babyblog

If it is likely that I will ever feel organized for Christmas?

Daniel Silva - Gabriel Allon series.

Non Stop Winter Virus's

Thanksgiving - my new favourite "Holiday"

Since walking

Tab has been quite poorly ...... I thought with a virus but this week it got worse & worse with a week of fevers & bad coughing. Today I took her to the Pediatrician and they xray'd her and diagnosed her with Pneumonia :o(

She's very sorry for herself, somewhat listless and energyless (probably because she hasn't eaten in 2 days), coughing continually and generally very poorly.

Look what my big girl can do

Dylan didn't walk until 19 mths and Tab has been slow to get going too. But this week I have suspected that she might take her first steps.

She's been cruising furniture for ages and started to get a little braver in reaching across bigger & bigger distances. To that end, I've kept my camera attached at my hip, and this evening .... SHE DID IT! She took one faltering step and fell down, I whipped out the camera, stood her up again, and she went for it and I managed to capture it! So proud :o)

I appear to have pulled a muscle

or make that a couple of muscles. One hip and one knee. They hurt. I'm such an old lady.

Sad

Harry has taken to carrying piles of small things around with him. Coins. Rocks. Any collection of small junk. I remember Dylan going through this phase when he was this age. I regularly find piles of coins in strange places like in my bed, or under a cushion on the couch. What makes me sad about this is recognizing this shift in interest, this sign that he's actually growing up. For nearly 10 years we've been wading through a sea of small cars and trains that they couldn't walk around without & those days are nearly over. Poo.

Dairy (again)

I'm confused with this bloody dairy.

If I give her undiluted dairy (milk / formula), she gets diarrhea.

If I give her processed dairy (cheese, yogurt), she gets constipated.

I know I need to not give her dairy really, I'm just hoping her tolerance is being increased with age (it's not) but it's all very confusing, why does it have such polar opposite effects?

Daily Dose of Medical Drama

After smelling a strange stale tobacco-like smell for the last 2 weeks I finally came down with a sinus infection which has made my face feel like it is going to explode in agony. Got some antibiotics today so hopefully it will clear up!

Harry meanwhile - when I was getting him dressed this morning - I noticed his willy was red looking. The room was quite dark as it was early, so I asked to look more closely but he refused to let me. I asked him if Daddy could look but he refused that too. He pulled his pants on to hide it, but as he did so it obviously wasn't comfortable... then he said that it was hurting. I decided to make an appointment at the Pediatrician, thinking that I was probably being overly cautious, particularly as I hadn't had a clear view!

Anyway, I managed to convince Harry that it was OK for the Doctor to look as the DR looked at willys every day and he quite happily pulled down his pants to show him. As he pulled them down in the bright room I think I gave an audible gasp because his poor willy is swollen and red and very nasty looking!

The DR said that he has an infection which needs treating ASAP, it's an infection under the foreskin which seems to have spread. He's been prescribed some antibiotic cream and also some oral antibiotics which he has to take / apply and look for improvement within 24 hours. If it isn't improved he has to go to hospital for IV antibiotics! I forget the exact reason but something to do with it turning into something nastier or causing permanent damage if left untreated :(

He's always had some problems with retracting it since birth -- nothing major just been reluctant to - so I queried whether this has caused it (no, it can happen to anyone) or whether he'd need circumcising in the future. The DR said that he shouldn't do (thank goodness), that once this infection is gone we'll give him some steroid cream to use to help it ease the skins ability to go back which should fix it.

Poor boy! He is telling everyone 'my willy hurts' - most amusingly at the cinema tonight to his friend in the LOUDEST voice while everyone else in the audience was very quiet. But he is happy to take his medicine and he is happy to apply his cream himself.... he wants it to get better, and he was impressed to get a 'scription' (prescription) of his own from the DR..!

Tabitha, 16 months

Hello Miss T... you are now 16 months old!

My beautiful little girl, this month has been quite significant for you.

First and extremely importantly, you are now

SLEEPING
THROUGH
THE
NIGHT

And even more importantly and more impressive, you are now

SLEEPING
IN
YOUR
OWN
BED

Yes, that's right, you are sleeping THROUGH THE NIGHT IN YOUR OWN BED.

There have been times over the last 15 months, many many times (actually all of the time) that I never thought I would say those 7 words, let alone string the two parts together into one wonderful phrase. You gorgeous little girl, you are sleeping! all night! in your bed! not in mine! not waking up! not feeding!

In some ways this is such a big move that it's a wrench as you've gone from being my tiny baby girl nestled up as close to me as you could physically get nursing yourself to sleep multiple times a night, to being this almost toddler who goes to bed after a bottle (of hypoallergenic formula of course), not needing me - daddy will do -and sleeping quite contendedly by yourself. On the other hand, my bed is AWESOME. I am finally appreciating the luxury of that Tempur Pedic Mattress now that I can sleep on more than 1 inch of it. And there is nothing like feeling well rested after sleeping for several uninterrupted hours for the first time in a year and a half! Still, I'm glad we let it happen at your own pace, I'm glad you were given the security and comfort that you needed in these early months, and I miss you when you're not there when I wake up :o)

In other news your language skills have improved tremendously. You love nothing more than to sit with me and "talk". We babble and babble about anything and you love to copy sounds... this week you've added "DOWN" to your vocabulary (which can actually mean both up AND down), and "Flower" and "Mow" (mouth), and you say MAMA roughly every 3 seconds all day long. In a very demanding tone, usually. MAMA means both me, and also "give me that, right now, what are you waiting for? I SAID NOW"

You're almost but not quite walking. You will cruise along furniture and walk holding my hands, but you haven't taken that first step yet. It won't be long.

For Halloween this year you went as a Chick. I have called you my little chicky forever and when I saw the costume I couldn't resist. You weren't so impressed.

The other very important thing that happened in this last month happened last night. We sat here & watched the Presidential election, and watched America elect a young black man to lead the country. Although we can't vote yet you're an American which made last night very important for us, for you, for your future.
Living here is a double edged sword sometimes, we have a great lifestyle but we live in a country whose government have been in the last few years inept and terrifying. To finally have hope that things will improve, that the perception of the US to the outside world will change, that the country will no longer be driven by bigots and religious nutters, that the country has finally embraced it's differences and will strive to improve and stop discrimination, and to feel that we want to belong to it, it's really inspiring and fills me with hope for you - for *your* country - for the future.

I love you little girl

Mummy xx