'where have i been' wednesday.

Oh, y'all.  I'm sorry I haven't shown up here the last few days.  We've had sickness in the house.  And it has been rough.

I already mentioned Laurelai came down with a cough and a high fever a week and a half ago.  That was on a Saturday, and the fever lasted five days.  Rocco came down with it the following Tuesday, and his fever lasted five days.  On Thursday, Callista was hit.  Then, on Sunday afternoon, I was suddenly hit with a stomach bug and fever, which was thankfully short-lived, because Callista was awake all night long.

No, I stand corrected: She slept.  But only if she was being held upright in the Ergo.  Which meant I sat upright, wearing the Ergo, all night long.  I watched a lot of Netflix and read a book by the Duggars, who I really don't talk about enough.  (Except here.  And here.)  It was a long night, but God's grace was so present in it, moment by moment.

Even though her fever had broken by Monday morning, I made an appointment with the doctor.  Laurelai, Rocco and Callista were all still dealing with deep, wet, painful-sounding coughs.  Rocco was coughing so hard it was making him gag, and Callista was starting to develop a wheezing sound when breathing.

After a thorough once-over by the doctor, Laurelai was dubbed 'fine,' Rocco was dubbed 'wait and see' - if his cough doesn't start improving by the end of the week, they'll want to start him on an antibiotic.  And Callista was diagnosed with a double ear infection and bronchiolitis.  Poor sister.

So now she's on amoxicillin, which makes me nervous.  Of my kids, only Atticus and Penelope have ever taken antibiotics before.  (Atticus took them once for a double ear infection, and Penelope took them once for strep.)  Penelope ended up being allergic, so that led to an ER visit and whole-body hives and swelling that lasted for days.  Brutal.  So I'm praying that Callista is able to tolerate them okay, and that no one else in the house gets this bug!  (Todd is fighting hard against what seems to be his own run-in with it.)

I will say, there has been an upside to all of this.  The night spent cuddling Callista in the Ergo had its sweet moments.  And the next night she slept well, although she wanted to get up at an unusual time to eat - but it turned out she didn't actually want to nurse, she just wanted to cuddle up next to me and pat my shoulder until she fell back to sleep.  It was so sweet, and I'm grateful for those little silver linings to an otherwise rough stretch.

Whew.  It's only Wednesday.  Here's to a strong finish.  And also a strong middle that I also have to tackle before I even get to the finish. Wish me luck and naps.