Laughing

I went for my 6-week post-partum check up this week and I was given the post-partum depression questionnaire to complete.  One of the questions was something about being able to laugh at things as easily as prior to giving birth.  I almost laughed right there in the office!  There wasn't a response that captured all the hilarity that we have experienced in the past six weeks!

• We are still working on adjusting Justin's dose of medicine to create the adequate number and consistency of BMs each day.  He still goes several days without anything so then when he does deliver, it's a doosey!  Last week he was complaining about his stomach (a sign something is in the works...) but he wasn't quite ready and it was already late for nap so I put him down and told him to call me if he was ready to go potty.  I no more than closed the door when he called me and said he needed a clean diaper.  I picked him up and set him on the floor to go to the bathroom and I walked behind him.  I stepped in something wet and then took another step before I lifted my foot to see what had happened.  Justin had gone so much that it had come out the leg of his diaper and it had rolled out when I set him on the floor.  Then I had stepped in it.  It was all over every piece of clothing, including his socks.  He needed a bath and clean clothes before we could attempt nap again.  How could I get mad at him?  He was happy as can be to get a bath in the middle of the day and I was glad he had gotten it out so we just laughed and splashed and moved on to the next thing!
• We have had lots of rain the past few weeks, sometimes coupled with thunder and lightening, sometimes not.  This week we got lots of thunder at our house and for some reason Justin decided to be frightened of it, even though he is not usually.  So he started crying.  Loudly.  His shrieks set off Alaina and she started crying too.  So I was trying to hold both of them to console them.  I had to sit down because I couldn't carry both of them, but Alaina is not well-consoled sitting down so I was trying to alternate between carrying and sitting and neither position was working well and when one died down, the other ramped up so I would attempt the most appropriate position for the loudest child at any given moment and we must have looked hysterical popping up and down.  I laughed out loud because it was simply comical!  What else could I do?  Finally I put Alaina down and got Justin a drink and snack and we sat on the floor and sang to Alaina.  (And I called Randy to see if he could come home early...)
• I had to take Justin for him GI appointment last week.  (I will post more about that in my next moment of spare time...)  It was pouring rain when we woke up and it had already been raining which means flooding in our area.  So I knew I needed to leave early for our 8:30 am appointment.  Somehow I got behind in timing 9I know, hard to believe!) and it was time to go and Justin hadn't eaten breakfast.  I had made hard boiled eggs and I didn't get to peel them.  So my mom helped me get Justin's breakfast put on a plate to go with us.  Then Alaina, who was already in her car seat, made a dirty diaper.  It was mass chaos getting out the door!  I was on the road, moving slowly toward our appointment when I got off the freeway and stopped.  Traffic was crawling along because of high water on the feeder road, reducing traffic to one lane.  There wasn't anything to do but crawl along with everyone else and hope I could make it on time.  And brainstorm what to do it get my two children into the building without getting us completely soaked, given the horrible parking situation at this office (you know the one I am talking about...)  I made it into the parking lot at our appointment time and found a spot in the designated spots for our office, which are still far away from the doors.  I snuggled a sleeping Alaina under a blanket and picked up Justin and ran for the door.  We arrived 5 minutes late, all very awake and moderately damp.  Justin proceeded to play and Alaina and I had a great little smile discussion about the silliness of our condition.  And we waited another 30 minutes for the doctor, who was also caught in the flooding/reduced-to-one-lane feeder road.
• Alaina is not the best sleeper or BM producer.  We have struggled to do what we can to make her comfortable, but most nights are long and include lots of walking around and bouncing up and down on the yoga ball.  This week there was one night/day where she slept 90 minutes between 3 am and 3 pm.  I finally did some work in the middle of the night in an attempt to make the morning go easier knowing I would be slightly delirious when the sun arose.  So I was unloading the dishwasher and preparing our bags for the morning therapy visit.  Alaina happily watched my preparations while I had the light on, but started wiggling and fussing when I turned them off for another attempt at returning to sleep.  Figures!  She did sleep for 30 minutes while I took a shower and got dressed.  And last week she slept all morning during Meat Day and then was awake all afternoon during Meat Day pick ups.  At least she did her part to make the morning go smoothly!
• The power went out unexpectedly last week during the night.  No reason, just suddenly no power.  We learned that such an event causes a major problem for CPAP users: sudden confusion and inability to catch one's breath.  So Justin started screaming, causing us to wake and hit the ceiling.  My mother was with us, and she also uses the CPAP and had a similar experience so she immediately rushed for Justin's room.  We all stumbled and fumbled for Justin's room, unsure why it was so dark!  Randy got there first and my mom quickly followed toting her cell phone with her recently-downloaded flashlight app!  As soon as she saw Randy was ther she left, leaving Randy still fumbling to remove Justin's mask, uncertain which strap was the one to pull to release him.  His head cleared and his eyes focused enough to free Justin and make it back downstairs.  I shared my new knowledge and said, "The power's out."  He said, "Yeah, I figured that out already..."
• And this morning I had breakfast all by myself!  I basked in the experience and soaked up every minute.  I thanked God for my kids and His sometimes not-so-subtle reminders that He is in control, He has a plan, and his plan is good and perfect.  And I asked Him to help me remember that so I don't need many future reminders!

And now the princess is waking (it's 8 am) so that will be all I have to say for now.  I will get back as soon as the gang allows!