller and my amoxocillan (sp) is liquid and really reminding me of childhood.

Also, Mark is taking care of me fabulously. Thank you, hunny! Love you.

Now, time to sleep.

Tonsillectomy - Day Before

I am getting a little nervous now. Hopefully I will sleep good tonight. I have read just about every story online about tonsillectomies. I think I have pulled the good advice and left the crap. I have no doubt it will be painful but that won't last forever. If the only thing I have to complain about is that my throat and stomach hurt for a week then my life is good (don't get me wrong, I will most likely complain). The sooner I get it done, the sooner I can have it over with. Wish me luck!

The Countdown Begins

Four days until my tonsillectomy and gallbladder removal. I am still freaked out but less freaked out than before. Last Friday I had a pre-op checkup and was able to ask a few questions about what to expect. One of my coworkers had hers taken out at my age and described it as a bad sore throat but a lot of pain in her ears. I wish I wouldn't have read so much about them now I am getting a worst case scenario in my head. Just hoping for the best.