Tired but still thankful

There have been a lot of unpleasant things to deal with this week....


1)  Erik's terrible allergic reaction....

He is on day 3 of prednisolone.  He still has hives but they are about 75% improved.  I have been able to cut back on the benadryl a little -- sometimes giving him 6mg instead of 12mg but he still needs it every 4-6 hours.  He will be on the prednisolone through Thursday.  I am hoping the hives are completely gone by then and don't get worse when we stop them.  We have seen enough of the ER.

2) Elaina's double ear infection....

She is still miserable.  The antibiotics she is on (omnicef) are giving her terrible diarrhea.  She has pooped 20+ times since yesterday even waking up in the middle of the night with a dirty diaper.  She threw up once this morning from it too (first time the baby has ever thrown up). 

3) Poorly run pediatrician's office...

I called this morning to try and make a follow up appointment for Erik.  We are supposed to be seen this week and as I mentioned I am quite nervous that his symptoms will come back after the steroids are finished since his hives are still present.  They told me the earliest they could see me is next Monday.  The entire office is closed for the week.  What?!  Nice.

To top that off I told them about how miserable Lainey is on the antibiotics and asked the receptionist to please leave a message for the pediatrician on call so we can switch it.  She said that wasn't possible but I could make an appointment for her on Monday (approx. a week from now).  Right!  That's an acceptable option.  She said the only way we can get her different antibiotics is to have her seen in the office which is closed until Monday.  If we can't wait a week to change her antibiotics we need to take her back to the Urgent Care/ER.  I asked if she was going to pay my $100 deductible for all ER/Urgent Care visits.  She didn't find that amusing.  Seriously who has to take a baby back to the doctor just to have them switch to a new antibiotic.  Not standard practice at any other clinic we have been seen at.  So now I am left with a baby with 2 red, infected ears terribly miserable from the antibiotics with no good option to get new drugs.  I am going to try to call and talk to the after-hours on-call doctor tonight to see if he/she is any more helpful than the receptionist. 

4) Phone trouble...

Today at the playground an little girl was trying to drink from our water bottle which was in the back pocket of the stroller.  Her mom took it from her and put the water bottle on top of the stroller which happened to be open and right next to my (very expensive) phone.  I didn't realize this until we got home only to find that my phone had been sitting in a deep pool of water for 30+ minutes.    It will not turn on and I am certain will need replaced.  We do have it insured but I am fairly confident they don't cover water damage.  Wonderful.

The other mom has no idea what happened and is really nice - not her fault really but so frustrating.


Anyway, it has been a very looong week.  However, never for a second will I forget how grateful I should be for all the blessings in my life... loving and hard working husband, healthy kids, new baby on the way, beautiful new house, ability to stay home with my kids,  supportive friends and family.  My heart is especially sad for my cousin's family who truly has to search for (and finds) reasons to be thankful this season after their sweet baby Jake died.  Give those you love an extra tight squeeze this season for the moms and dads who can't hug their babies until they see them in heaven and try not to lose sight of how wonderful your life is even when things seem not so great.  It's helps to keep things in perspective -- at least it seems to help me.  Happy Thanksgiving - if I don't update again before that.