Month: May 2008

A prison visit

Dsc00051

Christine brought Ella to visit today, and she and Inigo held hands after a long and involved conversation.

We saw Dr McVeagh this afternoon, she seems to think it IS a bladder infection, and that now that he is on antibiotics, he should start to gain some weight. On Thursday we’ll get another urine sample for testing, and on Friday we should have the results. We’ll also weigh him again on Friday to see if he has gained any weight. Today the electronic scales said 5.290kg, which is encouraging.

So if it is a bladder infection, there is a 75% chance that there isn’t a “cause” that we can identify. Which means there is a 25% chance that he has something wrong with his waterworks. We have to have an ultrasound, and another test involving a tiny catheter and some dye.

A few more days to get through before I can have my breakdown.

Happy Baby

Img 1258

After his long sleep yesterday, he went to my parents place for the night. We went to Clare’s birthday party (where a wonderful time was had by all), and apparently was a different child to the one they looked after last time.

From when he was picked up at 5.30pm till when he was dropped off at midday today, he hardly cried, but spent a lot of time smiling and giggling. He’s been extremely good today, and if this behaviour continues for another day or so, I’d be prepared to say that perhaps the antibiotics are working a minor miracle.

Img 1284
Inigo discovers two wonderful things. Feet, and testicles.

Spending a year dead for tax purposes

Dsc00047

Unlike Hotblack Desiato, who spends a year as a corpse in a tax evasion scam, I am spending a year week five days in Tresillian, in order to prove that I am not an incompetent parent.

There are two groupings of slow weight gain (also called failure to thrive). Organic reasons include metabolism issues, asthma, and an undiagnosed infection, for example, a urinary tract infection.

Non Organic reasons include neglect and abuse. Apparently our Tresillian referral states that the paed is investigating an organic explanation. Thank FSM. But even though we’re looking for an organic cause, non organic causes still need to be ruled out. That’s just common sense.

My darling friend Josephine came to spend the day with me today, to stop me falling into a vat of self pity (they are lying around everywhere), and then Inigo and I went to visit the Auburn Botanic Gardens. We had a chat with a black faced wallaby, saw peacocks (and BABY peacocks, too cute!), and this very regal swan came to greet us as we wandered near the lake.

I was fairly reeking with serenity by the time I got home.

Until the phone rang. The paediatrician rang to tell me the results of the latest urine test. Looks like the sprog has a bladder infection.

Proof of life

There has been some knitting. Nothing complicated, nothing interesting, but I wanted to prove that I do still knit. A little.

Here is Oscar in his pram blankie and beanie set, knitted years ago when I was off work recovering from my collapsed disk. It is knitted in Bendigo Harmony which, sadly, looks like it has been discontinued. I love this stuff, a wool cotton blend with a little lycra, it is lovely and soft to knit with, sproingy, and great against the skin. It always had a pathetic colour range, but it’s been shrinking for the last couple of years, and now seems to be disappearing all together.

Oscar Knit

And here we have Ella, Inigo’s cousin wearing her new winter hat. It’s based on the Umbilical Cord Hat from Stitch ‘n Bitch, but made a little larger to fit for a little longer. The yarn is bamboo cotton from Spotlight – exactly one ball with about 30cm to spare!

Img 3171

And soon here is Inigo in his new bootees. Cecelia made three pairs of “Christine’s Baby Booties” for Inigo, which have been fantastic. They are the only footwear that reliably stay on his feet, but he is growing out of them, so the time came to make some in a larger size.

Img 1239

The yarn is Stella, 100% bamboo, and has a lovely sheen and drape. I’ve held it double and knit on 4mm needles to make a larger bootie using the same pattern (it calls for a “fingering weight” yarn).

Tresillian will be calling me tomorrow for an admission interview. Apparently they expect me to tell them what I expect to get out of the Tresillian experience. Give me strength.

Yesterday I went to the Inner West mothers group that Miriam goes to. Needed to get out of the house to preserve sanity and escape rising hysteria. Being around so many healthy, normal babies was really hard, and I nearly cracked when one mother said to me, “I’d be really worried if that was my baby”. Apparently it isn’t obvious to the casual observer that I am consumed with fear, bleeding terror from every pore, and only barely managing to breathe through each new day that brings no news.

But on a lighter note…

Yesterday the child exploded. There was such a tidal wave of poo that it gushed out of the nappy, down the trousers, and welled into the top of the new booties. So I gave up on the modern cloth nappies for now, his thighs are too thin to plug the leg holes in the nappies. So it’s cloth terry at home, and huggies newborn for outings. Unless I want to buy a whole lot of newborn sized modern cloth nappies, this will have to do. I do feel like a bit of a failure, but right now I have other battles to fight.