August 29, 2009

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times...

What a day we had yesterday!

We finally had Little A's 1-year check-up. This was the third planned visit... for some reason, our pediatrician's office couldn't keep doc's calendar straight, so we had to keep bumping the appointment.

Little A was thrilled for the delay. Mommy- not so much.

The good news- that FTT diagnosis was wiped clean off her record (as if we didn't already know this...) Little A weighted 21 pounds 9 ounces (55th percentile) and was 29 3/4" (68th percentile). Hooray!!

The so-so news- her hemoglobin is still in the borderline low to low range, which means she may have some sort of anemia going on. This will be rechecked, and she may have to start an oral liquid vitamin supplement. Considering the amount of formula and milk she drinks, and the amount of cereal and green veggies she consumes, we are at a loss to why this is a problem for her...

The bad news, part I- SHOTS. I'm not sure who hates shots more- Little A or moi. She was a trooper, but 4 shots and a toe stick later, I was a wreck of sorts. She did really well last night, but today she is running a bit of a fever is feeling and acting crappy, in general.

The bad news, part II- our Dr. literally scared the living $@!& out of me about H1N1. If you remember, I was already up in arms about the entire situation. Well, things calmed down in the media quite a bit, but apparently, I should be WAY more concerned than I am currently...

Doc proceeded to tell me that his prediction is that the worst for Kansas will come in the next 30 days. The vaccination won't be ready until the end of September, and then you need 2 doses to be fully protected... bringing us to around Thanksgiving time... as in, too late. He predicts a 40% infection rate. 40%!

He spoke of a 27-year-old male, laying in a Wichita hospital, currently clinging to life. They do not expect him to make it. Oh, yeah... and he was perfectly healthy weeks ago. Did I mention that part?

When I told him that I worked for PAT and did home visits, he became noticeably uncomfortable. He suggested that I buy a mask. And wear it. I'm sure my families would just love that one... He suggested that reschedule visits if anyone has any cold symptoms. He said to limit our socialization in the coming months. Mom's Day Out... let's not even go there.

Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck. Hell, I am a nervous wreck. I was practically in tears over the phone to Tyler. It's just that he was so serious. And somber. It was like he wasn't trying to scare the crap out of me. But, in a way, he was.

I hate not having control over things like this. How am I supposed to protect myself and my kids from an airborne illness with a predicted 40% infection rate? Ideas?


Once I got over the initial shock of the H1N1 newsflash, I was able to calm myself down a bit and plan the the rest of our awesome day!

I planned a mom/daughter date night for Sassy and I. It's something I've been meaning to do for a while. I think it's really important to spend some one-on-one time with each of the girls, and I think that the wake of Little A's first birthday left the perfect opportunity for me to pour some attention on Sassy and make her feel like the special princess that she is!

After rests, we both put on pretty dresses and some make-up. Ty took a few pictures of us outside before we left:





We went to the mall first. We returned a few of Sassy's fall outfits that I wasn't too crazy about, and we went to Build-A-Bear. I know, I know... we were just there. But, when I sat down and thought of all the things Sassy loves and what she would really appreciate out of all the potential activities, BAB came to mind. So, we went.

They still had the deal going on, so Sassy chose an animal, an outfit, and some shoes. They had a new animal since our last visit, the WWF wolf. I tried to convince Sassy to make her wolf a boy, because they had the cutest little football warm up suit and gym shoes. And, it just happened to be orange and blue... not unlike our favorite football team... but, Sassy wasn't having it. So, a cinderella dress and ruby red slippers it was. (She wasn't heeding any glass slipper advice, either). Oh, and the wolf's name... Cinderella Wolf. How original.

Next, we hopped on over to The Gap, where Sassy was allowed to replace some of her returned outfits with a few long sleeve t-shirts... of which, she actually needs. She made some great choices... including a shirt that says I travel by tippytoe. For any of you that know Sassy, this couldn't be any more true...

After The Gap, we headed over to the 13th street Warren for a showing of Disney's new movie, Ponyo. It was weird. But cute. But weird. In any case, Sassy enjoyed it. And a small popcorn. And a lemonade. And some twizzlers. Yes, it was a special night, indeed.

Afterwards, we were off to Target... returned some more clothing that we didn't need, and purchased some gift wrap for our weekend of birthday parties!

Stopped at Dillon's. Picked up diapers, pull-ups, and some beer for Tyler. Classy.

Finally, we made a stop at Applebee's (as promised) for a very late (9:40 pm) dinner date. Sassy gobbled up some mac and cheese, while I practically inhaled my chili lime chicken salad.

We made it home at around 10:30. Sassy was SO tired, but we took one last picture to commemorate our evening of adventures:



I ♥ my sassy girl...

5 sweet tweets:

Mae said...

I'm glad I'm not the only mama worried about H1N1. I'd totally planned on doing MDO this fall - both for myself & for K because I thought it'd be good to have time like that without me. I've been dragging my feet on it though because I'm worried about exposing her to it unnecessarily. I don't intend to stay holed up in the house for all of flu season of course & I know there's only so much I can do but I'm just not sure MDO'd be a good idea for us. I dunno... :(

Anonymous said...

So I have not been the least bit worried about H1N1, but reading your post almost scared me a little bit...My boys have always been so healthy, I think I'm kind of in denial that a serious illness could actually affect our family. "No, that would never happen to MY kids"...Maybe I need to change my tune...

Shaila said...

I must admit I haven't been too concerned about H1N1 but my kids have been sick twice with the flu already and it's only August! I called their doctor both times (so 4 times total...I'm sure she thinks I'm crazy) and the symptoms are just regular flu. Nothing to be concerned about. It does make me stop and think that it's going to be a rough flu season though! Hand sanitizer!

Shannon said...

Oh a happy note, I'm glad that Little A is doing so well! I know how hard it was for you, but she's growing big!

Secondly, I agree with you on H1N1. And you want to hear the REALLY scary part for moi? Because Bubba is allergic to eggs, he cannot get the flu shot...and because his brothers are too young to test, they can't either. Which is why I'm not too sad that Bubba is on the wait list for preschool and probably won't get placed til spring. I don't know, I hope it's better than expected!

Alyssa said...

Oh, I am scared to death of H1N1. I talked to my doctor last week at T's 2 year checkup and she said to bring the kids in if they have any sort of runny nose or fever. I said to her "do you realize how many kids you are going to have coming through here??" and she said they were bracing for it. She said you HAVE to catch it in the first 48 hours to have the best shot at the best recovery. My plan of action is just a lot of doctor's visits...