Lily: 1 Year and 19 Weeks (7/5/10 - 7/11/10)

I finally fell asleep late Sunday night after all of the people around us stopped setting off fireworks. The last time I looked at the clock it was 12:05am. Lily started crying at 12:10am. So unfair! She slept horribly all night and felt very hot. I alternated giving her Tylenol and Motrin all day Monday. She had a little bit of GI upset but seemed fine otherwise so I couldn’t figure out what was causing the fever. Paul and I passed her back and forth as he tried to water the gardens and tend to the yard and I tried to unpack and finish all of the laundry from vacation. Lily seemed lethargic yet restless. She refused to take her morning nap and thrashed around to wake herself up every time she was almost asleep. Paul took her for a car ride with the AC blasting on her very warm little body and she finally fell asleep for a half hour but woke up as soon as the ride was over. Later in the afternoon, she fell asleep on my lap for a few minutes and I was amazed by how hot she seemed despite the fact that it was too early for another dose of Tylenol. I took her temperature and it was 101. I took it again about an hour later and it was 103! I immediately called her pediatrician’s office. The on-call doctor seemed incompetent and not at all concerned about her fever but I certainly was. We decided against taking her to the ER but did take her to urgent care. It turned out that she had an ear infection. Poor little girl! She never seemed to tug at her ears or anything so I had no clue. The entire time we were at the urgent care center, my poor baby just limply cuddled up against me and sobbed on and off. They gave her some Azithromycin and some other medicine to help dry her up. We filled the prescriptions then drove around a bit with the AC blasting on her but she never fell asleep. I gave her the first doses of her medicines as soon as we got home. This is a huge struggle as I have to lay her on her back and hold her down with my elbows as I put the medicine in her mouth via a syringe with one hand and pinch her cheeks shut with the other to get her to swallow the medication. This involves a lot of tears on her part and a lot of swearing on my part. Despite the struggle, she already seemed to feel better later that evening. She even wanted to play outside for a little while in the sandbox and on the swing set. We were thankful that we had the day off due to the 4th of July holiday so that we could deal with Lily’s illness. Unfortunately, our work policy prohibits us from calling in after a paid holiday or they withhold our holiday pay and can write us up so we absolutely had to go to work the next day. Lily couldn’t go to daycare due to her fever so my mom volunteered to come watch her. We were very appreciative.

Lily slept from 10pm to 3am with just a few whimpers (this is the longest stretch since before vacation) then came into bed with us and slept pretty well until 6am. She missed a dose of Motrin during the night so she woke up with a fever again. I gave her the Motrin but she refused to go back to sleep even though she was clearly exhausted. My mom came over around 7am then Paul and I headed off to a busy day at work. It was a really hot day so I was glad that Lily was home with our AC because her daycare is not air-conditioned. I was very tired all day at work and very sleep deprived due to Lily’s ear infection. I must have looked incredibly bad because one of my patients saw Lily’s picture on my ID badge and asked if she was my granddaughter. Seriously! I didn’t know whether to cry or punch the lady. I restrained myself and did neither. When I got home, I held off giving Lily one of her doses of Motrin to see if her fever was better but her temperature rose to 100 so we decided to keep her home with my mom for another day. She slept a little better on Tuesday night but still not well. She woke up multiple times and spent most of the night in bed with me.

Lily’s temperature was around 99 on Wednesday morning after missing her overnight dose of Motrin. We gave her one dose in the morning then my mom withheld her afternoon dose to see if she was fever-free yet. Thankfully, she did just fine and the fever was indeed gone. However, she developed a worsening rash throughout the day, most likely due to the Azithromycin. I’m allergic to Erythromycin and get a rash from it so apparently neither of us can take macrolide antibiotics. We called the urgent care center and they switched her to Amoxicillin. The bad thing about that is that the Azithromycin was a 1mL dose taken once a day for 5 days and she was already on her third day. The Amoxicillin is an enormous 5mL dose taken three times a day for 10 days. That’s 30 times more medicine. Ugh! As previously stated, giving her medicine is a nightmare. At least with a 1mL dose, I can squirt it all in at once but with a 5mL dose, I have to do it in 5 stages which takes a lot longer and means even more struggling. I feel mean putting her through the trauma of giving her medicine when she already doesn’t feel well. Plus the Amoxicillin needs to be refrigerated which is not convenient when toting her back and forth to daycare. Thankfully, she likes the taste of the Amoxicillin a lot better than the Azithromycin so she fights it less. Per my mom’s suggestion, I began telling her every time before giving her the medications that I was doing it to help her feel better. She is a smart little cookie and knows what we are saying and what is going on around her. This seemed to help and she battled a lot less. Even with the medication to dry up her mucous which she also has to take 3 times a day for 10 days and hates the taste of. With the Amoxicillin, I was actually able to give her the medication sitting up in her high chair with her willingly opening her mouth. What progress! I tried to give her Benadryl that night per the doctor’s suggestion to help with the rash. I got her the dissolvable tabs because I didn’t want to burden her with even more liquid medicine but she hated the taste of it and kept spitting it out (I tried one and agree that they are nasty) so I only got her to take part of one. I was hoping that it would help her sleep through the night but it did not and she was up just as many times as on the previous few nights.

Lily returned to daycare on Thursday and did fine with the transition even though she hadn’t been there for two weeks. I was surprised because she usually has separation anxiety issues when returning to daycare after long absences. I couldn’t get her to take any more Benadryl so instead I gave her baking soda baths for the next two nights and her rash cleared up by the weekend.

Rachel spent the week in Lovells with Paul’s parents. My parents met them in West Branch on Friday morning to pick up Rachel and take her to her best friend Katelyn’s house in Northville for a sleepover. I was very grateful to my parents for spending their entire day driving all over the state for us. I was glad that Rachel and Katelyn were able to see each other while Rachel was home. The girls are usually inseparable all summer. I felt bad that they only got to spend one night together but it was Rachel’s decision to only come for two weeks.

We got up early on Saturday morning to pick up Rachel from Katelyn’s then headed to Davison for a 10am appointment at Auto Ad Onz to get our new topper installed on the truck. The original plan was for Paul to drop us girls off at my parents’ house first but we were running too late for that so we had to wait at the store with him. It took over an hour and Lily was tired so she kept running around the store like a wild monkey. We were hoping that she would’ve napped during the ride to Davison from Northville but she did not. After the topper was installed, we headed to my parents’ house for a moment then all took off for the LaVictoire family reunion in Flushing. Lily fell asleep almost instantly so we drove around Davison and Flushing for a bit to keep her asleep. We pulled into the park because she was waking up but then she fell right back to sleep so Paul stayed in the truck with her while I joined the family for lunch. After I finished eating, I took over in the truck so Paul could eat. Lily ended up only sleeping for an hour instead of her normal two but she woke up in a good mood. We had a really nice time at the reunion and I was glad that my mom’s Uncle Larry could stop by. He is the last of his generation and was the youngest son of my great-grandparents, Isadore and Margaret LaVictoire. We were also glad to see my Uncle Lee, Aunt Robin, Todd, Ashlee, and Jeremy there. They haven’t been able to make it to the reunion in many years. Even my grandma stopped by for a bit. Rachel had fun playing with two girls that are close to her in age and Paul always enjoys our annual softball game. When it was time to go, we couldn’t find the truck keys anywhere. We scoured the park and our bags and tried to peer in the windows of the truck. Then I realized that I probably dropped them onto the seat when I was getting Lily out of her carseat after she woke up from her nap. Her blanket most likely fell off of her and onto the keys when I got her out and unable to see the keys and distracted, I probably left them behind. That would have been fine because I didn’t lock the truck but when we had to leave the area for the softball game, I locked it because my purse and Paul’s wallet were inside. I was in a hurry when I went to lock the truck because I left Lily behind with Rachel and she started crying as soon as I walked away so instead of using the lock on the key fob like I have always done, I just hit the lock button on the inside of the door because the keys were not in my pocket. Paul was very upset but did not want to call AAA for some reason. My mom’s cousin tried to jimmy the lock as he apparently frequently does the same thing but he was unable to get it to open. So my parents ended up driving us back to their house in their truck (illegally for Lily) then my dad and Paul drove back down to Brighton to get our other set of keys then drove back up to Flushing to retrieve our truck before returning to Davison. As I suspected, the keys were in the backseat under Lily’s blanket. Lesson learned- always find the keys and use the key fob to lock the doors! We all had pizza for dinner together then we headed home. Lily was exhausted as she refused to take an afternoon nap so she fell asleep almost instantly on the drive home. Rachel and I passed out as well.

Rachel flew back to South Carolina on Sunday. Her flight took off from Flint instead of Detroit which was so much more convenient and cheaper because we didn’t have to pay for parking. Both she and Paul liked the airport so much more than Detroit. It was small, clean, nice, and a lot less intimidating for Rachel. Unfortunately, plane troubles turned her layover in Atlanta into a four hour affair but Rachel said that she didn’t get stressed and just spent the time writing in her journal. That afternoon, Paul and I took Lily to Cabela’s. She loves to look at all the animals and fish and finds the place absolutely fascinating.

Lily no longer wants to crawl up the stairs on her own as she has done for a few weeks now. Instead, she wants to climb the stairs in a standing position while holding my hands. The steps are huge for her little legs but somehow she manages. She started taking off her socks and shoes whenever she is in her carseat. The problem is that she sometimes gets frustrated doing so. Then she wants to put them right back on all by herself which she is unable to do so this can make her mad as well. She usually happily bounces her feet while the shoes dangle off her toes and giggles. Then she bounces her legs harder and harder until the shoes go flying and the game ends. She doesn’t really have any new words this week but she is communicating more and more. She still drags me around by the finger to show me where she wants to go or what she wants me to do. She drags me to the fridge to get food or drags me to her high chair when she is hungry. On Tuesday and Wednesday, she went to the gate at the bottom of the stairs as a way of telling my mom that she was tired and wanted to go upstairs and take her nap. She is really into trucks and excitedly points out semis when we are riding in the car. Unfortunately, she continued to try to climb on things this week as she started doing when we were at Higgins Lake. I found it cute when she climbed up in her rocking chair and started rocking but then she tried to stand up and surf on the chair without holding on. AAAH! I almost had a heart attack. She discovered the doors on the entertainment center and now tries to climb the shelves. We need to put some baby-proof locks on the entertainment center doors for sure. She cannot open the drawers on the dressers in her room because they are antique and don’t glide easily. You have to pull evenly on both handles on either side of each drawer or it will not open. I find that annoying but at least it will keep her from being able to open the drawers to use them as steps. Nonetheless, we should strap the dressers to the walls just to be safe. Our little monkey girl is going to cause all kinds of trouble now!

According to my weekly email from our365.com, “At this age, children seem to mimic everything- they "feed" their dolls, walk in your shoes, and play games of pretend. It’s a very efficient way to learn. Their eyes are always on you, soaking up everything you do - and also every way you look. Research has shown that by the end of this month, toddlers realize that people express their emotions through their eyes.” Lily is definitely a mime. She loves to feed her stuffed animals and give them drinks from her sippy cup. She is so cute and generous that way. She likes to put on my shoes then tries to walk around in them which is adorable. I realized after reading this that her attempts to climb in her rocking chair is another way that she tries to be like me. I sit in her rocking chair and read a book while she falls asleep at night so now she wants to climb in the chair and look at a book too. She always insists that I hand her a book as soon as she climbs up (right before she decides to start surfing) so that she can mimic my behavior. Her wanting to climb the stairs standing up like I do is another example of this. She also likes to take the Swiffer and push it around the kitchen floor like I do. She is paying attention and wants to be just like mama so I apparently need to be on my best behavior!

Here are some pictures from this week.

Lily watching TV on daddy's leg:

Reiley loves to spend his evenings watching frogs come up to the front porch to catch bugs since we leave the porch light on all night:

Eating at the LaVictoire family reunion on Saturday:

Lily made friends with this little girl. They are the same age:

Give me the camera:

Putting Lily's name tag on:

Lily and her friend:

Lily hanging out with my Aunt Robin:

My grandma, Larry, my dad, Mark, and Kim share some laughs:

Lee, Robin, and Todd get ready for the annual games:

Lee and Todd pair up for the three-legged race:

Rachel participated in the potato sack race:

She's down:

Racing back (they won):

Rachel and Paul participated in the water balloon toss:

Chaos always erupts when the game ends and there are leftover balloons:

Cute pose:

Lily really wanted to play on the big kid swings. I had my doubts but she was really balanced on the swing and always remembered to hang on tightly with both hands:

Rachel played on the swings as well:

Lily kept hydrated while watching the softball game from her kitty chair:

Lily with papi and grandma:

Our family by the reunion sign (we agreed that next year we should take the family picture at the beginning of the reunion before we spend hours sweating in the sun):

Tired girl getting changed into her pajamas at my parents' house:

Lily and Rachel snuggling on Lily's pack-n-play mattress:

Paul and Lily at Cabela's on Sunday:

Looking at all the animals:

She was mesmerized:

They both love the store:

So much to see:

Happy girl:

Looking at the polar bears:

Lily's favorite animal was the elephant:

Looking good in some coonskin caps:

Back home and playing with Nolan:

I really wanted to get some pictures of Lily with our impressive gladiolas but she was less than cooperative. First, she was way too interested in chewing on her rake:

Then a garden stake captured her attention:

What!?:

Not Yet (7/7/10)

It seems that people are never satisfied. When you’re single, they ask, “When are you going to get married?” As soon as you’re married, they ask, “When are you going to have kids?” Being fertility-impaired, that was always a painful question for me to hear from people who should just mind their own business. But even after finally having a child, they still aren’t satisfied. Now they ask, “When are you going to have another?” AAH! Leave me alone.

Well, nosy people- that is not a question that is easily answered. First, we’d have to decide if we wanted another kid. Then, we’d have to decide if we were ready. But even if we were ready, that doesn’t mean a darn thing as demonstrated by my attempts to get pregnant the first time. I know that people with fertility problems the first time around don’t necessarily struggle with secondary infertility but it is still a distinct possibility. If it does happen again, our insurance has changed and no longer covers any part of the costly procedures and medications that we used to get Lily. We could barely afford the medical intervention before and certainly wouldn’t be able to afford it now which would mean that we would have to leave it all up to chance. That being said, I don’t know if I could handle the years of anticipation and repeated disappointment again. Is the fear of going through all that emotional turmoil holding me back? Quite possibly, but that is my issue to work through.

But I’m jumping ahead. As stated previously, the first step would be to determine if we were ready for another kid which right now, we are not. We are really enjoying our time with Lily and aren’t yet ready to have to split the spotlight between her and another baby. This conviction was reaffirmed when my monthly friend arrived today, two days late. I was very glad when it finally came which just shows me that I am not ready for another child quite yet.


Besides, Lily is a great kid and such a wonderful blessing. How could we be so selfish as to wish for another miracle like her? Whether she is all we decide to have or all that God will allow us to have, I still consider myself the luckiest mom on the face of the Earth.