Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Not In the Clear

At the beginning of November, I fed the little guy a bit of formula with dairy. He broke out in a rash and got some hives on his face. I assumed he was allergic to dairy like his sister, despite the fact the skin test last summer had indicated he was not.

I made an appointment with the allergist for January. When we got back from the Holidays a few weeks ago, the little guy went in and had some blood testing done. The results came in last Friday.

Negative:
-Dairy
-Soy
-Peanuts
-Eggs

I was elated. A child without food allergies. What a joy!

I was instructed to go ahead and give the little guy some cow's milk (keep in mind I have been waiting to wean him until I knew what the test results were).

This morning I gave him 10 ml of milk (in a syringe to make sure he actually got some). He drank it back fine.

Within a few minutes his face turned red, swollen looking and a lot of little hives sprung up all around his mouth. My heart sunk.

Apparently blood tests aren't as accurate as I had thought.

I gave the little guy some Benadryl and he cleared up in half an hour. I spoke with a nurse at the allergist and will chat with the doc tomorrow.

Next step is soy milk, I suppose. But now I'm nervous that may not work. I suppose I will just take it step by step. Perhaps both my kids were destined for soy.

More to come...

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

It's my Mouth, Mama!

Last week the little guy was up screaming for a few hours every night. He just wouldn't let up, and even after my husband would check on him, and ensure he had a pacifier and wasn't full of poop, the little guy would continue to cry off and on for what felt like an eternity. It just wasn't a pretty scene.

I was sad the little guy was so upset, frustrated, angry that he wouldn't just go to sleep, desperate, worried and really exhausted. I was really hoping it wasn't a new nighttime sleep trend. Because that is not a trend I can live with.

After 3 nights, it seemed to pass and he went back to his "normal" routine of getting up once a night to eat (and yes, I know he is a spoilt brat but I figure he deserves a snack after a 9 or 10 hour slumber and I'm too much of a wimp to cut him off).

Yesterday I happened to have a glance in the little guy's mouth. To my surprise, I saw a new tooth which had obviously broken through on the bottom quite recently (a lateral incisor). There is another one making it's way out now. According to the experts, these little teeth come in at about 13 months old, and guess who will be 13 months old this Sunday?

Perhaps this sleep craziness and the new teeth are all related. And perhaps the little guy needed some Tylenol. Perhaps next time I should worry about more than poop and pacifiers. Alas....we can never be perfect at this parenting thing. There are just too many bases to cover.

Monday, January 18, 2010

One More Entry

OK, I honestly thought that about 99% of the people who actually read my blog are my friends and family. People who I wish I spoke to more, but never manage to actually speak with on a regular basis. My blog is just a way to keep my peeps in the know.

So, after turning my blog pink (on a most likely temporary basis), I scanned down the page and saw that I had 11 "followers." What the %$^&#*#!##$??

That is SO COOL! I don't know who all these people are, but they actually took the time to become a "follower" and I am so excited by that!

As I've mentioned in the past, I blog in my head all day, every day. It's just that I have trouble getting the "head blogging" to translate to "on the computer blogging." And not to offend my friends and family, but I figure they understand my long silences and if they want to chat or catch up they'll shoot me an email or give me a call.

But the fact that there are people I don't know following my motherhood rambles makes me feel warm and fuzzy. It also makes me feel like I owe it to everyone to actually write more.

If I sound like a conceited lunatic, let me know, but really I just want to say thanks. Thanks for reading.

The little guy is awake...nap time over and back to reality.

Pink?

I'm not normally a fan of pink, but this template spoke to me. Thoughts?

Another Catch Up Ramble

Last week was a blur of activity. It felt like we were back in full swing. In our first 2 weeks back to DC we made it to the pediatrician (the babe with a mild eye infection....AGAIN), the allergist (the babe getting test results and the little guy being tested), the OB-GYN (my annual check-up) and the dermatologist (my semi-annual check up which resulted in some cryosurgery to kill some precancerous cells....nice). Seriously, if I had a paid job, I'd be fired for going to too many appointments.

The weather was awesome and we made it to the park after school for 3 days in a row. We'd stay until the sun went down at around 5pm and make it home in time for a cozy kid dinner. It's really a sweet way to spend the end of the day and I'm grateful DC's weather allows us to do it!

There were a few noteworthy incidents, such as the babe melting down near the exceptionally busy rush hour chaos street we have to navigate each day on the way to preschool. Why such a monumental break down? Because she didn't want to hold my hand. It was quite a spectacle and I'm sure many people got to catch my not so awesome attempt to "keep it cool." I was being abused by a 3 year old in public and I was at a loss as to what I should do. I tried a few things and I didn't get very far. At one point I even threw her over my shoulder and started to walk down the sidewalk while pushing the little guy in the stroller in front of me. Unfortunately a number of the witnesses were other parents walking their well behaved kids to the babe's school. Doh.

Today is a public holiday in the States (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day). That means I've got both the kids to myself all day long. It's been a tad hairy at times, but has gone OK overall. Only about 5 time outs for the babe (yikes). But I am proud as I've accomplished a major feat. I removed the pack and play/changing station from our dining room. I found a home for all the stuff that was being stored in it and moved it down the the basement where it now will serve as a cage for the little guy while his sister jumps on her new trampoline. I also managed to do some general organizing and vacuuming on both the main level and in the basement. I am feeling pretty good (I also just ate some chocolate and the kids are asleep which may be contributing to my general sense of well being).

I am now going to try and read my book club book. Did I mention I'm now in a book club? The ladies on my street get together about every 6 weeks and have a little book chat. It's pretty cool, except when you don't love the book and would rather be doing one of the millions of other things that need doing (or reading something you enjoy more). Alas....they can't all be winners, and not everything has to get done now. I've got 7 days to finish it up, so off I go!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year my friends! I've missed you.

I must say that not having a lap top in the living room seriously affected my computer usage over the holidays (both my folks and Mother-in-Law are desk top people). Having to go to a separate non-child friendly room to get on the computer just wasn't working out for me.

But we're back in DC now. Flew back in on the 3rd (up at 5 am for that adventure). Security was a bit crazy and both my children were patted down...seriously. I was so so so happy to be home. I really missed my bed. I really missed our place. I really missed our routine. Don't get me wrong, we all had an awesome time seeing everyone, but being away from home for 16 days with 2 little kids is pretty exhausting.

So, here we are in 2010. I've been doing catch-up since we got back and have been trying to get things in order for this new lovely year. Always good to try and start off organized, right?

Most exciting development is that the babe is in preschool until 3:30 pm now. I don't want to moan and whine, but that girl was giving me a run for my money and the afternoons had become a battlefield of unhappiness at our place. Naps were getting screwed up, fighting and time-outs had become standard. Eventually she broke me. The hubby and I decided it was best for everyone to move the babe into the full day program. She now eats lunch and naps at school. So far so good.

The little guy and I have a little more time to get things done, hang out and be a little more stress-free. And I now get to make the babe's lunch every night before I go to bed. It's a new year and a new routine.

I am dealing with a bit of guilt as I am a stay-at-home Mom and all, but I was seriously considering going back to work to get away from the stress at home. This seems like a better resolution for everyone. And the thought of giving up my time with the little guy brought me to tears. The babe and I had a solid uninterrupted 2 years together, and I'd like to have that with the little guy as well.

On the school note, I'd like to brag a little...as I dropped off the babe yesterday morning, I was complimented by one of her teachers. She said I am very good at labelling the babe's things and that she wished other parents were like me. I replied I was a bit obsessive about it, but she told me I'm diligent. Now that makes a stay-at-home Mom feel proud.