The last few days have been hell. Literally hell. I wanted to relax a couple days after the crazy business that was going to STL to get Mya and throw her a birthday party the following day. Riley had different plans though. It all seems blurry now, since I did not get much sleep until last night. Sunday night ended up being a little rough- she woke a few times, but no biggie. Monday brought fussiness, decreased pee output, a lack of appetite and a new feeling that she didn't need to sleep. She would scream and cry in pain- the Dr even changed her antibiotic mid-day AND gave a Rx for numbing ear drops. Didn't seem to help much and I was even doing orajel since she probably had some teething pain on top of it...oh and THEN throw in the diarrhea she had from the antibiotics (which also caused upset belly w/ lack of food in there!). So. I am a worrier by nature and when it comes to the kids I worry 10 fold. She slept 10p-11p Monday night. I left for the the ER at about 1230 and by 1a she was seen by the doctor. Her ear infection wasn't any worse and her throat looked clear and her lungs sounded good. But when I layed her down for him to check her belly all hell broke lose on his world. She screamed bloody murder. So he's a dad too- so he orders blood work and a urine test on her to calm my mind- I'm sure it was to calm me because I was crying too. Riley hates being catheterized. Hates it. And the blood draw- no better. They left in an IV and gave her fluids- No, she was not dehydrated despite her lack of eating- she was drooling enough to bottle and sell! But since she wasn't eating and they had line in already she got some fluids. And the fluids seemed to make her a little happier. Then- like POW- I remember she rolled off the couch Saturday night! OMG, I felt terrible. Call the nurse- "uhh I hate to be THAT mom, but can I get a head CT on her... she did roll of the couch and hit her head over the weekend." And it was so. The Dr ordered heat CT and went ahead and ordered chest and abdominal xray while she down at radiology. She hated those tests too. :-(
And so we wait. And so she slept- for about 20 minutes. And we waited some more. And come 430a we find out everything was clear. Did see the ear inf on the head CT, but she's good. So that was a sigh of relief. But what now with this child that won't sleep?! We leave. She cries the whole way home. We arrive home. She takes a little bottle and passes out- maybe she'll sleep?! Sort of- she slept til 7:20am. A little over 2 hours- that was it.
Well needless to say, I CANNOT manage 3 kids on 2 hrs sleep- so Mikel came home. I called the Dr... get the normal orders- little amts fluid, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Orajel, do what we can. We both finally sleep from about 1100a to about 130p..............grrrrrr. It goes on all day Tuesday- the fussies and she ate a little more. Maybe she'll sleep Mikel says. Come 1030p she is no where near being able to sleep. Not that I don't think she wanted to- she rubbed those little eyes but just tossed and turned. I cried and pleaded with the doctor to let me give her some Benadryl- 1/2 tsp- ONE time. YES! She passed out- right after she got it- it doesn't work that fast! Hahaha She slept til 430a and drank about 4oz then went back to bed. It is now 9a and she is STILL asleep. Yes! But she has a dr appt at 1030- so shower for me and I have to wake her. I HATE to wake her more than anything right now.
Personally- I think she got so tired from the original lack of sleep due to pain that when the pain got better she couldn't sleep. I think that Benadryl helped that and I think she will be good today and eat and nap at normal nap time and fall asleep without a sleep aid. At least that is what I am hoping for. She might get an antibiotic shot today if ears don't look good. She is currently on azithromycin 200mg/5mL, up from the 100mg/5mL that is normal, a switch from the omnicef, which was a switch from amoxicillin. My poor baby.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
On Your Marks, Get Set, GO!
This fussy phase that Riley is going through has over stayed it's welcome. She is pissed that she cannot move on her own yet. Seriously pissed. She tries and just scoots backwards and so she screams- not cries, but screams. A deep, scratchy, throaty scream. It's hard for me to take, but I try to let her do it for awhile so she can attempt to learn on her own... but it's definitely wearing me down.
**note: the "back to waking 1-2x a night phase has worn out it's stay as well.
Riley goes back to the doctor tomorrow to check her ears and make sure the double ear infection cleared up. That means that Dylan will be getting sick soon..........so I have to keep a watch out for that. This whole year either one or the other have been sick and/or on antibiotics at all times. Blaze has been good though. (*note to self: remember Blaze's Rx tomorrow) Well, he's been healthy, good as in well-behaved is another story... He has been suspended the past two days from the bus for hitting our neighbor girl in the arm at the bus stop. He hit a girl. And she didn't even hit him first, but still, she's a girl. We have a rule that he can defend himself if "attacked" (sounds too big a word, but you get the idea) but not girls, you don't hit girls. So I am freed of dishes and extra chores this week because Blaze is doing them. :-)
Okay. Ry is terribly pissed and crying real tears now.
**note: the "back to waking 1-2x a night phase has worn out it's stay as well.
Riley goes back to the doctor tomorrow to check her ears and make sure the double ear infection cleared up. That means that Dylan will be getting sick soon..........so I have to keep a watch out for that. This whole year either one or the other have been sick and/or on antibiotics at all times. Blaze has been good though. (*note to self: remember Blaze's Rx tomorrow) Well, he's been healthy, good as in well-behaved is another story... He has been suspended the past two days from the bus for hitting our neighbor girl in the arm at the bus stop. He hit a girl. And she didn't even hit him first, but still, she's a girl. We have a rule that he can defend himself if "attacked" (sounds too big a word, but you get the idea) but not girls, you don't hit girls. So I am freed of dishes and extra chores this week because Blaze is doing them. :-)
Okay. Ry is terribly pissed and crying real tears now.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Recipes from the Heart
I have another 20 minutes left to myself before I have to wake up sleeping Riley and trek to preschool and get Dylan. After today he only has 4 days of school left and every time I think of it, I start to cry. Why do I cry? It's preschool. He's been going since February. It's the kind we pay for, it's not with the school district. Why do I cry? There will be more school. I will get to sleep in more. We'll have more spending money. Why on earth do I cry over him finishing up preschool? He's not even three years old yet. But yeah, I cry when I think of him finishing up.
On another note, I am no longer babysitting Olivia. Her grandma thought it best that her aunt start to watch her. You know, since her aunt only lives off of TANF and AFDC. I don't even know what AFDC is. I guess it's bitter sweet. It was a little bit of green in my pocket and someone for Dylan to play with, but to be honest, that girl was a terrible brat and was teaching my Dylan bad things. I got a "look" when I brought up to grandma how she was going around saying (and thus teaching Dylan) "God dangit." Now I don't know how other people feel about THEIR two year old children basically cursing, but I don't like it or want it or appreciate someone teaching it to Dylan. And I am not oblivious to the fact that kids eventually start to cuss and that Blaze probably says "holy crap" at school, but not at 2 years old.
So now with no Olivia I am again interested in and wanting a job. Yep, a j-o-b. I haven't worked-worked since I was 6 months pregnant with Dylan. *complications with preterm labor there* Now I have a degree though and just really want to use it. I don't want to forget everything I learned either! I've been home with Riley for 6 months so far and wouldn't feel bad to go back to work now. I guess it's easier with the 2nd kid. I would at least like part time. It would be nice to do 2nd shift PT so no childcare would be needed, but there aren't a lot of doctors' offices open during 2nd shift... my best bet is an immediate care like I did my clinicals at- which there is one in town! But I have found it SOOO hard to find a job right now, especially being right out of school with zip previous experience aside from clinicals. How is someone suppose to get experience without a job to start with? I have TONS of customer service experience (every job I've ever had involves it) so I keep highlighting that trait in my cover letters and such.
I've got an awesomely designed resume (maybe the content sucks, but can't help that now), a great cover letter that I tweak for each job, and a 3.7 GPA and am not THAT picky, aside from being PRN, Float, or working in Carmel. Grrr.
And a note about Mother's Day to finish up. My kids are awesome as is, and most of them are too young to do Mother's Day-type things... but Blaze always blows my mind and makes tear up when he makes his gift at school (that they do every year) and comes home and gives it to me. Me. Not his mom, but me. I mean, I know I am the one raising him and worrying about him and all that, but when he actually does something like that and doesn't have a SINGLE thing for his mom (which kinda makes me feel bad... ) I feel so awesome and loved. So this year I got a cookbook! It's titled "Recipes from the Heart" and has his picture on it and is laminated and has a little saying inside the cover. ♥ So. I helped him scrounge together a homemade card for his mom.
I got a cookbook though.
On another note, I am no longer babysitting Olivia. Her grandma thought it best that her aunt start to watch her. You know, since her aunt only lives off of TANF and AFDC. I don't even know what AFDC is. I guess it's bitter sweet. It was a little bit of green in my pocket and someone for Dylan to play with, but to be honest, that girl was a terrible brat and was teaching my Dylan bad things. I got a "look" when I brought up to grandma how she was going around saying (and thus teaching Dylan) "God dangit." Now I don't know how other people feel about THEIR two year old children basically cursing, but I don't like it or want it or appreciate someone teaching it to Dylan. And I am not oblivious to the fact that kids eventually start to cuss and that Blaze probably says "holy crap" at school, but not at 2 years old.
So now with no Olivia I am again interested in and wanting a job. Yep, a j-o-b. I haven't worked-worked since I was 6 months pregnant with Dylan. *complications with preterm labor there* Now I have a degree though and just really want to use it. I don't want to forget everything I learned either! I've been home with Riley for 6 months so far and wouldn't feel bad to go back to work now. I guess it's easier with the 2nd kid. I would at least like part time. It would be nice to do 2nd shift PT so no childcare would be needed, but there aren't a lot of doctors' offices open during 2nd shift... my best bet is an immediate care like I did my clinicals at- which there is one in town! But I have found it SOOO hard to find a job right now, especially being right out of school with zip previous experience aside from clinicals. How is someone suppose to get experience without a job to start with? I have TONS of customer service experience (every job I've ever had involves it) so I keep highlighting that trait in my cover letters and such.
I've got an awesomely designed resume (maybe the content sucks, but can't help that now), a great cover letter that I tweak for each job, and a 3.7 GPA and am not THAT picky, aside from being PRN, Float, or working in Carmel. Grrr.
And a note about Mother's Day to finish up. My kids are awesome as is, and most of them are too young to do Mother's Day-type things... but Blaze always blows my mind and makes tear up when he makes his gift at school (that they do every year) and comes home and gives it to me. Me. Not his mom, but me. I mean, I know I am the one raising him and worrying about him and all that, but when he actually does something like that and doesn't have a SINGLE thing for his mom (which kinda makes me feel bad... ) I feel so awesome and loved. So this year I got a cookbook! It's titled "Recipes from the Heart" and has his picture on it and is laminated and has a little saying inside the cover. ♥ So. I helped him scrounge together a homemade card for his mom.
I got a cookbook though.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Reason #2 I am glad to be done having kids....
Not that there are more good points and happy reasons that I would still have more kids, but face it- there are reasons to be glad there will be no more babies to raise.
#1 No more sleepless nights- whether they are due to being fat and uncomfortable or due to having a 3 week old infant waking every 3 hours to nurse.
#2 No additional children to potty train.
This is my first real adventure with potty training and it's been started and paused a few times in the last year. I wanted to PT Dylan early, but his speech development, or lack there of, made it difficult. So I put it off. Then I got pregnant again and I'm lazy enough as it is- throw in a human growing inside of me and taking up room and energy and I am not up to washing dishes, let alone potty train an almost 2 year old. Oh, and then came having the baby... yep. Those sleepless nights mentioned in reason #1, they keep you from having energy during the day to do everything else around the house and potty training. Not to mention baby girl was needing me a lot during the day at those early months.
So here we are with baby Riley a whopping six months old! She is doing so well. She sleeps less, but she's not as needy. She sits on her own, entertains herself with toys, doesn't require food every 3 hours. Oh crap, that means it's time to potty train. He's did real well yesterday! My big boy pooped a REAL poop (and by REAL I mean 5" long and solid!) in his potty! He did have some accidents through the day, but when he sat on the potty he went potty! He went so many times yesterday I lost count- but would estimate at about 8. And the thing with Dylan is- he will totally squeeze out whatever he has when he sits! Whether it's one little rabbit turd or a whole teaspoon of pee! He even got on the big potty! He likes to flush.
Today though, we have been stalled again. He has some diarrhea- like liquid kind. Makes me grateful to have hardwood floors because if we had carpet it would be shot. So instead of having the option to run around naked and sit and pee as he likes we are wearing a diaper and I will ask him if he has to potty periodically. Which sucks- he likes the run around naked method and I think he does better with it. It probably doesn't hurt that I give him a DumDum sucker each time he goes :-) Even at 1030p at night....................
#1 No more sleepless nights- whether they are due to being fat and uncomfortable or due to having a 3 week old infant waking every 3 hours to nurse.
#2 No additional children to potty train.
This is my first real adventure with potty training and it's been started and paused a few times in the last year. I wanted to PT Dylan early, but his speech development, or lack there of, made it difficult. So I put it off. Then I got pregnant again and I'm lazy enough as it is- throw in a human growing inside of me and taking up room and energy and I am not up to washing dishes, let alone potty train an almost 2 year old. Oh, and then came having the baby... yep. Those sleepless nights mentioned in reason #1, they keep you from having energy during the day to do everything else around the house and potty training. Not to mention baby girl was needing me a lot during the day at those early months.
So here we are with baby Riley a whopping six months old! She is doing so well. She sleeps less, but she's not as needy. She sits on her own, entertains herself with toys, doesn't require food every 3 hours. Oh crap, that means it's time to potty train. He's did real well yesterday! My big boy pooped a REAL poop (and by REAL I mean 5" long and solid!) in his potty! He did have some accidents through the day, but when he sat on the potty he went potty! He went so many times yesterday I lost count- but would estimate at about 8. And the thing with Dylan is- he will totally squeeze out whatever he has when he sits! Whether it's one little rabbit turd or a whole teaspoon of pee! He even got on the big potty! He likes to flush.
Today though, we have been stalled again. He has some diarrhea- like liquid kind. Makes me grateful to have hardwood floors because if we had carpet it would be shot. So instead of having the option to run around naked and sit and pee as he likes we are wearing a diaper and I will ask him if he has to potty periodically. Which sucks- he likes the run around naked method and I think he does better with it. It probably doesn't hurt that I give him a DumDum sucker each time he goes :-) Even at 1030p at night....................
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Riley is such a big girl already..........
So my baby girl had her 6 month check up today and we all know what that means- immunizations. Two sticks to the thighs that make her cry to the point she holds her breath. But like the title says- she's a big girl and she immediately stopped when I picked her up and acted like nothing happened! She did have some acetaminophen before the shots just to keep the pain down, but I doubt Tylenol is suddenly a super drug that takes effect in 2 minutes. I can't help but brag about her accomplishments!
As for the rest of the appointment, she is awesome and doing great. Her weight is up to 17lbs 13.4oz and she is 26.5 inches long! She grew 1.5 inches in only 2 months! I wish I could do that! As a comparison, Dylan was 19lbs 5.4oz and 27.25 inches long at his 6 mos appointment. They both ride the 75th percentile strong! But alas, Dylan just got over a sinus infection, so it's Riley's turn to get sick- double ear infection. But she's a trooper because she didn't get a fever or extra fussy or anything... just a runny nose and I thought that was allergies (turns out allergies don't appear until around 2 years old!). So she is going back on amoxicillin.
Right now Riley sits up all by herself as well! She is a pro at it and hates to lay down unless she is sleepy. She will lean over too to look around you or something to see something else! How cute is that?! She loves to chew on things now too- paper! board books! her bib! her spoon! Anything besides a teether really. I am uber excited though that she never got into a pacifier (same as Dylan) that way I don't have to break her of that habit.
On another note, Mikel started back on 1st shift yesterday. It was so awesome to have him back at night to help get kids ready for bed and eat dinner with us and everything. Hopefully I will now become more of a morning person too.............It's amazing how having your husband work 2nd shift can change your routine around... definitely not for the better! I am up at 5:20am to take on Olivia (little girl I babysit) and then I check my email and Facebook and Reddit and then, THEN I start BREAKFAST! Yesterday was oatmeal and not he instant crap and today we had omelets! Yes! Ham and cheese omelets with toasty toast! Mikel, Blaze, and I all ate together! Dylan and Riley and Olivia were still asleep and that's probably for the best! My only wish was that I was a coffee drinking fool. I despise coffee and need some sort of caffeine to jump start me in the morning.... and it's probably not good to be drinking Dr Pepper with my ham and cheese omelet.............yeah. Right now would also make an awesome nap time.... as I am losing my umph... but my 2nd wind comes when Mikel gets home. :-)
Oh, and my cute little momma's boy, Dylan, went to sleep in his bed last night. He is the product of co-sleeping and I am too soft to break him of it... but now that everyone is changing routines, so must he! I got his Spongebob bedding all cleaned and made and nice and he only cried for like a minute... granted he woke up at like 4:30am and climbed into our bed. Baby steps. Baby steps.
Going on noon now.... time to make lunch and lay the kids down for a nap... Keeping Olivia today until 4p....so she will have a nap. She is quite the handful...and I hope she doesn't rub off on Dylan.
As for the rest of the appointment, she is awesome and doing great. Her weight is up to 17lbs 13.4oz and she is 26.5 inches long! She grew 1.5 inches in only 2 months! I wish I could do that! As a comparison, Dylan was 19lbs 5.4oz and 27.25 inches long at his 6 mos appointment. They both ride the 75th percentile strong! But alas, Dylan just got over a sinus infection, so it's Riley's turn to get sick- double ear infection. But she's a trooper because she didn't get a fever or extra fussy or anything... just a runny nose and I thought that was allergies (turns out allergies don't appear until around 2 years old!). So she is going back on amoxicillin.
Right now Riley sits up all by herself as well! She is a pro at it and hates to lay down unless she is sleepy. She will lean over too to look around you or something to see something else! How cute is that?! She loves to chew on things now too- paper! board books! her bib! her spoon! Anything besides a teether really. I am uber excited though that she never got into a pacifier (same as Dylan) that way I don't have to break her of that habit.
On another note, Mikel started back on 1st shift yesterday. It was so awesome to have him back at night to help get kids ready for bed and eat dinner with us and everything. Hopefully I will now become more of a morning person too.............It's amazing how having your husband work 2nd shift can change your routine around... definitely not for the better! I am up at 5:20am to take on Olivia (little girl I babysit) and then I check my email and Facebook and Reddit and then, THEN I start BREAKFAST! Yesterday was oatmeal and not he instant crap and today we had omelets! Yes! Ham and cheese omelets with toasty toast! Mikel, Blaze, and I all ate together! Dylan and Riley and Olivia were still asleep and that's probably for the best! My only wish was that I was a coffee drinking fool. I despise coffee and need some sort of caffeine to jump start me in the morning.... and it's probably not good to be drinking Dr Pepper with my ham and cheese omelet.............yeah. Right now would also make an awesome nap time.... as I am losing my umph... but my 2nd wind comes when Mikel gets home. :-)
Oh, and my cute little momma's boy, Dylan, went to sleep in his bed last night. He is the product of co-sleeping and I am too soft to break him of it... but now that everyone is changing routines, so must he! I got his Spongebob bedding all cleaned and made and nice and he only cried for like a minute... granted he woke up at like 4:30am and climbed into our bed. Baby steps. Baby steps.
Going on noon now.... time to make lunch and lay the kids down for a nap... Keeping Olivia today until 4p....so she will have a nap. She is quite the handful...and I hope she doesn't rub off on Dylan.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
The Beginning....
What an accomplishment- I have picked up pieces of time alone though out the day to get this blog rolling! Ideally, I hope that it will give me an outlet to discuss and keep track of my babies as they all grow up. Facebook didn't really seem like the best place to discuss poopy diapers and ear infections and field trips and school grades. I've been following a blog on here that a friend pointed out to some of us and I always look forward to checking up on it to see what is new. It is also a mommy blog and makes me feel better about the little things I get excited about over the kids.
So to begin- a little about myself:
I am 25 years old and married to a wonderful man, father, and husband- Mikel. He is also the most fertile man I know... leading to the point where I tell you I have 4 children total. They are all his, but technically only 2 are mine. Blaze was his first- he is nine years old. We have custody of him and he is in the 3rd grade. Then along came Mya... she was unknown to us until her first birthday. She is the result of one night of indiscretion and will be a great example of what can happen when we have "the talk" with Blaze. She lives in Missouri with her mom and we have visitation. Together we have Dylan. He was quite a surprise as well. He is going to be 3 yrs old this August. He is the cutest thing I've ever seen and turned my life into something quite different than I ever expected it to be. Riley Ann arrived this past October- another surprise. She is my baby girl and our last child. I feel like if I had the financial means to I would have more children, but let's face it- four is enough!
I recently finished my AAS in Medical Assisting, but am staying home this year to enjoy Riley. I know I want to go back to work soon, but I can't complain about staying home with Riley during this stage in her life.
We live in a great town, in a wonderful little neighborhood. Picture perfect with a fenced in yard and playground and dogs to run around with, neighbors who all know each other and get together for cook outs and bonfires, and a mail lady we know by name and knows my kids and dogs.
As great as it all sounds, I am missing something. I have come to realize I need something for me. I am obsessed with taking care of the kids and making sure they have want they want and need, to the point where I go without. I need time alone. I need friends. I need new bras. I need a babysitter willing to take on 3 kids for cheap. I need adult conversations with adults. I need to learn to take what's offered, when it's offered and when to say no. I need to learn that it's okay to not want to be with my kids every minute of everyday. I need my own life too.
And so here I am... with a blog. Hopefully to meet some friends and mom's that have common wants and needs and lives. To share my life and my children with others. To write about everything that happens as it happens (because sometimes I forget the camera).
So to begin- a little about myself:
I am 25 years old and married to a wonderful man, father, and husband- Mikel. He is also the most fertile man I know... leading to the point where I tell you I have 4 children total. They are all his, but technically only 2 are mine. Blaze was his first- he is nine years old. We have custody of him and he is in the 3rd grade. Then along came Mya... she was unknown to us until her first birthday. She is the result of one night of indiscretion and will be a great example of what can happen when we have "the talk" with Blaze. She lives in Missouri with her mom and we have visitation. Together we have Dylan. He was quite a surprise as well. He is going to be 3 yrs old this August. He is the cutest thing I've ever seen and turned my life into something quite different than I ever expected it to be. Riley Ann arrived this past October- another surprise. She is my baby girl and our last child. I feel like if I had the financial means to I would have more children, but let's face it- four is enough!
I recently finished my AAS in Medical Assisting, but am staying home this year to enjoy Riley. I know I want to go back to work soon, but I can't complain about staying home with Riley during this stage in her life.
We live in a great town, in a wonderful little neighborhood. Picture perfect with a fenced in yard and playground and dogs to run around with, neighbors who all know each other and get together for cook outs and bonfires, and a mail lady we know by name and knows my kids and dogs.
As great as it all sounds, I am missing something. I have come to realize I need something for me. I am obsessed with taking care of the kids and making sure they have want they want and need, to the point where I go without. I need time alone. I need friends. I need new bras. I need a babysitter willing to take on 3 kids for cheap. I need adult conversations with adults. I need to learn to take what's offered, when it's offered and when to say no. I need to learn that it's okay to not want to be with my kids every minute of everyday. I need my own life too.
And so here I am... with a blog. Hopefully to meet some friends and mom's that have common wants and needs and lives. To share my life and my children with others. To write about everything that happens as it happens (because sometimes I forget the camera).
