SOOOO sick of CHERRY!!

Well....we are still alive....barely- but alive.

We have checked our bank account and came to the conclusion that we have spent just under $100 in 2 days on co-pays and prescriptions for Brandon. IN 2 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

So- that means there is a story. Especially with a headline of "SO sick of CHERRY"

Yesterday morning Brandon was cuddling with me in bed around 8am and he rolled over and all of a sudden screamed bloody murder. I couldn't figure out why. I picked him up and nothing seemed really hurt. I looked at his face and he wouldn't open his eyes. I let him calm down and he still wouldn't open his one eye. I figured he poked his eye and I was right. It swelled up immediately and got beat red and runny. I decided to wait and see what would happen throughout the day before rushing to the doctor in a panic. I had an appointment for the next day any how so I would just wait it out. Finally at 5pm he was still crabby and hadn't eaten or had his bottle all day. He just wasn't himself. I knew something was not right. I looked at his eye and it was almost totally swollen shut and red. I decided to drop everything and take him in.

The Dr. put a dye in his eye and there was a significant scratch on his cornea- the black part of your eye that is the most sensitive. However, there is really nothing she could do about it. She wanted to give it 24 hours before she did anything (which was fine that we kept the appointment for the next day). So then she peeked in his ears and just checked him out and his ear (just one of them) was bulging and very infected. He has been fighting this for a couple of weeks now. The re-prescribed his antibiotic which was fine because that would help his eye too. The cells in your eye heal fairly quickly and if it wasn't better in 24 hours then we would need to see a specialist. One co-pay done and one prescription done.

Onto today. We kept the appointment and Rob was able to come with me which was good. This appointment was to discuss sleep. However we needed to cover many things now. First things first the dr. was very pleased with his eye. He didn't see much of the scratch left which means there is no significant tear or reason to see the specialist. Thank goodness! Then his ear was still fairly red and the dr. (this is a different one from the night before) wanted to give him a special ear drop to numb his ear since he thinks that his ear is causing a lot of pain and discomfort. Keep counting with me...another co-pay and another prescription!

We moved on to the sleep issue. He wants to rule out tummy issues so he gave us another prescription for zantac. All these meds will be taken at the same time too. I agree that we need to figure the sleep issue out and rule out the tummy issue. Since zantac doesn't hurt you if you really don't need it- I was all for it. He said to get over the ear and eye issue before we start our sleep routine he gave us. However we can still start small with it. SO...for the next month or so we will be holding to a routine of certain items to rule out anything medical. We are trying to adjust behaviorly with the sleep deal before we do extensive tests to rule out any further stomach issues or allergies or any other medical issue. We are doing this because it is easier on Brandon as well. I would much rather work on this for a few weeks than put him through tests and screenings for allergies or any other medical issue. However he does want us to give infant Motrin and gas drops as well before bed and every 4-6 hours. No prescription for these- but more meds. AND he wants to do both Motrin and Tylenol. This now totals 2 co-payments and 3 prescriptions and one OTC item we needed to get.

Motherly love is sometimes having to tap into your 'personal' budget to care for medical items for your child (even though we have budgeted medical every month fairly high for this reason).

To explain my title of this blog....most of these medications are wonderfully flavored like bubble gum (his antibiotic) or cherry. Right now my son is sleeping soundly with 7...yes 7 different medications in him. When was the last time you had 7 medications in you at one time? As concerning as that sounds...I was worried until I realized they all interact with each other just fine and they are simple medications. BUT.......I can't stop smelling cherry! It's like I have a cherry icee under my nose all the time. ICK! My kid is a cherry!

As for the sleep situation we need to be tough so we can rule this out. I hope it works so he doesn't have to move on to more medical tests. We have had to bring him in our bed in the past to sleep with us and the doctor today said that at this age he should not be sleeping with us at all. I agree with him but we just needed a few hours of sleep. So- we won't be doing that anymore. Babies at this age should not be sleeping with their parents and I fully agree. He does come in to bed with us at 6ish to cuddle and love up and cat naps for an hour.

The next 2 weeks are crucial. The first priority is to get over the ear issue. He wants to see Brandon again on Friday or Monday to make sure that ear is going in the right direction. After this ear heals a little bit we will get more serious about the sleeping behavior. Right now, the dr. said, he is in a lot of hard core pain and he needs to be comforted. Once we get serious about the sleep issue it is mostly going to be hard for Rob and I. He mentioned to try and divide up the night which we are going to try but we might also need a sitter during the day to watch Brandon so we can sleep. So we might be searching for sitters soon. He thinks if we stick to this it should work in 7 days. I am confident we can do it. I do think the last few weeks of the sleep issue have been due to his health. The dr. said that ear infections in infants are severely painful and the pain is waking him up. If this sleep technique doesn't work then it is something more and we will go in and start running allergy tests or any other tests we need. I am confident it is more of a behavior thing. The dr. said he normally doesn't see this too often in babies Brandons age. It is more usually getting to sleep and he was very impressed Brandon can put himself to sleep. He also thinks he could still be sleeping when he starts whining and crying and he could just be a loud sleeper or dreaming. That could very well be since I have gone in there and his eyes are still closed like he is in a deep sleep. Our goal is that he remain in his room from 8:30/9:00 pm to 7-8am. We aren't allowed to take him out of his room or have him sleep anywhere other than home. We will see what happens. I am keeping a new sleep log for him. I am going to use it to torment him someday...maybe when he is a teen and wants to sleep all the time I will keep waking him up and say it is pay back for when he was a baby....just kidding I would never do that. But I would show his first date really funny photos of him trying to eat his dads hat today.

So-that is where we are at with his eye, ear, and sleep. OH- he got a shot today too and cried just when the needle went in and out (all of 4 seconds) and then he stopped immediately. He didn't even cry when I ripped the band aid off tonight. That tells me he can tolerate pain okay so this ear thing is obviously bothering him.

I will post photos soon!

As for US...we are a little tired. Brandon screamed from 8:30-1:30 last night! He was in pain and not well at all. This was before the numbing drops so we just did what we could. I did talk to an RN on call at mid-night and sent Rob to the store for some medicine. He eventually fell asleep on me while I was sitting upright on the couch. The tiredness will go away.

My back is so-so. I think the steroid injection has helped. I am not in total pain all the time but if I am moving a lot or lifting then I will be. I will go back to the surgeon in a week or so to decide our next route! I am still taking Vicodin but usually once or twice a week. This is much better than I was. If however things get worse then surgery will be a high option. For now, we can avoid the surgery and take it day to day. My dr. has been great about re-fills for muscle relaxants and vicodin.

My moms expo is only a few days away. It will be on Twin Cities Live tomorrow afternoon. KARE 11 might air it again on Saturday. Let me tell you- I am SO excited for how much we are going to raise for this family but very happy it is almost over. As for my new non-profit I started, Moms-2-Mom it has gotten positive 'reviews'. I have one mom that really needs help as her home recently burned down (it was a duplex and the neighbor didn't put out his cigarette and the house burned down). She is a single mom of 2 kids. I also have a number of other organizations that want to meet with me and help/partner up. I had an email from a golf course and they want me to do a benefit there this summer for another mom. And I have had contacts in the south metro ask about a Moms Expo down there. I even have a place that would donate the space. SO- we are moving along. I am forming my board of directors after this event and will be running full steam ahead. I obviously am not taking a salary right now with this new non-profit but maybe some day I can. I am still working at Simply Retail but we are all working out of our homes- which is GREAT and not-so great. I love the convenience but that also means I dropped daycare for Brandon. That saves us some funds. I will now be able to do Mommy and Me classes and other things. I am waiting a couple of months first. He will be in swimming lessons (this spring) and lots of other fun things. I love being at home and working- but there are days when working full time for Simply Retail, working almost full time as the president of a new non-profit and being a full time mom and housewife is exhausting and overwhelming. I need to be careful I take breaks and get away and have time away from Brandon. If I am with him 24/7 I don't get any alone time and I have learned that isn't good-for me or him. We will continue to see how things progress with that. Other good news (kinda good news) I have had 4 people very interested in taking over the lease on my car. Yes, it is good news as the payments are high (we can afford it but why?) as well as it is the worst car to have with a kid. It is my dream car (Pontiac G6 Hardtop convertible) and I love it (especially in the summer with the top down) but imagine putting Brandon in and out of that thing...doesn't work too well. I will proudly bundle up and drive around with the top down one more time before I say good-bye.

As for me, I am now saying good-night...I need to sleep now even though Rob wants me to play Rock Band with him! He is sometimes my #2 child- but I love him dearly for it.