Sunday, October 14, 2012

Long Hot Summer

The summer of 2012 was a hot one. Even located near the beach, it got uncomfortably hot for long stretches of time. Often, we found solace at the pool or at the beach. Thankfully, Sydney got acclimated to water pretty quickly.

A few pics of Sydney enjoying pool time!

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Good Dad

Today Casey and I were at the park. He was having a great time playing, when he hit his head and starting crying. He came to me for comforting; hugs and kisses. I finally was able to console him to the point the crying stopped... Then he told me he needed a tissue. 'Cept, I didn't have one. So, I had a choice. End his fun time and go home... or take one for the team. I offered him my arm to wipe his boogers/snot on, and he said he wanted my shirt. So, I gave him my shirt sleeve, and he proceeded to take four HUGE swipes of both nostrils across my sleeve, leaving streak marks that soaked thru my sleeve. And he went on his merry way, back to playing... Meanwhile, it started getting cold, and the wind hit the wet spots on my sleeve and made me freeze. But I man-d up and continued to let him play!

Monday, October 1, 2012

Remedy or Torture?

I witnessed a horrible, heartbreaking scene tonight. Sydney has been sick for about a week now. Saw the doctor today and she recommended a saline flush 2x daily. I didn't have a clue what this entailed. Well, here it is. First you get two towels. Wrap him tight in one. I'm thinking, why? Its about 90 degrees today; what about this process is going to make him so cold that he needs to be wrapped tight in a towel? I soon realized this towel wasn't for warmth. It was more like a strait jacket. Think mental hospital patient, or super max security prisoner- it was so he couldn't use his arms and legs to flail and escape. Next was a towel spread out under him. And finally was the saline bottle. Reminded me of a canister of compressed air, like the ones used to clean computer keyboards, etc. Except instead of compressed air, this canister held saline solution.
Now for the application. You have to straddle the victim child, and use your body weight to keep him from escaping. You are assisted by the fact that you previously put him in the strait jacket. Then, you stick this canister up his nose and pull the trigger. It pretty much floods the victim child with saline, effectively cleaning out the system of all snot, flem and boogers. Kinda like an enema or a douche, except different orifice... It was right about this time when I figured out what the second towel was for. The saline/snot/flem/booger mixture came pouring out of his nose- like a faucet left wfo. (wide-f&^%^%ing-open) It just pours out and soaks the towel beneath him. All the while, victim child is crying hysterically and really uncomfortable. It broke my heart to experience this... all constrained, helpless and miserable. After what seemed like an eternity, the flushing was done, and his breathing sounded much better. Hopefully he's headed for a peaceful night sleep, uninterupted by a snot induced failure to breathe!
Good night little man, I hope you feel better soon!