Naturally Fit from the Inside Out : Pain & sickness

Yesterday was quite an experience in our household. It was definitely not an ordinary day.

Emily had diarrhea all day long and vomited twice. She's never had the stomach flu before and Ethan never had it as a baby, so I didn't know what to expect. She had both the seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccines, so I thought it could have been an allergic reaction to egg yolks, considering it's the most recent food she's been introduced to.

Shortly after Emily vomited, Ethan decided to climb and stand on top of his Little Tikes police car (*see note). He fell off and landed head first onto the kitchen tile. When I picked him up I immediately noticed a "goose egg" on his forehead and swollen eyelid. Ryan immediately came home from work and confirmed that he was OK and didn't need to go to Urgent Care. Since he was raised with two brothers, he said there will be more falls and black eyes to come. It's not exactly what I wanted to hear. It's sad, but most likely true. Anyway, we finally convinced Ethan to ice his "boo-boos" and had him sleep in our bed, so we could keep an eye on him during the night.

Ethan woke up happy with one very sad looking black eye. As you can tell by looking at the 3rd - 5th pictures below, his face looked much worse today then last night. Emily skipped solid food for dinner and nursed herself to sleep. She slept through the night, but woke up with explosive diarrhea (sorry, that was probably TMI). I was able to get Emily in to see her pediatrician today and was told she has a virus. She has to be on a liquid diet - breastfeeding and drinking small amounts of Pedialyte for the next 24 hours. For the next 72 hours after that, she can only eat plain white rice and applesauce. If all goes well, I can resume her normal diet in approximately four days.

When my kids occasionally experience pain or get sick, I have NO reason to complain. My heart goes out to the kids who suffer on a daily basis, as well as some of their families. I thank God daily for good health and safety.

*Note: Ethan didn't have an interest in climbing until he was almost 2 years old. Now, that's all he wants to do. I know that's what boys like to do, but I don't like it one bit!