A Christmas {NOT} to Remember

When you think about your baby's first Christmas, you think excitement and fun and magic in the air.  A very special time that you never want to forget.  That's what I thought anyway.

Until I woke up at 6am on Christmas morning and had to run to the bathroom to throw up.  And then continued to throw up all morning long.  And otherwise, never set foot out of the bed and/or bedroom at the in-law's.

That's right, I missed the entire Christmas day.  Felt like absolute hell and wanted to do nothing but sleep so to not feel anything.

So...I didn't get to join in on the holiday festivities.

Didn't get to smile and laugh with my little family on B's first Christmas.

Didn't get to eat all the yummy food and goodies.

Didn't get to see Brantley in his adorable Christmas day outfit.  (Which he didn't even wear.  That's what happens when Dad's in charge.  And I couldn't care less, to be honest.)

Didn't get to open my presents.  Or watch Brantley open his.

Didn't get to take an obsessive amount of photos like the mamarazzi I am.

Didn't get to make the memories I had hoped.

Ugh.  It. was. miserable.

Everyone {apparently} kept saying, 24 hours and you'll be back to normal.  Well, on December 26, I got up and tried my darnedest to feel well.  But it was apparent that wasn't happening.  I had zero appetite, zero energy, and still, all I wanted to do was lie down.

We made the miserable 2 1/2 hour drive back to Kansas City (from Wichita).  I tried to sleep but it's difficult when I can't lay back my seat due to a carseat in the way.  But I agreed with the hubs that if we we're lying around sick, we might as well be in our own home.

Well, that was a mistake.  Because the following day, I woke up still feeling miserable and so did Craig!  You know how hard it is to take care of a baby when you feel that way?  Pretty darn hard.  I thought to myself many times, "How in the world do single moms do it?"  I felt so sorry for Brantley.  He was playing on his own as much as he could, but has a pretty small attention span.  Neither of us wanted to feed him, hold him, or pretty much have any responsibility with him.

To make matters worse, he had been sick since the 23rd (coughing, runny rose, not eating well, more fussy than normal) and we knew we needed to take him to the pediatrician.  We mustered up the energy to go...I'm not sure I ever looked so horrible in public in my life.  And again, couldn't have cared less.  We both made the car ride to the pediatrician's office, but Craig stayed in the car because he was feeling so terribly. 

We saw a nurse practitioner at our walk-in clinic.  Brantley's oxygen level was a little low and his wheezing was a bit concerning.  The APRN suspected RSV, but the test came back negative.  He was diagnosed with bronchiolitis and an ear infection (second in three weeks) and was prescribed an antibiotic and nebulizer breathing treatment.  He took his first breathing treatment at the clinic, at which point I had to call Craig and tell him I needed help inside.  Brantley hated it (and still does), to say the least, and it took two to hold him down and keep the mask on.  Poor guy.

Of course, the clinic had to bill our insurance for the nebulizer machine and teach us how to use it.  Which took time.  All the while, Craig and I wanted to do nothing but lay down and/or leave.

We left the pediatrician's office and Craig drove straight to Urgent Care.  After a 3+ hour wait, he was diagnosed with bronchitis and put on three different meds, as well.

I was still feeling like crap, so Craig's mom offered to come to Kansas City to help take care of Brantley.  Ohmygoodness, that was amazing.  She made soup, let us go to bed early, and took care of Brantley's morning feeding.  (But of course, he slept in later than ever, literally!)  It was a tremendous help and finally, by Friday morning, three days later, I felt as if I could function normally.  Still very congested, but able to get up, move around, clean, and take care of Brantley.  All the normal daily tasks.

Craig is improving slowly, though last night at bedtime, he had a fever.  Brantley's cough seems to be lessening, but fights the three daily nebulizer treatments to no end.

So say it's been a good few days for the Sides clan would be a overstatment.  Of course, I'm appreciative of celebrating the entire holiday season, but not gonna lie, extremely bummed to have missed out on B's first actual Christmas.

I did join in on Christmas Eve festivities with the in-laws, though was beginning to feel quite sick.

Here are some pictures to remember Brantley's first Christmas {Eve}.  Not nearly as many as if I was well, but better some than nothing!







And a few more pictures from the weekend before Christmas.  (Me practicing manual mode on my camera. :) )











3 comments:

  1. Oh man, What a Christmas! I remember the first time being (really) sick after Zay was born...miserable! Thank goodness for grandmas! Hope you all feel better soon!

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  2. Sounds like you had a hectic Christmas!! But you did get some super cute photos of the little one :)

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  3. I'm spending my day on Pinterest and blogs while still trying to make myself feel better, so I'll be waiting for your end-of-year update. :) Love the term "mamarazzi"!

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