It was a fine day yesterday, woke up feeling good, got some things accomplished, and then...
12:30 "Gee, my breast kind of hurts."
1:30 "Yikes, my breast really hurts. I better express."
2:30 "Hmmm... is it possible to be hit by a mack truck without seeing it pass by?" Spiked a 102 fever, massive chills. I have not felt so bad since I had pneumonia.
I somehow kept the kids fed and relatively happy until Scott got home at 7. He then took over while I went to bed, except for when I woke up at 8 to nurse Kes at bedtime and at her first night feeding. The extra sleep helped a lot and today I just feel like I have regular mastitis rather than feeling like I've got one toe in the hospital door. It's Scott's birthday tomorrow, though, and I have a feeling I'm going to have to spoil him in a couple days instead of giving him an easy day tomorrow, because I'm not going to be able to do the laundry and childcare tomorrow if I want this to go away.
Last night I woke up to Kes licking my face. She must've scooted over to me without me noticing. After the shock wore off from something wet on my lips in the middle of the night, I realized she had her arm around my neck and her hand on my cheek and that she was licking me. She wasn't confusing my face for a breast, as this was a very protruded tongue, not a latch at all, though I have a feeling she was breast-seeking in the first place. I smiled when I figured out what I had, and she giggled, and we nursed back to sleep.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Thoughtful conversations
Me: Kes got burned today but Elly isn't a bit red. And Kes was even shaded.
Scott: Elly, did you get your daddy's skin?
Elly: No, I have MY skin. Do YOU have your skin, Daddy?
Elly: Mama, it's a prettyful day outside. Look, what's that? What's that lawn? It's beautiful.
Me: What's beautiful, honey?
Elly: That world out there is beautiful. All that world. It's a beautiful day, it's a sun day out my window. Mom, is it Sunday?
Me: Ow, I donked myself.
Elly: Oh, well I will make you feel better. (runs to get her blankie) There, here's blank. (I put blank on my nose) I will share it with you! (Elly puts blank on her nose.) There, Mama, are you feel better now?
Me: Yes I feel much better. My owie is going away.
Elly: I took good care of you. Awwwww.
Scott: Elly, did you get your daddy's skin?
Elly: No, I have MY skin. Do YOU have your skin, Daddy?
Elly: Mama, it's a prettyful day outside. Look, what's that? What's that lawn? It's beautiful.
Me: What's beautiful, honey?
Elly: That world out there is beautiful. All that world. It's a beautiful day, it's a sun day out my window. Mom, is it Sunday?
Me: Ow, I donked myself.
Elly: Oh, well I will make you feel better. (runs to get her blankie) There, here's blank. (I put blank on my nose) I will share it with you! (Elly puts blank on her nose.) There, Mama, are you feel better now?
Me: Yes I feel much better. My owie is going away.
Elly: I took good care of you. Awwwww.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Role playing
"Mama, I'm your doctor. I'm feeling your belly to see if it's OK. Your belly is sick. I have to wiggle it to make it better. Ok, it's all better. Now I have to feel your belly button to see if there is skin in there."
(Kes fusses)
Me: "Oh, doctor, my baby is hungry. Can you teach me how to feed a baby?"
Elly: "I know how to feed a baby. You nurse her like this!"
(makes cradling motion)
"I'm a baby. Play patty-cake with me."
(sits up)
"Now I'm a baby who can sit up all by myself."
(claps hands)
"Yay, yay, yay! I'm learning to talk. Mama. Mama! Now I'm learning to crawl."
(crawls around)
"I can use the exersaucer to stand up by myself. I'm scared I'm gonna fall! Boom!"
(lets go and falls on her rear)
Role playing helps her cooperate now, too. Today brushing her hair was painful due to some knots, and she was about to run away. I said, "Oh, baby kitty, mama kitty has to lick your fur to make you all clean and shiny. Come lay your head down in my lap so I can give you a kitty bath." And she totally cooperated to get her hair brushed and done!
(Kes fusses)
Me: "Oh, doctor, my baby is hungry. Can you teach me how to feed a baby?"
Elly: "I know how to feed a baby. You nurse her like this!"
(makes cradling motion)
"I'm a baby. Play patty-cake with me."
(sits up)
"Now I'm a baby who can sit up all by myself."
(claps hands)
"Yay, yay, yay! I'm learning to talk. Mama. Mama! Now I'm learning to crawl."
(crawls around)
"I can use the exersaucer to stand up by myself. I'm scared I'm gonna fall! Boom!"
(lets go and falls on her rear)
Role playing helps her cooperate now, too. Today brushing her hair was painful due to some knots, and she was about to run away. I said, "Oh, baby kitty, mama kitty has to lick your fur to make you all clean and shiny. Come lay your head down in my lap so I can give you a kitty bath." And she totally cooperated to get her hair brushed and done!
Sunday, May 21, 2006
transitive
Elly: "I want to laugh Kes!" "I'm laughing Kes!" "Kes likes it when I laugh her!" Huh, and I always thought laugh was a reflexive verb.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Quick Kes update
Kes can push to sitting from her belly and can get around a room with relative deliberateness, though she is not cross-crawling quite yet. She plays peek-a-boo by hiding her face in my chest or a pillow and then looking at me with a big grin. Today Elly was behind me and Kes went from one side of my body to the other to play peek-a-boo with her. When she is interested in something she makes this strange grunt that is basically a quick exhale with a little vocal cord involvement... it reminds me of some animal but I can't remember what... it's accompanied by a look of concentration. Man I gotta get some video!
The Two and a Halfs
Today I was on the drug (well, homeopathy) aisle at Whole Foods and Elly was having behavioral difficulties, so I gave her a timeout on the floor. As she tried to scoot in the other direction on her butt without me noticing, a store employee asked me if she could help me find anything. I said, "Not unless you've got a pill for the two and a halfs." She laughed and said, "Man, I could use one of those too!"
So here's some gloriously two-and-a-half Elly, while it lasts (6 weeks to go):
"Twenty-one, twenty-three, twenty-thirteen..."
"Ohhhhh, happy Elly!!!"
"Mama, I'm Cinderella, and I'm sleepy. I'm going to go sleep in a big bed in Mama and Daddy's room with my blankie, and when I wake up, I'm going to watch a pretend Cinderella video."
"Mama, these green beans look like plants."
"Kessa wants to play with (x), and I want to play with (y)!" (y being whatever toy Kessa currently has, x being something Elly is going to substitute to try to avert a tantrum from Kes when she takes y away)
"Awwwww, that's sweeeeeet."
"You did it, Mama! That's a girl."
"Honey" is her term of endearment for, well... everybody. From Mom, Dad, and Kessa, to the girl playing next to her at the park ("Honey, what's your name?")
So here's some gloriously two-and-a-half Elly, while it lasts (6 weeks to go):
"Twenty-one, twenty-three, twenty-thirteen..."
"Ohhhhh, happy Elly!!!"
"Mama, I'm Cinderella, and I'm sleepy. I'm going to go sleep in a big bed in Mama and Daddy's room with my blankie, and when I wake up, I'm going to watch a pretend Cinderella video."
"Mama, these green beans look like plants."
"Kessa wants to play with (x), and I want to play with (y)!" (y being whatever toy Kessa currently has, x being something Elly is going to substitute to try to avert a tantrum from Kes when she takes y away)
"Awwwww, that's sweeeeeet."
"You did it, Mama! That's a girl."
"Honey" is her term of endearment for, well... everybody. From Mom, Dad, and Kessa, to the girl playing next to her at the park ("Honey, what's your name?")
Sunday, May 7, 2006
Kessa at 9 months
The weigh-in: 21 lbs, 29.25 inches
Language: Mama, Dada, Nana, aaaaaaa (all done, accompanied by the sign), buh or ngayngay (bang bang), hhhhuuuh (hug), tatata (clap clap) and signs milk.
Physical: Desperately trying to crawl. Crawls very efficiently backwards. Claps with open palms (has clapped hand over hand since 6.5 months). Stands supported but doesn't pull to standing or cruise. Goes from sitting to belly but not vice versa. Fine motor seems more natural for her than gross motor (a future violinist?)
Food: Still doesn't do well with baby food or liquids delivered in any non-breast fashion. Eats finger foods: "teddy puffs", avocado, banana, hard-boiled egg yolk. Doesn't like pears, and may have an apple allergy.
Potty: EC'ing is going very well. As always, she prefers to go in the potty rather than her diaper and as such she holds it as best she can. She is improving her abilities to hold it and to let go when put on the potty. She still prefers the big-girl toilet seat but is not completely rejecting the little potty anymore.
Personality: This little girl has a huge personality!!! She's constantly laughing and talking. On the flip side, the redheaded temper is emerging. She throws a good fit when a toy is taken from her (usually by me if risky rather than by sister out of jealousy, Elly is so good - so far) or when her clothes are changed, especially if she is tired. She arches her back, throws herself backwards, and gets very red in the face, with a staccato cry. But, back to the cuteness... She loves to clap appropriately to "if you're happy and you know it" and she'll often take my hands and rock back and forth til I start to sing "Row your boat" and then laughs in glee that I understood and did what she wanted. She adores Eliana, and laughs at all her antics (which makes Elly laugh, and escalates the antics). When Elly is crying because she is hurt, Kes gets a worried look on her face and looks back and forth between Elly and me, whining. However, she sees right through her... when Elly is crying because she's throwing a fit, Kes just laughs. She's at the stage where peek-a-boo is funny, especially now that she figured out that she can pull the cover off her face or mine. It's especially funny if we play while nursing - she gets this giggle like, "duh, mom, you're obviously right there, I'm latched on." Kes, like Elly, loves everyone who is family, and is very happy whenever any of her family appears in the room. So far she is altogether loving and spirited, and a wonderful person to be around.
Language: Mama, Dada, Nana, aaaaaaa (all done, accompanied by the sign), buh or ngayngay (bang bang), hhhhuuuh (hug), tatata (clap clap) and signs milk.
Physical: Desperately trying to crawl. Crawls very efficiently backwards. Claps with open palms (has clapped hand over hand since 6.5 months). Stands supported but doesn't pull to standing or cruise. Goes from sitting to belly but not vice versa. Fine motor seems more natural for her than gross motor (a future violinist?)
Food: Still doesn't do well with baby food or liquids delivered in any non-breast fashion. Eats finger foods: "teddy puffs", avocado, banana, hard-boiled egg yolk. Doesn't like pears, and may have an apple allergy.
Potty: EC'ing is going very well. As always, she prefers to go in the potty rather than her diaper and as such she holds it as best she can. She is improving her abilities to hold it and to let go when put on the potty. She still prefers the big-girl toilet seat but is not completely rejecting the little potty anymore.
Personality: This little girl has a huge personality!!! She's constantly laughing and talking. On the flip side, the redheaded temper is emerging. She throws a good fit when a toy is taken from her (usually by me if risky rather than by sister out of jealousy, Elly is so good - so far) or when her clothes are changed, especially if she is tired. She arches her back, throws herself backwards, and gets very red in the face, with a staccato cry. But, back to the cuteness... She loves to clap appropriately to "if you're happy and you know it" and she'll often take my hands and rock back and forth til I start to sing "Row your boat" and then laughs in glee that I understood and did what she wanted. She adores Eliana, and laughs at all her antics (which makes Elly laugh, and escalates the antics). When Elly is crying because she is hurt, Kes gets a worried look on her face and looks back and forth between Elly and me, whining. However, she sees right through her... when Elly is crying because she's throwing a fit, Kes just laughs. She's at the stage where peek-a-boo is funny, especially now that she figured out that she can pull the cover off her face or mine. It's especially funny if we play while nursing - she gets this giggle like, "duh, mom, you're obviously right there, I'm latched on." Kes, like Elly, loves everyone who is family, and is very happy whenever any of her family appears in the room. So far she is altogether loving and spirited, and a wonderful person to be around.
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Dr. Davies appt
I made a checkup appt with Dr. Davies for Eliana (her ped GI from Sac who took care of her during the hospitalization) - I just wanted to see what she thought of what I was feeding her. The numbers we were getting back from the weight and height checks I was having done for her (at each of Kes's well visits and any sick visits) were OK, but I wanted to talk diet and make sure Dr. Davies was happy with how Elly looked, b/c she was looking skinny to me in the ribs despite hearty thighs. So, today was the appointment.
Not such good news. 38.5 inches and 29 lbs. Which is up half an inch and down half a pound since her last check. And her weight-for-height percentile is at the 7th. (To put that into perspective, at her last weigh-in before her hospitalization, she was in the 4th percentile, but when we left Dr. Davies' care last June, she was in the 25th.) So, I've got to readjust from semi-high-calorie diet to super-high-calorie diet. (The good news for Elly is that means more milkshakes... the bad news is it means a lot less fruit.) I'm going to be faxing in 5-day diet logs and weight and height measurements (taken by ME for accuracy and consistency) to Dr. Davies every 3-4 weeks after which she'll give me a call and we'll discuss the previous and upcoming few weeks.
This is frustrating to me b/c I've been doing the best I can to be on top of this, yet trying not to spend too much time worrying. I thought I was doing a good job by having her weight and height checked every time I stepped foot in the dr's office, but apparently it's not good enough. I think doing my own measurements every few weeks will be much more accurate. And the other thing that frustrates me is I so KNEW things weren't quite right, by the look of her ribcage, by her behavior, sleeping patterns, and the reappearance of certain aversions/sensitivities, but I just didn't want to believe it, or I didn't want to be paranoid, or I just figured I was being diligent enough. Ugh. I'll take paranoid. Or rather, I'll just introduce new behavior (the measuring and check-in schedule, and the return to super-calories) and be diligent and watchful, while clicking off the paranoia with the knowledge that I am doing my best (as strange as that may sound, it's very similar to my thoughts about many of my life choices such as vegetarianism, breastfeeding, nonmedical birth, etc).
But as always, Dr. Davies is wonderful. So matter-of-fact about it - here's where we are, and here's what we're gonna do to get where we need to get, no worries. Any other doctor, and I'd have walked out of there feeling many times worse than I felt. I trust her medical judgment, implicitly. (And on top of it, she is warm and caring - remembered us before she even saw us, and enjoyed meeting Kes.) I'm just so glad to have her guidance through this challenge.
Not such good news. 38.5 inches and 29 lbs. Which is up half an inch and down half a pound since her last check. And her weight-for-height percentile is at the 7th. (To put that into perspective, at her last weigh-in before her hospitalization, she was in the 4th percentile, but when we left Dr. Davies' care last June, she was in the 25th.) So, I've got to readjust from semi-high-calorie diet to super-high-calorie diet. (The good news for Elly is that means more milkshakes... the bad news is it means a lot less fruit.) I'm going to be faxing in 5-day diet logs and weight and height measurements (taken by ME for accuracy and consistency) to Dr. Davies every 3-4 weeks after which she'll give me a call and we'll discuss the previous and upcoming few weeks.
This is frustrating to me b/c I've been doing the best I can to be on top of this, yet trying not to spend too much time worrying. I thought I was doing a good job by having her weight and height checked every time I stepped foot in the dr's office, but apparently it's not good enough. I think doing my own measurements every few weeks will be much more accurate. And the other thing that frustrates me is I so KNEW things weren't quite right, by the look of her ribcage, by her behavior, sleeping patterns, and the reappearance of certain aversions/sensitivities, but I just didn't want to believe it, or I didn't want to be paranoid, or I just figured I was being diligent enough. Ugh. I'll take paranoid. Or rather, I'll just introduce new behavior (the measuring and check-in schedule, and the return to super-calories) and be diligent and watchful, while clicking off the paranoia with the knowledge that I am doing my best (as strange as that may sound, it's very similar to my thoughts about many of my life choices such as vegetarianism, breastfeeding, nonmedical birth, etc).
But as always, Dr. Davies is wonderful. So matter-of-fact about it - here's where we are, and here's what we're gonna do to get where we need to get, no worries. Any other doctor, and I'd have walked out of there feeling many times worse than I felt. I trust her medical judgment, implicitly. (And on top of it, she is warm and caring - remembered us before she even saw us, and enjoyed meeting Kes.) I'm just so glad to have her guidance through this challenge.
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