A Month of Stuff, aka "When Life Gives you Lemons..."

I've been wanting to post something over the past month, but have not had the time due to a variety of things.  There have been several ups and downs, all the while my stress levels have not seen a decrease.  So, here's a brief summation:

Up - Smurf 3 finally came home!  He is on several medications but we're able to maintain them and keep track of what's needed at what times.  He is more alert and active than he was in the hospital, and his siblings are CONSTANTLY checking on him.  When I say checking, I mean they: talk to him, hug him, kiss him, want to hold him, read to him, rub his head, give him his bottle/pacifier, etc.  It's a little overwhelming at time, and we have to continue reminding Smurf 1 and 2 to give him some space.

Down - I've noticed that since he's been home it's been hard for my wife to get into a rhythm with the other two Smurfs.  She spends most of her time with Smurf 3 (which is expected), so i'm monitoring the others.  This means I do most of the homework, cooking, cleaning, laundry, bathing, and bedtime with them.  So of course if she reprimands them or gives directions, they ask me if they can do it (which bugs both of us).  I'm trying to keep them to a routine and integrate Smurf 3 into it, but because he hadn't been home long we have to worry about his health and safety.  ugh.


Down - the hospital we were at sucked.  Well, the hospital itself was okay, but the nursing staff in the NICU sucked.  If you ever have a young child that needs to go to a hospital, DO NOT take them to a teaching hospital.  I don't care what kind of experts they have, the day-to-day pains of dealing with ignorant, crappy, and uncaring nurses is not worth it.  They get rotated each shift, so it was rare to have the same nurse two days in a row.  That sucked because they wouldn't know Smurf 3 and would try things that, if they had been there before, would know did not work with him.  Or they were lazy and didn't care (or at least gave that appearance).  There was one nurse who was so lazy that she spent the entire time on the computer doing a wedding registry.  Luckily my wife was able to sit there all day with him, so she was able to advocate for Smurf 3 and call the nurses out on what they were doing.  If it wasn't for her, they would not have moved as fast or informed us of what was going on.  The staff there (doctors and nurses) would try to talk around or over my wife regarding care and progress instead of with her, and so she started speaking up and dictating what they would and would not do.  If she hadn't, he would have had several unnecessary procedures and probably would still be sitting there. If possible I do not ever want to go there again.

Up - No jealousy from the siblings.  As I mentioned earlier, they are constantly checking on him and want to help take care of him.  I haven't seen any signs of jealousy; it makes  me proud. However...

Down - they do worry about him.  Each day I pick up the Smurfs from school they ask if he's still at home or the hospital.  If he coughs or make a noise, both immediately stop whatever they are doing to check on him.  They are diligent that he gets his medications as well (remember, they are only 3 & 4).  It makes me sad that they worry about him because of the lengthy hospital stay, and at their age they should be having more fun than worries.  This leads into the next thing...

Down - Today we had to take Smurf 3 to the ER.  He was having some fast breathing for the past two days, and this morning while drinking a bottle he started crying again.  He then turned purple and had trouble breathing.  I tried to clear his airway and give pats on the back, but they didn't work. My wife did rescue breaths while I called 911, which seemed to work immediately.  At the hospital every test is turning up negative (which is no surprise given his history), lungs were clear, heart was strong, etc.  They suspect an upper respiratory infection because he did have some mucus and required oxygen for saturation and reduce his respiration rate.  So right now he's in PICU at the hospital with my wife.  I'm at home with the other two Smurfs and had to explain to them why he was in the hospital.  I told them he got sick and the doctors wanted to check him and let him stay for a few days to make sure he was no longer sick.

Up and Down - Vising the hospital was fine for the Smurfs.  They actually took it in stride and asked a few questions; otherwise they did not act bothered.  After the visit, however, Smurf 1 told me he was nervous about going because he thought Smurf 3 was going to look bad.  Smurf 2 just processed the situation by talking out loud to me and her brother was asking for reassurance.  That really broke my heart to hear the both of them, but I reassured them that everything is okay.

Up - My wife is holding up better than I am.  She was freaking out when he turned blue, but working together helped her out.  She said she's now just hanging out there with him, watching t.v. and waiting.  Also, the doctors at the hospital (which is the one we prefer) have been upfront with everything, asked questions, gave information, and have been receptive to feedback.  Right now it's a waiting game until he is well enough to go home.  Me, i'm a basketcase because i'm not there.  However, it's easier for me to be with the other two Smurfs because we have a routine that works for us.  If I was at the hospital I would annoy the hell out of everyone with constant questions. Plus, I cannot sit still for any length of period unless i've got busy work.

Up and Down - no idea what i'm going to do for work.  As is, with doctor appointments, Smurf 3 coming home, and keeping up the home (which still looks awful) I'm not doing as much work as I should to bring in money.  Since my job ends soon, I need to figure out what i'm going to do to at least have some income.  However, I've gotten to the point where I just don't care and have decided not to stress about it.  If i work, I work; if not, then "oh well." 

I've been reciting a hilarious rant in my head to keep me sane over the past month. It works some of the times, but I should probably replace it.  It's Cave Johnson from Portal 2.  It's a rant about life giving you lemons and what to do with them.  I'm going to keep trying to keep my head above water and not go crazy on someone (although I did come close today).  Wish me luck.

She's Home! aka "Welcome Back, Welcome Back, Welcome Back!"

Yay!  The wife came home on Friday.  Although it doesn't change the level of burden I have, it's such a relief to just have her around.  Since she's still recovering I am still doing everything around the house (having to force her to sit still and stop trying to be superwoman) and with the kids.  She finally recognizes that she has to go slowly, so I'm running with the Smurfs, doing baths, household chores, etc.  However, it helps that she can take them for rides and join us to help watch them while they play.

Smurf 3 is doing very well for being premature.  He's now doing more oral intake of breast milk and will probably be started on a bottle by the end of the week.  His bloodwork is great and he's responding to our voices.  My wife spends more time with him because it's easier for her to visit him and me stay with the other two Smurfs, which works out well because i'm afraid to hold him at this time.  He's small enough that I worry about applying too much pressure to his body, so i've decided to wait until he's able to bottlefeed to hold him.  That way he should be bigger and stronger.  I'll get to see him every evening, which will be nice.  Hopefully he'll be home in 4 weeks or less.

Smurf 2 is just... Smurf 2.  She's so into wearing dresses and having her hair put up in certain styles.  What happened to my truck-playing, pants-wearing, daredevil little girl?  And she's only 3!  At least she's into spicy foods and has almost no qualms about trying new foods.  It's funny to watch her eat chips and hot salsa at a restaurant.  Her artwork is pretty good, and the patience she puts into her work is amazing.  I like the stories that go along with her pictures, and she often will redraw a picture several times in order to make it perfect to her.

Smurf 1 is such a hyperactive kid.  I think his mind works a lot like mine and he has a hard time dealing with his brain moving faster than his body.  I've been showing him various coping methods for kids that seem to work.  He's showing emerging reading skills because I was able to get him to sound out several short words.  He was quite happy to be able to read a few words (dog, stop, bus, cat, school, exit, and camp), and he can definitely write any word we spell to him.  His math skills are pretty good too, but could be better.  He can add and subtract up to +2 in his head but cannot do it on paper.

So today while my wife visits Smurf 3, I will have the kids outside playing on a sprinkle mat similar to this.  Also, i've got some water balloons, guns, and bubbles.  I'm hoping to wear them out enough to take an early nap (early for them being before 4 p.m.).  I need to finish some outdoor work, laundry, dishes, dusting, cleaning the bathrooms, etc.  I've got to work it out with my wife on how to divide the chores again because i've learned that I can't sit still now and just relax; I see everything that needs to be done and get the urge to just go at it.  If I sit still I start to fall asleep due to boredom, so it's back to taking care of things for me. 

Misspoken Words of the Day
ratberry/rasblueberry.

Ramblings, aka "Another Day, Another Way to Stress"

So Smurf 3 is doing well.  There were some concerns about his liver functioning and potential brain bleeding, but all scans come back positive.  He still bruises and bleeds easier than he should, but it's getting better. His platelet count has stabilized and is improving, so he should not bleed as much.  It appears the same issues that my wife had are showing up in him, but they are definitely getting much better.  His suck reflex is very strong, so even though they have a nasal feeding tube in him they are giving him drops on his lips and in his mouth along with a pacifier to get him used to the coordination of eating and breathing.  And he is not on any breathing machines and such, so things are going really well for him.  However, I can't bring himself to visit him for long in the NICU.  It's a combination of the hospital (this hospital is great; I just hate hospitals), wanting him out of NICU, him being fragile so i'm afraid of accidentally hurting him (I have a hard time judging my strength), and then having to watch over the other Smurfs.  They cannot visit him because of their ages, so they stay with Momma Smurf in her room.  However, she cannot handle them as easily right now, so I try to limit myself so that she is not having increased difficulties.  Last time I left them, when I returned both Smurfs were in the hallway and had been trying to follow me when I left.  I know there are more serious things that could be happening and so i'm trying not to stress out my wife and the kids.  But I am going to have to find some time to shower.

At times my Smurfs irritate the hell out of me, and others they are cute.  I had a bit of both yesterday, but i'm not going to get into them.  I do like the fact that I can now explain things to them, wait about 20 minutes, and then check to see if they understand.  Granted, I still do a lot of misdirection or distract from questions which are difficult to answer, but overall I'm finding that by talking to them I get to increase their vocabulary and problem solving/critical thinking skills.

I hate eating out.  I used to like it, but I just don't like most fast foods anymore, and I don't like going to restaurants (although my Smurfs are very entertaining when they're not whining).  If I had a new grill at home I don't think I would ever eat out again. However, my wife likes to eat at certain places and the kids like to entertain other people, so I put up with it.  It just sucks that I can't order a true medium rare steak with the blood and juices coming out; I miss that.

Fun Times, aka My Kids are So Cute!

Even though I'm stressed on a daily basis, my kids do things that makes me forget everything for a little while.  There aren't any grand gestures or amazing things that they do; it's the ordinary stuff that make me smile.  For example, whenever they're walking (and getting along), sometimes they will hold hands and walk together and talk about making sure each one is okay.  Smurf 1 will also help Smurf 2 out of her carseat if I ask, and they always hug afterwards (I can just see the sugar oozing out of their heads!).  One of the best things is when we go visit my wife (now known as Mommy Smurf or MS), they like to hide things behind their backs and give to her as a surprise.  It could be anything (toys, socks, food, the newspaper, maps, etc.), but the look of joy on their faces to give Mommy Smurf a present sends a smile to my face and makes me forget about all my concerns.

Something else we have been doing since they were young; we name parks and playgrounds by what is there so they can easily identify things and tell us what they like.  There's the bus park (there's a play bus there), the drum park, the train park, the airplane park (because it's near an airport), the sand park, the castle park, Julian's park (near a school friend's home where they had a birthday party), and the inside park (which they don't really like because, well, it's inside).  We also do the same thing with the malls ("play store" and "bookstore" are two of them) and museums ("play museum", "bone museum" and "earth museum").

So now they plan out fun things they want to do; I'm only told about it right before we're supposed to go.  Apparently Smurf 1 and Smurf 2 discussed it, decided where to go, and i'm only told when I'm needed to provide transportation.  So there have been some heated discussions (as heated as you can get with a 3 & 4 year old) about what will and will not happen.  I'm trying to teach them how to plan ahead, although I know at times that can be a hard concept to grasp (especially for Smurf 2).  So right now as it stands we are going to several places tomorrow and Saturday, but not Sunday (according to Smurf 2).  Why?  "Sunday we are supposed to rest."

The Twilight Zone aka "Me, Myself, and I"

So with my wife potentially in the hospital for the next 5 weeks due to severe preeclampsia, I have become the part-time stay-at-home dad.  So far she has been there for almost 2 weeks now and is trying to convince them to allow her to leave for a few days just to break the monotony.  My kids, Smurf 1 and Smurf 2, have adjusted a lot better than I have.  Smurf 1, who will be 4 tomorrow, had a harder time at first because he hates hospitals and doctors (like me!). Smurf 2, who just turned 3 last month, doesn't seem to worry about it as much (or at least doesn't show it).  Once we told them she was having a baby and was not sick, then they both seemed to be happier about not having their mom at home.  Here are some of the questions I've been asked since they found out:

- Why is she having a baby at the hospital?

- Did she eat a baby? Is that how it got in her stomach?

- If she didn't eat it, how did the baby get in her stomach?

- What's the baby's name?

- How is it going to get out?

- What's his name?

- Does he eat food?

- Can you open your mouth so I see him? (asked while he's looking in my wife's mouth)

- Can I play with him? (asked while tapping on my wife's stomach)

So now i've taken over her jobs at home, which is quite a lot.  We had everything split as far as chores, responsibilities and such.  But now i'm taking care of everything, and since I organize things like my thoughts, things can be chaotic at home.  Plus i've still got to work 30 - 40 hours a week (somehow) while taking them to daycare 4 days a week while cleaning, cooking, shopping, planning meals, dealing with in-laws (oy vey!), and dealing with crisis situations (so far 3 days of scrapes and bruises).  I stress but i handle it okay because I also know that my wife is struggling as well because she has to be away from us and is not relaxing at home.  Oh well, time to make breakfast and get everyone ready for school.