Part 2 of the bad bank holiday weekend story!
After coming home from hospital Saturday night, thankfully hubby and I managed to get a decent night’s sleep. Sunday afternoon we had planned to have Monkey’s 2nd birthday party. As what I had been so poorly with didn’t appear to be contagious and, though I was very tired, I was feeling a lot better so we decided to go ahead as planned. We did have chats with some of the family and Monkey’s Great Grandpa decided not to risk it in case he did get poorly, but everyone else wanted to come along and celebrate the little man’s birthday, and I certainly didn’t want my being ill to put a stop to the fun!
Everything was fine throughout the day and hubby’s bro came round to give us a hand with jobs and entertaining Monkey as I was still not a lot of use to man or beast! We popped to the shops to buy a birthday cake as we hadn’t been able to make one, and Monkey desperately wanted the Peppa Pig cake and insisted on carrying it all round the shops, back to the car, and in the car on the way home! Miraculously it survived! (Sadly I didn’t get a pic of this – a clear sign I was not well and wasn’t thinking clearly lol!)
Monkey had his nap and then the family started arriving and Monkey woke around 4, which was when we had planned to start everything. It all started off really well and Monkey was thoroughly enjoying opening his presents and having his family round.
Then, about half an hour in, things went pear shaped 🙁 …
Monkey threw up everywhere, the poor thing, and we were immediately concerned but tried to be optimistic. “He’s just over-excited” was said numerous times, albeit with frowns and doubting looks! He opened a few more presents and then threw up again, and again. There was no escaping it now, Monkey had caught whatever bug I had. Our wonderful lovely family were so great at helping tidy things away and even clearing up the puke while hubs and I looked after our little man, but we made it clear, particularly to older and more vulnerable members that they should get outta there as soon as they wanted as we really didn’t want anyone else to catch it!
What followed was our little man being really poorly and throwing up a lot over the course of the evening, but you know what? He was such a darling. He coped so well with it all and we were so proud of him as he just acted so maturely for a just turned 2 year old.
He basically wanted to be in bed, on his own. When he was throwing up or crying, of course we were there, to cuddle, clean up, change sheets and clothes, rub his back and soothe him as much as possible. But basically as soon as he had finished, and often before we had finished cleaning floors etc, he would snuggle down in bed and wave goodbye,as if to say “It’s ok Mum & Dad I want to sleep now.” One time I lingered briefly in the doorway after he’d waved me away, because honestly I didn’t want to leave my poorly boy alone. I wanted to hold him and let him sleep on me. But he lifted his head, frowned and waved at me again, like “seriously, leave me alone, mum.” Honestly he melted my heart.
Another time hubby and I were knelt at the side of his bed and he was looking up at us with his gorgeous puppy dog eyes and Daddy said “Are you ok Monkey?” Monkey shrugged his shoulders, held his hands out to either side, and said in his gorgeous way one of the few phrases he knows “I don’t know.” Then he snuggled back down and again when we hadn’t left immediately, lifted his hand and waved us away.
Sadly a few hours later hubby also succumbed to the bug and was terribly, terribly poorly. My worst point of the night was soothing a poorly little man upstairs, with puke in my ear and hair, and all down my back, while listening to hubby throwing up downstairs. Really not a very good point of the weekend, and honestly with still not feeling 100% myself, being surrounded by all that vomit was not very fun.
We survived however, as you do, with numerous loads of laundry.Thankfully ages ago we bought a spare version of Monkey’s favourite blanket and managed to keep the two blankets in rotation between wash cycles. We only have one doggy bear unfortunately (Monkey’s favourite comforter, so named because we have no idea if it is supposed to be a dog or bear!) as it was a gift and we have never been able to find it to buy a spare. Thankfully he survived the night with some damp cloths and got a good wash in the morning! If anyone has seen this dog/bear/comforter toy anywhere, please let me know so we can buy an emergency replacement for the future!
Monkey slept through from around 11pm (thank goodness) and hubby managed to sleep from about 2.30am. Around 6 am I heard Monkey knocking around and so went to give him a little water. Again, as soon as he had his drink, he gave me a wave and snuggled back down again to get some more sleep, and slept in til around 9am (VERY late for him).
Amazingly he was full of beans yesterday (Monday), and had far more energy than hubby or I, so he managed to open his remaining presents and have a good play, though a lot of Peppa Pig was watched!
Opening presents in his jammies
Poorly boys watching TV
Unfortunately though he had a poorly tummy Monday night and was not himself Tuesday morning. He threw up again and then slept a large portion of the day away, though he did later perk up (in between naps) and have a good play and a munch on some dry crackers. He was much happier after a second long nap in the afternoon and ate some soup for tea, so fingers crossed he really is through the worst this time! Hubby is also doing a lot better today thankfully though he and I are both still pretty exhausted from the whole weekend! As I type though i can hear lots of post bath time fun and singing of row, row the boat so I am confident both my boys are on the mend, if a little skinnier than a few days ago!
We are just amazed by how well Monkey coped throughout the whole thing. Obviously he cried a lot and was very upset when he was being sick etc. and obviously we would have been there to cuddle, rock and soothe all through the night if he had wanted or needed us. But he didn’t. He wanted his bed and his favourite things, and to be alone. Even today (Tuesday), he has made it clear when he wanted to go back to bed and just be on his own and it has felt so strange being without him through the day. But, I guess when you scale it up to adulthood, it’s what we want to do. To just rest and be on your own. To have a bit of a moan and receive some comfort, but then go and get some more sleep again.
So it may seem like a strange post to link up to Small Steps, Amazing Achievements, and Loud & Proud, but we are so so proud of him and can’t believe how quickly our little monkey is growing up!
N.B. We still have the Peppa Pig cake, it never made it out of the box – so as soon as the illness is well and truly gone our brave little monkey will get a lovely treat!
Oh, and thankfully, at the time of writing, none of our family have caught the nasty bug so fingers crossed none of them will either!
Aww! Bless him! He sounded like he coped so well being sick! What a hero….Hope you are all feeling back to normal soon xxx
Hero is so the right word for him, he coped amazingly Thank you, all on the mend, just need to get us all eating normally again to get our strength back! xx
Wow that just sounds so contagious Caroline!! How horrible that it had to happen on his birthday weekend but he was such a brave boy! In all honesty I think JJ was a bit like that – EJ hasn’t really had a vomiting bug so I can’t say in his case. We’re not attachment parents though, we believe that a little bit of detachment is necessary to teach about self-sufficiency and self-soothing etc (not to say that we aren’t there for cuddles and to wipe tears away when necessary but just as an overall pattern) and I think that maybe this helped – or maybe it really is just a case – as you say, of children doing what comes naturally and wanting to be left alone to sleep it off. Either way I’m glad you are all coming out the other side of this unpleasant virus. X
Yeah it was horrible and you can’t help feeling guilty for passing it on! He did so well and I think you’re right, we very early on made the same decision, for our own sanity as much as anything.I don’t have anything against attachment parenting, but it’s not for us, and I really do think the self-sufficiency was very much in evidence this weekend! He did so well though bless him and I am so glad the whole thing is nearly over! xx
Oh no! Sorry to read you’ve all been so ill, must have been a horrible couple of days for you all! Glad you are all on the mend now x
Thanks Lisa it has been pretty awful, thankfully all doing a lot better now though! xx
Oh no! These bugs do tend to do the rounds, the last one in this house got three out of the five of us. I always find the kids bounce back far faster than we do though 🙂 So glad everyone is on the mend x
Oh they do, goodness it’s horrible isn’t it but you are absolutely right, definitely gets harder to recover as you get older! xx
Sorry to hear you guys have been unwell and am glad Monkey bounced back and that you are feeling better too. These bugs are terrible, we have had one this weekend, hubby was struck down badly and 4 days on is still shattered, luckily the girls just got the bottom end and not sickness but they are really tired and crabby still. I so far have managed to avoid it myself thankfully. I hope Monkey enjoys his cake and his presents too. x
Oh gosh you poor things too, I hope you continue to avoid it but it really is rough isn’t it, poor things! Thank you, we are definitely all on the mend now thankfully! xx
Aww poor little man. It is horrible to be so sick especially on your birthday. Sickness bugs are extra rough. I remember getting sick with a sickness bug when Eli was only a couple of months. It was terrible I could barely take care of him.
I am glad he is able to appreciate his presents now he is feeling a bit better and I am sure he ill love his Peppa Pig cake when he is well enough to eat it 🙂
Thank you, he has been pretty rough though he is definitely doing better. Bless you that sounds awful! xx
Oh what a brave boy! Always horrible seeing them so vulnerable xx #sharewithme
Thanks Lucy, it’s awful isn’t it, you just want to be able to make it all better, and sometimes you just can’t! He coped so well though xx
Aww bless him, such a brave little guy. I wish I was that brave when I’m poorly!! X
Thank you, I know, me too! xx
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Oh NO!!!! You poor guys. I really hope you’re all feeling better now. Bless Monkeys – he’s such a dude. I wish I lived nearer so I could offer to do your laundry for you – it’s always a horrble job when you’re feeling poorly. #sharewithme
Ah you are lovely, what a thoughtful thing to say! It wasn’t hugely fun but we are just about caught up now and thankfully all feeling a lot better! Moneky really did cope so well! xx
That’s a memorable birthday party for sure! Glad everyone is on the mend! #sharewithme
Yep, for all the wrong reasons unfortunately! Thank you xx
Oh no what an ordeal. Bless you hunny. That really is not good. We had that a few months back where one by one it took us all down. I remember the same just changed all Buba’s sheets and put him down as I heard Mr P vomiting in one bathroom as I ran to another to join in. It was awful and took days for us adults to recoup but Buba was bouncing right the next day. Oh to be young! Sorry his 2nd birthday turned into a memorable one in a different way. lol Bless you all! Hope you all are feeling better good to hear no other family caught it. It is nasty to get. Lovely post though. I love reading your posts they always suck me in and leave me wanting to read more. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me. #sharewithme
Aww thank you Jenny that’s a lovely thing to say and I’m glad you enjoy reading them, you now have a lot to read in your linky! Sounds like you guys had a horrible time of it too, nasty nasty bug to get! Kids do deal with it and bounce back so much better than we do, don’t they? xx
Awww… Sounds like he was a very brave little man! Glad it’s all over! #loudandproud
Thanks Claire, he did so well but we are very very relieved it is all over! xx
Bless. Glad Monkey’s illness didn’t spoil the enjoyment of his presents. Kids are so sweet when they’re ill, and never fail to surprise me with how resilient they can be too.
You’re so right and they are incredible and ever so sweet! Thankfully all on the mend now 🙂 xx
Bless, what a little trooper.
Thank you, he really was! xx
I’m sorry to hear that your son got sick, but as you said, I’m glad he coped so well. What a trooper!
He was such a trooper, and thankfully all on the mend now 🙂 xx
What a brave little man, and so independent. He clearly knows what he needs when he is feeling poorly. My eldest has always been a bit like this – when he was 3 months old he sleep trained himself, and cried in bed until we left the room and shut the door and finally left him alone. 🙂
Aww bless him that’s so cute! Some kiddies just do like their independence I think! xx
Oh my goodness you have been through the mill! It’s rotten to be so poorly but I am glad you are all bouncing back and were able to open the presents! Hope you are all fully recovered now, and looking forward to reading more of your lovely blog. xxx #ssamazingachievements
Thank you, it was pretty rough but thankfully we are on the other side now! xx
My son is poorly as well but we need to go to the dentist as its hard to get an appointment. I thought that I am going to control a tantrum but he was very mature un there following the dentist’s orders. Sometimes he blows me away like your little monkey how he handles things in a very very unexpected way. Hope you all feel better soon =) #loudnproud
Aww sorry your little man is poorly – it’s amazing how they cope sometimes isn’t it! xx
I’m so sorry Monkey was ill for his birthday party but he really did handle it well. I’m impressed with how he sent you away so he could recover. I don’t like to be on my own when ill but I don’t want anyone near me either ;0). I really hope everyone is better now, I all think you coped amazingly well.
Thanks for linking up with Small Steps Amazing Achievements :0)
x
Oh no not Monkey too – poor thing and on his birthday too. I hope the bugs stay away from your house now xx
Poor little boy being sick on his birthday! Hope you both feel better soon and get to enjoy the cake! #SSAmazingAchievements
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