Murphy's Law

Sick Sophia with her pink blanket & baby tiger

Of course, just as my Mom left for much needed vacation in Mexico, all 3 of my children got the flu. Cleaning up vomit & diarrhea, keeping everyone hydrated & pumping breast milk for Jacob for the past 2 days, I hardly had a minute to myself. Luckily the kids tolerated the flu well. Sophia who initially complained of fever & chills & spent her time by watching cartoons & snuggling on the couch with her blanket & "baby tiger," started to feel better on the 3rd day.

Gerritt & Jacob also bounced back quickly. I knew the children were on the road to recovery when they organized a group play using the Tonka truck. The truck was big enough to allow them to take turns sitting in it. Although the thought of the truck potentially flipping over with one of the kids ending up on the ground crossed my mind, I didn't stop them. I felt they could use some laughter after the last couple of miserable days.

I kept a careful watch as they pushed each other around the living room. Even Jacob surprised me with his strength by pushing Gerritt all by himself. Goodbye flu, hello happiness!

It's Not Over Yet

Sophia with her Russian nanny Irina


Ice cream time with Daddy (notice that Sophia is standing all by herself)


Gerritt burying himself in freshly dried laundry (It was really funny hearing him yell for help. I keep being surprised at his imagination - he can create a game out of nothing, it seems).


Sophia's new favorite game - playing with a balloon (She can do it for up to an hour at a time)


Gerritt organizing his cars for the night (This process involves much precision & concentration - which side is this trait from, I wonder?)

Just as I was getting ready to have a well-deserved rest after 2 difficult & busy weeks, both of the kids & I developed signs & symptoms of viral gastroenteritis (or, commonly called, the stomach flu). Poor appetite, nausea, intestinal cramps & diarrhea started on Monday morning & lasted until late Tuesday for Gerritt & I, & Wednesday evening for Sophia. Constant washing of sheets & clothes (even the biggest diapers couldn't hold the large volumes of diarrhea - I apologize for the grafic nature of my description); grumpy kids & my constant worry about keeping them well-hydrated - you can just imagine. Thanksfully, this stomach flu was nothing like the one Gerritt experienced when he was a baby (constant diarrhea every 20-30") when he became lethargic & almost ended up in the hospital for IV hydration if not for my forced liquid feedings with a syringe. I thought I had food poisoning at first, however, when the kids developed diarrhea as well I said to myself, "Oh, no... Not this! How much more can I handle?" They say God will never give you more than you can bear, so we have weathered this storm as well. I didn't even have to call sick for work since my Russian nanny took care of the kids in our home.
On a good note, today I got clinical privileges to insert & remove the implantable contraceptive rod called Implanon all by myself. I saw a patient from Australia who's had it for 3 years & she was so happy with it, she wanted the old one removed & a new one placed, so I did both under the supervision of my Assistant Director of the Clinical Services. Another service I can offer to my patients!
Gerritt & I continue our evening reading sessions & this is the list of his favorite books from the past few weeks:

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by B. Martin & E. Carle
The Best Pet of All by D. LaRochelle
There Was an Old Monster by R., A. & E. Emberley
Suzy Goose & the Christmas Star by P. Horacek
I Took My Frog to the Library by Eric Kimmel
Ready for Anything by Keiko Kasza
Do Your ABC's, Little Brown Bear by Jonathan London
Nicky and the Rainy Day by Valeri Gorbachev (one of my favorites)

It is just amazing how he never gets tired of reading the same books over & over. And if I attempt to shortchange him (read only 1 or 2 books instead of the usual 4-5) because I am tired, he catches me every time. :-)

Difficult 2 Weeks

Daddy & Sophia laughing


Gerritt, Anna & Kate snuggling on the blanket outside


Sophia standing! (she has been doing it for a few seconds at a time, then crashing for the whole past week, walking is definitely not far off)


Sophia sleeping in the stroller outside (this was yesterday & she slept for FOUR hours, sleep deprivation is catching up with her too!)


One of my favorite sleeping pictures of Gerritt (he usually sleeps on top of his brown doggie (instead of a pillow) & holds a hot item of the week (book, car, sippy cup, plastic ball, etc). This week it happened to be his monster truck. :-))

I've had the worst 2 weeks in a long, long time. I feel like I am about to loose it from all the unexpected stress. Let's see... What happened?

- A telephone fight with my Mom ending with her hanging up on me (don't even ask, it's a long story)
- ATM skimming incident resulting in someone taking $300 out of my checking account & all of the resulting time-consuming bank/police paperwork/phone calls
- My nanny announcing she was underpaid by $40 last week even though I am pretty sure I paid her correctly
- The whole family being sick with a terrible cold (the type that goes into your sinuses & chest & causes nasty, dry cough lasting for weeks at a time) & resulting sleep deprivation from Sophia waking up every 1-2 hours (the only way she was able to sleep for longer than 2 hours was in almost upright position in a semireclined stroller)
- I didn't receive my Nurse Practitioner license renewal notification & by the time I realized this & mailed the required renewal documents, it was too late to receive the license on time, causing me to miss a week of work & a disciplinary report from my manager
- To top all of these off, yesterday I was backing out of my driveway & hit a lady parked right by the mailboxes (no one ever parks there in the mornings, however, she works for the US Census Bureau & was waiting for my neighbors to come out), resulting in about $1300 damage to her car (I should add that I was sick & very sleep-deprived & running late for work)

All of this in addition to the usual of Gerritt refusing to be potty-trained; me eating only 2 meals a day (if I am lucky; most of the things I attempt to eat are taken away by Gerritt or Sophia) & feeling hungry while working; & Gerritt being really clingy & wheepy in the mornings while saying, "Mommy stay," causing me to run late for work most of the time. Unbelievable! Can these 2 weeks get any worse??? This is a definitely a sign that I am overworked & juggle too many responsibilities. I worked for almost 5 days this week (Tuesday - Friday with a half-day on Saturday) (and that's with calling in sick on Monday for the hospital shift). I am in the midst of ultrasound training, which requires a long commute to a different clinic. With Sophia being sick & unable to sleep this whole week, I am so sleep-deprived, my head is spinning & my ears are ringing & I have a hard time concentrating (only another parent would understand). It is impossible to do it all, especially with such young children. Everything I do I want to do well, & I am just spreading myself too thin. "Slow down" & "Take care of yourself" are my mantras for the next few weeks. My husband took Gerritt & Sophia to his Mom's with an overnight stay today. Hopefully, one afternoon & night free of the kids would be enough time for me to recharge my batteries.

UV Radiation Protection & Sophia's Roseola

Today I worked my last evening shift as a nurse at the Evergreen Hospital Medical Center. What a relief! These past 3 days I had a really heavy patient assignment (2 total-care demented "screamers," 1 patient who couldn't stop throwing up, & another one who had several MRSA-infected wounds (he was my easiest one)). Today was the type of a day where you don't use a restroom for 8 hours, take a short dinner, & no breaks (there is just not enough time). All 4 of my patients were diabetics, so I had to check their blood sugars before dinner & at bedtime (8 total times!). 3 of them were poorly-controlled diabetics, so I had to call MD for new insulin orders. I also dealt with one patient's anxious family, treated another patient's dangerously high blood pressure with IV antihypertensives (resulting in more frequent vital sign monitoring), changed several wound dressings, put in a new peripheral IV, helped turn patients unable to turn by themselves in bed, & dealt with a multitude of various small tasks. I will certainly not miss the craziness of hospital bedside nursing & the overwhelming feeling of having too much to do in short 8 hours (while not accumulating any overtime & taking your full dinner break).
A couple of weeks ago I had a suspicious mole removed off my left lower leg. I watched the Dr. Oz show on signs of melanoma & made an appointment with dermatologist since my mole fit 2 of the 5 melanoma criteria (irregular borders & various shades of color). Well, the shave biopsy report came back as moderately dysplastic pagetoid conjunctional nevus (in lay language, moderately abnormal cells that have spread below the superficial layer of the skin), so now I need to go back for the 5 mm "margin control," or re-excision (to get all of the abnormal cells that may have been left behind after biopsy). Not fun! I will have a large ugly scar on my leg, not to mention the pain of recovery. I am just glad the abnormal mole wasn't on my face or ear. I tried to talk my way out of surgery after researching the subject on my own, but the dermatologist would not hear of it (she called the act of not re-excising a "malpractice"), so I will have surgery next Tuesday. I will need to be off my feet for several days. I don't have much sick time at my new Nurse Practitioner job, so I am planning on going to my 1st day of work on Wednesday. There is no way I could be on my feet all day while working as a nurse, but since Nurse Practitioners have many opportunities to sit, I will probably be OK. It looks like the year of 2010 is dedicated to taking care of my health!
Immediately after finding out the biopsy result I went online (Sierra Trading Post) & bought the UV-protective long-sleeved clothes for the children & myself. The Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) shows how well a fabric protects one's skin from solar UV. UPF ratings range from 15-50+. The clothes labeled UPF of 25-35 provide very good protection blocking 95.9-97.4% of the UV radiation, & clothes labeled UPF 40-50+ provide excellent protection blocking >97.5% of the UV radiation.
I will be wearing long-sleeved shirts & pants from now on to prevent any more UV damage to my skin. I am already taking vitamin D3 supplements, so vitamin D deficiency will not be a problem. Most of the skin damage occurs in the first 18 years of life so I'll be keeping a close eye on the kids for years to come. The article by the Federal Trade Commission has also suggested staying out of the sun between 10 am - 3 pm (even on cool & cloudy days), dressing the children for maximum protection (long-sleeved clothes & wide-brimmed hats), & wearing sun glasses to prevent eye damage.
This week Sophia went to her new daycare for the 1st time. She handled it better than I hoped. I was dreading our initial separation, but she got so busy playing with other children & toys, she didn't even notice me leaving. I called from work to see how she was doing on Wednesday & Thursday & got positive reports both times. Vladimir, the daycare owner, said Sophia is similar to Gerritt because she likes to eat & sleeps well. :-) I insist on packing her food from home since I want her to have mostly organic meat, dairy, fruits & vegetables.
At home, she is almost sleeping through the night. After the 2nd day of the new daycare attendance, Sophia slept from 7 pm until 6 am (!). I can't believe she'll be 10 months old tomorrow! Her two top teeths are almost out, so soon there will be 4 teeths all together. She really enjoys gnawing on a banana or a piece of toasted & buttered bread. Actually, that's one of my favorite ways to stop her from crying - just give her something edible to hold! :-) My other way of stopping Sophia's crying is singing to her. She especially loves "If you're happy & you know it, clap your hands. If you're happy & you know it, stomp your feet, etc."
In the beginning of March Sophia was ill with Roseola. Of course, I didn't know it was Roseola until the characteristic generalized rash appeared immediately after the fever stopped (the fevers lasted for 3 days). They say girls are hardier than boys, & Sophia handled it better than Gerritt did when he was a baby. While Gerritt refused to eat completely & got dehydrated, Sophia continued to eat, just smaller amounts. While Gerritt was lethargic & would probably sleep all day if I let him, Sophia refused to be put down & fell asleep only in my arms. I even watched a whole movie one evening while she was sleeping on my lap! The fevers were pretty scary (up to 104 degrees F), but we just gave her some Tylenol & Ibuprofen, & hoped for the best. Sure enough, she was back to normal as soon as the fever stopped & the rash appeared right after. She now has immunity to another group of viruses!

IBS Treatment Center

Gerritt discovers necklaces in his toddler class


Gerritt learning to cut "fruit"


Time to dance!


Gerritt graciously sharing his car with Sophia (surprisingly, we had a lot of fun in our back yard that day even though it was raining)


Gerritt's new love - the racing horse at the mall

Last night a miracle happened - Sophia slept continuously for 7 hours & 15 minutes (10 pm - 5:15 am)! After eating, she fell asleep again & woke up at 7:30 am. We are so ready for her to start sleeping longer. My husband jokes that when we start to get more rest we'll probably begin thinking of having another baby. :-) We are so thrilled to have our kids that those sleepless nights quickly become a distant memory. When a newborn enters the household again we will say, "What were we thinking? How could we do this to ourselves AGAIN?" Well, there is just no easy way to have children, & everything worthwhile in life requires hard work. It was inspiring to read about the study in the Journal of Happiness Studies finding that married women with children are happier than their single counterparts, & that the largest "happiness effect" is attributed to people with 3 children.
On Wednesday I had my appointment with Dr. Stephen Wangen at the IBS Treatment Center. I've been having gastrointestinal problems for years & have finally decided to address them. Dr. Wangen is a naturopathic physician specializing in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) & food allergies. Almost $900 later & after submitting my blood & stool samples, I have about a month to wait to find out whether I have intestinal parasites, yeast, abnormal bacteria, & food sensitivities to about 96 different foods. Perhaps there is more to my lack of energy & fatigue than having 2 little ones 19 months apart? Now begins the battle of having the insurance company to reimburse my medical bill since Dr. Wangen doesn't deal with insurance companies & requires payment from patients up front. He finds the insurance companies to be too restrictive in the kind of service he wants to provide. I would spend more if only he could get to the root of my gastrointestinal problems. I guess, I'll have to wait & see...