Flogging my Blog - The one where I actually tell you banal things about my week.

Haven't been posting much in the latter part of this week. Sick kids, sick me, very sick computer. (Go on, ask me which one drove me the MOST crazy????).

Kids are still sick, I'm still sick but my baby computer is better. (Just realised I haven't named my computer. I name everything, even the spiders and geckos that move in from time to time. This is wrong).

Alexander has a severe chest infection, possibly pneumonia. It's been less than 2 months since his last bout of pneumonia put him in hospital for a couple of days. Poor kid can't take a trick. He gets sick, without fail, every single school holidays. I really think his little body and mind are so exhausted by the end of the school term that in that last week of school, we see it start, and by the holidays, he's got something decent.

Sadly for this time (there were a LOT of tears, and not just from our boy), he had to miss out on an excursion (with vacation care, he is booked in 2 days a week because I'm not able to drive, I didn't want him stuck in the house for his entire holidays, bored. Seemed unfair) to circus school. He's looked forward to this day (ASD Mums, when I say "looked forward", you know I mean "Obsessed and talked of little else, right?" for over a month, ever since the program for VC was released.

Sammy has the same bug, but not as severe as his brother. He's still perky and happy and playing around. (Read: running circles around the rest of us and destroying the house while Alexander and I pathetically lay there, tissues in hand and say "No..Sammy. Stop. You can't eat all of the Oreos...ok...if you have them will you be quiet?)

He does have one issue. We noticed a couple of days ago that one of the top ribs on his right side is visibly protruding, you can even see it through his shirt. Joel noticed it about 3 days ago, after Sam's bath and called me over for a look.  Now, Sam spends a LOT of time in his day coming to me, shirt up, saying "You can rub my back if you want" which is code for "I need some TLC Mama, so lets lay on your bed and you can just stroke my back or tummy and I can close my eyes and sigh a lot". It's kind of adorable, and something I'm clinging to while he still thinks Mama's back rubs are the best thing ever. My point is (yes, there was one), I'm rubbing his back or his chest every single day, at least 2 or 3 times a day. I think this was something I'd have noticed had it been there for a while. When you rub your hand over his chest now, you can't miss this massive lump (it's not on the other side).

He hasn't seemed to be guarding it and we haven't been aware of any accidents (except the one where he hit his head so freaking hard and had the biggest egg in the history of eggs and still has a bruise the size of my palm 10 days later). He hasn't complained. If you lightly brush over it, he doesn't really react, press it hard and he says "Please don't". So it must be a bit tender.

We all dragged ourselves into the Drs yesterday, to get Alexander on some antibiotics (he's been sick for a week and just gotten worse every day. Fevers through the roof and no sleep for the coughing, so it was time).

Well, when it was Sam's turn - all hell broke loose. He comes to the Drs with me often, every time I have an appointment, he comes. He enjoys trips to the Drs. He loves my GP (won't shut up) and even asks sometimes if we can go, especially on my bad days. "Dr will make you better".

We had a different Dr yesterday. Somone I generally refuse to see because he's as useful as tits on a bull he's not exactly the most go get 'em Dr. He's been at that clinic for at least the 15 years I've been there. He still seems to quiet and shy to actually make eye contact and talk to you, let alone actually listen. I only go to him when I need a script and can tell him exactly what I want and then leave. But my Dr is on holidays (AGAIN! He's nearing retirement age, he owns the clinic and goes on overseas trips all over the world with his wife at least a couple of times a year. His photos of the two of them at Machu Picchu make me want to hate him, but he's lovely).

Sam sat in the corner right away. Watched Alexander get his chest, ears and temp taken, his throat checked. Nothing painful or scary (though noone in 4 years has successfully looked in Sam's throat. Literally. I dont' know if I've mentioned this on the blog before but every Dr we've seen comments on his sheer strength. I tried to explain to daycare once that it is physically impossible to force Samuel to do something he doesn't want to do. They scoff and say "You're the parent. Make him". And we smile sweetly and say ok.  But when they tried to get him to stay in his chair or lay down for a sleep they discovered that it is, indeed impossible. Because to use the type of force necessary, you would have to actually injure him). It's hard to believe, but trust me on this one. There's only so far I'm prepared to go.  In his first year and a bit he had 19 ear infections, and getting a look into this tiny little boys ears and throat was a nightmare every single time).

Sam's turn. We hoped he'd been fine. He hasn't needed a Dr anywhere near him in nearly 2 years. Fit as a fiddle. Nothing more than colds (except a mild dose of whooping cough, and the Dr gave up pretty fast and just said "Yeah, sounds like whooping cough. Lets just go with that. I kid you not).  As soon as the Dr turned to him, he curled up in a ball in the corner of his office. Joel walked over to pick him up. He stayed in that ball, but the screaming started. Over the next 20 minutes, no bribe or cajoling worked. 3 of us trying to hold him still so the Dr could look at him while he screamed 'no no no no no' had me in tears. We are all bruised, him included. Dr got a quick look at the chest and said "I've not ever seen anything like that before".

So, we're off to an xray. Someone, please, please, please tell me how on earth we're going to get an X Ray done? If we couldn't manage 3 people holding him down for a quick temp/ear/throat check and a feel of his chest, how will we hold him still in a room with big, scary LOUD (Sam does not do loud, he is very like his brother there) machines? Long enough for them to get pics of his rib?

I'm actually asking. I'll take advice from anyone.





Anyhoo...it's Friday, so that means it's blog flogging day. I'm not really flogging this post.  I'm flogging this one. It's my piece I wrote for Digital Parents Blogazine and they were lovely enough to publish it. I got some lovely (and one NOT so lovely) comments. Apparently though, from that one, I can't possibly know of what I speak. How would I know anything of depression????? ;-)