Sep
28
Yup, here we are just four weeks into daycare and sick again. Oh and this time, it’s sooooo much better because it’s not just Eleanor that’s sick it’s all of us! Which is really just the best thing ever. I just loooove to be sick while still having to chase a toddler around, who despite being sick still seems to have more energy than I can muster on my best days. We are really just having so much fun here.
Eleanor and Josh started feeling sick last week. We thought it was just Eleanor’s new teeth bothering her, but now that I think about it. Her night wakings and crankiness started just before Josh’s sore throat and fatigue began. So I think that she got sick first and then Josh did. It started with the sore throat and fatigue early last week and then turned into full blown colds with coughs and runny noses over the weekend.
I thought that I had managed to avoid it. I guess I have a pretty strong immune system because I rarely get sick. I attribute it to my fourteen years of vegetarianism. But no such luck this time. The fatigue set in on Sunday morning, and then came the sore throat towards the evening. This morning I woke up with the stuffy nose and a throat that feels like I swallowed some sandpaper. Not so pleasant.
Eleanor and Josh are still rocking the cold symptoms, but I think they are both feeling a little better. Hopefully that means I’ll feel better in a day or two. Today is not so great because Eleanor is at home with me. And has been harassing me all morning, “Momma, Mommmmmaaaaaa…mommy, mommy, mommyeee!” I’ll be glad to get to rest tomorrow when she is in daycare. But today is going to be rough.
Sep
15
We knew it would happen. Everyone talks about it. We just hoped that our little one had some sort of super-human immune system that could fight off the illnesses that no other child seems to be able to fight off. She has only been sick once before. She had only one cold right after her twelve month doctor visit and hasn’t been sick since.
Well, it happened. Eleanor started daycare and immediately got sick, no super-human immune system after all. The first weekend after her first week of daycare she had some cold symptoms and was complaining that her ear hurt and was tugging at it. We took her into urgent care and sure enough, she had an ear infection. So we started her on antibiotics and she was mostly fine for the rest of the following week, just a little more clingy and lethargic than usual.
Over the weekend, however, things were not so great. Her cold seemed to be pretty much gone and she wasn’t complaining about her ear at all, but she started to have some diarrhea. (Here is where she gets upset when reading this as a teenager, “That is sooo embarrrasssing, Mom!” Well, it’s necessary for the story, so..) With the diarrhea has come a terrible diaper rash. Every time she pees or poops she is in pain. We are trying to do what we have done in the past when she has a bad diaper rash-not use wipes, just cotton balls for clean-up, and give her bottom a little airing out time before putting a new diaper on-but the poor girl is in so much pain it’s difficult to clean her up at all, and then she immediately wants a new diaper so that her bottom is covered up and we don’t really want her going around naked bottomed with diarrhea. What I’ve been trying to do is to keep her diaperless on the changing table for as long as I can keep her entertained before putting a new diaper on so that her bottom has time to dry out.
Monday morning she woke up at about a quarter to six which is almost two hours earlier than usual. She was crying inconsolably. Her poor bottom was presumably in a wet diaper for the better part of the night. And she didn’t want a change because she knew it would hurt. I did give her a change and then she spent the morning sitting with me on the couch watching a Curious George DVD, eating cheerios, and drinking soy milk. She would cry when I got up, so I just sat with her reading a book while I had Josh make her a doctor’s appointment from work. She eventually fell asleep on me and I was able to slide out from under her and replace myself with a pillow, so that I could get dressed and ready to take her to the doctor. Meanwhile she got to sleep for about an hour before we left.
So we went to the see the doctor. He confirmed that her ear infection had cleared up so we could discontinue the use of antibiotics, which were probably the cause of the diarrhea. Although he said that she might just have a stomach bug in addition to the ear infection so that could be another cause. So I didn’t give her any antibiotics all day Monday, but the diarrhea has continued. Ugggh. I’m keeping her home from daycare today and hopefully she will get better.
Dec
15
Now that I am, once again, studying for the Bar exam I will try to post at least once a week, more if possible. So you can expect some longer posts summarizing the week’s events.
Last Monday Eleanor had her 12 month doctor’s visit. The doctor seemed impressed by her walking and talking skills and said that she seems to be doing very well growth-wise. She is now 20 lbs 13.8 oz which is the perfect 50th percentile for her age and she is 32.75 inches tall which is the 100th percentile. This basically means that she weighs about the same as most kids her age, but is much taller than any kid her age. Her height is actually the average height of a 19-20 month old! Lets hope this trend continues so that she will be tall like her daddy and not teeny like her mommy. Besides that she got five shots which was pretty miserable. As usual she was cranky and ran a slight fever for a couple days afterward.
In addition to getting shots from her doctor’s visit, she also picked up her first cold. We are usually good about keeping her in the “Well Baby” waiting room away from the sick kids, but Josh wasn’t able to get the time off of his new job (he’ll post about the job soon) and I was apparently, just not thinking. I thought that Eleanor would enjoy looking at the fish tank in the regular waiting room. She did. I was planning on just washing her hands afterward, but before I knew it she had leaned her head forward and licked the glass. There is no tongue washing that could have saved her. She ended up with her very first cold. I have been so proud that Josh and I had remained vigilant about germs throughout her first year. The baby books say that kids tend to get a number of colds throughout their first year, but she had never been sick once. What a great way to start her second year. She was pretty miserable for about two days with a runny nose, constant sneezing, and a little bit of a cough. And then it pretty much went away, thank goodness.
After her illness, I thought that she could use a little fresh air. So on Friday we had a playdate with my friend Andrew. Andrew loves babies, works near our apartment, and doesn’t have to be at work until the afternoon so he came over and we all went to the park for some baby fun.
Although Eleanor gave him the stink eye when he arrived at our apartment. I think she warmed up to him when he helped her pick up leaves to put in her mouth.
