The Daily Hailey

Thank you, all, for praying, checking in, offering your help, and putting into us in so many ways. We are SO relieved to be home. 💜

While our babe is not completely done being sick, they are well on the mend, moving beautifully in the right direction, and no longer needed to be plugged into anything! No monitors. No IV. Nothing. Guts have rested. Milk has been reintroduced, and happily accepted. Urine is flowing again, and tears roll as they should, but less now that everyone is feeling stronger.

Strength is coming back, but its going to take a while to be all caught up.

Energy is coming back, but sleep still has some catching up to do in between the bouts of zest.

Food also has some catching up to do. Smaller amounts more often, to continue to go slowly with them guts.

While none of it is perfect, per se, healing is coming and there is nothing we currently need the hospital for! Victoryyyyyyy!!!

It is REALLY nice to be home. And it was REALLY nice to be welcomed so lovingly 💜

Oof. I LOVE my people. I missed them 💜 All of them.

I’m very grateful for the beautiful support our family has received this week, and there is a lot of relief knowing there is still more help to come. Thank you, Lord, for supplying us with so many beautiful people surrounding us. We are blessed, undeniably. Praise God.

It’s good to be home. I cannot wait for my own bed tonight!!

Have you ever heard of gut rest? Me neither before yesterday.

Lesson time!!!

Gut rest is when you let your guts (ready?) rest. As in, you don’t put them to work at all in an effort to let them heal.

So. Its starvation a la hospital.

😂 I’m totally kidding. It actually makes sense.

For example, if someone hypothetically came to the hospital with an angry gastro thing, and all they ever did was poop or barf immediately upon eating or drinking, their guts might need a rest so they stopped being SO irritated by everything and anything entering them. Makes sense, right?

However, to the person who has to practice gut rest, especially a hypothetical young person who does not understand it, it feels like a mean game.

Thankfully, gut rest does serve a purpose. While an IV fills the person with everything they need in terms of nutrients, their tummy gets a chance to heal. And it works! Ever so slowly, a person might introduce something mundane like two tablespoons of unflavored pedialyte, which the kid may or may not demolish and bawl for more. And it may feel worse. But do not despair, because that alone will settle that poor aching empty belly so beautifully. Sleep will come again.

Hard lesson learned ✅

Thank you, gut rest, for doing the heavy lifting for us yesterday. Your work does not go unnoticed. This afternoon, as our special someone dozed off into a long anticipated milk coma, we were incredibly grateful.

Thank you, Brady, for staying back in the morning to get the kids to school.

Thank you, Cher, for watching the other babies today.

Thank you, mom, for having the older kids to your place after school.

Thank you, Jen for arranging a meal train SO fast, and Myrna, for supper tonight.

Thank you to everyone who checked in, followed up, sent a message, or said a prayer.

Thank you, Lord, for providing us with YOUR strength, as ours would be a flimsy mess long ago already. You are the ONLY way. To anywhere. For anything. That is not lost on us 💜

Alright, friends. Its time. Baby needs milk and bed. And I’m ready for my little can of pringles and some true crime!

*****

AAAHHH! My paper towel dispenser just went off all by itself! You know what that means!!!

Welp. One night just isn’t going to cut it.

So here we stay for another night. Maybe two. Maybe more. We don’t know yet.

We do know, though, that this kid is just not ready to come back home 💜

Absolutely could NOT make it work without the invested help of our friends. Social services does not make it easy to have people come help with our kids, but we have a current setup that should work for at least a couple of days. I am SO grateful for the flexibility Bradys work provides, as well as our closest people. And to those who have offered their warm love and care and willingness to help – THANK YOU. It means so very much to know we could ask, and people could home. That alone provides some relief.

I am grateful to be able to be here with this kid. Its amazing how fast a baby can recognize and fear people in the yellow gowns. Everyone and everything is upsetting. It would be AWFUL to not be here together.

Our lovely nurse snuck a lunch into my fridge. I felt like a kid, and I loved it.

Its been a long day of crying. Feeling crappy. Hungry. Exhausted.

The kid has to sleep sometime, right? 😬

As Cher said to me earlier, its not February without someone staying at the hospital!

*sigh*

I am not a mom who takes their kid in at the first sign of illness. Let’s be honest. If I did that, I’d never ever leave the hospital. However, today one of the little ones took a turn. Total lethargy. Limp limbs. And the one time this kid had an opinion and cried, they produced no tears.

So in we went. I figured our worst case scenario was that baby would get some fluids and we’d be on our way. More likely, I figured they’d say give it a few more days, and send us home.

After a couple of assessments, I was relieved that they agreed with me that baby was a bit too dehydrated, and hooked them up to an IV. Some anti nausea meds were administered. Blood was taken. And baby fell asleep for a little while.

And didn’t. Perk. Up.

Ugh.

So after three IV boluses, baby seemed slightly more with it. But refused to pee. Still enough diarrhea for the whole city, though!

Aaaaaaanyway. I shouldn’t get into the bulk of the details, but a certain someone has been admitted for the night. Hopefully only one. We have had ONE pee. Since baby is SO darn sick, fluids are most important. So IV is going continuously. Milk is on pause 💔 which is sad. But it brings SO much sickness right now. So first, baby needs to get a bit better. And then back to bottles.

Is it really February if someone isn’t stay at the hospital at some point? Let’s hope we’re getting the ONE hospital stay out of the way right at the beginning! 😅🤞

Please, Lord, let it just be one night!! 💜

We’ve had a few vomit-free days over here, but alas, one child who last barfed on Tuesday has begun again 😩 A rough wake up they had, with chunks in their hair and other things that simply would not remain as contained as we might’ve preferred. Thats the least graphic I can possibly make it. But let me tell you – it was a whole thing.

It began with a reluctant bath – the bather didn’t love bathing the bathee, and the bathee was also uninvested in the task at hand. Yet, there was still some happy splashing, which cheered up the bathee but made the bather feel even less clean.

Aaaaanyway. Looks like we remain in the thick of it. Two babes are still in the sick category. We have some really gurgly tummies, though most of the children are expelling fewer shocking things than before. I so badly want to say we’re on the upswing but I have thought that before, and I have been deceived. Unintentionally, but still deceived.

At least the food was still good.

I wish this was for supper every single day. YUM.

Please let us be done with sickness soon! PLEASE! 🙏

I’ve had it in my mind to build a really nice crochet pattern for a while now. I have had a specific picture in mind of what I want to make. As in, something I really want to crochet. But for some reason, as a just in case someone else likes it enough to make it, I feel like I want to make the pattern. I may be getting WAY too far ahead of myself, but I think its a cool idea. An idea that I searched for at length before I got into it.

Aaaaanyway. This project has been heavily on the back burner for a year or two, but I am finally putting the work into it! Its been fun, honestly. Its fussy, and worky, and I’m definitely not at the actual fun part yet, haha! But the kids know what I’m up to and they’re supportive and excited. When I ask for opinions, I get them, and they’re usually quite constructive and encouraging. They don’t really know the full scope of what I’m trying to pull off, but man. They are on. My. Team. Its really really nice.

Do you ever wish you could crochet during church?

Same. 😅

I was pleasantly surprised this morning that most of my kids were in good health! Heyooo!!! Brady slept in for an extra couple of hours, and Solly had gotten sick overnight, but everyone else was good to go for the day! Dekker did stay home, since its exam season and he didn’t have any today. But once the school kids had gone and Brady had rallied for work, it was me, the boys, and the babes.

Still, many of us were not 💯 but numbers were up from yesterday. Kids packed real lunches. Wavy brought her skates so she could go be active in gym. Rowan went to a friends house after school. I even took a kid to and from a visit in the city today. It seemed like much was normal and peaceful.

I made burgers for supper. Nothing fancy. But everyone ate one, so I think it counts! Well, not LD, but that one is still a little behind food wise. Same with Munchie. Meanwhile, Wavy was asking for permission to have a third burger…

This evening, my two youth kids have gone to the church. The first batch of bedtime is done. Just Rowan and I left in the living room, chatting about Veggietales. Apparently he’s got a good playlist of silly songs with Larry at school that he listens to during art.

Cebuuuuuuu!!!

Ok. Thats about it for me. Sick days are oddly triggery for me. When my whole family cycles through illness, it can get a little wild, and since Brady’s original surgery, it just feels like the stakes are higher. So even if I’m feeling perfect, its a bit scary when everyone gets sick. But I am HOPING that this resembles the beginning of the end of this particular bug, whatever it may be. We’re had enough now. Time to move along.

Stay well, all 💜

Current sickness standings:

Munchie Mix – sick poops, virtually nonexistent appetite

LD – barfing on and off, drinking lots and eating bananas, apple sauce, and crackers

Spoons – still clear 🤞

Wavy – still clear 🤞

Solly – feels off when asked, but too inattentive to notice in daily life situations

Rowan – still clear 🤞

Laela – feels yucky, low appetite

Dekker – “not sick” but no appetite, taking naps

Brady – threw up this evening. REALLY grateful he felt it coming, as that is not a guarantee 😅

Hailey – off in the guts for several days, but possibly a psychological problem. VERY nervous for everyone to come down with the poops n pukes 😬

Supper for the few who are clear. Potatoes, corn, and bacon.

Smelled great. Got good reviews. Didn’t personally eat it.

Maybe I’ll warm up some soup from the fridge.

Mooooooore vomit changed the days plans. Poor baby 💜 However, there is often a slight upside, and today was one of those days. The vomit meant we could stay home!

Thanks for taking one for the team, LD. I’m sorry you’re sick.

But I am grateful for the sweet little snuggles, as well as the nice stretch of quiet time I got this afternoon. My body completely gave up and I napped in my chair from about 2pm until the kids started coming home. Whew! Who knew my body wasn’t quite getting all it needed??? Ok. I knew. 😅 But whose is??

The day has been pretty simple. A couple of kids are feeling a bit off. Lots of leaky diapers. Noodle and butter for supper. Things get very basic when kids are sick and I’m ok with that.

Pray for deep sleep tonight, if you are the praying kind. We could ALL use some renewed rest!

Well, I didn’t get my tomato soup yesterday, but I managed a big ole mug of it today! I even toasted up some of the baguette slices that were left. It was delicious 🤤

Another notable detail! Dekker is writing EXAMS this year!!! 😵 They’re not the big guns just yet. He’s in grade nine, so these are mostly for practice. But still! I can’t believe we’re here already!! And by “here,” I mean sitting on the couch at lunch time because he’s done for the day…

He is such a goof and I am such a fan 😍

Another final tomorrow, and likely more leftover soup!