Sometimes sharing isn't nice
You know, there's a very good reason it's recommended that families practice fire drills or emergency situations before they're faced with the real deal. The more you practice your actions, the less stressful the situation will be, the more prepared you will feel & the less thought it will take. It's too bad that there aren't family drama drills that can be practiced. There's so much that can happen, so many things that can go wrong, it's almost impossible to prepare for what may happen. I hate that we have to experience a situation & learn from it so that it won't happen again. I wish we could prepare for every situation that may come our way.

Last night we went over to Aunt Ju-Ju's for a turkey dinner that Grandma L made. Logan was pretty excited to play with Cousin B & his new birthday toys & we were looking forward to a "thanksgiving" dinner. We got there & got settled in. Carter was asleep, so I left him in the car seat all snug & tucked away. I was talking with Aunt Ju-Ju while Cousin B played with his toys & everyone else was upstairs. She began talking about how Cousin B had been fighting a fever ever since Sunday at his birthday party & they took him to the doctor that day because he had spiked a fever with a temperature of 104 at 1:30 earlier that morning. The doctor told them it was some kind of virus & that there wasn't much they could do. They were also told that fevers were treatable at home if they were less than 105. She shrugged her shoulders & said that she was pretty sure his fever was from teething & that he was getting a cold on top of it. She's telling me this with my NEWBORN BABY SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO ME JUST FEET AWAY FROM HER SICK KID.

I don't know if it's common knowledge (common courtesy, maybe?) with other parents in the world, but with my friends, playgroups, day cares, or any place that my kids play or stay at - if anyone is sick, they stay home & plans are canceled. Being sick means anything coming out from their noses, coughing & especially fevers (puking goes without saying. Well, at least for those with common sense). Fevers are something serious enough to rearrange plans for because a kid is CONTAGIOUS when they have a fever. Also, fevers happen as a natural response to the body fighting infection - not from teething!

After hearing this delayed important information from Aunt Ju-Ju who obviously didn't seem to care that my kids, & most importantly, my BABY could get sick, the rest of the family came down to play with the kids with us. As Cousin B was coughing up a lung & Grandma L & Aunt Ju-Ju were talking about the last time he had some medicine, I gave Bill the Oh My God, I have to talk to you but everyone is right here & I'm not leaving our baby alone, look. Grandma L asked me if Logan had a hard time getting his second year molars. I told her that he didn't, I didn't even know when he got them & he certainly never got a fever from teething. My kids only get fevers when they are sick. She didn't look too happy with that answer. The minute everyone left to go set the table, Bill & I hung back & I told him what was up.

Now, what we should have done was pack up the kids & left. But, because we've never discussed this scenario before, or practiced our family drama drill, we stayed. We really were put between a rock & a hard place because leaving right away would have caused a massive meltdown from Logan, but staying increased the risk of someone in our family getting sick & we all know how illness spreads like wildfire in a household. I did the next best thing & kept Carter in his car seat, pulled the "bundle me" cover up around him & pulled down the canopy so he was pretty much out of sight & quarantined. Cousin B kept trying to go look at him & poke at him, so I kept the car seat by my feet or at my side the entire night to ward off potential germ infestations. I made Logan wash his hands too.

We stayed for dinner & a little bit afterward. While the kids ran around & the adults watched the debates, I nursed Carter under a blanket so we could get ready to go. I put him back in the car seat & Bill wrangled Logan. The grandparents came over to longingly look at Carter, to which I replied, "Yeah, he's quarantined in there. Too bad we're in a sick house, otherwise he would have come out". I was met without response & blank stares. It's the typical family response - pretend that nothing is wrong.

We left & on the drive home Bill & I talked about what happened. I told him how selfish it was for the family to do that. He agreed. I told him that if that situation should ever happen again, we're leaving. He thought that was a good idea too. So, at least we feel the same way & with two more babies in the family, I'm sure were bound to come across this situation again. Unfortunately.

Now let's hope that nobody in our family gets sick. Especially Carter. Heads are going to roll if he does.