But we have had a couple hiccups. I didn't want to mention them on facebook at the time because I assumed we would get some eye rolls...If you're in paradise you don't get to complain! I can be totally honest on my blog though because only the people who really love us will read it :-) I also want to point out that there have been many things we have been grateful for that made the bad things turn out ok.
The problems of nursing:
At the end of March I got a raging case of mastitis. That's an infection in the milk ducts usually involving breastfeeding. Ava popped out her two bottom teeth which made her eating funny and then she started some solid foods which made her nursing even funnier. I just couldn't keep up with the weird schedule and one day I woke up realizing I had some plugged milk ducts. We went on our beautiful hike anyway but by the time it was over I had aches and chills. By the next morning I had an almost 103 degree fever. Thankfully I got ahold of an on-call doctor for our clinic at home who immediately put in an order of antibiotics for me over here. I spent the next three days in bed until the infection began to get better. Nate was a trooper with the kids and even took Wyatt to the Easter church service which I was sad to miss.
Hands, feet and mouths:
It was just about a week and a half later that Wyatt went from running around with kids at a park to being completely listless, not wanting to talk, eat or drink and running a 103 fever. I thought maybe he'd gotten overheated though he hadn't done anything unusual for him. His arms also had tiny red dots all over them. Maybe it had just caught up to him. Assuming it was heat exhaustion we treated as such with a cool shower and forcing him to drink water. We couldn't keep the fever down though and it got up to 104 before bed. Not knowing what it would do overnight we decided to take him to the one urgent care that was still open...and happened to be just 4 minutes away! They gave him tylenol (which we hadn't because you aren't supposed to give it if it's overheating that is the problem) and of course his fever started to go down and he was willing to eat a little something. She checked him for the flu and strep throat. Both came back negative and we were sent on our way. We have a super high deductible. Somehow, though, maybe because it was urgent care instead of the ER, the payment was quite low. The next day Wyatt felt fantastic, no longer had a fever and the dots were gone. The only thing he complained of was his mouth hurting every now and them. Sometimes he said tongue, sometimes mouth but he couldn't point to where and we couldn't see anything wrong. This went on for a few days and then he was good. Meanwhile, Nate started to have "weird" sore throat. Then, POP! Nate had red spots on his hands...feet...and, you guessed it...his mouth! If you don't know...hand foot and mouth disease is a virus. Generally kids have it because adults have been exposed at a younger age. You generally start with a fever and then pop out irritating dots in and around your mouth and on your hands and feet. They blister and you're more or less done. Strangely Nate was the one who'd really gotten the dots without the fever and Wyatt had gotten the fever with only the typical spots on the inside of his mouth. Though the whole thing was one big nuisance we were grateful that they were mostly over it before our friends visited and Ava and I managed to not get it at all.
Real life:
These were our biggest issues unless you include the fact that Kilauea is erupting with lava slowly tearing through a subdivision taking down houses as it goes. Thankfully we are on the opposite side of the island and earthquake are our biggest threat.
Otherwise, just life with a three year old and a 6 month old is tricky whether you are in Bellingham or Hawaii. Teething baby gaining opinions, weird schedules, long car trips, strange food can have an impact on these little people. We've had a bit of an emotional threenager these days who doesn't want to go to bed. Wyatt has always been a fantastic sleeper but he has been resisting with all of his toddler power. Ava and Wyatt have been in the same room most of the time which has been surprisingly awesome generally...until one of them wakes the other...and then we are all awake!
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| Bed hair don't care |
Magical life:
I will end on a positive note now that I've gotten to share the bumps. These kids have been so incredibly flexible. They don't know what we are going to do or where we are going most days. Ava has napped in the stroller or in the car lots. Wyatt has even fallen asleep in the car at night which is so unusual for him. They are growing into little friends and not just siblings. Sunsets and water and sand and slooow life and food and togetherness and people watching make up much of our time. We will cherish these memories forever. We have one full week left. We are thrilled to see that the PNW is drying out and warming up a bit. Whether it happens before we fly back or not I'll make one more post of some highlight I haven't mentioned yet.
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| That face.... |
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| Caught in a rain storm. Ava is not impressed. |
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| Always mouths full of sand. |
