From Bad to Worse…

That was our week. It all began on Sunday when after a weekend of runny nose and coughing, Benjamin started wheezing. He had what could have been his first bout of asthma, something Daniel has been concerned about from the very beginning because he had such awful childhood asthma and still has it to a degree. So Sunday and Monday was filled with dr.’s offices, pharmacy pick-ups, breathing treatments, and nebulizer purchases.  Benjamin also did a neat trick where he would cough in the middle of the night and then vomit because he had coughed so hard. Lots of laundry, not much sleep.

Wednesday late in the night Daniel and I both awoke to hear dogs barking. There’s several dogs in the neighborhood so I didn’t think much of it. In the morning, however, we discovered that one of our two chicken coops had been ripped into and nothing was left except for a few clumps of feathers. We’re guessing that a pack of stray dogs tore into the chicken wire. We know that one of our ladies, Peregrina, bit the dust because a neighbor found her in their yard quite dead. Daughter (named by Benjamin) was discovered merrily wandering behind some houses down the street and is safely back with the rest of the flock. As to Sophie and Feven…we’ll never know. They probably kicked the bucket, too, or they would have found their way back to the coop.

On Thursday I made a very bad decision. On my way to teach ballet, I had a hankering for a taco. I am not a fast food eater. I really almost never eat it. But on this particular Thursday, I quenched this desire by purchasing a taco from Taco Bell. NEVER AGAIN. I woke up at midnight and spent the next 10 hours vomiting in my first and hopefully last excursion into the world of food poisoning. Even water was impossible to keep down so my OB-GYN prescribed me some anti-vomiting meds which helped a little bit. Later on Friday I went in to the Dr.’s office so they could check my dehydration and see if I needed an IV so I wouldn’t start having pre-term contractions but they determined that if I was able to keep some fluids down, I was probably out of the woods. But really, I WILL NEVER EAT FAST FOOD AGAIN. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so sick. Today I’ve been able to drink and have some chicken broth and oatmeal. I still feel completely wiped out but I think the worst is over. It was also scary to be so ill whilst being pregnant. I was worried that it would affect our little one and I felt so ill that it had me in tears. Way worse than labor.

So that brings you up to date. Next week has to be better, right? It’s a good thing my husband takes such good care of me and we’ve got family in town to help with Benjamin during a crisis.

Speaking of Benjamin, the other night we left his door open and our door open so we could hear if he was having any trouble breathing. He was fast asleep but the light was still on in our room because Daniel was reading and I was listening to Harry Potter and dozing. Daniel got up to get something and I awoke to a little boy running into our room, jumping into the bed, and climbing under the covers. We’re pretty sure he was asleep the whole time. It seems we might have a little sleep walker in our midst…but he sure is a cutie.