Feel the Bite//I'll Take New York

Two Saturdays ago, the Manling and Pepper got into a fight. The Manling chased or followed Pepper under the dining room table, which is at bar height, and tormented the dog, whether by pulling her tail or tugging or fur or perhaps even just hugging her. I didn't see that part. I was alerted to the situation when I heard Pepper go into fight/bite mode. I threw one of the chairs across the room and found the Manling bleeding and Pepper skulking. Luckily, Mark was on his way home from work, so I rinsed off what blood I could, and got the Manling ready to go to the Urgent Care facility.

There, they cleaned him up better, and staunched the bleeding. Net result: 1 perfectly circular bite mark on his left temple with a particularly deep puncture, 2 bleeding areas above his left ear, and one large gash in the same area which required 2 staples. Mark got to hold the Manling down for that procedure; it seems as though that took a few years off of Mark's life staring into his bleeding, screaming toddler's face. I was in the room but stayed out of the way of the nurse and doctor. It was so heart-wrenching.

They prescribed antibiotics which we duly picked up and went home, where Pepper and the Manling both acted as if nothing had happened. Mark and I of course, scarred for life, but the principle actors just went along their way blithely, the little jerks. By Thursday, the temple bite was still very red and inflamed so off we went to our regular doctor's office. He said that it was infected so we got prescribed a 2nd antibiotic, but they took out the staples. The Manling was perfectly fine with that.

I am glad we had the Urgent Care option available (vs. an ER visit), so the Manling wouldn't associate our regular doctors and nurses with the staple incident. The Urgent care staff were great: professional and kind, but they said that there was only a 10% chance of infection, which we unluckily happened to fall in to, and that the staples would have to stay in for 10 days, rather than the 5 my doctor said. I just have a bad feeling associated with that place and I hope we never have to go back.

We have decided reluctantly to get rid of Pepper. This is the 2nd time she has bitten the Manling, albeit after being provoked by him, and we just can't risk another bite. I never thought I cared so much for her as I do. She's 3 now, out of her puppy stage, getting mellower and more well-behaved as time goes. I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if something else happened between her and the Manling. We don't know of anyone who will take her though, so I'm carefully watching the 2 of them and keeping them separated as much as possible. It's very sad.

I got my period on day 27 of the cycle. That is 9 days shorter than the first time. I know I can't expect to be regular after coming off of breastfeeding and those 3 months of the pill, but I'm a bit aggravated nonetheless.

The end of May we are tentatively planning a trip back east. We'd spend a few days each with Mark's uncle and dad, and then a few with my mom before heading off sans kid to NYC to vist Mark's brother in Manhattan. I am so excited. I truly cannot wait to have some alone/fun/vacation time with Mark. I will miss the Manling terribly, and this will be the first time he is away from both of us, but I can hoping everything will go okay. there are so many things I want to go see and do in Manhattan, and I believe Mark's brother might get us tickets to see him dance in The Sleeping Beauty at the Met. If this falls through in any way I am going to be devastated.

Do the Hippogrif

The Manling's sleeping is going much better these days. We decided to just take off the long side of his crib and use it as a daybed. The fall would still be a little shocking if you were asleep, so we put an under-bed tote next to the crib. It makes it easier for us to slither out from his crib if he needs us to lie there until he falls asleep. Usually he gets drowsy as we read H.arry P.otter and the 'alf-blood P.rince aloud. It took us almost 2-1/2 t=years to get through the previous book, but we are midway through book 6, which we started a month or 2 ago. That author is really entertaining; she deserves every cent of the bazillions of dollars she is getting.

This cycle has turned out to be a loss... again. My temperatures have raised as of about 2-3 days ago, but cervical mucus didn't make an appearance. Actually, on Sunday, Mark and I actually got to go out. By ourselves! To a hockey game, and we actually saw all 3 periods without anyone getting arrested or their teeth knocked out! Mark arranged for his friend Rinaud to babysit the Manling, who apparently was very sweet and well-behaved, so maybe we can trick her, I mean ask her to babysit again.

Anyway, at the game, I thought I had abruptly peed my pants, so I ran to the bathroom. (Delivering a baby really does a number to your nethers, so you never know.) I had some perceptible mucus, but not the egg-white, stretchy spinnbarkeit type mucus so I thought nothing of it. It was gone by the time we got home. I am quite disappointed by the lack of mucus, but the temperature spike must mean I'm ovulating, right? I have about 6 more weeks before I can go bug my doctor about this during the thyroid appointment, and by then I should have another cycle under my belt, no pun intended.

This episode just pointed out that I haven't been using my "spit-o-scope" so I would have missed the ferning anyway. I can't bring myself to do the cervical-position test; I can barely remember to check my mucus before I pee. If I get more vigilant at using the spit-o-scope, charting my temps, and monitoring my cervical mucus, and I'm not pregnant by July, I would like to get a referral to a Reproductive Endocrinologist. I just don't know how long you have to wait before getting the referral since we're working on correcting the thyroid problem, and since I'd be a secondary infertility problem, I hope I don't have to wait a full 12 months. 12 months from when? July 2006 when we started trying? 12 months since I got my first bad thyroid numbers in November 2006? Or 12 months from when my thyroid TSH is back into the 1.0-2.0 range considered conducive for pregnancy... sometime in 2007?????

Until It Sleeps

I'm not going deaf. I have fluid in my middle ear. I am supposed to do saline irrigation in my nose, and/or take Suda.fed. It may not go away for 3 or so weeks even doing these things; or more to the point, not irrigating. I just can't do that.

Another thing I just can't do is get the Manling to fall asleep on his own. The night before the doctor visit, he decided to houdini himself out of his crib. Luckily, Mark was sleeping on the floor in front of the crib, in another mid-night wake/sleep/lather/repeat session, so he wasn't hurt. We mentioned that to the doctor who said his recommendation is to move a toddler to a bed, whether it be toddler or regular, immediately, to prevent injuries or broken bones. We have been looking for a method to keep our sanity as well as the Manling safe. We bought a bedrail, and took off one long side of his crib, but the box says it's NOT for use with a crib. We've tried the mattress on the floor, but he just won't go to sleep on it. There is something security-wise for him about the crib, I think. I'm going crazy trying to get him to go to sleep and allow me to leave the room without him waking up and crying. I know this too will pass, but it's a very difficult stage.

More later about my shark-boy.

Telltale Signs/Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before

The Manling is in his "sign explosion" where he is learning about a million new signs a day. Seriously, he learned about 10-15 signs last week, including "mama" finally. He's also adding a few words, not "mama," of course. We go to his 18mo well-child visit tomorrow so I'll see what the doctor has to say about his development.

I've been reading up on the Billings Method of monitoring ovulation, as well as reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. Hopefully I can determine exactly when (if) I ovulate this month. My calculations would put a delivery right after the solstice or near New Years. Perhaps do-able, no pun intended.

In other news on the medical front, I swear that I have lost a drastic amount of hearing in my right ear. It has been ringing for a few months, but I thought it was perhaps related to thyroid stuff of the jaw problem. (Man, I am falling apart!) I have a noticeable loss of hearing when talking on the phone and if I have my back turned to someone, it's difficult to distinguish what they are saying. I'm going to ask the doctor tomorrow who gives hearing tests and whether I should schedule it for my next blood draw or what. Too many loud shows, I guess.

I'm not a hypochondriac; all of my medical problems have causes. The good news is that I have been feeling a lot more positive and up-beat lately.