full of life: February 2009

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Troubles with Babyzilla

Our darling baby has turned into a toddler terror. His favorite activity at the moment is hair pulling. He will grab 2 handfuls of long hair and pull as hard as he can. He is very strong and it is very difficult to get him to uncurl his fingers. A. is his most frequent victim since she is the easiest target. He prefers to strike from behind since it is even harder to get him to let go then without assistance. Yesterday he was circling me like a shark, trying to sneak up from behind.

I know it's attention getting behavior, since usually 2-3 people run over to help the screaming victim. M. thinks this is hilarious. I have tried the following negative consequences: one minute timeout (he hates it but immediately tries to pull someone's hair when you release him), pulling his hair (thinks this is funny and will pull his own hair), a swat on the bottom or a slap on the hand (thinks this is funny too). Obviously I don't want to really harm him, and I don't believe in spanking especially when the child is only 15 months old, but this is a serious problem. Anyone out there been through it and have any suggestions?

I have tried spending more positive time with him, but recently while snuggling and kissing him, he grabbed my hair and ripped out a large handful. I was incensed. Since Daryl basically has no hair, he has been trying to spend more time roughhousing with him.

Boredom is another issue. Due to the weather, he rarely goes outdoors. Since he doesn't behave that well in the car (screams) or in stores, and I have a plethora of babysitters, he rarely leaves the house. If he does go somewhere, it is often a roundtrip to pick up a sibling where he doesn't get out of the car. Such is the life of the eighth child. Anyway, we believe he is bored and that may contribute to the hair pulling, so are attempting to get him out more. Also, if he gets more practice he might behave better in public. Right now it is an endless cycle--why would I take a difficult child with me if I don't have to? How will he learn to behave better without any practice? And so on....

Valentine's Day Visitor

We had an unwelcome guest this Valentine's Day--the stomach flu! D., L., and I were all stricken. Needless to say, it wasn't very romantic. Daryl worked hard taking care of the troops, and I rested in bed. It was the only true "sick day" I can remember having in my 16 years of parenthood. Usually Daryl is at work, or out of town, or sick himself, and I don't have the luxury of laying around and not having to take care of anyone. I did nurse M. and put him to bed, but that was it.

I did a Valentine's Day redo on Monday, featuring a nice family dinner of spareribs, roasted potatoes, and salad, with the traditional heart shaped butter cake frosted with whipped cream and decorated with fresh raspberries for dessert. See the archives if you want a photo!

I'm Improving!

The title says it all. The new treatment seems to be working, although we won't be sure until I have tapered down to a lower dose of prednisone, but I feel the best that I have in 7 months. My range of motion has returned, along with my energy and stamina! I am exercising and doing PT again.

I started with weekly IV immunoglobulin treatments for a month, and then my rheumatolgoist reduced the frequency to once every 2 weeks. They do take 5-6 hours, which is inconvenient, but worth it. The "liquid gold", as I call it, seems to be helping. Hopefully I will be able to reduce the frequency to once a month, and maybe even discontinue it entirely.

Thanks for your prayers, and please keep praying that as I taper the prednisone (at a rate of 1 mg every 2 weeks) I don't experience a flareup of symptoms.

For the moment, life is great. I am enjoying life and my family again.