And it spread like wildfire!

What a weekend!  I am almost happy to be back in work.  I said ALMOST!

Last Wed night/Thurs morning Faith woke up and was throwing up non stop.  She went to the doctor Thurs and he said it was a small stomach virus.  No food or drink for 4 hours, then only Gatorade for 2 hours, then light foods.  If she got sick again, start over.  He said she needed to rest her stomach and give her body a chance to fight off the virus.

By Fri she was doing pretty well.  Fri evening we had dinner, watched some TV and played out back.  I got Rocky ready for bed and Faith was playing with her scrapbook kit.  Around 9:00 I settled down to watch CSI.  about 9:15 Rocky came downstairs and said he couldn't sleep.  He said his belly hurt.  Well for about 2 weeks now he has said his belly hurts every time he wants another snack. So, I started to tell him no more snacks because it is bed time. Before I could finish my sentence he was projectile vomiting all over me, the sofa, and the living room.  I rushed him into the kitchen and he started vomiting all over the kitchen as well.   Tim had walked next door to borrow formula from my grandparents because we ran out and didn't have a chance to go to the store since Faith had been sick the past few days.  I yelled for Faith to run next door and get Tim. 

When Tim walked in I was striping both Rocky and myself in the kitchen so I could get him to the tub without tracking puke all over the house.  As soon I got him in bathroom he started puking everywhere again.  I hosed him off with the shower and got him settled in the bath while I cleaned up the bathroom.  I put some clean pj's on him and got him back into bed (with a bucket on hand).  Before I finished tucking him in bed he puked all over himself and his sheets.  I got him back in the tub and striped his bed down.  I put on his third pair on pj's and took him back downstairs.

While I was taking care of Rocky, Tim threw all of the sofa covers, clothes and bedsheets in the wash and wiped everything down with Lysol.  We sent Faith to my grandparents and my parents offered to watch Gavin.  Rocky sat on the recliner and watched TV from about 11:30- 3am.  He threw up a few more times but I was able to get the bucket in time.  Around 3am he started to fall asleep so I moved him to the sofa.  He woke up gaging a few more times after that and finally fell asleep around 5am. 

I was in tears with him the whole night.  He was screaming and crying through the whole thing and yelling "my belly hurts make it stop."  I kept telling him "I wish Mommy could take it all away.  I wish I could feel it instead of you."  Yea, well be careful what you wish for!

He woke up around 8 am and and said "Mommy I feel all better.  My belly no hurts no more."  Not even 30 seconds later I was running to the bathroom to throw up.  I spent all of Sat curled up in my basement in pain.  I felt like I was being repeatedly stabbed in the stomach.  Tim cleaned the whole house and took care of me.  Sunday morning I felt much better.  But, like clock work, Tim started puking as soon as I stopped. 

Around 10am Sunday morning I got a call from my mom telling me my parents and grandparents were also throwing up.  Tim's mom picked up the baby (who, thank God, was not sick).  I spent all of Sunday cleaning the house again and re washing EVERYTHING, while taking care of Tim.  The whole time I was panicking about the baby.  What if he gets this? He is only 3 months old and would most likely have to go to the hospital for dehydration.  The worse was running through my head.  This thing was spreading like wildfire. 

I called and check on him this morning and he was still doing great.  He had eaten well at every feeding, slept through the night and didn't seem to have any problems with his bowels.  But, just in case, I called the doctor.  The doctor was pretty sure it was the stomach flu.  Apparently, the stomach flu or rota virus is the most common cause of vomiting among infants and small children. 

So, I immediately googled rota virus and it said that by age 5 nearly every child  in the world has been affected but rota virus at least once.  The symptoms are vomiting, diarrhoea, low grade fever and body aches.  In older children and adults the symptoms usually last for a few hours-about a day.  It's extremely contagious, and spreads easily through ordinary person-to-person contact.  Good hygiene and sanitation don't effectively stop rota virus disease.  This is exactly what everyone has been experiencing and why it has spread so quickly.  But, the doctor also explained to me that in 2009 pediatricians started giving infants the Rotateq vaccine at 2 months, 4 months and 6 months.  Gavin had the vaccine at his 2 months check up which, most likely prevented him from getting sick.  Since the rota virus vaccine was not given regularly until 2009, Faith and Rocky did not have it.  I will sleep much easier now, knowing Gavin will probably not catch this horrible virus!