Under the Weather

Well, the good news is that she doesn't get sick often.  The few times she gets sick you can bet it's on a weekend.  Fever followed by a cold. Not so bad....well, except for the fact that we had plans to attend a super fun 4 year old's birthday party and I managed to let a precious convince me to let Gianna spend the night and part of the weekend with her and her kids to give me a little breathing room.  Well, that went to pot with the fever that began.

We've already been a little stir crazy lately, but the whole sick thing really did both of us in.  Of course the Children's Clinic dissuaded us from coming in on Sunday (Does that irk anyone else? I figure if I'm paying the bill, they shouldn't question us being seen by a doctor. Grrrr.) I got irritated and took her to Urgent Care here in the Bluff (which is quite a colorful story in itself which I'll save for another post.)  Long story short - she was given antibiotics and we stayed under the radar for quite a few days, missing birthday parties (she cried for DAYS) and ballet and other fun opportunities of freedom.  We did have a few entertaining moments at home throughout her convalescence.

Silly, Silly sick girl:

Should we stay or should we go?

Going to the doctor.

I never quite know when to take Gianna in to see the doctor.  I know when it's OBVIOUS, but really she hasn't been 'obviously sick' very often.  I don't want to waist my time and their time if it's nothing. I think of all the sick kids in the waiting room and wonder if it's worth exposing her.  (Am I the only one who thinks about these things?)  I don't want to be an alarmist, but I also don't want to overlook something that could be serious.

To clarify yesterday's 'blech' post, she only got sick once after her morning milk. I might have made it sound like she had a horrible stomach virus.  She doesn't.

So I ended up bringing her to the doctor this morning. Symptoms: low grade temp for a little while yesterday, one ick sick episode, not eating much for about four days. "Ooooh, really?" the doctor says, "Could be strep."  Doggone it. That never crossed my mind.  Didn't know those were possible symptoms.  Sure enough ---- red throat.  Tested for strep ---- negative.  Did blood work and doctor said numbers were pretty good, but there was definitely something going on - slight as it might be.  The test showed a little bit of viral and a little bit of bacterial going on....but not enough to treat. Her body's definitely trying to fight off something.

She wrote a script for the end of the week if she worsens or gets fever.  I love our doctor.  I love that she's conservative and proactive.  I love that she doesn't make me feel like a moron. 

Oh -- and I told her about the mosquito bites incident and she said Gianna's not allergic - just highly sensitive.  An allergy would produce a much more severe reaction no matter where the bite was.  Good to know.

So this post isn't really necessary except I wanted to have it for as a note to self future reference when I'm trying to decide whether or not to bring her in to the doctor. 

Here ya go, Maria:  BRING HER IN!

So, here's a little prize for you for reading this boring post.  I laughed so hard at the subtitles that I am now wheezing.

Watching the Rain

As she was recovering from Sunday's exciting morning, Gianna and I watched the rain from our front porch.

Hooray for rain!

She sported her lovely hospital anklet... 

....and her still-puffy eye.

This is more the reduced puff.

Thank heavens, nothing seemed to bother her or slow her down.

Same ol' happy toddler.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On Monday morning it was looking much better.  Swelling slowly reducing:

One might expect the Benadryl would sedate my sweet girl like it does most people.

As luck would have it, Benadryl apparently has the opposite affect on Gianna.  Along with the Benadryl, I'm sure the steroids she's taking create quite a Hyperactivity Cocktail.

Case in point....

Oh what fun!

That was just the benign hyperactivity.  She saved the crazy LOUD stuff for later.

(Only 3 more days of the meds - heaven help us.)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After lunch, she asked for a popsicle. I obliged.

(They're my tasty homemade pear popsicles from the pears off our trees!)

They were the quietest 15 minutes of my day.

E.R. (not the tv show)

This was taken yesterday morning just before Iain took Gianna to Sam Houston.

He told me when they returned that that the mosquitoes were bad, so they cut their trip short.  We noticed several bites on her.  They were red and swollen.  We suspected that she's allergic to mosquito bites.  She's only gotten a few over the last two years (which is pretty amazing in SW Louisiana) but they've all been red and swollen.

Amazing what a tiny little mosquito can do.

One tiny little mosquito, bit our tiny little girl on her tiny little face and left her with a not-so-tiny little bite.  As yesterday went on, it seems to get more swollen.  Last night at about 2:00am, I happened to go into Gianna's room to check on her (which I almost NEVER do because she is an extremely light sleeper.)  Sure enough, she popped her little head up saying, "Hi Mommy!"  I picked her up and rocked her for a minute before I got a glimpse of her left eye. I turned the light on and was surprised by how swollen it had become. 

I brought her into our bedroom to show Iain.  We gave her some Benadryl and after a hilarious little slumber party, put her back to bed in her room.  I went it in to get her this morning at 7am...and her eye had complete swollen shut. UGH!

My poor little prize fighter.

We called Iain's brother who's a pediatrician in FL, but he wasn't available, so decided to just bring her to the E.R.

We may have well taken her to Disney Land. 

 Everything is an adventure for her.

She was an entertaining little patient for the staff...asking them to listen to her heart and look in her ears.

Checking her heart rate.

Playing with their equipment.

The doctor came in (same doc that saw Iain during his "episode" earlier in the year who told me, "Hmm....that's puzzling. I'm going to go ahead and release him but if you can't wake him up again...just bring him in.")

This time he said,

"Oh wow. Yeah....well I guess she's allergic to mosquito bites."

I can't wait to find out just how much we'll be paying for that diagnosis.

"Not much you can do about that, except avoid getting bit."

Oh, okay Doctor. That ought to be a real cinch in Louisiana.

He suggested Benadryl - which we'd been using with no success.

He gave her a steroid med. and a script so we're awaiting promising results, but so far, 3 hours later - it still looks pretty bad.  She still looks cute though.  The nurse said not many people could pull that look off - but she made it work for her. :)

Oh, and while we were waiting for the doctor to come in, Iain's phone alerted him to an email from our insurance company that a claim had been made for Gianna.  The doctor hadn't even SEEN her yet.  How funny is that?  They're on the ball in the billing department!

I'm so glad that my sweet girl's first visit to the E.R. was minor, positive and drama-free. I just keep on thinking of parents who live in the E.R. and hospital for heart-wrenching illnesses and injuries.  I'm am counting our blessings for our healthy child.

Does anyone have any good suggestions for bug repellent for kids that is deet-free and doesn't smell like they're wearing bug repellent?  Does Avon's Skin So Soft still work in that regard?

Paging Dr. Lewis, STAT(s)

"I two!" she squeaks in her sing-songy voice. We couldn't manage to teach her to hold two fingers up without the others popping up, so she uses her two index fingers.

I really thought I'd dread the onset of the "twos" but I was surprisingly excited to enter this new exciting age. Oh, and as I realized that today is the first of the month (she was born on the first of July) I'm reminded of how I'm enjoying the milestone of being able to measure my daughter's age in years as opposed to months.

Two Year Stats:

34 inches (although 2 weeks later she measured 35 inches - who knows?)

28 pounds (measure 29 pounds two weeks later)

Have I mentioned how much we ADORE our pediatrician?  Although we have not had any serious medical issues (thank heavens), she has made our healthcare journey absolutely pleasant and easy.

When I kept my friend's infant son for the first three years of our marriage (Mommy Boot Camp, as I like to refer to those years), I often took him to the doctor when his parents couldn't get off work.  It was great because I got to screen pediatricians during our visits.  I personally know the majority of the pediatricians who work at our Children's Clinic and would feel comfortable using any of them as our doctor.  But, the first time I brought Hunter to see Dr. Decker (whom I had not met before) --- I just knew that's who I wanted to care for my own children.  She was thorough, agressive, gentle, proactive, and completely validated my questions and concerns, answering them completely, and treated me with such respect - even though I wasn't the mom.

Well, Gianna adores her as well.  When I tell her we're going to the doctor, she lights up like a Christmas tree.  "Dr. Deckah?" she inquires. "Yes, we're going to see Dr. Decker," I tell her.  Then we usually hear, Doctah Deckah. See her?  Sit on lap? Listen to heart. Thu-thump. Thu-thump. Look in ears. Look in mouth....Ahhhhhh.  Look in nose. Give hug. Stickahs?" 

Doctor Decker gets a pretty big kick out of Gianna, too.  When we went for her 2 year well visit, and Gianna was playing with all her "doctor tools" when she wasn't doodling on her prescription pad, Dr. Decker looked at me and asked if she had a doctor kit.  I told her that it never occured to me to get one.  "Oh, she needs one.  This is the perfect time." she said. ~ I'm sure she was thinking that we'd better start preparing this brilliant little munchkin for medical school now. :) ha.

So when Aunt Dana called and asked what to get Gianna for her birthday - we had the perfect idea.  She found a little doctor kit (actually I think it's more of a costume with props)  and Gianna loves it.

She must be giving the H1N1 vaccination.

Gianna has a special affinity (and gusto) for giving shots. 

She's got great bed-side manner...

...and is very loving to her patients.

Chart looks good. 

No more STATS for another year.

Wow....that's change.

** At the end of our appointment, Dr. Decker said, "I hate to have to tell you this, but from here on out, it's only yearly visits."  I told her not to worry.  We'd be sure and make up some excuse to come and see her.  Two weeks later we were back....much earlier than I expected.  It seems my little fish has swimmer's ear.  She said that those children who like to splash a lot and go under water often are more prone to it.  Yep, that would be Gianna. Not so much a splasher, but definitely a dunker!

FYI:  Did you know you can make your own Swimmer's Ear solution?  1 part alcohol to 1 part white vinegar.  A few drops in each ear after swimming.  The alcohol dries the water and the vinegar kills/prevents bacteria.  Sure beats the sixty buck we had to shell out for the tiniest bottle of antibiotic eardrops.  Yikes.

Trip to the Dentist

A little conversation we had last night:

Me:  Gianna, tomorrow we're going to the dentist.

Gianna:  Dennis?
Me:  Den-tist.  We're going to see Dr. Moses.
Gianna:  Mowess. Awww.  So tiny. Cute.
(Quick pause to try and figure out what she thought I said.)
Me:  (realizing her train of thought) No Gianna, not baby Moses from the Bible story.....Dr. Moses. He's not a baby.
Gianna:  Big boy!
Me: Well, he's actually not a boy.  He's a man. A big man. He's going to look at your teeth.
Gianna:  Big man? See him?  Hug him!

Our last dentist visit was an emergency one when she fell and broke her tooth.  I was a little tentative about how she'd react this time, but she was amazing.  She did everything they asked her even when she was notably nervous.  Dr. Moses told me that most 3 year olds don't do nearly as well as she did, much less 2 year olds.  Good girl, Gianna!  After her exam, she got off the table and ran to the dentist and said, "Hi Moses!" The girls got a kick out of that. Then she said, "Big man." :)

We got to the office at 8:35 for her 8:40 appointment.  We left just after 8:45.  Ca-ching!  She left with all the fun stickers and trinkets. They couldn't have made it easier or more pleasant. 

Fall Down - Go Boom

Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised:  but I am.  Last night Gianna was toddling at her typical breakneck speed….and fell.  Not an uncommon occurrence with her – but she’s a tough little cookie, so there’s usually little to no drama involved.

But last night,  she fell and popped her little mouth on the floor.  My husband was with her and I was in the bedroom.  I heard the cry (another unusual occurrence) and came to check it out.  Wouldn’t you know – part of her front tooth was missing. Ugh.  I could tell she wasn’t in serious pain, but my heart just sunk as the thoughts in my head started swirling:  “It’s just a baby tooth. Thank heavens she’s okay.  Her smile --- her perfect signature smile!  Okay, there are thousands of parents with their really sick or hurt kids who would trade places with me in a heartbeat. This wouldn’t have happened if I were here.  Wasn’t her dad watching her?  I know better than that – these things can happen right in front of your nose and there’s just no preventing some things.  We don’t even have a pediatric dentist yet.”  And on and on and on…

She’s doing fine today.  I’m doing much better too.  I am continually surprised by my reactions to various happenings after becoming a mom.  Some things that I would expect to affect me – don’t. And then some things I never though would bother me – do.  Just trying to keep things in perspective. 

After getting a ton of great recommendations of pediatric dentists from my Facebook friends, I decided to make an appointment with one whose been around forever and whose family I know well.  I googled his name, found his office and called for an appointment.

“Hello.” answered a man on the other end.

“Oh, I’m sorry I must’ve dialed the wrong number.”

“Well, who were you calling?” he asked.

“Oh I meant to call Dr. _______.”

“Well, this is Dr. _______.”

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry, I don’t know how I got your direct line.”

“Oh, you didn’t, this is my home.”

GASP!!! “Dr. _____, this is Maria (maiden name) and I looked up your office number - - and I have no idea how I reached you at home.”
”Oh, no problem, it’s listed wrong on the internet and we don’t know how to fix it – people call here all this time.  The office is closed this week anyway.  What can I do for you?”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Are you kidding me?  What medical professional is that accessible these days?  Without even knowing who he was speaking to and without even being a patient yet, he was willing to see her if it was an emergency.  God Bless him!!!  I already love him.  He’ll told me what to look out for and he’d fit her in on Monday.  I love him.

Before:

After:

*sniff *