Good and Bad

Today Ella had her 18 month check up. The good news is that she is right on track, 50th percentile for weight and about 40th percentile for height. I am not so sure on her weight though because she was wearing clothes, shoes and a thick fleece jacket. Whatever, I am just glad to hear she is doing well. Lately she hasn't been eating very well, so I wasn't sure how her weight would be.

The bad news? She has the flu. She has a fever and a cough, then I described symptoms Kyle has had recently (fever, cough, chills, aches, fatigue, etc) and they decided to put Ella on Tamiflu and swabbed her nose to make sure she has the flu. The rapid test came back positive for Influenza A, and the nurse said that the test for H1N1 takes a few days but most times when the first one is positive then the second one is as well. So it looks like Kyle and Ella probably have H1N1. That kind of sucks, but it really doesn't seem that bad. Other than not eating well and being whiny (which is normal) Ella seems fine. She was her normal active self all day long, and Kyle doesn't feel good but he isn't bedridden or anything. I asked if Kyle should go into the clinic, and our doctor said that he will probably be fine since he is normally really healthy. They are more concerned about people who are children, elderly people, pregnant women and unhealthy people, so Kyle should be fine. Someone died from H1N1 here in Eau Claire, but she already had health problems.

Ella doesn't like her medicine, so I just mixed it in with her milk. She has to go back in 2 weeks to make sure the medicine worked and to get her vaccinations. I suppose she won't have to get a flu shot now, so that is good. One less shot is always good! I am glad we caught it early and the medicine will kick it out of her system before it gets bad. We will be seeing family this weekend, but Ella will have had enough of the medicine to not be contagious anymore. I asked our doctor to make sure because some of my cousins are still pretty young.

When?

When will it get better? When Ella was a newborn and cried constantly, we were just waiting for her to get older so she would get over the colicky stage and our eardrums could heal. And it got better, for a little while. She started eating and sleeping better and we were feeling pretty good about having her in our lives. Then teething started and it got worse. Then she stopped teething and it got better. Then she started being really clingy and cried whenever I wasn't giving her my undivided attention. Then she got a little better about entertaining herself. Then teething started again. Then the teeth came through and she was fun again. Then she started throwing temper tantrums multiple times daily. Then she started acting out in stores and I would have to leave before I was done shopping. Then she just whined all the time. Then she started refusing just about every food I tried to give her. Then she cried the entire way home from Galesville (a little more than an hour away) when she could have been sleeping.

WHEN WILL IT GET BETTER!?!?!?

Earlier this week Ella and I were having a great time together and I was feeling so awesome about being her mom and getting to spend my days with her, but something always changes and it always starts feeling like more than I can take. Being a mother is definitely the biggest trial I have ever been put through and it is sucking the life out of me right now. I tried to prepare myself for motherhood, but I don't think I could have possibly prepared myself for how challenging Ella is. And the hardest thing is that it is rare for anyone else to experience Ella being this way because she is pretty well behaved when there are other people around and babies to play with. I honestly feel like no one can understand what I am going through. At this point I have basically given up all hope that Ella will ever be a better behaved child. I have a strong willed child who is going to fight me every single step of the way her entire life, so I better get used to it. I better get some sleep now, because tomorrow I have to get up and do it all over again. Oh joy.

25 Years

It has been way too long since I last updated. I guess nothing exciting has happened lately. Well, yesterday was my 25th birthday. It is funny how much life changes as I get older and have a family. I remember when I was younger, even in college, and I thought my birthday was a day to be lazy and do whatever I want. I really don't have that luxury anymore. I can't take the day off work or ignore housework. Not that I did a ton yesterday, but I did do dishes and laundry, along with taking care of Ella of course. We did have some fun though too. Ella and I went to the mall with my friend Megan and her daughter Emma to play in the afternoon. It was fun to spend time with Megan, and Ella absolutely adores Emma, so she was quite excited. Then we sent Ella over to our friends, the Crammonds, to play with their son Owen while Kyle and I went out for dinner. Ella also gets pretty excited to see Owen, so Ella had a great day! It is very rare to eat dinner without trying to feed Ella at the same time. I found myself eating really fast, then realized that I could take my time and it was much more enjoyable! It was fun to have an actual uninterrupted conversation with Kyle. On Sunday we will head over to my parent's house to celebrate my birthday with my family.

This weekend is going to be packed. On Saturday we will be spending the day helping our friends, the Becker's, move down to the La Crosse area, then on Sunday we have a bunch of stuff going on at church before heading to Baldwin. I have to work in the nursery, Kyle is playing drums in the band, we will help serve a meal at church and then we have a church plant meeting. Somewhere in there I will head home with Ella so she can take a nap. Yikes! Ella will love it though because she will get to play with friends and family all day long.


And just because I think posts without pictures are boring, here is one of Ella with pigtails again. Her hair is longer than last time so it worked better. She still won't leave them in but it is fun to try every once in awhile. I have a dream of someday doing fun things with her hair. It may be just that, a dream!