Fox in Socks Crew with Flu

(*Fox in Socks is one of my favorite books, and I humbly post this with apologies to the incredible Dr. Seuss!)

Crew.
Flu.
Boo.
Blue.

Crew with flu.
Boo, we're blue.

Look, sir. Look, sir. All the crew, sir.
We're all sick with the swine flu, sir.
We're all sick and boo we're blue, sir.

First, we'll run, not walk, to doc's block.
We'll whoosh in without a knock, doc.

Please, doc. I don't like this flu, doc.
My fever's hot and I am blue, doc.
I can't control my hacks and coughs, doc,
It's hard to turn those acks right off, doc.

Just a few short days ago, doc,
We went to play outside all day, doc.
We went to ride the Tilden train, doc.
Had Mima and Poppa to entertain, doc!





















Did someone sneeze and make us weak, doc?
Make us wheeze and feel so bleak, doc?

Take the meds and stay in bed, now.
Never let your germies spread, now.
Quarantine yourself instead, now.

Come Halloween we were still ill, sir.
No candy sacks for us to fill, sir.
No tricks or treats for us, but still, sir.
We dressed up and had quite a thrill, sir!





















Superman, come save the day, please!
Take away the cough, ache, and sneeze!
Rescue us from H1N1, sir!
We've had enough, and now we're done, sir!





















Thankfully, the flu chose not to stay.
In ten days our symptoms went away.
Leaving us with lots of time to play
In Yosemite Park (a post for another day)!

Swine Flu - Cause for Concern or Hogwash?

There are lots of decisions to be made when you're a parent. Some of them are easy, many are inconsequential, and others are very, very difficult. Our latest dilemma: deciding whether or not to give Ethan the swine flu vaccine. Lots of thoughts ran through my mind when listing the pros and cons.

Pros:
1) Obviously, protecting against swine flu.
2) Flying during Christmas = Germ City.
3) Our pediatrician recommends it, and last time I checked neither Ryan nor I have attended medical school.

Cons:
1) Brand new vaccine... should I be worried?
2) I have little to no faith in flu vaccines in general.
3) The stress of constantly calling the doctor to see if the vaccine is available yet is less than appealing.

We decided not to bother with it. There's a lot of media hype and public hysteria, and we refused to get sucked into it. Our minds were made up.

And just as quickly as we had made our decision, we started second-guessing it.

We talked to a friend who DID happen to attend medical school, and he said it was a good idea to get the shot. Another friend, feet firmly rooted in the pro-vaccine camp, passed along articles with lots of GREAT information (and attention grabbing titles!), such as Swine flu still spreading; blamed for 76 child deaths and Sebelius: Americans must get swine flu vaccination. I referenced FluTracker, which maps confirmed H1N1 cases and fatalities in the US and around the world. I checked Ethan's horoscope (nothing about swine flu, but apparently he's going to have an incredible financial opportunity arise in the near future). It certainly gave us a lot to think about - what we thought before was a good decision was perhaps, with a little more research and some input from trusted sources, not in Ethan's best interest.

After careful consideration and countless conversations, we've re-made up our minds and are definitely going to try to get our hands on the H1N1 vaccine for Ethan. We're also taking further precautions, just to be on the safe side.


Bring it on, swine flu, we're ready for you.

Smooth Move(s), Mama.

*Disclaimer - those with weak stomachs should proceed with caution.

Oh, man, doctor's appointments can be brutal.

We took Ethan in today for his 9 month check up. The experience was probably doomed from the beginning, as his appointment was scheduled for 4:00. Those of you who are familiar with my color-coded, spreadsheet-worthy, regimented sleep schedule (and really, who among you haven't memorized it?) know that Ethan's afternoon nap starts at 3:30. Sharp(ish). So why, you may ask, did we schedule the appointment for 4:00? It's definitely not because that time is best for my schedule. Surely I didn't choose my wants and needs over those of my baby.

Not me.

As one could predict, 4:00 came and went, as did 4:10, 4:20, and 4:30, and we were still sitting in the waiting room (one of us spent those thirty minutes eyballing everyone who coughed, obsessing about swine flu... guess which parent that was). We had done everything but stand on our heads to keep Ethan from a major meltdown. For the record, when he's tired Ethan is not amused by an aquarium full of fish, a handful of Cheerios, Mama's silly faces, or those toys that EVERY pediatrician's office has with the wooden beads that you push along the twisted wires. Harried and out of ideas, I finally went up to the receptionist and asked how much longer the wait was. Three people were still ahead of us. Yikes.

I explained that we only had a few minutes before my baby would turn the peaceful, fish-tank-bubbling ambient sounds of the waiting room into the background track of a horror movie, and begged that she do whatever she could to move things along. After not so subtly suggesting that it was somehow our fault for choosing the 4:00 appointment time (a comment that my rightfully-so perturbed husband couldn't let slip by without a justified retort), she said she would see what she could do. We were called a few minutes later. It's a good thing, too, because I had already decided that I would move closer to the reception window if Ethan started wailing.

The nurse came in right away to weigh (23 lbs.) and measure (29 in.) him, and assured us that the doctor would be in shortly. She was. As usual, she had glowing reviews about Ethan's development, and baby big boy got a clean bill of health. There was only one more hurdle left - the most dreaded one of all - a needle. Well, two needles, to be exact. In addition to an immunization (yes, I do work with kids with autism, and yes, we did decide to vaccinate our child), he also needed a blood test. One "simple" finger prick later and Ethan's little baby hand was gushing an adult amount of blood. While he was screaming, the nurse fumbled with the bandage before giving up and asking me to apply pressure instead. She moved on to the shot, which was met with the same amount of crying, albeit a lot less gory. His finger still bleeding, she finally applied a band-aid and rushed from the room. We followed quickly behind.

Now a fully 90 minutes past nap time, battle-worn and hungry, Ethan was loaded into the car. I hesitated for a moment, deciding whether or not it would be a good idea to take off his bandage for the ride home. What was the bigger risk - blood on the car seat, or an ingested band-aid? I chose to keep it on, which was probably the wrong call... within two minutes of pulling out of the parking lot I heard the sound of what I would later learn was my baby sucking all of the blood out of his band-aid. Ew.

Hey, at least it was organic.