Sunday, November 15, 2009

Floundering Father

"These are the times that try men's souls."

Ok, ok . Fair enough. Those are not my words. Thomas Paine, in fact, penned those words, in reference to struggles of a newly declared independent nation against the treachery of a dastardly and oppressive invader from foreign soil, right after the birth of our nation in late 1776.

I looked it up to refresh my memory, so I figure I am at least as smart as a 5th grader.

As for the quote, I find relevance in those words even to this day. Perhaps it's just that I am battling a rather dastardly and oppresive bug which is making me feel as if my throat was given the once over by an angry drunk with a belt sander. Or it could be that we are going through some fairly substantial life changes here at Casa de LIAYF resulting in late nights, long weekends, no down-time, and plenty of Thanksgiving sized helpings of mental stress being served up over said change.

However, as the Black Knight would say "That? That's just a flesh wound!"

No what really got to me today (aside from the rude, middle aged grocery checker ironically enough named Darwin) was witnessing Lukas go from his shiny, happy normal self to sick little boy in a matter of minutes.

He had mentioned his stomach hurt a couple of times earlier in the day, but then went about business as usual laughing, smiling and being his goofy self. Then it was "Mommy, pick me up!" And as he ran for her he inexplicably veered off in a near perfect 90 degree angle towards me, arms still outstretched. I obliged and picked him up only to be immediately rewarded with a projectile vomit shower. It appears that 1 out of 1 kid in this house prefers to puke on daddy, at least the first time. Mrs. LIAYF was christened three times this evening after the initial incident.
The poor little guy didn't stop until he was all emptied out and asking to be put to bed, which, after calling the consulting nurse and also verifying his fever was not too high, we did.

In his 28 months this was the very first such vomiting episode for our son. I think that after a good nights sleep, he will be feeling much better. However, this was a tough thing to witness for this dad. You never like to see your kids sick, but this whole stomach flu thing is just disturbing in a whole NEW way for us.

No, I'm not a Founding Father. Just a father who has found another reason to worry.

17 comments:

Irrational Dad said...

Tyler had projectile vomiting last year (WHILE I WAS HOLDING HIM). I won't detail it here, because it still makes me queasy to think about, but it scares me because that was 6 month old baby puke... not 1+ year old toddler puke, which I'm sure is quite different.

My thoughts are with you during this difficult time.

SciFi Dad said...

Depending on your perspective, we were fortunate that our daughter has been a puker almost since birth as it meant that stomach flu episodes like the one you describe are things we are not only well-acquainted with, but now well-prepared for as well. (Tell me, do YOU keep a pile of old towels and a bucket in your child's closet?)

Ed said...

Points for the Grail reference.

Sympathy for the puke. The only thing worse than a kid puking--is five kids puking! Hope it gets better soon.

ericdbolton said...

Hope he feels better real soon. And you as well..

Anonymous said...

There is nothing worse than standing there feeling helpless while your kid vomits to seemingly no end. Hopefully this will pass for him soon, and that you get better quickly too.

korin said...

vomiting babies and toddlers are just so sad :( they have NO idea why they are barfing and its just pitiful. I hope he's on the mend and that neither of you get it!

Being us... said...

This has only happened once in our house, but I hear ya on the sad part! I hope you all feel better!

Kori said...

It is hard when they are so little....but if he is anything like Owen, he will find it extremely hilarious later-one time O. got the pukes, and I was picking him up to take him out of my bed and he spewed all over the closet and down my back and well...it just snowballed from there. So now he will say on occasion,"Remember that time I puked on the floor? And in your bed? And on the door? And then in a pan?" and laugh hysterically.

Sending you good thoughts for a quick recovery.

john cave osborne said...

nothing says i love you daddy like a torrid, warm current of projectile vomit to the face.

with four kids under the age of 8 (three of them 26 months old), breaking our threshold is the viral equivalent of russian roulette, so believe me when i tell you i feel your pain.

hope you guys get to feeling better soon.

WeaselMomma said...

I hope he feels better soon and try not to waste too much worry on this, you will have plenty to use the worry on as he gets bigger.

Mrs. M said...

Oh, I'm sorry he is sick. Hope he is feeling better soon - it is so hard to watch our kids suffer!

Lady Mama said...

Oh no! That is rotten. Poor little guy. Our toddler had the stomach flu last year and did the whole projectile vomiting thing repeatedly. Not pleasant, I know. But you know what? Toddlers bounce back really well and I'm sure he'll back to his old bright, bouncy self soon.

James (SeattleDad) said...

@Joe Thanks man, it was no fun to witness. He is doing a bit better today.

@Scifi - Yes, we are fortunate not to have to go through this often at all. That must really be tough.

@Ed - Gotta get a Grail reference in when ever possbile. 5 at the same time? That would be, uh, difficult...

@Bolton - Thanks. He is feeling better. Me? Not really.

@PJ - Yes, that is the worst feeling. Knowing you can't make it go away for them.

@korin - Yes, very sad indeed. Thankfully, no more puking today.

@Being Us - Yeah, this was the first time for Lukas as well. Not sure if that is normal, or if we have so far been lucky in that regard.

@Kori - You are spot on. He wanted to talk about it today, although he didn't laugh too much at the thought.

@John - Thanks! And you have triplets??? Wow, you just earned my deepest respect!

@Weasel Momma - With a new day, brings new perspective. Thanks.

@Mighty M - Thanks. At least one of us is feeling better today.

James (SeattleDad) said...

@Lady Mamma - Just missed you. Yes, he is feeling much better today, but still has a borderline fever. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Surfer Jay said...

NIIIIICE! Same thing happened to me a month ago. And he was puking for a week. You haven't really lived untill you've been puked on.

Creative-Type Dad said...

Poor little guy.
I remember my first projectile when my daughter was around 2. I didn't really think much of it at the time just because the thought of her being sick was heartbreaking.

Steve @ MyBoys3 said...

knock on wood it's been a while since I've been puked on. Hopefully that streak will continue!