March 30, 2012

How big? So big!

Ashlin doesn’t seem to be able to catch a break.  Guess what?  That rash she had when we picked her up yesterday from day care?  You guess it!  Coxsackie Virus.  Yay.  Fun.

What a wonderful birthday present.

It did look a bit suspicious last night, but we thought, hoped more like, that it could be due to all the snot and drool she’s had thanks to the teeth she sprouting.  Nope!  Today, over the course of the morning, a rash appeared on her hands and feet, and legs.  Oh, and diaper area.  She got fussy and only wanted to be snuggled.  I was hoping it wasn’t Hand Foot and Mouth Disease, but made an appointment with the doctor anyway.

Doctor confirmed that it was indeed Coxsackie.  She has sores in her mouth.  We also need to keep an eye on the sores on her upper lip and around her nose, she said they looked like the start of Impetigo.  Great.

Ouchie

The doctor also ended up prescribing an antibiotic cream for the diaper rash. The very angry looking diaper rash. It wasn’t there last night, but had gotten worse this morning. One good thing, it is the same antibiotic cream she would need if she does have Impetigo.

We need to make sure she drinks, and eats a bit.  She could get dehydrated thanks to the pain from the sores in her mouth.  Awesome.  We’ve been down that road with her, and it’s not a fun ride.  Hopefully this time will be better.

Teagan had HFMD when she was was about 14 months old.  She never got the mouth sores, thankfully, but did get the rash, fever and conjunctivitis.  Ashlin’s already has a worse case than her sister did.

To add insult to injury, she’s got an umbilical hernia.  Over the past few weeks her belly button started looking more and more like an outie than the cute innie she had. They’ll keep an eye on it, generally it resolves on it’s own before they turn three.  If it hasn’t, they’ll fix it up then.

Poor kid.  What a sucky birthday day she’s had.

March 24, 2012

Who Me?

Look who had a new tooth show up over night!

When she went to bed last night, she had the two on the bottom and then the top two eye teeth that are through, but not fully erupted.  This morning, as she was eating cheese and crackers, there was a new one on the bottom left just taunting me.

The top two aren’t out yet, just hanging out there, bulging her gums, looking ready to cut through.

This does explain why she’s been so cranky at bedtime these past few days.   Well, more than just the two teeth that aren’t cut yet.  However, she’s been a bit less bity, which is nice, though her latch is a bit scrape-y still.  I can’t seem to find a position where she’s not scraping those freshly budded top teeth.  Hopefully, soon, we’ll get it figured out.  I don’t remember this being such an issue with her sister.

This cheese-loving baby now has five teeth.  She seems to be getting a new tooth every week!

Related articles

• March 7, 2012 (lisasff.wordpress.com)
• March 5, 2012 (lisasff.wordpress.com)
• March 9, 2012 (lisasff.wordpress.com)

March 12, 2012

Ashlin’s been putting us through the ringer with these teeth of hers.  They can’t come through fast enough for me.  She wants to be held, but then doesn’t want to be held.  You can’t rock, or sway, or spin or swing her.  She’s not happy if you sit, nor is she happy if you stand.  She will not let you put her down, but she doesn’t want to be held.  She cries if you hold her horizontally, but also if you hold her vertically.  The teething tablets are helping a little, but not enough.  Motrin is also helping a little, but not enough.

The past two nights it’s taken somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour to get her asleep.  And then she may not stay asleep.  She comes up for air, or comforting, and then it takes another 30-45 minutes to get her back down.  Three to four (and sometimes five,) hours of sleep with just a few awake minutes of nursing and patting, but then more sleep is great.  Two to three hours of sleep, with an hour of nursing and trying to put back down is not fun.

I’m not 100% sure I do want her to have more teeth, she has become a bit bitey, and I’m not quite ready to stop nursing her.  But I do want her to not be in pain any more, to feel better.  I’d also like her to be my lovely, yet not-so-great sleeper, who would sleep (a bit!).  The one you could put down drowsy with her glow worm, and who would put herself to sleep.  I’d also like her to stop biting.

Is that too much to ask?

Related articles

• March 9, 2012 (lisasff.wordpress.com)
• March 7, 2012 (lisasff.wordpress.com)
• February 22, 2012 (lisasff.wordpress.com)
• March 5, 2012 (lisasff.wordpress.com)

March 11, 2012

Look at me, Mommy!

Today we met up with friends at a playground on the beach.  Awesome!

We moved out of the area before we really started going to playgrounds.  Teagan was not even one when we did.  It’s not that there aren’t nice playgrounds where we are now, but they aren’t quite as scenic.  Having the water as a backdrop adds a bit of appeal.

The morning was warm, but a bit windy.  I forgot a blanket to cover Ashlin with.  But other than that, we got out of the house pretty quickly, with not too much stress.  Teagan sang the “adventure” song as we drove off.

She was very happy to see her friend, I was happy to see her friend’s parents.  It had been too long.  So, other than the chilly wind and a small accident, it was a fun day.  We ended up having a fantastic lunch at the nearby diner.  The girls were wonderfully well behaved.  Teagan shared with her sister, Ashlin ate everything put in front of her.

Once home, Teagan went down easily for a nap.  Ashlin fought it for a long time.  I ended up putting the ceiling fan on and rocking her with the white noise app running.  You could see that her teeth were really bothering her.  I napped a bit too.  Don’t tell :)  Both girls ended up napping for about three hours.  Amazing.  Beach air does wonderful things for naps.

I could go for another sunny day at a beach play ground again, soon.

Related articles

• February 22, 2012 (lisasff.wordpress.com)

March 9, 2012 ~ look at those teeth!

Teeth! Look at them! Upper right is through, upper left almost, and the two front not too far behind.

March 9, 2012

Go the Fu*k to Sleep

Did I mention four teeth?  One is almost all the way through, the other eye tooth is pushing and bulging.  You can see the outlines of the two front teeth now.  She may not look like a short hockey player, after all.  Or, if she does, not for long.  Maybe her birthday pictures will be nice…

She didn’t sleep well last night, and is very unsettled tonight.  I think she’s got more going on in her mouth than both motrin and the teething tablets can help.  She’s been surfacing a bit, crying, needing a rock and snuggle, new round on her glowworm.

Teeth suck.

March 5, 2012

So, the reason this one has been cranky pants at night is a new tooth!  Her upper right incisor has cut through!  She’s going to be a snaggle-tooth for a little while, until the front ones catch up.

I had mentioned to Stu that I thought there might be another tooth coming, as she’s been a bit bity and more fussy at night than normal.  Today when we picked her up, there was that tooth, just gleaming away.  And she was giggling.

It’s not been an easy few nights, thanks to that tooth.  I had just gotten used to having 4-5 hours of sleep a night.  In a row!  It was awesome.  I miss them already.

I’m more than ready for bed now…  I’m sure I’ll be called, (or cried for), soon enough, and then be stuck rocking her or swaying for at least 30 minutes.  It’ll probably be 3am too.

~~

Oh, there’s been updates to:

1. Things I Never Thought I Would Say
2. Ashlin’s Arias
3. Teagan’s Tunes
4. Teagan’s Quips

January 16, 2012

Standing Tall!

Lookie who pulled herself up today!  With no help at all.  Up until today, she’s always pulled up on me, or someone, who gave a little bit of help, moving a hand to give her better traction, better leverage.  Up until today, she’s tried to pull up, but wasn’t able to get all the way.  Today, she succeeded.

Then stood there, playing with her sister’s toys for about 10 minutes.  I let her.  By the end, her legs were quivering from the exertion.    I think she left some drool on her sister’s creepy scout doll.  She was so proud of herself.

Five minutes after that, she crawled.  Forward.

After that morning nap, she got herself back up to a sitting position from a “superman” belly on the floor.

So many milestones in one day.  This would explain some of the crawling around, fitful sleep she’s been doing lately.  She “crawls” around the crib in her sleep, trying to roll over, stand, move forward.  Then she gets lost and cries.  Silly girl.

Now, all we need are the teeth to finish cutting through.  Both bottom teeth are there, just below the surface, little white Chicklets.  They’re not hindering her eating, oh no!  But they are interfering with her nursing.  And that’s just no fun for me, even though I haven’t been taking the Fenugreek lately to increase  supply.

I would also like her to say “mama” to me.  Not just say it when I’m not there, or on the other side of the room.  She can, but she won’t say it to me.  Still.

But for now, the babies are sleeping.  And it’s snowing outside.  But it’s warm inside and I have a snuggly blanket.

Related articles

• January 10 ~ Front Tooth? (lisasff.wordpress.com)
• January 9, 2011 (lisasff.wordpress.com)

October 28, 2011

Today I had my fist ever professional massage.  I’ve done chair massages, ten-minute massages, gotten a few from friends and family.  Oh, and from Stu.  Those are the best :)  But I’ve never gotten an all-out professional one.

It was very nice.

I got a referral from the chiropractor, who I’m still seeing because my hip and back continue to bother me.  He mentioned that a massage may help last time I saw him, as my muscles seemed very tight.  Tighter than just the perma-knots I always have, my upper back has been especially painful.  My back is so tight that my fingers go numb at times.  Yay.  Pinched nerve. No. Fun.

I had a thirty minute appointment.  She was amazed at how big the perma-knots were, and also that they weren’t the reason I was there.  I explained about the tingly fingers and the pain in the middle of my shoulder blades, mostly on the left.  And that’s where she focused.

It was a bit weird taking off my clothes and getting under the blankets on the table, but oh, was it nice.  She had blanket warmers on, so the sheets were toasty warm.  She started the massage with the blanket on and then moved on to lotion or a cream.  Smelled very much like sandalwood.  There was very relaxing music playing.  As she worked, she made sure she wasn’t using too much pressure.  I did let her know if it was too much.  But mostly, I just tried to relax, something that became easier as she worked.

The session wasn’t covered by insurance, I don’t think, so I won’t have many more of them.  But maybe there’ll be enough money to get at least one more.

It was very nice.

June 19, 2011

Facing front!

Happy Father’s Day!

We turned her around today.  It was time. For Father’s Day we went home – a long two hour drive.  When Stu opened the door and she saw her car seat turned around, she shrieked with joy! So awesome.  She was rear-facing up through yesterday, and hadn’t really complained at all.  Even with her legs crossed so much she was almost sitting lotus style.

Back home for Father’s Day.  Teagan signed both Dada’s and Pop-pop’s card.  She drew faces, trees, fish and frogs.  A circle, a line. Before, she never wanted to draw inside, this time, she did.  Yay!

The ride up was uneventful.  Teagan was happy, she didn’t sleep until just before we got there.  Ashlin slept most of the way.  She glared at her sister part of the way.  The look is intense.  She stared her foot part of the way.  Don’t worry, the monkey toes are still there.

Once we got unpacked and in the house, I went to go nurse Ashlin, with the hopes that she’d fall asleep and I’d be able to relax for a little.  No luck.  She started screaming and crying the minute I went up stairs.  Inconsolable.  Her face and legs turned bright red.  Nothing seemed to work for at least 20 minutes.  Nothing.  She eventually pooped and starting calming down, just a little.  She was still very upset though.

After a bit, I got Stu’s attention and asked him to bring up a pacifier.  Stu put the pacifier in her mouth and I started bicycling her legs and slowly she got better and better.  Stu took over and after a bit, got her soothed enough to fall asleep.  We got her swaddled and she slept for lunch.

Although I was able to nurse her when she woke up, she started screaming again.  All forms of soothing did not work.  After about 15 minutes started bicycling again, and that seemed to help.  Slowly, she calmed enough to try to put back to sleep.  She didn’t sleep, but had a nice quiet time like she does.  The ceiling fan is a novelty, different than the “over the hill” balloon that we have tied to her pack n play.

So, all in all, she was screaming and inconsolable for about an hour today.  She’s never been this bad before.  We thought maybe it was gas, but although she got better after releasing some, she still seemed in pain, still upset.

By the time we left, she seemed better, falling asleep almost before we left town.  The rash on her legs – if it was a rash – was just about gone.  She’s been ok since we’ve been home, nursed fine, and is sleeping now.  If it happens again, I’ll be calling the doctor.

Teagan on the return trip was a bit cranky.  She didn’t sleep as we hoped.  If she had been rear-facing, I’m sure she would have.  She would have nothing to watch.  LOL!  She tried to get out of her shoulder straps, didn’t listen to Stu after three requests to stay in the straps.  She got disciplined – small hand slap – for not listening.  We told her that she needs to wear the straps, that they keep her safe.  She behaved – as much as an extremely tired girl can – for the rest of the trip.  She even turned the volume of her singing down from 11 to about 8…  Fell asleep the second we got home.  Tired girl.

Both girls are sleeping…  I’ll be shortly!