Even though you lose brain cells, you should gain common sense

Reagan Lu is sick.

Bryan had the girls at some friends' house on Saturday night while their mom treated me to coffee and dessert at Panera Bread. He was helping them "reconfigure" some furniture and said Libby was horrible the whole time they were there. Right as he was about to grab the girls to leave, he spotted something lumpy and brown near her foot. He only had to get within a couple feet of her to smell the nastiness that was flowing out of her diaper. After further investigation, he found that he would have to remove all her clothes to give her a "wipe bath". I returned home to hear all about it and, secretly, rejoiced that I happened to not be around for that diaper.

Then, just as I had headed into a good REM sleep, I heard crying and gagging. I stumbled into Libby's room and was almost floored with the smell. I, instantly knew she had thrown up. Yuck!! So, Bryan and I spent the rest of the night getting little naps in between cleaning up our youngest and changing sheets.

So, this morning she got up and hadn't vomited since last night about 6. I let her have a little breakfast and water. She held it down, took a good morning nap and woke up laughing. She had some lunch and then I decided it would be a great idea for us to load up and go grocery shopping. After all, I really needed a few things for supper.

I put the car in Park, turned the key, opened my door and told Addi to go ahead and get out. That is the exact moment I heard it. The coughing and the gagging...I grabbed a plastic bag and tried to catch the vomit...in vain. I didn't think she would ever stop. She finally did and we made it home without further incident.

Now she's sleeping and I just spent 30 minutes cleaning vomit out of every crease and crevice of her car seat. Again, I wondered why on earth we registered for car seat without a removable seat cover!

After 4+ years of parenting, you might think I would make a better judgement call than heading off to the grocery store when my 18-month old apparently has a stomach virus. I'll admit I lost quite a few brain cells with each pregnancy. Maybe I lost more than normal since I vomited more than any one person ever should throughout my pregnancies :)

In fact, 5 years ago this very week, I was sure I had woken up with the flu. I went to work that morning and got home that afternoon to Bryan asking me to take a pregnancy test. I was in complete denial about pregnancy being the cause of my nausea, but I agreed. It took all of 2 seconds for the test to "turn" positive. I remember calling Bryan into the bathroom and he flipped out. He was jumping up and down, shouting, dancing...I, on the other hand, felt like I was going to pass out. Over the next few days, my morning sickness began. I threw up at least once every day until I was 22 weeks pregnant. In fact, I was in my 22nd week before I gained any weight.

So, no matter how well Libby Lu is acting tomorrow, I have grounded us to the house :)