Manic Monday

Today was full of: a shopping trip to Target, a surprise visit to the pediatrician (for an ear infection!), shopping at Babies R Us/Toys R Us, shopping at the grand opening of a new Aldi's, and dealing with Jeff's cold.

So lets see ........... sometime yesterday I started noticing Leah playing with her right ear.  She didn't feel feverish - and was her normal self otherwise.  I kept an eye on her and at some point last night and into today she started doing the finger into the ear canal move .... so I knew a trip to the doctors was in our future.

So my plan was to do my Target shopping early, and then call the docs office when the early Monday morning rush of sickie kids was over and done with.   I called around 9:30 and got an appointment for 11:00.  We went and had Leah's ears looked at - and she does have an ear infection.  She was playing with her left ear a little bit as well but Dr. Brown said her left ear is perfect - but the right is infected.  So we have ear drops and Amoxicillin for the little girl. 

Being an EB baby, it's so hard sometimes to detect when something is 'off' with Leah.  She has a tolerance for pain that is unfathomable to me.  So while an ear infection in a 'normal' baby would be easy to see .... with Leah I have to watch her like a hawk at all times to see if and when her mood changes and for what reason. 

If I hadn't had my eyes on her the few times she stuck her finger in her ear, I might still be sitting here wondering if she's just playing with her ears, teething, had swimmers ear from all the moisture her humidifiers create ...... or what. 

I guess it's a good thing that, until I had Leah, I had never in all my 27 years so much as held, fed or diapered a baby.  Yep, it's true.  So in a weird way it's a blessing that I don't know what 'normal' is when it comes to a baby.  I only know what 'normal' is for Leah - and what to look, listen, feel and sense for. 

But anyway ........... when we came home from the doctors I did a crazy thing.  I went to a Babies R Us/Toys R Us store .... 10 days before Christmas.  And I didn't even go for toys!  They had a 'buy 1 get 1 50% off' sale on Mam pacifiers and bottles.  Mam binkies are the only ones Leah will use .... and boy does she use them.  Notice how many binky pictures of her there are?  Yeah, she likes her some binky.  But with her recent appetite/eating difficulties, I decided to try the Mam bottles as well.  I've only ever seen them sold at Babies R Us stores .......... so alas, I had to go there.  It was nuts .... close to scary nuts.  The looks in peoples eyes as they are hunting down whatever toy their kid/grandkid/niece/nephew is demanding this year.  ::Shivers::

Then on my way home I stopped by our new Aldi's store that was having it's grand opening today.  I love being cheap ... er, I mean 'frugal'.  A gallon of milk for $2.69?  Yes please!  Oh and they sell real chocolate milk .... made with whole milk.  None of this 1% nonsense.  They really think people who want chocolate syrup mixed in with their milk want lowfat milk?!  Come on now.   

But anyway, once all the lookie lou type customers that were there today stop shopping there, it'll be great.  I heard way too many people saying things like: 'What is this?! I've never heard of this brand!'.  Of course you've never heard of it ..... it's a pound of sausage and it costs 75 cents .... you're at Aldi's ...... duh!

Oh yeah and Jeff has a cold so we've been dealing with that all day and trying to keep him and his germy self well-shielded with a mask and gallons of hand sanitizer.  He started feeling sick on Saturday and I begged and pleaded with him to go to bed, medicate himself, rest, nap, sleep, watch stupid DVD's that I don't want to watch with him, whatever .... just rest to get better instead of worse.  Well, he didn't listen to me and didn't rest and now he feels worse.  ::Sigh::

So if I could throw in a few prayer requests here:

Please pray that Leahs ear infection will get better ASAP - that she will take her medicine like a good girl.  And that with her ear infection healed ..... her appetite will improve .... or at least that the new Mam bottles will be the ticket to getting some more food in her. 

And please pray that neither Leah nor I will catch the cold that Jeff has.

Oh and for Jeffs cold to get better and for him to have the wisdom to listen to his wife every once in awhile. 

 

And....... onto some 'Thank Yous' I need to say (write):

Thank you to my Mommy for coming down to visit us, and for Leah's Lenox ornament, and bringing me some very well-missed goodies from Philly!

Thank you to my 'Seeeeestor' for coming down for the visit as well, and for Leah's Christmas ornaments, and for getting me my monthly gross supply of soft pretzels!!

Thank you to Grandma who came over last night to stay up and watch Leah - and for cutting the elastic out of a whole pack of diapers for me. 

Thank you to my Aunt Pat for sending Leah her very first 'Baby's 1st Christmas' card.

Thank you to my Mom's co-worker and long-time family friend Jeff for making a mixed CD of Christmas Cartoon songs for Leah.  It will be her bath-time music from now until Christmas, and probably awhile afterwards too.

Thank you to my gaggle of awesome cousins (Patti, Chrissy and Joey) and their families for their generosity in giving up some of their Christmas 'cheer' and selflessly handing it over to us to lift some of the worry off our shoulders.  I love you guys!

Thank you to some of our extended family (Edie, Katie, Alison, Rich and Daniel) for joining in the sacrificing of Christmas cheer and sending it to a certain little lady named Leah. 

Thank you to some of the folks my Mom works with who sent her down to Maryland with some donations for us to make our holidays a bit brighter.

Thank you to our good friends Marty and Tina for their initiative and diligence in starting to plan Leah's fundraiser. (More news on that as it happens).

Thank you to all the new folks who are stumbling upon our blog and taking a minute or so to read our stories and leave a comment of encouragement.