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Starting 2018 With a Splat
We are already missing 2017 after a week like this one. Things were going pretty well to finish off the year – the kids were getting along alright, we got all of the Christmas decorations down, and we had time before school started. It was misleading.
Monday night, we put Merritt to bed like usual, and he fussed a little, like usual. The second or third time we went in to try to settle him, we found him covered in vomit. I worked on cleaning him up while Kira got his bed fixed up. We’d hoped that he had just gagged on some phlegm from his lingering stuffy nose. He was clearly exhausted, so we laid him down again, but he was up in another few minutes, expelling the contents of his stomach again. He then did it again as we were cleaning up. We again cleaned him and his bed, and I sat with him in a chair, with a bucket in hand, until we were sure he was through it. After he’d gone an hour with no more problems, fast asleep in my arms, we laid him down, dreading a long and weary night ahead.
Fortunately for us all, he made it through the night without further incident. He kept food down in the morning, and his appetite slowly came back to normal. He never showed other symptoms of other issues, so we wondered if it were just a bug.
Thursday night, however, he awoke from a dead sleep, vomiting violently all over himself again. It was strange that it should happen so many days apart, but we can’t think of anything out-of-the-ordinary that he’s ingested (of which we know, anyway). No one else has shown any symptoms yet, so who knows what’s up? Since that last time on Thursday, he’s had no other incidents so maybe he’s finally over it.
While the two older kids are waiting for school to start back up, they’ve been stuck inside for the frigid cold we’ve had. It’s been hovering at or just above zero degrees for so long that we’re beginning to feel that winter and misery are mutually inclusive. Luckily, except for a few fights and arguments, the kids have gotten along relatively well. The older boys have been on a bizarre-but-welcome kick of tidying up the house. They’ve made our bed, cleaned up the front room, their own room, and even helped tackle Avey’s designated disaster area (her room) for a good 30 minutes. Our house probably hasn’t been this cleaned up since we moved in!
School starts back up on Monday for the kids, bringing mixed emotions. I’m spending my week finalizing things for the first few weeks of the semester, but things ought to be just fine. Famous last words, I know.