Unspooling

The word of the day is unspooling, which sounds better to me than unraveling.

That's what today did.

A's not been sleeping well, which puts a strain on everyone in the household. So our morning wasn't great. But I was trying to get out the door an hour before playdate to give A time to nap in the car.

But then C's car wouldn't start. (He's been having battery issues.) So I gave him a ride to work, but that was okay because then A had time to sleep.

A's felt warm to me the past few days, but hasn't registered much of a fever on any of our various thermometers (ear, rectal, forehead). But then he got a purple spot on his ear, which is similar to a purple spot C gets on his ear when he's sick. And A was poking his finger into his ear, which is not something he ever does, so I called the doctor after lunch, thinking he had an ear infection. I leave a message for the triage nurse.

They call me back at 5PM. They could get us in at 7:25PM with the new doctor we've never met.

It's Thursday and we're flying out on Saturday. A is usually asleep around 7:25, in process if not asleep. As ever, I'm at the mercy of the people who run the doctor's office. Sure. What's one more bad sleep night if I know my baby is healthy?

I call C to confer on pick-up times, since he's stranded at work, and he agrees to hang tight at work until I can pick him up. No problem.

A and I get there at 7:20 and are ushered into an exam room, away from the Lion King which is showing in the waiting room. And I think, oh, wow, if you come late, they have their shit together.

There's one board book in this room, a parenting magazine en espanol, two chairs, a rolling stool, an exam table, four drawers and one cabinet with childproof latches. I think this may be what hell looks like to a seventeen month old.

A disarmed the latches and opened the drawers, then amused himself by pulling the stirrups out of the table and putting them back in again. I read the one board book (Spot and Colors). My diaper bag has two toy cars, one squeaky dog, and a cup for short-term entertainment, but it's not equipped for an hour's worth of fun.

I sang him most of Sergeant Pepper's and played chase mommy around the room. We watched the ambulances going by. We rolled the stool around the stroller. We drank water from paper cups. I changed him into his pajamas to take up time. But A was tired, cranky, and wanted to go home.

So after an hour, I gear myself up to parade up and down the hallway, since this is a doctor's office that forgot about us in an exam room once and I don't trust all their neurons to be firing, but then the doctor comes in.

A wasn't too keen on her since she didn't shake his hand properly, but he's certainly against her once she wants to look in his ear.

He's got an ear infection. Great. Two days before we fly. Too late to get a scrip filled tonight to start him on antibiotics ASAP.

At least I had the presence of mind to tell her we were flying on Saturday and could she recommend anything to give him or do to make that easier. She thought about it and then said she'd write me a second prescription.

It's now 8:45 and I still have to go pick up C, who is stranded at work with probably nothing he can eat at all.

I'll be the person at the airport Saturday in the screening line with the screaming baby, the silently-suffering husband with jaw surgery, and the cooler packed with liquids bigger than three ounces because that's just where we all are right now.

I know, I know

We've finished our swimming session. I need to sign him up for the next session but I need to talk to the instructor to find out whether my baby is still in baby classes or needs to move up to the toddler ones (sniff). He still loves swimming. We had a day of classes where he wanted me to let go of him so he could swim. Not quite, little fish.

While C was still off work, he bucked up enough to go to the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. The people who spent their lives deciphering them and putting them together put them together with cello tape and sandwiched them in glass, ruining many of them. Oy vey. But it was nice to see them. But they're small, is all I'm saying.

Also, I don't know what brilliant person thought it was a great idea to give people those cordless-phone-like audio tours, essentially deafening them, then put them into a darkened labyrinth together. It was like a demolition derby in there.

C is recovering well from surgery; all his doctors say he's healing remarkably well. He's back at work and not complaining very much about his boring liquid diet, even after he found out he couldn't drink from straws.

I wish I could say we've been sacked with Christmas preparations but it's been fits and starts here. It was 50/50 online versus hands-on here, I think, although the balance may have shifted in favor of online today. I miss having a tree, but with going to CO and leaving the cats in charge for a week, we'd come back to a dead tree, broken ornaments, and sick cats.

A wants to walk everywhere and doesn't want to hold my hand. Okay at the park, not okay at the post office. I'm getting a baby leash. I just don't think he's got the impulse control yet to hold my hand everywhere and I don't want to confine him to the stroller. I'm curious as to how the airport will be.

A side note on Santa

I bought A a "trimming the tree" Christmas board book last week. The last page has a "don't forget to leave treats for Santa" theme, which is fine and dandy, but then when you look at the picture, it's not milk and cookies on the mantel.

It's a meat pie and a glass of red wine.

Fallen by the wayside

For all you out there who are wondering if we're still alive, we are. C is recovering. A is coping. I am having serious sleep deprivation issues. A and I have been sleeping in another room to cut down on the interruptions in C's recovery sleep, and last night we tried to all go back to our normal places. No dice. I'm truly tired, tired, tired.

But we were the only ones in swimming today, and he was happy and awake for that. We've got to go to C's follow-up doctor visit shortly. Hopefully he'll check out fine. C's getting more active and awake but he's just so tired.