ER

Mary Grace was fine this morning.  When I picked her up from school, her teacher said that she had been really tired.  Odd, because she stayed in bed all night for the first time in months last night.

When I got her home her temperature was around 101.  She slept on the couch a little while.  She didn't want anything to eat and wouldn't drink much.  She didn't want medicine, so I didn't push it. 

At 1:30 her temp was 103.5.  Then I got a little more serious.  I started quizzing her about her symptoms, but she said that just her tummy hurt.  I gave her some ibuprofen for the fever, then I asked her, "Is your tummy ache sharp or is it dull?" 

"It just hurts, Mommy."

"Does it feel hot or squeezy?"

"It just hurts."

After 30 minutes her temp was only down to 102.7, so I called the doctor's office.  The triage nurse said she could be seen by the doctor at 3:30, or we could take her to the ER.

"What would you do?"

"Well, if it is her appendix, you'll want to be in the ER."

So I called BJ and had him come home to take her.  Of course, of course, by the time he got there the ibuprofen had kicked in, and her temp was down to 99.  She's slept the whole time they've been there, which is extremely unusual for her.  The nurse at the ER says it doesn't look like appendicitis, but they were still waiting on the doctor when BJ called a half hour ago.

The hardest part, for me, and I know it's not all about me but it's my blog, damnit...  The hardest part for me is that I'm not there.  An ER is no place for a newborn, and I would have had to take Jack (he's exclusively breastfed, and I can't pump).  Honestly, BJ is better at this sort of thing, anyway.  He stays calm and doesn't make big scared eyes when they bring out the needles like I do.  Claire is driving me insane (she doesn't know what to do with herself when MG's not around) and I'm so worried (what if it's pneumonia?).  I'm relieved that it's not her appendix, but I feel a little stupid for sending them to the ER now.  I guess BJ joked with the nurse about taking away my internet connection. 

Parenting is hard.  If I hadn't called the doctor's office and it had been her appendix, I'd feel stupid AND I might have a really sick kid on my hands, so I'd rather feel dumb with a kid who doesn't need surgery.  And I'd rather feel dumb ...........

Holy shit - BJ just called and the doctor IS worried about her appendix, so they're doing a CT scan.

I liked it better when I was wrong.  Oh God.

Dramatic Reinactment

At 5 and 3, their acting is better than a lot of what I see on TV!!

It's Raining Men!!

Congratulations to PrettyBabies reader Stef in Canada on the recent birth of her son!  Our warmest best wishes for mom's speedy recovery and a healthy baby who's a good sleeper! 

3 Weeks Old

Mary Grace at 3 weeks

Jack

Jack

Claire at 4 weeks

Who do you think he looks like?

Wow!

So you might remember that I lost about 50 pounds prior to getting pregnant last year.  Of course I couldn't diet when I was pregnant, but I kept my weight gain under careful control.  I gained a total of 25 pounds, most of it at the end of my pregnancy.

Ever since I got home from the hospital I've been trying to screw up the courage to step on the scale and see how far I am from where I started.  Since today is the beginning of a new year, I figured that it was as good a day as any to face my bathroom scale demons.

I am four pounds heavier than I was when I became pregnant.  And to be honest, I can't really blame any of it on Jack - I blame the cookies and candy and pie and ham and turkey I've been eating for the last month!