I Survived Chicken Pox!

This was Round 1.....Daddy was doctoring his boo-boos.

This was Round 2....10 days later!

My two handsome boys had what their Pediatrician refered to as "chicken pox in the wild"...this means they got the chicken pox without being vaccinated against it. We have only chosen to opt out of one vaccine...chicken pox...because my husband got it twice, naturally, as a child. So, in the interest of only going through this once per child, we chose to go against the grain.

My oldest was very good about the whole itchy part...until his butt itched! Then I told him not to scratch with his hands and he decided to pull the "bear back scratch" trick and wiggle. It was hilarious! If I could have gotten a video of his ingeniousness...I would have!

Our youngest was not so good natured about it. He was my clingy one! And, being 7 months old, and unable to scratch just made him more determined to cuddle his itching away. He was also the one who had the most complicated things happen too. He kept rolling and rubbing the scabs off of his back, which then got infected....yucky tasting medicine does come back out of the mouth of 7 month olds too! Not to mention he became the "attraction" at the Pediatrician. Did you know there are doctors who have been out of medical school for years that have never seen a "natural" case of chicken pox?....yep, and all of them flocked to my baby like he was the most facinating thing they had ever seen!

Despite the comments that I have gotten for them being unvaccinated for it, I do not feel that I was being irresponsible. Being a mom is about making the hard choices, you do your research, you weigh all the pros and cons, and you are the one that they rely on! Don't apologize for making a choice. Doing the best you can is abosolutely what being parents is all about. I have always known our boys would make an impact someday...I just never expected it to be because of chicken pox :-).

The smallest of accomplishments

Today is a day of firsts. Our oldest finally said "hi" to someone on the phone...we've been trying to get him to say ANYTHING, but usually all we get is some mouth breathing, Haha.

Our youngest got his first round of vaccinations.

When our kids are young every first is treasured. And in some way, wether a good first or bad, we hold ourselves responsible for it happening. These mean the most because our kids are ours to teach and protect...and voila! We now have proof of both sitting right in our laps.

So, here's to first teeth, smiles, giggles, steps, boo-boos, and ER visits. These are the smallest, but greatest accomplishments of their life...and probably yours, if you are like me and have been waiting to be a mom but spent a lot of time teaching other peoples babies. Celebrate these things, they only come by once in a while...maybe not the ER visit, unless you give them ice cream afterwards, like me.

Our Picture Day

So, here's an overview of how our picture day went....

McKinzie elbowed his brother in the head....THEN,....

He rammed his head into my ear, which sent the post of my earring into my neck...and finally when it was little boy's turn to get his pics done...

He kept turning his head almost every way, but to look at the camera lady :-)

WE LOVE PICTURE DAYS!!!

Our first big boo-boo

Today was eventful! Our oldest boy had his first trip to the ER.
We were sitting in church, waiting for the service to start...I had both boys since my hubby was doing something in another place in the church. I had set him on his behind, and he was sitting nicely, so I tried to give our other son his binkie because he was starting to fuss. Now, as most accident stories start...I turned for just a second, and he shifted toward the pew in front of us. Instead of catching himself with his hands, he caught himself with his forehead. Since skin doesn't usually stand up too well against corners, he has a cut...and being a normal head wound IT BLED!
I was trained in minor first aid when I was a CNA, so when I saw the blood...I did what I knew. I still had our tiny baby in one ARM and him bleeding in the other, and I was asking if someone would take the little one and if I could get something for the bleeding.
The mom in me wanted to panic, but he was already screaming, understandably, so I had to tell myself "remember all head wounds bleed a lot, this is ok". I put tissues on it and held it while someone went to find my hubby, so he could get the car and we could go see if he needed stitches.
My husband wasn't a graceful child...his words :-)...and he was very familiar with ER doctors, but this rattled him because he is ours. I had to reminded him on the way to the hospital that a cop would not understand him going 20 over the speed limit....but to the hospital we made it.
We must have one of the calmest kids ever, because he was acting normally by the time we got there, and even when they were examining him he only tried to get away when they wanted to touch the cut. He never hit or kicked...we are so proud of him! They ended up gluing him back together, instead of stitches...and he still wanted daddy over me after daddy had to hold him down for the nurse to fix him up (rubbing alcohol, surgical glue, and iodine and he still behaved).
Of course he got ice cream later just to make the experience look better later...as I've said before, scary doctor visits should come "a la mode"!