In Sickness and In Health

I think I should just rename Dave’s business trips as Disaster Weeks.

Something(s) always happens.

This time:
My cell phone miraculously died
Addie got her first stomach bug
…and the night he got back, half of my tooth fell out.

Because I love to celebrate, let me first wish my bestie, Ashley, a happy 25th birthday. As she gets up there in age (NOT), she also gets more and more beautiful. I am so lucky to know her and to have declared her as my sister ❤
My step-dad, Al, is also celebrating his birthday today! Happy birthday, Daddy Al! We love you and can’t wait to see you in a few weeks to celebrate “your” Bambino’s first birthday!

And so, we move on… but not before one of my favorite photos, of course!

This is a picture from the day of my wedding. It was pouring and Al was clearly doing something to get the water out! He may not be my biological dad, but he tries his darnedest to be a father ❤

As I stated, when Dave leaves it seems like everything falls apart! For some reason, my newly replaced cell phone had a screen connection problem, out of the blue, that happened Monday night. Really… it was working, and I left it on my desk as I cleaned up the living room. Then  I went to check the time, and the screen was black with stripes on it- almost like a bar code.

I couldn’t sleep for fear that Addie would have a problem in the middle of the night, so I had time to write an obituary for my phone:

Last night, HTC Incredible died from an unknown complication of being an older android cellular device.
He will be (un)fondly remembered as fritz-y, spotty, unable to commit to being on (or off), having memory confusion and being, in general, noisy for no notification reasons.
He is survived by the HTC Incredible 2, which not only has a bigger screen, but a better rear camera and a new feature upgrade of the front camera, as well. (Perfect for mom + baby selfies) Two will carry on the SD card of Incredible with many wonderful memories, and a great hope and expectation that the new platform has better performance capabilities.
HTC Incredible was buried at the Asurion Headquarters on March 26, 2013. In lieu of flowers, the Incredible family requests you give all other android phones a chance before purchasing the iPhone or one of the 5 family members, who all seem to have mostly the same features, but go up in price.

Because the  last time Dave left we ended up at the doctor 3 times in 2 days, I was terrified to not have a phone- so I packed Addie into the car at 7:30pm and headed to the Verizon store. The gentleman who helped me was wonderful and my new phone was at my house the next day at 10am (and it was the upgraded version!). So… perfect! All is well in the world, right?

Wrong.

After a wonderful play date on Tuesday, a much needed event for us  ladies, Addie woke up Wednesday morning sleeping in vomit. She took a bath and seemed fine, so I gave her a banana and my milk. Her usual breakfast. She seemed fussy, though (very unlike her) and kept raising her arms to be picked up. After picking her up, she promptly dropped her head onto my chest and fell asleep. Not 3 minutes later she picked her head up and threw up all over me. I let her finish and sat her next to me, thankful that she had only gotten Dave’s big, fluffy robe that I was wearing, and her  own pick ensemble… but then it came again. In waves, my poor girl was getting sick all over herself and the bed beneath her. I didn’t know what to do except let her finish. Throughout it she kept looking at me trying to smile, as though she was apologizing.

In the pink robe, pre-illness

I called the doctor. “A stomach bug is going around,” the nurse told me. She gave me guidelines for Pedialyte and told me to call again if there was a high fever or ear ache involved. I hung up feeling helpless and dirty. I could not remember the last time I’d showered and I was already through two outfits.

I learned a valuable lesson that I’d like to share with all parents out there! Put a plastic sheet on your bed.

Before Addie was born, I knew I wanted to do as much skin-to-skin time as possible, so we put a plastic sheet on under the mattress cover to be prepared.In the first few weeks of Addie’s life, she would sleep on my chest, no diaper and we would stay like that for hours. Most of the time, the towel under me was enough, but sometimes, the sheets took a hit. No problem.

With Addie’s illness, we changed the sheets 3 times (I did 11 loads of laundry in 2 days- Thanks Woolzies for making it easier!). You know your child is ill when your bedding comes from all three different sets (one sage green, one cranberry red and the other a grey green)… topped by your shades-of-purple suede comforter. During this mess, I also learned the putting a plastic sheet, cover mattress and fitted sheet on (TIMES TWO) will save you  in the case of accidents in the baby’s crib! Just peel off the top layer  of mess and done!

With Pedialyte, nursing and LOTS of cuddles, Addie was feeling better and was smiling ear-to-ear when Dave got home later that night:

Being mom to just one is a blessing. I know how lucky I am to have had all the time in the world to devote to cuddling and nursing as she needed.

Finally! Dave was home! I was SO going to take a shower… but only after we ate. As I bit into my food, I felt something hard. Ew. There was some bone in my chicken!

Then I ran my tongue  over my back teeth.

There was a hole.

A little back story here: I grind my teeth. I have forever. I blame my parents. Not only do I grind in my sleep, sometimes so loud it wakes Dave up, l but I catch myself grinding my front and back teeth during the day, too. I have woken up with a headache everyday for over 2 months… this is nothing new. I went almost 8 months a few years ago. Stress makes it worse, which I’ve been under a lot (see: CPL), but it’s just a part of me. Even when  I’m happy, I grind.

Freaked out and ashamed of my oral health, I called my Mom, posted on FB to find a dentist, and got in the shower to finally clean my hair! Dave peeked past the curtain, “make an appointment tomorrow, I’ll take care of it.” If there had been more hot water, I would have sat down and cried. I was so tired and my tooth hurt. Why does this stuff have to keep happening? was all I could think.

I got a referral from my awesome friend (and amazing stylist) Sara, who  directed me to Page Family Dentistry on the East Side of Providence. I was warned that they’re not warm and fuzzy, but they know their stuff. I looked them up and wrote the number down- prepared to call in the morning. When I reached them at 8:30 they had TWO appointments for me to choose from the SAME DAY! Because they didn’t have a sliding scale, I was timid, but when I ate my yogurt, a blueberry went into the back of my mouth and I was stung with the worst pain. “3:45,” I blurted.

Addie was asleep when I parked, but as I lifted her car seat I saw her eyes flutter. Shoot. No nap meant she might become a mess at some point. Onward we went! As I approached the door I saw a sign. Of course I saw a literal sign, but a sign too.

Dr. Marc Page and Dr. Lawrence Page.

My Dad’s name was Mark Laurence. Woah. I know, I’m reading a lot into it, but I knew that I’d found my dentist. Plus, as I was leaving, Dr. Page (not sure who is who… I don’t think I was introduced to the guy who bonded my tooth YIKES!) walked past and I saw his jacket said DVC with a ram on it. “Is that from Del Val?” He looked at me. “The Aggies,” I said, “I’m from Pennsylvania.” “Nobody ever knows that,” he said back. We had a brief  conversation. Life comes full circle.

The hygienists were all nice and they loved Addie… who was smiley (of course) and happy the whole time. Even without a nap, she was my little peach as usual. Like I said… I’m not sure who is who, but the man who I saw was amazing. He knew I had no insurance so he bonded the tooth (it looks and feels great!) instead of pushing me to get the (much needed at $950!) crown. He seemed impressed that my 13 year old night guard still fit and offered to trim it for me if I brought  it in Monday morning (he’d have it back by 5pm).

He welcomed me to make another appointment, AND took a look at my last tooth- reassuring me it’s NOT a cavity. Like I said, I grind. My top teeth have actually ground a hole into the tooth. Dr. Page checked my bite and ground down some of the sharp tooth up top for me. And encouraged me to wear my night guard as much as possible.

Basically, I need a lot of basic dental care, which I knew (nothing major- but a lot of it) and is one of the reasons- besides money- that I have avoided the dentist. I have to say, while no one at this office seems like a “hugger” to me, I was not judged or made to feel badly about my lack of dental care. I was warned that the bonding may not last, but that it was better than being in pain and the woman who does all the billing gave me lots of information about individual plans that I could look at for care. I noticed all dental insurance is incredibly expensive, requires a year of payment before any major work can be done and if you do the math and only need a few things it’s cheaper to just pay out-0f-pocket, BUT I really appreciated the time the woman took to explain it to me AND  give me information for me to review.

If you’re looking for a dentist: PLEASE check out Page Family Dentistry– you won’t regret it!

All-in-all, I’m glad I have my hubby. He loves his ladies, even when we are sick and cares for us until we are well. Happy weekend, Reader!

Chicken and Stars

I love this Mom before Mom series. Thank you Carla at All of Me… Now!This week’s topic is interesting because I can only think of one thing… here we go!

This week’s prompt:
Who took care of you when you were sick? How did you spend sick days? From soup to ointments to old wives tales, how did your family teach you to heal?

To be honest, I can’t remember too much about being sick. I’m sure I had colds and the flu, but I have no real lucid memories of those times. I do know that for me to get a fever is rare and sort-of dangerous. I haven’t had one in 20 years. But, when I don’t feel well, just as when I was a child, I request Chicken and Stars.

Not chicken noodle.

From http://www.mommymusings.com

An old plastic tray carried Saltines, Canada Dry, hot tea and Campbell’s Chicken and Stars to me (via Mom or Dad). The salt stayed on my lips, the carrots always gave me just a little flavor and the stars… well- they were just awesome. I don’t think I was ever out from school for more than 2 days. If I was sick before school but OK to be out of the house, I would go to work with my Mom and sleep on her couch. Her receptionist was one of the most memorable women of my childhood. Her name was Gisela, and she was German (I think). Her blond hair and big smile were so welcoming, and I felt like speaking with her was a challenge- one I wanted to accept. I have such wonderful memories of those days with my Mom. I even remember Gretchen- she was a college student with beautiful hair. I think I only met her once, but she was a long-time patient of my Mom’s. Lord knows Mom would never tell me why she was seeing her, but I suspect Gretchen needed a mom to talk to that wasn’t her own (my Mom is kind of everyone’s go-to for that- she’s an amazing psychologist). That one time we met, she brought me for ice cream after a session. I remember her piggybacking me. She was like my big sister for the day. I’m not sure if I felt sick after that; like I just needed some love, or sugar (see below), to feel better.

Usually my Dad would come to school when I didn’t feel well. He owned his business and was closer to Meadowbrook than Mom. Often times, I had a headache. This was solved by rubbing my temples, and later with some food* (especially when I passed out in 4th grade from low blood sugar). I remember one time feeling terrible. My Dad did skin-to-skin with me. I was maybe six. We were laying in my parents’ water bed and my Dad put me on his chest to keep me close to him and elevate my head so I could breathe. I fell asleep on him. When I woke up, Mom was home- she tried to help my Dad out from underneath the soaked sheets (we were both sweating and I had drooled terribly). Instead, my Dad smiled at my groggy gaze and patted my head back down. I don’t remember what happened after that, but I fell asleep there and my parents didn’t put me to bed that night. I loved snuggling with them. Other times, Dad would bring me to his office, where I would climb on the conference room table, all the way to the end, where I would open up the doors on the wall revealing a white board. These were brand new back then. State-of-the-art stuff where you could write and project your presentations. Me? I chose to write notes and my name with every marker color they had. If the ink ran out, I would raid the office supply cabinet near the fax machine (and sugar cubes).

My headaches still come and are generally stress or lack-of-food induced, although you wouldn’t believe it by my pant size! However, since I have been a quitter (smoke-free) for 3 years, my colds are incredibly rare. When I do feel under-the-weather, I call upon Chicken and Stars. Although one can never does it, there is no other solution to a cold for me.

Having such loving parents, I learned that “things” are not generally what heals us. Healing, both inside and out, are not something that can come from someone else- it comes from within (rest, nourishment, caring for oneself)… but I also learned that things can comfort us in times of need. That is what this soup does for me. As I wait for my body to heal and my spirit to return, I find comfort eating my soup from an over-sized mug. Instead of my Mom delivering a delicious tray of goodies to me in bed, Dave proudly carries a baby on one side and a mug ‘o stars on the other. He then runs down stairs for ginger ale and orange juice with lots of pulp (his solution to all ailments).

While I am glad that memories of illness, at least not my own, are not focal points of my childhood, I am so thankful that Chicken and Stars created such a blissful bond inside me. I hope to pass down the love of this comfort food to Addie, should she ever have a sick day.

* While I mention 4th grade, do any of my UMHS alums remember my sophomore year? On a hot day in June, I stood in my choir robe on the top riser. I was proudly preparing to sing the National Anthem for our graduating seniors, and got to “Oh say…” before I went straight back, knees never even buckling, from dehydration and low blood sugar. I was taken, by ambulance, off the field and to Abington Memorial. My fellow vocalists never stopped… in fact, I think they closed in to fill my space- carry on, Choir!