oh croup
yesterday we went to the pediatrician for bina's 18 month well visit. she started a cough our last day in KC visiting family for thanksgiving. before we left for her appointment she was running a 101.2 and was quite a mess. so off to our not-so-well visit we went.
while we were waiting in the exam room for the pediatrician, bina started coughing non-stopped. we were reading a dora book when she gagged and unleashed her avocado and cheese lunch. i learned she doesn't chew avocado very well. it ran down the book and onto her diaper, me, and the floor. thankfully she was naked for the exam so at least she didn't have barf all over her clothes AND mine, just mine. i got up to get some paper towels and set her on the counter. barf on the counter. bina is crying and coughing. i'm trying to assess the damage and wipe up the aftermath. we were quite a sight.
as it turns out, bina has fluid in both ears and a sore throat in addition to the croupy cough. because there is a whooping cough outbreak, the pediatrician ordered a pertussis swab. then bina got an oral steroid to help with the cough. i was somewhat relieved that the pediatrician thought that bina's start at saying words (baby, ball) and then subsequent halt may be due to her ear infections that have basically been constant over the last month and a half. poor little babe.
last night bina woke at 3:30 and was up until 5:30. when i went in to get her she was standing in her crib and stomping her little feet on the mattress, excited to see me. i picked her up and nursed her in the chair next to her crib. when she was done, instead of being drowsy and ready to return to sleep as i had hoped, she jumped out of my lap, ran out of her room, down the hall, and to our master bedroom. it's 3:45am and we are NOT going back to sleep. so we went downstairs and watched an episode of switched at birth.
might as well enjoy being up in the middle of the night if we have to do it, amiright? thankfully she went back down around 5:30 and slept until 8:30. as did i. and then i thought if i had two kids i would have to get up with kid 2 instead of go back to sleep with kid 1. motherhood is no joke with sick littles.
today i'm staying home from tennis and counseling to care for the sickie. watched a bunch of little baby bum on you tube. it's basically baby crack and my lifeline the last few days. bina is back to nursing like a newborn. i decided i could at least stamp the return address on my christmas card envelopes that i stayed up addressing last night. i start on the couch stamping on top of one of bina's board books. then i go into the dining room to see if i can find something in gap sale to spend my $25 in gap cash on. then i hear the sound of the return address stamp. never NEVER leave your return address stamp within toddler reach. especially on a couch. thankfully bina must have been watching me because she just stamped the crap out of the back of one of the envelopes and didn't manage to get any ink on the couch before i retrieved the stamp. i gave up on the gap cash.
we've tried for naps twice today. i attempted first around 12:30, the usual nap time. i nursed her and she was not the least bit tired when we were finished. she hopped off my lap and threw her bunny back in her crib and then turned off the noisemaker with her foot, just like i do. ha. then she started playing in her room. ok well. try again in an hour or so. the second time worked better. poor babe has been hacking up a lung as she naps. miraculously she is still sleeping.
i'm glad this sickness didn't hit full swing until we were back home from our thanksgiving travels! we had a blast visiting family and friends in KC last weekend. bina had the time of her life playing with her cousins' toys. she was very adamant about not needing help. my oldest niece thought bina didn't like her because of the defiant noises she made whenever my niece would try to assist. i reassured her that i get those noises all the time and not to take offense. ha. david's brother's house was basically bina paradise. four kids, two dogs, and a slew of toys to entertain her. success!
bina also enjoyed her first bubble bath. actually, maybe "tolerated" is a more accurate verb. it reminded me somewhat of her first bath as a newborn, which was no fun for anyone. ha.
we arrived home on sunday afternoon. on monday i went to the grocery store with bina. i came equipped with puffs, which she dumped on the floor. twice. dumb organic puffs. why do i even bother.
i spent time looking for white icicle lights and mechanical toothbrush heads and couldn't find either. i think they stopped making heads for the toothbrushes we have. there was only one box left of the lights i wanted and it was opened. and of course my little time bomb was ticking all the while. bina started losing it towards the end of the trip. she grabbed my bags of shredded cheese and started chewing on them. in the checkout line she threw those same bags out of the cart and onto the floor. so helpful. then she got hold of the christmas colors m&m bag i picked up to put in an oatmeal bake i planned to make for my mops group friday. she started chewing on it. i figured, oh well, at least she's not screaming and i don't think she can break through that bag. wrong. i see evidence of melted chocolate on the outside on the bag and notice three puncture wounds she made with her teeth. welp. first taste of chocolate candy. no m&ms for the oatmeal bake.
when we arrived home i unloaded the babe and set her up with some lunch as i began bringing in the groceries. i managed to get all the cold stuff in the fridge and then finished up bina's lunch. as i took her out of the booster i noticed her bum was wet. she didn't have any water with lunch, or any food that would make her bum wet. so we go to the changing table and of course she had peed through her diaper, onesie, and pants. darn those size 4 diapers. i just need to throw them out. we are clearly in size 5 even though she hasn't even hit the weight minimum for 5s yet. pampers, you lie. and so. we had a happy monday.
the highlight of my tuesday was bina opening the pantry, grabbing the box of plain cheerios, plopping on the floor and then proceeding to feed herself and the dogs. cheerios, you truly are "made for little hands."
here's to hoping tonight goes better and we're not up for two hours again. if we are, i'll be watching switched at birth while nursing my big 18 month old. because that's how we roll. when david gets home tonight, i am making a solo trip to target. mom paradise. just give me an hour. i will recharge and be ready to do this all over again tomorrow. oh croup.
