27 October 2005

Day LXI -- 24 days

OK. So I totally know my count to Hawaii is off. Don't ask questions. Just go with it.

Another weekend is approaching, thank goodness. But it's another weekend chock full of crap to do. Why can't we just have a weekend where we don't have to go anywhere and no one comes to visit? Bah-humbug, I say!

Let's chat for a moment about my kid and his walking. 'Cause he's doing it all the time. In fact, he's close to speed walking these days -- straight to the stairs. Loves to climb the stairs. There's also a light switch near the stairs Jack has adopted as the best toy ever!! (Thanks, Ga for showing him that!)

The point is, he's getting really good at being independent. He's not really one to put strange objects in his mouth which is a relief. But Jack will put anything in a light socket that he thinks should fit (and likes to pull out the baby proof thing out). He loves to jump on the couch (and nearly fall off every time). And he loves to play with fans. Don't try to simply unplug it because he'll plug it right back in and turn it back on.

I look back fondly to those easy days of vibrating chairs and exersaucers. People say that's hard. I laugh at them.

So picture this little blond head boggling around the house with his Frankenstein legs. (he's not really into bending his knees just yet.) Usually he hums under his breath or whispers "Da-Da" if Husband is not yet home from the office. Sometimes I just sit back and watch him wondering what he's thinking about while he works on his little "projects". Jack's very particular about where things go, what things do, and how he wants it all to fall into place.

These days, when he's "busy" he walks right on past Ma and takes care of business. He's busy building with his blocks, throwing his rainbow colored balls around and flipping the lights on and off.

He can't be bothered with hugging or kissing. He'll blow me a kiss to get me off his back.

20 October 2005

Day LX --29 (60th post)

Yesterday Jack got to play in the "big" kid classroom (1 and 2 year olds.) He should technically be in that class but he refuses to walk on a consistent basis so for liability reasons he still spends some of his day in the nursery. I talked to the director of the center about this and she thinks when he's not thinking about it, he walks but he makes an effort to walk on his knees.

Stubborn.

Yesterday they had him eat lunch (and take his nap) in the BK room to see how he'd do. The menu included: pizza, corn and applesauce.

The teacher told me that Jack ate his lunch completely -- and in his own way.

First he ate all the meat off the pizza. Then he ate some corn and then 'sauce.
Then he ate all the cheese. Then corn. Then 'sauce.
Next, he sucked off all the pizza sauce. Then corn. The applesauce.
Finally, he ate the crust and finished off the corn and applesauce.

I would have loved to see him. This is when I am sad I am a working mom.

18 October 2005

Day XLXVIII -- 31

Great news! Jack's been cleared by his doctor! He's croup (crap) free! He's RSV free! He's not suffering from an ear infection or a high temp! He can go back to playing at school!

Whoo-hoo!

He was on fire today at the doctors ... he was crawling all over the paper-covered examining table. Loved being just a diaper and socks. L-O-V-E-D it. The nurse gave him the measuring tape that she uses to measure baby heads and he LOVED pulling it out of the case and snapping it back in. He was bubbly and happy and really cute. Until...

He bit me on my shoulder and laughed really hard when I said, "OW!"
(For some reason he thinks it's really funny whenever anyone says OW! Ask Ga, Gramma and Daddy about it. It's not fun when his baby razor blades dig in.)

Here's another example of the kid's genius....
The Dr. was leaning over him checking his ears when Jackson T. reached into her breast pocket, pulled out the tongue depresser, opened his mouth, stuck it on his tongue and said, "AHHHH!" Even the Dr. was impressed.

Daddy dressed him today in something that just didn't make sense. He claimed he wanted him to be comfortable. Apparently comfort doesn't equal color coordinated. (It's not like I didn't set an outfit out for the kid.)
Not like it really matters, right?

"Why do you care?" Husband asked me in the waiting room of the doctor's office. "He' s just a baby and he likes it."

Sure.

When I dropped him off at school one of his teachers said, "Looks like Daddy dressed Jackson today!"

17 October 2005

Day XLXVII -- 32

So when you decide to have a baby, everyone tries to tell you how hard it's going to be. They all say, "Your life will never be the same." And it's true.

No longer can we sleep in until 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
There's no "movie night" on Tuesdays just because we feel like popcorn and mindless entertainment.
And I don't even know who Conan O'Brien is anymore.

But no one can fully prepare you for the baby's first trip to the emergency room. And it's not like I didn't have runs to the ER as a kid -- A teeter-totter was slammed on my head when I was in 1st grade, thanks Sarah Booher. But when a "quick" ER trip turns into several days in the peds unit at the local 'pital.... that's when you discover how hard it really is to be a parent.

Jack hadn't been feeling good all week. We both knew it. But it seemed like just a cold. A call to the doctor's office told us it sounded like he had croup -- no, no one checked him. They just heard him coughing over the phone. And then the nurse blew us off. He's fine, she said. There's nothing you can do, she said. He just has to get over it.

Thursday night -- around 8 p.m -- he was a disaster. He was sleeping (uncomfortably) and sounded very raspy. His temp got up to 103.1 -- and it could have been higher but he wouldn't cooperate when I was taking it.

Husband paged the doctor. She called back in under 30 minutes. We explained what was going on and held the phone up to his mouth for her to listen. She immediately told us to go to the hospital. It was the temperature that was worrying her, it was the fact that he was struggling to breath.

So we wrapped him up and took off.

We got to the hospital around 10 p.m. (completely forgetting there was a nursing strike going on) and found that the rag-a-bunch hanging out there were watching ER on TV. I found this slightly funny. Jack was very interested in openly staring at the variety of people in the waiting room. He suddenly seemed like he was feeling better. I worried that we'd jumped the gun on the trip to the ER.

We were soon brought back to a bed. Husband thought that was a good sign. But I knew they'd just moved us somewhere else to wait. And we waited... and waited... and waited. Jack was getting tired. And very sick again. He's horrible cough wouldn't stop. His temp had dipped to 102.9. Still not good.

Finally the ER doctor came in to check him. She agreed that he had croup but was concerned about his temp. Croup doesn't usually bring that high of one. She asked for tests, Xrays.

Jack was miserable by this point. He became hysterical when they tried the Xray. They had to pin him down -- the worst possible thing you can do for a very mobile baby. And unfortunately, when he became hysterical, he began to cough uncontrollably. Then he freaked because it was hard to breath. It was horrible!

The doctor decided he needed a steroid shot to help clear the airway. I don't even know what time it was at this point. The baby doctor-in-training came in to ask us the same questions two other people before him had asked. They all decided the on-call peds doc needed to come in immediately.

(Immediately in ER time is two hours apparently.)

They tried to give him oxygen. Hated it. He would not put the mask up to his face. We had to blow it by his face. Very scary. Then Jack started crying. He'd had enough. He continued to cry for a lonnnnnnng time. It was a disaster.

When we finally had him calmed down, the nurses gave him the shot of steroids. It started all over again.

At 3:30 a.m. (after the baby doctor examined him -- the same pediatrician who had been on call the day he was born) we were told Jack would be admitted. They just weren't happy with his breathing. She told us we'd have our room in the next 20 minutes or so. With that, Husband who had a trip the next day he couldn't get out of, decided to run home to rotate the laundry and try to get his things together. At this point Jack was sleeping.

At 4:30 a.m. Jack and I were still in the ER. He'd woken up about 15 minutes after Daddy left and was moaning and crying so loud the old people in the ER were giving us dirty looks. What the hell was I supposed to do? I was pacing, I was rocking, I was humming... It was a mess.

Ten minutes before 5 a.m., I called Husband from our room. We'd just gotten there.

more to come....

13 October 2005

Day XLXVI -- 38

The boy has a cough so horrible it could wake the dead. It sounds as if he's 100 years old and has been smoking for 99. When he talks, he sounds like this dog with no voicebox that used to live down the street from us when I was a kid.

It's bad. It's real bad.

Jack's got croup.

Apparently, it's something that only babies can get (thank goodness) but I think I was the person who gave it to him -- a co-worker's kid just got over it.

It's a virus that makes it difficult to sleep. He chokes on his flem -- and then panics. Needless to say, no one in our household has gotten much sleep this week.

Husband stayed home with him today. My parents are coming tomorrow so Husband can leave for his trip to Columbus at a decent hour. Then I think we'll spend another weekend at their house so I am not left stranded with a very sick, very clingy kid.

Lucky grandparents, eh?

11 October 2005

Day XLXV -- 40 days until Hawaii

Today offically marks the start of "Operation Diet Hawaii." We are less than six weeks away from our Thanksgiving in Maui and we've both got what doctors call, "a little bit of a weight problem.''

Hmmm... slim fasting is the BEST!

Jack woke up with a cough today that could make a grown man cry. The kid is not having good luck in the sicky department.

He spent the day yesterday with his grandma who (we think) he calls "Nana." We are still not sure about it. Jack is still completely favoring his Ga. When Hubbie and I left him Sunday night, he waved and laughed. When Ga tried to go to the store not two hours earlier, the kid lost his mind.

He was howling, sobbing and dragging himself down the hall. It was a sad, sad thing.
Yes, he ended up going to the store with Ga.

At the restaurant for the trade-off he was excited to see us (we each got a hug) but as soon as Ga was finished parking the car, he was reaching for him. Stretching for him, actually.

Dad tries to say Jack misses us but we all know he's just trying to make us feel better about it.

06 October 2005

Day XLXIV

Photo courtesy of the aunt from Washington D.C. The dot near his nose is a boo-boo.

I completely realize it has been a long time since I last wrote. Honestly, life has been slightly out-of-control. I don't think the little family has fully recovered from my week-long disappearance.

And it's not like huge things haven't happened...

MSU lost to U-M in another crushing loss.

Animal Control picked up the cat because we just couldn't get him out of that basement.

Oh, and I did I tell you Jack's walking? Yup! That's right.

The day I got back from my business trip, Husband and I rushed to school straight from the airport to get him. He was going down the slide when we walked across the yard. He immediately saw me and shrieked, pumping both fists in the air. And then, in his excitement he walked to me. It was one of the most amazing moments in my life. I swooped him up and we hugged so tightly, I thought I may crush him. We both even cried a little. Later he realized Daddy was there and he patted him on the shoulder. Then he pulled Husband over and we had a group hug. That's Jack's favorite thing.

These days he's lukewarm on the walking. Sometimes he does it, sometimes not so much.

But if he decides to walk, he claps and cheers himself on.

Priceless.