Beyond Gross

I've dealt with some pretty nasty diapers since Nate was born. He's had some of the worst blow outs I have ever seen and in some of the most inconvenient places ever. Dare I say I've seen the worst? Would that just set me up for something even more horrible than his latest the last couple of days? Maybe. So I'm hoping this is the worst I will ever see. Ever. Now, if you have a weak stomach or hearing/talking about poopies is not for you, then stop reading. For the rest of you, be prepared, although hearing it is nothing compared to living through it.

Incident #1

I was down at Jaime's watching the boys. Lucas was still at school and Landon was taking a nap. So in order to keep the noise down, we went in Jaime's room to play. I smelled the stink and checked is diaper. Sure enough, some poo. So I laid him down and began changing his diaper. That's when it happened. Poo started shooting out like water out of a fire hydrant, all over the carpet and my pants. I tried to contain it (as it kept coming) so I cupped my hands down there so more wouldn't end up on the carpet. So there I was, poop everywhere, unable to touch anything because my hands were full too. And if you know Nate, you know where his little hands like to go during diaper changes. Somehow I got it all cleaned up without him playing in it. Gross. Beyond gross. Gag me gross.

Incident #2

Yesterday Nate was standing up by the fireplace playing with his books. I was sitting on the couch watching him play when I saw the eruption. It is the only way to describe it. I want you to picture lava erupting out of a volcano. Although this was not lava coming out of the back of his pants. And it just kept coming out, over the top of his pants and back down, pooling around his feet on the floor. At least my hands were not "full" this time. I picked him and put him in the kitchen, where anymore poo on the floor would wash up easier. Gross. So gross I want to puke. Gross.

Aren't you glad you read that? Now just be glad it wasn't you cleaning it up! I think his system is cleaning itself out. When I got sick last week I had to put him on formula for four days. I continued another few days, while I built my milk supply back up. He has been so cranky and needy and I believe the formula was just not settling right with him. I think it probably was giving him an upset belly or something because when I say cranky and needy, I mean cranky and needy. He has his moments when he's hungry or tired, but he's always been very good at playing with his toys. He wouldn't even play. I had to hold him and sometimes even that wasn't enough. But now that he's back on breast milk he is doing much better. I thought it might be because Lucas is here visiting and he adores Lucas, but even when Lucas was napping yesterday he played just fine. Stupid formula.

Separation Anxiety and Screaming

It's not enough that Michael is gone, and I'm already left to do it all by myself for two weeks. Or getting the flu I guess wasn't enough either, because Nate decides this week to give mommy some more. He has always been a mama's boy, needing me very much. He recently has had a problem with me leaving (like when he was at daycare) but that was about it. He has never had a problem in the church nursery or anywhere else. That changed today. He didn't want me to leave and started to cry the second I set him down. I didn't get paged out of service (because they are wonderful in there) but he was fussy and needy the entire time. He never has a problem there, able to play with all of his friends and all the new toys. So I guess this is the start of his separation anxiety. When I was sick on Monday, it was the longest he has gone without me and maybe it just really freaked him out. Combined with the fact that Daddy hasn't been home in over a week and that he is a baby that needs structure and routine, and he's all out of whack. So I'm hoping that this is temporary and that soon he will be able to go back to playing without me. Fingers crossed.

The separation anxiety is nothing compared the night we had on Friday. If I knew the day was going to be a preview for the night to come, I would have ran far, far away. Nate fought going down for both his morning and afternoon nap. It was a struggle, and after crying for longer than he actually slept, I started questioning if he still needs a morning nap, or a nap at all. But I know he does. Even if it's a short morning nap, he gets very cranky without it. So without a lot of sleep during the day, he was cranky the rest of the afternoon and evening. He went to bed just fine and I started thinking I had lucked out. Until 1am. Then the fun began. He started crying. Usually I can just go and plug him back up with his pacifier. This did not work. He was then angry that I left the room and started screaming and jumping on his bed. And when I say screaming, I mean screaming. It was the worst I've ever heard him scream. For the next 2 1/2 hours I tried everything; medicine (if his teeth were hurting), a bottle (in case he's hungry), the fan (maybe he's hot), no fan (maybe he's cold now), music, and holding him until he would settle down just to cry again when I put him back down. Nothing was working. So he stood in his bed jumping up and down screaming while I lied in my bed crying. He would stop screaming, start whimpering, and then there would be silence. I thought he had gone to sleep, but it would only last around 5 minutes and then the cycle would start all over again. At 3am I had had enough. I took him out of his crib and rocked him until he finally fell asleep at 3:30am.

Maybe I should have just left him from the beginning, but that always seems to be easier said than done. It's hard to listen to him cry if I haven't tried something first. I can't just lay there with him screaming if he really is in pain or hungry. I guess this time it was none of those things and he just wanted mommy and decided to throw a tantrum until he got what he wanted. Well, the episode left us both tired and cranky the next day. And since he was tired he decided to whine and cry almost all morning and into the afternoon. It's absolutely exhausting. Thank goodness he slept last night (he woke up a few times but went back to sleep after being plugged or fed) and slept in this morning. So hopefully those black circles and bags under my eyes will start to disappear....one day.

The Flu

The Flu has reared it's ugly head in the house and directly on me. And while I rather have it be me that gets it then Nate, it would have been nice if it didn't show up at all. Monday morning around 3am I woke up with intense abdominal pain and vomiting. I writhed around in pain until 6am, which I thought would be a safe time to text Jaime, letting her know and asking her if it could be my appendix. The pain was in the center, not off to the side, so I didn't think it really was, but the pain was horrible! Combined with the vomiting, I just wasn't sure; and then being alone made it a little scarier. She called me and said she was coming up, but that she wanted me to call the nurse. So I called the ER nurse and she said I should come in right away, not to wait for Jaime to come up (which would be at least another hour). So Jaime called my friend Wanda and she came over with her daughter Corry. Corry stayed at the house with Nate while Wanda drove me to the ER. On the way there I thought I was going to pass out. The pain was horrible and I thought I was going to throw up everywhere. We finally got admitted, and when I say finally I mean after the lady admitting me finally got around to after talking about some party and other miscellaneous details with her fellow coworkers. They started an IV and got some anti-nausea meds and pain meds running and I felt better quickly. They did a CT scan just to reveal--nothing! Well, not exactly nothing, but definitely not my appendix needing to be removed. I had the early onset of the flu. That's all folks. The pain I was experiencing was caused by a large amount of fluid in my intestines that, as the doctor said, I should be expelling soon. Yay. Part of me feels so stupid for going to the ER for the flu, but I'm telling you, the pain was BAD! And Jaime told me later that the nurse said I was pretty dehydrated so I probably would have ended up back there anyway. It was also good because I learned that I can't be giving Nate any of my milk, so he has to drink formula for four days. So I was released back to misery. As soon as they took the IV out, the pain and nausea returned and I was miserable. I spent the entire day in bed, in and out of consciousness. Wanda and Corry stayed here all day, taking care of Nate and me and I don't know what I would have done if they didn't. There is no way I could have taken care of him. I woke up Tuesday still feeling a bit icky and weak, but okay enough to get through the day. Luckily Nate was content on playing on the floor in the living room most of the day (I think he missed me). I've been napping when he naps and slowly getting back to solid foods. Getting over the flu is much harder when there's more than just me to take care of, and like I told Michael, he is not allowed to go away to school anymore!

Ethnic Expo and Duck Race

I've lived in Columbus for a few years and have never been to either. I always hear about them every year and this year decided I was going to go. Michael is in Wisconsin, finishing up another phase of BCNOC (leadership course for the military) and Jeremy had drill at Ft. Knox this past weekend, so it was just Jaime and I with all the kids.

Our first stop was the duck race at Mill Race Park. We didn't actually buy a duck (they're rubber duckies that are "released" via helicopter into the pond there. It raises money and the top prize was a new car. The most exciting part of the race was the release because it wasn't a race at all, the finish was over before we even knew it, and it was all very anti climatic. Oh well. Lucas had a good time watching the copter drop all the ducks and make friends with a lady and her dog.

From there we went downtown to the Ethnic Expo. At this point, everyone is hot and we just wanted to get something to drink. Lucas, practically melting on the sidewalk, almost didn't make it, so I put him in the stroller with Nate. The expo was neat-a band was playing and there were tents all lined up, selling food from different countries. It smelled so good. We got a couple bottles of water, watched Lucas play in the bouncer for a bit, and then decided to just head home. Probably an activity best done without little ones...or on a cooler day.

But I'm glad we went and I was finally able to see what all the fuss is about. I feel like I need to go to more events and places to feel more "local" as I still don't feel like a Hoosier or a Columbusanite...or whatever the word would be for someone from Columbus. :) I think Columbus has a lot of great things to offer and especially now that we have a kid, I'd like to become more involved with all the city has to offer.

Eating & Sleeping

It might be his teeth, it might be his age, but either way, the last few days Nate has not been eating as much in his bottle as he used to. It seems as though he wants more jar food. Along with the baby food, I've been trying to introduce "people" food. It's been a struggle as he spits most of it back out. He seems very particular about the texture of his food, doesn't like jello, etc. He will eat crackers and anything crunchy. But I keep trying and it seems to be working. He will now eat (and loves) mashed potatoes and applesauce, two things he refused several times. Last night he ate mac n cheese and loved it! Although I did try pancakes again this morning for breakfast and he wanted nothing to do with them, again. But did eat a couple of Kix, which he wouldn't eat before. So I think slowly but surely (and with some determination) he'll be eating "people" food soon enough. Looking forward to not buying jars of baby food anymore.

His sleep for most of September has been terrible. I know it's his teeth, but the problem is that he gets into the habit of waking up because of his teeth and then when his teeth aren't bothering him he still wants to get up in the middle of the night. So there's no really "working" on getting him to sleep through the night. I can't let him cry it out because sometimes he really is in pain and needs something. And other times he really is hungry and needs to eat (and as per the doc's instructions, I should feed him). So I've just been trying to figure out if he really needs me for something or if it's just habit. His teeth have been a little better the last few days and so I thought we'd have some good nights. I was right. The night before last he woke a few times and whined a bit but went back to sleep. He didn't wake up until 6am to eat and then went back to bed until 9:30am. Last night he woke up once and was able to go back to sleep once I put the pacifier back in. He woke up around 3:30am to eat and then he went back to sleep until 7:30am. So much better, especially considering he went to bed at 8:30pm. I'll take it! Compared to the last week of getting up and being up for an hour and half. I was getting too tired to keep doing that! So hopefully this will continue, but I'm not holding my breath.

We've also decided to not bring him to daycare anymore. We were taking him one day a week. Initially, it was to get him used to daycare for if and when I got a job. I didn't get a job and decided I would sub one day a week. Well, that hasn't been working out quite like I planned. The last time I brought him in he didn't want me to leave, following me and pulling on my pant leg. It breaks my heart and if I don't want to leave him and he doesn't want to leave me, then why do we do it? So now we're done. I liked the fact that he was able to play with babies and socialize, but we are just going to figure out other times and places for that to happen. So for now, he'll be at home with me everyday, just the way we like it.