>Tuesday Tidbits are the posts where I sum up all the little things that happen in our lives from one week to the next; the little things that aren’t interesting enough for me to write an entire post about (though you all know I can spin a boring tale out of pretty much near anything), but which may or may not be of interest to you.
- Bug has another ear infection. Last Friday he began complaining of ear pain, but by that time the doctor’s office had already closed for the weekend, so Tony and I decided to keep him tided over with pain medication until we could get him an appointment on Monday. It must have been a crazy weekend; I called to book an appointment at 6:30am and the first available appointment with Bug’s doctor wasn’t until 4pm.
Our pediatrician prescribed another round of amoxicilyn for him but noted that she really didn’t see much of an infection in there, which was surprising given that no amount of Tylenol and Motrin together seemed to help him. He was miserable this past weekend; took no naps and slept awful through the nights. Last night was a bit better; he only woke up twice and didn’t come into our bed until 2am. Or 12. I’m not sure which. It was late.
Other news on this front: Bug and Bear now take the same dosage of medicine, because they fall into the same weight category.
- At Bear’s six-year wellchild appointment she weighed in at 38 lbs. and measured 43″ tall; in the 15th% for both. She was diagnosed with excema (she has patches behind both ears which we’re getting under control before we bring her to have her ears pierced, which is part of her 6th birthday present) and also as suffering from migraine headaches. I can’t remember if I’ve written about them here or not, but there have been two occasions so far this year when I’ve picked her up from school (one was an early dismissal, the other at the end of the regular school day) and she was complaining of an intense headache while seeing spots, an upset stomach/nausea, and an overall inability to move. Both times I brought her home to sleep it off for a few hours, and when she woke she was 100% better. It’s good to finally have an official diagnosis; I’ve talked about them with her teacher so that if she begins exhibiting symptoms there they can contact me to pick her up and bring her home ASAP to keep it from escalating to the point where she throws up and needs a higher dosage of Tylenol to help. I’m also trying to keep an eye out for triggers, though that one’s harder. We don’t eat many foods with preservatives or artificial colors; she gets plenty of sleep at night (at least 11 hours each night); she ingests no caffeine at all. Her last migraine was in early October; prior to starting school they only occurred every six months of so and I’m hoping they’ll return to that infrequent schedule for her again.
- Other school related news: I had her first parent-teacher conference of the year and it was glowing. Her teacher reported that she’s finding the academic work easy to understand and complete on her own but doesn’t at all seem bored with the material, and that she works really well with all her classmates, even those who are particularly challenging to have around.
The art teacher at Bear’s school chose self-portraits from four students in each grade to put on display in our base’s Community Center and Bear’s was one of those chosen from among the students in the six kindergarten classes. I took her after school one day to surprise her and she was so excited to see her work up there with all the big kids’ pieces. (Picture to follow on another day when I actually remember to bring my camera with me.) I’m not sure where her artistic abilities come from… certainly not from me or my side of the family. Tony’s not highly artistically talented either, so I’m guessing she’s taking after her Uncle Bobby or Grandpa.
An on-base rule requires that an adult or older sibling accompany all children age five or under when going to or leaving school grounds, but once they turn six they can walk by themselves. Now that Bear’s six, on the days that I drive her to school she simply hops out of the car at the drop-off area and walks to her classroom on her own, which she loves because she “feels like a big kid”. She’s always been very independent when it comes to leaving me for short periods of time, either when I’ve put her in daycare at the gym or when leaving her at any of her schools. I love it because it saves me about ten minutes in the mornings.
- On the subject of gym daycares, Bug is not a fan of me leaving him while I go to do my “exercises”. Last Friday he complained the entire way to the gym: “I don’t wan’ play with kids!”; when I left him he was bawling, tears streaming down him face and wails I could hear all the way out the door. When I came to pick him up a little over an hour later he was sitting in the rocking chair next to the door, just waiting for me to pick him up and bring him home. I asked the daycare ladies if he actually plays while he’s there, and they’ve all assured me that he does, but that as soon as the first mom comes in to pick up a child he gets in that chair to wait patiently for me. I don’t quite know how to feel about that.
His reaction to my leaving has always been very different from Bear’s; even from the time he was six months old he’s had a much lower tolerance for separation from me in unfamiliar (to him) settings. I’d start to worry about when we put him in his first year of preschool next year (?!?!) but I’ve got lots of other things on my plate right now that should have a higher priority. Like still waiting to hear about where our next assignment will take us. Or fitting into an acceptable dress for Tony’s holiday ball in a little over three weeks. Or figuring out how in the world to cook a real pumpkin for my Thanksgiving pumpkin pies since our commissary has apparently run out of the canned stuff. Or, you know… starting our Christmas shopping. That stuff.
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>I can't believe poor Bear has to suffer with migraines at six.As for triggers, you really should email my wife. She has a system all set up to email her when weather patterns change (hers are triggered by pressure changes) to warn her when they are coming. She might also have other suggestions,
Posted by SciFi Dad | November 24, 2009, 06:59>I started getting migraines in 10th grade, and they've changed in type, frequency, and trigger since then–so, even if you figure it out now, keep an eye out for changes. Chocolate and cheese can both be triggers, as well.
Posted by Anonymous | November 24, 2009, 11:03