LOTS of Updates!!!

Hello Lexington FAMILY Magazine readers!

Please forgive me! It seems as though I've fallen off the face of the earth, I realize, when in fact it's just the opposite. I've been soooo busy in the last few months, it's as though the world just won't stop spinning!

So, some updates on life and MRP are called for: Since my last post in July (bad Karyn!), we've been to the hospital TWICE with her, had some major milestones, and have gotten some odd news. Read on.

First trip to the ER: Let me start by saying, it was totally my fault :( Brian was raking outside, and MRP and I were just chatting with him, when I decided to take her for a walk. I brought her into the garage, put her into our orange umbrella stroller, and wheeled her out into the driveway. Here's the kicker: I didn't strap her in (even though I even second-guessed myself when I first put her into it) because I thought "Oh, I'll just be a minute, she'll be okay 'til I get her into the driveway to tighten the belt." Ha, not so much. I wheeled her out, and within 30 seconds of being out there, she leaned over and SLAM! I looked down and she was bent over in her seat with her forehead smack-dab on the ground, and she was screaming bloody murder, rightfully so. We scooped her up and she immediately had a large swollen egg on her head that was already starting to look bad. I burst into tears, and Brian took her to walk around the yard and to sing to her. Everytime I tried to take her back, I just looked at her tiny little face and cried all over again. "You realize I won't be able to put her down or sleep tonight until we take her somewhere and have her checked out, right?" I said to my husband. So off we went to the E.R. Poor little girl. We waited about 45 minutes to see a doctor (you should've seen them trying to get her temperature, or was it her pulse?, from this little tape-thing they wrapped around her toe: entertaining to say the least) and when we finally DID see the doctor, he treated me like an imbecile. He walked in and said "Oh she's fine...what did she do, hit her head on a fall?" He HADN'T EVEN LOOKED AT HER YET! Umm, yes, that's what happened. He took her head in his hands and pushed all over it, hard (it even looked painful) and was finished and signing us out in two minutes. I said "doesn't that huge spot on her head look really bad? Like it's just full of blood right there?" He turned to me and said "yeah, it's called a BRUISE" and walked out. NICE HUH?

Our second trip to the hospital was HORRIBLE, to say the least. MRP had started for about a week to get fussy at night, and was throwing up every time I tried to give her a new food. And that's what we chalked it up to--not liking the new foods. Soon she stopped drinking her bottle, and then getting sick over and over again. The day we got her in to the pediatrician, she was already on her 5th set of clothes. I was told after a 3-4 minute exam, that it was just a stomach bug, and to give her some Pedialyte to keep her from getting dehydrated. She liked the orange flavor and drank two (of her) bottles that night. Then next morning, she was getting sick again, coughing, and had a temperture. Swine Flu? Who knows. We called and they made us an appointment for 6PM since the waiting room was so full. However, 20 minutes later, they called back and said they were too worried about her symptoms and her age, and that they were calling in the on-call doctor to examine her. We got there very quickly, and that's when everything went down hill. They had to use a catheter to get a urine sample, and were having ME hold her arms down to do it.(Don't they PAY people to do this?) I cried uncontrollably of course, so they had to have Brian come in and do it. Then they had to get a blood sample. He came out of the room, (as the professional he is, this surprised me), and said "I'm never doing that again, ever." We were told to take her to the hospital to admit her ASAP. "Do not stop for food, do not go home, go straight there," they told us. As you can imagine, I was a basketcase. I called my Mom and could barely speak. MRP was admitted to the hospital for about two days to receive fluids. We thought for sure there was no way that she'd sit on that bed for that long, without all her toys or the ability to get down on the floor and crawl around. Boy were we wrong. She was so out of it, she just layed there. Again, it was HORRIBLE. They tested her, and just kept saying "stomach bug." We think they were just scared to say "stomach FLU."

Little MRP was also bitten a few weeks ago by our family beagle, Buddy, that we've had for YEARS! She was crawling towards his bed in the living room and stopped just short of it. Buddy usually could care less what she does or where she is, but something just struck him the wrong way I guess, and he lunged for her face. THANKFULLY, she only had a mark at her hairline, and not on her face, but blood was everywhere, and Brian had to give her a bath just to clean her up. We're now keeping Buddy separated from her with a gate, but he was punished so badly, he's been behaving much better lately. I know some of you are sitting there saying "Get rid of him!" but I rescued him from such a terrible existence, I can't imagine getting rid of him.

Now some milestone updates:
* MRP will be turning one year old next month. Any suggestions on planning a successful birthday party for her age? Anything you did that your kid(s) loved?
* MRP can now walk about 4-5 steps between Brian and I, but still likes to crawl to get to places faster. How exciting; she'll soon be a little monster :P
* Her new favorite thing to do while eating (and a great tool for Mommy to keep her fingers out of her mouth) is to High Five! She thinks it's hilarious, and when I stop doing it, she grabs my hand to keep going. So sweet.
* The other big news? You've guessed it--we're expecting again! (I know, everyone at once: OHHH MYYYYYY!!) Believe me, this baby, much like MRP, was not planned :) Estimated due date of baby #2: May 27th. So far, everything's going swimmingly. Not much sickness, just tired all the time (of course). We had our first sonogram the other day--crappy pictures again--same woman that we had with MRP, but everything "looked great!"

So, as long as this post is, at least you've been caught up on MRP and have heard the BIG NEWS! Stay tuned for a new blog (I promise :)--I guess I don't have to write that one about "Keeping the Spark Alive" now right? :P

Until next time, expect the unexpected!
Karyn Potts
*To comment--would LOVE some!--click the button below*