Monday, March 7, 2011

Elisabeth Update

We've all had some kind of cough/cold thing for the last month or so, it seems. The kids' coughs just seem to linger forever. And it's so hard to tell when a cough is a problem, and when it's just a lingering cough from a cold. Some innocent coughs sound so terrible.
Anyway - last Mon. I sent Elisabeth to preschool even though she still had a cough. And then when I picked her up afterwards I noticed she was sort of wheezing and breathing really rapid trying to get more air. She also said her teachers made her sit and rest and get a drink of water a few times when she just couldn't stop coughing.
So, after some deliberation, I decided to take her the Dr. The pediatrician's office was completely booked for the day, so I took her to the InstaCare.
And . . . yeaaah, they gave her a breathing treatment and took x-rays of her chest. The x-rays showed a "suspicious spot" which the Dr. thought "might be pneumonia" so he prescribed an antibiotic and an inhaler. What this actually means is hard to tell. InstaCare Drs can be so rushed and vague with their explanations. But really, I just wanted her to be able to breathe so I wasn't too concerned about the exact diagnosis at this point.
Also, this whole process had taken quite a bit of time and I was getting rushed to get back before Abigail and Isaac would be getting home from school (luckily the weather was nice and they were planning on walking home). As we went to the pharmacy I searched for my phone thinking I could call the school and give the kids a heads-up - or at least call home once I thought they'd be there - or leave a voice message for them - or something. But, as luck would have it, I had forgotten my phone. :(
So I waited anxiously to get her meds at the pharmacy. $80 later I rushed home to find Abigail and Isaac freaking out and frantic not knowing where I was (they had tried calling Zac and Grandma but hadn't gotten through). And about a minute later, Samuel's bus pulled up! Thank goodness I got home before the bus arrived. phew!
Anyway - Elisabeth has kind of loved her inhaler. It makes her feel pretty special. She continued using it for the rest of the week but she is doing much better now.

In other Elisabeth news, I asked her preschool teachers how she is doing and it appears she is having the same personal space/boundaries issues that she has at home (with her teachers and with her friends). sigh. She is so overly affectionate and needing hugs and kisses alllllllllll the time. I'm just not sure what to do about it. Of course we want her to feel loved and to have all the cuddles and squeezes and loves that she needs at home. But sometimes . . . we feel a little smothered by her and we all just need more space. How to explain that to a 4 yr old? That sometimes enough is enough??

And she is also not really catching onto the alphabet as quick as we might hope. So we need to help her more with that, too. And of course I am swimming in all kinds of mommy-guilt over this one. So much I should be doing that I'm not. uggghh.

She'll be starting kindergarten next year! It's all just crazy. Yes, indeed.

4 comments:

Jennifer Pelo Rawlings said...

Obviously a touch love language girl there. Sophia is a touch also and it was sooooo difficult for me. I would sometimes just grit my teeth when holding her hand or cuddling with her because it drove me nuts.

None of my kids knew their alphabet by the time they went to Kindergarten. They could sing the song and write their name and that was about it. I'm sure she's fine.

Christina G. said...

If you don't mind your kiddos on the computer, starfall.com is a pretty cool website for teaching kids the alphabet.

Ashley said...

One reason Seth knows his alphabet and all the sounds of the letters already is because he LOVES a DVD that we bought for him. It's called The Letter Factory by Leapfrog. Our library has it so yours might too. Tell her you got it just for her and see if she'll watch it once a day or something. It's really pretty cute! And the follow up DVD is called The Talking Word Factory. Thanks to that one Seth can sound out the words "cat" and "big" and a few others. Hope that helps!

Kristen said...

yes, I have heard of Starfall and her teachers have recommended the LeapFrog videos and we just gave them to her this week. We had gotten them for her bday in April, but decided to just give them now. We'll see how long it lasts until she's sick of them! We hope it will help.

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