Angel Isaac

Well, the flu finally caught up with us this week -- and overtook us! Isaac started getting sick on Monday, starting with the runny nose; then Abby caught up and passed his symptoms with an endless runny nose and excessive slobber EVERYWHERE!!!!

Her runny nose soon turned into the whole shebang: cough, fever, heavy breathing that keeps me up at night, watery eyes that leave water marks around her eyes from the dried tears that effortlessly and silently flooded over, etc.

On Thursday, Tracy brought Aliah over for me to watch her while Tracy ran to class (which actually turned into me watching her SLEEP while Tracy ran to class, which worked for me!). Before she left, I was holding Abby and noticed that she felt really warm to me. I gave her some generic Tylenol (I couldn't find our thermometer at that point and figured I'd rather be safe than sorry and her teething could probably use some medical soothing anyway) and put her down to sleep for a bit. When my kids are sick, sleep is my number one rule! Anyway, the warm-to-the-touch skin soon got hotter. Pretty soon, I felt like she was burning up; no matter where I touched her skin, it was VERY warm. I found my thermometer and took her temperature. 101.4 degrees. I got out the Tylenol and gave it to her and then tried again to get her to sleep. She woke up screaming all night long, didn't sleep longer than 45 minutes at a time when she did sleep, and was just miserable. I got her fever down to 99.4 at my lowest check, but it was mostly up in the 101-102 range all night long (even WITH medicine). At 7:00 a.m., I asked Dave to give her a bottle before he left for school (hoping that would buy me at least an extra 30 minutes of sleep). When he picked her up, he said, "Holy cow. She is REALLY hot!" I told him I already knew that but he could get the thermometer if he wanted to see where she was at that moment. He got a temperature of 103. We called the Family Birth Center at Gritman and were told to bring her in.

We opted to wait the 30 extra minutes and take her to Quick Care instead of the ER. What followed was a day of doctor's visits, x-rays, a blood draw, an antibiotic shot for the fever, a few oxygen tests, and a follow-up doctor's visit. The follow-up visit had originally been scheduled as their six-month wellness check and immunizations. But with Abby's high fever, she couldn't get the shots; and I opted to keep she and Isaac together with the shots and have the same fussiness to deal with, independent of other factors and extra fussiness. However, instead of canceling the whole thing, the nurse said we should just go ahead with the wellness check and come back in for the shots the following week, at our convenience. Cool! So we went ahead and had the doctor's visit.

Anyway, after the babies were weighed, measured, etc., while they were still stripped to their diapers, waiting for the doctor to examine them, Isaac started to get really fussy. I have to hand it to him, he had had a really long day! We woke him up early to go to the doctor with Abby; he sat in his car seat all day long while I ran in and out of offices, getting all of Abby's tests and things taken care of, and he was just hungry and tired. Abby had, of course, been fussy as well and, consequently, had received quite a bit of attention. Of course, she's sick; so I doubt she really noticed that much that she had the upper hand that day. But Isaac did notice.

So, I decided to turn the tables while we waited for the doctor to come in. I put Abby in her car seat and was VERY happy that she didn't scream at me. She just sat there. Then I picked Isaac up and sat down at the foot of Abby's car seat. I stood Isaac up at Abby's feet and said, "Look, Isaac; it's Abby! Say hi Abby!" He got so excited to see her. Quickly followed his high-pitched squeal that says he is VERY excited. Abby also smiled, looking sheepish and pleased to see him all at the same time. She even looked like she might be ready to play, her eyes flirtatiously saying to him, "Let's ditch Mom and go roll around on the floor for a while!" Well, as flirtatious as a 6-month-old will get with her brother, anyway!

I had put Isaac's pacifier in his mouth earlier (which they generally only get when it's time for bed, but the day's activities rendered it an exception). Anyway, he was smiling so big, mouth wide open, that the pacifier fell. I said, "Boom!" And Abby looked at Isaac and started to giggle!!!! It was a quiet giggle, but it was a giggle nonetheless, the first of a few giggles her brother was able to get out of her in those precious moments.

That little exchange made my heart smile! I had been trying all day long to get my little girl back, to get her to smile or laugh or even blow raspberry bubbles at me with her motor lips. All of my attempts had failed -- she was just not feeling well enough to play my games! But then her brother popped into her little bubble and just brought sunshine into her world! That day, Isaac was Abby's Guardian Angel; and he did a fabulous job! I may be mommy, and with that may come an undeniable bond; but he's her brother, the one that will be there with her through moments in her formative years that I can't be present for. And I really think they will be best friends.

It kind of reminds me of a little conversation I had with my niece, Alexis.

Alexis is three years old and the only niece I have been around from the day she was born (until Arimo took them away from me, that is!). Anyway, my other niece, Madison, is just 11 days younger than Alexis. Those two little girls absolutely LOVE each other! They will call and talk to each other on the phone (I can hardly get them to say three sentences to me on the phone!) and they look forward to any moment they get to spend together. They've kind of been raised as twins, with the exception of the miles between them. But they don't seem to notice or care!

Anyway, when my sister was visiting me this last year when the babies were born, Lexy and I somehow got off on the topic of marriage. Not in a grown-up way, but in a "I'm talking to a three-year-old about this" sort of way. She was telling me that when she grows up, she is going to marry Madison. Nique and I laughed and explained that girls don't marry girls; girls marry boys. She was undeterred, "No, I'm going to marry Madison because she is my best friend!" And that was the way it was in my adamant niece's little world!

She mostly had the story right -- you DO marry your best friend! She'll learn the folly of her thoughts in a few years; but what stood out to me is the bond these girls have. They may fight over toys when they get together. They may try to out-boss and out-run each other. They may get into heaps of trouble together that they never would have considered on their own. But at the end of the day, they absolutely love each other! They connect in a way that no grown-up can connect with either of them. They are each other's best friends! That's what I wish for my babies! And in that moment, I saw that my wish is coming true! ;-D

And, p.s., Isaac got up on his hands and knees today ALL BY HIMSELF!!!! No prodding or raising from me, no siree! And he scooted backwards as he was trying to get over to me. But, the important thing is, he STILL did it.

P.P.S. -- Isaac weighed in at 17 pounds, 6 ounces; is 27 inches long; and has a head circumference of 17.25 inches. Abby weighed in at 16 pounds, 2 ounces; she is 25 1/2 inches long; and her head circumference is also 17.25. The doctor said he was worried about their head measurements, since they have jumped from like the 25th-30th percentile to over the 95th in the last few months. Dave isn't worried, though; he just says it's genetics and a sign of their extra large brains! What else do you expect from kids who are destined to win all of the Nobel prizes, including the Nobel Peace Prize for their altruism and the Nobel Prize in Science for their amazing brains! ;-D