Since a few people have inquired directly, we thought it would be a good idea to update everyone. To wit:
Drugs are magical. Apparently the doctor prescribed some heavy-duty antibiotics, because Nicholas's eye was already looking better by bedtime last night, and by midday today he looked basically fine. But we still have to do drops for a few more days, about which he is not very happy. But so far so good.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Naming Names
As you may know, Nicholas is picking up words at light speed, and is always willing to try to say things when we ask him. This morning, for example, I said something to Sarah that included the word "hiatus" (it made sense, I promise). Just for giggles, I turned to Nicholas and said, "Nicholas, can you say hiatus?" Sure enough, he gave it a try.
There is one word, however, that he simply will not say, won't try, and will ignore us if we ask him: "Nicholas." He's allergic, it seems, to saying his own name.
Which is fine, in one sense, but it almost got me in a spot of trouble yesterday. I already mentioned that we spent some time at the grocery store waiting for his prescription. While I was paying, with him sitting in a grocery cart, he started flirting with the woman behind us (probably somewhere in her 60s), playing peek-a-boo around me and being smiley.
She asked him, "What's your name?" Which, by the way, apparently means that he now looks old enough to know his name and say it, which is interesting. Anyway, he says nothing, as usual. I turn to him and say, without thinking about it, "Will you tell her? Because you won't tell us!"
The woman was understandably stunned, though fortunately I was able to correct the connotation quickly. I guess the moral is that I need to be more careful what I say in front of people, although now that I know I can get a reaction with a statement of such underlying innocence, I may end up deploying it with devilish skill. I never was good at learning morals.
There is one word, however, that he simply will not say, won't try, and will ignore us if we ask him: "Nicholas." He's allergic, it seems, to saying his own name.
Which is fine, in one sense, but it almost got me in a spot of trouble yesterday. I already mentioned that we spent some time at the grocery store waiting for his prescription. While I was paying, with him sitting in a grocery cart, he started flirting with the woman behind us (probably somewhere in her 60s), playing peek-a-boo around me and being smiley.
She asked him, "What's your name?" Which, by the way, apparently means that he now looks old enough to know his name and say it, which is interesting. Anyway, he says nothing, as usual. I turn to him and say, without thinking about it, "Will you tell her? Because you won't tell us!"
The woman was understandably stunned, though fortunately I was able to correct the connotation quickly. I guess the moral is that I need to be more careful what I say in front of people, although now that I know I can get a reaction with a statement of such underlying innocence, I may end up deploying it with devilish skill. I never was good at learning morals.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Home sick
Nicholas right now looks like he got into a bar fight ... with the cartoon guy from the Mucinex commercials. Yes, folks, pink eye has struck our household.
It's a strange illness. It seems like most kids get it at some point, and it's incredibly contagious (so says everyone). In fact, the doctor's office didn't even want me to bring him in, lest other patients get it. Instead, the nurse there called in a prescription to our pharmacy, so instead of infecting the kids at the doctor's office, we wandered around our local grocery store for half an hour waiting for the prescription to be filled.
In any event, he seems to feel mostly fine, which is good. For the intensity of the reaction (it's an automatic out from daycare), it's not a particularly harmful disease. Assuming that the reliable web resources are, well, reliable, it even will go away on its own within a week to 10 days (though treatment cuts it down and helps prevent its spread). So his eye looks terrible, but he's relatively happy and able to play. And he picked a "good" day to get sick, since I was working in Baltimore and didn't have much scheduled because of Veterans Day. So no sweat to stay home.
Oh, and the advice I got as I was leaving work, from two fellow parents: "don't get it, it stinks." Good safety tip. As if I needed another reason to be obsessive about hygiene.
And now, back to Sesame Street . . .
It's a strange illness. It seems like most kids get it at some point, and it's incredibly contagious (so says everyone). In fact, the doctor's office didn't even want me to bring him in, lest other patients get it. Instead, the nurse there called in a prescription to our pharmacy, so instead of infecting the kids at the doctor's office, we wandered around our local grocery store for half an hour waiting for the prescription to be filled.
In any event, he seems to feel mostly fine, which is good. For the intensity of the reaction (it's an automatic out from daycare), it's not a particularly harmful disease. Assuming that the reliable web resources are, well, reliable, it even will go away on its own within a week to 10 days (though treatment cuts it down and helps prevent its spread). So his eye looks terrible, but he's relatively happy and able to play. And he picked a "good" day to get sick, since I was working in Baltimore and didn't have much scheduled because of Veterans Day. So no sweat to stay home.
Oh, and the advice I got as I was leaving work, from two fellow parents: "don't get it, it stinks." Good safety tip. As if I needed another reason to be obsessive about hygiene.
And now, back to Sesame Street . . .
Monday, November 8, 2010
Updates
A couple additions to last night's post:
Nicholas managed to sleep until 5:15 last night (okay, this morning) and took an almost 3-hour long nap at daycare but then fought Joe tooth and nail at bedtime. I wasn't home but apparently he screamed and called for "ommy" for over half an hour before he gave up and went to sleep. What ever happened to our wonderful sleeper?
Joe's parents sent some pictures off their camera from the weekend, so here are a couple highlights:
Nicholas got his grandparents to play many a round of "Ring Around the Rosie," which obviously he loved:
And Nicholas got his picture taken with Santa:
We went to the mall just to get out of the house and do something and Santa was standing around bored. Given that Grandma Alice loves all things Christmas, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
Nicholas managed to sleep until 5:15 last night (okay, this morning) and took an almost 3-hour long nap at daycare but then fought Joe tooth and nail at bedtime. I wasn't home but apparently he screamed and called for "ommy" for over half an hour before he gave up and went to sleep. What ever happened to our wonderful sleeper?
Joe's parents sent some pictures off their camera from the weekend, so here are a couple highlights:
Nicholas got his grandparents to play many a round of "Ring Around the Rosie," which obviously he loved:
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| From 2010 November |
And Nicholas got his picture taken with Santa:
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| From 2010 November |
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Weekend up North
We drove up to visit with Joe's parents and grandmother this weekend and Nicholas had a blast! The weekend deserves a detailed post, but I'm exhausted and fully expect Nicholas to get me up sometime before 4am and refuse to sleep unless I lie on his floor with my arm through the slats of his crib, and so just don't have the energy to muster. Either that or I have become incapable of telling a story without pictures to jog my memory and I left our camera at home.
Short (and incredibly dry) version: Nicholas adores his grandparents but did not do well with sleeping. He has been pretty awful about sleeping through the night for weeks now, but either the excitement or the car naps that threw off his schedule really did him in on this trip and I feel like we spent half our energy each day trying to convince him to sleep. Ick. But he had so much fun playing with his grandparents and was so excited to see them! I think he will be heartbroken in the morning to realize that he doesn't get to see them. Luckily for this devoted little boy, we'll be back in like 6 weeks.
And tonight he went to bed at 6:30. And now I am following pathetically close behind.
Good night.
Short (and incredibly dry) version: Nicholas adores his grandparents but did not do well with sleeping. He has been pretty awful about sleeping through the night for weeks now, but either the excitement or the car naps that threw off his schedule really did him in on this trip and I feel like we spent half our energy each day trying to convince him to sleep. Ick. But he had so much fun playing with his grandparents and was so excited to see them! I think he will be heartbroken in the morning to realize that he doesn't get to see them. Luckily for this devoted little boy, we'll be back in like 6 weeks.
And tonight he went to bed at 6:30. And now I am following pathetically close behind.
Good night.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Saving Daylight, Assuaging Guilt
One of the sadder consequences of our schedule this year has been that Nicholas spends far more time at daycare than I think either Sarah or I really would like, but given the reality of our job situation, that's the way it's going to be until May. We drop him off most days at 7:30 or a little after (and on my DC day I drop him off at 7:25 and run for a train), and don't pick him up until 5 or later.
I've been doing many of the morning runs, and so I've noticed quite acutely just how early we've been dropping him off the past few weeks as sunrise has gotten later—at this point it's after 7:30. Which means that when we leave the house, it's still pretty dark, especially on a day like today was, with an overcast sky and rain. And because of the cycle of the moon, last week it was clear and high in the sky at 7:15-7:30, which only underscored that it felt like I was dropping him off in the middle of the night.
In other words, from my perspective the end of daylight savings cannot come too soon, as it will grant a bit of respite from feeling like we're leaving him at daycare quite so long. Even if it won't actually change the actual amount of time he spends there, it'll at least make me feel better ... until December, when it'll be depressingly dark again.
I've been doing many of the morning runs, and so I've noticed quite acutely just how early we've been dropping him off the past few weeks as sunrise has gotten later—at this point it's after 7:30. Which means that when we leave the house, it's still pretty dark, especially on a day like today was, with an overcast sky and rain. And because of the cycle of the moon, last week it was clear and high in the sky at 7:15-7:30, which only underscored that it felt like I was dropping him off in the middle of the night.
In other words, from my perspective the end of daylight savings cannot come too soon, as it will grant a bit of respite from feeling like we're leaving him at daycare quite so long. Even if it won't actually change the actual amount of time he spends there, it'll at least make me feel better ... until December, when it'll be depressingly dark again.
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