Allergies and constipation (6/28/06)

The kids are completely off schedule since I took them to the doctor on Monday. I told Dr. Bush that Eli's schedule was off anyway because his inner clock seems to run an hour or two later than everyone else's. So, we talked about getting the kids on more of a schedule, to which their ears apparently perked up. I truly think Eli and Georgia held a meeting as to what needs to occur over the next week so there's no question they remain in charge.

The doc gave us a prescription for allergy medicine for Eli, which I got filled yesterday while he was at preschool. His little nose has been running like a sieve, so I gave him a dose of the medicine when we got home yesterday about 3:00. The medicine said, "May cause drowsiness." I just figured I wouldn't let him operate any heavy machinery and he would be fine. But about an hour later, he was practically catatonic on the couch while watching The Wiggles. When I asked if he was okay, I just got, "Mommy, I want to go to bed." So, I tucked him in bed about 4:00, already nervous that this was going to throw the whole day off. That meant he wouldn't get up until 6:00, and he wouldn't want to go to bed at night.

Boy was I off! When Eric got home about 5:40, Eli was still in bed, and I was just about to wake him up. Eric's comment? "Well, at least he napped and you got a break." Riiiiiight. I wasn't able to get Georgia down for a nap at the same time, but that's another story in and of itself.

I went in to rouse Eli. I did my usual routine that I do in the morning. I turned his lights on, tickled his tummy, kissed all over his face, all while singing my "Get up! Get up!" song. (Yes, I'm fully aware how annoying I must be.) All that got was some moaning as Eli blindly waved his hands to push me away and yanked the covers over his head. That's typical, so I kept trying . . . for almost an hour. By 6:45, I knew we were screwed. Eric's advice? "Oh, let him sleep. He's probably tired." Yes, but he wasn't the one who would probably be up with Eli when he got his second wind around midnight. Eric said, "Well, maybe he'll actually sleep through the night." To which I responded, "And what color is the sky in your world?"

So, we went through the evening routine with Georgia, and we kept checking on Eli but he was out like a light. It was after 9:00 when we finally got Georgia to bed because the lovely side effect from her shots seems to be constipation. It could be a lot worse, so I'm thankful for that. But she hasn't had a bowel movement in two days, and I think we all know how cranky one can get when one is backed up. I couldn't get her down for a nap yesterday afternoon, and usually that is the reason - she feels the "urge." So, last night her little face got red, and she strained and strained - nothing. She woke up early this morning, and no sooner had I gotten her dressed, when her little face got very red, and she strained and strained. Again - nothing. To top that off, her nose is running worse than Eli's because of all the teeth that are trying to pop through.

Oh the joys of motherhood!

I just attempted to put Georgia down for her morning nap, so we will see how that goes. Either, all the drainage will cause her to wake up in about 10 minutes coughing, or she will wake up with the "urge." I think if she could just have one poop, I could get her to sleep the whole day!

Eli is another story. After his drug induced coma last night, he did wake up right when we were getting ready to go to bed at 10:00 p.m. I couldn't resist the "I told you so." He woke up because apparently he was so out of it that he had wet the bed. So we were changing sheets last night at 10:00 and giving Eli a sponge bath so he wouldn't smell like pee. Then he decided he was hungry, so we tried to get him to eat pasta, which is what we had for dinner. After two bites of that, he announced he wanted Cheetos. Fine - I'm much more amiable when I want everyone to go to bed. Surprisingly, he started yawning again after we plied him with Cheetos and popcorn, so about 11:30, he went back to bed, which caused Eric to have a superior look on his face when I replied, "Well, I can't believe that."

So, this morning, I fully expected the kids to be up at 5:00 a.m. Georgia didn't wake up until 7:30. Eli was up before then because I heard him racing to the bathroom to go potty, and then race back to his room. I got up to rouse the kids and make cheesy eggs for breakfast, but when I went to get Eli up, all I got was, "I'm not hungry. I don't want anything!" I left his door open hoping the smell of eggs would change his mind. His response to that was to get up and slam the door shut. Okie dokie.

Georgia had a few bites of eggs, did the straining to poop thing, and then started rubbing her eyes. Usually she's up about 3 hours before she needs a morning nap. But today, Regis and Kelly had no sooner started their monologue than she was rubbing her eyes and searching for her paci. So, down she went for a nap. As soon as that happened, darned if Eli didn't pop up. It's the whole rule of how the children can't possibly nap at the same time. He's now watching Elmo, and still refusing breakfast. But his nose is running again, and he just announced, "Mommy, I need my medicine!" Do I dare? Hmmm . . .

Post script: The eagle has landed! Georgia woke up after 30 minutes with a pooper! Woo hoo!