Sick and Tired

Well, our household has pretty much been sick since . . . well . . . I don't even know when to say it started. I already mentioned we were all sick over Christmas. Then we had a couple weeks off, meaning healthy, in January. It is hard to say really when someone in the family hasn't been sick or had a lingering cough. I think it all started with the Prince going to preschool in September. Pretty much all Autumn I was sick. There were a couple weeks off here and there, but they were short lived. The Prince had a cough forever. We were all super sick over Thanksgiving when we went to Arizona. It took a while for me to get better. I can't even remember now who was and who wasn't sick before Christmas. Then after Christmas everyone but me came down with a wicked 24-hour stomach bug. Then we slowly recovered. And in mid-January the Prince started coughing again. On Jan. 29th, the Prince got a fever. Little V was struggling all weekend, but the Prince seemed fine. On Feb. 1st we had to cancel V's birthday party with the Canadians, (luckily, we had celebrated the night before with my family) because Captain F got another stomach bug. I thought it surely was what the kids had that weekend. Then things seemed like they were on the mend. But on Sunday, the Prince was lethargic and had a fever. We had to take him home early from church. Things deteriorated from there. Everyday that week I thought he would get better. The neighbor kids that were ill were on the mend by Tuesday. Finally, on Thursday night when the Prince hadn't eaten any food for two days and was still lethargic I called the pediatrician. I had to drive all over the Wasatch Front to get him to an open kidscare clinic before 10 pm, but we made it. He was diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia. Thank heavens it was bacterial and we could actually get medication to treat it. Once he got the antibiotic he recovered quickly, but, of course, V came down with a little cold a few days later. Luckily, it is on the mend and never developed into pneumonia. So, I think we have all actually started this week healthy. Let's hope it lasts.

Meanwhile, we moved V into a toddler bed about a month ago. So, our time asleep has significantly decreased. I wouldn't say she is doing great at staying in her bed. She climbs up the stairs to our room most nights, usually for a diaper change, and is much more difficult to get to sleep at night. We have got to get this under control. Also, the Prince has taken to coming into our room to sleep every night. Which brings me to the biggest problem, I already can't sleep very well because of my pregnancy. I am so uncomfortable because of the pressure on my hips when I sleep. If you didn't know, I have problems with my entire pelvic region and all the bones moving around in ways they shouldn't when I am pregnant, which is painful in general, and can be truly awful at times. I have learned to manage it pretty well through physical therapy, though. Still the nights are a problem. So, between my general pain and the kids getting up multiple times a night, I am not sleeping well. Of course, this isn't taking into account when they, or I, are sick, which is always as chronicled above. Consequently, even though I know I need to get them under control and staying in their beds, I have struggled to make it happen. It is hard to get up and take them back to bed, when the act of walking and carrying both hurt. Plus, and I am embarrassed to admit this, I have to climb into bed with them until they are asleep again. Remember, lying down hurts the most and it is worse in their beds because I don't have any of my pillows to help me. Then I have to get up again, and walk back to my bed. Somehow, I have to find the courage to conquer my kids sleep problems and endure my own. And then the baby comes . . .