I thought I would give an update on Sammy for my own records, if nothing else.
He had a fever of 102.5 the day after we took the casts off. If the casts were still on, I would have been concerned about possible infection, but everything looked good on his legs. I have no idea where he picked up whatever he had, but I was just relieved that no one else came down with it--especially Helene.
On Saturday, he was pretty out of it and vegged on the couch most of the day, but did make some walking attempts, albeit only very timidly and with the assistance of the furniture. His fever was still pretty high that day and he was so sad about it. I felt so badly for him...he finally gets his boots off and then he gets sick.
His fever was gone by Sunday morning, but I still kept him home from church because it had been less than 24 hours since his fever had gone away and I didn't want him getting anyone else sick.
He's been walking more and more this week, but he still can't keep his balance very well and prefers to hold someone's hand or hold onto something. The other issue that has come up is that he is drastically turning in his left foot while he walks. REALLY turning it in...it reminds me of how Kevin Spacey walked in The Usual Suspects (great movie, BTW). I'm not sure if he is doing that to help his balance issue, but the turn in problem is pretty much the reason why we did this last surgery and it needs to be addressed ASAP.
As of today, in addition to turning in his left foot, he is still very unsteady on his feet, cannot do stairs or even maneuver a small curb without holding onto something, and walks extremely slow. He was so frustrated today while we played at the park and asked me "why am I so slow?" It just breaks my heart time and time again.
So, it's back to CHLA on Thursday for an evaluation and I already have a physical therapy appointment scheduled for Friday if needed. School starts in a month and I don't want him still having walking/balance issues when starting out at a brand new school. And don't even get me started on my school woes--they are a plenty these days, but I just can't deal with them right now.
And I've been passive-agressively potty training Hannah. It needs to be done before preschool starts, but it has been such a game and never-ending power struggle with her that I am just done with it--without ever "officially" starting. I think I just need to take the plunge and put her in underwear and tough it out for a day or two...or a week. I know she can DO it...she just would rather see me tear out my hair. That girl can dish out some serious sassiness.
Helene, while still my sweet and serene baby, has become so grouchy at night. It all starts around 8pm and nothing makes her happy. She'll fall asleep and then wake up 45 minutes later screaming. She never wakes up screaming during the day or in the middle of the night...only between the hours that the older kids are in bed until I finally go to bed. Maybe she's just trying to get me to go to bed before 1am.
I went to movies with my friend Jean last Thursday night, and was gone from 9:15pm-12:30am (Harry Potter...long movie!) and Samuel said Helene screamed and cried the entire time. I fed her before I left and left a little bit of breastmilk for Samuel to feed her if he needed it. When I finally got home, she was literally shaking from being so upset and had a scratchy voice from crying so hard. No clue what that was all about, and yet she STILL wouldn't go to sleep until after 1am. I thought for sure she would have passed out from exhaustion from all the crying the minute I took her to bed and nursed her, but nope. It was so unlike her. I felt so badly for Samuel--nothing worse than a crying screaming baby. I'm sure that's the last I get to go out without her for a long time.
Anyway, here's hoping that this coming week is better and that Sammy can make some progress with his walking.
8 comments:
Sorry it's still so rough, but glad you've already got appropriate appointments! Hopefully you'll be able to get the help you need.
As for Helene, I would count back 6 weeks or so and see what changed in her/your life. She could just be manifesting that psychological change now. Strange, but it works.
Camryn was doing the same exact thing Helene is doing!! It was SOOO annoying. She'd sleep great during the day, and then a few random nights, when bed time rolled around she screamed bloody murder, and the only thing that would make her stop was nursing. Even if I had just fed her, she just wanted to suck. (Too bad she HATES pacifiers!) We finally figured out that the days she didn't take good late afternoon/evening naps would be the nights she'd scream. I think she just gets overtired and then it's too hard for her to settle. Good luck! There is nothing worse than a screaming baby!
P.S. Good luck with potty training and Sammy's feet! XOXO
Oh Doris!!! I'm so sorry that Helene was so upset while you were gone! I didn't see that coming either - she's always so mellow. The same thing happened to me last summer when I was in a wedding -- Tim and I left Weston with Tim's mom, and he went six hours without eating because he didn't want a bottle. He cried and freaked out most of that time, but had fallen asleep by the time I got home. When I woke him up to feed him before putting him down to bed, he shook and sobbed the saddest little cry. He was starving. AHH! That's so stressful. Babies are so confusing sometimes.
It sounds like you have a lot of crazy, difficult things going on right now, with Sammy's walking issues and Hannah's potty-training and all those school issues. I'm so sorry -- let me know if I can help with babysitting or anything else. I know you're in a crunch, but this will pass!! Sammy may not be walking perfectly by kindergarten, but it's a month away so he'll probably be doing much better than he is now. And I know the potty will click for Hannah - hopefully without too much more sass!!! Until then, give me a call whenever you're freaking out and you need a Dots fix or some In N Out or just a big hug, k? :-)
I'm so sorry to hear all the trials your family is passing through right now!! Perhaps Sammy is turning his foot because that is how he used to walk? Sorry Hannah is giving you so much grief with the potty--you know Ira's story, at least he hasn't had an accident AT school (it's only been a week though). I wish you well and hope to see you soon! Hang in there!!
Sorry that it's been so rough for Sammy. I really hope you get the answers you need for Sammy at your appointment.
I think Hannah is a few months younger than Tatum, and Tatum and I struggled until last week. She finally peed in the potty and will now tell me when she has to poop to put a diaper on her. And a week before that, totally nothing. So there's hope. We had the same power struggle, and then she decided to do it completely on her own. I don't know if it was just a coincidence, but both of my kids got it at 3 years and 2 months. Hang in there.
You're a great mom! Hang in there.
We pre-potty trained with Michael for so long, it is hard to say when we actually "started". I really wanted him to be able to do certain things like washing his hands, pulling down his pants, flushing the toilet, etc so that when we finally gave up diapers, he didn't (and I didn't) get overwhelmed by all of the little tasks that go along with it. Sticker charts and rewards (he chose both stickers and rewards) worked well for Michael during the whole process. HE chose to do it because he wanted.
Good Luck!
So sorry things are so rough right now! Hang in there! You are a great mom!
UGGGGGHHHH. So sorry. I hope the venting helped (a little?)
I'm curious to see what the doctor says tomorrow.
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