The plan was for me to keep Joy here at home and Mom and Dad to keep the big kids at their house. It would give me the chance to really work with Joy to figure her out (ha! that will be years,) and Ty and Charlie a change of scenery without a crying baby to spoil their fun. See little miss Joy is precious and cuddly and cute but she's a screamer now thanks to a case of reflux that is nothing short of horrendous. Only her older brother had it worse so we have been down this road before...dreading every feeding because she will no doubt be in pain and let the world know. Bless her heart. Bless my heart. Bless all our hearts.
On Thursday we (me, Mom, Joy, Charlie, and Ty,) went to Charlie's 18 mo. checkup and since I missed her 15 mo. one she got 4 shots. Somehow I missed her checkup because I guess I was busy going to my own appts. for Joy?? Or just trying to keep my head screwed on straight?? Or a combination of the two maybe?? Poor Charlie took the pain well and got a good report: She weighs 31 pounds and is still above the 97th percentile for height so she's growing well. Rounder by the minute but as long as she's also growing taller it should even out someday soon.
While we were there...oh wait let me back up...
Wednesday, the day before the scheduled appt. for Charlie that I MYSELF SCHEDULED I called my doctors office to ask about Joy's meds. The nurse called back to talk through the options and she said, "Well, since you'll be here tomorrow for Charlotte why don't you bring Joy and have her (dr.) look at Joy too?"
"Um yeah sure. Since I'll be there tomorrow that will work. I had no idea I would be there tomorrow."
There is a reason I compare myself to a grasshopper.
While we were there one of the many tornadic events blew through the area so it was even more of a three ring circus than usual. By the time we all got into the office Mom was wet up to her waist and the kids had each individually had meltdowns. Ty was scared of the thunder, Charlie was out of her drink, and Joy was crying for whatever reason at the time. I think she needed to burp on the ride over so it hurt by the time we got there.
Anyway.
Dr. F increased Joy's reflux meds (thank you Prevacid...I owe you) and we found out she weighs 11 pounds now. We also found out her head isn't symmetrical because she favors laying on one side while she sleeps. If we can't help her even it out by 6 months she will have to wear a helmet to correct it so we are working on sleeping her on her right side. She doesn't like it. Stay tuned.
All this was to tell you how the new plan worked out. My 24 hour period with my third child, my miracle child I am so grateful for, consisted of me begging her to sleep but to no avail. It consisted of her grunting, eating, fussing, and just being awake every hour or so. By sunrise I was ready to punt. Ready to go to Waxahachie and have help with Joy. Ready to tend to the other two for awhile. And I'm so glad I did.
We are back home now, back to plan A. I'm not a type A person but plan A--it's working out well for us. Mom is here helping until Sean gets home and while it hasn't been smooth, (both Ty and Charlie have fallen and hit their heads on the wood floor since we've been here, AND Charlie has had a weird reaction to her shots) it's good to be home and keep working on things. Maybe soon Joy will astonish us with her pleasantness and sleep more than three hours at at time. You'll hear about it when it happens I'm sure!
4 comments:
Oh Mary, you guys are in my prayers. I remember thinking that Kate would never get better. I think I even emailed you that week wondering about meds. It did get better, but I hated hearing that at the time because I wanted it better NOW. I say PUNT whenever you can! It takes a village...
Mary! I'm so sorry...I know how hard it's been with 2, I can't imagine 3! Remember, it won't be like this forever. You WILL sleep again, you WILL be juggling all three seamlessly when Sean is gone, you WILL get through this. Take it one day at a time, and by all means, punt sister, punt often!Praying for you!
Oh goodness, that sounds like nothing short of a challenge! I agree with Michelle that it's okay to "punt" when needed and everyone is usually better for the extra hands in the end. I hope that this time continues to get easier for you when Sean is away.
I feel for ya, Mary...Ryder had that junk bad, too. Matt would come home and just walk around the house with him in a big sling. For whatever reason, I don't know if it was the movement or what, it made him feel better and stop screaming. We increased his prevacid, too. I think when they start gaining weight like that, the original dosage just becomes a little ineffective. The positive side to it, he is very good at taking medicine now! It'll get better...hang in there and we are all here for ya!
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