Henry has a fever today and has for three days now.
He’s in pretty decent spirits, all things considered, and has spent a bulk of the last 72 hours occupying the cozy corner spot on our new sectional sofa.
The countdown has begun to see how long it takes for someone else to come down with it…because we’re all about sharing around here.
Last night I woke to hear him heading back to his room at 2 a.m. I heard him turn off a light and crawl back into bed. Curious where he had gone (because it hadn’t been in the direction of the bathroom), I hopped out of bed to check on him.
He was boiling hot.
“Hey Buddy. Where’d you just go?”
“Downstairs to get some water. But don’ t worry mom, I put it in a sippy cup so that I didn’t spill in my room. Is it okay I brought water into my room?”
“Yes Son. It’s totally okay. Why didn’t you come ask Mommy to get you water?”
“It’s okay Mom, I already did it. You were sleeping anyway.”
Don’t miss it: My FOUR YEAR OLD son woke up, flipped on the stairwell lights, walked downstairs, went into the cupboard, filled up a cup, screwed the lid on, came back upstairs, turned off the lights, and got himself back in bed. At 2 a.m. By himself. With a fever.
I was secretly devastated.
While I don’t love being woken up in the middle of the night, I also love being a Mommy. And taking care of sick littles is for sure a Mommy job.
And getting your own water in the middle of the night with a blazing fever is totally a growing-up-way-too-fast-so-knock-it-off-because-you’re-stressing-me-out kind of thing.
And it wasn’t the first time he broke my heart with his grown up sickly antics.
We battled the stomach flu in December and I had set him up for bed with a bucket…you know, in case. I didn’t really expect him to use it, but I figured I should at least pretend.
I woke up the next morning surprised and encouraged by the fact that he hadn’t thrown up all night long.
At the usual 6:30 he came out of his room.
“Good morning Love. Feeling better?”
“Not really.”
“Bummer. But at least you didn’t throw up last night!”
“Yes I did.”
“You did?” (Panic began to set in as I imagined his bedsheets in all sorts of sordid disarray…although a quick scan of his PJ’s showed he was clean).
“Yeah. Twice. But don’t worry Mom, I got it all in my Bucket!”
A quick peek in his room confirmed that the Bucket had been used…and he had impeccable aim.
“Why didn’t you come get Mommy if you threw up?! I didn’t even know!”
“I didn’t need you Mommy. I just threw up in the Bucket, drank some water and then went back to sleep.”
Insert the sound of a mama’s heart breaking into a million pieces here.
I DIDN’T NEED YOU MOMMY???!!! You were wretching into a bucket in the middle of the night and you didn’t NEED me???!!!
Just pull the knife out of my heart. Go ahead.
Truth is, Lucy was the same way. A few days later, she had the flu and I put the Bucket next to her on the couch…while in the kitchen doing dishes, I came back into the living room to see that the Bucket had “matter” in it…and a perfectly content Lucy sitting next to it, enthralled with Mickey and his friends.
No crying. No fussing. No mess.
What the heck is going on around here???!!!
Don’t get me wrong…it’s kinda nice in some ways.
My kids are absolute ROCKSTARS when they are sick…but I kinda want them to be whiny, clingy little things too.
Hate me?
Latest posts by jeannett (see all)
- Dirt in a Jar, Laundry Scientists, and Clean Water - October 20, 2015
- Because Cake. - October 11, 2015
- How to design a luxury bathroom for less - August 12, 2015
Awe :( I think I would be totally heart broken too! Its so funny how we want them to grow up and be self sufficient, but yet when they do it still breaks little pieces of your heart!
Hope he is feeling better, and he is the cutest little sick boy!! :)
Awww, that is sweet and heart breaking at the same time!!
But, can you have your kids teach my kids how to throw up in a bucket? When my youngest was 6 weeks old and laying in a bassinet in the family room, my oldest (11!!! at the time) threw up on his HEAD as he tried to run to the bathroom.
Samantha´s last blog post ..Firestation Project Complete!
**TEARS!!**
Kids grow up way too fast.
Totally hate you;) that is pretty awesome but I totally get it, my oldest is almost 10 and stopping most of her littleness and it breaks my heart do much :)
no – i totally get it – my daughter is the same way – just lays there being sick and says – please and thank you after every little thing – even says thank you after she throws up and I am wiping her head with a washcloth – totally kills me!
being a mom is a crazy mix of all the good and not so fun stuff and we all get our mix dont we!
xoTiffany
I understand totally! A few months ago, my son had a nasty stomach bug for a few days. He woke up one of those morning wearing different pajamas. He had an accident and changed his clothes. I asked him why he didn’t come get me and he said he didn’t want to wake me. I felt like a bad mother in that moment and when I told my husband he said “but isn’t that a good thing”. Um, not really. :)
Think of it as a testament to what a wonderful mother you are, and relish in it. You have your children on the path to being extremely capable, self-sufficient, independent beings. It stings now, sure, but when they are 19 and not coming home every single weekend *only* because they don’t know how to do their own laundry, you’ll be grateful for it ;-)
Erica´s last blog post ..Growing up is something you can measure*…..
My 4 year suddenly started letting us know a few months ago if he is going to throw up and goes straight to the bathroom without any prompting. I have no idea how he knew that’s what he should do, and while I am grateful for that I can tell you that it is heartbreaking to watch them grow up so quickly! I’m glad that I’m not the only one feeling the way you do!
Awwwww, wow. Looks at it this way, you’ve raised independent children that aren’t *afraid* to take care of themselves. Just think of how capable they’ll be as they get older & then, even when you get older & they’re taking care of you. :-) Hope the little ones are feeling better soon.
oh my gahh!! my heart sank reading this post! i totally know what you mean! they seem to be such tough little troopers when they are sick but i do prefer them to be clingy and needy! maybe it sounds narcissistic bec i want to feel needed but heck they are sick! they do need me right?! sweet boy! hope he feels better soon!!!
i totally get what you’re saying, watching them be independent hurts! of course, i couldn’t help but be a little jealous that your child hit the bucket with expert aim – my 11 yr old threw up BESIDE the bucket (all over the carpet) and we didn’t find it until we stepped in it. awesome. ;)
Becky´s last blog post ..angst
OMG, your kids are awesome! I can understand being sad that they didn’t need your extra comforting, but wow! My kids (only 2 and 4) are complete crying messes when they don’t feel good.
Hi Jeannett! Loved the post. So honest and loving! Happy to have come across your blog! (Thanks to it being mentioned by Lindsey Cheney on Liv Lane’s Blogging e-course! Great job!
I hope they’re all feeling better soon!
Heather G.´s last blog post ..What WE Wore Wednesday – SF edition