Illness & Teething

Last week Stephen was sick with allergies/sinus infection kind of thing.  He didn't go to the doctor because he's a "man's man" and always refuses to go.  So, I went to the pharmacy and got him the best meds I could over the counter to hopefully improve his symptoms.  He's still not feeling great but has improved a lot.  It was actually kind of funny because from all the post nasal drip drainage he had, he lost his voice :) HAHA! I'm sure a few of you wives out there can appreciate a husband without a voice, right? Kidding! Anyway, he's still really congested but I think the worst of it's over.  Since we didn't want Patrick to get sick, Stephen kind of stayed at a distance all last week so I've been one tired mama.

Usually when Steve gets home from work he pretty much takes over Patrick duty so I can start on dinner and he always puts him to bed.  Bedtime is their special father/son time and I love that he always wants to put him to bed. It's such a sweet thing to peak in on them while Stephen's rocking Patrick and singing to him.  Well, last week I had to do all of that which is a sweet thing for me since I normally don't put him down but I was exhausted! Taking care of the baby all day, dealing with Greta (who's always high maintenance) and trying to take care of Stephen, which I'm sure I failed at.  He's commented several times that my bedside manner isn't too great ... I guess I need to try and work on that.

So, in the midst of Steve being sick, Patrick has started teething.  He's actually been teething for awhile now but it's just starting to affect him.  He was pretty cranky last week (which made the week even more tiresome for me).  He's been liking a bottle recently too, so I have been trying to do better about pumping.  Usually after I nurse, if he's still fussy I will offer him a bottle. I've noticed more than wanting the milk, he likes to chew on the bottle nipple.  But whatever soothes him and makes him happy is okay with this mama. He was also waking up during the night which he hasn't done since he was about 6 weeks old.  It wasn't too bad though, I could just go in and re-swaddle him and/or give him his paci and back to sleep he went.  Last night was a different story!

I knew this day was coming and I've been dreading it like the plague.  I was really tired yesterday and went to sleep around 9:00 PM. Stephen had put Patrick to bed at 7:00 PM and stayed up to watch a hockey game.  I should mention it's play off time and the Blackhawks have been the best team in the league so Steve really wanted to watch them play.  He actually likes the Chicago Blackhawks more than UK basketball and around these parts, that's blasphemy.  Anyway...back to the story... Steve came to bed around 11:30 pm (HAWKS WON by the way) and said between 9:30 and 11:30, Patrick had woken up 3 times and he had to go in and give him his paci or re-swaddle him.  Around 1:00 AM I heard Patrick "talking" so I got up and he was wide awake just "talking" and flailing his arms around.  So, I wrapped him back in the blanket and headed back to bed.  Unfortunately, a nice loud snore has accompanied Steve's illness so I decided to head to the guest room in hopes of sleep.

Around 2:00 AM Patrick was awake again and this time fussing.  I picked him up and rocked him a little and put him back down.  Again at 3:00 and 3:30 AM he was up and cranky.  At 3:45 AM he was super mad and no amount of rocking or singing was putting him to sleep so I nursed him and he went back down around 4:15AM.  At 5:00 I was up with him again but luckily the paci was all he needed.  Steve got up at 6:00 for work and Patrick was up again shortly after.  Thankfully, Steve went in and re-swaddled him but at 7:00 AM he was awake and MAD and I knew that was the end of my hopes for sleep :( We haven't had a night like last night for months and although I knew it would come once he was teething or sick, it wasn't fun.  I've had no sleep and my poor baby doesn't feel well.  I've been giving him some Tylenol but I hate to give it around the clock.  I can tell his poor gums are bothering him, because he keeps putting anything and EVERYTHING he can get his hands on in his mouth and clamping down.

Much happier after eating this morning

Here's hoping tonight will be better...

This is what Greta thinks about early mornings! Please understand this is how she sleeps between myself and Steve! He sleeps on her right and I'm on the left, with those paws under my back :)