My lousy day

Thursday morning I went to do my makeup and while looking at myself close up in the mirror, noticed a small bug at my hairline. I grabbed him out and looked at him: tiny, and new to me. I surveyed the area where the bug came from- lots of tiny dark spots. WHAT IN THE WORLD! I run upstairs and google 'lice'. The images popping up look exactly like the little devil I have now stuck to a piece of tape to use during my home diagnosis/investigation. Freak out mode happens....now. I look in Anabelle's hair and see a few of the same tiny black specs. Call the doctor, make appointment off base, and freak out for the next three hours. I began washing sheets as I am fearing the worst. Right before we leave I put Anabelle's hair in a ponytail and see an actual bug.

After waiting for 2 hours in a room with 14 people and seven chairs, we get called back to see one of the Panhandles stupidest doctors. He walked in and he said how pretty we all are. Then asks me if I am 19 and if the children are my cousins.

"No. They are my children"

"These kids all came from you?! What are you, 22?"

"I am 27"

In the remaining two minutes he was willing to spend with us, he told me that he wouldn't even look at Anabelle because she should see a pediatrician (read "I can't bill for her so I won't waste my time"), he wrote me a prescription that can't be used while breastfeeding. I asked him about it and he said, "well you're not breastfeeding". Oh really? Thanks champ. I told him that I was and he said, "well, you'll have to stop". And on the way out he told me to fumigate my house.

I got an OTC shampoo and went home and did that to our hair, in addition to every other home remedy I could find online. I washed laundry constantly until every item that could possibly be stuffed in a washer had soaked and dried on the highest heat possible. It was one of my more exhausting days. After soaking our heads in Listerine, vinegar, tea tree oil, and coconut oil, and combing our hair with nit combs for hours, we are nit free. We never actually had an all out lice infestation. It appears that we each had one who laid eggs and we happened to catch it very early. Nonetheless, it seriously creeped me out.

The words "lousy" and "nit-pick" and "fine tooth comb" mean something totally different to me now.

Take it from me: nit free is the way to be.

I am especially loving Anabelle's announcements to everybody in earshot that we have lice. If nothing else, it opens up a nice path when I'm trying to push all the girls in the stroller.