Home from Day-Care

Patrick had a rough week while we were on vacation. His allergies kicked in while we were out of town. Lots of coughing and medication later, we got home ... noticing a mild rash that may have stemmed from a new tooth coming in (yes, those two factors do seem to go together somehow).

Now, he has picked up something else that is causing diarrhea (think changing the diaper every fifteen to thirty minutes) which has irritated the rash ... taking things to a whole new level.

I got called by Patrick's day-care part way through my work day; severe rash and five diaper changes that were getting progressively more painful due to the consistency ... thankfully, I am a good trainer and my students were working through the launch of the software extremely well. I called Jen and left ... I had to stop by and swap vehicles since she had two things in her vehicle that I didn't in mine: the car seat and air conditioning (necessity with a sick child and consistently 90+ temperatures).

I called the doctor, who is on vacation ... the other doctor in the office had me get Aquaphor and Maalox. Apparently, these two can be gotten pre-mixed as a prescription (but, I am smart enough to mix them in a zip-lock baggie myself). This mixture is to be used at every diaper change, as well as we have to take him off milk (which he has not wanted in over six months) and acidic foods. Oh, yeah ... and more fiber too.

If Patrick is not better in two days, I have to call back.

All that in a five minute phone conversation before I got to Jen to swap cars. Cars swapped ... and I was off to the store to track down the chemicals for my science experiment. If that doctor had known me in high-school, this might not have happened.

Two laps around the store and a consult with the pharmacist and I was able to check out and head to day-care to get my little-man.

At day-care, they upped the diaper changes total to eight in four hours.

I stepped into the room to find Patrick sitting at the table with his fellow students (eight kids in seats mounted into the table top). Patrick is sound asleep; face down on his hands ... exhaustion. I almost wanted to leave him there. One of his fellow students tried to help wake him, shooed off by the day-care workers.

Patrick had enough energy to wave goodbye as we left. He took his sippy-cup, finishing half on the ride home ... saying little and generally staring out the window.

Once we arrived home, his energy picked up ... he walked, drank, ate, and played (destroyed the living room). At one point, I caught him as he managed to stand (yes, both feet on the seat) on the Hot-Wheels Cycle with one hand on the steering wheel. Other than the constant diaper changes, he was back to his usual self.

He is sleeping now, so as I finish this I am heading off to relax and watch television as he sleeps nearby ...

Family Time with Shoes

Last night was cool. Patrick was in a playful mood ... dumping food and drinks all over the place, sneaking toys over the back of the couch (then getting upset when I passed them back to him), and climbing over everything. He also got a family game going ... with everyone ready for bed, he had us put his shoes on, then Papa and Mama had to put on their boots. It was all very funny and exciting ... mostly watching his intensity. Then, we had to follow him ... around and around we went. Through the kitchen, into the dining room, through the family room, past the front door and into the kitchen again ... over and over, around and around ... stomping our feet in some sort of family train! Every now and then, Jen or I would fall behind and invariably, Patrick would stop to make sure that we caught back up. We played other games, as well ... but we always seemed to head back to the train ... oh, and don't forget the shoes ...

Getting Involved

This is the second night in a row that we were able to spend time and Grandma and Papap's ... Patrick enjoys it so much! We even had a rousing rendition of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" with all five of us involved ... yes, Patrick is pitching in now. He runs from person to person, giving a bit to each one of us ... there is never a dull moment. Tonight, he repeated a new activity from last night. Last night, it was getting everyone involved in chasing him around the house ... tonight, we had this activity, but what we saw was that he wanted to play different games and wanted certain people involved. This is when he went to each person that needed to be involved and grabbed a finger, pulling them along. He even checked every now and then to make sure they were still following. Such an amazing child ... knows how to ensure that we sleep well.

Painful Bits

Yesterday was a long work day ... I would have said a long day at work, but I was there, headed home, then had to return in the evening to work with the evening shift. I got home early in the afternoon and basically did nothing. I tried to nap ... to no avail. When Jen got home with Patrick, I basically had time to eat dinner, then head out the door again. The truly painful part was Patrick and Jen standing on the front porch ... with Patrick screaming, reaching for me as I drove off. I heard his screams until I well out of sight. According to Jen, as soon as he realized I was not coming back right away, he stopped yelling ... turned around and started playing with the doorbell and the screen door. His discomfort lasted significantly less than mine did ... I was ready to head home for hours. What focus!

Fatherhood

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