Fully Upright, I'm Happy to Report

The vertigo is almost gone, so my body decided it would be super! cool! to come down with a cold. A cold I can deal with. A cold does not lead to me potentially passed out on the floor. So yay for a cold!

I emailed my doctor, specifically mentioning that the pharmacy said motion sickness tablets are not okay to take since I am breastfeeding. He wrote me back: take motion sickness tablets for a few days. Sigh. It is so nice to know he just skimmed my email.

BUT in happy medical news our co-pay for Ace's hospital stay is ridiculously low. Like, ridiculously. I wrapped my arms around Dh and said, I know sometimes you hate your job, but your benefits are worth their weight in GOLD. And he agreed.

* * *

Sleeping issues are better. Ace has settled on a bedtime which miraculously is usually within thirty minutes of Miss E's. Yes that's right, both my babies go to bed around 6 pm. Ace sleeps until midnight, when I nurse him, then goes straight back to bed until 5 or 6-ish, nurses again, then sleeps until about 7:30.* And he usually takes two two-hour naps during the day. To compensate for all this sleep, he nurses every hour and a half when he is awake.

I honestly think he is hungry both those times at night. (Ace's pediatrician does not agree, which doesn't particularly bother me.) I mean, I can barely go six hours without food, and my stomach is at least five times the size of Ace's. Miss E was still nursing once at night at this age, and she didn't have the same level of fat to maintain. :D

* * *

So the other day Ace was laying on the floor. Miss E was laughing. I looked up to see Miss E standing on Ace's legs. He was not crying; he didn't even seem phased. Miss E got off him guiltily. But needless to say, I was pissed. Miss E didn't protest timeout - she knew she had earned it! I guess I can't use Ace crying as a clue that Miss E is mistreating him. He looks at her so adoringly. I think he's just thrilled for any attention she throws his way. Thankfully Miss E gives Ace hugs much more often than smacks.




*He does wake periodically throughout the night, but Dh pops his binky back in, and that usually works. Dh = no Mommy milk smell

An Inconvenient Illness*

About four or five years ago, I suddenly started getting really dizzy all the time. My co-worker told me the only time she got dizzy like that was when she was pregnant. So I thought I was (it was too early to test). But as the dizziness continued over a week, and no other symptoms appeared, I became suspicious. I went to the doctor and discovered I had an inner ear infection that was wrecking havoc with my sense of balance. He prescribed a high-powered motion-sickness medicine to suppress the dizziness until my body could fight the infection on its own. I had to take a couple days off work (boo-hoo) and then I was fine.

Thursday morning I was getting the kids ready to go to the local children's museum. Suddenly I got really dizzy and really nauseous. So much so that I laid down on the couch and couldn't get up without feeling like I was going to pass out. I recognized the feelings - it was a more sudden and intense version of that ear infection. I called my husband and he said he would come home. Of course I had made the mistake of telling Miss E where we were going, so when I let her know that I was sick and we would not be going to the children's museum, she freaked out. Ace was already strapped into his carseat and after a few minutes started to fuss. I crawled slowly down the hallway to drag him into the living room. I was worried that if I stood up and carried him, I would fall and hurt him. I was only able to drag him halfway down the hallway before I had to lay my head flat down on the ground. That's where Dh found us when he got home. He carried me into bed and took over the kids.

It was so weird. Other than the extreme dizziness and nausea, I felt fine. No ear pain, no congestion. But I couldn't even elevate my head on two pillows without the room spinning. After a bit I developed a major headache. Thursday was pretty bad for me. Dh took the kids to a nearby nursery and they perused the plants. The doctor's office said the high-powered motion sickness medicine was out since I was nursing, so pretty much all I could do was sip high-fructose juice and move slowly. Um, thanks.

Friday I was a bit better, but still couldn't be upright for more than three minutes. I had to lay around. Which sounds like it should have been totally fun, right? And it kind of was. I mean, I finished one book and started another. But as the day wore on, when I asked my darling husband for something (food, ibuprofen), this was his response: "You gotta be kidding me!" accompanied by a loud sigh. Ooh-wee is my husband not designed to stay at home with two kids. He was so grouchy by the end of the day, he couldn't even be civil. Frankly, I was trying not to laugh. Like it's impossible to take care of two kids? Apparently yes, I must be amazing. Dh has a hard time even temporarily putting himself at the bottom of his own list. And it's not like he did much cleaning. He only loaded the dishwasher because literally every cup was dirty.

I was reminded yet again of why I stay at home with the kids and Dh goes out and earns the money.

Saturday Dh had to go in to work for several hours because a big project that he was in charge of was taking place. Miss E played at EdgyK's and I laid on the bed. Luckily Ace takes long naps. I made it to five minutes upright on Saturday!

Today there is major improvement. I have to move slowly, and not sling my eyes around too quickly. Also bending down is a bad idea. But I sat up through dinner and I am sitting up typing this entry. But, um, I think I need to go lay back down now. So here's some cuteness for you:











*Yeah, I realized after I typed that all illnesses are inconvenient. "Oh, this illness came at the perfect time! How lovely!"

A Bigger Update

I have been considering this change for a few weeks. Some might say dithering. I got my hair whacked off. Here's the kitchen floor after Edgyk's sister was done:

I think I like it. It's still too new to tell. Here is the five-pounds-lighter, not-as-susceptible-to-Ace's-hair-pulling me (forgive my poor photography skills):



And as a bonus, the little Hair Puller himself:



Please note ankle rolls:
Yum!

A Little Upgrade

Last Saturday I turned on the faucet in the kitchen and water started spraying out of the back of it, down where the faucet meets the sink. I quickly turned it off, jiggled the faucet a bit, then turned it back on. It started spraying again. I looked over at my mother-in-law who was visiting for the weekend. "That's not good," she said quietly. No, indeed.

I called Dh over, showed him the problem, then got the heck out of the kitchen. House emergencies + me + Dh usually = fight. Luckily my father-in-law was there to serve as Dh's assistant. They tried to get the faucet working correctly again, but it was no use. They opened the cupboard under the sink to find that water was spraying everywhere down there too. Oh yay! We've been having trouble with that faucet pretty much since we moved in four and a half years ago, but we've always been able to jiggle it around and get it to stop spraying. Not so this time.

We left Ace home with Grandma and the rest of us went to Lowe's to pick out a new faucet. I found a nice one on clearance. Here is a close approximation to what our old faucet looked like. Except ours was uglier:

And here is our new faucet:


It had never occurred to me to replace the faucet, since (most of the time) it worked just fine. Replacing things just because I'm not fond of them is not in the budget right now. But the old one went kaput, and we were forced to get a new one. And I am thrilled! I like it so much more and I think it makes our whole kitchen look nicer.

Ace's Four Month Stats

Weight: 18 lbs, 12 oz
Length: 27.5 inches
Head circumference: 16.5 inches

Ace's pediatrician was surprised to see him as strong, agile and squirmy as he was. Apparently big babies usually just kind of lay there, weighed down by their own bulk. Hee hee Ace is an active, happy baby!

Recent Pictures

Miss E leads her uncle around for kicks on a daytrip to the coast.

My friend Lissa is much better at doing Miss E's hair than I am, despite having only boys!

Miss E giving Ace some "tough love."

She wants to be just like her mama!

Another picture from the coast. Obviously Miss E was not too interested in posing.

And one of me, with poor lighting.