Warning: This post contains some graphic content and may not be suitable for the weak stomach and non parents.
It started innocently enough, Evan wasn't too keen on nursing, which was strange, but acceptable. He came up to me and gave me a hug and then puked down my leg and then I picked him up he threw up down my shirt. Poor baby. I thought maybe he just had gotten too excited because there were people over and had a little tummy ache. Boy was I wrong and it was the beginning of a GI illness of exorcist proportions. He put that pea soup scene to shame.
From that moment he was throwing up about every 10 to 20 minutes for about an hour or so. It is absolutely heart wrenching when your toddler dry heaves and doesn't comprehend why and just wants you to hold him and nurse him. He was unbearably sick. He fell asleep in my arms which in itself is rare because going to bed usually takes at least 30 minutes of nursing. He was just too sick.
Thankfully, my mom who is the worst at handling vomit, convinced me to stay at her house. She was a great help, bringing me liquids, towels and shirts.
When it was actually time for bed, my poor child wanted milk. I couldn't deny it from him. Cue the exorcist. Full tummy of milk vs. mom. Mom lost.
At 6:30 he woke up and asked for milk. It was a repeat of bedtime milk but more epic. Again heart breaking.
Dealing with this was probably the most heart breaking thing I have dealt with thus far. He has had a few episodes of vomiting in his life but nothing like this. The poor thing just wanted fluids (which was great... but not great.)
He was sick for a whole 12 hours, somehow this morning, he drank a whole sippy cup of pedialyte and gatorade with a dash of seven up and some toast and oatmeal. He has held that down for over 2 hours and even nursed some. 7 towels, 4 mommy shirts and 3 Evan shirts later, I am totally exhausted. He has diarrhea now, which is way more manageable than last night.
I am very grateful for my mother's help because I don't how I'd do it without her.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
We have a biter...
This week Evan has bitten 2 four year olds, a baby, his sitter, a pediatrician and a little kid in the waiting room at a doctor's office. His bites are pure evil too. He will look at you afterwards like he has done a good deed, like that person really needed to be bitten. Most of the bites are completely random and unwarranted. These people usually don't do anything to provoke the bite. I say usually because I have seen kids get bitten after ripping a toy out of my child's hands. That being said, biting is never ok.
When you have a biter, people look at you like you are the worst mom in the world. I didn't do anything to cause this and I don't encourage the behavior. I knew Evan was going to be a handful when he started throwing tantrums at 7 months. Here we are 9 months later and those baby tantrums are a thing of the past. People keep telling me to ignore the behavior, correct the behavior, give a time out, and punish the kid. All that is easier said than done. And all the advice? Totally inconsistent. When he bites at home I cover his mouth, but he thinks that is fun. When he has a tantrum I usually try to ignore it, but he usually wants to be picked up. If you don't pick him up at the right moment, he will hit or bite you because you took too long to tend to his needs. By nature toddlers are selfish beings, the world revolves around them and their needs.
I am not seeking advice here, but sharing a real parenting challenge that I am facing. I can see why parents choose to spank their kids even though its controversial. A quick swat on the butt could work for the defiant/evil/selfish baby. Ok, I'll admit it. He has been spanked twice, over the diaper and pants. Once was today when he started hitting and pulling my hair as I put him in his car seat. It was after I tried talking him into sitting down in my gentle and then stern voice to no avail. Well one swift, not painful but probably scary, swat on the butt and it was a miracle and he sat down looked at me with sad-I'm-so-sorry-mommy eyes and let me buckle him in. I hugged him and said sorry. And he looked at me like he understood why he got spanked and wasn't mad. It made everything calm.
Now I know what "they" say about hitting. Spanking will teach your child to hit. Evan already hits and no one taught him to hit when he's mad. I did not beat my child within an inch of his life there was no switch or paddle involved. He didn't hit me back when he got spanked and he was not angry as a result of it. People, even doctors, say that when your kid bites you, bite him back. But hitting.... oh no! call "the people". Frankly, I find biting to be much more painful than hitting. Spanking is about discipline and not hitting. An occasional spank probably won't send him into years of therapy.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Coxsackie virus...
Evan has acquired a coxsackie virus, hand foot and mouth. It apparently is a common childhood illness. It causes blisters on the hands, feet and mouth. The worst symptom is ulcers/lesions/blisters on the hard palate (roof of the mouth). I have no idea how he got it but he was bounced around to many sitters last week while his main sitter was home with her own sick kids. It started simple enough with a fever and cold symptoms on Thursday. He was laid up on the couch when I picked him up on Thursday while a ton of kids played around him. Sorry to those kids and moms who had extreme toddler exposure. I hope they have strong immune systems.
That night and the previous one were plagued with terrible sleep. He was up all night restless and wanting to nurse like crazy. I was delirious. He was miserable on Saturday and had an even worse nights sleep and didn't want to take a nap. After a brief 20 minute nap he woke up screaming and noticed blisters around his mouth. I felt like a terrible mom because I didn't notice when they happened but it seemed like they just popped up (they probably did.) Then as I was looking at his mouth, I got a peak at the roof of his mouth. He had a dark sore and the rest of his mouth was gray. I panicked and rushed him to the ER. He got the diagnosis of hand, foot and mouth and lo and behold he also a tiny blister on his hand and few on his feet. Since it is a virus, there is little that can be done except ease the symptoms, keep him hydrated and give him lots of popsicles.
That night and the previous one were plagued with terrible sleep. He was up all night restless and wanting to nurse like crazy. I was delirious. He was miserable on Saturday and had an even worse nights sleep and didn't want to take a nap. After a brief 20 minute nap he woke up screaming and noticed blisters around his mouth. I felt like a terrible mom because I didn't notice when they happened but it seemed like they just popped up (they probably did.) Then as I was looking at his mouth, I got a peak at the roof of his mouth. He had a dark sore and the rest of his mouth was gray. I panicked and rushed him to the ER. He got the diagnosis of hand, foot and mouth and lo and behold he also a tiny blister on his hand and few on his feet. Since it is a virus, there is little that can be done except ease the symptoms, keep him hydrated and give him lots of popsicles.
The doctor warned me that he would probably develop diarrhea and the blisters will probably get worse. Thankfully that has not happened and this appears to be a mild case. I guess he's like his mom and gets mild childhood diseases. When I had chicken pox, I don't remember being covered with pox. But my sister and brother had them so bad that they got them on their eyelids. I probably was just a spotted, itchy kid that was visibly sick but just wanted to play. Barbie was calling my name. That is what Evan has been up to. He hadn't eaten all weekend, was crabby because he only sleeps if he has a full tummy, and he just wanted to play (not with Barbie). If anything he was in pain and stir crazy because he has been cooped up in the house forever.
Last night he finally ate some yogurt and slept. He only woke up twice to nurse which is normal for him. He ate breakfast today, and is taking his morning nap. We are still avoiding other children because the coxsackie virus like all other childhood illnesses can have dangerous sequelae, i.e. meningitis. So even though his is mild, the next kid could have something worse.
Friday, December 2, 2011
My name is Evan... I like to dance
Evan's verbal skills have grown by leaps and bounds and it seems like it has happened overnight.
Evan was being bad and colored on some stuff around the house. He said, "I colored it." How can I even be mad. I said, yes you did color it. Ok, in our house coloring on paper is encouraged but coloring on stuff is not reprimanded, he is just brought back to the paper.
Last night he was following dogs around a park howling at them. And this morning when somebaby woke up at five, we watched a little baby Einsteins and he said every animal that was on the screen (including bear which I didn't know he knew). He also learned that owls say hoot. The kid is brilliant. He has at least 10 animals in his word bank and 3 include sounds.
People tell me that they only mimic at this age, but when you pull together a sentence, with proper tense mind you, it's cognition and memory there. But the mimic thing still happens but now its funner. I am teaching him to say my name is Evan. I like to dance (Yo gabba gabba reference. It's our new favorite show, I have gotten over the fact that the red one looks like an adult toy. Brobee won me over.)
Evan was being bad and colored on some stuff around the house. He said, "I colored it." How can I even be mad. I said, yes you did color it. Ok, in our house coloring on paper is encouraged but coloring on stuff is not reprimanded, he is just brought back to the paper.
Last night he was following dogs around a park howling at them. And this morning when somebaby woke up at five, we watched a little baby Einsteins and he said every animal that was on the screen (including bear which I didn't know he knew). He also learned that owls say hoot. The kid is brilliant. He has at least 10 animals in his word bank and 3 include sounds.
People tell me that they only mimic at this age, but when you pull together a sentence, with proper tense mind you, it's cognition and memory there. But the mimic thing still happens but now its funner. I am teaching him to say my name is Evan. I like to dance (Yo gabba gabba reference. It's our new favorite show, I have gotten over the fact that the red one looks like an adult toy. Brobee won me over.)
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Baby Rampage
During dinner tonight Evan decided he had had enough and thus begun his reign of terror. He threw his food everywhere, which is not unusual but this was with anger. I was upset that he didn't eat much, he was just upset.
I gave him a bathto calm him down. Usually he is in there a good 20 minutes, I put extra bubbles in so he could be distracted and play. No use. He climbed out mid hair washing and said "bye". I had to torture him to rinse his hair. Bye.
He brought me shoes and needed to run aroundnaked with only shoes on for 20 or so minutes.
I was still worried that he hadn't eaten because it would mean no sleep for me because he would want to nurse all night long. I gave him a yogurt and he ate half of it before trying to rip the spoon out of my hands. He then yelled "I do it, Mommy!" First sentence? Ended with mommy? How could I resist. He also tried to give me bites of yogurt so there was a moment of sharing. We got covered in yogurt but it was totally worth for both the sentence and the independence.
Bedtime was a challenge. The child would not calm down. After putting him to bed twice, I resorted to a movie. He sat still for 15 minutes, grabbed my hair and went to sleep. And thus the baby rampage was over, 2 hours after it had begun.
I gave him a bath
He brought me shoes and needed to run around
I was still worried that he hadn't eaten because it would mean no sleep for me because he would want to nurse all night long. I gave him a yogurt and he ate half of it before trying to rip the spoon out of my hands. He then yelled "I do it, Mommy!" First sentence? Ended with mommy? How could I resist. He also tried to give me bites of yogurt so there was a moment of sharing. We got covered in yogurt but it was totally worth for both the sentence and the independence.
Bedtime was a challenge. The child would not calm down. After putting him to bed twice, I resorted to a movie. He sat still for 15 minutes, grabbed my hair and went to sleep. And thus the baby rampage was over, 2 hours after it had begun.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
The 21st Century Baby
I get this all the time. Kids these days are so advanced. Well your baby has good head control because he's an advanced 21st century baby. WTH? I really don't get it. I mean people say stupid crap to me all the time, but this one is by far the most nonsensical. Trying to reason with people that say these things is an utter waste of time. I get it, we live in the digital age, yes Evan can perform basic functions on my iPhone. But you know what I bet a chimp could too.
I am pretty sure that Evan came into this world with the same MO as any other baby in the history of babies. Eat. Sleep. Poop.
When Evan was about a week old, I got my first "advanced". He had his eyes open and was looking around. To my knowledge this is an all babies in the history of babies thing. Human are not puppies and do not have sealed eyes for the first week or so.
Then around 2 months when Evan had remarkable head and neck control I got another "advanced". Again totally normal.
I kept getting "advanced" remarks off and on when Evan gabbed.
He scored poorly in subsequent "advanced" motor skills. He mastered head movement, pacifier return, and a spectacular sitting to belly swoop move early but hit all the rest of his milestones a tad bit late in the spectrum. Was my kid no longer advanced? When I talk about walking, its the early walkers that get the "advanced". But anecdotally, I hear about many people older than me walking at 7,8,9 months. But they are not so advanced now. What happened? Were they ever regarded as advanced?
When do babies/kids stop being advanced? The first time they wreck something or show signs of laziness. When they don't live up to their potential? The way people are saying the word advanced; they use at as the kids are growing up too fast. Evan? he's right on track. He talks and jokes more than the average baby his age but he is still your average baby who doesn't know how to read or do long division. Kids are arguably not advanced at all. Test scores are down. No one under the age of 25 can spell worth a damn. I grew up without spell check. We had video games but we also played outside. With 2/3 of the adult population overweight or obese. We are not advanced. We are stagnant and worse backsliding.
Evan is an awesome kid, who knows maybe he'll become an entrepreneur. I don't think kids these days are advanced, they are just in a new normal of lazy/fat people that can work a computer better than anything else in their lives. You just don't see kids writing their first composition at 7 anymore, that my friends would be advanced.
I am pretty sure that Evan came into this world with the same MO as any other baby in the history of babies. Eat. Sleep. Poop.
When Evan was about a week old, I got my first "advanced". He had his eyes open and was looking around. To my knowledge this is an all babies in the history of babies thing. Human are not puppies and do not have sealed eyes for the first week or so.
Then around 2 months when Evan had remarkable head and neck control I got another "advanced". Again totally normal.
I kept getting "advanced" remarks off and on when Evan gabbed.
He scored poorly in subsequent "advanced" motor skills. He mastered head movement, pacifier return, and a spectacular sitting to belly swoop move early but hit all the rest of his milestones a tad bit late in the spectrum. Was my kid no longer advanced? When I talk about walking, its the early walkers that get the "advanced". But anecdotally, I hear about many people older than me walking at 7,8,9 months. But they are not so advanced now. What happened? Were they ever regarded as advanced?
When do babies/kids stop being advanced? The first time they wreck something or show signs of laziness. When they don't live up to their potential? The way people are saying the word advanced; they use at as the kids are growing up too fast. Evan? he's right on track. He talks and jokes more than the average baby his age but he is still your average baby who doesn't know how to read or do long division. Kids are arguably not advanced at all. Test scores are down. No one under the age of 25 can spell worth a damn. I grew up without spell check. We had video games but we also played outside. With 2/3 of the adult population overweight or obese. We are not advanced. We are stagnant and worse backsliding.
Evan is an awesome kid, who knows maybe he'll become an entrepreneur. I don't think kids these days are advanced, they are just in a new normal of lazy/fat people that can work a computer better than anything else in their lives. You just don't see kids writing their first composition at 7 anymore, that my friends would be advanced.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Observing Evan
Evan is at stage where he investigates everything. He is learning cause and effect and independence. I love it. Between dinner and bedtime he did so much.
- At dinner I gave him soup and a sandwich. He dunked his sandwich in his soup and tried to self feed the soup. I was so impressed by his concentration.
- During bathtime (because he was covered in soup) he broke a toy. He tried so hard to put it back together. He spent nearly five minutes, which is a lot for a baby, trying to put it back together. He knew how the piece was supposed to fit.
- He found his stuffed bunny before bed and immediately said bunny and cuddled it. We haven't practiced the word bunny in 2 weeks, since the last time he played with bunny.
I am impressed everyday by him. As he moves from being a baby to child, I am finally over the I-miss-him-being-little and I look forward to what he learns next.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Facebook Project: First Trimester
Here is what happened during my first trimester. I really like some of the statuses before I found out I was pregnant. I had tummy aches and toothaches.
Most frequent activity: Puking and having colds and being grumpy
Weird symptom of pregnancy: Rage and being fuzzy
Favorite/only food: Froot Loops
Most frequent activity: Puking and having colds and being grumpy
Weird symptom of pregnancy: Rage and being fuzzy
Favorite/only food: Froot Loops
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