Front Page (above the fold)
Headline: Family Survives Weekend…Barely
Photo: Twins in meltdown mode, complete with ginormous tears and runny noses (photo courtesy of elhogue photography)
Story Synopsis: The weekend was one of the most difficult in recent memory. The babies were not sleeping, which meant that Mommy and Daddy (but particularly Mommy) weren’t sleeping. And with the colds and other physical ailments of the weekend, the twins were pretty needy and whiny. We were, it seemed, about a half second from a meltdown for 48 hours straight. If these two days had happened during the week, I would have been hard-pressed to make it through. Thankfully, our parents both came unexpectedly and helped out. My in-laws came on Friday night so that we could have a date night, and my parents came up on Saturday just to hang out and hold babies. Those breaks were exactly what I needed! And on Sunday, since we didn’t make it to church, I got a nap, and Eric and I could focus on babies on their schedule. That worked out better, too.
Front Page (Right-hand column)
Headline: First Ear Infections
Story Synopsis: Because Alex had a miserable night’s sleep on Friday night, I decided (while awake in the early morning hours) to have both checked for ear infections. I figured Alex had one for sure, but it wouldn’t hurt to check Erin, too. So off we went to the pediatrician’s office for an appointment at 11:15 (which, of course, they were running behind for, so it turned into an 11:45 appointment). Still, when it was done, it turned out that Alex’s ears are fine, and Erin has a double ear infection. Poor girl! So now we’re on antibiotics and Baby Motrin and watching to make sure Alex doesn’t start showing signs, too.
Headline: Date Night
Story Synopsis: Friday night, Eric and I went out. It was last minute (as my MIL called on Friday morning to see if they could come out), so we hadn’t really gotten time to plan. And then because of a really bad accident on the East side of the city, they were later getting here than they had planned. So we still had to feed the babies their dinner. But c’est la vie! We were out of the house by 6:30 and headed to Grandview. We ate at Noodles & Co., browsed in a camera store, and went to Target (where we bought a rice cooker and a new game for my Nintendo DS). We got caught in a downpour in the Target parking lot (on the way out to our car) and stopped at the Steak N Shake drive-thru for milkshakes to end the day. Then we headed home to chat with the in-laws for a bit. For being off-the-cuff (and despite my bad head cold), we had a very nice time!
Heath Section: Q & A
Headline: Treating Colds in Babies
Story Synopsis: While the recent removal of all baby cold remedies may have been in the best interest of babies, it was not very helpful for parents! So this weekend was a case study in alleviating discomfort in babies with a meager arsenal of Tylenol/Motrin, tissues, saline spray and aspirators, three of which the babies hate with a passion. Of course, we’ve added a vaporizer and inclined mattresses, which has helped some with sleeping. But the daytime hours have been much more difficult to manage. What remedies or methods have you tried that have worked when dealing with colds (and mild fevers) in your infants and small children?
Life and Arts Section
Headline: Engagement Pictures Taken
Story Synopsis: Eric spent Saturday morning with Kimberly and Kevin to take some engagement pictures for them. They went to a small park near us for some lovely outside shots (thankfully, the sun decided to shine despite the meteorological predictions of the newscasters for the last week) and then came back to our house for some more formal shots. I, sadly, missed the whole thing because of a trip to the pediatrician (see front page), but I was told it was a good time for all. And the pictures did turn out pretty cute. Maybe Kimberly will post some at a later date…
Headline: Found…A Small Fortune
Story Synopsis: Late last week, when pulling a box of diapers out from under one of the cribs, I discovered that I had already opened it (which I remembered) and tossed a card into it (which I had not remembered). I opened the card to see who it was from and found that it still had two $20 gift cards to WalMart in it, one for each baby. I’m sure the cards are about 6 months old. But yay for finding free money in a box of diapers!
Headine: Fun/Funny Things of the Week
Bulleted List
- Erin just discovered today that she could reach the baby monitor that has rested on the side-by-side ends of their cribs. She pulled it down, unplugged it, and was upset when I took it away. I guess we’re done with baby monitors now for good!
- If you haven’t seen it…go look at this blog about bad cake designs. Some of them are too funny!
- Erin sneezed this morning and blew a ginormous snot bubble which then just hung there without breaking. Gross, I know, but also very funny!
- Alex is starting to get much more mobile. And we introduced him to rubber balls a few days ago. The boy was in heaven. Absolute heaven.
August 31, 2009
Kudos to the editor. Sympathies to the mom!!! Congrats on surviving… phew! I’m shaking in fear and trepidation just reading this – you poor dear! I’m so glad that you are still sane enough to post this very witty blog about the experience!!! I hope Erin and Alex are on the mend!!
August 31, 2009
Baby colds suck. I’ve not found anything to help through the day except constant holding/snuggling. Sorry I’m no help on that one…
It’s amazing to me how Ian is such a stereotypical BOY as compared to Kayla. He loves balls and is unbelievably more coordinated at throwing them than she was. He loves baseball bats and can say “ball,” “foul ball,” and “bat” with no problem. He loves to sword fight with Kyle’s light sabers (for Star Wars video games, of course). He has no fear of anything and will climb the slide to the very top without a look back. And he seems to have been born with the knowledge of all this. I wouldn’t be surprised if he fixed the toilet next week (another thing boys seem to know how to do without being taught).
August 31, 2009
Oh and the Cake Wrecks site is hysterical. Seriously. THANK YOU for sharing on a Monday
August 31, 2009
Editorial:
I haven’t finished reading the whole issue yet, BUT i had to RACE to the bottom to tell you that vapo rub (they make it for babies: Baby Vapo Rub) is my go-to remedy for EVERYTHING that involves a runny nose of any sort. I was sad when they got rid of all the baby cold medicine…but vapo rub has helped ease my sadness. 🙂
August 31, 2009
I won’t be any help on the baby remedy issue. Nothing worked when my kids were little …and they even had all the cold remedies. Ear infections were the norm here almost every time we had cold-like symptoms.
August 31, 2009
Fortunately for us, we have not had an ear infection for any of the girls yet. Unfortunately for you, I might not have much advice for you. We really haven’t had major colds either. Alternating Tylenol/Motrin every couple hours usually works along with a lot of holding (yes, hard to do with two babies, but you can do it!). Vapo Rub also worked well for Marissa. I have used the adult version and they did fine.
Yeah for gift cards!! That would make my week!
August 31, 2009
You poor thing! Hope you and the babies feel better real soon! I must agree with the vicks vapor rub, and I also make sure to take a steamy shower and lock my kiddo in the room with me. Seems to loosen up some of the gunk for a bit. Take care!
September 1, 2009
I liked the cake blog. Funny stuff! 🙂