• Home
• About
• Archives
• Contact

• Chain Climb
• Hanging Out in the Backyard
• First Official Day of Kindy Class
• No Mummy I’m NOT Tired!!
• Bit Damp @ Coastwatchers Playground
• Buggy Cool
• Conspiracy in the Pantry
• Hey Watchoo Talkin’ Bout?
• EM Doing His Alex Perry Impersonation
• Knife & Fork
• Photographer-卵
• Lucky Loot Boy
• Don’t Eat His Pies!
• Little Drummer Boy
• How We Amuse Ourselves On The Bus

• Birth (42)
• Friends & Family (19)
• Information (9)
• MJ (21)
• Pregnancy (15)
• Observations (2)
• Elliot Mason (644)
• Yoshi (18)

fleeting sleep moment, originally uploaded by mjd-s.

Some time before Golden Week one of us picked up some very nasty bug. Since then the 3 of us have been cycling in regards to being ill. I think I got the worst of it with the most fevers. It was odd - just kept coming back every evening. Yoshi got away with it the lightest somehow - usually it would grab hold of him. Maybe he recovered more quickly because he gets more sleep than the rest of us….

Last weekend though EM took a turn for the worse in regards to snot and coughing so I took him to the clinic. Luckily it was just a cough and streaming nose - his throat wasn’t red and we had been checking him for fevers but his temperature kept pretty steadily around normal.

I had kind of worked myself up into a tense ball at the thought of going… I’m very short tempered lately when it comes to dealing with any drama manufactured just because I’m white. We did well up until I got the prescription - I had no idea what to do with it. They hadn’t said anything to me so feeling frustrated at not understanding how things worked I just went and asked. They were surprised that I was asking - until they realized that EM has never had medicine before. He’s never needed to because he hasn’t ever been that sick. Also he’s never needed to have any from his numerous regular check ups either.

The clinic didn’t know but I was even more lost because the only medicines I’ve taken lately were during my pregnancy and more recently for hayfever and both times the clinics gave me the drugs directly. I had no idea about this go down the road to another place business and I felt pretty bewildered.

So we toddled off and the ladies at the dispensary were pretty nice although they were also shocked that EM had never taken medicine before and didn’t have a medicine book. I wasn’t sure what to say really - um he’s healthy and not really ever been sick? Maybe I was feeling a touch paranoid about them doubting I’m a sound mother and letting my baby suffer through illness…..

The check up was free and the meds cost 40 yen. Actually I think the medicine log book cost 40 yen and everything else was covered by national health insurance.

So EM is almost 100% now apart from a bit of a runnier nose than normal.

One issue though that was driven home to me on the days when all I could do was lie there aching and feverish hoping EM wouldn’t destroy too much of the apartment - was how little outside help is available to me in regards to someone being able to physically help out. It was so hard to try to do everything as normal when I felt so rotten - but there was no other option - I had to make sure EM was fed and watered and ok.

The hardest part was the EM just is such a trial to get to sleep normally - let alone when you aren’t feeling great. I tried to snuggle with him but he only succumbs to that once in every ten attempts. The only thing that works is to wrap him to my back - and even then sometimes it can take up to an hour.

I’m not a believer in the whole CIO (Cry It Out) concept - but once during last week I just couldn’t seem to sit up with being sick, let alone tie a very heavy baby to me. EM totally had a meltdown - and there was no way he was going to just give up and sleep. He worked himself up into a worse state, which took much longer to help him get out of.

I think I’ve read about every kind of sleep technique and trick there is - but basically EM is not a sleeper and will struggle tooth and nail to stay awake no matter how tired he is. If I don’t wrap him then he will keep going even though he becomes too tired to even stand. There has been no change in this even after passing several milestones. He walks and walks but it has had no effect. He puts away a decent meal now and still that has no effect. I can’t just let him do his own thing when he gets like that because he becomes so clumsy he hurts himself and wails - although usually he is totally fine.

I have thrown in the towel. Wrapping/backpacking him seems to work and Yoshi and I are tired enough that we just don’t have the energy to seek other solutions anymore. We just have to wait I guess until he works out this whole sleeping thing is an excellent idea - not a way he’s kept out of exciting things happening.

I am already planning to vacuum at 7am when he is a teenager. This thought is the only thing getting me through some of these massive sleep encouragement battles.

Comments....