the longest week as Levi's mom

The best way to sum up this week is to say thank God we're still breastfeeding because it's been his only sustenance!  Poor kid.  Not to mention poor mom and dad.

What started out as a runny nose then settled into a cough eventually turned into diarrhea and vomiting. ugh!  Levi got a cold that his cousins were nice enough to share with him while we were in IL.  It was the usual stuff: stuffy/runny nose and a little cough... and of course, not sleeping well.  That went on for a few days while in IL.

The drive back to FL on Wed, 30 Jun, started off well enough.  Levi seemed to be feeling better, at least had slept better that night.  Was sleeping well on the trip when somewhere in South Georgia, we stopped for gas.  I took the time to give Levi a break from his car seat and nurse.  As soon as he sat up, he threw up all over me, himself, the truck... poor guy.  It was a mess!  Of course, we both had to change clothes inside the gas station bathroom. 

He was fine the rest of the trip, no trouble eating.  And was fine the next couple days.  The diarrhea started Friday evening then hit full force on Sat.  At least it wasn't in cloth diapers!  That would have been much worse. 

Sunday morning, I was so proud that he was eating all the stuff on the BRAT diet for diarrhea... then up it all came!  All over him, the chair, the floor... oh boy!  That was the beginning of the end.  He couldn't really eat much of anything except a few crackers or cheerios here and there.  He was able to nurse pretty well most of the time, but was still throwing up every now and then.  So it settled into the routine of vomiting between 1 and 3 a.m. every morning (if not more than once...) and having diarrhea during the day. 

Poor guy.

Again, thank God for breastfeeding because it was pretty much his only sustenance.  And I'm sure it was a great comfort to snuggle with Mommy when you're not feeling well :)

Forgot to mention that we'd gone to see the pediatrician on Monday.  He gave us some meds for the cough.  But his advise was that as long as there was no fever with the vomiting/diarrhea, you'd have to just let the virus run it course... and keep the baby hydrated.

The nastiness lasted a full week.  The following Saturday was his first non-diarrhea diaper (not completely normal but better); and Sat night was the first night without throwing up!  YAY!  There was much rejoicing in the Lowery house that day!! 

The next problem to deal with was the poor thing wanting to eat everything in sight!  I couldn't keep enough food in front of him for those first couple days.  I also felt like I didn't have enough milk to satisfy him since he wanted to stay latched on all night long. 

It was exhausting for all of us!!

Oh, and did I mention the laundry...