Busted

So, I finally had a confrontation with another parent this morning. I know that Kieran's been biting at daycare and we've been working to correct it. I got cornered by another parent this morning - the dad of the boy he bit two days ago. He said something such as "Well, my kid bit me at home and we told him that behavior was not acceptable." I told him that we've been working with Kieran as well - from ignoring him and time outs and telling him "No bite" but that nothing had yet completely gotten through.

This seemed to put him a bit at ease. He said he was concerned that we were the "that's the way kids are" kind of parents. I told him absolutely not - especially since he's biting us as well - that we were working with him. I felt very badly that Kieran bit this boy to begin with. I understand the father's frustration as it may not be the first time, I was a bit put-off that he felt comfortable confronting me about it, but from his perspective, I do understand. Ken's really quite ticked. They don't put names on incident reports for a reason - to protect the kids from harassment from the parents (and probably the parents too). I almost felt like I shouldn't have fessed up, but I didn't want to lie to the guy.

Hopefully he's mollified to know that we're working with Kieran, but it may mean more trouble ahead at daycare. I asked them yesterday if Kieran would get kicked out for biting, they assured me he would not. But if another parent knows its him and objects violently - and lets other parents know its him, they may not have a choice if his biting continues. I don't know. I'm upset, embarrassed and frustrated. I'm hoping that once we get his hearing situated that the biting incidents may go down too because he'll be able to better hear us say NO BITING. Maybe I'm pinning my hopes on something fruitless since I don't have ear infections to blame for my own childhood biting behavior. BAH - OK, back to work.

Ear Doctor

We met with Dr Wilkinson who was very nice and seemed to know his stuff. He said Kieran was likely a good candidate for ear tubes as he's had ear infections off and on at least since October (Ken thinks its been longer but I thought our first diagnosis was in October). Either way, he's got some possible hearing loss already.

We've got a hearing test scheduled for the 5th since he needs to do that first to fully determine what's going on. Then we can schedule a surgery from there - usually about a month's wait. So, sometime in April he'll probably be getting tubes put in.

That's all the info I've got for now.

Doctor's Report

Ear infection (bad one) in the right ear and still fluid on the left. We've made an appointment with a specialist tomorrow so we'll know more then, but it's likely we'll have to have tubes put in.

Kieran's on an antibiotic (again) and he also was starting in with the pinkeye again so more eye gunk on that too. Oh well, hopefully once the tubes are in we'll get some words like "I love you mom and dad" so it will all be worth it.

Ears and Fears

Got a call from daycare today. Kieran was crying for an entire hour without being able to be consoled and he held his head (hands by ears) through most of it. By the time I was out of my meeting he was OK and finally eating but they were concerned about him. His doctor's appointment is rescheduled for this evening so we'll see if he's got an infection then. For some weird reason - based nowhere in fact or observation - I don't think he's got an infection. But I've been not guessing well on this before, so I'm probably wrong.

Anyway, I got him some Orajel and applied it because I know he's got about 4 teeth trying to come through in the back and its possible that between the teething pain and ear pain he's not happy.

Enough of that - here are some new photos of the munchkin!

Just a few mall shots - that's my dad (aka Zadie) with Kieran at the Columbia mall on the left and Ken and Kieran at Arundel Mills on the right.

Ice and Snow and Freezing Rain

Well, it may not keep me from blogging but it certainly can put a damper on the day (and into the weekend). Ken's at home with Kieran as we had a doctor's appointment today (canceled) and daycare was running on a shortened day (closed at 1pm) and I had an event in York, PA which is about an hour away. We had a tiny bit of snow last night and it's raining now and everyone is freaking out about the bad weather. Having driven in it, I can say it's not that bad. So, I'm at work but when I get home, Ken's got to get some work done and he needs to do some more this weekend.

Unfortunately, I think Kieran's ears are bothering him. He woke up twice last night (one of those I slept through completely) and woke up early today. I hope he'll sleep well for Ken so he can do a bit of work during the nap (or get some additional sleep as he not only got up early - 5 am - but also did both wake up calls last night). Kieran's been holding his ears and grumping so it won't surprise me if his ears are bad, we'll have to get a new appointment on Monday. I may try and call tomorrow when they're open and see about getting an early Monday morning appointment just to get it all taken care of.

Anyway - that's pretty much it. Not much else new or exciting. There are some nice events in the coming weeks - two separate Moms/Dads Night Out in the neighborhood, a dinner with some friends for me, and a return to exercising for Ken. He's been pretty bummed about not being able to workout because of the flu, but he's still on the tailend of being sick. OK, back to work. Love to all - stay warm and safe.

Dracula

A bit embarrassing to admit, but Kieran's a biter. He comes by it honestly as I was a biter as well. According to daycare all we can do right now is watch him closely and when/if he bites us remind him sternly "No biting."

He's singling out one kid in the classroom, which leads me to believe he somehow feels threatened. He also bites when another kid tries to take a toy away (or when he's trying to get a toy). If they see him and give him that stern "Kieran..." he stops.

Anyway, that's about it. I'm not pleased by this turn of events but hey, maybe he's just hungry. He goes back to the doctor to check out the ears on Friday. If he weighs enough we'll turn his carseat around. I'm pretty excited because I'm fairly certain we can turn him forward. Ken wanted to go ahead and do it but I really wanted to be 100% sure of his weight since it was 2 lbs he was behind. As much as he wants to eat (and does eat) now, I think we're good to go.

OK, back to work. If anyone has a suggestion for stopping the biting, I'm all ears.

Recuperation

Ken's feeling better, if a bit weak and still pretty tired. I feel badly but I've got a business trip today (leaving tonight, home tomorrow night) so he'll be on his own for a short while and he's not 100% up to snuff.

Though I must admit, I'm looking forward to sleeping in a bit longer than I've been. Kieran woke up inexplicably at 2:20 this morning, Ken made a bottle, I fed it to him (barely awake) Ken said I was out before my head hit the pillow upon returning to bed. This is very possible as I barely remember the entire ordeal except that I'm still pretty dang tired.

Kieran is not at daycare today (they've got a teacher in-service day so the whole shebang is closed) and he and I have been hanging out and having fun. I took him to the park again today (took him there for a bit on Saturday) and he's just really quite funny. At first he's shy and timid, doesn't want me to put him down at all. Then he gets into the mode of "I can explore so long as I'm holding mom's hand." Then he doesn't want to leave. We stayed for about 40 minutes total. It's BEAUTIFUL here today - about 50 degrees with barely a wind and a strong sun.

Anyway, taking a brief break from work right now to blog - gotta get back to it.

The Flu

No, not Kieran, Ken.

Ken's been sick since Sunday -shivering and shaking, etc. He's had trouble sleeping and has not been to work all week.

3 am I wake to the light from our bathroom. Ken is up and he's heading to work, then to the hospital (I know, priorities, right?). After that, I was pretty much awake (I went to sleep at 11 pm so I'm operating on a small number of hours), I read for a bit managed to get back to sleep for 40 minutes before Kieran woke up.

The good news? It's the flu and with fluids and bedrest (until at least Sunday) should take care of it. Oh, and Kieran's had his flu shot. The bad news? It's the flu and there's nothing to be done but rest and wait to get better - not something Ken's really that good at (sorry babe, I love you but you are not patient with these things).

OK back to work for me. We survived the ice storm and all is well otherwise. Love to all will try to blog again soon. Maybe more pics soon.

Studmuffin

Every night when I go to get Kieran from daycare I usually get a smile/greeting from Carolyn (the little girl that he bonded with in Infant I). I've also heard that he's got a new girl too - Aashna, who is the ruler of Infant II. Yesterday when I walked into the room, Kieran came to greet me as he usually does (big smile, big hug) and Carolyn came over too. While Kieran and I were hugging she decided she wanted to join in. So there we were, me, Kieran and Carolyn in a group hug. Then, right in front of me, she kissed him. Bang on the mouth! I'm sitting there laughing. Kieran's just trying to get me to pick him up (but he's also interested in being kissed).

All of a sudden I look up from the group love going on to see Aashna, crouched down just a bit to see us all, and she's smiling at me. She finds this all very amusing too. Erika and Nikki (Caregivers in Infant II) are laughing and amazed. Nikki mentions that so long as Kieran remembers that he loves her best (above Carolyn and Aasha), and Erika says "Wait, I was here first!" So I had to remind ALL these women that I came before any of them.

Whew. I'm going to have my work cut out for me when he hits his teens and actually gets interested in girls.

My Platform

With all the Super Tuesday stuff going on, I started thinking what I would campaign on, were I running for President. Here are some of my serious, not-so-serious and completely nutzo ideas:

• The day should begin at 10 am. This applies to all workplaces (excepting anyplace that will serve me a strong cup of coffee before then). This also applies to children who should learn to sleep in past 5 am.
• School/education should be more important than a simple campaign promise or a mandate to meet test scores. I think that people who have kids in school should be REQUIRED to be a part of the PTA. I completely understand busy schedules and whatnot but I also think that having a kid is a commitment of a higher order.
• Coffee should be very strong and served early in the morning - see bullet #1.
• Healthcare should not bankrupt people.
• Making sure kids have a sense of humor is key to their being able to function in our society with a modicum of sanity. I propose that George Carlin become our Ambassador of Humor Education.
• Housework sucks. Everyone should have a maid - even maids. Unfortunately this means that everyone will have to clean someone else's house. But this is usually better than cleaning your own.
  
• I think that non-smoking laws are pure genius - BUT, I think they need to take into account the average person's stupidity. Instead of just telling people they can't smoke inside, tell them they can't smoke right by the door either. If I'm going to a smoke-free place, I really don't want to have to wade through smoke to get in the door.
• People who abuse animals should be abused in the same fashion - if they starved the animal so they should be starved, etc (I'm kinda an eye-for-an-eye gal).

So, this begs the question... what would YOUR platform be? Who do you think you'll vote for? Who are you voting for in the primary? Did your favorite candidate already bow out?

Oh, my final thought - do away with the parties completely. Let everyone vote once for each open position (i.e. you could vote for either Huckabee or Obama, but not both) on a ballot, making everyone an independent. Plus it may mean that people are more open to having a separate opinion from the masses. Anyway....