Threes.

My very wise grandmother once told me that bad things happen in groups of threes. And I think I believe her. Or at least I'm hoping to some extent that saying of hers is true. Let me list out my "bad things"

1. The tooth extraction gone wrong

2. Sinus infection + bronchitis

3. Maeve has an ear infection and strep


Yup... we have been in and out of doctors offices, hospitals and any other medical facility waaaaay too often lately. First it was me with the brutal tooth pulling- I couldn't eat Thanksgiving dinner! And then a few days after Thanksgiving I had a piece of pecan pie- guess who got a nut stuck in her socket???? ME! That was super embarrassing calling the doc. and saying "Um yeah I ate some pecan pie and I have a nut thats stuck in my hole."

About 4 or 5 days after my tooth thing cleared up (after the nut was extracted) and my face swelling went down, I started to feel a bit sickly. For a week or so I let it go- writing it off as a cold... but every night I had fevers and I was coughing up stuff that could be props in a sci-fi movie. FINALLY I went to the doc last week- Not only do I have my annual bout of bronchitis, but I also have a sinus infection. BLAH. I was prescribed a z-pack and was told if after taking all 5 doses I wasn't feeling better, that it was a virus and it just needs to run its course. So every night I am praying that the little pink pill would do some magic. But here I sit, 3 days after my z-pack is gone and I am STILL sick. I guess its a virus. And I guess it needs to run its course. BS if you ask me.

Now to my princess MaeMae. For a week or so she has been "fussy fusspot" as her dada calls her. We chalked the runny nose, whining, diarrhea, diaper rash and low grade fevers up to teething- after all it doesn't take a genious to look inside her mouth and see bulging, red gums. However, last night she started coughing- a wet cough that was making me a bit nervous. I kept thinking she was wheezing which was freaking me out so I told Ryan that I was going to call the doc. today. This morning though, she woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed- and with a thickly crusted nose... but still, none the less, she seemed to be alright. I gave her a bath, fed her some breakfast and decided to join my mom on a shopping trip up to Lansing. Maeve was doing great- she played in the little play center they have at Meridian mall and she was actually really well behaved in the stroller. Around noon or so she started to get fussy and we decided we needed to eat- well people, it was a roller coaster ALL DOWNHILL FROM THERE. We went to a deli across the street from the mall and I kid you not- from the time we sat down to eat until we drove the 45 minutes home she was screaming. It was freaking me out big time. We could not get her to calm down, let alone eat or drink anything. I called Dr. Williams on the way home and they said to bring her in at 2:15. We got home around 1:30- so I gave her a quick bath (trying desperately to calm her down- and it worked) and made a bottle for her to have in the car. We got to the doc. and things were already really strange- normally Maeve is over by the chalk boards in the kiddie area smuggling chalk and eating it... today she was snuggled in my lap whimpering. It was really weird. We got called back and they weighed her- and then they left the room. When the doc. came in, she told me she was concerned from the get-go because Maeve has lost 2 lbs. She said babies at that age should be on the up, up, up. Definitely not losing weight. So they had me do a dry diaper weigh in to get a more official weight. She was even less. Then came the really horrible, scary stuff. They listened to her heart and her breathing- and I've been to the doc. enough to know when something is wrong. Well her heart rate and breathing rate were both high- signaling dehydration. SO they kept me at the office for an hour, checking her heart and breathing rate every 15 minutes or so. It was really awful. Then they checked her ears & throat- her right ear is infected and she has strep. In fact, the doc. said her right ear is probably the worst ear she's seen in months. THAT'S how inflamed it is. I lost it right then and there- I felt horrible!!!! I was thinking "MY GOD she's probably had this ear infection for weeks and thats why its so bad! She's been suffering and I haven't brought her in! How neglectful!" But the doc. sat down with me and explained that kids ears change over night- that if she wasn't acting like this yesterday, her ear probably wasn't bothering her yesterday. She thinks it happened last night... I am holding onto that thought- and trying not to think about the fact that I may have inadvertently made my child suffer for a week with a terrible ear infection. :( BOO.

SO anyways the verdict with Maeve is that she needs to make 2 wet diapers tonight or off to the hospital we go. Deja-vu? Or is it just me? Because I could've sworn that just a month ago we were in this same situation with her pneumonia.

I just need to vent- I NEED A BREAK. I need a break from doctors, from sickness- I want Maeve and myself to be healthy! I don't want anymore ER visits (for the record I've had TWO within two months) UGH..... I am so frustrated but more than that, I feel like crud- for lack of a better word. I personally am sick, and I can't shake the thought that for a week Maeves been seriously sick and I brushed it off as teething... I totally thought I had that motherly instinct thing down... God finds ways to humble us huh? :)

Anyways, prayers for Maeve would be appreciated. We're trying our best to keep the little bug out of the hospital.

Sorry again for the depressing post! Someday we'll catch a break and have something really exciting to post about! :)