Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Pulling An All-Nighter

When I was younger "pulling an all-nighter" meant something completely different than it does now.  It used to mean I was up all night studying for something.  Or it meant I was out dancing and having fun with my friends all night. 

Last night I pulled an all-nighter and I wasn't studying or partying.  I was cleaning up vomit.  I'd rather be partying.  Or even studying.  All-nighters just are not as fun as they used to be.  One minute I'm texting my best friend as we watch ridiculous tv, and the next minute I'm cleaning up vomit for hours on end. 

Tommy is feeling better this morning.  No more vomit (of course as soon as I write that down and hit Publish I have jinxed it and I'm sure he will vomit again).  He has gotten some Children's Motrin down and has kept it down, so he is much more comfortable now too.  Hopefully he can try to catch up on his sleep today but I'm not planning on it.  The kid loathes sleep.  He has since birth.  I was reminded of this last night as he rolled and moaned and whined in bed with me all night long. 

I felt so badly and asked him, "Does your tummy hurt?  Are you feeling icky?"  

He just answered calmly, "No.  I feel fine now."

Confused, I asked, "Then why are you whining?"

Tommy said, "I just like to."

That went on for four hours.  Tommy whining and whining.  Me asking if he felt badly.  Tommy telling me he felt fine but he just liked whining for no reason.  No matter how I begged and pleaded him to be quiet he would not stop.  Even when he continued to tell me he felt fine he kept whining.  It was bizarre.  It was like I was transported back in to when he was a wee baby refusing to sleep.  I guess some things never change.  Thank God the kid has his own room now.  I can't believe I made Joey and Ben share a room with this kid for so long.  No wonder they were always tired.

Finally, I couldn't take any more needless and endless whining.  I took Tommy back to his bed, tucked him in, and let him whine 'til his heart's content. 

That was at 4:30 in the morning.  An hour later as I was just beginning to relax and let myself fall asleep Tommy came back in my room and said he was feeling achy.  I gave him a dose of medicine, stayed with him for a while to make sure his tummy could handle it, and then tucked him back in his bed once again.  I think I got about a half an hour of sleep before I had to start getting Joe and Ben ready for school.

I no longer like all-nighters.

Mornings like this help answer Ben's question about why I love coffee so much. 

16 comments:

Mom24 said...

That is the worst. I am so sorry. A good friend of mine was pulling an all-nighter with 2 of her kids. Hope Tommy's feeling better soon and no one else gets it.

I also hope you get some sleep soon.

Kat said...

Mom24- Joey actually had this last week but he never vomited. Hopefully it goes away soon and the rest of us are spared. We'll see. My stomach actually hurts right now. Boo.

Brittany said...

Kat, my friend... I too pulled an all nighter... cleaning up Chloe's puke! Ah. My eyeballs are burning, I am so tired. Hang in there mama, hope you stay healthy! :(

Kelly said...

Poor girl, those nights are no fun. And for some reason, my kids always get sick during the night. I'd be able to handle it so much better during the day! LOL

My night wasn't quite that bad but Aiden did cough all. night. long. and I was up with him twice to get him a drink, meds, and rub Vicks on his chest. The constant coughing is enough to make me want to beat my head on the wall!

Kat said...

Kelly- Sometimes I think those bad coughs are much worse than vomit. At least with vomit they get it out and usually are ok for a couple of hours in between. Plus, it normally doesn't last longer than a day or so. A cough can last weeks. Horrible. I hope Aiden's cough leaves quickly!

Scrappy said...

Oh, you poor things. I hate stomach bugs! I hope you can get some rest and you don't get sick too.
My Dusty is a lot like Tommy when he is sick. He gets super whiny and talkative. He will even talk in his sleep when he has a fever, which I guess is good because then I know he needs some Motrin before he even wakes up. :)

Unknown said...

Oh, that is the absolute worst! I remember the first time one of my kids ever threw up (at night, of course.) I cleaned it all up, gave her some medicine, and went back to bed THINKING I COULD ACTUALLY STILL GET A FULL NIGHT'S SLEEP. Ha ha ha ha!

Obviously, I didn't know about the law of threes.

Tabor said...

All I keep thinking about is that this is going to run through each of your kids...lets hope I am so wrong.

Kat said...

Rima- Hahahaha!!!!

Tabor- I know. That is the scary part. I will probably be doing this two (Joey had it last week but didn't actually vomit) more times. ACK!

Karen Deborah said...

argh I taught all the kids when they were little to carry a bucket with them. Put a towel by the bed and the bucket. You gotta barf in the bucket!!
Some things neva change!! When Jen was pregnant she barfed a LOT. We were driving and she was in the back seat and I heard it---THE COUGH---I said, ' do you want us to pull over?" She said, "No, I'm alright."
2 seconds later barf was all over the back of my neck and in my hair.....
that's what I'm talkin bout.
bein a mom.

Kat said...

Karen- I have a bucket right next to Tommy's bed too. He is usually really good about puking in the bucket but he just puked in his bed again about 45 minutes ago. I think he was fast asleep when he puked. Poor kid. So, I'm up doing yet another load of pukey laundry. Ahhhh... the glamorous life! ;)

Unknown said...

Yep, all-nighter's definitely are NOT what they used to be! Hope he's feeling better and that you can ALL rest!

Cyndy Bush said...

All nighters are for young folks...and we ain't young folks! LOL I hope tonight is better.

Anonymous said...

Ugh. My heart hurts for you having to endure that.

Jeni said...

All-nighters, huh? Yeah, I know what you mean by that terms -in all respects. I can't really use it myself these days because I tend to pull my own form of All-nighters simply because I am way too much of a night owl and don't like giving in and going to bed like a sane person should/would be doing.
We had a worrisome event recently here with Miss Maya -my 7-year-old granddaughter -which began with a high fever but no other symptoms -no upset tummy, no sore throat, no other aches and pains other than this cough, very croupy sounding and her being unable to expel the excess mucus in her throat because she doesn't understand how to do that. Her mother took her to the doctor to have her checked out with the fever, etc. and also, because of the mucus situation to which the Dr. gave a diagnosis of sinus infection and allergies. A week of antibiotics, fever bouncing up and down, and boom, just when the play she was in was about to go on, the fever spiked really high again and a call to the on-call nurse ended up the next morning with a visit to the ER and and x-ray that showed she was on the verge (so that Dr. said) of developing pneumonia and thus the second play performance for her was a no-show. Two days later, check-up with her pediatrician and he tells her mother that "Oh, she just had the flu!" Baloney! She still has a trace of the cough but nothing as bad as it was. Fever finally disappeared too, which was a big relief. I'm more inclined to believe the diagnosis given by the ER doctor of her issues being close to pneumonia than what the regular dr. said. While I'm thankful she didn't have stomach issues with this go-round, still and all, just running a high fever as she did for so long and with that nasty cough too, still can scare the living daylights out of a parent/grandparent and cause a lot of unrestful nights -and days -because those things can and often do, develop into bigger things in what seems like a heartbeat, can't they? Hope you finally get some rest and reprieve from the all-nighters (with four small kids, it's often really difficult to stop that stuff from spreading too) and things get back on a better track for you -and the kids -and may it happen soon!

dawn klinge said...

Oh no! That sounds tough. I have a sick child today too. Thankfully though, no all nighter here. I hope he's feeling better now and that you can catch up on your rest!

Words To Live By

Be grateful for each new day.
A new day that you have never lived before.
Twenty-four new, fresh, unexplored hours to use usefully and profitably.
We can squander, neglect, or use them.
Life will be richer or poorer by the way we use today.
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could;
some blunders and absurdities crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day.
You shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be
encumbered with your old nonsense.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson