Well hello from 2022! This is the first time in 10 years of blogging that my first post of the year isn’t about goals and aspirations for the coming months. But this year is also very different. I don’t have that new year new you energy quite yet. But here’s hoping it’s on the way 🙂
We have spent the last two weeks with COVID, in quarantine with two kids (one of whom has been sick the entire time), and generally trying to keep our heads above water.
I’m not going to lie, this was a tough Christmas break. But we survived it and that made me feel like we can do anything as a family.
For those asking, I’m going to break down our timeline and what helped us feel better. I hope this helps anyone else out there who is testing positive this week.
Timeline:
On Saturday, December 18th, Anel got a little tickle in his throat. He tested negative on a home test but wore a mask around the house/us just to be safe. On Sunday, December 19th he woke up with a sore throat and tested positive. He immediately quarantined in the guest room. My throat started feeling scratchy too but one of us had to take care of the kids so I did my best to mask around them all day.
Luca also got a cough and fever on Sunday. That night, Anel was up with a fever and felt flu-like symptoms: sore throat, congestion, body aches. On the morning of Monday the 20th, I woke up with a sore throat and Luca/Anel were both still sick. I got my positive PCR that morning. That afternoon I took the kids to the pediatrician for tests and Luca came back as positive, Amalia as negative even though she had a low fever and cough.
Our doctor told us to assume that Amalia had it even though she tested negative.
By that night, Anel was feeling a lot better, just tired, congested, and lost taste/smell. That’s when I started to get sicker. I got a fever of 103 that I couldn’t get down all evening, that night, and the next day. I literally couldn’t get out of bed so Anel had to take over with the kids.
It was like that for the 21st and 22nd but my fever broke on the 23rd and I started to feel better. I was still congested, had a cough, lost my voice, and couldn’t taste/smell. But the fever and brain fog were gone.
Luca also seemed to be getting better but on Christmas Eve his fever was back up to 103-104 again and he started having trouble breathing. We sent a video of his breathing to his doctor and she had us take him to the ER that night around 7pm. I was still too sick to take him so Anel did and I stayed home with Amalia (who was still fine except for pink eye which is apparently a COVID symptom).
I was trying to stay cheery for Amalia who was SO excited for Santa to come but I kept having to run to the bathroom to cry because I was so worried about Luca. It was one of the worst nights of my life. Thank God he ended up being ok once they controlled his fever.
Christmas morning was a blur. We were all so tired and out of it but Amalia had the best day which was all we wanted!
For the next few days, we were still in quarantine and hung out at home resting and recovering. Poor Amalia was losing her mind not being able to go anywhere or see any friends. I felt so bad for her.
By the 30th we were cleared to come out of quarantine (10 days after our first symptoms) so we drove up to New Hampshire for New Year’s Eve to spend it with my dad and his family (he and my brother also had COVID over Christmas) which was a nice change of scenery. It was really fun but Luca was still fussy the whole time.
As soon as we got back home on the 1st, he spiked another fever and has been sick/feverish ever since. The poor kid can’t seem to catch a break. It’s so sad, he just wants to be held at all times. I wish so badly that I could take the sickness for him but that’s not how this works.
Overall Anel and I only had bad symptoms for 1.5 days and 3 days respectively which was a lot less than our first round of COVID in March 2020 pre-vaccines and boosters. So that was a plus!
What helped:
My cough was really bad but Mucinex during the day and Delsym at night (recommended by my doctor) helped a lot. The Mucinex helped to break up the congestion and cough and then the Delsym allowed me to sleep by suppressing it at night. I also cycled between Motrin and Advil for my fever which finally ended up getting it down.
Throughout all of this, we took vitamin c, vitamin d, zinc, and drank a ton of bone broth to build up our immune systems to fight the virus.
Luca’s doctor recommended Zarbees baby cough syrup which actually helped him a lot at night too. He took that and Infant’s Motrin for his fever. We also had to give him Pedialyte for a few days because he had diarrhea and wasn’t eating or drinking much.
We had a lot of friends drop off soup or meals which was a godsend because I was too sick to cook anything. We also had some friends drop off toys for Amalia to borrow to keep her busy when we couldn’t leave the house which was awesome.
What’s next:
Luca is still feverish and fussy so he is home today and I’m guessing for a few more days this week. Anel and I are completely exhausted but functioning normally again thank goodness! I have anxiety about not being about to work right now but I have to focus on getting Luca healthy and taking care of both kids during this weird time. I promise to be back to blogging regularly as soon as we come up for air, but for now, I’ll just check in whenever I can.
Happy new year! Let’s hope 2022 brings healthy, positive, sunshiney vibes to all of us. xoxo