...so much trouble!
I had a stupid idea that the more kids you had, the easier it was to be a parent. I would have all this "experience" right?
Yeah, right.
Then came dear Miss Tess.
So my kiddo flunked her hearing exam in her right ear last week. Because Tess was on such strong drugs during her stay in the NICU there is an ongoing concern that she might be deaf. We're off to see a hearing specialist for more tests on Thursday. I specifically promised Jesus that I would NOT freak about about this. My mantra has been "no need to panic until we have a specific problem identified."
Then this morning, my darling starts throwing up.
For most kids, just a stomach bug.
For my post-surgery kid, vomiting when no one else in the family shows signs of the stomach flu could mean intussusception or "telescoping of the gut." According to her surgeon anytime she throws up I'm supposed to race to the ER to have an x-ray to confirm that her little small intestine hasn't folded in on itself.
It's 6 AM. My husband has already left for his long commute to work, I'm alone with three sleeping children and one sick toddler. My usual Carmelite prayer time was spent asking Mary "What am I supposed to do here?"
I didn't end up going to the ER.
So far, Miss Tess seems like she's back to her old self. I'm assuming that "intussusception" comes with a few more symptoms than messy sheets at 3 AM and 6 AM.
So that is what we are up to this week. Taking down the Christmas Tree. Teaching a reluctant reader how to enjoy Judy Moody. And waiting to see if my darling toddler is deaf or needs additional small intestine surgery.
At least my life as a housewife is never, ever dull!
Update: Tess passed her hearing test. Thanks for your prayers. When we started the test Tess was having the same odd response difference between her right and left ears. Suddenly, my extra shy girl pulled it together and started to actually cooperate with the audiologist. So her final, clear hearing test result was ranked "excellent." Praise God!
We also ended up having the stomach flu in our house, not intussusception. Of course my four year old confirmed Tessy's alternative diagnosis by throwing up on the way home from the audiologist while our new mini-van was stuck in the middle of the HOV lane on I-270. But hey, your minivan doesn't legally belong to you until it absorbs some puke stains, right? :-)
