Life with the immobile

Do you remember word problems in school? There was this one about a man with a boat that could only hold two things at a time - him and one other item. He had a fox, a chicken, and a basket of grain. He had to get everything to the other side, but he couldn't leave the fox with the chicken or the chicken with the grain (in either case because the former would eat the latter). So you had to figure out that he took the chicken, went back, took the fox, brought the chicken back, took the grain (leaving the chicken on the first shore, again), went back, and finally brought the chicken, again.

I feel like I'm doing that puzzle all day long! I can only carry one armload at a time - Kourey, Kaitlyn, or stuff. What order do you take them to the car, so that each child is left alone for the least amount of time (and in the cold for the least amount of time)? How about bringing them in? Going up and down stairs (which, obviously, has an added element of anxiety for Kaitlyn)? Well, Kourey's carrier can sit right on the floor inside the door, but Kaitlyn has to be carried all the way to the couch (or similar location wherever you're going). Can I unlock and open the doors while holding whoever I'm carrying first? Is it time to wake Keith up, yet?

And when did Kaitlyn get so big?!

And how am I going to do this for 4 - 6 more weeks?

Actually, Kaitlyn has an appointment Wednesday morning to get her permanent cast, and then she should be able to get around a lot more. And Kourey has a follow up that afternoon regarding her colic (which: a white noise machine in the crib has helped, but last night was still a 2 hours of sleep before Keith came home night; bleh).

News Break

This just in... no, wait, it's not that kind of news break. I mean, this is the latest in Dohlchester news - when's the last time I updated within 8-hours of something happening?

But the "break" is the news. While getting ready for church this morning, Keith and Kaitlyn tumbled down the stairs. Keith was fine, except for some bruising on his hip, but Kaitlyn was quite upset. And understandably so - falling is always scary!

She kept holding her right knee and wouldn't put weight on it. While there didn't appear to be any bruising, we raised it and iced it and checked with the doctor - it was ER time.

The doctor talked to Kaitlyn and asked her if her ankle hurt, if her knee felt fine, if it hurt when he did this and if it felt fine when he did that. She nodded to everything. I wanted to point this out to him when he decided to x-ray her ankle. It's her knee she's grabbing and won't let us touch!

But there is a reason he's the doctor and I am not - after a less-than-happy x-ray, the results showed a fracture of the tibia right above the ankle. Kaitlyn got a splint and we're taking her to a pediatric orthapedist this week (amazingly, the office wasn't open this morning) for a hard cast for about 4-6 weeks.

She can't play and walk around on the splint (and has shown no interest in doing so, so far) but once she gets the cast she probably will be able to. Like our Sunday School teacher pointed out, at least she just broke the tibia, so she still has the fibula to give some stability (the bone hadn't shifted at all, but was broken all the way through).

Kaitly also seems to have broken her appetite - even tempting PBJs and Sister Schubert's rolls haven't gotten her to eat more than a few cheerios and two bites of a popsicle all day. But I'm sure that will mend without a cast in far less than 4-6 weeks!

Baby Kourey and Mini-Hyde

I have two babies.

One is the sweetest thing you can imagine. She laughs and smiles and gurgles and coos. She grasps your fingers or your shirt like she just wants to hang out with you forever. She likes looking at herself in the mirror, clutching stuffed animals, and shaking rattles. She eats well and sleeps through the night. She seems to already have a sense of humor, laughing and bobbing her head yes or no very coincidentally to indicate she shares our family brand of humor.

The other is a little ball of anger. She screams and yells until red in the face. She can't even eat for yelling. She doesn't want you to stop walking her around, but that doesn't mean she's happy being walked, either. She won't take a pacifier, but your finger might do to suck on until it is raw, but only if it would be incredibly uncomfortable for you and don't even think of trying to stop once it's in place. She wakes up from the shortest of naps with a scream that keeps going through the night.

And they're both Kourey.

And you wonder why I haven't updated much? Up until Monday, since before Christmas we'd been giving Kourey Maalox before each meal, and she had just tried and rejected Zantac. The doctor's thought it was just Acid Reflux. But when everything lost effectiveness and I was at my absolute wits end (I even threatened to give up nursing her; she had one bottle of formula), the doctor said: "Colic"

So what's wrong with Kourey? Basically, nothing. Colic basically means "nothing's wrong, she's just going to cry. so get used to it."

Amazingly, that helps. She's gaining weight like crazy - 13 lb 11.6 oz on Monday, with a weight gain of nearly an ounce a day. She's developmentally good (although she's not getting as much mat time as I would like and rolling is a far distant event). She's just crying.

Knowing that she's ok, and that there's actually not all that much I can do to stop the crying (ie, changing my diet or feeding more/less often or I don't even know what) takes a huge weight off of my shoulders.

So when the doctor said "colic" it didn't make her cry less, but it has made me cry less.

Congratulations, Sgt. Daddy!

Keith begins tonight as a Sergeant! (Note the gold badge and three stripes)

We found out about the promotion about two weeks ago, but the finer details weren't ironed out until this weekend. It means a new schedule (for all of us, really), and that we'll have to eat at "normal people" times - crazy!

We're so proud of him (not that we weren't before)!

Happy 2 Month Birthday, Kourey!

Yesterday Kourey turned two months old - can you believe it?!

According to the doctor, she is 13 lbs 5 oz (nearly a stone!) and 24 inches long. Since she's been on Maalox (and now Zantac), she's a pretty even tempered baby that loves looking around and hugging her snugglies. She seems to smile the most when she's pulled something over on us (can babies this young have a sarcastic sense of humor?).

In honor of her 2 month birthday, we broke out the Hop N Pop. It's hard to say who likes it more - Kourey, so she can sit up and see the world, or Kaitlyn, who wants to show Kourey how to press all of the buttons and such (note to self: take out batteries).

Christmas Cuties