Bragging

After almost a month of uninterrupted sleep, I feel like it's time to brag about my baby's night sleeps. The kid is a professional. I put him down usually between 9 and 11 pm and he sleeps for a solid 8, 9, 10, 11 hours. Sometimes after 11 hours I wake him up.

For those requesting the link to the Mennonese Connection for pictures, here it is:

http://themennoneseconnection.blogspot.com/

It has also been added to my favorites on the right side of your screen.

Things I'll Miss Part 2

14. Living close to Kent and Tina

15. Flyer day. I love flyers.

16. Mosquito fogging

17. Mature trees

13 Things I'll Miss

I haven't done a Thursday 13 in a while. This one is 13 things I'll miss about this place.

1. The quirky neighbors. She is an Emergency nurse who is efficient but not compassionate. As a neighbor she wears her heart on her sleeve. He is a science and art teacher who wears shirts that say "Bite Me" and scruffy hair. Their son with Downs Syndrome sits as close to me as possible and checks my shoes. And doesn't do anything he's not in the mood for. Their dog is a Basset Hound, best friend to Bentley.

2. Small lawn to mow.

3. The sound of trucks gearing down on the Perimeter highway at night

4. Being able to walk to "On Location" video store. We will continue to be customers to this little family operation. I'd rather not support Blockbuster or Rogers. Besides, Chuck watches every movie and gives us honest reviews.

5. Squeaky stairs

6. My phenomenal public health nurse.

7. The Transit system.

8. Pizza delivery

9. Grocery stores close by. And malls.

10. The pool table. We decided we would never try to move pool table with 1 inch of slate on it ever again. It stays behind. And although we rarely play, I'll just miss having it.

11. The Regulars at the Park. Sasha, Charlie, Reggie, Sarah, Delilah, Bella are the dogs names. I'm not sure about all of their owners names to be honest. They meet for dog walking and general gab.

12. The park. We have walked miles and miles with our dog and our growing family. At all hours of day and night, depending on our shifts. There is a man made lake that is wonderful in spring but gross in late summer. The dog likes it no matter what.

13. Having a back lane.

Glimpses

The sunbeam through the east facing window warmed my back. My baby was sleeping, snuggled into my chest. I remembered that one year ago he was just a dream. I had been a happy kind of jealous when my niece was born, with parenthood feeling like an unreachable dream. Little did I know that he had already, just barely, been conceived. The song on the radio urged me to sway. It was the one sang at my wedding by my brother and my Aunt. I held my baby and danced, as we glimpsed heaven together. He in his dreams and me in my Mum's kitchen.

Bugs and Boo Boos

On Saturday Isaiah got pinchy. He cried most of the evening. I held him as I rocked him to sleep and he would just nod off before waking with a start and crying. Still, I put him down and he slept for 8 hours. The next morning he seemed to be feeling better. But as the day went on, he got warmer and warmer. I took his temperature. Sure enough, 39 degrees.

I flipped my mom hat and my nurse hat back and forth. Should I give him Tylenol? Should I take him to Emergency? I called Health Links and discussed him with them. Take him in to be checked out, they said.

So we packed up and headed to Children's Hospital. They moved him in quickly. He was so hot and such a little guy. The doctor ordered samples of his urine and his blood. The nurse set up the catheter tray when Isaiah went silent. A split second later old faithful shot a stream and the speedy nurse moved her sterile container to make the catch. What a good boy! The blood test didn't go as smoothly. I held his soother in and stroked his head as they looked for a good spot. The first poke missed and my baby cried in pain. He locked eyes with me and asked me to make it stop while I cried because I couldn't. The second poke was successful and an IV was started. I told the Husband that I would rather go through labor and delivery than do this again. Helplessness is a terrible feeling.

His test came back positive for a Urinary Tract Infection. The counts were high but not tremendously. For an older baby they would just order oral antibiotics, the Doctor said. But because of his age they did not want to take chances. He would be admitted for IV antibiotics.

The first night I slept 1 hour as I laid on my very uncomfortable cot and listened to every sound he made. Other children were crying as well. Nurse checks were done every hour. It was a busy place. In the morning Isaiah went for a kidney ultrasound. Everything appeared normal and he slept through the test.

During the second night, our roommate got very sick. Isaiah did his best to sleep through the commotion. After enduring 2 hours of it, he woke up and decided that it must be daytime. Lights were on, people were talking. Party time! He laughed, smiled, and talked his way through the hours of 2am-5am. We were moved to another room to give the other patient privacy. And I got 2 hours of solid sleep.

Isaiah has a great disposition. He loved talking to the nurses and doctors. Everybody told him that he was handsome and he agreed with them, talking non-stop. He loved the rainbows on the wall, cooing and bubbling at them every chance he got. And he watched his toy zebra for hours, studying his patterns and tasting his feet. He has an eye for TV, which Mum doesn't like too much. He can zone out and watch it for long stretches of time. That must come from Daddy's side of the family.

The doctor wanted to keep him in till this morning. I pushed to take him home last night. He hadn't had a fever since admission and we would stay for his evening IV antibiotics. I was so tired and my milk supply was dwindling. The doctor agreed and we packed up and went to our sweet and cozy home. And we slept all night.

Thank you for the zebra Auntie Lynds and Uncle Trav

Sleep

I put my son down to sleep last night at 1130pm. It's now 8 am. He is still sleeping (and breathing). He didn't wake once last night.