Coping
June 10, 2008
Thank you all so much for the prayers and kind thoughts. Noah and I got here yesterday afternoon and he promptly peed through every blessed pair of pants I packed. I've done laundry twice already, although one of those times may have been more because I forgot to add detergent. Maybe. I cop to nothing.
I got to visit with my dad last night -- he's conscious but not feeling super great (NEWSFLASH! NO WAY! WOW!), and looks like he and the pavement got into quite the barfight.
He's still in the ICU and undergoing a zillion tests to determine the cause of his fall (he didn't trip, it was more of blackout and a dead drop to the ground), but a CAT scan revealed that the bleeding in his brain is NOT getting worse. So. There is that, and y'all feel free to cue up the ER theme music in your heads right now. Doo doo doop doop, or however it goes.
I made some fabulous ratatouille for dinner last night, and then we ate the hell out of some ice cream. Noah climbed on my head at 6 am this morning and Baby Tivo is present and accounted for. We're heading back to the hospital now for what is sure to be a full wonderful day of cafeteria cuisine, weak coffee and inappropriate gallows humor from me.
My mother-in-law, meanwhile, who has been talking trash about how her boys were potty-trained by 12 months old since Noah's first birthday, will be handling that side of things today. It's like I had some master evil plan that is all coming to fruition, or something. I mean, it's a little more head-injury-ry than I would have liked, but still. HERE'S MY KID AND A COMPLETELY INADEQUATE SUPPLY OF DRY PANTS, HAVE FUN GOTTA RUN HA HA HA.
I'm glad things are looking up for your Dad. You win either way on the mother in law front. Noah will either come home toilet trained or you can rub it in if he doesn't.
I love the parental revisionist history. Why they let their kids play with knives AND rattlesnakes, and look how they turned out. . .blah, blah, blah.
Good for you for handing Noah over and letting her take a crack at it.
Also, best wishes for your Dad!
I like the way you cope. My dad pulled something similar at Christmas. He will never live that down in our Irish family.
Happy to hear your dad is conscious and the bleeding isn't getting worse. Good luck to your MIL on the potty training! Better her than you!
My Dad's Mom potty trained me before my bladder was big enough to get me through the night without my parents waking me up. Hilarity ensued for my parents, waking me up in the middle of the night...or not fully waking me up, getting me up, placing me on the potty and saying, "Kelly it's time to potty." And me going. Except for that one night my Dad said it too early...OOPS! HAH!
Ummm...I believe there was something more sophisticated to say...
Oh yeah, my Mom fell one time and hurt herself like your Dad. But it had to do with her ankle, it just gave out. Weird, cause she's tiny. So hopefully it's something like that, and not internal. Because that they put some screw in and POOF! All better!!
I said a quick prayer for you & your dad when I read the first post. Will continue to petition god on your behalf...
Her potty trained kids? Yeah, they used to sit them on the little pots and make them stay there all day. Not so much potty training as catching it as it falls!
Oh, those grandparents and their early potty training bunk! They only THOUGHT their kids were potty trained - when in reality they'd trained THEMSELVES to take their kids to the potty on a sechedule.
To me, Potty Learning is complete when the kid realizes the need, gets to the toilet, takes off the necessary clothing, does the deed, and gets themselves mostly dressed (save for a snap or a zipper)without help.
So glad things are looking a little better for your Dad.
I recommend the choc. chip cookie dough flavor.
I'll be thinking good thoughts for your Dad. I'm glad the bleeding is not getting worse. On the potty front, enjoy your day without accidents!
Glad your dad is doing better. And BOO on the pants/peeing. You KNOW he wasn't going to do that at home, OMG.
Ice cream always makes ME feel better, too.
First off, I hope your Dad recovers soon!
Secondly, that New York Fudge Chocolate Chunk (or whatever it is, I drool when I look at it so better not scroll up there again) is Just.like.crack.
It'll take away 99% of the bad stuff, baby. At least for a little while.
Looks like you've got the ice cream options covered. Inadequate supply of dry pants...ha! perfect! This was sure a good way to get everyone together to celebrate him on Father's day.
Thank God. Sounds like things are stabilizing. Will keep you and your family in my thoughts.
Can Noah be taught to pee at will? Perhaps ON your mother-in-law? ;)
I agree wholeheartedly with Nancy -- your MIL was the one trained. I, for one, never wanted to be trained and let them decide when they were ready.
It sounds like your dad is doing a little better. I'm glad and hope he continues to improve. And in stead of subjecting Baby Tivo to cafeteria food, you should treat him to cheesesteaks. (Oh, my word, I want one so bad!)
Sending you lots of good wishes. I hope your dad bounces back REALLY soon. It sounded so scary.
Jules
House of Jules
I'm glad it's not his heart!
I had a similar thing happen to me about 5 months ago. Walking along, felt dizzy, and next thing I knew I'm face down on the sidewalk at the downtown bus terminal next to the city mission with my head hurting like crazy. I got a lot of drama points out of it, with screaming sirens and ambulances and the whole day in the ER before being admitted for three freaking days ("Oh please, let me go home, it's the weekend, I PROMISE to come back Monday!") Lots of tests, including some so barbaric I cannot believe that the medical establishment still uses them (ever been strapped to a wooden table and tilted to a 70 degree angle so they can let you hang there almost an hour to see if you faint? I bet your dad has!), and the only things broken were my glasses and my wrist, but even now my head is still sore, still slightly swollen (just enough that it makes one eyebrow look a little lower than the other, giving me a quizzical appearance) and I have some sort of nerve damage to my face, if I touch my lip I feel it on my cheek, and so on. Conclusion after all the testing and follow-up visits? It just happened. Random occurrence. Nothing wrong that could have caused it. I hope your dad had a random occurrence too.
That is the best way to get the little ones potty trained - it's how I did it with C and my plan for R. What?? I thought that is why we pay the baby-sitter! Glad to hear that your Dad is doing better. I hope all continues to improve on that front...
Hey Amalah
I am praying for your dad. Eat all that delicious ice cream!
Can everyone go to this link and vote for the cutest dad and baby! My husband will win a grill for father's day. It is more of a pride thing than anything. Thanks Everyone.
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckGalleryPhoto&plckPhotoID=a764e751-1ab3-4023-b22b-2fb6a4ec8b64&plckGalleryID=0f0d73d7-0624-4348-a895-60be8419bb49
I'm keeping you and your family in my prayers.
Noah's probably just stressed because he senses the anxiety around him, worry, hospitals, ack. I bet his peeing will settle down when things settle down around him.
Take care.
In honor of what you're going through, I will do my best to help you cope and also join in on the ice cream eating.
Still in my thoughts.
My heart stopped when I read your first post about the fall, so today's is so much better. My dad tripped on his 80th birthday, hit his head on the sidewalk and never came back. My brotehr and I rushed home from DC to the Midwest say goodbye before we let him go. I couldn't bear for that sad story to be repeated so your update makes my day--give your dad a hug for me, even if he doesn't want it!
Inappropriate gallows humor is an approved coping method. Not done praying for your family yet, Amy. Hope your mother-in-law has an awesome day!
Best wishes for your dad!
And good luck to your MIL. Both of my kids were trained "on vacation" . . . who knows - either he'll be trained or you can walk with a little extra spring in your "I told you so" step when you leave ;-)
Your dad is in my thoughts ~ I hope he starts on the road to recovery quickly!
My freezer looked that way over the weekend however I have not had a parent have a horrific accident. I am just 34 weeks pregnant and it was hot and my toddler has decided he now has selective hearing... If I met Ben and/or Jerry I would kiss and hug them because those two have helped me cope with many stressful (and happy) events in my life ;)
So glad to hear your dad is doing better than we all feared. And Noah gets some time in with the grandparents and you get some time in with Half Baked! (Tip a spoon or two for all of us!)
My dad's mother potty trained me in 36 hours!!
My mother asked no questions.
From experience, the new Creme Brulee flavor can be all kinds of wonderful, if that's your sort of thing.
#1: I'm so sorry about your dad (yes, I'm late to the party because I suck at organizing my feeds)
#2: Gallows humor is ALWAYS appropriate in my book.
#3: My Weight Watchers-ing ass is insanely jealous of your arsenal of coping tools.
kiss your dad on behalf of the internets please.
Oh, yah gotta just laugh at (with?? nawww!!) that particular generation of MIL that "had ALL of my children potty trained by a year, thank you very much!!"....direct quote from my (THANKFULLY!!! YES!! THANK YOU LORD!!) EX-mil. The truth is - the kids weren't trained at that age - the MOTHER was. And all she did was run the child to and from the potty ALL DAY (and night) LONG!! Children under the age of 2-3 do NOT have mature enough nerves/muscles/etc. to fully feel and understand the potty "urge". I did what my pediatrician said to do - "leave him alone, he'll use the toilet when he's ready to". Not too long after his third birthday, he walked into the bathroom and started using it - without even being asked to; he's 14 now, and has never had so much as a single accident since that day. The best part?? It really torqued my ex-mil off!! Loved it!
I'm glad to hear things are stable for now. I hope your dad improves more rapidly than any human ever has before, and that you and Noah and Baby Tivo give him lots and lots of hugs.
I also hope that Noah is returned to you fully potty-trained and possible able to whip up a soufflé on a moment's notice. I mean, since your mother-in-law is so good with kids and all. ;)
Just what you need...drive-by mothering from your MIL (my MIL always said how she 'was such a milk-cow' and 'just dripped' as I sat with my boobs being sucked by an industrial-grade pump to produce a measly 2 ounces...bitch).
Hang in there. Glad your father is doing better.
Really glad to hear things are stable.
I would please like to bring my son up to your MIL - I need some potty training, stat. Also, if she could teach him to vacuum, that would be awesome. Oh, and to make his own breakfast in the morning. This scrambling eggs for my 3 year old every day is just bullshit. I'm pretty sure I was making my own eggs when I was TWO.
So sorry to hear about your Dad! Take care of yourself! I wish your family the best!
Now on to a one year old being potty trained? I don't care what people say, at one, the PARENT is the one trained, not the baby.
Not dry 24 hours a day? Not trained.
The end.
:)
I'm still praying for you. Hang in there.
Ben and Jerry's cures most everything. Take some to your daddy.
Why did you have to post of picture of ice cream?? I've told my husband that after I have this baby, I never want to see ice cream again! I eat at least 1 large bowl of ice cream a day.
This was a good plan to get Noah potty trained. My dad had a heart attack a few years ago to get of a training class. ;)
Glad your dad's doing better.
Glad to hear that things are at least okay. Thanks for updating us.
And you just cope however you need to cope. Calcium is good for Baby Tivo, afterall.
Continuing warm wishes and best thoughts to you and your family!
Potty trained at 12 months??? Can your Mom come to my house.... please? :)
Hope your Dad continues on the mend. Good thoughts and prayers to you and your family...
I like your way of coping. Sadly, as I am trying to lose weight, my frozen coping method these days has been reduced to the store-brand fat-free frozen yogurt (which is, surprisingly, TASTY! go figure).
Very happy to hear that your dad is conscious and that you can visit with him. I hope the doctors identify the cause of your dad's blackout soon and can correct it.
Also--while I kind of hope that Noah pees all over your MIL, it would be really nice for you if she DOES succeed in training him while you're there. It makes some things SO much easier. But then, leaving the house with him will be like being with a very pregnant woman, who needs a bathroom within sight at all times . . . aaaand I guess you've got that scenario covered for a while yet, anyway. Never mind.
Enjoy your time with your family. Sending healing thoughts & prayers your way.
Best wishes to your father for a full recovery.
And the MIL? Mine is a teacher and this will be the THIRD summer that she spends with us- yes, the entire summer.
Anyway, she and my husband are theoretically going to potty train Nicky (age 2) this summer.
We'll see. Sounds like a win-win for me!
Well, now's the perfect chance for your MIL to strut her stuff and potty train Noah while you're making sure your dad is okay.
Good thoughts for his continued progress. I hope you and your family are coping well also. That kind of worry is hell.
Bah to in-laws and their crazy "When my kids were his age" business. Like they really remember that.
And Cherry Garcia has been proven to cure headaches in a small sample size (i.e. ME) so have some of that too, and sneak it to your dad. Hope the road to recovery continues bump-free.
I'm so glad that your dad is doing better. In my book, inappropriate humor is the only way to cope. And ice cream. Haggen Dazs vanilla is my present favorite but I'm still in my first trimester.I'm sure I'll be up to speed soon.
With so many people sending best wishes towards your father, I'm sure he'll pull through just fine.
Remember to take care of yourself also. Sitting by a loved one in a hospital for hours on end is both an emotional and physical drain.
Sending all the best thoughts to your Dad and your family. I really hope he improves and begins to feel better. All the best from Paris-
Delurking!
What about his blood pressure?
My father-in-law dropped like that when he needed blood pressure medicine and when it needed to be adjusted. He too met pavement.
I'm so sorry about your dad being all busted up, but at the end of this post, you still made me laugh out loud at my desk.
Best wishes to your dad!
Is it bad blottiquite (?) to not read all those comments above me?
Anyways, my grandmother always said every child who was raised on disposable diapers and formula is a later bloomer than they should have been. I have no clue how accurate that is. All I know is that I fond memories of being threatened to be put back in (cloth) diapers if I wetted my undies.
Awkward humor is always the best. Use plenty of it.
I'm so glad to hear everyone is stable and coping. I was actually nervous to check your blog today because I couldn't handle it if you were dealing with some really really really bad news. Take care and eat the hell out of that ice cream.
I'm glad your Dad is doing better. We will continue to keep him in our prayers.
**Good luck with the potty training..we are about 90% done with our 2 1/2 yr. old!!!