"Fwo-Up" Buckets

Bug with her fwo-up bucket

The stomach came and did its damage in 5 days. It hit all 5 of us and I.am.done.  Ugh!  The baby and I got it first. I think he might have been the carrier and if he was then he picked it up in childcare. I'm sure he was sucking on some toy from some other kid who was carrying the virus. Ugh, ugh, ugh!  Childcare in the gym in pretty good and they try to disinfect everything, but it's hard.

I had it on Thursday and by Saturday I was probably at 80% and feeling 100% by Sunday.  The baby was at 90% on Sunday and is 100% today. Thank goodness!  He's had issues with weight gain and I was really worried when he didn't want to eat for a few days. Fortunately, I am still nursing and that was enough for him while he was sick.  He's back to eating solids and I'm really happy about that.

However, my poor Boogie woke up around 4am and started throwing up. I heard him run to the bathroom. Then he started crying and yelling, "Help, help!" Of course I was nursing the baby and Hubby got up to take care of him.  He gave him a "fwo-up" bucket (a wash basin) and Boogs put it to good use over the next several hours. Poor guy. Every time he finished he would yell, "Help, help!" At one point Bugs woke up and saw him. "Daddy, Daddy, my Boogie is fwoing up, help him!"  She was distraught that her best friend was so sick. She was happy that she was able to share her fwo-up bucket with him.

That's right, my daughter has her own personal "fwo-up" bucket.  She got it when she had the stomach flu over a year ago.  She became so attached to it that she's kept it by her bedside for over a year. Yes, we did disinfect it many times over.  After numerous months, it finally made it's way to underneath her bed. I tried for months to return it to the basement with the other basins, but she'd always pull it back out. So underneath her bed it stays.

Boogie stayed in bed most of Sunday. He never stays in bed so he was definitely sick.  He got up for a little while in the afternoon, but after a dinner of dry toast, he went straight into bed forgoing a bath.  I'll remedy that today. He was so tired and sick he didn't want his usual bedtime story and just wanted to sleep.  Even though he hasn't thrown up since 8am yesterday, Hubby and I thought we should play it safe and keep him home from school today. Especially since he hasn't really eaten anything in 24 hours.  However, he is up fussing at his sister, listening to audio books, and now playing MarioKart on the Wii. I'd say he's better.

When Hubby came home from Church I went to the gym. By the time I came back I noticed Bug had a fwo-up bucket next to her. I looked at Hubby and he said, "Yup, she has one, now." She had thrown up while I was gone. I was only gone 1 1/2 hours.  I had stopped on the way home to pick up something from my parents. In that short time, she became sick.  Gross. But now, she had her own bucket and she carried it everywhere. It's like a pet!

By dinner time, Hubby looked at me and said, "I don't feel well." He had given the kids toast for dinner and skipped dinner. After Bug's bath she emptied the contents of her stomach in her fwo-up bucket and we had to change her into another set of clean pajamas.

By the time we had gotten both kids into bed, Hubby went straight to bed himself. By that time all 3 of them had "fwo-up" buckets next to them.

My poor family. Five people down in 5 days. That's got to be some type of record. Fortunately, this stomach bug is quick and the actual time being sick and gross is about 24 hours.  It takes another day to feel better and to have most if not all of your strength back.

Today, I will be spending my day doing laundry and disinfecting the house. Wish me luck! Even thought it's only 30 degrees outside, is it bad that I want open my windows? I really want to get rid of these germs!

Stay healthy!