The Vinciguerra Boys

Lucas had been sick all weekend and today at 5:50 AM he woke up with a really bad cough. I knew Matias was about to wake up for his feeding so I managed to convince him that his cough would go away if he slept a little more and that he would not be going to daycare today. That made him happy and slept while I was patting him on the back every time he coughed. I managed to feed Matias quickly and we all went back to sleep. I knew I had to get my rest because it was going to be the first time I would spend the whole day with the Vinciguerra boys.

We woke up again at 8:30, I gave Lucas some breakfast and while I am preparing Matias's bottle for his next feeding I realize we are out of formula, this is the last bottle I'm going to be able to make today unless we go to the supermarket. Lucas has no fever and the cough seems to be gone so I get them ready and we are off to the Stop and Shop. Before leaving I have a serious talk with Lucas. I'm going to need you to be a responsible big brother today, I can only fit Matias's car seat on the shopping cart so I will need you to walk beside me and listen to everything I say. He puts a very solemn face and assures me he will be a good boy. And he was great! We were able to do all the shopping for the week. I ask for his help or opinion every once in a while so he stays entertained, but the challenge of showing that he is a big boy to his dad seems to be enough to keep him focused and happy. He gets a couple of treats for it: some PAW patrol mozzarella sticks and Sesame Street cookies.

We get back home and together store all the groceries. Lucas really enjoyed figuring out where everything we bought goes. Finally we go to the basement and have a Pokemon marathon. Lucas has been so good I decide to spoil him a little bit and let him have his lunch while watching TV. Matias has been a little restless, maybe he is used to having all my attention these days and is getting jealous. Nap time comes and Lucas picks his books that he wants read before sleeping. He does not cry or complain he needs to take a nap, he has been keeping his promise all day. But Matias will have none of that, he decides to have a complete meltdown, so again I need to talk to Lucas. I explain to him that I will not be able to read his books today, that maybe since he is a big boy he can read them by himself. He says ok and starts going through them. I leave the room to try to get Matias to calm down. I can hear Lucas going through the books' pages and reciting everything he knows about them from memory. He's making me so proud today. Matias finally goes to sleep and I get to Lucas's room but he is also asleep. I can finally relax for a couple of hours and I fall asleep too.

What did I watch?
A lot of Pokemon.

The Fatigues

If you recall Thursday’s post Armando had to call reinforcements to help him with Matias due to a stomach bug. That day I came home to a defeated man. He was lying in the couch and I came with some Imodium and Gatorade to help him with his ailments. He said Matias was an angel because every time he cried he would go to his crib and there he was with the biggest smile even though Armando was trying not to hold him or touch him.

Friday afternoon I got to daycare to pick Lucas up and noticed he was a bit warm. I asked the teacher if she had noticed anything and she said he had been acting fine all day long. I got home, took his temperature and that confirmed what I already knew: he is running a fever.

Both Armando and I had a rough night. Lucas sweated out the fever and woke up crying. His hair was wet, his pj’s were wet, and his bed was wet. We were too tired to change his sheets and put him down in ours. In the morning he was doing better and while he was in soccer practice Matias was taking his bottle and suddenly started throwing up. I changed him, changed the bed sheets, changed my clothes and Lucas came home. He did not have a big appetite, but is drinking fluids and I am fine with that. Then Matias has a lose bowel movement and Lucas starts running a fever again.

The 1^st time Lucas got sick after I got back to work I was so tired I had to call out. I thought of all the times me or my brother got sick while we were growing up and I never remember my mom staying home with us. She would take care of us at night, wake up in the morning, drop whoever was feeling fine at school and the sick one at my grandma’s and then went work. Having kids makes you realize and appreciate all the things our parents did for us that go unnoticed because we don’t remember.

This weekend went down between soiled diapers, fevers and puke. I need a weekend to recover from this weekend, but to be honest I would not change it for the world.