Stomach Bug

The stomach bug has hit our house yet again. This time, my husband was the lucky winner. He was out of work yesterday and spent the day before in bed. While he was nursing his illness, I was pondering the difference between when I had the stomach bug and when he had it.

When I had it, I was pregnant and he left me to care for our 2 young kids (2 and 4) alone. He also didn't help make dinner or anything like that, so I was responsible for getting food on the table, regardless of whether or not I'd be sitting down to eat it with him. He also asked where X, Y or Z was, usually articles of clothing - as a way to hint that the laundry needed to be done. In short, nothing changed. I just threw up between completing regular tasks and was more tired. He did help pick up the living room a couple of times, but by "pick up" I mean he piled the kids' toys on the coffee table so I'd be able to get them easier in the morning.

When he had it, he literally locked himself in the bedroom with his computer all day. He called out for drinks, slept most of the day and played on his computer the rest of the day. He wore pajamas and didn't do anything. I did 100% of the child care because he "didn't want to get them sick" and of course I had to come in to clear dishes, pick up clothes, wash blankets, clean the bathroom, etc. Basically, he was an invalid. Then, when he was feeling a little better the next day he ventured into the living room and threw up his hands whenever the kids spoke to him, asked him for something or got too close because again he "didn't want to get them sick". Right. He spent the day on the couch playing video games, but occassionally stopped to ask me for something to drink or to place an order for a type of food I wasn't making (Jell-o, soup, eggs, etc.). He wasn't sick anymore, but wanted to take it easy to recover. We were also expecting a snow storm, so I got to run out to the grocery store before the kids woke up and then sneak off to the gas station while they were napping. I also got all of the trash removal duties, diapers, etc. Lucky me! He also very helpfully suggested that I "really clean" the house to get rid of all the germs, so the remainder of the day I spent scrubbing, spraying and disinfecting everything along with washing the bedding that he used the day before. It was exhausting and I'm pregnant and I got very cranky because he was clearly taking advantage of the situation.

When confronted about it, he kept using the excuse that he didn't want to get anyone else sick. When I was sick he didn't have a problem with leaving me home alone to care for the kids or letting me handle dinner or anything like that. He wasn't concerned about getting anyone else sick when the alternative was him taking over the household stuff for a few days. I was sick for 4 days - 2 of which were really bad. My OB wanted to hospitalize me to get fluids because it was that bad, but I couldn't because I didn't have anyone to help with the house or take care of the kids. He spent a day feeling really bad and then took a sick day because he pretty much wanted to and didn't want to be in the snow storm. BIG difference!

I'm just a little peeved about how different it was for the two of us. When he's sick, he expects me to wait on him hand and foot, but when I'm sick he can't even order a fricken pizza to feed the kids. Had I wanted to just feed them pizza, I'd have had to order it, pick it up and then literally serve it to them, clean up the mess, take the boxes to the trash and put any leftovers in the fridge. It's just ridiculous - why can't I ever take a sick day like he does? Well, the joke is on him. When this baby is born, I'm staying in the hospital the maximum time and I've already told him he's not allowed to stay with me. The last 2 babies he has stayed in the hospital with me, taken over my bed because the pull-out chair thing for dads was "too uncomfortable" and then hustled me out as soon as possible (half the time I'm allowed to be there) because it's boring for him to be there, he doesn't sleep well, they don't feed the dad so he had to fend for himself, etc. etc. Too damn bad! I'm going to take my 2 days and enjoy having someone else clean the bathroom, cook my food and take care of me for a change!