Christmas Craziness

This post was started yesterday and it will have to be finished within the next couple of days. I'm dealing with what I consider to be a major "issue" right now, even though C tries to tell me it's not my fault and it's "out of [my] hands".

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I figured that since today is the last day of January, I really should make an attempt to revisit and give details about our Christmas trip before the calendar turns to a new month.

I'm not even quite sure where to start but I'll give it the 'ole college try and start at the beginning...

We were to set sail on our adventure at 4:30am, Sunday, December 16th. About 6pm the night before KT started coughing. I knew it wasn't a good omen. But we woke her up at 4am anyways and strapped her into the carseat. She coughed and whimpered her way across Idaho, Wyoming and a good chunk of Nebraska that day. By the time we reached the Wyoming/Nebraska border on Sunday afternoon she was barking like a seal in the backseat. We kept her dosed with Tylenol and gave her as much water to drink as we could. Our original intent was to give ourselves 3 days to make the drive to Michigan, but we decided she needed to be seen by a doctor and changed our plans to do the drive in two. I didn't want to spend hours in an emergency room somewhere in Iowa (no offense to Iowa); I thought it would be better to push on to Michigan and get her seen somewhere close to my in-laws. Mainly in case we needed a follow up visit or anything else.

Even with being so sick, KT rode like a trooper. We logged almost 1000 miles and 19 hours on Sunday before stopping for the night in Lincoln, Nebraska. Monday we pushed through almost 700 miles in 14 hours before reaching C's mom and dad's. The last time we drove this trip we drove it straight through in about 26 hours. We learned quickly that having a toddler tag along for the ride adds considerable time on to a trip (close to 7 hours). Mainly because pit stops take much longer than before. But anyways.

An afternoon's worth of adventures in a local clinic and the nearby hospital (which at this point I'm incredibly grateful we were still on my health insurance as B!ue Cross is taken everywhere and not considered out of network) for an RSV swab and a chest x-ray gave us the diagnosis: bronchitis, bronchiolitis and an ear infection. Thankfully no RSV and no pneumonia. A heavy duty round of antibiotics and some prescription cough medicine brought much needed relief within a few days.

The biggest disappointment to KT being sick is that it canceled some important visits I had planned. Two of my closest friends, Sami and Bean both gave birth to little boys last fall and I was sooooooo looking forward to seeing the new additions (and them too of course!). With KT being so sick, C and I were warned that we would most likely both come down with at least colds. There was no way I was going anywhere near little ones with that possibility.

Million Dollar Question

Believe me, after 4 days of feeling horrible last week the same thought crossed my mind. But no. Katie is not going to be a big sister. Thank heavens.

I'm still sick too. Thought I was doing better but had a late night appointment with the porcelain last night as I tried to eat some soup.

In Other News

This week has been crazy around our house.

After KT's puking episode on Saturday afternoon/evening we have yet to have anymore. Thankfully. She's now an eating monster and will just about take off the tip of your finger with her snapping jaws if you tried to feed her something directly. I've learned that it's much easier (and safer) to put it on the highchair tray or in your hand and let her feed herself.

I've had 2 separate episodes this week of "drop everything and do THIS right now because it's due tomorrow". One email was sent Tuesday night at 10pm; the report was due Wednesday at noon. Don't mind the fact that I had sent the rough draft in 10 days earlier for their review. The second was in regards to my annual evaluation. Thursday, just before 5pm I get another email stating that annual evaluations need to be turned in on Friday. I got my part done but never heard a word back from my boss. My guess is that it's not turned in since I needed to check a box stating I agreed with the overall ratings and sign it. Gee. I wonder how not turning it in on time is going to affect my evaluation.

I'm also sick with some random, mysterious illness this week. Just weird hot flashes, nausea and vomiting. I'm lucky to keep one meal down a day. Good news is that I've lost 4 pounds in a week. Bad news is that I have no energy because my calorie consumption is so low. This is not good when the tiny terror tornado is wreaking havoc on my home and I need to deal with last minute, overlooked projects.

It's been a wonderful start to 2008. Maybe February will be better.

Me and OCD

I think that no matter the person, everyone has his/her own little quirks. It may be how you eat your food, how you get dressed or a silly "thing" you do out of habit. I have numerous little quirks. I've tried to tell myself in the past that it's just my way of trying to be organized. In reality it really isn't. It's more than that.

In 2005 I did a short stint with a therapist. After the miscarriage in May I couldn't pull myself together and get on with my life. I found myself sliding down that slippery slope of depression -- for me it meant spending way too much time in bed, not caring about my appearance (to the point of not wanting to shower) and calling in sick to work when I just didn't have the emotional energy to go. In August I realized that I needed professional help and I was lucky to find a fantastic therapist. After a couple of visits he had me take a quiz of sorts that contained about 100 questions. It was then that I was officially diagnosed as having OCD.

I've always joked about the anal-retentive aspects of my personality. How I had certain aspects that I felt were "obsessive" and that I couldn't let go of. But I never thought that I could truly have OCD. My therapist said that it's a more mild case. Most of my tendencies revolve around routines and order. It's my way of ME having control. (Which is, by the way, why he thought I was struggling so much with trying to get pregnant and the miscarriage. It was all of my control no matter how hard I tried to change it.) When I stray from these tendencies it makes me uncomfortable and I get flustered.

For instance. Getting showered and ready is a hugely structured endeavor for me. If I don't follow a specific order, things get forgotten. When I get in the shower I rinse off completely and wet my hair down. Then I wash my face, shampoo and condition my hair. With the conditioner still in my hair I shave. Conditioner is then rinsed out and I wash my body. After getting out of the shower and drying off I follow another structured regimen: contacts in, facial moisturizer, deodorant, makeup, hair, teeth and then lotion and chapstick. A break in this routine (from something like an unexpected awakening of the child, doorbell or phonecall) can be horrible for me. I might as well just stop getting ready completely.

Many would say that my need for things to be orderly is just me being neat. No. It's worse than that. At the end of the day I pick up all of KT's toys in the living room. Every single piece is put back with the set it belongs to. All the wooden blocks go back in the school bus; all the shapes go back in the shape sorter; all the balls go back in the ball popper. I will frantically search through the house when something is missing. I can't finish until everything is in its proper place. I'm trying to work on it but it's hard.

So you can imagine (or perhaps you can't) how much a 14-month old tiny terror can throw my world into a tailspin when she does this to the drawer in the bathroom where I keep my stuff.


For right now, the only cabinets that have been childproofed are those with cleaning chemicals in them. I don't mind if she plays in the pots and pans or pulls all of the plastic storage containers out into the middle of the floor. That stuff is all part of being a kid. Obviously this drawer hasn't been made off limits to my toddler. It is an addiction to her. I'm sure it's because it's loaded with all sorts of wonderful stuff to pull out and throw on the floor. Different colors, shapes, textures, sizes, etc. It has to be a goldmine for an exploring child. We found 2 tubes of lipgloss in one of the dresser drawers in our bedroom the other day. Courtesy of said toddler.

It literally gives me goose bumps to see her pull this stuff out and scatter it throughout the tiny bathroom. Since it doesn't hurt anything I continue to let her do it. When she figures out how to open my mascara or lick my deodorant, she'll be stopped from getting in the drawer-o-fun.

So after this confession would it surprise anyone that immediately after that picture was taken I dumped the entire drawer out and reorganized it?

Copycat

This post needs to be prefaced with a HUGE disclaimer as I know that this is the first that many people have heard of this news.


**WARNING -- WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ MAY BE CONCERNING TO PEOPLE ON A PERSONAL LEVEL. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS INFORMATION SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISSEMINATED ON FRIDAY OR YESTERDAY BUT PLEASE BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THAT IT'S BEEN AN EXHAUSTING FEW DAYS AND I HAVEN'T HAD NEITHER THE TIME NOR THE ENERGY TO BE MAKING A TON OF PHONE CALLS TO PASS IT ALONG.**


My long time readers may remember that I was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum when I was newly pregnant with KT. Due to the extreme vomiting and the inability to keep fluids/food down my OB ordered a PICC-line be inserted in my left arm to facilitate home infusion/hydration therapy. I sincerely believe that line in my arm played a huge part in having a successful pregnancy and a beautiful daughter, in turn.



Often, when one is dehydrated their body rejects any liquids it is offered via the mouth creating a vicious cycle. IV hydration is the only way to "reset" the body and help to curb the vomiting. We got to experience this firsthand with Baby Girl on Friday night.

KT started teething on the way back to Idaho 2 weeks ago. Just our luck, all 4 molars decided to start pushing through at the same time. When she teethes she tends to vomit for a day or two (usually only 24-48 hours). We've attributed it to the extra drainage from her runny nose and increased drooling that accompanies new teeth. Although frustrating, a day or two of changing clothes, washing blankets and smelling like baby puke are manageable. Not necessarily enjoyable but their fairly short lived. This time has been HUGELY different.

It all started last Sunday. From Sunday to Friday it was a non-stop puke fest around here. She'd immediately throw up her bottle right after waking; most of her meals would end up back on the highchair tray before she was finished eating; both C and I were randomly covered while holding her, no matter when she ate last; and our nights were interrupted with the wonderful sound of a toddler gagging in her crib at 4am. My washing machine ran just about non-stop throughout the week. I spent my days cleaning up after her -- tearing the highchair apart and washing it, washing/drying/folding laundry, scrubbing carpets and upholstery -- and living in fear of the next "episode". Very little got done around here except to tend to the puke monster.

The top two molars have broken through the gums but they provided very little relief. Thursday afternoon she started rejecting everything we tried to give her. My thought is that she was afraid of throwing it back up so she didn't want to eat or drink. And I couldn't get her to try anything new. Friday rolled around and the refusal to take anything in was at its worst. She went from 4am until almost 6pm that evening without a single wet diaper. At one point I started holding her down and forcing syringes full of pedialyte into her mouth so that she was getting something into her system. All this resulted in was her getting pissed off and immediately throwing it back up all over both of us.

So I broke down and called the pediatrician's office for an appointment. Although there is some disagreement over exactly what is wrong with her (the pediatrician scoffed at it being teething related, heaven knows that her Mom see this similar pattern with every eruption of a new tooth, and diagnosed it as gastroenteritis although she didn't "exactly" fit the criteria/symptoms for it) it was agreed upon that she was dehydrated and in need of fluids.

Thankfully, due to our home hydration experience, the pediatrician was willing to order the insertion of an IV and allow us to take KT home for the evening. She would infuse a 250ml bolus of solution at the infusion center and then would be on a slow drip throughout the night. If she was doing better on Saturday the line could be pulled and we'd carry on as normal; if she wasn't doing better, our options would be discusses. The pediatrician said that in only 1 in 5 cases would he allow this. That in 80% of patients he'd admit the child to the hospital for fluids. But he believed that we could handle it and that KT would rest much better in her own crib on Friday night than to be in the pediatric unit at the hospital.

And so it was. (Please don't mind the grainy/bright picture as it was taken with my cell phone, the disaster that is my kitchen right now, or the pre-shower pictures.)








The IV fluids helped tremendously and KT went from Friday afternoon pre-appointment all through the night and next morning without any problems. She managed to keep a little formula down Saturday morning and a handful of animal crackers. Due to this the IV was pulled around noon yesterday.

Much to our dismay, the vomiting started back up again late afternoon yesterday. It was hit or miss throughout the rest of the day and our day turned into a major battle of wills. KT was extremely frustrated that we wouldn't feed her what she wanted and she refused all attempts at a bland diet. Fortunately, C was persuasive and managed to get some more animal crackers into her. So far, so good today, but we still have much more of the day to get through. It's just so difficult when she wants something to eat and you can't give it to her. You certainly can't explain the reasoning behind it to someone so small.

I promise that when all of this slows down and life gets back to normal, I will get back to the Christmas related posts detailing some of our adventures.

Happy New Year!

We're home. A little rough around the edges, but we're home.

When I get through some of my emails, get some of this stuff unpacked and try to clear my head from the congestion induced fog, I'll be back.

Stick around. The details include dead deer, police reports, closed Interstates, high winds and a head cold.

I'm so glad to be home.

Travel Woes

Talk about a whirlwind drive! We hammered out 1000 miles on Sunday making it to Lincoln, Nebraska; then pushed 700 miles on Monday to make it to our destination in Michigan. It actually went much better than we had anticipated. KT did fairly well in the car (all things considered) and the dogs were better than 2 years ago when we made the drive.

The bad part of the trip is that KT is sick (bronchitis, bronchiolitis and an ear infection). She literally started coughing less than 12 hours before we had to get on the road. And it progressively got worse the more miles we tacked on the odometer. Which was part of our push to get to Michigan so quickly -- to get her out of the car seat and into a doctor. Considering how sick she was she rode really well.

Her being sick is bad for numerous reasons. First of all, having to take her to a different doctor (and probably one that is out of network); second, her being sick away from home and her own crib; and lastly, how it affects our schedule of visits with others. Yesterday and/or today I was planning on visiting two great friends and their new babies. But there is no way I'm going to take Katie around any other kids until she's better (or unless it's unavoidable) and since there's a good chance I will come down with something I'm afraid that even if I visit alone, I'm carrying nasty germs. This also affects who we might visit with next week. I'm super bummed about this as I haven't seen these friends since KT and I were in Michigan in February. Being a responsible parent (and friend) means the health of our kiddos comes first.

And now...on to the rant portion of this post.

Why is it that gas stations/restaurants/rest areas do NOT have changing tables in the restrooms? There's no way I'm setting my child on the floor to change her diaper. And it even somewhat grosses me out to lay a changing pad down and then put her down. When it's in the single digits though, it's impossible to change her in the car without getting a nice chilly draft on her bare cheeks. Seriously though. Nebraska was the worst.

After driving along at a 75mph posted speed limit on I-80 through Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa it feels like you've moving in slow motion when you hit the Illinois border and the speed limit drops to 65mph. It took almost two hours to get used to driving slower.

And C and I have come to the conclusion that I have become a homebody. Which is sad in itself as I love traveling. But I've learned that I miss the comforts and familiarity of my own home. There's just something about my own bed, my own pillow, my own shower, getting ready when all of your stuff is in the bathroom (versus digging through a bag for it), my own coffee pot...you get the drift.

But despite the things that have bugged me, it has been great seeing KT interact with her grandparents. She's developed so much since the last time they saw her. I think that will be the best part of this holiday -- watching her interact with the people that love her almost as much as I do.


As this might be my last post until after we uproot and take up residence with my family...


HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!

Change in Plans

I'm so incredibly frustrated today that I can barely see straight.

See that ticker above this post? We're leaving on Sunday for our holiday "vacation". (It says 1 day until insanity but it should really say 2.) Due to numerous circumstances we made the choice to make our cross-country trek this year via our own vehicle. Two adults, two obnoxious dogs and a 13 month old crammed into my SUV for 1800 miles. Yeah. We're nuts. But we didn't go to Michigan last Christmas because KT was only 6 weeks old and we felt it was important to spend the holiday with family.

I've been stressed for weeks getting ready for this trip. Making lists of things that need to be done; putting together listings for pet friendly hotel accommodations along I-80; fretting over Christmas gifts and where to send them when ordering online; continuously adding and crossing things off of packing lists. I think I've mentioned before that I have OCD. Trips like this are very hard for me to prepare for. I don't ever relax until I'm back home and everything is unpacked.

Yesterday I had a meltdown. I'm not sure what triggered it but I sat here at the kitchen table and cried for almost an hour. I've been so busy with work, KT and everything else that all the sudden I realized this trip starts this weekend. I probably would have sat here crying for longer had it not been for an infuriating email I received from work.

Many of you know that a good part of my salary is paid for by a grant. For this grant we are required to turn in yearly reports that detail our progress. It's due at the end of December. You don't have to be a genius to figure out what's coming next. Yesterday around noon, email reminders went out to the main investigators listed on the grant that this report is due in a little over two weeks. So people are immediately concerned about the deadline and ensuring this report gets completed on time.

I'll tell you how it's going to get done on time. I'll work my butt off today and tomorrow to get as much done as possible. When we pull out of our driveway on Sunday, my laptop will be packed in the vehicle. Upon arriving in Michigan, my plans will be shifted around to make sure this stupid report gets done in time to allow people to review it before it needs to be submitted. It will need to be finished before Christmas, to give the reviewers a couple of days after Christmas to look at it. I'm unavailable to work from the 29th on, so I'll have to submit it the 28th. On my mom's horribly ssssllllloooooooooooooowwww dial-up connection.

So much for a vacation.




**This also means that I might have to adjust some plans I've made with some of you -- especially those I was trying to see next week. I'll keep you updated and we'll just have to play it by ear. Sorry.**

Possible Change in Address

I've been toying with the idea of moving this blog to another host. Something still free, but with more features than what I have available now.

Anyone want to offer up their experiences on other hosts? The good, the bad and the ugly would be appreciated.

Automobilist Grievances

In no particular order:


- blue hairs that can barely see over the steering wheel who inevitably pull out directly in front of you, causing you to slam on your brakes, then proceed to weave within their lane and drive 10 mph under the speed limit


- vehicles that drive 15 mph on icy/snowy roads that warrant 35 mph and have a posted speed limit of 55 and the sporadic enough oncoming traffic that prevents you from passing


- gawkers who are oblivious to signs that designate a lane as a turn only lane and then have the audacity to get pissed at you when their lane no longer exists and they can't merge into traffic


- those who think turning on their blinker automatically creates free space in the adjacent lane and merge without checking to see if the lane is occupied


- impatient drivers who see parents removing children from carseats and sit, waiting not so patiently and even going so far as honking, for the parent to shut the door so they can pull into the empty space when there are free spaces on the other side of the vehicle


- tourists/visitors who are unsure of where they need to go, continuously slowing, braking, signaling and weaving in and out of turn lanes


- dimwits who forget that by law they are required to use signals


- car jockeys with vision abilities that make void the need to use headlights in foggy/snowy/dawn/dusk conditions


- he/she slowing down succeeding traffic by not realizing that far right lane is designated a turn lane so they may slow/brake in their own space without disrupting the flow


- cretins with blatant disregard for traffic laws but the consideration for flipping other drivers the bird when they are themselves at fault