A Scary Story

What better way to start off the Halloween festivities than with a sick child? We were determined to do it “right” this year and Jacinta drew the short stick, so she got to usher in the fun by spending 24 hours vomiting. Thanks for taking one for the team, Jacinta.

It all started one dark and stormy night. Wait. It was actually a warm and sunny afternoon, because we live in Arizona. So one sunny Saturday afternoon we traipsed off to church to welcome our new niece and her very new little friend into the fold. The baptism ceremony was unique in that both girls shared the same first name, and the parents of each child were the godparents of the other. Just pause and think about it for a minute, it will make sense. It sounds like it could be the scenario for a strange nightmare – “And the couples walked in the church, only to find out that they had named their children the SAME NAME…dun dun DUN!” – but that’s not the scary part.

At the reception, my sister-in-law had just finished telling us of their adventures the night before with a recalcitrant water heater and the “handyman” who almost fixed it for them. Not wanting to be outdone in bad luck stories, I in turn shared our struggle with diaper rash last week, which included cleaning up pee underwear, poo underwear, poo crib, poo Jacinta and dog vomit. That last one had nothing to do with diaper rash, but it happened the same day. And just because Paul cleaned it up doesn’t mean it didn’t majorly gross me out. *shudder*

Possessing perfect timing, Jacinta chose that moment to open up and spew her lunch across the couch in true zombie fashion. I defy any undead being who calls themselves a zombie to top her perfect form. After the second time this happened, I decided to take her home.

We walked into the spooky old house…wait. It’s not that old, and not very spooky even with the spider webs I managed to drape over the chandelier. We walked into our house where several repeat performances induced me to call the nurse on call for our pediatrician. Since Jacinta didn’t have a fever or any other symptoms, we really just had to wait it out and try to get some fluids in her to keep dehydration at bay.

 

That proved a little difficult, as it was hard to resist feeding her when she was obviously hungry. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so excited for a dropperful of Pedialyte. But I learned the hard way that her little tummy just wasn’t ready to nurse, even if she thought she was.

 

She finally fell asleep around midnight and slept until about seven. No vomiting, so I nursed her and put her back to sleep while I took my turn to go to Mass. She had just woken up when I got home, and was obviously relieved that I was back so she could expel the vomit she had been saving for my dry-clean only skirt. Back to the Pedialyte.

So, here we are, a few hours into the Pedialyte regimen and looking forward to a Halloween full of…well, I won’t describe it. We wanted Jacinta to be a ladybug, but she decided to be a zombie instead. Maybe she can be a zombie ladybug.

 

The End.