Dermatologist Appointment From Hell

As promised, from yesterday.  Remember that this was all part of the evil plot of my arch-nemesis, Tuesday.

Scene: The Dermatologist's Waiting Room

Time: 9:00 am, Tuesday* Morning

Miles ran around the waiting room screaming his fool head off, leaving a trail of cheerios and soy milk, as I tried desperately to complete the endless pages of pointless paperwork that were required before they would even let us back into a room.  I tried, desperately, to control him, offering him everything from toys to cookies, to no avail.  After fifteen minutes of this, I finally gave up and sped through the paperwork, while my son did his best impression of a banshee.

Every patient and receptionist in the room gave me with that disapproving, "Control your child" look.  Except one mom, with her perfectly-behaved four-year-old girl-child, who looked at me with pity.  I tried to ignore it, finally finished the paperwork, then cleaned cheerios off the floor, scooped up Miles, and his sippy cup, and his snack cup, and my purse, and took all of it up to the front desk.  As I was dropping off paperwork, and trying not to up-end my bag, Miles took a dive for the floor, and the stench of dirty diaper whacked me across the face.  I excused myself, changed him, and returned just in time to be called back (finally) to see a doctor.

We had been in the office for fifteen minutes.  It felt like days.

Once in the room, I answered questions about Miles' medical history and the Devil's Rash that covered him from top to toe, while Miles generally did absolutely everything he shouldn't.  He opened and closed the drawers.  He pulled the sheet off the bed.  He screamed.  He wanted up.  He dove for the floor.  He rustled through my bag until he found the secret stash of animal crackers, and then begged for them, "Cook! Cook!" until I finally gave in out of desperation.

He sat quietly for about 90 seconds while I answered more detailed questions.  Then, he asked for more "Cook!"  Ad nauseum.

Exit Doctor Assistant Lady (DAL).  Five more minutes of Chaos in a Tiny Room.  Enter Doctor Dermatologist Lady (DDL). More questions.  More chaos.  Ad nauseum.

Exit Doctor Dermatologist Lady (DDL), in search of Big Wig Doctor Dermatologist Lady (BWDDL).  Five more minutes of Chaos in a Tiny Room.  Enter both Doctor Dermatologist Ladies (DDL & BWDDL).  More questions.  More chaos.  Ad nauseum.

In the end, it was determined that Something Terrible (but Unidentifiable, apparently) is wrong with his skin.**  Prescriptions were written.  Good-byes were said.  The Monster was re-dressed, and the door finally opened.

Exit Bedraggled Mommy, chasing Mini-Monster of Doom, running at top speed through the maze of hallways.

Then, we had to stop to check out.  While at the desk, I managed to finally succeed in dumping the entire contents of my bag on the floor, and Miles fell flat on his face, in front of everyone who was waiting in line, giving me that, "Control your child and get your shit together, I'm tired of waiting on you" look.  And, we had to make a follow-up appointment.

It's set for Tuesday.  My arch-nemesis is good.

*See, I told you.  Evil plot.  Arch-nemesis.  It's all there.

**Wonderful.  So glad that two specialists were able to collaborate to come up with this gem of a diagnosis.

Icky Sickies

I am the mother of a snot-monster.

Seriously, the kid's nose hasn't stopped running since yesterday morning.  And this morning, when I got him out of bed, he had dried snot all over his face.  Disgusting, but true.  And, of course, his nose hurts, so wiping it has become this major struggle.  Every two minutes.

So, I pulled out the snot-sucker.  I have never, ever used the thing on him.  But then, he's never been this congested before.  I held him down, and fought with him, and in the end, he was breathing through his nose.  Briefly.  Then, exhausted from our epic struggle, he fell fast asleep.

I'll probably be cleaning dried snot again in an hour.

It wouldn't be so terrible, except the kid was already on the verge of extreme crankiness because he has four molars coming in, all at once.  We have been fighting these teeth for almost three weeks now.  So far, he's done wonderfully.  He gets a little fussy for awhile, sometimes, and then I put on the Orajel and life returns to sunshine and rainbows.

But now, with this cold, he just can't force himself to be happy.  He tries.  He played with eighteen toys in the space of ten minutes this morning in an effort to distract himself.  When that didn't work, he climbed into my lap, put his head on my chest, and whimpered.*  I tried comforting him, but he assumed I was trying to put him down for a nap, and he bucked backward and climbed back to the floor, looking again for comfort in his toys.  And so the cycle continued.  Over and over again for the next hour.  Until I pulled out the snot-sucker and he finally fell asleep.

As if that weren't enough, I woke up with congested sinuses this morning.  It's going to be a long week.

*And then blew his nose on my robe.

Update on Mr. Snotmonster

There's no infection. Miles is fine. Apparently, Thursday was just a bad day. So sayeth the doctor.

Random Thoughts on the Week

It's been a whirlwind sort of week.

Miles and I spent Wednesday and Thursday at the office, trying to get things ready for an audition workshop this weekend. Wednesday evening, we had dance rehearsal. Last night was Shakespeare. And through it all, Miles whined.

The doctor said on Monday that he thought Miles just had a cold. Nothing terrible. He did say that his right ear looked a little pink, but he thought that it was probably just from being rubbed or laid on. He didn't think it was an infection.

After 4 days of whining and crying from a child who usually smiles through anything (including teething), I think it's an ear infection.

So, we go back to the doctor this afternoon. I'm sure he thinks I'm one of those paranoid moms who takes her kid to the doctor every time he sneezes. I'm not. At least, I don't think I am. I just know there's something wrong. Miles never cries this much.

I will update after the appointment.

Quick Update

We are finally getting over the cold!

Today, Miles was back to his smiling, happy, cooing self. Complete with dinosaur noises. :)

Sleep is still elusive, but what can you do?

And, my son is amazing. Today, while eating his squash, he grabbed at the spoon. Out of curiosity, I gave it to him. He put it in his mouth, and sucked the squash off of it, then gave it back to me for more. He did this twice! before realizing that Mommy could shovel faster. He dropped the spoon and opened his mouth, just waiting for me to do the work for him. Silly boy. :)

That is all for now, as I have a massive headache. Which is sad, since I have all sorts of fun stories about Miles craning his neck to watch out the car window on the way to work this morning. And making dinosaur noises while I was on the phone with one of our performers. And playing with Maestro at lunch. And several more that I will try to remember to type up when my head feels less like exploding. Good night, all!

I have only one thing to say today

Stacey, you rock. Thank you for coming to my rescue yesterday. You have no idea how awesome it was to have a little help.

Oh, and Miles appears to be on the upswing!

One of those days

I have to start by acknowledging that I am incredibly lucky that I have very few days like this.

That doesn't make it any easier.

We are on day 6 of the Plague, and it has definitely been one of those days. Miles did ok last night, but was still up 3 times before he finally woke up at 8:15. And he woke up with a vengeance. Usually, he wakes up cooing, and will play in his crib for a few minutes while I brush my teeth and prep his bottles, and generally prepare for the day. Not today. Today, he woke up whining, ready to eat immediately. And then took half an hour to eat 2 ounces. He whined and clung to me for almost an hour before finally deciding he was still tired and passing out. When I tried to put him down, he woke up, and I could see him preparing to scream. So, I laid down on the bed with him, and we napped. Which was glorious, I admit. Until he woke me up by screaming that he was starving. Since, you know, he hadn't eaten earlier.

It took me almost an hour to calm him down enough to actually eat. And once I had accomplished this feat, the phone rang. It was important, so I took the call. The lady took forever to tell me what she needed, even though I repeatedly asked her to get to the point, as I had a screaming baby in the background. By the time she finally told me what she needed, and I hung up, Miles was inconsolable again. It took another 45 minutes of bouncing and walking and shushing to get him calm enough to eat, and he sucked down the entire bottle in a matter of minutes.

For fifteen beautiful minutes, Miles played happily on the couch. Until he puked all over himself. When I took him to change him, I discovered he had a dirty diaper that had overflowed to the point that we both needed baths in the end.

So, now, he's taking a little siesta in his swing in the bathroom, and I am sitting here exhausted and ready for bed, even though it's only 2:3o. And I still have work to do. And a house to clean.

And a baby who will be waking up screaming any minute, I'm sure.

The Snot-Monster Strikes Again

Miles is still a coughing, snotty boy, but now he's added whiny-ness to his repertoire. He wants to cuddle, but still play by himself. He wants to eat, but only on his terms. He's always tired (trying to sleep off this bug, I guess), but he fights sleep. In short, nothing is making him happy. And it's driving me bonkers.

And, to top it off, Patrick and I have managed to contract this lovely little plague as well. Our house is not the most fun place to be right now. Ugh.

I know it will get better soon, and that it's really not a big deal. But I miss my happy, smiling, content little boy, and I want him back!

Besides, I'm really tired of being covered in snot every time he snuggles in. Ewww!*

*Ahh, the joys of motherhood. :)

Cold Update

The bad news: Miles is having a hard time sleeping and eating because of his stuffy nose, and his cough has become more . . . juicy.

The good news: The doctor has confirmed that it is Just a Cold, so we just have to ride it out, and everything should be fine.