update

Noah is feeling much better. We are on day three of the antibiotics. He has been sleeping better, and his fever is gone. So, hopefully, he will get to enjoy the rest of the summer. The tricky thing now is to get him to take his medicine for the full ten days. He really hates it. I bribed him with ice cream this morning to get him to take it. Now usually, I'm not a fan of rewarding or bribing with sweets, but Noah could really use some fattening up after barely eating for a week.

As to my sub-par parenting this week, I just feel like my intuition is off, you know? Last month I took Molly to the ER because she was very uncomfortable and squirmy and whining a lot. She had gas. And yet, it takes me a week of burning fever and no eating to call a doctor for Noah? Like I said, just off.

I seem to be taking good care of #3 so far.

confessions

It has been a hard week. Noah has been sick since last Thursday. He was in bed with a fever Friday through Monday, then decided he was well enough for Mini-U (day camp) on Tuesday. Then he was in bed again Wednesday and Thursday. I finally took him to see the doctor yesterday, and he has a raging ear infection. They also took some blood to make sure nothing else is wrong.

I have done my best to be a good parent this week, and found myself lacking.

I should never have let him go to Mini-U on Tuesday. At the very least, I should have checked on him at noon that day and taken him home. By the time I picked him up at 4 o'clock, he was absolutely grey. He was just so keen to go. He loved Mini-U last year. I think if I had kept him home one more day, he would have been fine, maybe. Sometimes the choice that makes the kid happy at the time is the wrong choice.

Even though Marc or I has been home all week with Noah, Molly has gone to daycare. It feels a little bit like we've been shuffling her out of the way. Of course, she really likes it at daycare. She gets to play with her friends and go to the park and be her happy little self. At home, she just wants to wrestle Noah who's fever has made him sensitive to touch. I find that even when she gets home, I still want to put all my energy into caring for the sick Noah. I hate it that it has taken a conscious effort to shift focus for a little while and pay some attention to Molly who is so happy and bouncy and fun.

Oh, and I've been cranky about getting up in the night to take Noah the water that he asks for like 100 times.

my other big kid

I recently posted about all the big kid things Noah is doing. Molly has moved from toddler to little girl just as quickly it seems.

She takes off her own shoes and coat and puts them away. She sings her own little songs. She can climb up the ladder to the slide holding a teddy bear in one hand. On Sunday, I watched in amazement as she climbed up the slide part for the very first time. When she's on a swing, she tries to pump her feet. She is now sleeping in her own room. We read her stories and walk away, and she's usually asleep within 5 minutes. Her speech is really coming along as well. I was a little worried since she didn't say that many words when she turned two. She's now speaking in sentences and has interesting things to say. One of her favourite phrases is "Molly's turn". And the weird thing is, she understands the concept of taking turns. If we tell her it's Noah's turn to play with something, she'll hand it over (um, most of the time).

the end

Molly is not napping anymore. She's only two and half, but she's done with naps. Not that she didn't enjoy a good snooze in the afternoon. The problem is she enjoyed
it way more than going to bed in the evening. No matter how short the nap, she would be up until 10 or 11 at night - obviously tired and a danger to herself and to others.

So, the naps are no more. Bedtime is great! By the time we get home from work and daycare, she is extremely tired. We have had to change our after work routine. It used to be that I made supper while the kids played, then after supper I would take them up and put them in the bath while Marc did the dishes. Molly is having a hard time staying awake until supper is ready, so now one of us bathes her while the other cooks. The bath revives her enough to eat, then she is ready for stories and bed. It is so nice to have her lie down and listen to stories instead of trying to grab the book and throw it at me or smother the cat with it!

We usually read 3 or 4 stories then she rolls over and falls asleep around 7pm. Pinch me! Knock on wood. I'm enjoying it a lot!

it's official

I bumped my stomach as I was closing the trunk of the car yesterday. I am officially a big pregnant lady.

Yes, faithful readers (who are not in my family or on Facebook!), it turns out there is room for one more after all. The new addition is due December 11th.

The plan this time around is to have the baby at home, possibly in the water. In fact, the presence of a birthing pool is the only way I would even consider birthing in my dining room again.

I have the same midwife who caught Molly. Marc is going to get the "precipitous birth" talk (i.e., how to catch your own baby). So far all is going well. I am past the nausea for the most part, but baby insists on regular meals and snacks. He/She is fond of sugar - watermelon, chocolate milk, ice cream - wait is that me or the baby? Anyhoo, I'm tired of this he/she business. This babe needs a nickname. Any thoughts?

Noah in the summer of 2008

So, all of a sudden, Noah's a big kid, really big. He can ride a 2-wheeler with no training wheels. He can do the monkey bars (and skip some of the rungs). He can get the water pitcher out of the fridge and pour himself a drink. He can make his own peanut butter and jam sandwich. He can swim. He can follow Lego instructions without any help. Wow.