My son is 1 year old. He just turned 1 this month. I feel like we've been so busy and have had so many huge changes this past year. I don't know where the time went or how we made it through as well as we have.
When I think of his life all I see is transition and ear infections.
First, born in Indiana on April Fools day 2011. At 4.5 months old we drive from Indiana to Louisiana for two days to visit extended family before heading west. Texas for two nights, one night with my cousins, the next at a hotel. Arizon for one night with family friends. Then finally San Diego where he's had 4 ear infections, pneumonia, bronchitis, and just recently contracted Hand Foot and Mouth disease. We've moved from my parents to an apartment in Imperial Beach for all of one weekend (long depressing story), back with my parents for a few weeks, then into our current place. He was 7 months old when he got his own room and I couldn't have been more ready to have my own space. By that point even the thought of living with people for one more week was depressing.
My son has had one babysitter, three daycares and we are currently looking for a fourth. I think I've already found where I want him to go, but still have a few more interviews to conduct.
When I pray, I honestly thank God for giving me such a great son. He is social, active, happy and well adjusted. Just goes with the flow. He is so silly, loves to climb into his toy box, love to play with phones, lap tops, toilets, trash, batteries, books. He smiles so easy, laughs often. He melts my heart every day. I pray that I can be a mom he'll be proud of.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
My very happy SICK baby.
As I think of the bits that make up my life these days, I look at my son, sleeping in his crib, with his body wedged between his pillow and the bars, his blanket pulled half way over his head and the peaceful look on his face. I love him. I love him so much that when I realized that the small little rash that was on his foot Friday had spread to both feet and legs up to his knees and then developed sores in his mouth that look like tiny blisters, I cried. More like bawled! A gross, snotty, slobbery, blubbering cry. Why? Because from all the research I did, my best educated guess is that this is Hand, Food, and Mouth Disease. The only place he could have picked it up is from the homeday care he JUST started this past week. I felt like a terrible mother.
He is such a happy little guy that I didn't even realize he wasn't feeling well until his aunt (my sister) sat with him on the couch and he fell asleep against her. My 1 year old son does NOT cuddle. Heck, half the time he doesn't even like being held. Once he woke up I offered him milk, he greadily took it from my hands, went to drink from the bottle, as soon as the nipple hit his tongue...bottle on the floor, baby crying. Mommys heart, breaking.
I then took a much closer look at the rash, in his mouth and over every other inch of his body. My poor baby then became very fussy and warm to the touch. I brought him home, struggled to get about 6oz of pedialite in him, and off to bed. He was so exhausted! An hour later, awake. Screaming! Nothing I did helped, he just wanted me to hold him and let him fuss and cry. An hour or so later he finally fell asleep in my arms and I brought him into my bed so I could make sure he didn't stop breathing through the night, not that I thought he actually would, but I worry about things like that when he's sick. Which also means I didn't sleep much last night.
I'll be taking him to see his pediatrician tomorrow just to confirm my self-diagnosis. Also, to get a doctors note for my bosses. I nanny preemie twins and there is NO WAY I'll be showing up potentailly carrying this painful disease. I was planning on giving notice any way, I need a higher paying job and an agency took me on last week. So taking this week off work would free me up to go on interviews anyway.
I just feel awful about the little man. On Friday we went to see an ENT because he's had 4 ear infections in less than 6 months. He's scheduled for surgery next month. He'll get very small tubes put in his ears. The ENT looked in his ears and told me there is a lot of scarring in his left ear, the one that had all the infections, and chronic fluid in his right ear with minimal scaring. He feels tubes will help keep my son's ears clear during this very important period in his language development. The tubes should only last 6 to 9 months.
He is such a happy little guy that I didn't even realize he wasn't feeling well until his aunt (my sister) sat with him on the couch and he fell asleep against her. My 1 year old son does NOT cuddle. Heck, half the time he doesn't even like being held. Once he woke up I offered him milk, he greadily took it from my hands, went to drink from the bottle, as soon as the nipple hit his tongue...bottle on the floor, baby crying. Mommys heart, breaking.
I then took a much closer look at the rash, in his mouth and over every other inch of his body. My poor baby then became very fussy and warm to the touch. I brought him home, struggled to get about 6oz of pedialite in him, and off to bed. He was so exhausted! An hour later, awake. Screaming! Nothing I did helped, he just wanted me to hold him and let him fuss and cry. An hour or so later he finally fell asleep in my arms and I brought him into my bed so I could make sure he didn't stop breathing through the night, not that I thought he actually would, but I worry about things like that when he's sick. Which also means I didn't sleep much last night.
I'll be taking him to see his pediatrician tomorrow just to confirm my self-diagnosis. Also, to get a doctors note for my bosses. I nanny preemie twins and there is NO WAY I'll be showing up potentailly carrying this painful disease. I was planning on giving notice any way, I need a higher paying job and an agency took me on last week. So taking this week off work would free me up to go on interviews anyway.
I just feel awful about the little man. On Friday we went to see an ENT because he's had 4 ear infections in less than 6 months. He's scheduled for surgery next month. He'll get very small tubes put in his ears. The ENT looked in his ears and told me there is a lot of scarring in his left ear, the one that had all the infections, and chronic fluid in his right ear with minimal scaring. He feels tubes will help keep my son's ears clear during this very important period in his language development. The tubes should only last 6 to 9 months.
Monday, March 26, 2012
When it rains, it pours...
This past weekend was terrible.
My car was driving funny, not accelerating well, for the past week and I FINALLY had a moment to take it in to get checked on Saturday. I took it to a local place I get the oil changes done at frequently, so I am familiar with some of the guys there. I was told they would need to run a diagnostic on my car ($95), I said "No". They told me the only other option would be to drive it around to give me an idea of what could be wrong. Sure, do that. And they did.
Next thing I know, I'm being told my car's clutch has gone out and it will cost me $1200 to replace because of the type of car I drive. I burst into tears. Can anyone say "Embarrassing"? The poor guy just kept saying "I'm really sorry" which of course didn't help at all. I made a few calls and decided to take my car some where else. I go to the front counter and ask how much I owe for them checking the car out for me. Here's where things get ugly. $95.00. I lost it. "What do you mean $95 just for driving my car around the block?!", "Well, we told you whats wrong with it.", "I'm NOT paying $95 for you to just drive my car around a block, that's ridiculous! I specifically told you I didn't want a diagnostic run!!!!!!" (This where I start getting choked up and leaking tears again). The man goes into the back to talk to the mechanic. Upon his return he asks if it would help for him to take 10% off the cost. I FLIP! "I don't HAVE $500 I DON'T have $1000 and I'm not paying $95!!!!". He probably can see the flames in my eyes at this point (and my son is now crying in my arms as well, which doesn't help any) so he picks up the phone and tells the man in the back to bring my car out front and I storm out. Still crying. So embarrassed (only because of my emotional state, thank you my son...).
I decided to get home and put my son down for a much needed nap and then cry on the couch for a bit. I start to feel better, I know things will work out. My parents have connections and are making calls for me.
Sunday comes along and I'm feeling a bit better, my son is happy and being silly. Good day so far. Then the bomb drops. I get an email from his daycare provider. Now, here's the back story:
This past week I have had to work late so my mom has picked him up from daycare. When I went to get him from her after work he would be in different pants than the ones I took him to daycare in. My mom told me that's how he was dressed when she picked him up. He developed a rash over that week and one morning when I arrive the aide told me all the costume changes were due to over-wet diapers leaking through. Hmm, I've had him pooping out of his diaper when he was younger, but pee? Only some times in the morning from his over night diaper and even that is rare. I let it go. Friday my mom calls me on her way home from his daycare. He is SOAKED and she is ranting about the aide.
So I send his daycare provider an email stating my concerns about the new aide (she had only been on the job two weeks at this point). I express that I like this aide but because she has no formal childcare training/schooling, perhaps she doesn't realize how important the "small" things, like changing a diaper, are to parents. Two days later her response surprises me. She fired the aide. Not only because of my concerns, but other parents have also spoken to her about similar issues. I foresaw a reprimand, but not her being fired. With this change comes the bomb. She'll be changing her hours of operation. Closing an hour earlier. Which doesn't work for me AT all. Crap. Time to start the frantic search for a new daycare.
My car was driving funny, not accelerating well, for the past week and I FINALLY had a moment to take it in to get checked on Saturday. I took it to a local place I get the oil changes done at frequently, so I am familiar with some of the guys there. I was told they would need to run a diagnostic on my car ($95), I said "No". They told me the only other option would be to drive it around to give me an idea of what could be wrong. Sure, do that. And they did.
Next thing I know, I'm being told my car's clutch has gone out and it will cost me $1200 to replace because of the type of car I drive. I burst into tears. Can anyone say "Embarrassing"? The poor guy just kept saying "I'm really sorry" which of course didn't help at all. I made a few calls and decided to take my car some where else. I go to the front counter and ask how much I owe for them checking the car out for me. Here's where things get ugly. $95.00. I lost it. "What do you mean $95 just for driving my car around the block?!", "Well, we told you whats wrong with it.", "I'm NOT paying $95 for you to just drive my car around a block, that's ridiculous! I specifically told you I didn't want a diagnostic run!!!!!!" (This where I start getting choked up and leaking tears again). The man goes into the back to talk to the mechanic. Upon his return he asks if it would help for him to take 10% off the cost. I FLIP! "I don't HAVE $500 I DON'T have $1000 and I'm not paying $95!!!!". He probably can see the flames in my eyes at this point (and my son is now crying in my arms as well, which doesn't help any) so he picks up the phone and tells the man in the back to bring my car out front and I storm out. Still crying. So embarrassed (only because of my emotional state, thank you my son...).
I decided to get home and put my son down for a much needed nap and then cry on the couch for a bit. I start to feel better, I know things will work out. My parents have connections and are making calls for me.
Sunday comes along and I'm feeling a bit better, my son is happy and being silly. Good day so far. Then the bomb drops. I get an email from his daycare provider. Now, here's the back story:
This past week I have had to work late so my mom has picked him up from daycare. When I went to get him from her after work he would be in different pants than the ones I took him to daycare in. My mom told me that's how he was dressed when she picked him up. He developed a rash over that week and one morning when I arrive the aide told me all the costume changes were due to over-wet diapers leaking through. Hmm, I've had him pooping out of his diaper when he was younger, but pee? Only some times in the morning from his over night diaper and even that is rare. I let it go. Friday my mom calls me on her way home from his daycare. He is SOAKED and she is ranting about the aide.
So I send his daycare provider an email stating my concerns about the new aide (she had only been on the job two weeks at this point). I express that I like this aide but because she has no formal childcare training/schooling, perhaps she doesn't realize how important the "small" things, like changing a diaper, are to parents. Two days later her response surprises me. She fired the aide. Not only because of my concerns, but other parents have also spoken to her about similar issues. I foresaw a reprimand, but not her being fired. With this change comes the bomb. She'll be changing her hours of operation. Closing an hour earlier. Which doesn't work for me AT all. Crap. Time to start the frantic search for a new daycare.
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