Sans Crib Casualities

This is how I found Aiden after he finally fell asleep on Sunday during "nap time." Mr. Lion is always by his side during sleepy times.

I think Aiden is getting better at going to sleep now. I don't know if it was because he had a weekend full of NOT sleeping during nap time, or if it's the transitions to mats during nap time at the new daycare.

I have been sick for 11 days now. I have been getting better just a pinch everyday. The weekend before Mother's Day, I developed a horrible cold that was fringed with aches all day on Sunday. I didn't want to move. Thankfully, it got a little better come Monday. Just a little. I was busy on Monday at work, but not so much on Tuesday. I asked the boss if he would mind if I went home sick and he didn't have a problem with it. I almost completely lost my voice Tuesday night. I didn't have the type of sore throat where my lymph nodes are swollen. It was more like my vocal cords hurt. It was a rough night for taking care of Aiden, since I couldn't tell him what I needed him to do!

By Monday this week, I was tired of the constantly runny nose and corresponding cough. Every morning I would tell myself I was going to the doctor after work. The problem is that it's always worse in the morning. Then by the afternoon I wasn't feeling quite so crappy in the head. I was just exhausted. I haven't slept through the night for months. I was a light sleeper before Aiden. After Aiden? Forget it. I wake up every time I roll over. Then I realize I need to pee, so I get up and take care of business. Then the cat steps on my hair when I get back into bed. Then I wake up 10 minutes before my alarm goes off and decided to just lay there until it's time to get up. CONSTANTLY TIRED. Thank goodness for coffee!!

Another thing holding me back from going to the doctor is the fact that when I was growing up, my parents only took us if we were close to death. That means that Ariel was ALWAYS at the ER and I only went for sports physicals. It seemed like every Christmas Ariel was having an asthma attack so severe she had to be rushed to the hospital.

Then one time she was running through the TV room, tripped on the carpet and her head landed on the water spout of our old-fashioned, silver, cast iron radiator. Her head burst open and wouldn't stop bleeding. I was covered in blood. My mom and grandma immediately took her out the door for medical attention. I sat, rocking in my child-sized rocking chair, sure that my sister was going to die. Several staples and mom that fainted and she was good to go!

My mom accidentally dislocated her arm after pulling her off the train tracks when she was young. 5 maybe? Ariel complained that it hurt, but my mom just assumed she was being a kid and complaining. After a day of not using the arm, my parents took her to the doctor to find out her shoulder had been dislocated.

Fast forward several years to when Ariel was in gymnastics. She was jumping on the trampoline when she did a backward flip and landed partially off the tramp. Weeks (months?) went by before they decided it was probably more than a pulled muscle. Turned out to be a hairline fracture in her forearm, at her elbow. She had restricted activity for a while after that.

Needless to say, it goes against everything in my body to go to the doctor. We just didn't do that growing up and I feel like a sissy going there. Isn't that silly? Ha! Well, I'm not usually sick either, so I guess that helps my case. That's why I finally decided to go. I'd had this cold for 10 days and it felt like it would be several more weeks before I got better at the rate I was recovering. Travis has had the same thing, but he's about a week ahead of me. I'm pretty sure Aiden has the same thing as well, although his runny nose doesn't seem as bad as mine.

I picked Aiden up from daycare last night and headed over to the Urgent Care clinic. The best part of Urgent Care is you don't have to make an appointment and you don't have to take off work to go. It's pretty much awesome. Anyhoo, I filled out the paperwork and was waiting to get called back. Travis stopped by to grab Aiden and get him home for dinner.

A few minutes later, the nurse called my name. The doctor said that he didn't see any reason to give me antibiotics at this time. He said that the side effects of the medication would probably be worse than how I am feeling. I wanted to disagree, but there was no point. He did however, agree to call in the antibiotics to the pharmacy. He said if I don't get better in a few days, then I could go give it a try. The prescription doesn't expire for a year, so that gives me plenty of chances to get back there.

In the meantime, I got a steroid shot in the ass. It took a good 10-seconds to get it all in there. I wanted to swat her hands away from my derriere during the whole last half of that. It felt like I was getting stung in the butt! Sadly, that didn't go away after she pulled out the needle. Instead, it got worse. It spread throughout half my right butt cheek, making it very difficult to walk. I'm sure I looked like an idiot taking baby steps the entire way out of the clinic.

The nurse said I would feel much better after 45 minutes and she was right. The injection site is still sore today, but overall the area is fine. AND IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT. I had the BEST night of sleep last night. I honestly cannot recall the last time I slept through the night. As I was filling Callaway's food dish this morning, it dawned on me that I couldn't recall rolling over once during the night! Amazing!!

Today I feel permanentely relaxed. I don't really feel tired. It's more like I'd rather just sit here and be calm and that would be just great. I can even breathe! I know my sinuses are not completely back to normal. Food still tastes funny and my sense of smell is still numbed. But I can breathe.

Steroid shots may be a bitch in the beginning, but they are worth the struggle.