Day 7 of Broken Leg

Noah is definitely no better.  I'm feeling defeated.  His limp is worse again today.  There is no way it will be gone by Monday, like the surgeon predicted.   He has to walk so slow, and he is falling a lot.  He looks like a brand new walker, instead of a kid who's been walking for 7-8 months.  He is also whimpering, seemingly about his leg, a lot more often than he has been since the accident.  I wonder if he will end up with a splint.

I was pretty successful at cutting down his walking time today.  He probably walked only about 20% of how much he usually walks.  I just can't do anything but be right beside him.  He is happy to sit on the floor and play with me for hours at a time.  But I can't be doing anything but paying direct attention to him.  That's great for us, but less than stellar for the state of my house (not that that matters in this situation).

Today I bought Noah a bunch of new toys that I am hoping will be interesting enough to hold his attention and keep him sitting for as long as his Clifford nesting blocks did today.  I got it all half off, but was anticipating the bill to be much higher than it was.  I was excited!

And I wonder how Noah will sleep tonight.  Last night was so crummy.  He was up for hours in the middle of the night, wanting me with him.  He never ever does this, so it was very out of character.  Since the accident he has only had 2 good nights, both of which he was on Tylenol for.  Most of the bad nights I didn't give him any medication.  However, last night I gave him both Tylenol before bed and ibuprofen at 3am, and it didn't make any difference to his sleep.  

I just don't feel comfortable not attending to him right now.  For all I know he's hurt his leg even worse by getting it caught in the crib, or he has caught some bug from spending the entire day in the ER and has thrown up all over himself or something.  I can't ignore the whimpers, whines, and cries right now.

Finally, A Diagnosis

After 2 ER visits, 2 misdiagnoses, and an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon, we have our verdict:

Noah's fibula is broken.

He has what's called a greenstick fracture, or a plastic deformation.  Basically, because his bones are still so flexible, the fibula got bent by the weight of Justin falling on it, and it got fractured in the process.  If he was older, the fracture probably would have been a lot worse.

Greenstick fractures are stable, so the orthopedic surgeon didn't want to cast it or splint it because it would just be a pain in the butt for Noah.  I am fine with that.  But he also said that we should not allow him to walk.

Ummm... have you ever had an 18 month old??  I told him I would do my best, put him in his high chair as much as possible and cuddle with him on my bed watching as much Sesame Street as he would tolerate, but nothing would stop this kid from walking.  Even a broken leg.

We go to see the ortho again on Monday, and then again 2 weeks after that.  He thinks Noah's limp will be a lot better by Monday, hardly noticeable.  Considering how bad it is right now, I have a really hard time believing that.  But we'll see.

So the details of my day are as follows:

We got to the ER in the late morning.  We waited for hours before being called back to a bed.  Noah cried whenever someone touched him.  Not necessarily because it hurt, but because he hates when strangers touch him.  Then we got into x-ray.  X-ray was... oh my goodness.  Torture.  I had to hold down his upper body while a tech held his leg still.  He was screaming as hard as he could and begging to nurse.  He was only in a onesie at this point, but after we were done he was bright red and extremely sweaty.

The ER doctor got the images right away and told us his leg looked fine.  I told him I was still sure it was broken, and that from everything I read, sometimes the break doesn't show up on the x-rays or it can be hard to spot.  He said he's not a radiologist, but he's seen a lot of x-rays and it looked normal to him.  He told me it was probably just a soft tissue injury, like the last ER doctor said.  He said he'd call if the radiology report said anything different.  We were standing at the exit and had basically been dismissed, and I said "Well, his limp just keeps getting worse, which is not consistent with a soft tissue injury.  So what am I supposed to do?    How long do I let this limp go on for until I bring him in again?  And then where do I go?"

The doctor looked perplexed, because he seemed to realize that the whole thing didn't make sense.  So he called the orthopedic surgeon who was on call and talked to him, and the ortho wanted to see me at 4pm today.

We left to bring Noah home to my parent's house for a nap.  Both my mom and I agreed that his fibula did not look normal in the x-ray, even if the doctor thought it did.  It had a curved spot, and I saw some lines that I didn't think belonged there (I saw several x-rays on toddler legs during the past few days while trying to figure out what Noah had, so I was fairly familiar with how they should look, although I wouldn't claim to be an expert).  I was still convinced it was broken.

Noah had a good nap, over an hour.  He woke up at 3:50, and we rushed to the ER again to see the ortho.  We needn't have rushed.  We didn't get to see him until 5:15.  That's when he told us that Noah's leg is, in fact, broken.

And that is when I was vindicated.  I thought his fibula was broken (yes, specifically his fibula, not his tibia), and I told all the doctors and nurses this, so they wouldn't need to investigate all sorts of unnecessary stuff (which they didn't, really, to their credit).  And I could tell they were all like "Oh yeah, okay Mom, Over Reactor."  I tried to explain to them that, if anything, I'd be considered an under reactor, and the fact that I brought my kid to the ER for the second time in a week, and that I am subjecting him to all these scenarios that are going to make him scream his head off, means I know something is wrong.  It was not a stupid soft tissue injury.

And it wasn't.  It was a fracture.

Anyway, Noah was really well behaved the whole day.  He only cried when people were touching him.  Other than that he didn't even complain or whine.  He was the model child.  

-He played with the wheelchairs.  

-He kept walking over to a sick toddler who was crying and saying "Baby!  Baby!  Poor baby."  

-He went over to a 1 month old baby who had a cold and kept saying "Baby!"  

-After that he kept saying "Baby!  Shhhh!"  with his finger in front of his mouth, like we should be quiet for the little baby.  

-He kept running to the automatic doors (which responded to his small stature) trying to escape.  When he finally understood that no matter how many times he tried it, we would always stop him, he started running over to the doors, stopping when they opened, and saying "Uh oh!!!"

-He made fast friends with a couple of kids who came in with their mom, and they were colouring and playing together.

He was so cute:)

Unsuccessful

Our efforts to bypass the ER by getting an x-ray requisition have been unsuccessful.  I mean, sure, we'll get an x-ray appointment in a few days.  And then a radiologist will look at it the next day.  And then he'll send our family doctor the results the next day.  And then we'll get referred to an orthopedic surgeon a day or two or three later.  And then we'll get an appointment at ambulatory care to get a cast put on the next day.  

And by then my kid's leg has been broken for 2 weeks.

I'm pretty sure I'm taking him to the ER in the city nearby tomorrow morning.  I wanted to do this in a way where I could avoid everyone touching him and making him scream hysterically, and avoid spending 4 hours in the ER with an 18 month old.  But apparently that is not possible.

Eff.

Update on Noah's Leg

Alright.  The Incident was on Saturday.  On Sunday Noah woke up and had a rough start, but was eventually able to walk with a limp.  He's been limping ever since, and his leg has been tender when we do certain things to it, although it has been hard to narrow down exactly where it was hurting.  We got so that we figured out it seemed to be his lower leg.  He would protest if we grabbed it, even gently, for a clothes or diaper change (unfortunately that is the leg we always grab during diaper changes).  

By tonight, Tuesday, Noah's limp seems more pronounced, and Justin narrowed it down even further to figure out that it was the outside of his lower leg that is really tender.  

So, Noah is walking, but he can't run, and his gait is nothing like it normally is.  He is clearly favouring his right leg.  He can't step onto even small steps if he has to bear significant weight on his right leg.

Justin did a whole bunch of online research tonight and is now convinced that he broke Noah's leg.  He is sure that Noah has something called a "Toddler's Fracture," which is a fracture of the tibia or fibula.  The series of events, along with Noah's behaviour ever since, fits it perfectly.

So I guess I need to get him in for an xray.  :(  I am mad that they sent us away from the ER on Saturday without doing one, considering there was no one there.  Hopefully it's not actually a fracture, but it sure seems to fit.

Noah's First ER Visit

Tonight was not a good night.

We went into my parents house (they're out of town) for me to do ozone therapy. We brought in a pizza, since we went in at dinner time. The pizza went in the oven and I'd been doing ozone for about 1 minute when Justin fell down the stairs WHILE HOLDING NOAH. He smashed Noah's right leg between his huge 230lb body and the hard stairs. Noah was crying so hard and clinging to me like he never has before. I nursed him to calm him down, but I could tell he was still in pain. We stood him on the ground to see what would happen and he crumpled as soon as he took a step.  He couldn't walk. 

I have never taken him to the doctor or ER for anything before.  I never want to uproot a sick or in pain baby and take him to the doctor, since he hates doctors.  But when that happened, I was like "WE'RE GOING.  NOW."  

We took him to the ER, pretty sure that it is his right foot that's the problem (but not totally sure - it could be the whole leg).  However, because he can bear weight on his leg to a small extent, they didn't do any x-rays or anything because they are pretty sure it's not broken.  They just said to keep giving him ibuprofen and Tylenol and to watch the swelling.  If it's pretty swollen tomorrow, bring him back to the ER. 

But he still can't walk. And he keeps trying to walk, which gives him a lot of pain.

I am really upset about this. And I'm really trying not to be mad at Justin and take it out on him, since that's my personality when I'm upset - I need to blame someone and rant and rave about it.  It's a character flaw that I'm very aware of. Thankfully I've been able to bite my tongue from saying all the things the Mama Bear in me wants to say.  It was a mistake.  And Justin is really upset.  Maybe more upset than me.  When Noah crumpled when he tried to walk, Justin immediately started crying.  It is his worst fear realized.  He is so angry and upset at himself.  I don't blame him.

But still. I'm sad for Noah and worried about him.  When I was nursing him to sleep he kept moving his right leg around.  It's what he does when he's in a lot of pain.  He can't stop moving the injured appendage.

I hope he's okay tomorrow, but I don't think he will be.  I don't know how we're going to keep him from trying to walk all day tomorrow.  Everytime he tries he starts whimpering and crying in pain, but he just keeps trying.  If only he were a little bit older and could understand better that he just needs to crawl right now.

I hate this.  My poor baby:(

18 Months Old

At 18 months, here is where Noah is at:

-He is about 27lbs.  This shocked me this month.

-He is about 35 inches tall.

-He is in size 4 diapers during the day and night.

-He wears size 2T and 3T clothing.

-He wears size 6 shoes.

-He nurses on demand, 5-7 times a day.  When he nurses he is constantly playing with my face and ears, especially when he's nursing to sleep.  He will be sleeping, but he is reaching up with an open palm that just gently strokes my ear and earring, over and over.

-He exclusively feeds himself, either with his hands or with a spoon and fork. If he is given a utensil, he will always use it.

-He's cooperative about drinking from a sippy cup early in the day, but once the afternoon and evening hits he wants to drink from a regular CUP, darnit, just like Mama.

-He has 16 full teeth. The only ones left are his 2 year molars, which I think he is actually already starting to work on (although I am mostly in denial about this).

-He has one nap a day, usually about an hour long.

-This month he's been sleeping 11 to 11.5 hours at night, getting up to nurse once, sometime after 5am. Bedtime is after 8:30pm most nights, and we've been sleeping in until about 8am or later every morning.

-He still signs for water and to eat, even though he says the words just as easily.  He almost never signs to nurse anymore.  He said asks "Nurse?"

-At 15 months Noah was saying 18 words. At 16 months he was saying 42 words. At 17 months he was saying 79 words.  At 18 months he is saying 137 words.

His old words that he's still saying are: Mama, Dada, uh oh, more, this, that, cat, night night, hot, up, yes, woof woof ("what does a dog say?"), baa ("what does a sheep/goat say?"), moo ("what does a cow say?"), car, ball, shoes, cracker, Noah, water, orange, clock, blech, hi, done, dirt, Bert, puff, swish, fluff, book, buzz, Papa, Nana, boo, fish, phone, again, home, sunglasses, Gramper, sit, stretch, glasses, food, laptop, love, hair, quack, bye, tshirt, shirt, aunt, poop, slide, cheese, Colton, danger, banana, feet, please, clock, cold, toes, ooo-ooo-ahh-ahh (monkey sound), bad, burger, boo-boo (as in, an owie), nurse, block, fly, stuck, chalk, out, fit, hat, bye-bye, and shit (yeah, I'm not proud of that).

His new words are: pool, eyes, nose, rice, pour, no, apple, bath, heck, help, eat, T.V., pup, corn, cook, moon, sun, on, off, mouse, brush, ice, neigh, push, yay, peach, buddy, you, hi, mess, flip, hose, toast, home, see you, pieces, pear, foot, me, tape, open, meat, ok, out, street, outside, keys, bits, pee, flies, away, whoa, cheerios, cut, gas, wet, hey, bless.

-After he poops (and sometimes beforehand) he will inform us by saying "Poop! Poop! Poop!" He still doesn't really care if you change his diaper or not, though. I think he might actually be content with a poopy bum all day long.

-I'm pretty sure he knows exactly what pee is, and he knows it goes in the toilet.  He'll open any bathroom door, point to the toilet, and exclaim "Pee!!!"

-Noah still loves to point out things that are hot. He waves his hands around saying "Hot! Hot!" and then blows air out his mouth like he's trying to cool something down. He really pronounces the "t", and the way he says it is sooo cute. He looks so proud of himself for knowing everything that is hot.

-His verbal comprehension continues to be amazing.  He understands everything we say to him.  We can even reason with him.

-He still wants gets into everything, but he is continuing to obey the word "no" more consistently.

-He hardly ever plays with his toys.  Currently, his favourite "toys" are our Dyson vacuum cleaner, anything electronic that isn't meant to be played with, any cleaning implement (like Swiffers), or kitchen/bathroom gadgets.

-He loves to run, climb, swim... anything active.

-Time outs are still wildly successful around here.  They've been so successful, we don't need to use them that often anymore.

-One mild illness for Noah this month.  The count is at 13.

-He still has a thing for pretty blonde women:)

-He is such a cuddly, affectionate little monkey. He loves to hug and be hugged, loves to get and give kisses, loves to sit in our laps. He such a sweet little boy.

18 months old!  I just can't believe my little guy is a year and a half!  I still think of him as my baby, even though he is such a toddler.  The nursing, cuddling, and snuggling him as he falls asleep in my arms really helps us both ease this transition.  Everyday he does something that just makes my mouth hang open, because, "Oh my gosh, he is a little boy now!"

I think this might be my favourite age so far, at least since he has become a toddler.  He is so incredibly entertaining.  I love watching him do such grown up things.  I love listening to him talk and learn new words.  I love his long gibberish sentences.  I love observing him as he assimilates new information into his existing knowledge base so quickly and easily.  I love how he is just so darned silly.

I am not going nearly as crazy as I was a few months ago.  Noah is much more obedient now.  He still does things I don't want him to do, of course.  But it's no longer only going from one restricted activity to another restricted activity.  There are a lot of things he will stay away from now.  And when he's not listening, times outs really work for both him and me.  I rarely end up at the point where I want to bang my head against the wall, because a quick time out stops me from having to stop him from doing the same thing 200 times in a row.

Everybody is telling me I should be buying Noah a potty.  He is showing so much interest in poop, pee, the toilet, and seems to be grasping the whole concept.  He definitely grasps that we use the toilet for poop and pee, anyway.  And he'll wipe his diapered crotch with toilet paper.  This made me laugh so hard.  I am in no rush for this.  Potty training was something I wasn't even thinking about until sometime after he turns 2.  Next summer seemed like a good time to try, because he could run around outside all day with no clothes on.  Maybe if a good potty goes on sale I will pick one up and see what happens.  I'm not convinced, even though all his aunts, uncles, and grandparents seem to be.

I'm looking forward to what this next month will bring.  I am constantly reminded that my Mom and sister in law both had their second babies when their first was 19 months old (my mom actually did that 4 times in a row).  I just can't even imagine having a newborn in a month.  I'm happy to be able to concentrate on Noah for awhile longer.

Still Suffering

The Bad News:

I am still pretty sick with my colitis flare up.  I have been strictly in bed for 5 days now.  Saturday and Sunday Noah and I were taken care of by Justin.  Monday to Wednesday my Mom has been here taking care of Noah and me and the house.  Tomorrow she has to go to work, so my Dad is coming out.  That means I will have to do a little more than I've had to for the past 5 days.  My Dad will play with Noah - that's about it.

I have gotten quite a bit better, though.  Ibuprofen is helping with the swelling, which is making it easier to pee.  Saturday to Monday were torture.  I had one or two "good" moments during the day where I didn't feel like someone had sewed my waste-excreting orifices shut.  These moments lasted maybe half an hour.  On Tuesday I felt like that from about 9am to 2pm, and then got some relief.  Before and after that period of time I was like a geyser.  Today I've felt like that maybe only half the day.  But it wasn't as severe as it has been, so that's good.

I am doing ozone therapy everyday and taking as many helpful supplements as I can.  I need to get more.  I am waiting to get my appointment with the surgeon.  I'll need another colonoscopy very soon, I'm sure.


The Good/Neutral News:

Justin and my parents have really stepped up to the plate, and I am so thankful for all of them.  Justin voluntarily stepped back from training and coaching this week, even though it was a bad week for that to happen.  One or both of my parents have been here everyday, and my Mom has fed or made us dinner for the past 4 days.  I don't know what I'd have done without them.

Also, the pool is almost done!  It feels like it's been a long road, and there have been some annoyances on our end, like the fact that it is being finished almost a week behind schedule.  This is partly because of crappy weather forecasts that were never actually fulfilled (it's very stupid to pour concrete if there's a chance of rain), and partly because they just didn't do some things they could have been doing while they weren't pouring the concrete because of the chance of rain.  Therefore they had to spend all day today doing those things, when the pool could have actually been completely filled and ready today.

I had a huuuge freak out last night when we got home from my parents' house (where I do the ozone therapy) and discovered that the new five foot "railing" on our already 6 foot tall deck was literally a fence.  You could not see the pool at all from the deck or the kitchen, which houses the sliding door leading onto the deck.  Not could you see onto the stairs or deck from the pool area. It was such an unsafe situation, not to mention aesthetically disappointing.  It's not that the railing looked bad.  But it would be nice to be able to actually SEE the pool we sunk all this money into.  And if my kid(s) somehow managed to get into the pool area unsupervised, I would like to be able to SEE HIM before he drowns.  And when you have toddlers playing in the other part of the yard where the playground is, it'd be nice to be able to SEE them if they decide to climb up the long flight of stairs to go up onto the deck.  And when I have older kids who are allowed to be in the pool as long as I'm nearby in the house (doing dishes or whatever), it'd be nice to be able to supervise them from that distance and easily look out the door and windows for that exact purpose.

I seriously flipped.  Adrenaline was pumping through my veins.  I wrote a nice but very firm email to the contractor and told him I don't want to cause problems, but that is completely unacceptable.  He was very accommodating, and said we would discuss it first thing in the morning to find a solution.  His response made it so I was able to sleep.  We discussed it as soon as he got here today and they fixed it.

Anyway, everything looks good, they did everything they promised (and more, frankly), everything is ready for the inspector, and the pool should be filled up by the end of tomorrow.  It's supposed to be a sunny weekend, so hopefully Justin and Noah will be able to enjoy some time in the pool.  And maybe I'll be well enough to go down onto the patio with them.

I'll post some pictures sometime soon.  I'm so glad we made the decision to do this!  Even if we'll only get a few good pool days between now and when we close it for the winter.

ER Visit

Tonight I ended up going to the ER. Anyone who knows me knows it's pretty bad if I leave Noah and risk not being home for bedtime. I was crying about it.

I was feeling soooo terrible. I had a fever of 99.6, which for me is really high because my normal temp is about 97 degrees, not 98.6. I was feeling so queasy and light headed and dizzy, I could barely walk. Justin had to drive me, because I certainly couldn't drive. He had to just drop me off because he had Noah. By the time I got to the ER I was so out of it, and my temp was up to 101.1. When they brought me back to my room I just laid there with my eyes closed, feeling like I was drugged.

My mom drove out and met me there and stayed the whole time. Thank goodness for her.

I haven't given any details of my most recent physical issues, which started on Monday, because it's kind of TMI. But I have been tortured for 5 days now, and was starting to think I had a partial bowel obstruction.

They did a urine sample and took blood and did physical exams (OMG, a rectal is, like, worse than giving birth without drugs). (Okay, maybe not quite that bad, but still extremely uncomfortable). I don't have an obstruction, thank goodness. They have no idea what my problem is. The doctor put me on antibiotics because of my lingering constant headaches and being sick with other stuff for so long - it's been 18 days now. She doesn't think the fever and dizziness is related to the bowel and bladder stuff (I'm having a hard time peeing, too, even when my bladder is full). She thinks that other stuff is related to my colitis, so I have to go see a surgeon again.

Besides the antibiotics, she gave me the laxatives I took before my colonoscopy to maybe be able to clear out whatever feels like its stuck up there. I'll take them tomorrow. Hopefully they help with the constant feeling of having to go, and nothing coming out.

I am not feeling as bad as I was before I went. I laid down the whole time I was there, and that helped. My fever is back down. I have a headache, and I feel weak, but I also have had hardly anything to eat today. Two apples, half a banana, and a piece of pizza.

I am going to have to just lie down all weekend. I have been mostly lying down and not doing anything, but when you're the sole caretaker for a toddler, you DO have to get up. Changing diapers, feeding him, etc. Justin will have to do all that while he's off this weekend. And if I still feel bad on Monday I will see if my mom will come out here and take care of him. Or maybe my Dad. I'll just be around to nurse.

I got home just in time for bedtime, thank goodness.  I am sooo glad to be home. I was so afraid that I was getting toxic or something and was going to be admitted and maybe end up with surgery or something. I was so afraid of what Justin and Noah would do without me (if Noah wakes up in the middle of the night and wants Mommy, which is everytime, seeing Daddy makes him lose his mind), about how it would affect nursing, etc. My boobs don't respond to a pump, so it could have been the end of things. Although I would have worked my ass off to not let it be.

Brave Noah

I have to post something unrelated to my misery:

Noah has gotten so much braver and outgoing than he was in the spring.  We go out a lot now, sometimes to new places he's not familiar with.  In the past, he used to cling to me, just watching, for about 30 minutes before venturing off to play with other kids.  Now he just flies into the thick of things.

For example, today we went to Drop-In at the Best Start hub where we live.  It's just a free place that's kind of like a daycare, but you stay with your kids and can socialize with other parents.  We haven't been there since Noah was about 12 months because it's only on Mondays and Thursdays from 9-11:30am, and all summer Justin was home and not training during that time.  Today was the first day in months that Justin was at work on one of those days, so we went.

Noah had a ball.  He took off from me as soon as we got there, playing with all the toys. He would come back to me every 15 minutes or so, plop in my lap for a cuddle, and then take off again. He sure has gotten more comfortable in places like that.

I also saw someone who Justin works with who's off on maternity leave right now.  So we chatted a lot, which was nice, since those places are often cliquey.

We left during circle time because Noah just does NOT enjoy that stuff anymore. He kept getting up, even though I told him he had to sit in the circle or we would leave. So I asked him if he wanted to go home and he immediately nodded, said "home", waved bye to the "teacher", and headed for the door. He couldn't wait to get out of that circle and go home.

On Tuesday we were at Tales for Tots at the library.  When I signed up for it I was a little worried, since I had a feeling Noah would just want to pull books off the shelves.

Well, I was right.  He had no interest in anything the teacher was doing.  Totally not her fault - she was doing a good job.  But he just wanted to play with books.  When he was 12 or 13 months it would have gone well, since he would have been too shy to get off my lap.  But from about 15 or 16 months until now?  Totally different story.  I know this is normal, but he was the ONLY kid doing this at that session.  Every other kid was participating, or at least paying attention.

We got a sheet about what you should do with your kid, the kind of behaviour is expected, etc.  And it said that if after 3 sessions the child is not cooperating, perhaps you should try again in the future.  I'm not sure if this applies to Noah, since he wasn't being disruptive in the least.  He was perfectly quiet.  But still, he wasn't doing what he was supposed to be doing.

Either way, I don't know if we're going to go back.  We might try one more time, but if Noah's not into it right now, there's no sense in trying to force it.

Anyway, I'm proud of him for being so much more outgoing.  I never forced it when he was clingy and more timid, and he just grew out of it naturally.  Although he still would not be okay if I left him alone in these places.  In fact, last night Justin took him to basketball practice because I wasn't feeling well, and the whole time he kept walking out into the hallway saying "Mama?  Mama?  Mama?  Mama?"  And he kept pouting and his eyes would fill with tears.  Justin had to keep giving him Mum Mums to distract him.

That makes me laugh and feel sad for him at the same time.  He's still a Mama's boy, that's for darn sure.

This is Absurd

-I am still sick.  And I keep adding symptoms to my repertoire.  Right now, on top of everything else (my mom is convinced I have strep throat), I feel like I am in early pregnancy.  If I didn't have a full on period at the moment (not helping) I would be taking a test.  I feel terrible.  It's hard to take care of Noah.  And right now Justin is cooking dinner because I can't stand long enough to do it.  I feel bad, because he works such long days.  But he is being a good sport about it.  I guess it's good practice for when I actually DO end up pregnant.  If my next pregnancy is anything like my last one, I won't be able to do anything.

-Thankfully, Noah and Justin feel just fine.

-The weather this week went from 110 degrees to like 60 degrees in the matter of two days.  So it's not like we're roasting.  But my pool guy has not shown up for the past two days, which really ticks me off.  Granted, yesterday it rained lightly all day.  But today it hasn't rained a drop.  And he hasn't even called.  My backyard is still a mess, so Noah can't go back there.  The pool was supposed to be completely done at the end of Friday, which was already a full week later than it could have been done.  Now there is zero chance of that happening.  There is still no concrete around the pool, and that was supposed to be poured on Tuesday.  There is no liner in the pool, no fence up, no new railing on the deck, the electrical still isn't done... and the pool takes two days to fill with water.  The whole thing could be done if they had worked a full day every work day since they started, instead of many short days or one or two proper length days.  I am seriously annoyed.  What the heck are they doing?

-I'm hoping sometime soon I will feel better and my backyard will be finished and my head will be in a better place.  These two things are really just clouding my ability to write about anything positive.

Backyard, Pool, Sickness, and a Funny Kid

-It's my 11th day of being sick today.  I still feel terrible.  I don't think I've ever been this sick this long.  I've been sicker than this, for sure, but I've been fairly sick with no letting up for 11 days now.  It's really getting on my nerves.  And it's keeping me from getting a decent night's sleep, which in turn makes my nerves easier to get on in the first place.

-My backyard is a disaster.  The guys are off for the next three days because of the long weekend.  In the meantime, my backyard looks like this:

They're killing the grass we have left, which was previously quite nice.  And there is no usable space for Noah to play in.  Meanwhile, it is freaking 110 degrees outside (literally), and my pool, which would be so wonderful right now, looks like this:

Not exactly swimmable.

Everything looks so small in those pictures.  Granted, the pool isn't enormous.  It's only as big as the town's bylaws will allow because of how far it has to be from the fence on all sides (and we are putting a fence down the middle of the yard).  But the pool seems much larger in person.

It's hard to believe it will be up and running in a week.  And after watching them work for the past 5 days, Justin and I are actually shocked at how little we are paying.  It's shocking to see everything that is involved in installing an inground pool. 

-The swimming pool fencing bylaws in my town are very strict.  You can see in the one picture that my deck is 6-7 feet above grade  It then has a 42 inch railing.  We were going to put a 5 foot fence all the way across the middle of the yard.  Apparently this is not good enough.  Apparently the deck has to have a 5 foot railing. Personally, I think this is ridiculous.  If someone can manage to scale the railing as it is, they will plunge to their death by falling 10 feet onto concrete.  They will definitely not be drowning in the swimming pool.  

My contractor was trying to find some way around this new section of the bylaw, like having an alarm installed on the sliding door.  Apparently that was rejected by the inspector.  So their new plan is to create a new 5 foot railing to go along the one side, only bring the fence up to the bottom of the stairs, and then skirt the one side of the deck that faces the pool, using fence boards.  I am crossing my fingers that this doesn't cost me extra money.

-We also have to install child safety locks on the four windows that face the pool.  Apparently it doesn't matter if they're second story, main floor, or basement.  I find this annoying, and I will not be keeping them on once the pool is finished and the inspector has come and gone.  They're supposed to prevent the windows from opening greater than 10cm (about 3.5 inches).  That is ridiculous.

I just want this to be done with.  This has been a long week and this coming week feels like it's going to feel like a month instead of 7 days.  Blaaaah.

-This post is most definitely coloured by the persistant throbbing in my head, which, as I mentioned, has been going on for 11 days.  I've taken 1000mg of tylenol four times today, and have not been able to get rid of it.  And I'm pretty sure I have PMS, as I'm expecting my period in 3 or 4 days.  Which also sucks.

-The good thing is always this:

His new thing is standing still for pictures (but not necessarily smiling) if I tell him he can see them afterward.  This facial expression cracks me up:

"Ok, I'll stand still, but I don't like it.  And I really want to see the picture right now."

He makes me laugh every day.  And he is starting to obey much more, which makes it much more tolerable when he doesn't obey, since that's no longer the 'rule'.  Time outs really have worked wonders in this house.

-We had a family photoshoot done on Wednesday.  We've never had out pictures done professionally before, and our photographer does amazing work.  I am very excited to see the pictures!  

Alright, I'm out of here.