Tuesday, September 23, 2008

So sad...

Being a working mom, I fear many things. I have second guessed my choice and third guessed it and so on....

Flashback to several weeks ago as I prepared myself to go back to work, and I let my son go spend his days with a new babysitter. I had doubts, but everyone reassured me. I reassured myself. After a few days with the new sitter, mother's intuition started to creep up, and little signs started to point me in a scary direction. First, a hellacious diaper rash makes me question if she changes him regularly. Next, a suspicious rash around his neck, drool stains on his car seat, and a new, overt hatred of his car seat, all point to long hours of time spent in his car seat. We talk with her, she reassures us, and we all go about our business. I go to my daycare guru, my sister. I ask, " How do I know? How do I know that she loves on him enough? How do I know that I not being to overbearing? Am I being hypercritical of the situation?" My wise older sister says to me, "Annie, you have to go with your gut. You'll know if something's not right. You'll know."

Flash forward to two weeks ago when I followed the sitter into the nursery. Andrew played happily on the floor as my eyes scanned the room. Three, six, seven, eight, and Andrew makes nine. My heart dropped. I felt nauseous. What's going on? She's only allowed six, right? I didn't say anything. I'm holding my son, counting and recounting, but I can't muster up a word. I make it to the car, and I call Chris. Then, that number starts to play with my mind. Nine kids. Wait, I didn't see the two babies in there that usually spend their days with Andrew. Where were they? They make eleven. Yikes, this can't be right.


That night, Chris and I talk about the situation, and he decides to talk to the Health department. We don't want to cause trouble we just want to touch base. Luckily, the health department just did one of their semiannual random inspections, and she passed with flying colors! Phew! One thing: she doesn't have Andrew listed as being at the daycare that day. Hmmm... He was there that day. Uh, oh.


Flash forward to a week ago. The Health inspector does another random check, and no Andrew. We assure her that Chris dropped Andrew at the sitter that morning. Later that day, a different health inspector goes. He questions, " Are there any other babies are sleeping in another room?" She answers no. "How old is the youngest baby you have?" Ten months. Wrong again, my dear woman. Andrew should be there, and Andrew is only seven months old. Now the health inspector calls Chris, "Are you sure your wife didn't pick Andrew up already?" Gulp. Chris calls me and shares this.


For the next eleven minutes, I shake uncontrollably and tears stream down my face. I know he's there. He has to be there, but he's just hidden. I start to feel ill. That thought dances around my head: he's hidden. He's hidden and, even worse, that means he's alone. He's hidden, alone. No one is watching him because he has to be hidden for her to "pass" with the health inspector. I can't calm myself down until the phone vibrates in my hand. Deep breath, it's Chris's cell phone. In a muffled voice, he says "Andrew's here. I have him, and he's fine. I'll call you back." The weight from my shoulders lifts, and I just wish I could be the one holding him. I know he's fine now, but I want him. I want him with me. I want to kiss his sweet, round cheeks, and I want to squeeze the rolls on his legs. I want him now.


I left work, and waited for Chris to bring me my baby. At that point, Andrew was my baby and mine alone. (Sorry Daddy.) Once he was in my arms, I settled down considerably. (Sometimes nursing helps mommy, too.)

Poor Chris had to deal with seeing this woman meltdown and as her livelihood crumbled in front of her and her children. We felt so guilty about what we had done to her. What?!@ I know. We just keep reminding ourselves we did the right thing.

The next day, Chris and I took the day off to find a new daycare for Andrew. Here is the feeling I had: Well, I picked the last sitter, and it was a horrible mistake. How do I know that this one will be better? I had to walk in circles to had tear-filled eyes when Chris asked all the important questions about breast milk and daily routines. Not only were all the good places taken, but the directors of these places couldn't believe we didn't have arrangements already in place. Then we would simply share that our previous arrangement "didn't work out".

After 24 hours of stress (more if you consider the week of worry before), we found a fabulous place (which I won't name here) for the baby. Needless to say, it fosters a completely open concept with no places to hide babies. ("Take that baby hider!", I say as I shake my angry fist in the air.) :)

He seems to really love this new place. With the constant interaction from his two caregivers and the other infants, Andrew is making some serious developmental progress. He's eating solids like nobody's business (Steak fingers, anyone?), getting closer to crawling (backwards is a direction, too), and he can sit up on his own!

Well, I started this post LONG ago. I had to stop on numerous occasions because as you all know, I am a tender soul. Every emotion comes with tears, and luckily I am done with tears over this situation. There are so many joyful tears to shed over this fabulous baby. So, stayed tuned for posts like Steak Finger Sassy, The Baby Siren, and having to change work clothes after.... well, you'll have to tune in to hear details.

Although the post will say 9/23/08, I am finally able to finish it and put this issue to bed on a cool Sunday morning... October 5.

Here's to being a peanut.
;)

Anne

Friday, September 19, 2008

Whole other level of loogie


I don't think that loogie is a real word, but no other word packs a punch like it. It's not just spit. It's a loogie. According to dictionary.reference.com, a "loogie is a large wad of spit or phlegm". That definition doesn't even come close to evoking the image that I need to convey... Here's how it all went down, so prepare yourself. this story is not for the faint of heart.

Andrew, Chris and I have battled this cold/cough/sore throat monster for two weeks. Chris and I can take drugs to help us cough when we want and stop when want. Poor Andrew must tough it out. For an infant, "working it out" comes at any time, day or night. Bless his poor sweet heart. And bless ours, too. In the beginning, he slept through the coughing spells and the coughing just kept us up. No worries. It's a small price to pay, so that your kiddo will feel better. Then, the cough became a little more rattly and started to wake him up.


So, the nurse instructs us to bring Andrew into the shower with us, so he can "work it out". He started coughing and I could tell it was working. Yay! Then it really started working. And then, all hell broke loose. (Literally, it must have broken loose from somewhere in the deep dark depths of Andrew.) After breaking loose, it found the only target available.... good ole mom. Yay, loogies! It was projectile from the nose and mouth. Thankfully, after many mornings of spit up, poop, pee, and vomit, I know better than to wear work clothes any where near my beautiful baby boy. I handily passed the now chipper young man off to my freshly showered husband, and I took my second shower for the morning.

After all this, I know that I am officially a mom. How do I know this? I didn't realize how gross the whole thing was (loogies on me, in my bra, on the rug, etc.) until well after the fact. The only thing I kept thinking was "Yay, it's finally out of his system. Now he can feel better."


The things we do in the name of mommy-dom...


:)
Anne

Friday, September 12, 2008

Lovie

A few weeks ago, the doctor said that sometimes babies need to tell an inanimate object about their days. She's crazy... or so I thought. Each night, no matter how tired, fussy, or seemingly asleep Andrew is, he has a long conversation with Lovie. Can you blame him for wanting to talk to his best friend? Absolutely not!

Poor Andrew. He has to be a big boy all day. He takes naps, eats solids, and plays with "big kids" at Miss May's all alone. Oh, if only his Lovie could be there.

Poor Lovie. His best friend, Andrew, spends all day "at work" being a "big boy" at Miss May's. He waits patiently for his Andrew to return home to their crib. What a boring life. Lovie is such a dedicated best friend that he doesn't care.

So, when bedtime rolls around, Andrew perks up the second he nuzzles Lovie. (He does this even if he falls asleep on my shoulder or if he's been screaming from being overtired.) It's like he forgot that Lovie was waiting. When he remembers, the day's events flood his mind and overwhelm him.

Chris and I anxiously sit down in the living room waiting to hear if Andrew will gently fall to sleep or cry for a bit. Neither happens. Instead, we hear a small voice recounting his day to his best friend. With strings of D-da-da-da's and th-tha-tha's, Andrew shares each detail of his busy day with Miss May.

We giggle as we translate his baby talk,and we think it goes something like this... "And then, I met these 2-year-olds. Yeah, I know 2-year-olds are so old. After that, I had apple sauce mixed with cereal. No, I'm not a baby anymore... Lovie, I even hold my own bottle. Dude, it's wild over there. It's a whole other ball game. I wish you could see it... By the way, I'm real sorry about what I did to your ear. I'm still getting used to this tooth. It's kinda sharp."

Holy crap. I have a 7 month old. It hits me sometimes, and I still don't understand. A student I had last year, who is now in first grade, said to me, "Mrs. Shacklett, how's baby Andrew?" I was surprised that this 6-year-old remembered his name after an entire summer and equally delighted to have an excuse to talk about him in front of a captive audience. I replied, "He's fabulous and getting so big. Thank you for asking." With a sweet head tilt and in front of that captive audience, she says,"So, is he big enough to come to school then? 'Cause last year you said that when Andrew got bigger he would come to visit. Is he coming during our library day?"

Crap. They remembered. They all remembered. I guess Andrew will be making a visit to P-wood sooner rather than later.

:)

Anne

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Bowling for bucks!

The Gesino Bunch is bowling for bucks! Actually, we are trying to raise money for Big Brothers, Big Sisters through an event called Bowl for Kids' Sake. Our goal is $500 for our team, so we would really appreciate any donation to help us reach or exceed this goal. Our event will take place on September 25.
If you would like to make a donation, follow the link below. It will ask you to enter a dollar amount, and then you will need to hit continue. After that you will need to fill out all your information and your credit card information, too. Thanks for your support!

PLEASE CLICK the LINK BELOW to DONATE:
Bowl for Kids' Sake.



Thanks again for your help with our bowling for bucks!

:)
Anne & the Gesino Bunch

Monday, September 1, 2008

Go Big Red!

GO BIG RED! Go Big Red! The Cornhusker crew was out in full effect to support Andrew in his first college football experience.

Here's Daddy, Mommy, and Andrew... and his first football.

The Shackletts and Sourals preparing for game time!


Andrew seems to already be a fan.

Yay, football!

:)

Anne
PS: The pincher returns. My latest pay back is crazy hair... he doesn't seem too upset, though.