In other news...

Above and beyond the breaking news of our unexpected arrival there has been alot of other significant happenings in the Abrahams household. Aside from adjusting to having a newborn in the house, we've also been sitting with 2 sick older kids at home for almost 2 weeks now.

Bilaal has this chronic problem every winter with post nasal drip which causes bouts of coughing. In previous years we have managed it with frequent trips to the doctor and medication. But this year it seems to have hit him pretty hard. Last tuesday he was sent to the sick room at school because he was coughing too much. He stayed home on wednesday and we had intended to send him to school on thursday, but then we ended up rushing to hospital instead. Friday he developed a fever so he was home again and then just got progressively worse over the weekend, which didn't do any favours for my my first night home with Uthmaan. On top of that Sumayah was also home from the monday already with tonsilitis. To say she was miserable all week would be an understatement! Sumayah is that age now where change is not embraced easily, even good change. But it is also in her nature to be emotionally overwhelmed by changes in her universe. So can you imagine her being sick and miserable with a sick older brother sharing the tlc and further down the week I go away for 2 days only to bring home with me a baby, which follows with grandparents, aunt and uncle and even great grandparent arrivals sleeping in an already recently rearranged, redecorated home...

Needless to say my first weekend home was pretty wild, but we leave that for another post. In the mean time sunday comes around and we have ourselves a very sick Bilaal with an extremely high fever, coughing like a dog, shivering, crying, in pain. Monday rolls round and a trip to the doctor brings home a bag full of medicine. So every morning and every night we spend at least 20 minutes giving him his medication, nebulizing him and just generally trying to help him feel more comfortable. And just when he looks and acts as though he's better, the fever spikes up again! And then there's the all night delirium that ensues in a humurous but annoying way only Bilaal knows how. All night you hear him talking to soneone ranging from lengthy explanations to arguments to complaining or moaning about something he imagined Sumayah to be doing. According to the doctor the antibiotic should start being effective after 4 to 5 doses when the fever should go away. Today, thursday, after a whole week at home Bilaal's fever finally broke. He will be home again tomorrow seeing as there's only one day  of the week left, but I really hope we will have our regular, annoying little 8 year old cheeky, talkative, happy boy back.

Sumayah I am pleased to report went back to school today. It was so cute to see how much her classmates and teachers missed her. They even phoned last week to find out how she was doing. When she stepped into class this morning the whole class immediately started chanting and knocking on the tables 'su-may-ah, su-may-ah...' over and over again. I was worried that after such a long absence and Uthmaans arrival she might cry when I left but she must have felt so special that she immediately went to sit with her friends with the biggest smile on her face.

Needless to say, amid  all the excitement, life... still happens...

Misery loves company

The season of sickness is upon us! Everywhere you turn there's someone coughing or sniffing and our house has been no exception! This is the reason I haven't blogged in some time. We have just had an endless cycle of misery doing the rounds. It started with Bilaal, then to me, then back to Bilaal, then Sumayah, me again and now finally, Yaasier. Now I realise getting sick is inevitable, but I usually don't get affected as badly as I did this time. All I wanted to do was crawl deep under the covers for a few days and sleep. But of course there is no sick leave when your job description is 'mommy'. There's still kids to feed and bath and fetch from school and all the rest. I was in Dischem the other day buying a humidifier for the kids' rooms when a complete stranger came up to me and asked me 'are you sick, you look very sick?'. I was taken aback but I answered yes to which she replied, 'shame you shouldn't be out.' When this happens you know you look terrible! I am happy to report though that I am feeling much better and so are the kids. But I have learned from this experience that Sumayah has the worst sick personality ever! Bilaal is crabby yes and just wants his mommy to hold him and comfort him a little, but Sumayah! Wow I have to say I had absolutely no patience with her when she was sick... She turned into a little monster! Now I know I'm not supposed to say that and feel all tender and loving toward my sick little baby girl... Fek that! I am only expressing the truth. And the truth is that I do not like her very much when she is sick and I am soooo glad she is better or I swear I would've gone potty. Here's to everyones health this winter!

Wordless Wednesday Mishap!

Yesterday my most faithful reader, my brother Rameez commented on my facebook profile about my wordless wednesday post asking, 'a bit too early?' To give you a clue as to how slow motion my brain has been operating this past 2 days let me tell you I couldn't for the life of me figure out what he meant by that. It was only now when I wanted to catch up on some blog reading and I noticed my fellow blogger Karen posted her Wordless Wednesday picture today that I realised that I was a day early! This I tell you is the effect being sick has on a mother's mind. On Monday morning I went to see my students at their fieldwork placement and I was feeling fine. And then, when I got home at about 11.30am, it was like a wave of flu just suddenly crashed over my head. I started to feel cold even though the sun was shining outside and I was dressed like an eskimo; my body was aching and paining from head to toe, and my throat was all warm and sore. Thank goodness Abigail was there so I could take a 20minute power nap before getting ready to fetch Bilaal. because even when you are feeling like the dog's breakfast, the 'mumdrum' of life must go on.

It was only when Yaasier cam home and the kids had supper that I could get into bed and bury myself under the covers. By 7pm I was lights out still wearing my eskimo clothes with a fleece gown and wooly slippers added on top of that and my brand new Mothers Day beanie a couple of good friends gave me, all bundled under the blankets and duvet! The next day I felt much better, off to see my students again, even managing to mark their work and give them feedback I think they understood? But that little bit of thinking took so much energy out of me that by the afternoon when Bilaal was home I needed another sleep. Thank goodness for playstation and t.v! I know, a very un-OT like comment to make. But when you are in serious need of some shut-eye recovery time. these evils of our technological age are fantastic babysitters! I locked us upstairs with Bilaal at the playstation and cbeebies on the tele and slept away. So I think I can be forgiven for thinking it was Wednesday already when I finally came to my senses right?

So anyway, I am far less of a porridge brain today, although my throat still feels very inflamed, but I am back to my usual functional self!

Separation Anxiety

It is as though Sumayah has read the manual! According to Baby Sense, "This is the age when separation anxiety starts, and (she) will exasperate you with (her) fickleness of mood. One minute (she) will be playing quite happily on (her) own, and the next (she) will be sobbing inconsolably if you move out of (her) line of vision."

I really though that with me striking the perfect balance between being a part stay-at-home, part working mom, she would overcome her separation issues. When I leave in the morning she is perfectly fine as long as Abegail distracts her when I leave. Yet when I am home with her there are times when she is totally engrossed in her own little play world that she couls care less where I am, and then most other times I can't even move round a corner to reach for something without her crying.

I have come to realise that this may also be the root of our sleeping woes. Yes they still continue. I have not blogged about it for a while because I resumed sleep training last week and was hoping that I could reveal my success after the fact and bring about a change of tone to my blog from gloomy to hopeful. Well it was going well initially. She started taking full 2 hour naps in the day! Night times still had its hourly wakings, but all she required was a little pat and her dummy.

And then, of course, she developed tonsilitis! So all sleep training progress was thrown out the window and I now have to wait for her to be fully recovered before I can start all over again! Of course it doesn't help that I too have a cold, so does Yaasier (even worse that mine) and Bilaal recovering from a cold too!

She has become so clingly I have even dug out the old Baby Sense sling and find myself washing dishes with her in the 'hip hold' position. I really am at my wits end with this whole sleep story. Earlier I read a post on The Reluctant Mom's Blog that was so painfully truthful and honest and I was soooo glad I read it. Sometimes as moms we feel so alone guilty when we experience negative emotions and thoughts toward our children because not only because we love them, but because we are afraid that we will be judged as inadequate, a failure, a bad mother... when really we should realise that ALL moms experience negativity at some time during motherhood. And it is in realising that and confronting the ugliness of our emotions that we are able to seek help. So once again Reluctant Mom... Thank you for your honesty!

Insomnia!

I think Sumayah has insomnia. Last night at about 2.30am she woke up and just couldn't fall back to sleep. We tried rocking, walking, shushing, singing, reciting prayers, sitting, lying, leaving her to cry... but the little bugger just wouldn't drop off. The eyes kept drooping and rolling and she seemed quite settled and content on the arm, but she just couldn't cross the bridge into that blissful state of deep sleep. On top of that Bilaal had a slight tummy bug... again! and since he is not yet proficient at cleaning his own poepgatjie, every hour he would come into the room announcing that he was going to make a number 2 so that I would know to be on bum cleaning alert! I think I only got some shut-eye at about 5am?! Madame eventually fell asleep in our bed with alot of tossing and turning in her sleep, yet she still managed to wake up at 6.30am ready for breakfast. Now given her lack of nightly slumber one would assume that her usual morning nap would happen easily, but Nay! The little insomniac managed to skip her nap all together until she evetually just dropped off at about 12h30, just when I wanted to give her lunch. She was so tired even when I lifted her out of the car she carried on sleeping  in a head-upright position. But don't breathe a sigh of relief yet, because this beauty sleep only lasted about 30 mins! Aha as we speak she has just woken up from her afternoon nap after only about 30 mins again. Better go see if I can get her to drift off for at least another 20 min? perhaps? maybe?

Not Measles After All!

Fortunately Bilaal doesn't have measles. Apparently Bilaal's throat infection didn't completely clear, the doctor let me have a look and there were huge critters sitting around his tonsils. So now he is on antibiotics AGAIN! But, the doctor said he can go to school tomorrow and I needn't keep him from swimming. But I think just as a precaution I will skip the swimming lesson tomorrow and wait till next week.

Can this be Measles!

On Friday Bilaal complained that he wasn't feeling well, soon followed by a fever and the sniffles. My initial thought was, "sick, again!". I assumed it was the flu because he's main symptoms were that of blocked nose and fever so we didn't go to the doctor. I gave hims meds for the fever, but it coming back, until finally yesterday morning the fever broke and I thought... 'aaah finally now he will start getting better.' Luckily I phoned the doctor and made a tentative appointment for today in case he didn't improve, and whaddaya know, last night he broke out in a crazy, itchy, welty rash on his chest, arms and groin and redness on his cheeks too. It must have been itching like crazy because he was scratching himself open and moaning in his sleep. Luckily I had some Advantan Milk the dr prescribed for Sumayah when she was about 3 months old. It's a cortico-steroid for littlies and it worked wonders. So I googled the symptoms of measles and it seems to match and with the measles outbreak in Gauteng with immunization roll-out this week, it looks very likely. It supposedly starts with the sniffles or a cough and mild fever which lasts about 3 to 4 days. When the fever breaks, the rash appears. Apparently if it is measles it is infectious for the 4 days before the rash appears and then for 24 hours after the rash disappears. There is no pharmacological treatment for measles, only rest, good nutrition and plenty of fluids. But I guess i can only summise that it indeed what it is until I see the doctor later. This morning the rash is completely gone, but he still has the sinus problems. All I can do now is wait and see.

First the one then the other!

So just when Bilaal was feeling better from the tonsilitis, Sumayah started with a fever! It started on Friday afternoon, but the fever was quite mild and she was pretty much her usual self, maybe only just a little lethargic, but not to the extent that she couldn't stay awake. She was still eating normally, shouting normally, playing normally. So I put it down to teething. But then Friday night her fever just spiked to 39 degrees! When neurofen, sponging, nakedness and the fan didn't bring the temperature down I started to worry. Her behaviour was pretty much still the same, but on Saturday morning I thought she bit too big a piece of apple and I was trying to fish it out of her mouth, she cried of course and that's when I noticed little white spots at the back of her throat. So off the doctor with us. After examining her the doctor said that Sumayah must have a really high pain threshold because she actually has really bad strep throat and the doctor was really surprised that Sumayah was still eating normally! What can I say the girl loves her food! So was I advised that from now on at the first sign of even illness i should rather take Sumayah to the doctor because she may be the kind of child that won't show any signs of distress even when it's something serious! The doctor really didn't want to give her antibiotics, but there wasn't an alternative. Bilaal finishes his course today and Sumayah finishes hers on Wednesday. But guess what I feel like i'm coming down with something too! NO!!! I refuse! I'm gonna pump myself with vitamins and tissue salts and hope to avoid the nasties in the air. Wish me luck.

Tonsilitis Monsterlitis

On Tuesday I got a call from Bilaal's teacher saying that she has a very sad boy with her who says he's eyes are burning and he is not feeling well. So I fetched him from school. He didn't have a fever or any cold or flu symptoms, but he did say that it felt like "there are speedbumps in my throat".

My immediate reaction was that he was probably coming down with a throat infection so I gave him a medicated fruit lolly and straight to bed. Now the strange thing is he was already on an antibiotic because the previous week he had an insect bite on his leg that became infected - cellulitis! Needless to say this didn't stop the nasties in the air! He slept nicely and still seemed ok, just tired when suddenly at about 5pm he's temperature spiked to 39 degrees and started crying bitterly that he's throat was burning. I quickly phoned the doctor who prescribed his antibiotics last week. Of course all the doctors rooms were closed already,so she advised that I just try to bring the temp down and monitor him through the night and if he didn't improve to bring him in the next morning.

What a long night. He just got worse and the temp just wouldn't come down. He was medicated, i gave him a sponge bath, I slept in his bed for most of the night with a damp cloth and a fan on, I even tried homeopathic stuff... nothing. Of course it didn't help that Sumayah kept waking up too so I was like a yo-yo between the two rooms all night. The very next morning I took him to the doctor and what do you know... those 'speedbumps' in his throat couldn't be a more apt description for Tonsilitits!

So my poor baby has been pretty much miserable with his throat speedbumps. Every so now and again he would just suddenly cry out in pain when he's throat suddenly burns. Anyone with kids I would recommend you get 'Viral Forte' throat lollies, they really do help with sore throats and yet appealing to the kids.

Good News Bad News

I am happy to report that Bilaal is no longer hurling vomit and has regained his usually ferocious apetite. As expected, it got worse before it got better, but when morning broke, so did his fever. He still didn't have much apetite, but he didn't dehydrate and I'm so glad he didn't develop diarrhea! In my last post I was on a guilt rant, but all you mothers out there, when it comes to our kids most of the time we really do know what's best. Trust your instincts, obey your thirst, Sprite! Anyway, so that's the good news.

The bad news is that today, 2 days later, Sumayah has started vomiting. This morning I heard her vomitting while in her cot, but she didn't cry or anything and up till now she hasn't developed a fever. In fact aside from the vomiting and what appears to be cramps after a feed, she seems pretty much her usual vrolike self. So I've got her sleeping on her changing mat in the cot in case she vomits in her sleep.

But, I'm a glass-half-full kinda gal... so you may be thinking where on earth do I see the bright side in the situation? Well look at it his way, it was inevitable that Sumayah would get the bug, but luckily for me she gave me a space to recover from Bilaal being sick, just long enough to to travel back to jhb, unpack and settle back home with 4 loads of washing. It could've been worse, they could've both had the bug at the same time, plus I coulda had it too! Always look on the bright side of life tada ta da...

Always be my baby...

My poor boy is really ill. Its been a long time he's been this ill and it breaks my heart. I always try not to show too much worry or fuss too much while at the same time giving extra tlc... a very delicate balance... just because I believe children pick up on their parents' anxieties and that does not send out good vibes for getting better. So anyway the truth of the matter is that as brave a face I put on, I am so worried about my baby. He may be turning 5 in just 2 months time and no longer my baby... but he will ALWAYS be my baby!

But it is so hard having a little Sumayah to care for as well. Like this afternoon I was breastfeeding Sumayah and Bilaal wanted me to hold him but I couldn't cos I had to finish with the feeding first. He started off this morning only vomiting but still acting his normal self and no fever. He couldnt even hold down plain water. So I went to the pharmacy and was told there's a tummy bug going around. I was given Nauzene and told he should be given fluids regularly and no diary. So anyway I gave him the medicine and some water, he vomited again, but worst still he started to develop a fever. So I gave him Panado. By now he started to get lethargic and slept for most of the day. So now the vomiting has stopped, he can hold down fluids but he still has a fever and is very lethargic. Now its night time so i will have to wait till morning to take him to the dr, but I am so worried and feel guilty that I didnt take him to the dr in the first place. Thing is if i had taken him this afternoon we would've sat there waiting and i just wanted to give him something for the nausea and he didn's have a fever. But hindsight is the best foresight and now i feel soo terribly guilty for not just taking him!

Plus not being home and having hubby is not good. It great to have in-laws support here, but now because Sumayah sleeping in the bed with me and Bilaal is in the other room with my sister-in-law, so I feel kinda helpless. I want him here with me where i can watch him and care for him. I probably won't sleep much and check on him every 15 mins.... this is so horrible! I really hope he will be better in the morning. Plus we supposed to fly back to jhb tomorrow nite. What do I do if he's not better by then. Can he fly? Is he contagious? Guess I will have to wait to get to the dr tomorrow and see!