Mystery Solved

Bilateral ear infections. That has been the culprit plaguing our sweet boy for the last few weeks. Such a simple, simple thing that has caused quite a few moments of terror. Laura took Simon to the pediatrician today (I keep wanting to say the Vet!) who took one look in his ears and decreed, "Yup, that one's infected. Yup, that one too". Oh, and he had nasty, nasty slime coming out of both eyes. It was quite lovely, really.
This may not be all of what has been making him sick, but it's likely what was causing the cough, runny nose, sore throat and fever. So, let's raise a glass to Amoxicillin, shall we and cross our fingers?

Interestingly, he showed no indication of any discomfort in his ears. I theorize that his reference point for pain is so off the charts that he doesn't even really register such a "minor" thing. I mean, when you've had a tube pulled out of your chest with just a little Versed, what's a little earache? Who knows, but that's my latest pop psychology.
Laura and her Mom reminisced about the chronic earaches/infections she had growing up (as did I). She hopes she's passing on some other things to him besides this nugget. Actually, two docs from the hospital saw Laura and Simon out together today and one of them said "I'm kind of freaked out right now about how much you guys look alike". So, he gets his good looks and his infection prone ears from her. Everyone's got to compromise, right?

All said, though, how typically toddler is it to get an ear infection? I'm a little shocked it's his first one. AND, it just reminds me that our margin is so thin. I think we almost had to take him to the ER because of an ear infection a few weeks ago. That's insane to me.

Laura just told me that the pediatrician today affirmed her for what we're doing with him. She said that we're doing an amazing job, both with the typical care and the non-typical care. She appreciated the ways we provide him with everything we can- from making sure that he gets as normal an experience as possible to keeping him as safe and healthy as we can. She remarked, "He's just thriving because of what you're doing".

I got tears in my eyes when Laura told me that. I often take it for granted- I can't imagine doing anything less for him. I was just telling Laura last night how totally in love with him I am. It's taken a while to get there (I likened having a newborn to an arranged marriage. "Um, nice to meet you...so, we're going to be together...forever?") but I love that boy more than I thought possible. And I think we're just getting started.

I'm so glad that Laura got seen for all that she does. And, yes, yes, Laura reminded me, for all that "we" do. I just feel like I do such a small fraction of what is needed to care for him. I know, I go to work every day and bring home a paycheck, but it feels easy by comparison in some ways.

I have hard days at work (I worked until 11 pm last night) but I get to flex my time and things are predictable for the most part. Laura has days when she gets NO breaks, when Simon doesn't nap, when I'm working late and he's puking and crying and she doesn't get to see another soul for a whole day. I can always go to the bathroom at work and take an extra 5 minutes and play a game of solitare on my iPod. She doesn't always have that option.

Yes, we're equals AND she's my hero. We are keeping him alive and thriving together, but she's the ox pulling the heavy load most of the time. I do love my little Taurus...

A little bleary eyed and still chipper. Miracle boy

Spoke too soon

That part of the last post when I talked about how well Simon is moving through his colds, this last one in particular...


Just kidding.


We're back to watching closely and calling Dr's.


He's got another fever and spent most of the day going back and forth between riding a medication high (mostly homeopathy which is great) and scraping the bottom of the barrel with sweats and pukes and truly pathetic break-your-heart moaning.


We are three weeks into solid illness and while each bug is clearly different from the rest, we seem to be getting more and more into scarier symptoms. Mostly I'm just talking about fevers.


Now for most folk, young and old, a fever can be a great sign that the body is doing what it needs to for recovery. We learned today that every degree over normal body temp requires the heart to work 10% harder. Well, for someone who's heart is functioning at at-least a third less than yours or mine...when he has a fever of 101.7....that math is beyond me since I haven't taken math since my sophomore year in high school- but it's not good. It does not fill me with assurance that he will be fine. It makes me hold my breath sometimes during the night so that I can hear whether he's grunting in his sleep signaling that the fever is back.


This sucks. He's holding his own for sure but that line feels gossamer thin and I hate feeling that way again, regularly.


Guess what else I hate....the change in schedule. Or more clearly the loss of schedule. I know Simon is managing for the most part with our hanging at home (bless the Teletubbies, bless them big) but for me it's a little bit of a snowball effect where one missed 'school' day is ok, but to go three weeks without my parent support group, hurts. No swimming, no 'school', makes Laura a dull girl. Actually the opposite really. I feel really sharp, kind of on edge. A little crispy round the edges. Like when bacon has been cooked too long and it's that kind of sharp that cuts the top of your mouth when you eat it.


Sigh.


At least the sun is out. I am so ready for cold and flu season to be over. So ready.

Another week sequestered in the house was threatening to turn me into a babbling idiot.


Speaking of babbling, Simon's fave new activity is trolling for hi-partners. While walking or strolling down the street he will choose a target (usually the person walking towards or along side of us) and being to chant "hi, hi, hi" until they make eye contact and return the greeting. His intention is so obvious it's hilarious. If he doesn't get a response he will take 10 seconds to stare ("why are you not focused on me?") and move on to find another more willing target. It's quite amusing.


So there it is, a bacon analogy and a funny story about Simon. What else could you ask for in a blog post.