From Ugh to Grateful

Well we didn't make it to Indiana...boo....ugh....boo. To all of you Hoosiers...we are very sorry, and very disappointed that we didn't make it up for the Festival of Lights. We had planned to leave on Saturday morning at 7am, but when we checked availability on Friday (we are the last on the plane) it had dwindled to nothing. So we decided to go Friday night at 8pm, knowing that would be much tougher on our Lucipea. Regardless, at 11am on Friday I went into superwoman mode, running around town getting gifts for the family Christmas gift exchange (we had planned to take our time shopping on Friday afternoon), washing clothes and packing for both myself and Luci. But when I got home from shopping Luci had just woken up and was a bit out of sorts...not playful or smiley at all. I nursed her and she proceeded to projectile spit up/throw up most of what she ate for the next few hours...while continuing to seem out of sorts. We checked availability again for the 8pm flight and realized there was no way we'd get even 2 seats together (one of us & Luci in her car seat), not to mention the 3 together we had been hoping for. The idea of one of us in a middle seat with a baby who was spitting up everything & awake well after her usual bedtime surrounded by strangers on both sides for her first flight was just too much...so we decided our first trip to the Midwest would have to wait. Ugh.

So what is up with my pea; I just don't know. She woke up Thursday with a rash on her chin, and by Friday it had spread up the left side of her face. Then the projectile spit up on Friday...I was calling all of my mommy friends for advice...at which point Amanda prompted me with 'any new foods this week?' We'll I realized I'm a bad mom and had broken the #1 rule of introducing solids...I had inadvertently introduced 2 last week. I switched to oatmeal cereal because she hadn't been enjoying her rice cereal. I also had given her a bottle with water & a tiny bit of juice because we had been planning to give her that on the descent into Indy. I hadn't considered the juice a new food, but surely it was. So maybe this is an allergic reaction to white grape juice? Or oatmeal cereal? Or maybe she is teething? Or maybe a stomach bug? Or maybe something all together different? She has been spitting up a ton since Friday and really isn't very interested in nursing (solids are on hold for a few weeks...or months). Her sleeping is also all messed up, compounded by the lack of the swaddle. Saturday night was the roughest night in a long, long time. After being awake from 2:40a to 5:30a (and Luci was still awake) I went into our room & starting sobbing to Clay. He promptly jumped up to help, even though he had a long day of working starting in an hour and a half. Finally after half of a dose of Tylenol she fell asleep...but was up at 7am. And 2 morning naps of 20 minutes each left me desperate to get some sleep. At which point Amanda called & I proceeded to tell her my tired sob story. Ugh.

Then Amanda told me why she was calling (aside from always just being willing to listen, sympathize and offer help)...which was to report that one of the toddlers in the neighborhood had been found not breathing, and the more prayers that were said the better. Tears started to flow and I felt so ungrateful for complaining that my baby was what...too wakeful?!?!?! An hour or so later we learned that said neighbor toddler is just fine; she had a febrile seizure but is doing all right. From ugh....to grateful.

The one good thing about not making it to Indy was that I was in town for the annual Cottage Green Cookie Exchange yesterday. After my crazy night/day I was looking forward to just getting out of the house for a bit. I pulled my tired teary grateful self together and managed to not only get my Rachael Ray's 5 Minute Fudge sliced & beautifully displayed on my favorite platter, but to get Luci fed, AND get makeup & heels put on. I even squished into my one pair of uber trendy jeans (well, at least they were hip 2 years ago when I bought them) and covered up my remaining mama belly with one of Old Navy's finest new trapeze style shirts (thank goodness for THAT trend). Many thanks to Jamie (Amanda's husband & Clara's dad); he babysat for Luci and even managed to get her to take a much needed nap. It was so good to get out & hang with the ladies in the 'hood...I got lots of great advice on Luci's current state and offers to watch her so that I could get a nap if needed. We talked about the toddler who had the seizure and how we could help. Amanda suggested bringing over some cookies...I was worried about invading privacy, but I went with her to drop them off in addition to offering meals or any other thing anyone could do to help because it was important that they knew they were not alone. I should not have worried about invading privacy...we were warmly greeted & hugs & tears were had by all. Bottom line? This neighborhood just oozes support. Grateful.