31/01/2007

Recovery!

I went in to see Frannie today and she's great. It was only a few hours after her surgery, she was still in intensive care but she could talk, swallow and move her arms and legs. Which means she's avoided the main complications with the operation she was having. She was still puffy and woozy from the anaesthetic (and the PCA morphine!) but Jim was still managing to talk to her about real estate. Needless to say, we are all very relieved!

30/01/2007

Good vibes for Frannie please

Tomorrow my mother has her neck surgery. There is a lot of anxiety in the family about the process at the moment, not really helped by Frannie's joking with us every meal about it being her last. Her friend Marg says that she doesn't really think she's going to die - if she did she would start smoking again. Marg is a non smoker who quit relatively recently, which would explain that obsession. Anyhow, it's really major sugery and I'm glad it will be at North Shore Private, which is only a walk away from me. It means I can look after Jim, Clare and Michael (well, feed them, anyhow) as well as get up to see her.

Perhaps Asher has picked up on the tension, or perhaps he's just out of sorts because he's had a long weekend up at Crowdy with lots of adult stimulation. Unsurprisingly Marg and Fran spent a lot of time playing with him but Michael also loved having him about and allowed far more hair-pulling and eye-gouging than I do.

Alternatively Asher may be slightly grizzly because he's getting teeth. He is rashy in a way that he hasn't been before (impetigo cleared up nicely with the antibiotics thanks, we've started him on yoghurt) and I assume that is because he's dribbling more and sticking a wider variety of whatever he can reach into his ever-open mouth.

He could, however, just be rashy because he comes into contact with more things now that he is mobile. He really is mobile. Whenever I needed to pee, empty the dishwasher or anything else that doesn't happen in the lounge room and is difficult to do while holding a baby I leave Asher, popping my head in every 10 - 40 seconds and yesterday his two favourite places seemed to be behind the television and under the computer desk - the only two places in the room with visible unsecured power point and cords. Why is that? Why are babies attracted to things that have the potential to kill them? On Sunday morning, just before we left to come home from Crowdy we put Asher to sleep and zippered him into his tent and went downstairs to have a cup of coffee. Maybe half an hour later (bearing in mind the baby normally sleep for 40-60 minutes) Sanjay went upstairs to find Asher had escaped from his zipped-up tent and left the bedroom (passing by several plugged in amps and guitars on floor stands) and was in the hall just outside the bathroom door. He apparently grinned like anything when he saw Sanjay - I think he had woken up, got bored, so came to find us!

Anyhow, I better post this and get on with my day while Asher is asleep, but any prayers or good thoughts that can be sent to Fran tomorrow morning will be much appreciated.

21/01/2007

Longest month ever

It feels like Asher has been 6 months old forever sometimes. I started considering him six months old when he was 24 weeks (the 11th of December) because I wanted to start some solids (I was vaguely hoping it would help him sleep through. I don't really think it did, but whatever) but I didn't want to start solids before six months. Yes, I realise it's just ridiculous mental gymnastics, but sometimes sleep deprivation does that to you. On the 26 of December he was 6 calendar months old and now we have stopped counting his age in weeks rather than months, I don't consider him 7 months until the 26th of January. The fact that I have thought about this is testament to the strange things exhaustion and motherhood have done to my brain - in my previous life I wouldn't have cared a jot.

It doesn't take parenthood to be concerned about the spreading weepy blistery thing in Asher's right armpit that has been growing for a day or two. It arrived after the little rash that he had, the one that I put down to a combination of heat and a reaction to his 6 month vaccinations. It appears to be impetigo and so the poor little guy needs antibiotic ointment on it twice a day and systemic antibiotics every six hours for five days. I'm glad that we've just started him on yoghurt, and that he seems to like it.

I feel alternately practical and guilt-stricken. My rational mind knows that it's 'just one of those things' but another part of me is all self-flagellating and tormented about how I could let my baby get sick. I'm pretty sure Googling is a bad idea at the moment so once he's better I'll check, but I suspect that there is nothing I could have done to prevent it.

While I was wondering what was growing on him and inspecting his little body for sores yesterday, I saw a little red blister on his big toe. I quickly worked out that it wasn't whatever was in his armpit by looking at the other big toe. He has matching blisters because of the way he uses his toes to push off as he commando crawls around. He has been fast over short distances for a while now and he's starting to chase things that roll further and further. Sanjay is trying to teach him to crawl 'properly' by telling Asher to lift his bum up further. I have also caught him crawling around the lounge room showing the baby what Sanjay thinks he should be doing.

Anyhow, I'm going to go and clean the kitchen or read my book - I need to step away from the computer and from the temptation of Doctor Google.

02/01/2007

I think I'm going to have a huge 2007

Asher started commando crawling in the last few days and now nothing at floor level is safe. I turned around from cooking (I was steaming some pumpkin to puree for him) this afternoonand found him just reaching for an empty wine bottle that was sitting with the recycling. I had been saying that he'd be crawling by the new year and now I'm freaking out about suddenlly having to get serious about baby proofing. After I headed him off from the recycling I realised he was heading for a plastic bag that was sitting on the floor.

He's still pretty slow for now but I know I don't have long - I better go and get powerpoint covers this weekend.