My Little Troopers

Kids are often more resilient than we give them credit for. Even newborn babies can handle more than we think they can. But as parents, we have such a tender spot in our hearts for our little ones that we hate to see them suffer at all. However, it can't be avoided.

While kids are resilient, we still are so proud when they handle things well. Yes there may be some tears and even drama to go along with it, but they get through it and come out on the other end. And like good mother hens, we cluck around them and puff our feathers up with pride.

I have two little troopers in my house right now!

Miss Rose was stung by a bee yesterday in the pool--and never truly shed a tear. We think she jumped in and landed on a bee already in the water. She kept pulling at her suit and grabbing her side. When Bean checked it out, he realized what happened. I think she since was having so much fun swimming, she just wanted the pain out of her mind so she could keep playing.

This is a girl who practically wants stitches for a 1 cm scratch. Everything requires neosporin and a bandaid. We're trying to teach her to cut the drama and deal with the discomfort. Especially since she starts soccer next month.

Today, Miss Rose needed a blood test to determine her allergens. With her, knowledge is more than half the battle, so I tried to prepare her with what would happen and what it would feel like. Unfortunately I forgot about how they tie off the arm with elastic and at that point she began to scream a bit.

Poor baby had to be stuck twice since the first stick wouldn't give any blood. I kept talking to her (she got to sit on my lap) and telling her it was like the bee sting and trying to calm her. She screamed a bit more than I had hoped, but in the end she did okay. (The technition told me I was a great parent--not sure what I said or did that gave him that impression, but it was appreciated).

Once it was over and we were on our way, there were no more tears and she didn't complain too much. Of course the Starbucks treat helped with that. But she deserved it (nothing with caffeine of course). A few hours later she took off her band-aids and hardly mentioned it the rest of the day!

Gracie is my little trooper too. She really is such an easy-going child. Her personality is coming out more, and there are a few fits over not getting a toy she wants. But she is just a steady child. Today she was throwing more fits and fussing more than normal, so I took a peek into her mouth.

What do you know? My baby is cutting 3 molars, another recently cut and I think there was an eye tooth coming through also. I never would have guessed. Hardly a peep or a fuss. It might explain why she hasn't been eating as well lately and only wanting her milk.

I'm so proud of my kiddos! They never cease to amaze me. What troopers.

Poor Girl

Kids are so good at exaggerating and coming up with excuses. Earlier this year Miss Rose had her first episode of faking sickness in order to not go to preschool. I was having trouble distinguishing if she was being truthful or not, so I let her stay home with a babysitter. She was SO faking...confirmed by the sitter. She tried to pull the same thing several times not long after, but I didn't give in.

When kids complain of aches and pains, it can be really hard to distinguish fact from fiction. Miss Rose is notorious for certain ailments that only show themselves at bedtime. Such as the itchy place on her back that needs attention...only at 8:15pm for the last three nights. But oh, it itches so bad and needs cream or a wet cloth or Mama's scratching.

There has been no doubt in my mind these last several months that Miss Rose had a chronic nose issue. The girls passed a lot of sickness back and forth this winter, so it was easy to associate it as lingering effects. I had them both in to the doctor several times, usually diagnosed with viruses.

Gracie has miraculously been healthy for a few months now. But Miss Rose's nose continued to pour. I mean, the hugest snot rockets ever! All day long. A month or so ago, the doc thought she had a sinus infection--so she had a round of antibiotics. It did clear up some, but not completely.

Finally after rescheduling the appointment a few weeks ago on my supermom breakdown day (see earlier post!) we went in today. After waiting for over an hour in the room, a nurse poked her head in and said--have you been seen? Um, no! Have you been waiting long? Um, yeah. A medical assistant forgot to tell the dr. we were waiting and he had been in his office for 45min doing other work. He felt really bad, so I spared them my mom wrath.

Long story short...my suspicion was correct and the poor girl has allergies. He pointed out the dark circles under eyes and the dark line across her nose from it being blown so much and her pushing it up as she wiped it. He even had me look in her nose with the light/magnifier to see how swollen the little things are inside (yeah, can't remember the name now).

So--it's another round of antibiotics to clear up the congestion again, nasal spray, kids Claratin and some bloodwork to find out the culprits and make sure food isn't one.

My low moment was when he asked if she complained of headaches. Which she has been lately and I've been completely discounting them. I did give her tylenol once. Does that make me a little bit of a better mommy?

Bean has allergies and had them pretty bad as a kid, so I'm not too surprised. Eczema is part of the allergy family and Gracie has had that pretty badly, but I'm really hoping she doesn't end up with allergies too.

Of course my little sponge soaked in every word the Dr. said and every explaination I offered her in the car later. She then gave an almost verbatim description of the entire episode to her Grammie and then her dad. She's too smart for her own good.