Sunday 24 March 2013

Further Adventures with Varicella Zoster

This week it was Rudy's turn to suffer, and suffer he has, his case of chicken pox was like Toby's but amplified, by about a million.  A couple of weeks ago I was exclaiming "He's covered in them!" but then along came Rudy and demonstrated quite clearly just how many more pox can fit on one tiny body. It was actually really horrid as there were about 3 days and nights where he just couldn't seem to get any relief whatsoever, and then a couple more where he found some comfort but it was extremely short lived.  Then scabbing commenced and he's now almost, not quite, but almost back to his usual self.  Which still involves a fair bit of wailing, but without any clear cause. It remains to be seen if either boy will be left with any scarring, given how much picking has occurred I'm thinking it's inevitable, certainly for Rudy.

So yet again we've been pretty much under house arrest.  Although there were some adventures in the garden which helped to break up the monotony a little.



I'm still trying to notice all the funny little stuff both boys do and say day-to-day but there's so much of it.  Like right now, Rudy's napping and Toby and I are watching Toy Story 3, which makes me cry like a baby, but what else is new? <Insert eye rolling emoticon here>

He is totally enthralled, and in the opening sequence when Ham's giant blimp thing flies over the canyon he did a full-on exaggerated  *gasp* and "LOOOOK! It's Peter Pork A Chop!" (Evil Doctor Pork Chop to you and me) which gave me a chuckle prior to my first bout of sobbing (emotionally labile? Moi?!)

Rudy is picking up lots of new words, his new favourite is "Maaahhh" usually said whilst poking you in the mouth, repeat x 20 (both the word and the poking). He's still using "Duddle" as a means of securing an instant cuddle but now also uses it as a way to reach things on high shelves, by waiting until either one of us is stood in the vicinity of said shelving and then shrieking "Duddle" until he's scooped into the air and then immediately making a grab for whatever has caught his eye.  This demonstrates brilliantly how smart and adaptable he is, and why he'd win the Evil Baby Genius Award hands-down, if there ever was such an award.

Mealtimes and sleep times are unpredictable for both of them. Nursery drop offs have also become a bit of a disaster since Toby missed a week with the bloody chicken pox and can't seem to settle back in.  We even had a phone call on Friday afternoon asking us to collect him early because he was upset, which is a first ever (bearing in mind he went to nursery part-time from 10.5 months of age up until 2.5 years then had a break until January of this year). I'm not sure what the answer is, nursery have suggested 3 half days (instead of our current arrangement of one full day and a half day) but that would be a real pain in the ass, as Rudy naps midday so I'd need to either be dropping off or picking up right in the middle of his sleep and I do not relish the idea of needing to wake him up for it.

They have also suggested fetching a cuddly toy or picking him up early, which we tend to most days anyway to be honest as he can technically stay until 6pm but the latest we usually collect him is between 4 and 5.

BP (Before Pox) we had requested an extra half day to top-up his free hours which would mean he'd be going for two full days a week from May and that would definitely be easier from a work/drop-off/pick-up perspective, but like I say, that was before he started having minor breakdowns every time he had to go...

We've been through this before and it just went on and on and ON, with him needing to be prised off one of us in tears every single morning and in the end we couldn't justify it anymore and he stopped going.  But I'm acutely aware that he's older now, and there's less going on at home to upset him (Rudy had just been born when it started last time) and that he'll have to go to school at some point (alright, not until next September, but still...) so this time I feel that we need to find a way to support him through it rather than just give up.  I'm not sure exactly how though.

Urgh this parenting lark is a complicated business.

So that's all I can come up with for this week's update. A bit gloomy I know, but perhaps once we're less cooped up and have integrated back into society and aren't getting on each other's tits quite as much I'll be able to do a more upbeat, maybe even humorous weekly summary.  Maybe.


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