Big Long Update

Playing in the Toy Box

It's a Duck!

"Mom, is it done yet?"

Today was a busy day for us. Ryan had to be at the doctor's office at 8:30 this morning which meant we had to leave the house no later than 7:30. No...the doctor's office is not an hour's drive, but it takes an hour to load up, drive, get caught in a.m. rush hour traffic, enter the parking garage, hope for a parking space, find a parking space, unload, get on the elevator, visit the necessary room (of course I drank coffee on the way!), and enter the office to sign in. I'm glad we didn't leave any later this morning. Rush hour was a mess! The appointment went well. Ryan screamed his head off during and after the shot. This time, for the first time, I noticed him recognizing what was happening...laying on the paper, on the table, with pants down meant bad things. It was a neat realization. After his appointment Ryan and I had a "date" in the cafeteria. He ate some scrambled eggs and some oatmeal. I ate a biscuit with some gravy and any of Ryan's leftovers. That's becoming a more and more common thing. He eats...I get what's left. After our breakfast we went to the gift shop scouting out some hats for Ryan's Nana. We left empty-handed. Oh well.

We then went to Wal-Mart. I was on a mission to return a non-working item. I had to do a little arguing, and then I found my receipt. All was well. I also got a new pattern. Did you know that the Belle Isle Wal-Mart still has a fabric/sewing department? Not many Wal-Marts have that department anymore. Many have a "craft" department consisting of one aisle of crafty odds and ends. I found a great pattern for making some pants/shorts for my little guy. Very few things fit him around the waste. He grows out of his pants lengthwise long before they even begin to fit him around the middle. I decided I could just make him some pants and shorts for the upcoming months. It will be fun for me. Who knows?...maybe I could start making and selling pants/shorts custom fitted for preemies. Do you think there would be a market for that?

After our short little excursion at the Wal-Mart Ryan and I made our way to OU Children's Hospital. I haven't been down in that area for over a year. I think the last time I was there was when my good friend, Mary, had her little boy. Children's recently moved from the "Old Children's Hospital" to the "New Children's Hospital" which used to be Everett Tower. I was excited about seeing the new hospital, but I didn't realize the emotions I would have. This is hard to explain without seeming a bit "over-the-top" but bear with me. You see, since Brandy passed I have few memories that seem "alive". We spent so much time at Children's Hospital that it had become a place that I could go to "re-live" some memories, memories that seemed to come to life. I could walk those halls and with every step I could close my eyes and go back...to a time when she was here...the PICU, the Parent Hotel, the Surgery waiting room, the picture of Bozo the clown on the wall, the Surgery Floor, the Cowboy decor in the waiting room, the special waiting room just for parents of heart babies, the ER, the green elevators, the window overlooking the heli-pad, the Child Life specialists, the Aikman Endzone, the PICU waiting room, the cafeteria, the managerie of elevators leading to different parts of the hospital, the parking garage.... Some of the memories are not great; some are even awful. Now they are all gone. Children's Hospital...the place we lived, the place we cried, the place we loved, the place we hated, the place we knew...is no more.

Well, anyway we went to deliver a note to a family of a preemie. Without getting into any details for fear of saying something I would later regret the mission was unsuccessful.

The rest of the day was spent at home other than an hour or so over at Nana's house to install a carseat in her car. Ryan has been a nut all afternoon. I think they must have spiked his shot with some caffeine because he has been one wired up little boy all afternoon and even until just about 30 minutes ago. He has been so happy though and talking and laughing. I just love that little boy. I can't imagine why God would ever choose me to be blessed so much, but I'm so very very thankful.

Some exciting news...Ryan actually went to sleep...on his own! We had our usual nighttime routine stuff after which he and I laid in the twin bed in his room. He wouldn't settle down, so I laid him in his crib. He fussed and cried for a while, but I kept telling him it was "night, night time". Eventually he laid down and rolled from one end of the crib to the other until he finally wore himself out and went to sleep. I hope this is the start of something good. Speaking of sleeping reminds of something I haven't mentioned. Some things I mention on this blog are meant only for my own personal records. This is more or less my journal. I would love to have more time to write everyday. Some things I mention on this blog are meant to inform/help someone else. Ultimately I would hope that anything I say would lead you to see God's great love, His grace, and His mercy...that He still does miracles and, He still offers you a place in Heaven with him throughout eternity. One of these days I'll devote an entire blog only to this subject. If you have questions please ask though.

I got off a little on my original thought...Speaking of sleeping reminded me of what we've been going through at our house lately. Ryan as been sleeping terribly for a week or more now. He has been going to bed at a reasonable hour, but he has been waking up within a couple of hours screaming his head off. It's a scream that's more than just "I don't want to be in bed". It's a terrifying scream. At times he is easily consoled. At other times it takes a long time for him to settle down. Dad is not even an option during most of these times. He often goes back to sleep but then wakes up again a couple hours later. It's a viscious cycle. I asked him the other day if he remembered he was a 13 month old not a 3 month old. It's been worrying me to some degree, but then my mom called me the other day and said she had read in a parenting magazine in her doctor's office that children who are teething often wake up with "Night Screams". It fits perfectly. I've started giving him Motrin right before bed in hopes that if the screams are at all related to pain the medicine would help. Other than that I am now just resting assured that this too shall pass. I'm just glad to find out what it is and to know it's a common normal thing.