I know most of the time, I post all of the good things that come along with having a sweet, loving one-year-old in my life. The past couple of days have been a reality check and today's post reflects that.
Sunday night/Monday morning - Caleb woke up at 1:09 SCREAMING like someone was torturing him. I bolted out of bed and went to check on him. I found him in his bed, curled up on his stomach (like usual), but crying to beat the band. I did what any freaked-out mother would do - I picked him up! As soon as I picked him up, he started to calm down, but continued to cry. Usually when he wakes up upset, I rock him for a few minutes and he goes right back to bed. So - I tried that. As soon as I put him back in his bed, the screaming started again. I really thought he'd go to sleep, so I climbed back in bed. 10 minutes later, he was still screaming. I went back in his room and picked him up, took him downstairs, tried to give him some water, gave him some medicine and then collapsed in the recliner. Rudy had gotten up, but there was no point in both of us being up and miserable the next day, so I sent him back to bed. I got Caleb back to sleep and tried to put him back in his bed. Nope - screaming. So - we went back to the recliner and I tried to sleep with him on my chest. He slept like a rock and I dozed off and on until 4:45. That was the point when I was so tired, I started to feel sick. I crept back up the stairs and held my breath as I put him in his bed. He rolled right over and slept. Praise the Lord! I went to bed and slept until the alarm went off at 6:00.
Monday afternoon - When I picked Caleb up at Carrie's house, she said that he had had a good day. He was still fussy and clingy, but he had napped and had eaten normally. I was hoping beyond hope for a good night. We got home and went about our normal routine. I put him in his PJ's and put mine on too. When Rudy got home at 5:00, I was planning to turn over primary responsibility to him and try to get some sleep. That's when the phone rang and the real estate office said someone wanted to come look at the house. Dang. I got dressed and Rudy dressed Caleb. We went to Red Robin for dinner and - surprisingly - Caleb was in a great mood. He had an absolute blast playing with a balloon and eating mac & cheese. After that, we went to Sam's for diapers and then headed home. I slept fitfully Monday night - probably a result of the 3 glasses of iced tea I guzzled at dinner to try to keep my eyes open.
Tuesday afternoon - I picked Caleb up from Carrie's and she had a weary look on her face. She said that he had only slept for 20 minutes and just wasn't his normal self at all. He wanted to be held, then wanted down - but cried when you put him down. That was pretty much what I had seen for a couple of days too. In addition to that, his legs, arms and face had several big red spots on them. I called the pediatician's advice line and left a message for the nurse. I was dreading the night ahead, because Rudy had the middle school end-of-the-year concert and wouldn't be home until after Caleb's bedtime. It was looking like a long, stressful night. When we got home, I put Caleb's PJ's on him for comfort, changed into some comfy clothes for myself, gave Caleb some finger foods to appease him (I know...bad mom) and popped myself some popcorn. Just as I sat down to eat my popcorn at 4:00, the phone rang. I explained all of the situation to her and she wasn't worried until I told her that he wasn't sleeping well. She asked me to bring him in - if I could get him there by 4:30. In the meantime, my cell phone rang and the real estate office number showed up on caller ID. I kicked it in high gear, straightened up the house, threw away the popcorn and got Caleb (and me) dressed and hit the road with sweat dripping from my forehead. We pulled into the parking lot at exactly 4:30. The nurse took a look at Caleb and said that he had bug bites - bad bug bites. She recommended cortizone cream and bug spray. She actually suggested long sleeves, but that's just not possible. It's already at least 80 degrees every day. The poor kid would sweat all the time! So, I wrote a copay check and we left the doctor's office in the pouring down rain. Traffic crawled all the way home and I found myself in the drive-through at McDonald's. Stress-eating is my downfall! When we got home, he was asleep in the carseat. I got him out and he laid his head down on my shoulder. I thought I might be able to put him in his bed for a short nap. As soon as I laid him down, he started crying. As soon as he started crying, the phone rang. I was afraid it might be the real estate office, so I ran to answer it. It was my mom, who completely understood that I just couldn't talk right then. We hung up and the phone rang again. I - again - answered it and it was Jerry. He immediately asked me what was wrong. I spewed off the whole story and told him I'd call him back. I went back into Caleb's room and changed his clothes/diaper, feed him dinner and play for about 5 minutes before our parent educator showed up for his 12 month visit. I know I must have looked like I had been through the wringer. That's because I had.
On a happier note, Amy (our PE) assured me that Caleb is meeting all of his developmental milestones just fine. He's doing some things that aren't expected at his age (mostly fine motor skills) and is struggling with some gross motor development, but he's not "behind" - just coming along a little slower than some kids do. I'm not worried about that at all!
After Amy left, Caleb and I played for a little while, then I took him upstairs for bed. He did not want to go to bed and made that abundantly clear. We read 5 stories instead of our usual 3 and sang about 10 songs instead of our usual 3 before he finally got sleepy. He laid his head down on my shoulder and I knew I could breathe a little easier. I laid him down and he cried for a few minutes before finally going to sleep at 7:45.
I was completely exhausted. I switched the laundry, called my mom back, left Jerry a message, washed all of the sippy cups, checked my e-mail and fell in the bed. When Rudy left the concert at 9:30, he called to see what it was we needed from Walgreen's. I asked him to bring home the cortizone cream and some bug repellent.
This morning, Caleb woke up at 6:00 jabbering. Rudy went in and got him and he was in his usual jovial mood. I'm hoping this means that this phase is almost over. I guess we'll see what happens tonight. I'm tired.
No comments:
Post a Comment