Saturday I hit our library's drive thru to return some books and pick up new ones. That meant several of my children were entertained for hours with new books. In this haul were Star Wars and Star Trek drawing books and some large beautiful books called Botanicum and Animalium. Beyond that is was a quiet day with many sick kids still, some on the mend a bit while others are reaching the worst stages.
A sweet surprise - this afternoon one of my nephews knocked on our door. His mom had sent him over with two roast chickens and some rolls from Costco for us. I steamed some broccoli and we were set for dinner.
Sunday we stayed home from church. The whole family. That rarely happens but we were sure that no one would want us to share our germs. I got the day off to a great start by using some of the leftover chicken in the crock pot for chicken noodle soup. Then we did a bath and bandage change for Mason.
If you remember, he had a cast for a month post-op. The cast caused a pressure sore/open wound. We've been working with Medi Honey dressings for the last week and two days. Every other day we change the bandage. While the cost of the bandages was a concern I will be honest, things are healing and that makes them worth every penny. He probably still has more than a month, maybe several months, before it will heal completely. But it is looking better and that is nothing short of a miracle with someone who has nerve damage like Mason does because of his Spina Bifida.
The whole day was family time, tending to those still very sick, trying to keep those starting to feel better from being too active so their coughing didn't spill over into throwing up, and just keeping everyone content.
Monday I got in to the dentist to check on some problems I'm having with work done 3 weeks ago. Turns out one tooth's root is dying, hence the pain and misery. Because of insurance they can't work on the tooth the same day they diagnose, so I'll go back in tomorrow for an extraction. In the afternoon I ran to the store to pick up a few things like drain cleaner, fresh veggies, and bread.
Tuesday started with that tooth extraction. Now to get that healed up so I start feeling better - since pregnancy and pain killers don't mix. There is very little I can take at this stage in pregnancy (basically Tylenol). I also had a prenatal checkup, nonstress test, ultrasound, etc. I blogged about it here.
The rest of the day was spent at home trying to take care of the houseful of sick kids. All are definitely recovering to some degree. The problem is that as with any illness with coughing the cough hangs on for weeks. I'm up to my ears in hacking children and congestion. When several kids are asthmatic it is a bit stressful to monitor when the coughing moves from normal to breathing trouble.
Dinner was tacos because the kids love it when we do Taco Tuesday. I ate oatmeal instead as chewing a taco was really uncomfortable. (Don't feel sorry for me though, it was gingerbread and chocolate oatmeal. Yum!)
Wednesday was just home life. Quiet and rest, a few nappers, and then meatloaf and potatoes for dinner. The oldest 5 had their usual activities (youth group for 3 and Cub Scouts for 2 - the Pinewood Derby). I stayed home with the younger 4 boys because a wonderful couple was willing to take charge of the Pinewood Derby for me, knowing I should have had a baby by today.
Thursday and Friday were more of the same. Quiet recovery time at home for a houseful of sick kids who are definitely on the road to recovery but easily plunged back into coughing with too much activity. Kids are getting stir crazy so we made sure to pull out things like water beads, science and nature bins, and a movie or two. I had another non stress test and pregnancy checkup which I blogged about here.
Wow! Thank goodness Rebekah is hanging tight for the moment. Praying that everyone gets better in record time. I am so sorry about your tooth. What a hard thing to get through late in pregnancy.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Dawn
Bless your heart, having a house full of sick kids and an extraction to deal with. I'm so glad Mason is healing well. Looking forward to that "She's here!" post. Praying all goes quickly and smoothly from here on out.
ReplyDeleteGood luck for your upcoming delivery. Looking forward to meeting your new daughter - but obviously not as much as you will be.
ReplyDeleteHoping everyone is well recovered by this time and that Miss Rebekah has already made her appearance . . . but I'm not really holding my breath any more. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm very grateful for the miracle of Mason's healing pressure sore!
You may be all better now, and I hope you are, but I thought I would tell you a couple of things that have really improved the health of my family. At the slightest indication of a runny nose, I give high doses of vitamin c for 48 hours or more if needed. Since I have been doing this no one has developed a cough, it seems to cure runny noses in 48 hours or less, and it cures seasonal and pet allergies. A moderate dose is 350mg per kg of weight a day. I have found that about 6000mg for an adult and 1000mg for a child does the trick quite nicely. Sodium Ascorbate is the better form of vitamin c, but when our budget is tight as it often is, the cheap ascorbic acid works well too. I really feel like it has been a magical cure. We only started doing this in October when we moved out to the country in October and my husband started having bad allergies again. We've needed it twice for runny noses-- this last week, and the last week in October. For me, I think I am no longer allergic to cats. I have been surprised that I can actually hold a cat now without getting itchy, watery eyes.
ReplyDeleteSince we have been doing the vitamin c protocol, I have not had a need for these others things, but I found that they helped much better than over the counter medications for cough and congestion.
Hot water with honey and lemon as a drink seems to relieve a cough for about 4 hours. The hot water is soothing and the drink tastes good, so my kids love it. Plus, there is no dosage. Kids can have as much of it as they want.
Pineapple juice, because of the natural acid, relieves coughs. Fresh pineapple helps as well.
I also make my own chest rub. I use 1/2Cup coconut oil, 6 drops of eucalyptus essential oil, 6 drops of lavender essential oil, and 3 drops of peppermint essential oil. It works very well. I've been doing this for over 2 years now and we have not had any troubles with croup since then. Also, since we live on a tight budget, I use Rhada essential oils that I buy from amazon. They are not as good as DoTerra and some others, but they work. Sometimes, I need to use just a little more than I do of the more expensive ones.
Anyway, I actually hope this finds you feeling much better and ready for your beautiful baby to come.