Misery loves company, so CHOMP

A few weeks ago, E and I took the kids to KidVenture, a local indoor playground. We picked a day we knew traffic would be low, packed snacks and lunches, and made a morning of it. The kids had an absolute blast the entire three hours we were there.

Sadly, while they were having fun they also managed to pick up the cold virus from hell. Two days later, they were all oozing, sneezing balls of misery. Then they gave it to E and Todd.

The following Monday, Micah started biting kids at his daycare. It was an awful week, culminating in him actually drawing blood on Thursday when he bit his best friend on the back. Friday, we left for Atlanta where we stayed until Monday morning, and so I was spared a phone call telling me my child had finally snapped and shivved a classmate with a toy truck axle.

This week, I had a Plan to cure Micah's behavior. It involved a chart depicting each metric, spaces for stickers when he did what he was supposed to, and a reward if he went all week in each category. I got his daycare teachers in on it, and we posted the chart on the wall in his classroom under his hook. To my surprise, it actually WORKED. He went the whole week with only one small scratching incident and one kicking episode. For a 3-year-old, that's pretty much above average.

But I still couldn't figure out what had sparked the whole biting spree to begin with. It wasn't until this Thursday evening it finally hit me: what in the past has made Micah turn into a raging asshole with no other discernible stimuli? EARS.

I called the doctor yesterday morning and scheduled an appointment. "Symptoms? Uh, he's being a jerk? Fever, no. Pulling at his ears, no. Told us his ear hurt, NO. He is being a turd. And he's not eating well. Yes, I realize he's three."

Sure enough, both of my symptomless child's ears are infected. He joins the ranks of his cousin, aunt, and father, all of whom also currently have ear infections. Today, after one dose of antibiotics and with a bit of ibuprofen in his system, he's clearly feeling much better. I'm just wishing I'd figured things out sooner. You know, BEFORE he tried to bite everyone in his class. Not to mention the whole suffering-in-silence-for-days thing.

Anyway, he's on the mend now. I suppose I can cancel that rabies shot I had scheduled for him and return the muzzle. Turns out we won't be needing them after all.

Two Months

Weight: 12 pounds, 9 ounces (+6 pounds from June 23)

 

Length: 24.5 inches (+5 inches from June 21)

 

Likes:

• milk
• milk
• MOAR MILK OMNOMNOM
• baby gym
• bouncy seat
• Lady Gaga's Telephone
• ceiling fans

 

Dislikes:

• swings
• sleeping through the night
• letting Mom take a shower
• William Faulkner novels

 

New Skills:

• cooing
• spastically batting at colorful things
• intent cross-eyed staring
• sleeping for 4 to 6 hours at a time
• SMILING!

Pictures, because words take time

My cousin Laura knitted Aerin an adorable hat. Aerin wears it pretty often after baths, but I can't put it on her to go outside unless I want her brains to boil. I'm hoping it will still fit her when the weather finally cools off. You know, in November. Of 2012.

Joe and Re-Naye, the realtors who sold our old house, gave Aerin a very fancy outfit. We're talking smocking, bloomers, a bonnet, the whole nine yards. Now if I only had an excuse to dress her up in it.

Well, an excuse other than "I have a camera, I'm bored, and Aerin can't run away yet."

Also, I was finally able to snag a picture of a real smile. Aerin's been grinning pretty reliably for about two weeks now, but she doesn't seem to find the camera very amusing. You think she'd be used to it by now.

Big Brother

So, it's been almost seven weeks now and several people have asked me how Micah is doing with all this. It's kind of mixed - he's awesome with Aerin, but, predictably, he's been having a rough time dealing with the reduction in attention.

The first day in the hospital, Micah kissed her on the head, tried to feed her some of his Cheerios, and sang her Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Nothing much has changed since. He still wants to kiss her on the head and lightly touch her face or hands at every opportunity. He comes in to tell her good morning every day, sometimes even before she's awake. He shares his lovey and his blanket with her. When it's storming, he tells her, "It's okay, Baby Aerin, it's just thunder." When I was out of town last weekend, he told Todd he missed his little sister. He seems to genuinely love her.

On the other hand, although we've tried our best, it's mathematically impossible to spend as much time with Micah as before, and we've started to see him react over the last few weeks. It started with whining, moved to defiance, and then shifted into tantrums over the littlest things. The week before last was especially bad, I think because we were delegating more of his care to Abby, so he was getting even less attention. Todd had to endure several I Am Disappoint chats with the daycare teacher, including one in which she described an incident where Micah was observed grabbing two fistfuls of his best friend's cheeks, in order to yank the friend in close so he could yell at him more efficiently. In response, we worked it out so Micah stayed home with Todd while I was in Hendersonville last weekend for a friend's baby shower. After a full two days of undivided attention from his dad (and some seriously fun activities out of the house), last week was much better. Micah stayed out of trouble at daycare, obeyed us consistently, and (most importantly) didn't try to rip anyone's face off.

Another thing we’ve been working on with Micah is "use your words." It's mostly because neither of us can tolerate the whining "NUH" all toddlers seem to use to express displeasure, but it's worked out really well. I can't tell you how many potential tantrums we've diffused over the last week simply by letting Micah explain why he's pissed about something. It doesn't generally change the outcome, but he feels better having said his piece. It's not a magic bullet, but he hasn't had to go to time-out once so far this weekend, and that's a minor miracle.

One of my favorite bloggers recently said, "I guess there's always a moment or two, after you have another baby, when you look at your older child and think 'OH GREAT. I BROKE HIM.'" That's pretty much what happened with Micah. But like most older children, I think he's getting over it and adjusting to the new normal.

And at least he hasn’t tried to off the baby yet, unlike his mother with her baby sister. Ahem.

One Month

A bit overdue, as Aerin will actually be six weeks old tomorrow, but here is her one-month photo.

We had to take her back in to the doctor on July 20th so they could re-stick her for the PKU test, having not got enough blood the second time they jabbed her (don't get me started). While we were there, I had them weigh her. In a mere three and a half weeks, she went from 6 pounds 9 ounces to a hefty 9 pounds 14 ounces. Clearly, I am producing straight butter.