Being sick

I remember the days when being sick used to mean watching 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' and 'Karate Kid' while laying on the couch all day with a warm, cozy blanket....dozing off once in awhile....getting some soup or a warm drink from mom. Those were the days! And more recently being sick still meant some pretty good relaxation time while having a day or two off work....time to just watch tv and take it easy. But now being sick is...well...it's a bit different.


After a few weeks of pretty good health, Matias suddenly had a horrendous 'barky' cough last Tuesday morning. 'Oh great' is always the first thing that pops into my head when he shows the first signs of an illness. The girls will get sick now too. Living in a small apartment with a toddler who coughs in your face, wipes his runny nose with his hand and touches everything....well, you get the idea. When Matias is sick, we will more than likely ALL be sick. And just like clockwork, after exactly 2 days the girls started coughing. The same horrible cough Matias had...and runny nose, fever, etc. I knew this was going to be a bad illness, because the coughing made Tero and I cringe. Horrible, painful coughing fits, vomiting from the coughing, extreme fatigue. Even tough little Matias had purple bags under his eyes.



After seeing that this was definitely a bad thing, all 5 of us spent Sunday at the Mehilainen doctor's office (no more Jorvi for us.....in case you missed the news, they misdiagnosed Sofia once and we were otherwise given poor service. Private is definitely worth the extra money in this case!). Matias was already getting better by this point and the doctor said he will be fine. But the girls both had ear infections and tested positive for RSV, maybe the worst of the cold viruses for premature babies. For most people who get RSV, they don't even know it because to them it's just like a normal cold. Not for premature babies though. There is a vaccine (not really a vaccine, but anyways) that preemies are usually given to help avoid this horrible virus that attacks the lungs, but the girls were not given the vaccine last fall because we were told it wasn't a peak year. It seems that the virus is at its worst in Finland only every other year, and this year wasn't it....so we didn't get the vaccine. What luck we have!


The girls were both given penicillin injections in their little bottoms to help with the ear infection and were told to come back on Tuesday to get the 2nd shot. The doctor also told us to go to the hospital immediately if it seems the girls are really struggling with their breathing.


The girls' coughing was so horrible still on Monday morning that we called the hospital to ask what we should do. In a nice way, they basically told us not to come there. They said that there's nothing they can do that we can't do for them at home. HUH??? Weird advice since when the doctor heard Olivia cough once last November, she was admitted for 3 days to the hospital and couldn't come home even though we begged. I guess they didn't want us coming there to spread our germs or something. We didn't want to go to the hospital anyways, so Tero and I have been super busy trying to do all the things that we know will help the girls with their breathing. I've never spent so much time sitting in a steamy bathroom!


When we went this morning to get the 2nd penicillin shot (after quickly backtracking home once because Olivia vomited all over her snowsuit, clothes, and carseat), we told the nurse how nerve-wracking this coughing has been and that we're still really concerned. The nurse recommended that we see the doctor again, and the doctor gave more medicine and also a referral for Jorvi (in case we need to go to the hospital in the middle of the night) that we would pass over the line and see a doctor immediately. We have to go back to the doctor now on Friday to check that the ear infections are going away and that the breathing is improving. The coughing can still last for a few weeks, but hopefully the severity will lessen.


I think the worst thing about all of this is the fear. It is such a scary feeling to have to watch your baby breathing and worry every hour about whether to leave for the hospital or not. Or to panic in the middle of the night when you realize you were sleeping and the babies are quiet, so something must be wrong. Tero and I have gotten very little amounts of sleep these past few days with all the coughing, vomiting, and worry. And of course we're sick now too. Taking care of sick babies when you're sick yourself is seriously hard work. And not just the babies, but the every day stuff too. We had to use swimming diapers and Matias's diapers for the girls because we didn't have time to go to the store for so many days. We have had about 5 loads of laundry per day with all the vomiting (plus the girls have had diarrhea from the penicillin that leaks all over their clothes). Thank goodness I've in the past had time to freeze a few meals so I haven't had to cook for a few days.


I am SO THANKFUL for Tero. I honestly don't know what I would do without him. The girls were in such bad shape, that I didn't want to be alone with them for even 5 minutes. And of course with Matias needing attention and us having to blow our noses every minute, there hasn't been too much free time. I feel so bad that we're spending Tero's vacation this way, but on the other hand I really wouldn't have managed this all by myself. So I'm glad he's home! I just hope that we can all get better now this week so we can spend at least the 2nd half of his vacation doing something fun!



I am also thankful for having such wonderful babies. Even though these days have been so rough and I am extremely tired right now, I am more in love than ever. I honestly must have some of the nicest babies in the world. After they vomit, they smile. When they have ear infections, they moan a bit and look uncomfortable but never do the non-stop crying thing. Thankfully we haven't had to worry about dehydration, because they are still eating and drinking really well...or at least trying to. And every time we go to the doctor, they just sit nicely and make us so proud. I loved it when the doctor told us on Sunday as we were leaving his office, 'Congratulations. You have some really nice babies there...and such a handsome little boy.' Yeah....we do. :)