Child Size Football Helmet Needed

Ugh!

She just can't cut a break lately. Since the tooth extraction she has gotten Strep. A very constipated belly that needs 2 MONTHS of Miralax (now 6 weeks left). And now she has a dislocated jaw. Or so it may seem. The doctor was showing me the discrepancies between the left and right side. And telling me there was trauma that in 4 weeks time will heal if she eats soft foods for a Month.

Yesterday my aunt and I went to Target to get last minute items for her trip home. While there my cousin (who is six weeks younger than Abby) and she were chasing after a Red Balloon that only days before I blew up for her and Morgan to enjoy. He fell into her knocking her into a chair (at Grandma's House). The impact caused her frenulum to tear, a severely swollen upper lip, and bloody nose. And apparently a dislocated jaw. I just iced her lip seeing no damage and for the most part she ate and slept well. This morning however while attempting to eat her "Monkey O's" (Kix/Cheerios/Rice Krispies) she informed me that it hurt her teeth to eat and that she wanted to go to the doctor. She knows herself well enough that I only have to ask her if she is sure she needs to go, so I called them up and the rest is Abby's dental history.

She was a trooper again I must admit, but has been a bit whinier than before. . . mostly because of the pain from her jaw. But for the most part even though she hasn't had any meds . . . she hasn't said anything about the discomfort since the Doctors. The panoramic xray machine was AWESOME and Abby did a GREAT job standing perfectly still. Even this visits hygienist said she was VERY MATURE for her age. The doctor was great for even noticing that Abby was guarding her jaw. I sure as heck didn't see it, but am glad she had the know how to do her job competently. But I hope I don't see them again until November when the kids have their 6 month cleaning.

Morgan now has 7 teeth and is working on at least 1 more before his first birthday in 2 weeks! He is walking short distances unassisted. Unfortunately he isn't interested in anything but Cheerios, dried apple bits, and yogurt puffs, as well as whole milk. He isn't interested in soft things like bananas or meat sticks, small bits of ravioli, and so forth. . . they end up squished between his fingers and thrown on the floor or smeared in his hair and on his shirt. Morgan is a picky eater and I can't stand it! Other than that Morgan is jabbering and starting to respond to questions and is mumbling syllabic phrases. Like "You Did It!" which sounds like "OOoooo Deeed Eeeee" And "Ess" and "No". So I feel like I did ok raising him this past year as a stay at home mom. Even if I didn't do a lot of baby sign, and feed him from my breast, and carry him around and all that granola stuff. (No offense my granola friends. I commend you for being so firm in your beliefs.) I feel reaffirmed as a mom unlike what I felt with Abby until I started staying home with her. So yeah for me for not just spawning them but also being a proactive raiser of my kids as a stay-at-home mom. It certainly is going to be something I don't regret even if I was thrown into it without a parachute.

Now about the helmet...

One Tooth Less at 2 and 2 quarters!

Last week Abby declared that she was 2 and 2 quarters. When she was told that I was going to go play poker with my friends. She wanted to go play poker with her friends, but daddy said she isn’t old enough. And she replied that she was old enough. And proudly declared that she was 2 and 2 quarters. This was two days after her tooth (that was destined to come out) was extracted.

In an effort to get healthy a lot of the mom’s that I am in a club with have attempted to meet up on some mornings and walk/jog with our kids. We prefer out doors, but sadly it was raining heavily and steadily on that fateful Friday. After half a lap of the local (indoor) mall Abby requested to get out and run along side of the stroller. She made it no further than 10 steps and pancaked onto the tiled floor. I saw her head bounce up, but was none the wiser that it did so much damage until I came up to her and saw the blood. And then the cracked tooth. Again. Side story time...

In September of 2007 just shy of 14 months old Abby had her first and until Friday only ER worthy illness/accident. While getting out of the tub she landed front teeth first on the edge of the tub after getting out of her bath. (The tub is still chipped to this day). Breaking/chipping her two front teeth. Only one of them took more of the blunt force and we had to get a crown on her tooth. Because the tooth broke just enough it was keepable. That was the only time she has ever had to be under anesthesia. And that is why all of her pictures from after that point have a prominent front tooth (crowns make your teeth a wee bit bigger). ...resume current story.

So right away I realized that we would need to go to her dentist and get emergency repairs. Then I saw her lip was split and being that I am not a doctor I took her to the ER were I spent $50 copay for them to tell me that she didn’t need them. At the dentist we were told that her tooth had to be extracted because of where it broke this time.

Through all of this Abby was responsive to all that I told her to do, did everything that the doctors/hygienists told her to do, and was lavished with balloons, toys, and stickers. I was so proud of my daughter that day. Because I doubt any mom of a 2 and 2 quarters (though she is actually more like 2 and 5/6ths) year old could say that their daughter didn’t panic and cry the whole day about their boo boos. I would like to think that I had something to do with that as I utilized my EMT skillz from long ago and kept my cool while juggling a ~1 year old and wounded ~3 year old. I got a napkin (from a fellow mom) to put on the lacerated lip and found ice to reduce the swelling. All before leaving the mall. (Thanks pretzel guy who gave us ice in one of your unused food prep gloves!) She was calm by the time we got on the road (because there is no way a toddler won’t cry when something like that happens to them). And she didn’t fuss over or poke at it the whole day. In fact in between the exam and the procedure she was “[wanting to go back] to the dentist so they can make my tooth better [by] brushing my teeth”. She had no idea what “extraction” meant.

After the "extraction" we told her of the tooth fairy. Upon trying to explain who/what the tooth fairy is. . . by saying that he/she brings you a treat and puts it under your pillow. My daughter thought that that meant food. Specifically “strawberries”. But was happy with the $1 gold coin. (Which she lost once and we found and then lost it again.) Such is the life of a toddler.

I am still beaming if you can’t tell at how well she did. The smile. I am still getting used to the new “look”.

To Have a 3rd or Not... That is the Question.

I feel like I am being so nonchalant about this miscarriage. Kinda like a heartless bitch. But going from yes, to no, to yes, to a final no took a lot out of me emotionally. It is extraordinarily hard to put all that I went through into eloquent words. I have had over a week to come to terms with my miscarriage. I feel unresolved in whether I will actually try for any more children in the future. One thing I do know is that making that decision right now is not a good idea. But here is my list so far of Pros and Cons. . . Pros aren’t looking that persuasive right now are they?

Pros:
Another wonderful child in our lives
Another companion/friend/sibling for the kids

Cons:
Less money on hand for college fund, single family home, vacations, emergencies, etc.
Adult to Children ratio 2:3 which could be problematic
Pregnancy “Issues”
Having to lose the weight all over again
Sleep deprivation extended a few years
Diapers extended a few years
Less Mommy & Daddy “alone” time — including vacations on our own (which we haven’t ever really had)
More mouths to feed and bodies to take care of when they are sick


Obviously third children come only because the parents don’t care about the Cons or the third was an “Oops” — you decide.

Anyhow, I am still undecided. Does less money and less spare time beat out? Stay tuned because next year is the last year I am willing to go through any more pregnancies. And dear higher powers no more miscarriages! Although, maybe that was a sign? Food for thought.