Poison Control Hotline

I've seen these lines on babysitting lists. And, I once watched a 'Punky Brewster' episode where they had to call it.

Did I ever really think I would call a poison control hotline? No. Never. We lock up the medicine and all of the cleaning products. Lucy would never get into that stuff.

Now, the question you are wanting answered: Did I call them? Maybe. Don't panic though; this is a mild story.

We will begin with me and Lucy, again, in the master bathroom. I was putting on my makeup and perhaps pestering a few facial blemishes. Lucy was digging through my travel bag, still packed from a trip we took last weekend. She used my brush to brush her hair. She moved my nail polish from the floor, to the top of the toilet, to the tub edge, and so on. She chewed on the lid of my perfume. I was watching and there weren't any choking hazards. I took away my perfume and any other liquids she could spray.

So, when she got quiet, I didn't immediately get concerned. I turned around and she had my deodorant in one hand, the lid in the other, and her mouth was wide open. By looking at my deodorant I could see the teeth marks. She didn't bite it; she just sunk her teeth into it. Little flecks of white were all over her tongue. I tried helping her wipe it out and promptly took my deodorant away.

My first thoughts? It's just deodorant; it can't hurt her. I'm sure I have accidentally eaten or licked deodorant in my time. I know for sure the dogs have eaten it!
Just to be safe, I turned it over.

I said aloud, "Are you freaking kidding me? Luuuuucyyyyy."

I picked up my phone and googled "Poison Control Center".

I called.

Ring.Ring.Ring.

I kept thinking, how am I going to explain this? I'm going to sound like an awful parent!

Ring.Ring.

"Hello, is this an emergency or can you hold?"

"Ummm.....I can hold?"

Thoughts: Oh no! Was that the right answer?

Several minutes went by, as I watched Lucy play. I started to regret my decision to hold.

"Thank you for holding. What is your emergency?"

"Well, my 18 month old daughter got into my deodorant and got some in her mouth. She didn't swallow it; I don't think. She just scraped it with her teeth. I read on the back that I should call right away."

"Yes. They put that one all products. What type of deodorant was it?"

"Dove Fresh."

"Is it a solid?"

Thoughts: Really? Does that matter? And, what do you mean they put that on all products? All deodorant products? Do they just want people to panic?

"Yes. It's a solid."

 "Alright. There isn't anything harmful in that product. You can just give her some drinks of milk or water. If she swallowed a large amount, she may have an upset stomach and might vomit."

"Okay. She didn't swallow any. She is acting normal. I will give her some milk. Thank you."

"Now, can I have your name and telephone number for our records?"

Thoughts: GREAT! I'm going to be on some child protective services list now! I can officially never call back or they will red flag me or something!

Reluctantly, I gave her my name, my telephone number, and my zip code. I'm officially a bad mom and on "the list". Perhaps I should never allow Lucy in the master bathroom again - bad things happen in there! :{

I have a whole new respect for the poison control center. I never would have thought...

Parenting: I Just Don't Have the Stomach for It

I have the heart, soul, legs, back, and mind for parenting. But, stomach? Nope.

Last night, we enjoyed a nice evening. I went for a run while Heath and Lucy ran around outside. We came home, ate dinner as a family. Then, I cleaned up a bit and cut a few coupons while Heath and Lucy rolled all over the floor.

It was nice and simple, and enjoyable.

 - DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH -

I decided to finally put my post-workout bum in the shower and five minutes in.....

"Cori! Lucy just threw up. I mean larger than life!"

I peek my conditioned head out of the shower and there he is. He is covered in vomit. It is on his shoulder, his cheek, down his arms, and he's holding Lucy, also covered in vomit.

"Can you get out, so we can get in?

I only had one leg shaved and conditioner in my hair.

"Can I rinse the conditioner out first?"

"Fine. Hurry."

He runs back out of the bathroom, for I don't know what reason. I throw a towel on and hop out. He comes rushing back in. He is in the exact same state, holding Lucy.

He walks past me and I start gagging. I just can't do it and I could not believe that he was just, like, bathing in it and hadn't flinched a bit.

He throws Lucy in the tub. She is also unfazed. She is just excited to be getting in the tub and hadn't shed a single tear. I watch as he peels her clothes. He then peels his own, down to his underwear. He leans over and starts pulling......gag......chunks....gag....out of her hair. He picks some up off the side of the tub and throws them in the toilet.

I'm just standing there, gagging, shaking my head, and holding a towel over my nose.

"Do you want to give her a bath, while I go clean the stairs?" he asks.

"Um, yes!" Do I want to scrub it off the stairs? Absolutely not!

Apparently, he picked Lucy up to go to bed. When he was walking up the stairs she started heaving. She threw up a little on the stairs and he tried to catch/shield it. Then, he ran through the kitchen, making a trail, to the sink. Then she threw up so more.

Awesome.

He left the bathroom. Lucy was in the tub, with the water running, playing with a bucket.

I stood there, a good three feet away, watching her. Course of action?

1) Turn the air vent on. Gross...
2) Get myself clothed.
3) Drain the tub water and start with new, clean, vomit-free water.
4) Freak out a little bit when having to reach into the water to pull the plug.
5) Refill the tub.
6) Use toilet paper to pull out the remaining remnants in Lucy's hair.
7) Gag some more.
8) Steal the bucket from Lucy and dump water on her head.
9) Continuing giving the bath, like normal.

It was a late night, well, later than usual. Lucy seemed fine. I think she ate too many chicken nuggets - five!

Heath's comment about the whole ordeal, besides telling me what a good team we were at cleaning up?

"I don't think Lucy really chews her food."

"Nope."

Oh and my leg never did get shaved. I have to be careful how I cross my legs...I hide the unshaven one in back...haha.

RSV, Hives, and Ear Aches - Oh My!

When it rains, it pours, in the ol' Lucy Jean house.

I've been a little MIA (alright only four days; but, I was really on a roll there for a while). I've had very good reason too; Lucy got RSV (insert sad and pitiful face here).

She got it from a baby who's mother brought her to daycare with it (insert completely annoyed face here).

Anyway, after a couple of days with RSV - coughing, nose running, sleepiness, and no appetite - Lucy started to get a "rash," or so my husband called it.

I stayed home on Wednesday with her and Heath stayed home on Thursday. I get a phone call at work.

"Lucy has a rash."

"Like, bad?"

"Yeah - it's pretty bad. But, it doesn't seem to bother her much. I keep poking it and she doesn't react."

"Okay? Let me know if I need to come home and if we need to go to the doctor."

Heath assured me that it was "nothing" and just some virus-ey type thing that would go away soon.

When I got home, I was shocked. She was covered in hives. I didn't know they were hives just yet; but, oh my, they were all over. Heath insisted that it was fine and that they would go away. She wasn't itching and she really didn't seem to be bothered by them.

On Friday morning, when I woke up to this, I took her to the doctor right away:

I know what you are thinking, "Why were you taking a picture of her? She looks miserable!"

In my defense, she really wasn't as miserable as this picture looks. I think she was annoyed with being touched by a new Doctor (AKA Stranger-Danger). And, second, taking a picture of her never really crossed my mind until the nurse said, "You should take a picture for her baby book!"

Another doctor even came in and said, "Wow, those are some pretty impressive hives."

Everyone completely down-played it and made me feel a million times better. They officially tested her for RSV, which we already knew she had, and yep, she officially had it.

Long story short, they gave her medication and told us to let her rest, drink plenty of fluids, etc.

Saturday rolls around and she has a fit. I mean FIT! She started grunting, flailing her arms, shaking her head. Heath said she was acting "possessed." It was scary. We decided to take her to the E.R.

Whew! It was probably just a reaction to the medication and the........ wait for it....... ear infection that had now become full blown since the day before! Poor Lucy! She got some more medication, antibiotics to be exact.

Seven days later, today, she is back in Daycare. Her RSV symptoms are gone, the hives are gone, and her ear doesn't seem to be bothering her. We are continuing the medication, just in case. We want to make sure the infection is gone.

We still don't know what caused the hives. Even after the racking of our brains, the doctor's million questions, and the detective work of the grandmas - nothing. We can't think of anything that has changed.  Our best leads thus far are: dial foam soap and/or blueberries.  Odd, I know. I'll let you know what we find out.

Needless to say, it has been one rough week for us. Mostly rough for poor, little Lucy. But, I was having a tough time with Lucy, the house being very disorganized at the moment (because of the renovation to the basement), lack of sleep, and feeling bad about my weight loss, or lack-there-of.

Heath tried to cheer me up. He encouraged me to go out on Sunday, shopping. It was wonderful! :) And, he also said this to me, which made me laugh:

"We have such an amazing life and Lucy brings us so much joy. You and Lucy are all the happiness I need in my life. Just think about her goofy faces, like this morning when she snickered your way and farted in my direction."

Thank goodness I found such a wonderful man to help me through RSV, hives, and ear aches. :)

Have a good week - better than mine!

Whoa-is-me...right? :)

Paranoia, Paranoia...

...every body's comin' to get me.

As I have previously confessed to my blog readers, I am a paranoid person. The worst. Annoyingly paranoid sometimes.  To boot, my cup often remains half empty. (I'm working on it though! We'll call it somewhat of a New Year's Resolution.)

Any-who, instead of channeling all of my paranoia toward Lucy, I've moved to illnesses. I've never been a hypochondriac; it is the whole idea of, 'it couldn't happen to me.'  Well, lately, I have had these eerie feelings like, "You know what? It could happen to me!" Perhaps now that I am moving out of my young adulthood, into actual adulthood, I am losing my "invincibility."

I had told you about the lump/bump on my breast. And, I strongly encouraged everyone to get questionable things check out.  Well, I didn't exactly listen to my own recommendation...

I have had a weird mole on the back of my leg, more specifically a place that touches the tanning bed. Yes - I tan in a tanning bed occasionally (I know; I know). It has bothered me for years.  Semi-recently, I read another blog about a young mother who had a mole on the back of her leg, put it off, and when she finally went in, she had stage 4 lymphoma.  Yikes!

The mole never seemed to fit into a conversation with my doctor or I would forget about it at during the appointment.  As more time went by it started to really bother me. I would be feeling sick and I would start to blame the mole.  Or, I would be achy and I would blame the mole.  Everything that was wrong with me was somehow related to that thing!  (This may sound somewhat familiar. I used to think everything I felt meant that I was pregnant.)

I had the flu and it passed. I had a sinus infection, gave it to the entire family, and it has almost passed too.  Then, the bumps. I was itching my hand one night watching TV, looked down and I had red bumps all over my thumb.  They itched and then began to hurt and even sting a little. I let it go for a week and a half, and three fingers, before giving in and going to the doctor. Don't fret; they weren't gross or I would have gone sooner.

Ends up, I have a form of Eczema. Joy!  Since when did I become such a medical case?  Good news is: it isn't contagious, isn't a big deal, and it will come and go.  Also, it should stay on my hands and not really move to other areas of my body.

And, I finally had the mole looked at!  It doesn't need to come off right away; but, my doctor wants to remove it next month, just in case.  Whew. That will be nice!

My level of paranoia has gone down; but now, something new happened...

Today, I was sitting on the floor, holding Lucy, and along came a little boy.  He calls Lucy his girlfriend, although she is a year and a half younger. It's cute. He will even come up to her and give her kisses on the cheek sometimes.

Anyway, today, he was super affectionate. He bent over, gave her a kiss, very close to her mouth. This time, he kept his eyes open, unlike before (haha). He then stood back up, smiled at me, put his finger in his nose, pulled out a booger, ate it, and ran away.

"Hmmmm......gross"...that was about the reaction I had. I don't know what to think. How am I supposed to feel about this one?  Technically my paranoia should be off the charts. Why isn't it? He ate his own booger less than 2 feet away from me. 

I guess I figure with DayCare this type of thing happens all the time.  Plus, the little boy is clean, he just apparently eats his own boogers...

I should be freaking out right?  Or not? Should I worry about Lucy getting sick and germy?

Heath laughed when I told him. I don't think he's too concerned. 

What do you think? Is my paranoia radar broken today?