strep sucks...

It comes with a painful throat for a child not too fond of swallowing to begin with.
So he isn't eating much really.
Or drinking unless it is the 2 hour mark after tylenol.
And he is complaining that the milk is too thick when I haven't thickened it.
Must be a swallow thing with swelling in the throat area.

It comes with nasty pink very liquid antibiotic for a child not too fond of swallowing...
new to swallowing liquids,
and not too fond of trying new tastes (especially creamy nasty ones).

It comes with a fever that spikes to 40 Celsius 15 minutes after the dose time runs out...
and resulting medication...see above...at least the dose is thicker and smaller.

So overall?
Strep sucks.

My neighbour teased...at least you get another day off work.
Really?  Watch my baby squirm and sweat and suffer and cry?
No thanks.
I'd rather be at work with him happily playing at the sitter.

28 month check-up

We went to what I had hoped would be the last of our visits with the paediatrician 

but alas it was not to be.  

• The reflux seems to be gone and he has been unmedicated for about a month...
• The swallow is improving and as I mentioned before we are thickener free in the dude's bottles...at 5 bucks per bag this is a blessing!  And of course no velopharyngeal insufficiency clinic...
• He talks WAY too much.  All day long.  Big complicated sentences.  Very easy to understand.  So no more speech path for expressive language.
• The mini Manh is just now learning to sip from a cup.  Thick nectar like juices in very small amounts to start.  Messy.  Fun to watch.  Going o-kay...  So we will be back in touch with the speech language/feeding specialist in January for a follow up.

But the growth?   And the eating?  And the oral aversions?  Oy!  

So for months and months the man was 75% in weight and 50% in height on the Canadian charts.

Here is the chart link she gave me today

http://www.dietitians.ca/pdf/HFA-WFA_2-19_BOYS_ENG.pdf

...he has moved off the infant chart now.

His stats, at almost 28 months are

91.1 cm (nearly 36 inches)

13.06 kg  (28.76 pounds)

(3.5 months ago he was 12.92 kg or 28.5 pounds...so really?  

the gross diaper on the way home in the car pretty much took care of the weight gain noted here)

so just over 50% in height and exactly 50% in weight 

In my opinion the Dude is falling like a rock off the weight chart.  Pants that used to be tight fall off now.  His weight has been pretty much stable for 7 months.  2 ounces here.  2 ounces there.  While simultaneously gaining centimetres like a giraffe.  The doctor says "Don't worry"  out of one side of her mouth while simultaneously saying "I'll see you in another 3 months to check on his growth" out of the other side of her mouth...  one side "He's perfect, chubby babies are not on the preferred list these days" and the other side "His weight isn't going up much, is it?"  See what I mean?

If someday he falls from 75% in calculus at the mid term to 50% at the finals 3.5 months later I'm going to freak...25% seems really significant to me.

So the advice?  work to keep him at 50/50

Keep offering variety, bright colours and whole grains.

Cook with healthy veg oils and olive oils.

Offer meat at every meal.  Some day he may eat it by accident and discover that he likes it.

Get back on homo milk for the next 3 months but continue to limit to 20 ounces per day.

Hmmm...oh, and to top it off?

"His genetics may lean towards tall and lean so relax."

If he falls to 25% by Christmas I'm going to be certifiable...just saying.

I feel myself leaning heavily towards OCD right now.

The gift of time

According to Wikipedia


The Mid-Autumn festival is named "Tết Trung Thu" in Vietnamese.

The Vietnamese version of the holiday recounts the legend of Cuội, whose wife accidentally urinated on a sacred banyan tree, taking him with it to the Moon. Every year, on the mid-autumn festival, children light lanterns and participate in a procession to show Cuội the way to Earth.^[8]

In Vietnam, Mooncakes are typically square rather than round, though round ones do exist. Besides the indigenous tale of the banyan tree, other legends are widely told including the story of the Moon Lady, and the story of the carp who wanted to become a dragon.^[8]

One important event before and during Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival are lion dances. The dances are performed by both non-professional children group and trained professional groups. Lion dance groups perform on the streets go to houses asking for permission to perform for them. If accepted by the host, "the lion" will come in and start dancing as a wish of luck and fortune  and the host gives back lucky money to show thankfulness.

According to Benjaminh

Tết Trung Thu is a time for fun dancing with friends, 

time for cuddling on the end of the pier with mama, 

time for a waterfront dance party and photo shoot 

and a time for a lantern procession along the water, well back from the drummer.

It is NOT a time for lion dances.  

Or the sharing of Lucky Money with that lion to show thankfulness.  

There was a professional lion dance group invited to join tonight's festivities and mama would have loved to see them dance but it was not to be.  

The wee manh experienced terror.  And weeping and screaming followed by escape.  We first escaped to the bar out of view but within drum distance...then to the kitchen, still within drum distance...and finally  to the very end of the pier.  Where mama and Ben celebrated the Harvest Moon but dancing and singing our favourite songs well out of drum distance while we watched for the big bright moon and enjoyed the lakefront views..

When the dancing and drumming, the drama and drumming, well, anything drummish or maskish really, came to an end Ben and I rejoined the party...where it was discovered that the drum itself was not the problem-as long as Ben was the one doing the drumming. 

We had a wonderful time.  Together.  And with special friends.  While simultaneously developing a new phobia/fear of lion dances.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

The Harvest Moon

Here he is, with food on his face, trying on an outfit that Auntie Julia bought for him in Vietnam last winter.  In size 4.  He will wear it Saturday to a special lakeside celebration of Tet Trung Thu, because when he is 4 it isn't going to fit anymore.  Well, it probably won't fit next month...

A Lion Dance, crafts, lantern processions, food and fun with some of our favourite people.  Mama can't wait...

We enjoyed a beautiful harvest moon tonight.  The little Manh celebrated in style with a dinner of takeout from the local Asian Restaurant followed by a walk in the moonlight to visit the donkeys with Uncle Matthew.

He rounded out the his moonlit stroll with "MUD", in his words, and in reality an apparently deep and very enjoyable puddle.  The car ride home from the farm was made in a diaper, a t-shirt and socks.  The only dry-ish items on hand (somehow he ended up strolling sockless-thankfully)...and the shirt was only dry from the armpits up.  But he had so much fun.  Here is the evidence...and note, the shoes were full of mud.  And he only has one pair...tomorrow should be interesting.

He was talking about "the MUD" during his very necessary bath, all through story time (where we read about construction vehicles...and mud) and he even shared his joy with froggy and kitty cat, his preferred stuffies, as he drifted off to sleep.


I'm going to join the sleep club now.  Right after I peek out at the moon and make a moonlit wish for a solid night of sleep-I'm heading to the farm with 101 first graders tomorrow.  Sleep would be good.

Alive

and not so very stinky anymore.


But boy oh boy did things stink for quite some time.
Right now Boomer is visiting the famous farm...
and if rain makes a week old skunk sprayed dog stink 
I guess they might not be my friends tomorrow 
or the next day.
We shall see.

In other news the wee one slept 12 hours straight sunday night.
Way out of the ordinary.
Little did i know
in that moment of celebration
that he was putting his time in the bank.
Cause Monday night?
After I picked him up coughing from the sitter?
And he coughed all night?
Little sleeping was had by any.


And tonight?
Fell asleep like a dream,
but the snot? 
Think Mekong Delta.
And the wheezing?
Think Bulldog with asthma.
(Though I'm sure the doctor would call it "nasal wheezing")


I'm in the spare bedroom, 
with the door pulled almost shut,
he has a ceiling fan on and a humidifier running...
and over all that white noise 
he sounds like a sick steam engine.


I'm thinking sleep may not be my friend again.


Here is a picture of my budding artist.
He is all about the paint and the craaaay-eons and the paaaay-doh.
(and the uneven bangs...
why did I settle for someone other than the regular old Tony???)

And now I'm going to go to bed.
Because?  
I don't expect to sleep long.

Wasn't ready for THAT weekend...

It started so beautifully,

with the delivery of my sweet little macbook.

A lovely evening home with my little man.

Outdoor play

park time

a picnic snack on the lawn

bath time

early to bed.

Sounds perfect, eh?

Fired up the laptop,

bragged a bit on here

let the dog out

...

and at shortly after 11 it turned bad

he got skunked

the skunk was big

his face was 8 or 10 inches away

the yard was small

the panic was big

no way from the yard 

containing the trapped and frightened skunk

except through the townhouse

oy.

The rest of the weekend was spend de-skunking my life.

De-skunking a dog

who is afraid of spray bottles and hoses is special.

The carpets are in the garage.

The floors are scrubbed.

The couch covers washed.

Lots of laundry done.

Such is life.

In happier news 

Ben had his first Gym class and it was a success.

A bit of parachute action...

 no other shots because he was 

ALL.OVER.THE.PLACE.

Some fun in the sun today

without the camera

an early picnic dinner 

with a shared blizzard for dessert

and then a quiet evening at home 

with bath and play and books and bed 

all before 8:30.

With mama soon to follow.

On-line

Got a special package by UPS today.
Waited til the dude was sleeping to open it up,
turned it on
and whamo...I'm surfing wireless!

On a sweet little MacBook.

I don't even have wireless
but apparently my neighbour does.

Very exciting times.

In days gone by-

meemee is now muskick,
and it better be wake up jeff by the wiggles. 
Or twinkle twinkle.


And if he chose the wiggles CD 6 minutes ago
in the driveway
and now we are 5.5 minutes into the commute
with the wiggles singing
I'd better be prepared to change to the zoo CD.
Pronto.  On demand.
I'm not.
Willing that is.
So sometime the 34 remaining minutes are not so peaceful.


this? when wanting a label for something is now
call this mama?
and is closely followed by
OOH, a ___ whatever it is.
Like he simply forgot the name.


Favourite kitty one and two at the petstore?
Not on the list anymore.
Because of the pink pig,
about 18 inches long,
wrapped in nylon chew rope,
sort of like this
http://www.strictlypetsupplies.com/_180181901287-Tuffys-Polly-Pig-Chew-Toy
and perhaps the most terrifying item on earth.
Driving past the dog food he stood now
after our latest excursion to buy Boom's food
he now screams "people hide pig NOOOOW!"
Tears streaming down his face.


We can't drive down mainstreet without the pig being mentioned
cause we can't get home without passing the store.


Oh my quirky little guy.
 
Throwing his weight around publicly.
Doesn't want to hold hands on the street.
Wants to hold the dog's leash on main street.
Wants to walk and not ride
when mama is trying to exercise herself and the dog
(at faster than 1 km/decade please).


Wants noodles and rice and fruit
Only noodles and rice and fruit
for every meal
And the noodles better be white
and the rice better be white
and the fruit better be an orange.


And NO meat thank you very much.


All meat is chicken and all chicken is bad.
This pleases the vegetarian babysitter I must say.
So I've put upon her the task of introducing green veggies
containing iron
and now she gets to have the food struggles as well.
I'm all about sharing the quirks.


Love my little dude.
Sleeping so peacefully.
In his big boy bed.
After train play
and 40 stories 
and 10 songs
and rockingchair cuddles.
The only place,
other than on top of me
in my bed,
that he will ever sleep again
according to him.


Stubborn little tyke...

Done

Summer vacation that is.

In honour of summer

Ben and I took to the kitchen

and baked a batch of Back To School cookies

for the neighbourhood.

Fun times I tell you

for this sometimes gloomy

sometimes rainy 

sometimes neither 

sort of holiday Monday.

And he didn't nap 

so we had to do something to pass the time 

with JOY!!!  

Rather than napless whining.

So we cooked.

And he ate. 

And liked.

But then decided the man 

who had no limbs or head

was perhaps a bit under cooked 

and put him back in the oven...

Oh? There also seems to be a baby on the burner

ummm...

anyway, sweet little hand me down kitchen set 

(or "chicken" set according to Ben)

In other news?  I'm ready for tomorrow.

Well, as ready as I can be without knowing the kids.

And I may blog again some day.

Right after my new MacBook arrives 

and I get wireless 

and can blog while I"m upstairs 

and the dude is falling asleep in his own room.

Yesterday?

I would have had 1 hour and 45 minutes 

of blogging time 

as he shouted 

MOM, MAMA, MOMMY, MOOOOOOOM, repeat.

Today?  

30 seconds to snore with only one MOM.

In honour of back to school a bit of a Ben-ism

Playing with his birthday letters on the fridge.

I get the camera to show how he has sorted out the blue ones.

I think, wow, he sorted out the blue ones.

Camera in hand he puts the red A in the middle.

Hmmm

I say nice work Ben.

He says, pointing at the Oo's 

what sounds like "vowel"

then points at the A

and says what sounds like "A shit"

I get stuck on the "vowel" part....thinking WTH?

Turns out it was an "OWL"

wearing an "A SHIRT"

Go figure.

Lovely morning at the big city market

with my boy

(though cold...really cold and windy)

Followed closely by

Ben's long nap...

in his own bed 

in his own room 

where he went to sleep all by himself

last night (for 11 hours)

and today (going on hour 3 of the nap).

May my many blessings continue...

especially the sleeping one!

Wow...time flies

2 years ago today I went to the principal's office

after a very long day at school.

And a very long school staff meeting.

I sat at her desk.

Logged in to my email.

And in that office,

surrounded by some of my dearest friends,

my life changed forever.

The sun shines brighter.

Rainy days are for puddle jumping.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,

sung just so,

with air guitar accompaniment

brings tears to my eyes.

I like to watch the world through my new lens...Ben.

I love my job but long for home while I'm there.

2 years ago, my blog entry from Sept. 2, 2008.

I have been blessed with a referral for a sweet baby boy that I will call Benjaminh. After what has at times seemed like forever and ever my turn to be a mommy has arrived. I am blessed.

Benjaminh is living in an orphanage in a Vietnamese province outside of Hanoi. He rests comfortably in a green hammock with his arms stretched up and his tiny little toes curled. He stares straight into the camera, straight into my soul. He is beautiful. Everything I could possibly dream and more. Chubby little cheeks and fat little ankles.

As some of you know I have been doubly blessed as real life friends travelled to Benjaminh's home in June. They asked at that time which baby might be mine. They stroked his little legs and held his little hand. They took photos, just in case. 12 photos in total. I have, because of their kind and loving investigative work, 12 photos of my sweet baby when he was soooo new. Perhaps 2 1/2 weeks old. This is a gift that will be with my son as he grows up. Photos of a tiny baby Ben. Stories of a very protective and loving nanny. A gift I could not have given my son without their help. I hope I can pay that priceless favour forward very soon.

I'm going to go stare at 13 beautiful photos of my son now.

Those of you still searching for your children or waiting for the child you have already found...please know you are in my thoughts all of the time.


From where I sit right now it seems to be true.
The wait is really worth it.
Really.

Time flies...

I still stare at his pictures because he is so beautiful..

 But mostly I stare at his sweet face,

full of expression,

engaged, interested, alert.

And when he reaches for me (and when he doesn't) 

I hold him tight. 

 As often as I can.

These toddler days are numbered... 

He napped today.
And all is well with the world.
And tomorrow?


mamadaybendayomedayappyben

Say it quick like one big word.