Seven-oh-oh

So about a month ago The Capt started getting up waaay too early. And he doesn't just get up sweetly. If he would get up and softly crawl into bed and snuggle, that would be nice. BUT he doesn't. He bounds out of bed and chatters on a mile a minute. He truly becomse recharged from sleeping. Too bad you can't take the batteries out or turn him off once in awhile. So this was going on for over a week and getting up before 7am is just not okay with me. I got him his own clock. A digital one with a light. Since he was going to bed around 6:30/7pm, we moved his bedtime a bit later, to 7:30pm. We told him he could not get up until Seven-Oh_Oh. Believe it or not. It worked! And he got cuaght up on sleep. Until last week. Today he was up at 6:23AM. Uh, Heck NO! And since we keep his door locked for safety reasons, he pounds on the door to let the whole house know "I woke up!"
I dragged my sleepy butt in there and stuffed him back into bed and stated "do not get up until seven-oh-oh." He needed his flashlight. And a book. Fine. You know what? He didn't make a peep until seven-oh-oh. Oh and if anyone knows how to get a stubborn kid to poop in either the toilet or pull ups, please let me know. I think I need to invent disposible underwear. Literally.

What hemophilia looks like

Today was the first trip to Childrens Hospital in Seattle since The Kid's initial factor treatment. This morning at the changing table we discovered the biggest bruise to date. We kept an eye out but the hematoma under the bruise seemed to be getting bigger. At 3pm and a chat with our super great hemo nurse, Maia Kelley, we trekked over to the ER at Childrens'. I was nervous only because our first experience with pokes was not a good one. This time was the exact opposite. The ER was expecting us and we went in within 10 minutes. The nurse, Laurel, was familiar with hemophilia and babies! After a poke on each leg without luck, I asked about a poke to the head vein. She agreed those we the best and easiest to do. She was surprised by my ready acceptance to it as was the doctor. I guess lots of people are squeamish about IV's in a baby's head. Trust me when I say, trying to find a vein in a fat, healthy baby's hand or leg is way more excruciating than a nice visible blue vein, even if it is on the head. The Kid has very little hair anyway, so he didn't even need a shave! He was a trooper and had his binky and his lovey during his ordeal and I sang all his favorite songs. At one point during the leg pokes he even signed "all done!" That was just waaay too precious. It is still a moment for me when I think about it. The Capt. was a great big brother and we try to explain everything in his terms.
Baby is getting a poke like when he gets his check ups. When he's done Big Brother can come in and make him giggle. Baby Brother has hemophilia and that means he bruises easily and sometimes has to go to the hospital to make them better. And going into our treatment room The Capt exclaimed to anyone listening, "I'm going in to help my Baby William and make him giggle." We were in and out in 2 hours and now have another hemo notch in our belts! Oh and he won't keep the hep-lock thingy in his head. We did that in case he needs another treatment the next day. Usually the IV is in and out in a few minutes.) So don't freak out. Actually, too bad it didn't happen on Halloween, it could have been a really creepy baby monkey costume!

Refresher

Just a quick backround for anyone just peeking in on the blog. The Captain is our first child. The fact that we had a second child was quite daring, since the first who will be 3 in Dec. is, let say, spirited, active alert, and quite the handful. He started preschool in Sept so that the family could keep their sanity. This summer was a challenge trying to keep him busy and he is just loving school 3 days a week. The Kid is our newest member who just turned 9 months old this week. He was diagnosed with severe hemophilia at 4 months. So far we are still in the honeymoon phase but between now and about 3 years we will be preparing for home infusions 3-4 times a week. I am a stay at home mom and I never have a dull moment. "Someone" is always taking something apart, getting in to something or other shenanigans. The little one has got the commando crawl down and looks like an abuse victim half the time, via hemophilia and lots of bruising. My current worry is that parents unfamiliar with my super active smarty pants will think the baby's bruises are outcomes of big brother's rough housing. So far, not the case. He's more likely to give his baby rough love than anything else! If you enjoy my blog, please send comments!

head bonks and hospitals

So on Friday The Kid was playing with his little girlfriend. The two are very into the activity table scene. Well, the Kid just fell over. (That's what he does. He can stand there but he can't sit down.) So he landed with his head on a plastic container. Later that day he got a pretty good bump and bruise. I called our nurse and she said to keep an eye out. Well finally on Sunday I just wasn't convinced that it was fine and to everyone's humor (except the Kid's) I drew a pen mark around the bruise. On Monday I took him in and he checked out just fine. Hey, better safe than sorry! I guess it's part of the learning curve. Besides that The Kid is busy busy busy! Along with a fierce separation anxiety! The cuteset part of his day is when big brother gets into the car from school and says, "I missed you!" Awww....

Games

The Capt is learning games at school. It's great! So far they have earned musical chairs, the hokey pokey and simon says. Tonight before bed we all played Simon Says. The Capt was Simon first, then we all took turns. It's funny what his Simon wanted us to do. Things like jump, fly, lay down. Now I know how to get him under my spell! Just tell him we are playing Simon Says! It might just work. Or at least work for a day before he realizes my trick! The Capt is also really getting into the holidays. He is excited about Halloween and is asking about his birthday. He talks about what kinds of presents he wants and who he wants at his birthday. I thought it was cute that he mentioned a couple of school friends.

another mom's blog

This is not for the faint of heart as you can tell by the title.

A Dying Mom's Blog

I only read the last 2 entries, but it sure makes me grateful how fortunate we are! Live, Laugh, Love! Life is too short to do otherwise.

Toddlers and Screwdrivers don't mix...

Now don't be too shocked. Nobody got hurt. Let's just say we are lucky the door didn't fall on somebody. If the cap't could have reached the top hinge. Somebody really could have been flattened! Oh yes, today the Capt needed a screwdriver. Now before I explain, you must know that the Capt doesn't just go around willy-nilly as it sometimes seems. He is supervised to the best of a mother's ability. Probably more so. In fact at costco the other day a man in line said I was being too hard on him when I told the Capt to stop snapping the stanchions in the return line. Little did that man know that the next day, (being today) the Capt would decide he needed a phillip's head screwdriver. While I'm tending to the baby and trying to get ready this morning, the capt helped himself to the correct size screwdriver in the toolbox. From the garage. A real one. Did I mention the right size even? The end result? The Capt trying to understand why the door to the bedroom won't close. Um, hello? you just took the bottom hinge off Houdini. Luckily he's also OCD, so he was sure to put the hinge and screws in his own personal toolbox. What's a mother to do? Punish? Lock him away? No. Instead hold the hinge in place while he screws it back onto the door. Then hand him a box of pens to unscrew and screw again. (just kidding) he's already done that. I think I need a screwdriver...and not the kind with a handle!

Baby Loves Biter Biscuits!

The Kid is branching out on food stuff. Actually, I'm finally allowing chunky food to grace his palette. He's been complaining about the pureed food so it must be time. These pictures just crack me up.

Mungus Whale

Today the Capt was singing. The song: "mungus whale." The Mungus whale has a big tale and splashes you. If you haven't figured it out yet, the "mungus whale" is humongous whale in child-speak. This just cracked me up and is being filed away with "noculars." The pre-cursors "hu" and "bi" for these words must come across as being completely separate words in the capt.'s mind. It's not like he can't say the word, he is somehow listening to them and determining that they aren't necessary, I guess. Hm, I think mungus whale could be a whole new species...