Catching Up is Hard to Do

So, things actually got a bit worse...and a bit better.

The better:
Baby E is finally 100% healthy! YEAH!! She had a fabulous time at Nana's and spent Spring Break making major leaps: she started laughing, she started reaching out with both hands to grasp an object in front of her, she finally enjoyed some baby food (a whole jar of sweet potatoes!), and some of her hair filled in (she's pretty much bald).

And, I got to see my friend in rehab.

The worse:
I got sick -- yes, again! We were supposed to come back home on Saturday to avoid the Spring Break traffic, but I woke up at 4:00 a.m. puking my guts up, with fever, chills, the works.

I'm sooooo far behind in everything. From balancing the checkbook and laundry to re-stocking the grocery supply and getting some dissertation work done. I've decided that if I haven't produced what I feel is an adequate amount of writing in the next 30 days, then I'm going to ask my advisor to start giving me deadlines. I really don't want to have to do that, but I keep letting other things take up my time: runing errands during the work day to avoid being away from the kids in the evening or doing house chores during the day (for the same reason). This really has to stop because I only get 2 full work days a week to work on my dissertation. The other 3 days are mainly spent working at the office where I'm funded through my department.

Catching up is hard to do, but I've gotta get to doing it...like now.

*Editorial Note: yes, this post has been edited. I've got reasons.

The ER, Mucus, and Home

Yes, I know...what the heck is up with the title?? Well, Wednesday found my hubby and I taking baby to the Dr. with pink eye. She's also had a horrible cough for more than two weeks, and since it was combined w/a fever, the Dr. was tempted to put her on antibiotics, but didn't. He just wanted us to keep an eye on her-- hello?- like we do this 24 hours a day! That night, we were up 5 times w/a coughing, hacking, choking miserable baby E. Nothing we could do. The next morning found baby E choking on her cough, which caused her to spit up most of her bottle. Cough got worse throughout Thursday, and her breathing started to seem labored and more rapid. Fever of 101.5. At 10:00 p.m., she and I head to the ER at the suggestion of the on-call doctor. After 2 hours of waiting, the ER Dr. examines her, hears her cough, and says "That sounds like RSV." The nurse takes a booger/snot sample and adds, "I'll be shocked if this doesn't come back positive. This just screams RSV." ... Then, they leave. They leave me alone with my child, imagining all the horrible consequences of RSV. I've heard horror stories of babies being constantly in & out of the hospital, on almost weekly breathing treatments, complications that lead to pneumonia.. I finally break down and start crying hot tears right on my baby girl's head as I hold her and rock her, trying to help her get just a few minutes of sleep.

We were there until 1:00 a.m. The results....negative! Those assholes had me freaked out! Note to ER docs & nurses: Don't say s*#t until the tests come back!

Mucus. Baby E & I have lots of it. I had an ear infection that started last week, but my doc is stingy w/antibiotics, so he prescribed them for me, but said not to start them unless I got worse. Yeah...I got worse. By Friday my ears were burning, throbbing, and aching, and my equilibrium was so off that I was getting dizzy when I stood up. The infection spread to my sinuses as well. Needless to say, I started the antibiotics. To make things even better, the ER nurses kindly showed me how to use the bulb syringe (nasal aspirator) on Baby E's throat! Yes, her throat! She coughs up the phlegm, then gets choked up b/c she can't get it out. So, I have to suck it out with the booger sucker by shoving it to the back of her throat and sweeping it across. Can you just guess how much she's freaked out by this??!!

Home. I'm home now.. Not home w/hubby, but home with Mama. Because my oldest daughter had scheduled visitation w/her natural father in neighboring state, and my mom hasn't seen the baby in a month, I packed up BOTH girls (8 yrs. and 4 months) and headed out for the 6-hour drive. Well, it used to be 6 hours. We made it in 7 hours and 20 minutes yesterday. Yes, that's yesterday...after the ER visit until 1:00 a.m.! Me, the girls, and a ton of Spring Breaking college students on the very busy interstate. With my aching ears, a coughing baby, and a human garbage disposal that wants to eat every hour, I made the trip back to my hometown. No better place than Mama's house to convalesce I suppose. And hey, my stepdad is a pharmacist, so that's good :) And, since I'm in town, I can go visit that friend of mine who's in rehab (if she wants to see me, that is). If all this doesn't sound like a helluva Spring Break, I don't know what does.