Sydney was a happy camper yesterday; you would have never known that he was sick. In fact, at the grocery store, last night, he smiled and flirted with almost anyone that would make eye contact. He also would call out "HI" or a "hi-ya" to passers by. At one point, I watched him grow frustrated when he leaned and attempted to smile at a teenage boy, but the boy would not make eye contact with him. (Everyone smiles at me. Why not him?) I had taken COUNTLESS compliments on what a cute kid I have. (Hard to believe that he is a stay-at-home baby since he is NOT shy or bashful at all [yet].)
Sydney went to bed, following our new-and-improved bedtime routine. Mike got home from work and hopped in the shower while I decided to pump before going to bed. I have had a (painful) milk blister, called a BLEB, on my breast for 2.5 weeks now and the discomfort has NOT improved, despite the lactation consultant suggesting that we break it open with a sterile needle this past Wednesday. Then, finding out that Sydney has a contagious viral infection - that causes painful blisters in his mouth - escalated my concern for my (already) sore nipple. However, nowhere, can I find documentation that it is harmful to breastfeed during a bout of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) so, I guess I should not worry so much.
I used my topical prescription for Dr. Neuman's Triple Nipple Cream, with a numbing agent in it, and went to bed. Although, I was having a hard time falling asleep because I was having shooting pains in that breast. I eventually got up to take some ibuprofen and hoped for a restful night of sleep.
No sooner than I had fallen asleep, Sydney woke up - SCREAMING! I waited for a minute or two to see if he would settle himself; however, no dice. I went in to rescue him. I offered him my good breast, but he was not interested. Started flipping and flailing his entire body in protest (or pain). I took him downstairs and attempted to give him Tylenol. I attempted to give him some organic baby yogurt. I attempted to give him a drink of water (which he willingly accepted). I attempted to hold him, to rock him, to comfort him. All-the-while, he continued to throw his body all over the place, while continuing to cry and scream. When it was obvious that he didn't want to be held, I set him on the floor - where he continued to flip and flail his entire body. He would curl up into a ball. He would extend his body outward. He would flip and roll. He would crawl. He would attempt to stand - only to throw himself onto the floor again before climbing up my body to be picked up again. Once held, he would continue to wiggle and squirm. I offered to nurse him again; this time, he accepted it, but wouldn't eat - instead, just used me as a pacifier for comfort. (Lucky me.)
Was it a sore throat? A belly ache? A head ache? WHO KNEW???
(It sure would be nice if he was able to tell us what hurt.)
The only thing we knew for sure that it was NOT from having a fever.
After an hour-and-a-half of this on-again/off-again commotion, as well as a few minutes of rest while we watched Sesame Street, I was desperate to get back to sleep. The Tylenol should have kicked in long before now. I was tempted to put him back into his crib where I knew that he couldn't get hurt by flipping and flailing his body into the wall(s) [again]. I was tempted to let him cry it out because it was obvious that we had no other way of consoling this tired child.
Harsh words were spoken between spouses. (Eventually, I explained that I have had one too many nights of sleeplessness and that my body is protesting; As much as I try, I can NOT be superwoman all the time.)
At some point in the night, Mike took a turn with Sydney, giving me an hour of sleep. He managed to get him to sleep and brought him into our bed. I ended up moving him back to his own crib because I needed some quality sleep - where I didn't have to worry about rolling onto the baby.
Around 5am, Sydney was diapered and we snuggled in the recliner. Eventually, he found a comfortable position and we both slept - in an upright position - until 8:30am.
And when he woke...the HAPPIEST little boy you've ever seen!
I called Mike to report that he woke up happy. (Mike says: Good. Waking up the other 67 times last night, he was due to wake up happy one of these times.)
• • •
Then, mid-morning, following our bath, I was embarrassed that our neighbor (Frank) let himself into our sunporch and house - to witness me raising my voice and yelling at Sydney while he was screaming and flailing on the floor in the re-diapering process. I had been attempting to clean a messy (poopy) diaper and Sydney decided part-way through it, that he didn't want (me) to.
I worried that Frank will think poorly of me since I was shouting over Sydney's screaming.
"HEY, You NEED to lay still!"
Frank delivered an Easter basket for his buddy Sydney. Inside, a cupcake that looked like a bird's nest and a bottle of bubbles. Sydney, however, was convinced that the bubbles were juice or something to drink and was getting mad when I took them away from him. Within minutes, I opened the bubbles and took him outside to show him that the magic bottle was filled with BUBBLES - not juice. (He found those to be pretty fun to look at, having not seen bubbles since a late-Fall visit to Grandma & Grandpa Olson's house.)
• • •
Equipped with yawns, yelling and an increase in temper tantrums, Sydney was nursed and laid into his crib for a nap. He managed to protest the entire time I wrote this blog entry and has just recently given up the fight and went to sleep. Grandpa Lowell will be here soon for his weekly visit and I plan to run out to Menards where we will FINALLY purchase/order our new kitchen cabinets since our tax rebate just arrived and the cabinets go OFF of sale today. (Talk about perfect timing!)
Later today, I think I will need a nap. (Mike and I - BOTH - hope for a better night tonight!)
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