What Goes Around

We are sick.

First B, who was hit hard with whatever cold/flu this is. Poor boy. I don’t think it’s a stomach bug, but he spent a couple of days throwing up. On me, only on me. He’d wait for me to pick him up. Sweet, in a disgusting way, right? I think his tummy was upset by the large quantities of snot that must have ended up there.

Then M, who was already having a tough time with sleep (after a week or so of decent nighttimes and good naps - just a tease, really) and is now congested such that lying down is a problem. She was up and down last night, and I have no reason to think that she’ll be much better tonight. And we can no longer bring her to bed with us, because while she’s fine in her sleep, when she’s awake in our bed she moves around so much she’s nearly fallen off the end of the bed. We’re just not awake enough to manage it. Which is a shame, because when she’s SLEEPING in our bed, she sleeps really well. This morning I slept with her in my lap on the chair in the nursery (not comfortable) and after B got up, I shifted to the floor (thinking it wouldn’t work) and she slept there a bit longer. So maybe that’s a possibility.

And now me. It’s no wonder, since they both love to chew on my water bottles. But ugh. Headache, achy body, coughing. I’m headed to bed right now, where I’ll drift off pondering how we managed to get so sick in the SPRING, when we don’t really go anywhere, aren't in daycare, and when the babies are breastfed. I’m just saying.

Snort, moan, sigh. Waaaaaa.

Tiptoe

Firstly, many thanks for your collective wisdom. I called the Evil HMO and explained that I wasn't sure I needed to come in and could I get a call back from a nurse or doctor, but when the customer service person (neither a nurse nor a doctor) heard me say "possibly broken" she switched from taking a message to making an appointment. So I went in to Urgent Care last night after the babies were in bed, careful not to touch anyone or breathe the air of people there because they had the flu or somesuch. The doctor I saw told me, as we all suspected, that it didn't much matter if it was broken or sprained, the treatment was the same. (Treatment = tape to next toe for support and wear shoes for protection.) She offered to send me for an x-ray if I was interested in whether it was broken or not, but confirmed that the only difference would be length of time to full healing (~2 weeks for a sprain and ~6 weeks for a break). We concurred that it didn't make much difference, and off I went. I did get to read a few pages of a new book, so the outing wasn't a total wash. Lesson? You and I know what we're doing better than the customer service rep. Also? I liked the doctor. And? Because I'm so often with the babies, I don't carry their pictures, so I have nothing to show a semi-interested doctor. Must fix that one.

In other news, um, actually there isn't much going on. Our fabulous babysitter is going home for the summer, so we're doing the babysitter/nanny search again. Ugh. She's here right now, and the laundry has been folded and high chairs wiped down and now we're just tiptoeing around because the babies are Still Napping. I'm not going to tell you how long it's been for fear of jinxing anything, so I'll just keep tiptoeing around.

Solicitation of input: I'm getting tired of reading the same board books (they're getting boring - ha ha, I crack myself up) and looking for some new books to add to our repertoire. Any suggestions?

I'm sure I had something interesting to say, or ask, or recount, but now I can't remember what. So this will have to do for now.

Unfortunately, I'm not that popular

This is one of those moments where I wish I had one of those blogs with really high readership, so I could tell you all that I think I may have broken my toe, and someone would kindly tell me whether in fact it seems so and what I need to do about it - thereby saving myself from waiting hours for a return call from the doctor on call at the Evil HMO. But alas, I am not one of those bloggers and this is not one of those blogs.

(Though if anyone wants to weigh in: I stubbed my big toe yesterday and it hurt like the dickens, whatever that means, and was sore to walk on, but bearable. Today it's worse, with a black and blue spot - not the whole toe - and somewhat swollen. Currently I have it taped to the next toe - the index finger of toes, I guess - and that's helping a bit with the walking. Am already planning to skip the walking portion of playgroup, sadly as I could use the exercise, but trying to decide if I need to go in to get it looked at/x-rayed or if I'm already doing what needs doing.)

Conversations

The babies babble at me, their language full of syllables and trills and rasperries. I sometimes echo their syllables and noises back to them, which makes them squeal with laughter, and then I wonder - what have I just said? Have I promised them ponies? Cars at their 16th birthday? Or more likely, all the cheerios they can eat and never having to take a nap when the world looks so interesting.

Yes, I know it’s not Friday anymore

The answer to the question “How good are your babies at self-entertainment?” is apparently - not good enough for me to sneak away to write a blog post.

They can play with each other without much intervention for a bit, but I can’t get too far away. When I do, it’s to the kitchen to get something to eat (which I haven’t done today) or to the computer to catch up on email or blogging. I have a laptop and wireless internet, but the babies often find my computer a particularly compelling toy, so I’ve had to stop bringing in to their play area.