Growing Up

Carly is growing up and becoming a lot more independent. Since Dave returned home almost 24 hours ago he has noticed some of the following changes Carly made during his 6 days at Indiana University.

~ Her hair is longer and thicker.

~ She is longer and heavier. (Although the scales at the doctors office showed she lost a pound with the flu.)

~ She looks more mature.

~ At dinner tonight she used a napkin to wipe her hands and mouth (she even cleaned out the inside of her mouth).

~ There is now a blanket in her crib regularly, per her request. During the beginning nights of the flu Dave was putting Carly down with a blanket to help keep her warm. (She was experiences chills due to her fever.) As the flu morphed into an ear infection she began using the blanket as a pillow and not for cover. Now she expects to go down with a blanket, and her ducky.

~ She is communicating A LOT more:

* Longer babbling spells with hand gestures and nodding (I wonder where she picked that up?),

* More use of her sign language - today she used the sign for "food" and then "please" to ask Dave for breakfast.

* Tonight at dinner she wanted more pizza. Dave and I felt she had eaten enough, so I handed her my leftover crust. She pointed to where the part she wanted would have been, said please, then pointed to the center of the crust and shook her head no. We took this as, "I want the pizza, please. Not the crust." We laughed, applauded her communication with us, but didn't give in to her request.

It Morphed...

Carly just can't seem to get a break right now. Ten days ago we thought this week may be rough for her due to teething. Unfortunately, that was quickly trumped by the flu last Thursday morning. I joked that she would go straight from the flu into teething and about how lucky a mom I would be to experience it all while Dave was out at IU starting his MBA. It turns out I was wrong. At some point this week the flu morphed into an ear infection. The doctor Carly saw this morning explained that the office was seeing a lot of this morphing due to this year's flu being an upper respiratory flu. Apparently when her nose was all stuffed up it blocked her ear from draining (apparently they use the same drainage system). This back up in her ear resulted in an infection in her left ear.

Thankfully she didn't seem to be absolutely miserable prior to our visit. She was clingy and not her normal happy self, but was completely off every time I needed to change her clothes. There were tears, fighting against me, and full blown tantrums... not normal for a girl who loves to be naked and who loves to help me dress her. I took her in to double check that the flu wasn't lingering in some way or that something else wasn't wrong before using tough love to end her fighting me at every clothing change. Hopefully this ear infection isn't long lived and she will return to her happy self in time for Dave's return home tomorrow!

Flu Day #5

Carly is on Day #5 of the flu, and hopefully the last. She has been fever free today, eating and drinking a little bit more, playing with her toys more independently. Unfortunately, she still has a runny noise, cough, and is not quite her happy, go lucky self.

Carly did manage to go down for her nap early today, which of course meant she woke up early. This allowed us to venture out to my favorite seasonal consignment sale. I had not planned on taking Carly into the mass chaos that this sale normally is; however, she woke up just before 2 (when many toddlers are still napping, preschoolers are napping or having quiet time, and elementary school moms are getting ready to get in the car pool lines or meet their little ones at the bus stop) so off we went. Our timing could not have been more perfect. There were no other moms looking through the 24 month clothes and when we were ready to check out there was only one other mom in front of us. (Usually, we wait for over 20 minutes.)

Carly's early nap time and first outing since Thursday also had her going to bed early tonight. Hopefully she will wake up at her normal time tomorrow morning, refreshed and back to her normal happy, go lucky self.

Playing with a "new" to her toy!

Flu Day #4

Carly seems to feeling a little bit better. She still isn't eating or drinking much and isn't very playful, but she is getting some of the color back in her face and isn't as still. She sat in my lap at various points throughout the day, but she never fell asleep in my lap or on my shoulder.

She also used one of her board books to ask for a snack. I was reading her The Very Hungry Caterpillar and at the end of the story she turned back to the beginning. I assumed she wanted me to re-read the story; however, she kept flipping through the pages quickly. She finally got to the page with the long list of foods the caterpillar ate on Saturday, pointed to the cheese, and said please. She nodded her head when I asked if she wanted some cheese, so off we went to go get her some cheese. (This was the first food she had asked for since Wednesday... I was giving it to her.)

By the end of her day she was multi-tasking:

Flu Day #3

Carly is still sick. While I know she isn't at the age to "fake" being sick, there are some obvious signs that she is not faking.

1) She will sit still in our lap for longer than 3 minutes. (We are averaging 20+ minutes each time.)

2) While sitting in my lap, she has placed her head on my chest and fallen asleep. (While holding a full cup of Cheerios.)

3) She is not interested in eating Cheerios (or anything for that matter).

4) She is not interested in drinking (even if I let her carry a cup around while playing - a big "no-no" in our house).

5) She is only playing with her toys for short spurts of time and when the Tylenol/Advil are in full force.

6) Tylenol/Advil make her go from really pathetic looking to only looking pathetic.

7) The skin under her nose is now raw from constantly being wiped or wet from drainage.

8) She has only asked to go outside a few times since Thursday morning, and when she has gone out she has just wanted to walk around instead of playing with her toys.

9) While sitting on Dave's lap she has rolled over, laid on his chest, fallen asleep, and then fussed when being moved to her crib.

10) She is back to taking 2 naps a day in her crib, plus many cat naps in our arms.

11) She reminds us of a 25 pound newborn (minus the middle of the night nursings).

We were able to get about a third of a yogurt cup and a bite of cheese in her tonight around dinner time.

Daddy's Turn

Carly still isn't feeling well. She did play today (which is an improvement from yesterday). Prior to dinner she was a mommy's girl; however, it was a different story after dinner. When I was finished cleaning up dinner this is what I saw.

It was Dave's turn to snuggle.

Sick-O

Carly is officially sick with flu like symptoms. Her flu test came back negative, but the doctor is pretty convinced it is a false negative. Our morning started with her sleeping until 9:45. She would fuss and squirm every so often but showed no interest in getting up. Finally after thinking I needed to invest in curtains for her room and that 9:45 am is late enough, I went in to get her. She wasn't quick to come to her feet (which isn't usual) and was radiating heat. After a quick diaper change and temperature reading of 103.1 out came the trusty Tylenol (or really the current generic that hasn't been pulled from the shelves). An hour later her temperature was down only slightly and she had no appetite. After a quick call to the doctor we were packing up her tote bag with books and preparing to keep ourselves entertained at the doctor's office as a fit in visit. Her ears, throat, and lungs all looked/sounded clear; however, it was obvious to all that this normally outgoing and energetic 16 month old didn't feel well. (She fell asleep in my lap holding her Cheerio cup while the doctor and I were talking.) All of this has led the doctor to believe she really does have the flu, even if the test came back negative.

Carly proceeded to sleep on our ride home and for three hours after we returned home. She only agreed to get up from her nap when I asked if she wanted to get up and sleep on my chest. Throughout the remainder of the afternoon and evening Dave and I worked to keep her hydrated, medicated, and comfortable. She snuggled with both of us and even found the energy to play cars with Dave for a few minutes and duplos with me.

Dave and I both can't stand to see her feeling so poorly. And honestly, she looks pathetic. But selfishly I am really enjoying all of the cuddling and snuggling. It is awkward trying to carry her everywhere now (fully clothed she weighted in at 25.6 pounds today) and having her squirm all over trying to curl up to fit on my chest to sleep, but I am trying to savior those last few times these positions are even possible.