Sunday, April 29, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
Random thoughts
This post is unlikely to be helpful or even make sense. I've just had a jumble of thoughts that I need to let loose. After reading other eye-mom blogs, my ranting really isn't well thought out and certainly won't be well-written, but I need to get it out.
1. IT IS NOT A BAND-AID!
I took a few days off this week (no daycare for Tommy). I, of course, spent those days shopping. In the saleslady kept talking to Tommy about "his cute little band-aid!" "Don't you have a cute band-aid with little fishies on it!" "Isn't that such a cute little band-aid!" Yes, I did refrain from punching her right in the face (but I certainly did it in my head). I chose to ignore her. Until the end. The patch didn't last through the whole store- he took it off and placed it squarely on his chest. When I checked out, the saleslady hurried over and said (loudly): "Where is your band-aid! What happened to your BAND-AID?" So, I told her the whole stinking story. I wish it ended there. Nope. She needed to add that "her nephew had to wear a patch, you know, he had what must have been some genetic thing where his eye crossed right in, you know? Well, he's not so little anymore, and you wouldn't even know it! So don't worry, he'll be fine!"
I know, I KNOW she meant well. But she ruined my zen shopping experience. Tommy LIKED the Gap, he didn't squeal and throw things in The Gap. Kids clothes were 40% off! Stupid lady.
2. The contact that wouldn't die.
Tommy has lost many contacts in the last few weeks. One lasted 3 days. One lasted 7 days. One lasted 1.5 hours. But, through it all, there is one contact (the previous prescription) that has resurfaced in many places: his diaper, behind his crib, on the floor of the car, under his high-chair, and in his car seat. That ONE contact has survived many ills, it's cloudy and he likely can't see great with it, but we HAVE it.
3. The contact we can't keep.
The new, ultra-slim, +17 contact that was prescribed in February? I'm on #5 (with #6 on order). This last one? I got it in the mail Wednesday night. I put it in Thursday morning, dropped 2 girls off at one school (Tommy stayed in car), 1 girl off at preschool (Tommy came in), and went to Speedway to get caffeine (Tommy came in). When we get home? Gone. Gone, gone, gone. I searched the car and myself, and the car again and my house, but it's gone. I really do think he eats them. I looked at preschool at pickup (no luck) but didn't really want to skulk around Speedway... chalk it up to another one gone.
4. This just sucks
I don't really need any further explanation. You all know. It sucks and I'm tired of it.
5. Tommy finally took a step!
This has nothing to do with his contact, but Tommy finally took a step- 5 of them! 14 months old and he can finally walk!
1. IT IS NOT A BAND-AID!
I took a few days off this week (no daycare for Tommy). I, of course, spent those days shopping. In the saleslady kept talking to Tommy about "his cute little band-aid!" "Don't you have a cute band-aid with little fishies on it!" "Isn't that such a cute little band-aid!" Yes, I did refrain from punching her right in the face (but I certainly did it in my head). I chose to ignore her. Until the end. The patch didn't last through the whole store- he took it off and placed it squarely on his chest. When I checked out, the saleslady hurried over and said (loudly): "Where is your band-aid! What happened to your BAND-AID?" So, I told her the whole stinking story. I wish it ended there. Nope. She needed to add that "her nephew had to wear a patch, you know, he had what must have been some genetic thing where his eye crossed right in, you know? Well, he's not so little anymore, and you wouldn't even know it! So don't worry, he'll be fine!"
I know, I KNOW she meant well. But she ruined my zen shopping experience. Tommy LIKED the Gap, he didn't squeal and throw things in The Gap. Kids clothes were 40% off! Stupid lady.
2. The contact that wouldn't die.
Tommy has lost many contacts in the last few weeks. One lasted 3 days. One lasted 7 days. One lasted 1.5 hours. But, through it all, there is one contact (the previous prescription) that has resurfaced in many places: his diaper, behind his crib, on the floor of the car, under his high-chair, and in his car seat. That ONE contact has survived many ills, it's cloudy and he likely can't see great with it, but we HAVE it.
3. The contact we can't keep.
The new, ultra-slim, +17 contact that was prescribed in February? I'm on #5 (with #6 on order). This last one? I got it in the mail Wednesday night. I put it in Thursday morning, dropped 2 girls off at one school (Tommy stayed in car), 1 girl off at preschool (Tommy came in), and went to Speedway to get caffeine (Tommy came in). When we get home? Gone. Gone, gone, gone. I searched the car and myself, and the car again and my house, but it's gone. I really do think he eats them. I looked at preschool at pickup (no luck) but didn't really want to skulk around Speedway... chalk it up to another one gone.
4. This just sucks
I don't really need any further explanation. You all know. It sucks and I'm tired of it.
5. Tommy finally took a step!
This has nothing to do with his contact, but Tommy finally took a step- 5 of them! 14 months old and he can finally walk!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
I think I've created a monster
I knew better, I really did. I KNOW people who have "spoiled" their kids because of an illness (real or perceived). I swore I would never be like that, swore it with all of my heart those long-ago days when I didn't have children. But.... I have done it. Tommy is spoiled rotten. I don't mean the too-many toys spoiled rotten, I mean the "I get whatever I want the moment I want it" kind of spoiled.
To be fair, I'm not certain that it is ALL related to the gut-wrenching guilt I feel every day having to put the itch-sticky patch on his cute little face... but that is always there. He's cranky? Oh, it must be the patch, I'll carry him.
It's also partly because if he screams and cries too hard... that little lens that is oh-so-important, can pop right out. I have a 50-50 chance of finding that $250 piece of silicone. He's crying? Give him what he wants, he can't cry too hard!
It's partly because he's baby #4 and gets dragged from one activity to another. He's screaming? Give him what he wants, we can't bug the people around us, don't make them stare.
Yep. I created a monster.
It hit me today as he screamed... and I do mean SCREAMED for 20 minutes straight over what is likely a case of no-more pudding. (I'm not even sure, but I was VERY sure he wasn't hurt/hungry/wet/etc. He screamed, he cried, he clenched his fists, he rolled on his belly kicked his feet and wailed. Full-on temper tantrum. It was funny... it really was... would've been a lot funnier if it had been someone else's kid. I wanted to scoop him up and make it stop... but he cannot use screaming as his method of communication. A reach, a sign for more, we waited for anything. We waited for 20 minutes.
What's worse? I watched each of his 3 sisters go and get some favorite toy/treat/binky... in an effort to stop the screams. I stopped them each time- this has to stop. It hit me that there are 5 of us catering to his every whim. That's probably why he doesn't talk... doesn't walk. He doesn't have to!
In the end, he reached for me, I picked him up and cuddled him, and all was well. Contact in, ego bruised. We all survived.
So here I begin the training of a future man. He will not get what he wants by screaming. He knows simple signs, he will eventually learn to talk. I will attempt to make him a little less spoiled (future wife, you can thank me now!). Wish me luck... the hardest thing may be convincing his sisters.
To be fair, I'm not certain that it is ALL related to the gut-wrenching guilt I feel every day having to put the itch-sticky patch on his cute little face... but that is always there. He's cranky? Oh, it must be the patch, I'll carry him.It's also partly because if he screams and cries too hard... that little lens that is oh-so-important, can pop right out. I have a 50-50 chance of finding that $250 piece of silicone. He's crying? Give him what he wants, he can't cry too hard!
It's partly because he's baby #4 and gets dragged from one activity to another. He's screaming? Give him what he wants, we can't bug the people around us, don't make them stare.
Yep. I created a monster.
It hit me today as he screamed... and I do mean SCREAMED for 20 minutes straight over what is likely a case of no-more pudding. (I'm not even sure, but I was VERY sure he wasn't hurt/hungry/wet/etc. He screamed, he cried, he clenched his fists, he rolled on his belly kicked his feet and wailed. Full-on temper tantrum. It was funny... it really was... would've been a lot funnier if it had been someone else's kid. I wanted to scoop him up and make it stop... but he cannot use screaming as his method of communication. A reach, a sign for more, we waited for anything. We waited for 20 minutes.
What's worse? I watched each of his 3 sisters go and get some favorite toy/treat/binky... in an effort to stop the screams. I stopped them each time- this has to stop. It hit me that there are 5 of us catering to his every whim. That's probably why he doesn't talk... doesn't walk. He doesn't have to!
In the end, he reached for me, I picked him up and cuddled him, and all was well. Contact in, ego bruised. We all survived.
 |
| Oh yeah, I get what I want! |
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Vacation/Confessional
As I said in the last post, we went on vacation last week. That's a crazy enough feat with 4 kids, but add a contact and a patch and YIKES! Here is how it went:
Day 1 (10 hour car trip to Knoxville, TN): Lose contact in car. Spend 2 hours alternately searching Tommy's eye and what I can reach of him for contact. Find lost contact at the bottom of his car seat caked with cracker crumbs. Time patched: MAYBE 3 hours.
Day 2: Knoxville, TN: Replace clean and disinfected contact. Tour around Knoxville (love that town!). No patch or contact drama. Meet a lady who tells me that she is completely blind in one eye because her parents gave up on patching (not sure she was blaming them, just stating facts) due to lazy eye. Weird encounter. Total Patch time: 5 hours! Success!!
Or was it?
Day 3: Still in Knoxville, watched Daddy run a marathon (3 hr 23 minutes!). But guess what? Tommy lost the contact again... and I'm not sure where. I scoured the hotel room for hours (luckily it was a lazy day). I DO NOT recommend scouring any hotel room. I'll leave it there. I looked in every nook and cranny of that room (shudder) and I'm guessing he lost it at dinner the previous night during the meltdown. I thought I saw it before bed, but maybe not. Patch time? 0 hours. :(
Day 4: 12 hours in the car to Florida. I admit, I didn't even try, I was determined to hang on to that last contact until we got to the final destination. Patch time? 0 hours. :(
Day 5: Seaworld! Contact in, patch on. Terrible awful foreign man points, gestures, and brings his friend to gawk at the beautiful baby with a patch. Ugh. Patch time: 5 hours! Success! Take that awful man!
Day 6: Magic Kingdom! Contact is in. Hot sick baby dragged around an amusement park. Terrible mom day. Patch time? Maybe an hour.
Day 7: Animal Kingdom! Tommy gets sick- now carried around an amusement park (in 90 degree heat) and sleeps for most of it (my back is STILL killing me!). I know, I know, but it was just a cold. Patch time. Ugh, none. BUT we did see that girl patched in this park! (heap on the mom guilt!)
Day 8: Going home. 10 hour car trip. Patch time. 1 hour.
Day 9: Still traveling. Patch time? Ugh.
I alternated between extreme guilt for not patching optimally and relief at not thinking about it. The days that we didn't patch were half about self-preservation and half to make sure Tommy's unhappiness didn't impact everyone else's vacation. (He's taken to loud shrieking when he is unhappy- patching makes him unhappy, the parks were crowded, they might have kicked us out!). I think I made the right decision given the circumstances... but I still obsess.
Thanks for reading my confessional!
 |
| Another one gone? |
Day 1 (10 hour car trip to Knoxville, TN): Lose contact in car. Spend 2 hours alternately searching Tommy's eye and what I can reach of him for contact. Find lost contact at the bottom of his car seat caked with cracker crumbs. Time patched: MAYBE 3 hours.
 |
| I rock this patch! |
Day 2: Knoxville, TN: Replace clean and disinfected contact. Tour around Knoxville (love that town!). No patch or contact drama. Meet a lady who tells me that she is completely blind in one eye because her parents gave up on patching (not sure she was blaming them, just stating facts) due to lazy eye. Weird encounter. Total Patch time: 5 hours! Success!!
Or was it?
Day 4: 12 hours in the car to Florida. I admit, I didn't even try, I was determined to hang on to that last contact until we got to the final destination. Patch time? 0 hours. :(
Day 5: Seaworld! Contact in, patch on. Terrible awful foreign man points, gestures, and brings his friend to gawk at the beautiful baby with a patch. Ugh. Patch time: 5 hours! Success! Take that awful man!
Day 6: Magic Kingdom! Contact is in. Hot sick baby dragged around an amusement park. Terrible mom day. Patch time? Maybe an hour.
Day 7: Animal Kingdom! Tommy gets sick- now carried around an amusement park (in 90 degree heat) and sleeps for most of it (my back is STILL killing me!). I know, I know, but it was just a cold. Patch time. Ugh, none. BUT we did see that girl patched in this park! (heap on the mom guilt!)
Day 8: Going home. 10 hour car trip. Patch time. 1 hour.
Day 9: Still traveling. Patch time? Ugh.
I alternated between extreme guilt for not patching optimally and relief at not thinking about it. The days that we didn't patch were half about self-preservation and half to make sure Tommy's unhappiness didn't impact everyone else's vacation. (He's taken to loud shrieking when he is unhappy- patching makes him unhappy, the parks were crowded, they might have kicked us out!). I think I made the right decision given the circumstances... but I still obsess.
Thanks for reading my confessional!
Monday, April 9, 2012
Still in shock
We went on vacation last week to Florida. I have a lot to blog about... but the one pressing most on my heart is what I will write first. This happened at Seaworld (which was great and Tommy loved!) However, I had an experience that I hope never to have again. In another post, I will talk about what a bad mother I was about poor patching... but that is for later.
Picture this: A beautiful little girl and a beautiful little boy in a double strolled pushed by aserene exhausted mother through the idyllic crowded amusement park. In fact- it looked a little like this:
Picture this: A beautiful little girl and a beautiful little boy in a double strolled pushed by a
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| Pretend he is patched... |
 |
| Here is the patch |
We were waiting near some benches in the shade when I noticed a man come over a few feet away from me, POINT at Tommy and start speaking and gesturing to his friends, who also came to look. I'd like to tell you what they were saying, but I have no idea. I'd like to think they were remarking on Tommy's extreme handsomeness or Addie's beauty... but I don't really think that. I'm SO MAD! This was a grown man pointing and talking about my baby! If he had spoken English, I would have screamed at him (yes, I realize it wouldn't be a good example). If I thought he'd understand, I'd have explained. My mom tried to suggest that maybe he was intrigued by the cute patch. I think he was just rude. I can't think of any culture where pointing and gesturing is considered OK.
This didn't ruin my vacation. It didn't even ruin that day. It is just a blip- but a terrible, awful, I-hate-people kind of blip.
On a happier note. At Animal Kingdom, I saw a little girl (maybe 6 years?) with a patch on her glasses. I have no idea what the reason was- it was her vacation- I didn't want to talk to them about the patch (not to mention that Tommy wasn't currently patched so it would've just been weird). She was chosen to help out in the Lion King show and I was so happy! No one pointed or laughed either! Yay for patched kids and patching moms/dads!!! And boo to ignorant adults.
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