I'm outnumbered!

When I took on my new roll as a single mom, I had these visions of what it will be like when they are both sick. Two little ones throwing up at the same time while I try to catch it in bowls or aim them towards the toilet. How could I do it for both at the same time? I'm sure a lot of parents feel this way when they have three children. Well with winter settling in on us we have also begun the season of sickness. The week before Halloween Aiden was getting a bit of a cold. He went to bed feeling a little stuffy so I turned on the humidifier and rubbed a little Vicks on him and he went right to sleep. A little after midnight he started coughing that horrible barking cough and was crying because it hurt. Well this startled Liam so he woke up very upset as well. Aiden was having a difficult time breathing and was getting very upset. (This happens every year around this time ever since he was sick with RSV and pneumonia when he was two) Usually Travis would hold him and get him to calm down and then he would be able to breathe a little better. This time around I'm on my own and there are two, so I've got a baby screaming in one arm and Aiden freaking out in the other. Luckily Aiden calmed down when I put him in the tub so I could get Liam calmed down and back to sleep. Even when Aiden had calmed down though he was really struggling to breathe. With every breath his chest would sink in. I knew this was really bad for babies, but I wasn't sure if it was less serious for older children. So what do I do? I called my mom. She wasn't sure either but she came right over for a second opinion. She agreed with me that I should take him to the ER and she would stay with Liam. At the hospital they gave him some steroids and a breathing treatment. We had to stay the rest of the night until about seven in the morning, until his breathing had improved. It was serious and I was glad that I didn't let the fear of overreacting keep me from bringing him in. The crazy thing is that it's just they way he reacts to a cold and they said he could go to school the next day. It took a few days for Aiden to get over the grumpiness of a sleepless night but other than that he recovered so much faster than he usually does with this kind of thing. I think the breathing treatment made a huge difference. I must thank my mom for coming over in the middle of the night. I guess the job of mother never ends. :) I wouldn't trade it for the world though. Today Aiden has the stomach flu and Liam is teething or coming down with something. Either way, neither he nor I have gotten much sleep over those last three days. It's exhausting and never ending but like I said I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's the hardest and best job in the world. It offers the greatest rewards. I'm learning to cherish all of the little moments I have with my children, even the throwing up ones. :) They are only small for a short time. (And it's all about the attitude right?)

Oh, and I must tell the funniest story about Aiden. My dad recently had knee replacement surgery and had to stay in a rehab/care facility. Well that facility happens to be on the road to the hospital. When I was driving Aiden to the ER that night, as soon as I turned on to that road, he pipes up in his raspy, barely can speak voice, "I can't go to the old people one."