Fevers and fussiness

Every day for over 2 weeks we’ve had at least one sick kid.  Not anything simple like sniffles, but energetic vomiting, explosive diarrhea, high fevers, coughing that keeps them up at night (thankfully, not all of those symptoms at the same time).  There was exactly one day (last Saturday) that both boys were well at the same time.  It was a nice day.

But we are well into our third week of “sick days”, meaning B doesn’t go to school and I have both boys home with me.  It means we don’t go out to the park, or out for a walk, or out to run errands.  It means that some of those days we’ve had doctor’s appointments, and most of those days I’ve evaluated many times throughout the day and night if we ought to be going to the ER (which is still a distinct possibility).

At this point, all signs indicate that Benjamin is nearly better.  His fever is low and intermittent — he’ll probably be back at school by the middle of the week.  That’s good, because he’s starting to go a little stir crazy.  He told me today that “being sick is boring” and that he can’t wait to see his friends from school and misses everyone (which, from B, is a significant statement on how tired he is of being home).

Liam’s still pretty sick.  His fever is high (little ones can get, and maintain, frighteningly high fevers) and we’re going through diapers at an alarming rate.  I’m trying to keep him hydrated, but it’s tough because he doesn’t really want to do much more than sleep.  My poor little guy — I think he’s really tired of being sick, too (although I’m not sure he would call it “boring” if his vocabulary was that advanced).

We spent most of last February housebound and sick, too.  I think it’s just the curse of having a child that attends school (or even just gymnastics class, which is where B picked up all of his illnesses last year) and then little Liam gets the benefit of his brother’s sharing.  My poor kids.  Being sick is no fun (boring or not).  They’re tired of being sick, and tired of being stuck in the house.  They’re both worn out and fussy and clingy and miserable.  I think we’re all ready to be better.