Hide and Seek, Sort Of

Calliope has just discovered Hide And Seek.

Susie taught it to her. It was one of those little things that had never occurred to me... thinking about when peekaboo might turn into full-body hiding. (She's still a huge fan of peekaboo games.)

Tonight she hid around the corner from me. And after a moment, called out, "Mommy, come! Hide!" And held out her hand to me.

"But Calliope, if I hide with you, who will find us?"

"Mommy come hide."

So we hid together.

A moment later, she understood the limitations of hiding together, and scampered off to her room. Obediently, I started to count to ten... as she counted out loud along with me, from her "hiding" spot in her room.

"Ready or not, here I come!"

And then, too excited to wait, she came running out to find me.

With a saw.

Night Training?

Calliope's become a bit of a nudist lately. In the crib. When she's supposed to be sleeping.

She kept her diaper dry (and usually, on) for her last three naps, so I asked Susie today to put Calliope down for a nap without a diaper. For the first time... except for those two instances where Crappy Mommy simply forgot to put a diaper on for nap time. Those two times, Calliope woke up wet and miserable.

This time, the nanny reminded her, and as per my request, changed her into baggy pajama bottoms with no underwear (or "pahn-tees" as Calliope now calls them, as Susie calls them (that's "panties" with in Spanish, for the uninitiated). Skipping underwear was key to her success for daytime training for the first month or so, so I was hopeful it would help this time around as well.

Success!

She woke up dry.

So that's four days in a row. Only one without a diaper. Well, plus the one where she removed the diaper at some point. I don't know if it was before or after sleeping.

A few nights ago, and again tonight, I went in to find Calliope in her crib at night without her pajama bottoms and diaper. And since she always wakes up with a wet diaper in the morning, I'm confounded.

I could just duct tape the diaper on. But she seems so determined. I want to honor that. But I am doubtful that she is physically capable of staying dry all night.

But I guess if she stays dry for a few more naps, maybe I will throw caution to the wind, or the washing machine, and try putting her to bed without a diaper. Am I supposed to then wake her up to put her on the potty before I go to bed? Or just let her try it out, without assistance from me? I hate to push her before she's ready... but if she has the desire, does that mean she's ready?

Testing Limits

Lots and lots of limit testing over here. And I'm really struggling with it. Because it's little stupid stuff.

Like tonight, she was bouncing all over her crib. Literally, jumping up and down.

So I said, "If you want me to cover you with the blanket, you need to lie down by the time I count to three. One, two, three."

And she kept bouncing until I got to three... and then, one second later, lay down.

And I feel like, geez, it's only one second, what's the big deal?

But on the flip side, I think, well, I told her she had until the count of three... and she understood that perfectly well. She's testing me. And needs to see that I set clear limits. So she needs me to follow through on my threat?

So I said, "nope, too late. We can try again tomorrow night."

And walked out.

And she cried. "Banket! Banket peez!"

And I didn't go back.

And felt like an ogre. As she cried piteously. For possibly as long as a minute.

And then resumed her joyful playtime in the crib.

"Tinkle Tinkle"

Calliope's rendition of "Tinkle Tinkle"

Calliope's First Narrative

Calliope, "Boppy (pacifier) is sad."

Me, "Why is Boppy sad?"

Calliope, "Boppy is crying."

Me, "Why is Boppy crying?"

Calliope, "Mommy's sad."

Me, "Why is Mommy sad?"

Calliope, "She wants Boppy. It's (she's) too big!"

Sick Girl Went to the Doctor

The rest of the night was quieter, with only 3-4 visits to anxiously check on Calliope. I turned off the damn monitor at some point -- too many whines that I didn't need to hear -- but kept my bedroom door ajar for the more serious upsets.

It's a weird Mommy ability, this thing where you find yourself vaulting across the room and down the hall before your brain has registered consciousness.

The wheezing seemed better during the night though she developed a slight fever.

I wanted to make sure she was wheezing when we went to the doctor, so she could see what was really going on, but not wheezing enough to make my girl seriously uncomfortable.

So I gave her just one puff on the inhaler, which seemed perfect. She stopped wheezing for a little while, but it was back in full force by the time we were safely at the doctor's office.

We did a couple more puffs at the doctor's office, and walked out armed with a fistful of prescriptions for oral steroids, inhaled steroids, a nebulizer, and saline respules for the nebulizer. I am to give Calliope the oral steroids for 3-5 days and the inhaled steroids at least until the end of March. Yikes. I know it's a tiny amount of medication -- less than a five day course of oral steroids -- but it just sounds so serious, daily steroids.

And she's got a diagnosis of possible asthma.

The doctor, once again, couldn't locate Calliope's eardrums, given her abundant ear wax (sorry, TMI), but decided not to stress poor Calliope with more searching, given that Calliope didn't have a fever.

Naturally, her temperature went up to 101.3 this afternoon.

So now I will spend Thanksgiving week anticipating having to take next Monday off work to get an ear infection diagnosed.

Just like I -- accurately -- predicted that she'd be getting sick just before Thanksgiving.

I talked to my mom, my sister, and my cousin, and luckily everyone is relatively content with the new plan for Calliope and me to stay with my cousin, to shield my mom and her compromised immune system from Calliope's hacking cough.

Now there's just the horrible weather forecast on Wednesday to worry about... Being stuck for hours in an airport with a less-than-fully-well toddler during naptime could be very, very ugly. I know there are bigger problems in the world but oh, I could appreciate some luck on this front!

Another Sick Night

I noticed that Calliope had a slightly runny nose when we came in from the playground yesterday. I thought maybe it was just from the cold air.

Then she started coughing in her sleep yesterday, resulting in a dramatically shortened nap.

This morning her cough was a little more productive, though still totally within the realm of normal for a toddler in wintertime. We went with our friends to the toddler gym this morning, and Calliope had a ball. She totally owned the somersault ramp. No one else could match her. But she was beyond tuckered out afterwards, and wailed most of the way home.

She coughed a bit more on the car ride back home, and I remarked to Amy, "you know, I have a feeling she's going to be wheezing by tomorrow."

Just to be on the safe side, I gave her a puff on her inhaler before nap (no lunch -- too tired). But she woke up, again from coughing, wheezing. I gave her two more puffs before we went out to buy milk and fruit, then to visit our downstairs neighbors.

By bedtime she was worse, and even my friend Emily could hear, without prompting, the wheezing.

I gave two more puffs off the inhaler (which she uses with a device called a spacer, which enables just about anyone to use it successfully, even babies) and put her to bed.

She's been up multiple times, talking and crying in her sleep, and this most recent time, looked like she was working much too hard to breathe.

So I anxiously called the doctor's after-hours hotline.

The doctor said I can give the inhaler as often as every three hours. But if she needs the medicine as often as every 1-2 hours, or if her respiratory rate reaches 50-60 (currently it's 38), I have to take her to the emergency room. Otherwise we go to the doctor's office first thing in the morning.

Of course, while I was talking to the doctor, Calliope was cheerfully building a tower on the floor, and kept asking loudly "I talk?" while I was trying to concentrate. And as I was saying goodbye, she chimed in cheerfully, "Goodbye! Goodbye!"

Luckily, I guess, I'm sure the doctor could also probably hear Calliope's hacking cough in the background so I don't sound quite so ridiculous.

I really, really don't want to drag my toddler to the emergency room tonight! Praying that her breathing gets better and we both get to sleep.

Regardless, I will be taking yet another sick day tomorrow to bring her to the pediatrician.

Now to worry about exposing my mom, who is undergoing chemotherapy, to Calliope's germy little self. I was so sure that this was going to happen. I mean, what are the odds of a toddler staying healthy for two weeks in a row during the winter months? Last week she was both healthy and off antibiotics, so this seemed inevitable.