Father's day

I'd be remiss in this blog if I didn't mention my second ever father's day.

Got some lovely dad socks and a couple of iced biscuits from Em. It's funny how much a toddler actually CAN afford ;)

Went out to for a lovely pub meal as well in Coulsden. Em had a child's portion sea bass, potato and veg while mum and dad had the usual Sunday roast.

I'm not too sure what to expect on Father's Day, but the pampering and "no dad, I'll do it" attitude of the rest of the family really is only in my fantasy. Reality was, it was just another Sunday, but I got socks and biscuits at the beginning of it.

Emily not doing so good

So I DID take Em to the doctor today after all. Katharine called and said that her temperature had shot up, so I went to collect her and raced to the doctor to ensure there was nothing drastically wrong with her.

Turns out she has a mild chest infection. I got a scrip for some meds and spent about 30 mins waiting for her "bag of help" at Tesco's chesmist. This photo was taken as we waited for her drugs, she not a happy or well bunny.

Still, the doc said as soon as her jollop was administered, she should feel much better.

It's been about an hour now and she's cooled down and doesn't seem so listless.

Potential heat stroke

Em was quite restless in the early hours of the morning and felt hotter than the sun.

Her symptoms, although quite similar to heat stroke as I mentioned previously, could also be down to the fact that Katharine's daughter was under the weather the last week. Kids are prone to picking up everything from everyone, so I don't think it's time to put out the worry stops yet.

I did stop by the doctor surgery on the way to Katharine's today to see if they could see Em and allay our fears. My main fear now is I'm becoming that which I loathe - a parent who takes their child to A&E or the doctor with every cough, scrape and ailment. I need to remember that although she's a wee nipper with a wee immune system, it's going to develop and fighting off crap like this - whatever it is - is an integral part in her development.

Of course, if it gets worse, I WILL eat my words.

Vomit damnit

Em's not really been herself the last day or so. Last night at Costco, she was leaning on my hand in the trolley ready for sleeps. This was around 6.30p, sleeps aren't until around 8.15p. I put it down to just general tiredness.

Today I picked her up from Katharine's, to find out that she'd had three sleeps and had just been woken up when I stopped by for pick up. On top of that she was really really warm.

On the way home, she was gagging a bit like she had a fur ball. I felt this odd, but nothing more. When we got home, she had two blueberries and that gag reflex ended up covering me in a melange of white spew and vegetables.

A quick hose down (and dose of jollop) later, and Em was in better spirits than she'd been for ages.

It's funny now I'm a parent, I really worry about things like heat stroke and the flu, etc. When I was free and single I used to scorn those parents who'd take little Johnny to the hospital for every little thing. I don't think I'd rush Em anywhere for anything, but it's made me think twice about dismissing every ailment that comes her little way.

Update: Based on what Katharine said today, I think Em may have a bout of heat stroke. Consulting the web (as one does), I've found this "Sometimes babies can have a heat stroke due to over exposure to the sun. The common symptoms are vomiting, listlessness, headaches and drowsiness. Give your baby plenty of fluids and consult your doctor immediately."

She DID vomit, and she WAS drowsy. Not too sure about the others.

Having called NHS Direct, I got the "don't bother us if you're not dying, as we're terribly busy" message, so we'll wait out the night and see how she is in the morn.

15 months and counting

It's 15 months yesterday since Em entered our lives and we're still looking for a number of milestones - like walking - but reached a great number of them nonetheless.

Having been a dad for well over a year now, I can't imagine life without her - although sometimes I wish I could, but that's true with anything that gets on your nerves. Count to ten and things seem less stressful.

Em now has more teeth than she did a couple of months ago, she's taller, she's had her first bout of diarrhoea, she's sleeping on her stomach, etc. etc.

It's quite fun and interesting seeing the world through her eyes... especially how she never gets sick at repetition, something I miss, as I can boast I saw Star Wars about 18 times back in the 80s.

More teeth

Emily has been quite grouchy the last few days. We put it down to the cessation of the evening feed.

However, it came to Sue's attention yesterday that Emily actually has two need teeth. Both on the bottom, either side of the existing middle-four that are there.

This would explain all manner of unhappiness on Emily's behalf, and I'm beginning to feel guilty in that I assumed it was just Em complaining about no milk.

When I picked Em up from Katharine's last night, she asked if I knew about Emily's FOUR new teeth. Apparently there's two MORE on the bottom row nearer the back.

Now I REALLY feel guilty!

Screamdelica

Since we've been back from Canada, Emily (and I) have recovered from a nasty bout of "fizzy gravy". Mine was accompanied by a case of dehydration and some aching (I mean aching) kidneys. I'm actually quite happy I went through it, as I have a better understanding of the hell Emily must have gone through, not having experienced diarrhoea before.

Since she's got over it, and to celebrate returning from North America, Emily growing up and Sue and I thinking it's about time, the evening feed has stopped. There have been evenings when she's fallen asleep without a feed and all has been well, but these past few days (I'm counting almost a week here), she's been a little scream monster. It's not a small bout either, it goes on and on and on.

I've lost my patience on a number of occasions (although not in a Christian Bale way... yet) and have to calm myself down before dealing with her. Sometimes I think there's actually something wrong with her and can recall all too well the aching in my kidneys, wondering if the pain is mirrored. However, the screams then can slide right into a smile or laugh and I realise that that kind of pain doesn't turn off like a tap.

She'll get used to it eventually, going to sleep without boob milk. No one can enjoy the sweet delights of bittie forever, else we'd all be clamouring to the teet still and no work would ever get done. I just hope she gets used to it sooner than later, as her banshee-like shrieks are ripping a strip off my hearing.

The doctor's ... again

Further to the expensive doctor visit last week in Canada, we had a minor emergency yesterday.

Emily was already looking really docile, due to the heat and jetlag. The icing on the cake was the presence of redness in her already soft nappy. Sue picked her up early and headed off to the doctor to get her checked out again.

The doctor was able to tell us that Em is hydrated properly, which usually isn't the case with diarrhoea, and that it may be a virus that should be treated with anti-biotics. This is basically what we were told for $130 in Canada, without the antibiotics bit. The redness in the nappy was food, we were told, and not blood.

We dropped off a stool sample before leaving and await the results by week's end. They've ruled out food poisoning, and Em's back at the childminder's today.

I just want the little blighter to get better as her being ill really is sad.