baby steps

Sorry for the lack of updates. My computer was monopolized all day by a 2 year old who feels that he should get to watch "Cars" all day long, but only the same 2 parts, the race and the beginning and the race at the end. Turning on NASCAR recaps on ESPN just wasn't an acceptable alternative so I had to go with it.

Today was another rough day, but better than yesterday. He has a lot more energy but is still having a hard time. The doc came by this morning and watched W and he thinks that in addition to his throat being sore and burning, his throat muscles are spasming when he's swallowing which is causing him to gag and choke, which makes him not want to eat or drink.

He didn't eat or drink all day until he finally agreed to let me order him a chocolate milk shake late this afternoon. The kid has no idea what a milk shake is but he insisted that he wanted one so we ordered it. He was able to take about 4 small sips before he was done. He did try to drink some soy milk and juice and water but he said that everything was too spicy so we backed off. Tonight I ordered him dinner and he wanted chicken soup and another "chocolate shakey milk" so he got it. Yum. I also got him a yogurt to see if that would entice him to eat. Of course when the food got here he didn't want anything to do with it, until he saw me eating off a plate and decided he wanted his chicken soup on a plate. For real, God must be testing me and the lengths I will go to to get this child to eat. Soup on a plate?? But we did it, and he ate about 3 tiny bites, with a noodle on each one, before he was done. Then he moved on to the yogurt and managed to get 4 licks of the spoon in before he started to gag and choke and spit it all up.

After a visit from his Opa and Oma, he decided that he didn't want to go to sleep and was suddenly hungry. That was another test, I'm sure. Did he need sleep more than he needed food? At that point, it was about even. He didn't have a nap all day and was just about to go out of his mind, as was I. So I offered him what we had and he didn't want any of it. Then I decided that rocking him to sleep would be the best bet because he just needed that closeness and comfort but this hospital doesn't have a rocking chair on this floor. So we walked the halls instead, until my arms practically fell off. When we got back in the room, he insisted on eating more chicken soup on a plate and some yogurt. But after I went through the process of tracking down another plate and making the soup a bit warm, he declared he didn't want it anymore. Instead, he wanted his chocolate shakey milk and some yogurt. And to watch the fast race in Lightning McQueen.

I must be worn down and beaten up because I actually allowed him to drink his shakey milk in his bed while watching a movie on my brand new computer that I got 4 days ago. Big fat mistake because no less than 3 minutes later, my keyboard was covered in chocolate shakey milk, and so was his leg. Never mind his leg, I had a computer to save. Thankfully, I was able to clean the mess up and so far, I don't notice any damage to the laptop. But his socks weren't so lucky. Oh well.

He finally fell asleep a few minutes ago but I can tell his throat is really bothering him again and I expect him to wake up in a few minutes once the meds wear off. He's about due for another dose and I'm hoping that will allow him to rest tonight so he has the energy to eat tomorrow.

He's still refusing all beverages and that's mostly where the problem is. That and the fact that he's gagging and choking so much after eating just a few small bites. We should be able to go home tomorrow. We better be able to go home tomorrow. It's been a long 3 days and I would really like to go home. My hair looks like one big dreadlock and I'm in serious need of some tweezers for these eyebrows. And I'd like to see my baby girl for more than the 30 minutes I saw her today.