Mummascribbles – Illness has struck the house – Mummascribbles

It’s been a bit of a crappy week so far, with illness flying round the house and somehow so far only me not catching it. It all started on Sunday morning. I knew, as soon as I saw Zach when he woke up that there was something wrong. He seemed a bit shivery, a bit shaky and even though he was full of beans, I could just tell there was something not right. I went downstairs thinking that he was following me and instead he sneaked into bed with his daddy. It was a few minutes later that I heard the other half saying to Zach that he thought he felt a bit hot. By the time Zach got downstairs, he was boiling and clearly had a temperature. We had plans to meet friends that day but when we were sat on the sofa, Zach laying across me watching Stick Man and I looked down to see that he was fast asleep, I knew those plans would not be taking place – at least not with us included. It was 9am. Zach doesn’t really nap anymore so for him to be fast asleep at 9am in the morning, he was not well.

From there on in he just deteriorated. Even though we gave him some medicine to bring his temperature down (which I then found out you aren’t actually supposed to do), he was lacking in energy the whole day, laid up on the sofa drifting in and out of sleep. I am not sure I have seen him that poorly since he was in hospital with bronchiolitis aged 8 weeks. He woke briefly and we tried to give him some dinner but he wasn’t interested and instead just lay on the sofa looking sullen, quickly falling back to sleep. The next time he briefly woke, we asked him if he wanted to go up to bed and he said yes, so off we went and he was asleep in within minutes. My poorly little bubba.

We had an awful night, being woken pretty much every hour by our feverish boy. At one point I went in and he was in a complete state, shivering and trembling and crying. I tried to calm him down but it didn’t work and in the end, called in the other half as I was worried I was going to have to take him to a walk in centre. Thankfully with us both there, he calmed down and dozed back off.  In his sleep he was twitching and I so didn’t want to leave him. The next time he woke, the other half brought him into our bed where I felt so much happier that he was next to me. When the alarm went off on Monday morning, we were bedraggled, zombie-like and getting ready for work. I was already due to work from home which was a godsend and the other half decided not to go in. Zach went off to his nannie’s feeling a little a bit better and with him being just up the road I was happy. We went to pick him up much earlier than normal when mum said he seemed to be getting a bit worse again. Off we went home, chilled out for a minute and put him to bed nice and early.

Tuesday morning came round and I was due back into the office. After another rubbish night sleep, Zach was now just a bit coughy and snotty and I decided to send him to nursery but worked from home again so that I was only a five minute drive away rather than an hour and a half train/car commute. The other half came back from the shower and he was shivery. He crawled back into bed and said he wasn’t going in. The germs had spread! It’s funny because on Monday night he felt cold and put his dressing gown on downstairs which he never ever does. The clue was there. Throughout the day he felt worse and I saw him a couple of times when he came down for a wee. He joined me on the sofa, tried to play some computer games when he thought he’d perked up a bit and was still downstairs when I got home with Zach. It wasn’t long though and he disappeared off upstairs with a full on fever. It was then time for me to get Zach bathed and in bed. That’s where it all went wrong (although I did manage to get snuggles!).

He didn’t want a bath (but needed one).

He didn’t want to get ready for bed (but needed to).

He didn’t want to brush his teeth.

Upon trying everything under the sun I gave up. I lost my rag a bit. I didn’t mean to but he was winding me up something rotten, I was really bloody tired and I was having to deal with it all on my own. I told him it was straight to lights out and that I was going downstairs (because I needed to breathe). I felt horrible and could hear him crying so I gave it a minute and went back up – I couldn’t have him fall asleep being sad. I went in and apologised and we had a big cuddle. It was at that point that his coughing really started and just as he was falling asleep, he vommed. It wasn’t the hugest amount but he managed to get it on his pyjama top, all of his bedding and my dressing gown. Gutted was an understatement. I stripped him and stripped the bed and took it all downstairs to wash…only we were out of bloody washing tablets!

I went back up with some medicine for him to try and curb the tickly throat and it worked. He fell asleep and stayed that way for the evening. It was at 1.30am that he woke up coughing again. I went in with him and crept out when I thought he was asleep but he wasn’t and I was soon back in there again. 2am came round, the coughing wouldn’t subside and guess what? He vommed again. Again, only a little bit but enough that I had to change half the bedding, although we’d already used the last clean sheet so there was nothing for him to sleep on other than his mattress. The other half came in at that point because Zach was crying, I was frantic and he couldn’t sleep anyway. We got Zach all sorted and then the other half said that he would stay with Zach and set up camp. I got him a duvet cover and his pillow and he laid on the floor next to Zach while I went back to bed. Zach wanted me at first but in the end was happy that daddy was there. I fell back to sleep, Zach fell back to sleep and somehow, the other half fell asleep too! When my alarm went off at 5.45 they were both still fast asleep.

This morning Zach was in an awful sleepy mood (as were we) but I had to go to work after two days working from home. The other half was still ill and incapable of looking after Zach so I had to take him to mum’s. He did not want to go. The other half had to wrestle him into the car and I had to drive with a sobbing child who was coughing and sniffling. As we drove away from the house, I cried. The thing is, I know he is fine at my mum’s – it’s like his second home. It still broke my heart though that all he wanted to do was stay at his own home, in the snug with his mummy and daddy. He of course calmed down after a while and then was talking to me (after many repetitions of go away mummy). When we got to mum’s, he was of course happy to see her, happy to be there. I still wanted to be with him though. Mum sent me a photo of him sleeping, laid on the sofa with her apparently feeling no better

Tomorrow, I have a big meeting. I have to go to work. If he isn’t well enough to go to nursery then the other half will be staying home with him where I want to be. I’ll be full of the guilty parent thoughts and wishing the hours away until I can give him a big cuddle. By the looks of him tonight, at home is exactly where he’ll be. 

***update***

I knew it was too good to be true. It waited a fair few days but I caught the dreaded flu!!