When I had one of those neighbour-neighbour talk with the lady next door. She is parenting a toddler and twins, and the latter are just a couple of months older than Figlia*.
In September, Figlia had a bout of viral fever, and it was one of the worst ever things we had health-wise. My daughter was miserable and whiny and vomiting, and refusing medicines, and not sure what she wanted. She was tired, we were tired.
One morning, as I was leaving for work, I met the NextDoorLady....the twins were awake since 2:30 am. They were a month away from their birthday, and had been running a fever. Figlia had been awake all night and finally slept at 2:30/3:00 amish. I realized that we slept just as our neighbours woke up. In union, we had been up all night.
Figlia is also less than a month away from her first birthday. And boy, we are in the thick of whimpering sleeplessness. Is that some crazy rite of passage to the first birthday?
BTW, y'day, we noticed a giant boil on one of her bums....it is red, and definitely painful, and there is yellow point to it. There you go, let's add bacterial infection to the mix! That was also the source of the shooting fever.
Now, we are on a wait to see if the thing will take care of itself, or it may have to be pierced, and the pus drained off.
The truth is, if the boil had to happen in our household, I wish it were on my body and not hers. I just cannot handle how my normally active and playful child is reduced to being the way she is currently.
Last night, after affording her clinginess for almost all night, we finally caught our sleep in the early hours of the morning.
* I have attempted to take Figlia for some fun with her daughters...while my daughter sort of turns the toys in her hands and explores, neighbour's daughters scream and run to their mother. The ice is yet to be broken.
Get well soon, Figlia!
ReplyDeletePlay dates at this age are for the mothers to talk, not for the babies to play or interact. That comes later.
And boy, we are in the thick of whimpering sleeplessness. Is that some crazy rite of passage to the first birthday?
ReplyDeleteOh, I remember that. It was awful, in part because from the start I'd sort of set myself up for "whatever else happens, she'll be sleeping well by the time she's a year", and it was looking like I'd be proven wrong! And then she had her birthday, and the next week took 2-3 hour naps every morning AND slept well at night. It was amazing, and since then sleep has continued to be better, overall. So there is hope!
As for interactive play, it was only really this week in Cape Town (so, ~13 months) that Gwen started playing *with* other kids, rather than simply playing *near* them.
After turning one, things get better faster. The first year is very long. Bouts of whatever keeping the wee one sick happen more often though. Still, it is better than that first year.
ReplyDeleteTimothy seems to be growing both of his upper front teeth right now... so lots of crankiness and crying through sleep. He doesn't actually wake up - he yelps and keeps on sleeping. But we do wake up. Poor Timothy :(
ReplyDeleteI hope the boil resolves itself. That sounds painful :(
Sorry to hear about poor kiddo being sick and the boil :( Hope she gets well really soon!
ReplyDeleteV isn't the greatest with play dates. We had his cousin here the other day and V was wanting to touch and slap him (part of his exploring process) while his cousin wanted to run from him and for me to hold him. Not much interaction was had, lol. Germs were passed though (grumble grumble). I think with time play dates will work better, but thinking once they're all more mobile it might be worth another go. I wouldn't worry about that, maybe have them keep meeting briefly and things will work out on their own?
It's so difficult when they're sick, and when they're growing, and when they're teething...I don't think I could get reliable sleep until the last couple months, and my daughter is 6. She just occasionally goes through bouts of waking up in the middle of the night - bad dreams, bathroom trips, etc. But it gets easier as they get older, so try to be patient.
ReplyDeleteBabies have very little interest in other live babies. They like pictures of babies in books, but in person, they either don't care at all or dislike them. But it's still a good idea for them to be familiar with each other.
Hope Figlia is feeling better soon...and that you don't have to have any further medical intervention.
Awwww, poor little F. :( I hope things get better quickly. We are only dealing with a cold and teething, but we are not sleeping over here either. I am an exhausted mess, living in a fog, cursing at all the people like our waitress last night who proudly informed me that her 8-month-old daughter sleeps uninterrupted from 9 pm to 8 am every night. I don't get even two hours of sleep at any one time! Ugh.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, I wouldn't expect Figlia to really play "with" other kids until she's around 3. :)
Happy birthday! Many hugs. Hope you had a great time
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