Cold Season

My sweet little boy is sick... he has a yucky cold. He has a runny nose and is coughing like crazy! Yesterday we found out that strep was going around our ward. We also had a pretty rough night with Braxton waking himself up coughing every couple of hours.... so today we took him into the doctor just to make sure he only had an annoying cold and nothing more serious.

The doctor looked at Braxton's ears and throat and I'm sure that he was thinking "she's a first time parent, just go through the motions..." He said his ears were clear and that his throat looked pink and sore. So he ordered a strep test, just to be safe. Well, the nurse came in - and while I held Braxton down, she swabbed his throat and promptly left.

Braxton was pretty upset about being held down and poked at. He started coughing and then gagging... and then he threw up - on himself and me and the floor. Great... And then he threw up again... so I hauled him over to the sink, where he threw up again.

If there is one thing I cannot handle it is throw up! I have done fairly well with Braxton's puke before... but it only gets yuckier as they get older!

I look at the mess. There is puke from one side of the room to the other. A nice little trail from the bench to the sink. John had to go back to work, and so had just left right before the nurse came in - which means it's up to me to clean it up! Luckily it was mostly clear mucus, but there were a few chunks from lunch.

I had to take off Braxton's sweater and undershirt, because it was on the front of him, and he somehow managed to get it down his sleeve (how does this happen?). He also managed to get it on his right shoe, my pants and the cuff of my sweater.

Right after I finished cleaning it up, the nurse comes back in to tell me Braxton doesn't have strep. What a relief - sort of. If he did have something more serious, at least he would get antibiotics to help him get better faster. This means I have to just wait it out... which means, many long, sleepless nights for me. The one bonus is that Braxton only wants his mommy when he is sick, and loves to snuggle me... I can definately go for that! :)

The nurse then sees Braxton in just his pants, and I'm sure she could smell it, but she politely says "Uh-oh, did he throw up?"
Me: "Yes, and I cleaned it up as best I could, but you will probably want to sanitize the sink and the floor. I'm so sorry!"
Nurse: "Actually it's pretty common for kids to do that. Thank you for telling me though - I often get a surprise... lots of people usually just leave the mess for me to find."

I'm thinking 1) Why didn't you mention that he could throw up? I would have held him over the sink! and 2) Really? People just leave the mess? How trashy and what horrible manners!

Braxton had to leave the Dr.'s office with just his jacket and pants. Good thing it wasn't as freezing cold as it normally is! I got to leave with wet spots on my pants and sweater and with the distinct smell of throw-up trailing behind....