Timing is Everything!

This morning I dropped Alli off at Lisa’s and drove to work anticipating getting a good solid day of work in without the constant interruptions of a toddler. I am very busy at work since our audit is next week and I desperately needed the super productive work time. I even had it set up that James would pick Alli up at 5:30 so I could work late.

Around noon, Lisa called and told me that Alli was running a temperature of 102 degrees!! I told her to give her some Tylenol and someone would be there as quickly as possible to pick her up. I then phoned James who informed me he had a conference call scheduled for later in the afternoon so there was no way he could get her. So, I rushed off to pick her up leaving behind mounds of work that I really needed to be doing.

When I got there Lisa handed me Alli and I could feel how hot she was. Her temperature had come down some thanks to the Tylenol, but she was still obviously warm. Lisa warned me that she seemed to be ready to throw up at any moment but had not yet done so. I was sure it would happen in the new car…….that’s just how life is.

On the drive home, she seemed pretty happy. Cooing and babbling from the back seat. I was relieved and thinking I may be lucky and not get the puke in the car! Then, with only 4 miles to go her mood turned and she started to cry and whine with obvious discomfort. She was wiggly and kept sort of coughing, my mood turned too……..from relief to hope and fear.

I watched her and drove fast, but tried not to shake her around………..I talked to her in hopes that if I distracted her she would hold it down a few more minutes / miles. When we pulled in the garage I could not believe we made it. I quickly grabbed her out of the car and we went inside. Once in the house, I remembered my new carpet so I stood in the kitchen holding her and waiting. Then, sure enough, she threw up the entire contents of her stomach in the middle of the kitchen floor. I held her and soothed her the whole time so she would not be too scared or upset. She seemed to understand that it was sort of good thing to get it all out. After she was done, I wiped her face and nose and placed her in the high chair. Her clothes were clean thanks to my careful holding of her. I cleaned up the kitchen floor and was elated that the mess was so manageable. Man I got off easy :)

I HATE to wash that car seat!!!

After that, she felt better and watched her Elmo DVD from her chair. Then, after I was pretty sure she was done throwing up for a while…….I put into her bed for a nap and she finally fell asleep.

All in all, it was not too bad…….except those piles of work that are still going to be there in the morning!