I simply cannot fathom that it's been a year. It has been the fastest year of our lives! Slow down, baby girl! Take your time.
You have completed our family in the perfect of ways. You were the one we needed to make it whole.
Happy Birthday, sweet baby girl.
Of course I wrote that last post about Halle's fever and so of course, she's starting to feel better. Thank goodness. She's feeling cooler and happier and that makes the rest of us sigh with relief and thankfulness (and exhaustion). So when I catch up, just a little, I'll come back with reports abouts daycare, projects and other random offerings!
But if you were really wanting to pray for healing? You can direct it to our dear friend Scotty, who is undergoing chemo for the cancer that was discovered in his sternum this summer. After a huge operation to REMOVE his 13-year-old sternum last week, he is now entering into the 3rd (or 4th, I forget) round of chemo. He is an amazing young man. So keep him your thoughts and prayers, please!
As soon as I catch my breath. (And wipe some of the work piles off my desk so I can see the computer monitor clearly.)
So Halle's had a continuous fever since Sunday. Super fussy. Doesn't eat. (But nurses almost constantly - ouch!) No other symptoms. But let's back up for just a moment.
On Monday, I had a crazy day. In fact, I grounded myself by about 2:00. It started by taking her to the pediatrician, because the little booger was just so hot. We were medicating her almost constantly, and even then, her temp wasn't much lower than 102. They decided it was time to rule out a UTI. So we did a "bag-catch" urine sample. Ha! Is all I have to say. That's a story that deserves it's own post, but I finally got a sample to take to the lab. The results were good - no UTI. But I hadn't gotten enough to do the culture they ordered, but the doctor thought it was unnecessary since the UA results were clear. Thankfully.
So Halle and I went home. The Schwan's guy came (I love him, by the way. And his ice cream cake. My ass and thighs? They do not love him. But anyway . . . ). Halle took a nap. And then I needed to go to the store to get more infant's Motrin - maybe an industrial size at the rate we were going.
So we went to Safeway. I pulled in and got a great parking spot. And then I realized that my wallet was right next to the front door where I left it when I paid the Schwan's guy. So I pulled back out of my great parking spot and ALMOST T-BONED A COP. Right there in the parking lot. And when I say almost? I mean, I could practically hear the paint scrape off. He sent me a disgusted look and went on his way. Thank God. So Halle and I returned home and I stayed home.
The day dragged on with difficult naps and a child who was just burning up and ended with multiple Nanny interviews. I may have actually drank wine from the bottle in between candidates. (I'm just saying!)
Tuesday comes along and Sis is still burning up, BUT the nurse that I really struggle with (again . . . another post entirely) was on at the pediatrician's office, so I refused to call. More Tylenol and Motrin. More Nanny interviews. Maybe even an argument with my husband. More wine.
By yesterday, we were getting worried. If she would just sniffle or vomit, we'd be fine! But no other symptoms, other than the constant fever, extreme fussiness and puffy eyes. So yesterday I talked to my favorite nurse at the ped's office and she talked to the doctor and next thing you know? We were on our way down to the ER for blood tests and a cath-insertion. Because apparently the measly sample I collected on Monday wasn't going to cut it.
So let's just say that I am very glad that my hubby works at the ER. He basically hand-picked who was going to do what on Halle-boo and it's very comforting to know that the best of the best is poking and prodding on your wee one. Lots of crying and comfort-nursing later? The results are still ambiguous.
In all likelihood, she has a virus. But when you are married to an ER nurse, that also throws in the idea of things like Hepatitis. Me? I'm going with run-of-the-mill virus until proved otherwise. And John is also. We're just ready for her fever to break, once and for all. And for the little monkey to have a few weeks without a fever or anything else!
Not to mention that she was sleeping in her crib from 7:45 pm -7:00 am every night. And when she's burning up at 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00 am? We all know that I'm snatching that baby right out of bed and nursing her until the sun comes up. So that is going to SUCK to re-train the persistent princess about nighttime. Aggghhhh. But we've done it once before, so hopefully it will be easier next time. And I'm sure we'll do again sometime soon!
So if you're the praying type? Please pray that her fever disappears and that she feels better. And that all is well with my little monkey-girl. (Speaking of, she is such the monkey-girl that while I was holding her arms so the nurse could place the "sticky bag onto her to catch her urine sample? She actually was able to rip it off with her toes. Nice trick, sis!)
Halle stayed in her crib all night long! She woke up a couple of times, but we did the Ferber-type deal . . . checked on her at two and four minutes and then . . . she went back to sleep on her own!
This was only Night #2 of Serious Tough Love, and I really, really don't want to jinx it, but I am hopeful! The previous night it took her forty minutes to go back to sleep. So anything less than that was going to be awesome, but six-seven minutes? Amazing.
Of course, there is a "but" in all of this . . . I had STUPID FREAKIN' INSOMNIA while she was sleeping. Seriously. That is just wrong. I am reacting to my estrogen patches, which, unfortunately means that I'm not getting any hormones. And that, my friends, is a really bad deal.
Tomorrow I go to the doctor to review my extensive blood tests that should cover everything from my thyroid to multiple hormones to my cholesterol. Somewhere in my body there is something going on that keeps me from losing weight and having any energy. Oh yeah, and whatever it is? Makes me an emotional freak. So I'm not leaving that office until I can name the little bastard. And if it's still a basic estrogen imbalance? We have to find a different way to get it into my body. Because these little patches are not doing it. Damn that allergy to adhesive anyway!
But while I was awake, I was dreaming about the little RV that John and I fell in love with on Sunday. (Yeah, I know . . . how old are we?) How sweet would it be to jump in this bad boy and toodle on over to the coast for a week? Or drive to Yellowstone? Or even (gasp), drive to see my MIL? Keep dreaming, Amy-girl! Because even at the liquidation price of $52K (down from an impressive MSRP of $81K), that's more than it would cost to build a pool. And I'm thinking that we want a pool first, right? Right? Or tell me if I'm wrong. Because if they still have that little sweetie at their special sale on Thursday and we could get it for $45K? I'm thinking that John might just find a way. It does sound super fun. And way easier than packing up the tent trailer and hitching it up. And we could use it as guest quarters when friends want to visit . . . sorry, I was justifying a little too much there for a minute. Back to reality. And work. 
After months of blatantly turning away from our kisses, Halle finally started giving me kisses this morning. Big, open-mouth, slobbery kisses! You gotta love those!
These kisses, I'm sure, were her gift to me after a terrible night of sleep. I'm not 100% sure what was going on, but I'm thinking that the beans that I fed her last night at a friend's BBQ didn't settle really well. When I finally caved (yes, it was I that caved) and picked her up at 2:30 this morning - after her waking up at least every hour - she let out a huge burp. And then spent the rest of the night arching her back, tooting and burping. By the time John got home from his night shift at 6:30 this morning, she had finally settled down. Arrggghhhh.
Anyway, I'm slammed at work, but those kisses just made my day!
So the pediatrician wanted to follow up on Halle's last weight. She had dropped down on the growth curve and so we just wanted to be certain that she was still gaining. So after her pants started falling off of her while we were in Hawaii, I made the appointment! The good news is, Halle-boo is gaining weight, albeit slowly. She's just a tall and lean baby girl. It's not a bad body type to have!
The bad news (for Halle) is that the doctor verified that she can absolutely go all night without nursing. So . . . drum-roll please . . . tomorrow night begins sleep-training 201 in earnest. The little bit that we have done has been helpful, but we're still caving in the middle of the night. Because she's been waking up a ridiculous amount of times. (Serious wake-ups . . . not just move around and settle-back-down kinda wake-ups.)
So we have to lower the crib mattress to the lowest rung (it's currently on the second-to-lowest and she figured out how to pull her self up, but can't get back down) and muster up the energy. I refuse to start (again) without John and he's working again tonight. But tomorrow night, my friends, Halle is going to bed and we are inserting the ear plugs! Or at least one of us will at a time. I will probably sleep for a few hours while John watches the monitor and then we'll probably switch. Which is paranoid and freaky, I know. But you have to remember that I do not like CIO! And we're still moving forward with it. The reason? Because I also do not believe ink co-sleeping for our current family situation (although if John weren't around . . . I'd be just fine with it!) And our little peanut is just too stubborn to work through any of the less-intense methods. I have read all the books there are to read on the subject, trust me!
So pray that she follows the 3 night plan . . . 1st night is utter hell . . . 2nd night is about half that . . . and the 3rd night she sleeps through the night.
Because my in-laws are coming to visit on night 3. Did I mention that? There's a good time to sleep train . . . when you're having guests! And your baby is getting teeth. And you all have jet lag. Yep, that's the ticket!
How can this little peanut be eight months old already? I am so not ready for time to be going this quickly! Since I am counting on my blog for baby book facts, I thought I'd better throw in an update about the Booster.
She is crawling . . . backwards. Which really ticks her off! She sees what she wants, gets into the crawl position, and promptly moves farther away from it! I would expect that she'll figure out how to put in gear in the next couple of weeks for sure. An interesting comparison will be to Dylan, who crawled at 8 months, 19 days. (And I never restricted his tummy time, so we'll see if I really delayed Halle's milestones or not!)
She isn't sleeping worth beans. Hawaii really messed us up. the first couple of nights were so bad, that we seriously rearranged our sleeping partners and locations! I moved up to the loft with Halle, letting her sleep with me to get some rest versus fighting to keep her in the porta-crib at night. Dylan then moved to the hide-a-bed in the living room and John enjoyed the master suite . . . by himself. Combined with the jet lag, Halle has decided that she should always sleep with Mama. Oh shit. Since John wants the baby monitor at top volume during the night and I cannot stand to hear her cry from down the hall AND the monitor, I am heading out to buy a video monitor. If he wants to lay there and watch her scream on the monitor, then fine. But the volume has to be off. Otherwise, I am moving baby girl into our bed. Because she is waking up a ridiculous number of times each night. And if I am going to keep waking up that many times, I am going to officially lose it!
Halle is officially babbling "Mama" and "Bubba", which is our name for Dylan. John is not pleased, but I keep telling him that "Dada" is coming soon. I really, really, hope it does! She is also the raspberry queen - she can get you wet from a couple of feet away.
Peek-a-boo is still her favorite game. Ever.
The Itsy Bitsy Spider is her favorite song.
She's close to being able to do "so big" on her own, but currently just laughs her head off when you ask, "how big is Halle?" and raise her arms. She thinks it's a fantastic punch line to the world's funniest joke!
Halle gives "Mama loves," which again, kinda piss John off! If any of us are holding her and ask her to give "Mama loves", she lays her head down on you and gives you a serious snuggle. (It's to die for, by the way!)
She waves bye-bye and hi.
She is sitting great. She pulls up in her crib. She is also one tough cookie, because she has smacked her head a few time sin these last few days of major mobility and she doesn't ever cry about it.
Our Halle-boo has learned how to arch her back and throw a major snit if she doesn't want something. Usually if she's being put into the high chair or car seat, or more recently, having her diaper changed.
She still loves her cereal. Loves all yellow veggies. Loves all fruits (except watermelon - weirdo). And really doesn't like any green veggies. At all! She is a madwoman with Cheerios. And biter biscuits. And she loves graham crackers. Thank goodness she likes prunes, because that has come in handy a time or two!
She still likes blankies over her head when she's falling asleep. And she still loves her binkies. She's very adept and grabbing them and putting them in her mouth!
She has three teeth, with two or maybe three more right on the edge of her gums. She's doing a funny little grin that totally looks like an old lady with ill-fitting dentures.
OK, I feel better. I was feeling guilty that my second child didn't have all of her facts recorded. Whew. At least now she has some!
Now, I am off to finish unpacking. Yes, really. I haven't finished yet. I loathe unpacking. It's stupid. So is Little League, but that's another post. I need to have a serious drink before I unleash that frustration on the Internet!
Who the hell ever came up with that phrase anyway? Because my babies hate to sleep. Hate it! But, that being said . . . and I hope I'm not going to jinx myself here . . . Halle-boo has managed to fall asleep the last two nights with just 10 minutes of crying. And then 2x last night she cried for 10 minutes in the middle of the night and put herself back to sleep.
Now, I should be all caught up on sleep, right? WRONG! I couldn't ignore the poor little baby, so I was up while she screamed. And then I had major insomnia (curse of the devil)! At least I got to watch Brothers and Sisters in the middle of the night. But I must have dozed off and missed something. How did Rebbecca go from her discussion with David to lying to Justin about the paternity test? Thank goodness for DVR . . . I'll have to go back and catch that part again!
I ran out this morning to exchange my stupid Blackberry Pearl for a real Blackberry. Which didn't happen because they were completely out of them. So I have to go back and try again on Friday. So if you're waiting on a text from me? It isn't going to happen until after Friday. I suck at the funky Pearl keyboard. I'm over it.
And now, I must get back to work. Break over. Blah.
Halle-boo is currently screaming from her crib. She is just too tired to function. And she cried regardless of what I did to soothe her. So baby-girl is in her crib, safe and snuggly . . . and really pissed off.
I hate the whole sleeping/crying it our discussion. But I also hate not sleeping. And Halle is quickly excelling at fighting sleep. And fighting it well. Dylan did the same. And thus began my nearly four-year stretch of co-sleeping. Which was fine, but I'm not going there again. Plus it's different now. I have a husband in my bed, whereas when Dylan was little, I didn't. So I don't know what to do. I'm not sure that I'm strong enough to do CIO. And I know that nap time isn't when I need to start it. But she is over the top. Arching her back and screaming as her eyes begin to close while I'm holding her. And then we start all over.
All that being said, I just went and picked her up. Tears stopped. Snot dried up. And she laid her head down on my shoulder and went to sleep.
Clearly, I am not ready to commit to sleep training. But soon. Very soon.
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