Every kid she's played with has had a cold, so...

Yup, now she's sick, too. The past two nights she's had a terrible cough. No fever or much mucus but a croup-like cough. So we're taking her to the doctor today to see if he can determine what she's got.

Like with food and naps and sleep and how carefully they're watched at the park, here it's different with kids and their colds. If we were at home, we'd have seen almost no one with a child this past week as at home no one would have taken their kid put with as much snot, coughing and sneezing as they all had. But the parents did, and the kids had fun playing.

Anyway, now she's got a cough that woke her up and hurt enough at 4am she was up until 6am. At least she wanted to go back to sleep in her crib. Means she was serious about wanting to go back to sleep.

The good thing is she's in a good mood and no other symptoms.

Maybe this is why she started asking to go home to "Carolina's big house" in new york. At first we though she wanted to leave Guanajuato and go to see Abuela, who didn't come with us on the day trip. And then though she wanted to go to her little play house in their back garden. But when we got home to Abuela's house, she started crying a lot. Demanding to go home. So we understood.

Then we had a Skype call yesterday with my parents and she got upset since she wanted to be at their place since they had new presents for her from a family friend.

I'm not sure what to tell her as she gets more upset when I say we'll go soon. As her papa is going home tomorrow very early, before she's awake. And we are here another 5 days. And then a night at my folks'.

I'm a bit nervous.

Eating better, feeling better

So I've only time for a short post. Little Miss C is doing better. She will finish her antibiotics run on Monday and it's already proving to be worthwhile. It's an absolute "friega" to prepare and dispense. Why on earth they give it to you dry powder to boil water and prepare, and then the dispenser dropper is an absolute pain (actually hurts to use it unless you're wicked strong). But, and this is a huge but, she's not had any side effects like the last time she had two different antibiotics at home.

It may be that last time she was given penicillin first and we now know she's allergic. And she's older, bigger and heavier. Not sure. This one, klaricid, isn't available stateside. Ah well...

We are going to "the ranch" this afternoon, after naptime, to meet up with Ismael's college friends. Tomorrow is the same location for a Perez family meal. Then some other family meal on friday at the house. Then something family on Saturday at the house or his grandmothers, then Easter Sunday somewhere with the orozco families.

I don't have enough dressy clothes to wear something different each day for me nor carolina, but we will make do.


PS I'm still reading this and I HIGHLY recommend it: Water for Elephants

Still sick and an attempt at a day out

Yesterday the family decided to go to Cañada de la Virgen just outside of San Miguel de Allende. It's about an hour away by car. Carolina had been up most of the night starting about 1.30/2am. Three bottles of milk and finally asleep about 5am, we get up at 8.30am.

I mention I'm exhausted and could we not go today. I'll stay home with Carolina so we can nap. Well ismael really wanted to go, so I changed my mind. Bad idea.

We get there at about 11.30. For those of you playing at home, her usual nap time is 12pm. Park. Find out we have to take a minibus the last 8km and then walk 1km to get to the archeology site. I look at ismael and say this is a bad idea. He says it'll be fine.

They buy the bus tickets, we get on line and my little super whiner started wailing. Tired, clearly, but completely inconsolable. So loud in fact, she made it nearly impossible for the bus passengers to hear the guide. We got off the bus. We went home.

She didn't fall asleep in the car and, like the last 5 days, refused to eat much of anything.

She and I slept for 2.5 hours once home. After another bottle. God that was luscious sleep.
Ismael swam 1km in the pool. Clearly he's better on little sleep than me or a baby.

Speaking of whining, and I know she's on antibiotics so not herself, but the Terrible Twos are here. NO is her second favorite word after OK. I'm sure NO will be #1 soon enough. And man is she picky with food. I'm still holding out hope it gets a little better after the infection goes away. But I don't fight her. Much. Which means she's not been eating much and I refuse to increase the number of bottles a day to compensate. Yesterday was a fluke.

And she doesn't seem to be starving either. I've kept formula in lieu of milk since it doesn't give her a bad tummy or gas AND it has more vitamins and minerals than milk alone.

But I'm getting sick of making her a bottle. She's old enough to kick the habit. Once these last 3-4 molars come in, I'm done.

I'm not sure it's 3 or 4 since when I try to put my finger in there to check, she bites down like the dickens and I can't feel anything but screaming pain in my finger.

Up all night? It's a cold.

Putting together very obvious clues, slowly, made me wonder how I got this far as a mother. It was all so obvious and yet I was confused until this morning that Carolina has a cold.

She's felt warm to me for two days and was REALLY whiny yesterday. But it wasn't until she didn't sleep most of the night and banged her head against the crib mattress that I knew something was up. She sounded like she was having trouble breathing but not too badly. Finally this morning I took her temperature and it was shy of 102 degrees. Not a fever exactly but not well either.

Her nose has been very runny today and her appetite has decreased. I know it's teeth. This "cold" I've seen before.

Her last front, bottom canine tooth broke through two days ago and this might be the result of the last set of molars. She has the bottom two threatening to break through but still haven't.

I was at least prepared with her thermometer, vicks vapor rub, Tylenol and nose aspirator thingy.

We are going to Tia Gaby's for lunch after her nap. Ah, her nap that started with intense screaming when I put her in the bath to wash out the sand. I've no idea why she did but ismael could hear it three floors down and across the pool. Even with the ocean being "loud" today. Yup.

Still, though, she had a fun morning on the beach.

Tomorrow we leave the beach very early and head back. 8 hours in the car. Yup yup yup.

Dora, for real

For the first time, and only once, little Miss C said "Dora". Clear as day.

She was watching an episode of Umizoomi, and a Dora promo graphic came on. I was looking at her, not the tv, and noticed a suddenly huge smile on her face. She turns to look at me and says "Dora". And then goes quiet.

Not Doda or DooDoo, but Dora. Wouldn't say it again but it was a sweet little voice.

I've since realized that DooDoo or sometimes Choo is for the Chupon.

One day, relatively soon, she will start talking and I'm certain that I'll be thinking of "how can I get her to keep quiet" but right now it's AWESOME!!

And the poor thing is sick again. Another visit to the pediatrician and we find out she's got either a new viral infection (hence all the ear pulling and trouble taking a nap) or it's the same one from two weeks ago and the antibiotics didn't kick it.

No new drugs. Just fluid and rest.

Ha. Rest.

Lusting to be elsewhere

I think it's getting time to leave NYC. I'm at the end of my tolerance for people in cars, with bad taste in music, playing it super-extra loudly and parking in front of my building. And car alarms all night. And drunk people at night. And the 7 train at my window. And no grass to sit on. 

There are just so many inconsiderate people, everywhere. I think leaving the city means having to put up with fewer proportionately.

Miss C still has her ear infection but the new antibiotic seems to be somewhat better. Still a little hyped up in the morning after I give it to her. I've also been giving her Tylenol, twice a day since yesterday. For some reason I think it helps a little. I could be wrong. At least she told me she needed at nap today at 11am and let me put her down awake by 11.15. The last week she was having a hell of a time relaxing.

Not her fault. Those ears be killing her comfort.

I've been more protective of her nap than usual. Not going to playmates that would interfere or taking her into the city. Not until this ear business is over. She sleeps at least two hours at naptime. No way I'm interfering with that rest if it helps get her better.

She has been, also, very stressed and picky about eating. Dinner in particular. I cant't figure out why. Tonight I'm going to start dinner at 5.30 instead of 6 or 6.30, and make sure there is a new book to read to her during it. Last four nights have required me playing Tinkerbell movie preview in order to calm her down and eat. Something.

Meanwhile, I daydream about eating the omakase at Jewel Bako, knowing full well I can't get that outside NYC, or another large, expensive city with Japanese residents. There are desperately lacking decent sushi, forget omakase, in Leon. I hear there is some in Monterrey but there's zero chance I'll move there until after the narcotrafficos clear out.

Blah blah blah

Ear infection + Amoxicillin = X

Do you remember the old Family Feud tv show? Remember when someone would say an answer that was wrong? It wasn't just a big, red X on the board -- it was accompanied by a eah-eahh sound. Made you feel both wrong and stupid.

After 48 hours on amoxicillin, that's how I felt. The baby was very, very hyper about 30 minutes after I gave her a dose and this would last a few hours. Getting her to bed and a nap, even leaving the park was drama.

Once I finally realized the correlation, I spoke to the doctor on call last night. She thought perhaps it's the sugar in the amoxicillin that they add to give it a bubble gum flavor, which the baby adored. Couldn't suck it down fast enough.

When I mentioned her little heart beat was much faster than usual and she wasn't just hyped up but almost possessed hyper. Could NOT sit still or relax. The doctor believes she's allergic to penicillin and called in azythromycin (sp?) to the pharmacy.

This morning will be the first of that instead. I hope it works. Her ears are really hurting her.

Neither of us are allergic to penicillin, that we know of. But holy christmas. I'm never giving this kid any such meds again.

Apparently, the common side effect is diarrhea for both amoxicillin and azythromycin. That I can handle. I guess Miss C is special. Makes sense since I'm pretty sensitive to certain meds that make me feel very anxious/hyper. My dad too. Poor kid.

We have our first, real sickness

After a week of being snotty nosed and mommy-mommy, she was better for nearly a full week. Monday she started to get all mommy-mommy again and feel warm. There wasn't any high temperature, although the thermometer said 96 degrees so I figured two things: A) the thermometer is broken, and B) she's not as hot as I think she is.

Well fast forward to today at the doctor's office, she has an ear infection in both ears. Hence the resurge of yellow mucus streaming out of her nose, and the constant pulling on her ears. When I thought she had an ear infection last month, the doctor said it was just teething. But this time it was.

Got the amoxicillin and first dose given before bedtime since we got home about 6pm.

I carried her to the city and back, plus grabbed some needed groceries and the drug store two times. I am exhausted, and my lower back hurts so badly I nearly started crying a little while ago when I tried to pick her up out of the bathtub. And, poor thing is super uncomfortable (still) and pulling on her ears in her crib right now. :(

Gotta keep her home tomorrow and then see how she is if she's okay to go to music class on Friday or not.

At least this isn't the flu and she's contagious!