A Rite of Passage....

My booboo got his first big boy haircut on this past Saturday. It started out okay and ended in terror. But, the barber had lots of experience cutting wormy and screaming kids hair. The final product is a little boy I have to get to know. I'm not used to this look on him and my baby is starting to fade away.....tears.

Eye can't see!

Well I don't see very well at all! Turns out that in addition to the bilateral conjunctivitis I also seem to have corneal abrasions. This is what has been causing me so much pain and agony for the past two weeks! I finally went to the ER, as resistant and adamant as I was being a nurse and said, " I need help". Started out to work with Joshie in tow (he goes to my Mom's until hubby picks him up and takes him home). I get on the road and.....and.....I can't see! Literally, the cars are blurry, the signage is unfocusable until I get right up on them. I'm scared and decide that $#&!-ing with my eyes is no game, girl take your behind to the ER. I wait until hubby hits my mothers and I call in to work and let them know what's going on. Well, they have an idea because I've looked like hell for two weeks. Anyhoo, after getting my eyes numbed which burned then felt like heaven,... no pain, dyed, so that they could visual them under ultraviolet lamp and pricked, they found corneal abrasion on both eyes. If you've ever had a corneal abrasion you will know...IT HURTS!!! Why it's taken them so long to heal I have no clue. It could be the horrible ventilation at work forcing particles into my already delicate eyes or the wrestling I do with Joshie. Yes, the boy has poked me numerous times in the eye. So rest and multiple drops of Tobramycin ointment to the eye every three hours I think they are getting a little better. Vision is still blurry and ain't worth crap. I can't pull out of my driveway. And I'm sure work is threw with me. But look, the thought of not seeing my babe's face again because I didn't care for my eyes would tear me apart. Now, due to the holiday I can't get in to see an opthalmologist until next week (after turkey day). Oy vey!

MMR and Autism

(picture:PopPop and Grandma Woods)

So Joshie had his one year check up and vaccination. For the longest time I contemplated forgoing or nixing the MMR shot. With all the hype regarding it's possible link to Autism, of course I was afraid. But, I had to put aside the media hype and do my own research in addition to discussing it in depth with his pediatrician. Well, I found that here in New Jersey the incidence of Autism is higher than any other state. We all know the air quality in Jersey isn't the greatest and cancer incidence is also high in this area. But I found that diagnosis is very tedious and also involves many other factors despite the MMR shot. Joshua's doc starts early (at around 6 months) with her testing for Autism. Joshua passes with every visit with flying colors. "He is alert and bright" in her own words "and his attention towards me proves he's not autisitc". Autistic children tend to be in their own world, will not acknowledge a stranger and if they do will tend to focus on the mouth rather than the eyes when someone speaks (a cardinal sign). Check out the links for more symptoms and great info. As a registered nurse in L&D we adhere to many of the NICHD standards so I trust their info greatly. So my baby is doing wonderful and I thank the Lord above for that. He also tolerated the vaccination with not even a hint of temperature fluctuation ( I expected a mild fever and irritability). So there, as a mother you do what's best for your kid.

On the other side, myself, I've been awful. I've been battling this eye infection/conjunctivitis since his birthday. Used anitbiotic drops for a week and it's not gone yet. It seems to be aggitated by my work environment. It's very dry and the air vents probably haven't been cleaned in years (yes people, this is a hospital okay!). I really need to make an appointment with an internal medicine doc to get a full physical and all that good stuff. So, baby good, Mama bad. And oh yeah, Master Woods is starting to stand without holding on to anything for a long period of time. He even gets bold and will rock and dance but not one step yet.

Settling down

I finally feel like the whole birthday shabang has settled now. We've cleaned up the house (popcorn, decorations, candy all over the place) and are finally getting back to normal. I have to say though, a party in your home takes waaay more work than I'd imagined. I may have to consider doing a hall next time or a party place. But, in the end, the little man was overwhelmed by all the family around him and had a good time. He made out like a bandit with money, clothes and toys. I don't know what to do for Christmas!

Now, getting into the developmental side of things, Mr. Joshua is still cruising but with a more rapid gate and has even found interest in the steps. YES the steps!! He's taken two steps so far and I've had to stop him from going further. Soon I'll stand behind him and see how far he can go. He's even tried standing on toys as a step stool in an attempt to climb over the safety gate. Yup, my boy. Oh yeah, another tooth and broken through so he's got four on top and the two little front teeth on the bottom. They look like little pearls, so adorable, but crazy sharp.

On another note, we've been really struggling financially for the last 6months now. I've been pulling extra shifts here and there but hubby's new job shows no opportunities for advancement or overtime. I laid on the tough love and told him it's time to start looking for bigger and better things. My husband is a graphic designer and has been in his field for quite some time now. He's got loads or talent and experience. Considering we're a stones throw (figuratively) from NYC, I want him to look there. Why? More money, better chance of advancement and career growth. Problem is the competition is serious. He's had a few interviews here and there that have gone nowhere. My deduction is that they either found someone to do the job for a cheap or they weren't keen on his interview. We always get into arguments about how he should open up more. My husband is the kind of guy that has to work up to getting to know you and will then open up more. You can't do that in an interview. So, any of you listening or reading out there, say some prayers for us. If we don't have a financial breakthrough soon, we may have to move! I put it in God's hands.

I refuse to Walk!

As the title says.....not walking yet. But here's a couple more pics from the birthday boy's party.