Honey I Put The Kids In A Bubble

I wish I could stick the kids in a bubble sometimes. After more than a month of sick kid hell, I want to quarantine them and keep them well and have a few moments of sanity. The past three days have been insane. Molly has cried nonstop, and after her sleeping pattern changed, I knew what the problem was. Tonight I took her to the after-hours clinic, listened to her scream furiously for over an hour while we waited for the doctor, and got the diagnosis I expected: a double earache. This is just like sister Lily's most recent earache, where no real head cold was apparent, but enough drainage had caused the earache. Parents take heed: earaches can occur without a head cold.

So this explains the evil baby behavior. I should have taken her to the clinic sooner - both for her sanity and mine. I was super busy with work since Wednesday, both because I was catching up from not working Tuesday and because I'm fighting through another work issue, so it was immensely stressful trying to work and care for a screaming baby (and two other needy kids). I've been a little frantic. Besides, I've slept poorly because Molly has slept poorly, so that hasn't helped my stress level.

Tomorrow should be a new day. We hope. The pink medicine has saved us again.

Even without an earache, Molly has definitely shifted into toddler behavior mode. She is feisty, angry, temperamental, and already throws tantrums by throwing herself on the floor. At 13 months. Huh? I didn't know this was possible at such a young age. Lily, in contrast, is turning out to be spastic and hyper when happy, but much milder in temperament (a total flip flop on temperaments from their infant days). The difference between Molly and Lily is that Molly gets angry whereas Lily gets her feelings hurt. It's a striking difference.

Molly, therefore, has become quite high maintenance recently. She can be exhausting. On the other hand, she also gives back a lot. She is the cuddliest baby I've ever had, needing constant physical reassurance (which is both endearing and tiring). She is also amazingly observant and is learning words at light speed. A few nights ago, during dinner, the babies had gotten messy with whatever food they were eating. Kyle offhandedly looked at Molly and said, "do you want a bath tonight?" (mind you, Molly loves nothing more than baths - she screams when you take her out of the tub). Molly immediately pushed herself back from the table and tried to unbuckle her safety strap while smiling ear to ear and looking toward upstairs. It was downright hysterical and made Kyle and me immediately laugh. Lily didn't comprehend one bit of the exchange, another striking difference between them.

Lily, as I said, has gotten quite spastic and hyper when she's happy, throwing herself around the floor for fun (her uncle noted we must put her in gymnastics as soon as possible). She continues to be overly active - though still refusing to walk - and other than occasionally sitting in your lap (just to practice the ability to maneuver herself into your lap) she doesn't much care for physical reassurance. She just wants to move. But she's mild all day, and content just to keep herself moving, and doesn't take much effort other than an occasional meal or diaper change. She's getting the short end of the stick right now due to both Molly and Claire's need for attention, but others remind me to forget the guilt and instead be happy that I don't have both twins being high maintenance right now. I just worry that Lily's lack of vocabulary can be linked to the current lack of attention, but I suppose she'll catch up some day.

Tomorrow is tap & ballet class, which was missed last weekend because of the vomiting, and lots of errands because we are getting ready for a family photo shoot on Sunday. It's Christmas card time!