Checking in, and a check up

Vacation time is great, but I'm slacking a bit in the blog department. Got my second migraine a couple of days ago. Blech. Thank God, it was very mild. It helped that I knew what was going on this time once my vision went wonky and I started seeing flying neon triangles. I was much better the next day, although I still had the residual headache. Carlos sweetly suggested that I run to Borders by myself while he watched the kids. I love my husband! I am glad that he sees himself as a parent, not a baby-sitter.

I've got most of the kids' Christmas gifts--basically all cooking stuff. I know that they'll love it. I found a cake pan for adorably elegant tiny tea cakes, some pastry cutters, fun little pop-out cookie dough scoops and some other stuff. Most of it was very inexpensive, but they're going to be thrilled.

Elena had her first check up. She is doing great--almost 27", and just over 15 lbs. Developmentally, she is right on track. Interestingly, I was never asked about her sleeping habits. She still nurses a couple of times each night, but she is usually half asleep and it is fine with me. The nurse was relieved that we are not vaccinating, and mentioned that her granddaughter is being pressured to vaccinate and how much it upsets her. They are glad that Elena is exclusively breastfed and not in a hurry to introduce solids.

This was such a far cry from Ariana's 6 month check up, where our ped told us she was strong-willed (like it was a bad thing) and gave us a copy of the Pearl's how-to manual on child abuse. (No, that isn't an exaggeration. It is one of the most vile things I've ever read, and advocates hitting a newborn with a switch, because "if it is big enough to pitch a fit, it is big enough to get hit". They also tell a mom that she is to remain submitted to her husband even when he is sexually abusing their daughter and other twisted stuff. They are both sick and sickening.) Needless to say, we never went back to that doctor.

My mom's health is still precarious. I thought they had run a lot of tests at the hospital to rule out a heart attack, but I was told the only test they did was a stress test. She is still having pain, pressure and numbness, and she is still trying to blow it off as nothing. She hasn't made any changes, and isn't even taking her meds regularly. Stress-wise, she is near the breaking point, and yet she is considering taking on even more responsibility for my grandmother. That is a very messy situation. Realistically, moving in with my mom isn't an option, for several reasons. One of them is that you can't even walk on the floors at my parents house because of spots where they are falling through. But no one else is able to take her, either, and my mom is convinced that my grandmother would die of a broken heart if placed in a home. It is horribly sad, but I don't see many alternatives. One that did come to mind was to look for a good place here as well as in the area where my grandmother is now. If my mom could visit her every day it might make things a little easier for both of them.