... or a lot of stuff that grows because of the sun.
The first half of this entry is a major rant about spoiled rotten little kids... so if you don't feel like reading it or if you feel that spoiling your kids is -ok- DONT READ IT... just skip to the bottom half. :)
As I said in my previous entry, I ended up watching Sidney, a little 6 month old girl on Monday. She was such a brat! LoL When I was younger I babysat all the time. I watched my own siblings, I helped out Laurels who were working on Personal Progress and would set up nurseries for temple nights or such, I watched kids for free on Sunday's or if the parents were going on a church outting. I think I watched my fair share of kids back then, and usually without pay or very little (Including my own sister, I nannied my nephew for years when you add it all together and was treated poorly for doing so). NOW is another story... I used to enjoy watching little kids, playing games with them and being creative to keep them busy while mom and dad are gone... but now, I don't really enjoy watching other people's kids (Depending on who they are, I guess) because of one little thing... I've found that when you're not some young teenager that's as rebelious as any, they just don't want to listen to you and most of the time, when you consult the parents about any issue that might have come up once they return, they blow it off so all your petty efforts at trying to entertain their children, discipline them in the nicest possible way, or teach a 4 yr old (who is fully capable) something as simple as how to use a tissue instead of shoving their finger up thier nose (Seriously, that disgusts me!) to 'get stuff out'... it's all completely sabatoged... pointless and annoyingly so! I guess I just really like children who have parents that teach them respect, or when they're younger, that they don't have control over the adults in their lives like so many younger children (and even older ones!) really do. It's sad to me to watch the children who are immature (and I don't mean that in a demeaning way... they're children!) be in control of their parents and other authority figures.
Anyway, none of that had anything to do with the baby that I watched on monday *Grins* I just wanted to stick that in there. Sidney is spoiled. When people say that you can't spoil an infant... THEY ARE LYING PEOPLE! DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM! Shove cotton balls in your ears and run away singing at the top of your lungs before you're brainwashed into thinking you can't spoil your child at such a young, innocent age! YES YOU CAN! YEESSSSSSSS YOUUUUUUUU CANNNNNN are you reading this??? I hope so! (**Newborns are VERY different from 6 months old, too, so don't think you can spoil a newborn, I'm talking an older infant, just for clarification!**)
I think that for the most part, my son is VERY patient for a one year old. I, like any mom would, get frustrated at times with his whining when he wants something that he can't get himself, but I always remind myself later that "oh, we were at the grocery store for so long and he didn't want his snack then so he's probably really hungry now," or "I've been so busy making dinner and doing dishes and... etc... that I completely forgot to give him some juice when I knew he wanted some 15 minutes ago!" The majority of the time, his impatience is do to my slacking or forgetfulness. And believe me, his impatience doesn't show so often compared to other toddlers that I've seen, so I honestly think that he is a cut above for his age.
But Sidney? I could not even leave her sight for two minutes to change my own son's saggy diaper (it gets that way when you're not used to having two needies hanging on your arms!) without her screaming her little lungs out. I couldn't make Troy a sippy of juice without her throwing a tantrum on the floor, with screaming, tears and flaling arms and legs - the works! It was ridiculous! Sorry, but I'm pregnant and have been cramping on and off since 20 weeks and have been on medication that makes me feel weak and tired, so I just *cannot* carry a 6 month old around on my hip to do every single thing. I need two hands once in a while and I like a little tiny bit of privacy when I have to PEE! Come on! Even when I sat her down comfortably, with toys, a blanket, teethingrings, and a bottle of juice, I couldn't leave her to make her her OWN food without the sirens going off. She was not teething this time and didn't just get done having shots. She was not in pain, she had her diapers changed promptly after wetting them (She's one of the types that starts screaming as soon as the bladder is emptied), and she wasn't suffering from seperation anxiety because I've watched her in the past and she knew who I was. She's just spoiled!
She started getting a runny nose every time she threw her little fits, so I called her mom at work to ask if she was coming down with a summer cold, incase I needed to give her any medication or anything. No, mom just didn't have the common courtesy to tell me, a mother of a toddler who is just as prone to get sick as any other little kid, that she was just getting OVER a summer cold and for the last few days would get a runny nose if it was too hot or when she cried. THanks, mom, for forwarning me so that I could keep her toys seperated from his and vise versa so that Troy doesn't catch a cold too! (Can you imagine my glaring angry face right now, just thinking back about this??? GRR!) I *always* forewarn others when I'm sick and normally when I let Troy play with someone else (troy has only been sick with cold type symptoms once and I wouldn't allow him to play with other children at all - he was younger anyway), I ask if any of the other kids have been sick recently either. Maybe I'm the only insane, paranoid mother that believes it's common courtesy to warn others about your children's illnesses so that they aren't passed on needlessly to other children! Gah!
Anyway, After all I've said about Sidney, you may be thinking that I'm just losing it for claiming that she's spoiled, or that there's a remote possiblity that an infant her age could show any signs of it, but here is what sealed the deal. When mom came home to pick her up after work, Sidney had been the calmest she'd been all day, for only about 40 minutes prior to mom arriving. I was exhausted at that point, so I was also relieved that for a small 40 minute window I actually got to sit down without wanting to rip my hair out. Mom asked how she was all day, even though she'd called me two times already to check on her (I don't mind that, except when she calls during their nap times - how do you not know when your own child normally takes naps during the day - and Sidney wakes up screaming, which in turn causes Troy to wake up screaming... GRR!) I replied with she was good some of the time but threw fits whenever I left the room or sat her down when she didn't want me to. Mom's reply was, "Yeah, she is held a lot and likes to know what everyone is doing because she's always around someone." Her grandma, who is visiting China, normally watches her. Does she carry her in to the bathroom with her everytime she has to piss or take a dump? Come on! This lady has an older daughter who is almost three who is a sweetheart, but now I can see that she was probably treated the same way when she was younger. Brooklyn, the big sister, says "I love you" to everyone, and you have to respond or else she sits at your feet and repeats it over and over. She yells or talks to you until you answer her, and likes people to watch her. She's a doll, but those little things make me think that maybe she was treated the same way that Sidney is when she was little. Constant attention for a 2 year old? Constant attention for a 6 month old?
Geez, when Troy was 6 months old he threw fits too, but usually when he was over stimulated with having someone constantly around him, and would calm down as soon as he was left alone for a few minutes. Is he spoiled? I think not. He's loved a lot, but spoiled isn't in my vocabulary when it comes to my son. Noooo way! I couldn't have spoiled Troy with constant attention if I wanted to, he just wanted to be left alone sometimes. I wonder if that is my doing, or his own... is Sidney's need for constant attention her doing or her parents and grandma's? I think adults have a profound influence on children at ANY age... so you can guess what my answer to those questions would be!
END RANT!
I just got over *yet another* sinus infection a few weeks ago. It was getting really bad and I still don't have a primary care physician yet, so my midwife wrote me a perscription for the Zpac. I honestly can't say that it had any effect on me what so ever because either the infection didn't go away, or when it did, my allergies were still so bad that my head felt just as bad as it had when I had the infection. I'm so glad that Sinus infections aren't so contagious. I blow my nose in a tissue, I wash my hands, I'm careful. I've never given anyone any of my million sinus infections... now why can't they just leave me alone?!
They can't, because my allergies are so severe that my sinus become inflammed and congested and for so long that an infection develops. It's disgusting and painful and grrr!
I started having allergy symptoms at about 15, and soon after that, like most people, I developed asthma as well. The two are often times tied together, you have one, you have the other. I saw an allergist in Colorado and was given a million (or so it felt like) little prick tests to determine what I was allergic to. I was given a sheet with names of animals, molds, grasses, trees, and weeds. All of them had either 0's, 3's, 4's, or 4P's next to them. I never really looked over what the numbers meant until the day before my allergist appointment on Tuesday. I had made this appointment at the end of June and my original appointment was scheduled for August, the soonest they could get me in. Isn't that CRAZY? I was bumped up due to a cancellation, but only by about 2 weeks. I had no idea what the numbers and the P next to some of the 4's meant, so when I went in for my appointment, I asked. Apparently 3's mean "moderate to severe" and 4's mean "severe" and the one's with P's next to them mean that psuedopods appeared... which means REALLY severe. Greaaaat!
Since different state's have different agriculture, I was given another test for common things that grow here in UT, and the test was cut in half due to me having my sheet with the past test results on it, so they didn't have to repeat some of the same things that Colorado and Utah have in common. In Colorado for the test they used a little plastic thing that had spikey prongs on the end. They would dip that into the test stuff (I don't know what they're really calleD) and then after marking what was where on my back, they pricked me with each of the pronged allergen filled plastic testers. Here in Utah, they use needles. I'm not very squeemish around needles like so many people are, but the idea of being poked and scratched over 30 times with individual needles and pins isn't a happy one!
The nurse started with 4 shots in my arm. They aren't real shots, since they only go under the first two layers of skin, but you can still feel it. The ones on my back were done with little pin looking things, where the pins were dipped in the liquid allergen stuff and then scratched onto my back. One of the pins had what's called the "positive test" which is done to purposely make you have an allergic reaction to that one so that they can compare any other results from the other pricks or scratches to that positive test. The positive test was the ONLY one that reacted. The nurse went and told the allergist that I had no reaction and a few minutes later came back with another load of tests, except this time they were all needles. The fact that I hadn't reacted to any of the scratch-pin tests worried my new allergist, since the test results from CO said that I was severely allergic, so she wanted the tests redone with needles. The shots were all done in my arms and I reacted to all of them, some of them very faintly, but at least two had major pseudopods... the combined grasses (every type of grass I'm allergic to!) and the russian thistle. Infact, they were so bad, that even after the nurse dabbed cortizone cream onto the shot sites, they still itched and burned like crazy, and the two that reacted with pseudopods actually kept spreading! I couldn't put my sleeves down because the faintest touch on my skin sent me into a whirl, wishing I could scratch and scratch and scratch. I feel like I'm allergic to everything that grows under the sun, but really I'm just allergic to things that are really prominent in this area... grasses, weeds, trees. Luckily I'm not allergic to cats or dogs... I love dogs way too much to be allergic to them! :D Even though I'm not allergic to *everything* I *AM* allergic to at least one type of allergen for EVERY season of the year.. that means my "seasonal" allergies are YEAR ROUND!
My results were obvious and because no perscription allergy medication has helped me in the past, I *have* to have allergy shots in order to get some relief. UNFORTUNATELY, the way that allergy shots work are much like the way that vaccines work... you're given a small shot of the allergens and each time the dosage is upped a little bit, so that you can build an immunity to them. It's called "Immunotherapy." You have to recieve the shots, depending on the individual and the allergies that you have, anywhere from 2-6 times a week (A WEEK!) for the first 3-6 months, and sometimes up to a year. After that you are weaned into what's called the maintenance phase, where the shots are given once every 4 to 6 weeks in order to keep up the immunity. Most people have to have the maintenance shots for 3-5 years. After the 5 years is up, the majority never have symptoms of allergies again. Is 5 years going to be worth it? I HOPE SO!
The unfortunate part about this is that I'm pregnant right now, I can't receive the shots and nothing else works for my allergies. If my allergies aren't controlled, I continue to get sinus infections. I could receive the shots if I found an allergist willing to give them to me while pregnant, but with allergy shots, there's a risk that you could have a major allergic reaction to the shot, so they make you wait in the office after recieving the shot for at least 20 to 30 minutes to make sure that there are no problems. It's very rare that someone has a bad reaction, but if you do, they have to give you a shot of
Epinephrine which causes preterm labor in pregnancy. Even if I could find an allergist willing to give me the shots, *I* am not willing to take that risk for myself AND the baby. My allergist explained that due to the risk, I shouldn't receive the shots until after I give birth (Then I can start them at any time, even while breastfeeding because they are natural), and I shouldn't become pregnant while receiving the shots until I reach the maintenance phase. Once you're in the maintenance phase, you're pretty much past the allergies, you just have to keep doing the shots to continue your immunity to them. If you do get pregnant while on the maintenance shot, they lower the dosage a little bit to make sure that you still don't have a reaction, though any reaction would normally show up in the first phase of shots (the ones that are increased each time you get them in the first 3-12 months). I'm a little relieved about that, since I don't plan or want to get pregnant again anytime soon after I have this baby... maybe even ever (we still haven't come to a resolution on that yet, and probably won't until after the baby is born).
I'm a little scared about how much the shots will cost. Bruce has been trying to reassure me that with our insurance they aren't that expensive, but when I was in Colorado I was supposed to start recieving my shots then, but I ended up moving. My first bottle for the shots was ordered and even with insurance under my parents, it still ended up costing somewhere around $500... for ONE bottle! One bottle that I never even got to use. It's sad that in this day and age you have to be "rich" or so dirt poor that you can barely survive financially even with mutliple jobs (Welfare) in order to recieve any beneficial medical care. My wonderful little family and I are right smack in the lower half of the middleclass... right where it hurts. Oh, but life always hurts, huh. :)
Anyway, I just wanted to share how bummed I am that I can't get any relief from the sinus infections for at least another 3 and a half months. Geez, am I really that far along already?! I should start keeping track better...
posted at 02:00 am.