Easter Weekend (aka "My kids just looooove to get sick")

We did not have a traditional Easter. No we did not.

It did start out that way. It started out great, actually. The weather was gorgeous, we had the VT crew in town to re-do our deck, and it was my sister's 30th birthday. I had been looking forward to the visitors and the long weekend for awhile. On Saturday morning, Ashton, Kari and I went over to Belmont for their annual kids' egg hunt. I use the word "hunt" loosely as the eggs basically formed a carpet over the field. Impossible to "not find" ;) Thankfully they had a toddler-only area in the fenced playground because those big kids meant business.

The hunt began at 10:00 am. It was over by 10:06 am.

Ready, go!

At approximately 10:04 am, we hit a small speedbump. A little girl picked up Ashton's basket. 

You can actually see him saying, "Nooooo!!" 

When 3.5 seconds passed and she was still grasping the handle, he ran out to find me. Emotions were high.

He walked around for awhile, blinded by his tears. Little did he know, there were more to come: the egg limit per kid was 10. He had collected at least 40. The return process was not easy.

= more sobs.

But once I persuaded him to open the eggs he still had, things were better.

Mini tootsie rolls to the rescue! So that was the egg hunt. It was a cute event, they had balloons, music, facepainting, etc. and any parent within a 5 mile radius was there. That's a lot - we live a family-dense area. But it was a good way to spend 6 minutes so we will likely do it again next year.

We got home and had lunch on our new deck (not quite complete so I'm not ready for my before-and-after post on that) and Kari and I went off to get pedicures in honor of her birthday. When we got back, I scooped up Alex and he felt warm to me. I took his temp, it was 100.2. 45 minutes later, it was 100.4, which is the magic fever-number for babies and I called the pediatrician's answering service (these things always happen on nights, weekends and holidays!!). By the time they called me back, it was 100.5 and before I knew it, I had been referred to the emergency room. Luckily Newton-Wellesley has a phenomenal pediatric ER so, off I went with Alex. How could I not? But it was JUST when it was time for cocktails on a gorgeous sunny afternoon. Sigh.

I could make the next 48 hours into a super long post in and of itself, how we were admitted, the tests they ran (OH the tests!!), the ups and downs, but basically, for two days they monitored Alex's temperature and oxygen levels, and we waited for blood cultures to come back to make sure whatever was making him sick was not bacterial and therefore would require antibiotics. It was a long, long wait. This is the room that Alex and I lived in:

He had a little baby IV and spent most of the time sleeping.

But when he was awake, he was mostly his happy little self. Doesn't he look so big??

 At one point, Alex was really alert and kept glancing around so they brought in a mobile for him to look at.

I don't know why but this made my emotional-basketcase-of-a-self cry sooo much. For my own situation but also for so many other parents whose kids are way sicker and who have to stay in hospitals way longer. It's almost too much to take.

Anyway, so that is where I spent my Easter. Once they were certain the cultures were negative and it was a viral respiratory infection (which I knew it was - Ashton coughed right in Alex's face every chance he got), we got to go home. It was Marathon Monday, Patriots Day in Massachusetts and the 7 year anniversary of my first date with Jason :) It was another beautiful day and a reminder that while my life had virtually stopped for the past two days, the world had gone on like it always does. 

Today, two days later, Alex is actually sicker, his cough has worsened (like I was told it would) and he struggles a lot with mucous. He doesn't nurse that well so I've been pumping and in general, just anxious for this to pass. Ashton, for his part, was so glad to have Alex home that he piled toys on his head the first time Alex made the mistake of taking a nap.

I can't tell you how many calls, texts and emails I've gotten from people who are worried about Alex. It really helps to know he has so many people that love him and are sending him good thoughts! Thank you so so much. xoxo