Updates from blogging slacktivity

OK, this is a long one, and I don't know if it's all that interesting, so continue at your own risk. (And really, is any of this shit interesting??)

First of all, I feel totally validated and no longer like a totally insane person who keeps repeating herself endlessly: you know how I always think Chickie is teething when he goes on hunger strike, has trouble nursing, wants to nurse all the time, fusses incessantly, wakes up 100 times a night, and basically turns into baby cling-on? Well, it seems like I was right. We took Chickie to the pedi for a check-up on Friday, and after having a huge discussion about his latest hunger strike (more on this in a minute), I finally asked the doctor, "Do you think any of this could be due to teething?" She looked in his mouth and essentially said, "Holy shit, this child's mouth is a freaking war zone!" Apparently, he has 4 molars busting at his gums, and I guess she knows what she's talking about (good thing, huh?) because a corner of one of them poked through over the weekend. See, I'm not insane! My friend Kaja used to always make fun of me because whenever she'd complain about anything, I'd always ask, "Are you going to get your period?" Sure, this made sense when she complained about feeling fat or moody or generally unable to deal with life, but she started to question my better judgment when that question was in response to complaints about trouble parallel parking or inability to find couscous in bulk at the grocery store.

Anyway, more about the pedi appt-- it seems as though Chickie is still not gaining weight well. It's clearly because he hasn't eaten well consistently since about the end of July, so it's no wonder that he's not gaining like he "should" be (whatever that means). The doctor isn't too concerned, especially since we're connected with EI and have support around his issues, but if the next weight check in 6 weeks doesn't show much improvement, we may need to take him to the growth & nutrition clinic at Children's. I know in my heart that he's OK and just teething and stubborn as all get-out (there's a funny thing about apples...) but it's still worrisome.

In other news, I took Chickie to his new daycare today for an hour in the morning. I stayed with him and just hung out so he could get some exposure to the place while having Mama close by to run to for hugs when necessary. He did really well and generally enjoyed himself... SO many new toys to play with! There's one of those cool structure/mini jungle gym things in the middle of the room, and Chickie was obsessed with going up and down the stairs. The other kids were total pros and went up the stairs and down the slide easily, but my sweet Chickie just want toed go up and down the stairs... needless to say, this created a big ol' traffic jam, but Chickie fended for himself well and batted the other kids away when they tried to push him out of the way. When they sat the kids down for circle time or story time or whatever the hell it was called, though, Chickie could NOT sit still and flew out of my arms, ran around the room and shouted "CAR!" (he says, "CAH"... total Mass trash in the making. Gotta love it.) I was actually amazed that the other 3 kids there sat perfectly still and listened to "Green Eggs and Ham"... seriously??

So, I'm going to take him back there on Wednesday and leave him there for a couple hours and see how that goes. Honestly, by the way things went today, I think he'll be just fine. I think the real challenge will be eating and sleeping there. That kid puts himself to sleep (much of the time, at least) by bonking his head against the side of his crib or pack-and-play, and he's supposed to sleep on a mat at the new daycare. Hmmm, what's he going to do-- bang his head against the wall? Watch, he'll totally do it. He's THAT weird and THAT determined... interesting mix of traits.

Finally, Dan said to me tonight, "I think we need to stop saying the F word around him." It's true-- he's starting to mimic more and more, and, any day now, he's going to look up at me and proudly exclaim (probably in his adorable Mass trash accent) one of the 80 million profanities that come out of my mouth every other minute. Oh, dear; has this day really come? Will I be forced to expand my shrunken vocabulary? And technically, my brain hasn't un-shrunk from pregnancy because Chickie hasn't weaned yet (famous last words), so I'm still a small-brained pregnant donkey, by some standards :)

And really finally-- I couldn't help but notice that 2 of the 3 kids at daycare today had thick, yellow snot pouring out of both nostrils. YUMMY. Chickie is definitely going to get sick more often at this new daycare, and while I know it's inevitable, I'm so not looking forward to that shit. Sure, it's not the end of the world, and it's normal for kids to get sick, but I'm seriously considering holding off on the Baby #2 making process until Chickie's had a little time to get his immune system adjusted to life in booger-ville. Perhaps a couple extra months of bf-ing would be a good thing for him... and besides, I'm having another "holy shit, I'm SO not ready for that" couple days, anyway. I was totally high on vacation juice when I said I was ready...