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 ...

What If?

Jen and I have asked ourselves few questions along the way ... I'm sure there will be more, but here are some of the answers we have found: What if he drinks the bath water? He might feel queasy or get diarrhea if the water is soapy, but he will not have a problem with germs unless he bathes with someone else, says Philip Tierno, Ph.D., director of clinical microbiology at New York University Medical Center, in New York City, and author of The Secret Life of Germs. Wash children one at a time, and try not to let them drink the water. What if he sticks his finger into a socket? Standard household current would give a child a mild shock, similar to that from static electricity, says Liza DeWitt, M.D., a pediatrician at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee. The child would be startled and probably pull his hand away, but electrical skin burns can still occur. What can be more serious is not pulling away immediately, which can put him at risk of internal o...

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.

Playing On The Stairs

We were playing near the stair from our kitchen to the lower level. Patrick had a squishy toy we bought for him a few weeks back. When it hits something, it flashes brightly ... he loves it. He was tossing the toy down the stairs and I was flipping it back up to him, often bouncing it off his head or chest. The laughter was incredible ... so much fun. Then, he made a run toward the stairs to get in a good toss ... and I knew he was in trouble. He tripped as I launched myself up the stairs ... just in time to catch him before his head hit the first step down the stairs. As Jen came around the corner to see what all the commotion was about, I was just getting my nerves back in order and began lifting him back to his feet. He let me hold him for a few seconds then, seeing his mother nearby, his tears stopped and he stretched out for her. ... so much fun!

Fatherhood

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