Ari is now pulling himself up to stand up more and more. I knew he was thinking about standing up even before he did it the first time. It is almost too easy to read his thoughts, or perhaps it is because I am a parent for the second time around.
After rolling over at 2.5months he has not looked back. He was sitting with support at 5.5, unsupported at 6 months, crawling at 6 and at 6.5 is already standing holding on.
His personality is completely different from Nidhi's. He is not into books, except for chewing the pages. He will not stay where you put him down. He will go into another room leaving you behind. He will crawl under and behind furniture. He is already thinking about opening cupboards even though he cannot do it yet.
He loves his food and is eager to eat whatever we are eating. He wants a variety. He is not too keen on breastmilk and I think he may be weaned much earlier than Nidhi.
He isn't making a lot of sounds. At this age Nidhi was already making consonant-vowel combinations like ba-ba sounds, but then she was early with her verbal skills. Plus Ari is being subjected to Malayalam and English while Nidhi just learnt the latter.
Monday, December 31, 2012
An eventful week
The holidays for us started with a lot of drama. Last Saturday Ari had been unwell for three days- the usual cough and slight temperature. He had been responding well to paracetamol/ibuprofen the previous two days, however on Saturday his temp stayed up (>38) inspite of paracetamol. He also looked unwell and lethargic and we felt he ought to be seen by a doctor.
It being the weekend, we called out-of-hours. They took our details and called us back in an hour. While Rohan was talking to them, I was urging him to ensure we secure an appointment and are not fobbed off over the phone. Suddenly the lady on the other end decided we needed emergency medical attention and called emergency services. It was the craziest thing. Ari wasn't critical, we were willing to drive him to the local hospital, but she insisted.
Emergency services agreed that his temp was too high (>39 at this stage) within the paracetamol range and suggested we take him to A&E.
We left Nidhi at a friend's home (due to the norovirus outbreak at the hospital) and were in A&E around 5pm. After subsequent doses of ibuprofen and paracetamol, his temp was still at 38.
We finally got to see a paediatrician around 10pm. He was not happy with the temp and decided on some blood tests. We had also been trying for the last 2 hours to get a urine sample out of our little man.
We were admitted to the ward, and finally managed a sample, which was all clear.
While we were waiting for blood tests, a senior consultant came in to look at Ari. She diagnosed an ear infection and instructed for him to be started on antibiotics. There would be no further need for an investigation. This was past 12 midnight.
We waited and were discharged at 1.40am.
Then Murphy's law came into action. Our car would not start. In our anxiety and hurry, we had left the headlights on and the battery had run down. Rohan decided to wait for the recovery services and I took a cab home with Ari. I had a shower and was in bed by 3am.
Rohan returned at 4am.
Sun and Mon, Ari continued to be lethargic, needed to be held by one of us all the time. He was now completely off solids for 4 days and bf less than normal. Sun night he was breathing quite loud and fast. By Mon afternoon we decided we needed to see someone again.
We were back at the hospital around 4pm, this was Christmas eve. We were confident of being sent home with our minds put to rest. The nurse checked him, asked a few questions about his cough and put him on an oxymeter? to check his levels of oxygen. She was not happy and decided to monitor him for a couple of hours. At 7pm they decide Ari needs oxygen and would be admitted overnight. They suspected bronchiolitis.
Rohan went home to get me some stuff, Nidhi would be spending another night at her friend's home.
In the middle of the night they switched off the oxygen to see how Ari would do without and he seemed fine.
We were discharged at noon on Christmas day.
He was lethargic all through the day but his appetite was back the next day. He has made steady progress, though he still coughs at night and wakes up unsettled because of it.
It was a worrying week for us. Our little boy who was practically born smiling and is ever cheerful had not smiled for more than 4 days. It was just not like him.
He is still wanting to be held much more than before and cries easily. Hopefully as he gets better he will forget this painful episode and be back to his original self.
It being the weekend, we called out-of-hours. They took our details and called us back in an hour. While Rohan was talking to them, I was urging him to ensure we secure an appointment and are not fobbed off over the phone. Suddenly the lady on the other end decided we needed emergency medical attention and called emergency services. It was the craziest thing. Ari wasn't critical, we were willing to drive him to the local hospital, but she insisted.
Emergency services agreed that his temp was too high (>39 at this stage) within the paracetamol range and suggested we take him to A&E.
We left Nidhi at a friend's home (due to the norovirus outbreak at the hospital) and were in A&E around 5pm. After subsequent doses of ibuprofen and paracetamol, his temp was still at 38.
We finally got to see a paediatrician around 10pm. He was not happy with the temp and decided on some blood tests. We had also been trying for the last 2 hours to get a urine sample out of our little man.
We were admitted to the ward, and finally managed a sample, which was all clear.
While we were waiting for blood tests, a senior consultant came in to look at Ari. She diagnosed an ear infection and instructed for him to be started on antibiotics. There would be no further need for an investigation. This was past 12 midnight.
We waited and were discharged at 1.40am.
Then Murphy's law came into action. Our car would not start. In our anxiety and hurry, we had left the headlights on and the battery had run down. Rohan decided to wait for the recovery services and I took a cab home with Ari. I had a shower and was in bed by 3am.
Rohan returned at 4am.
Sun and Mon, Ari continued to be lethargic, needed to be held by one of us all the time. He was now completely off solids for 4 days and bf less than normal. Sun night he was breathing quite loud and fast. By Mon afternoon we decided we needed to see someone again.
We were back at the hospital around 4pm, this was Christmas eve. We were confident of being sent home with our minds put to rest. The nurse checked him, asked a few questions about his cough and put him on an oxymeter? to check his levels of oxygen. She was not happy and decided to monitor him for a couple of hours. At 7pm they decide Ari needs oxygen and would be admitted overnight. They suspected bronchiolitis.
Rohan went home to get me some stuff, Nidhi would be spending another night at her friend's home.
In the middle of the night they switched off the oxygen to see how Ari would do without and he seemed fine.
We were discharged at noon on Christmas day.
He was lethargic all through the day but his appetite was back the next day. He has made steady progress, though he still coughs at night and wakes up unsettled because of it.
It was a worrying week for us. Our little boy who was practically born smiling and is ever cheerful had not smiled for more than 4 days. It was just not like him.
He is still wanting to be held much more than before and cries easily. Hopefully as he gets better he will forget this painful episode and be back to his original self.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Embarrassing conversations
In the changing room:
Me: How's this top?
5yo: Your tummy looks big.
Me: That's because I just had the baby.
5yo: You did not JUST have the baby. The baby was born in June!
Me: How's this top?
5yo: Your tummy looks big.
Me: That's because I just had the baby.
5yo: You did not JUST have the baby. The baby was born in June!
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