In sickness and health...

When I took my wedding vows 5.5 years ago to take D in marriage through sickness and in health I did not realize that we would not always be the ones getting sick and instead we would be holding each other up through our little one's illnesses.  I didn't realize that by promising him my support and love through sickness that I was also promising our future children that by loving their Daddy I was diving headfirst into a future of colds/fevers/late nights and runny noses.

School has started hasnt' it!?  Derrick called it and has reminded me of his 'call' a few times already.  The start of a new school year almost undoubtedly means colds.  I always smile while I roll my eyes reminding him that our kids aren't really in school and that they don't go to daycare but without fail they have proved him correct and once more, Daddy was right yet again.

Monday started a long week with Riley waking up sweaty, congested and crying with frustration over his inability to fall asleep due to fevers.  Daddy took to the couch with him and I listened to his whimpers from our bedroom.  I couldn't do it.  I had to be near my sick boy.  I traded spots with Daddy and listened to every moan and cough that came from our little guy.  At one point he was so tired and delirious he asked to watch a special movie and eat ice cream, it was 3:20 in the a.m. and he quickly (thankfully) fell back asleep within minutes breathing deeply with crackles in his chest.

It was a long night but I awoke just under an hour later ready for work and regretting leaving my boy behind.  He continued with his nightly routine of needing to sleep on the couch after a few hours of bed sleeping due to coughs and fevers and we switched on and off of who got up with him.  There was no anger, no regret, only love and support.  By Thursday he was starting to kick it and wouldn't you know that after an hour of sleeping for Lyssi Lu she woke up horribly congested, red-faced and hot like an iron.  I cradled her in my arms and we finished up Grey's together.  I put her back in her crib, mattress raised by a towel and prayed she would stay sleeping.  5.5 hours later she was still in my arms, Riley was on the couch with the last of a very loud cough and I had to call it quits and take a sick day.  It was a miserable night.  I hadn't done the all-nighter with my baby girl for months and this 28 hour stretch of awake took it's toll on me.  After a few hours of rest I woke up miserably sick with a horrible sore throat, body aches and a fever.  I was downright pissed.  Seriously, it is not bad enough that I have to listen to my sons throaty coughs all night, my daughters cries because she can't understand why she can't breathe while drinking a bottle or trying to put herself to sleep with a nuk that someone thought I should be put in their tiny shoes?  I drugged myself up, we picked each other up and we carried on.

I carried on with a wedding shoot on Saturday.  12 hours of on my feet, sweaty, hard work.  Missing my babies, their Daddy and my bed dearly.  Daddy carried on with 12 hours of sweaty, hard work caring for 2 sick babes.

I came home to a very tired Lyssi who just couldn't go to sleep.  D told me she was waiting for me and indeed she was.  I held her after being away all day and she melted in my arms and fell asleep instantly not waking until the next morn.

We looked at each other Sunday morning after a solid week of the serious sickies and we were thankful. Thankful that we had one another for support and help.  Thankful that we had another set of arms to pick up and carry the poor baby girl who in her sickness didn't want to be put down.  Thankful that we had each other.  Thankful that we had made it the whole week, intact, fighting our way out of the illness and looking forward to what would hopefully be a healthier week.

Indeed it has been better already.  Riley still has a few remnants from his sickness and Lyssi is still hanging onto a runny nose but she can breathe again without struggle and to just hold her, to just feed her without her having to pause every 2 seconds to breathe is heaven.  Baby girl is back to sleeping all night and the towel has been removed from beneath her crib mattress.

A few weeks ago Lyssa was up for no reason wide awake at 9:00.  We struggled with what was going on and prayed fervently that this was a fluke.  The next night when the clock struck 9:00 baby girl was up and wide awake.  We were frustrated.  We had tried a bottle the night before with no sleep to follow so when D suggested a bottle again I snapped at him and said something to the effect like "yes, because that worked wonders last night." He sighed and I seethed and it got us nowhere.  Somewhere between that first night and second we found ourselves again and carried on as a team.  Around midnight I tried throwing her blankets in the dryer and finally the warmness carried her to peaceful dreams and she never awoke like that again.  We finally fell into bed exhausted, said our "sorry's" and fell asleep.

It is in moments like this that I think of those vows we took, especially the ones about "in sickness and in health".  Nothing tests your patience and resolve like sick kids.  Granted our kids only had colds but it is not easy times 2.  It is during these small, miniscule, problematic long nights and longer days that I am proud to look over at my husband only to realize that we are living out our vows, hand in hand, heart in heart.  It gets me to thinking that we are so very fortunate to not be watching our children sleep in a hospital bed with a terminal illness, fighting for every tomorrow.  In my tiredness I pray for those families and hold my kids just a bit tighter.

There is no one with whom I would rather live out this life with, colds, flu's and all-more than my husband, our rock, my soul and the Daddy of my two most precious gifts in life.

In sickness and in health takes on whole new meaning when you are talking about your little hearts being ill.