Birthday Emergency

Believe it or not, another illness has hit the McRaes--another one for Jackson.  Poor little babe!  Today was supposed to be a day of merriment and celebration as we had scheduled his first birthday party and all of the food and decorations were in place this morning.  The last thing I needed to do was to decorate the cake when I woke up, but sadly, when we got up, we saw that Jackson's face was covered in a severe, red rash with an open sore.

It was all over his lips, cheeks, chin, and spreading down his neck!  It was horrific.  Also, when we changed his diaper, we saw the worst diaper rash ever.  Unsure of its cause, but thinking it might be related to the face rash, we called the 111 service to ask what to do.  They had a triage nurse call us back and ask a series of questions which she determined that we needed to take him to A&E (the emergency room) as soon as we could.  She also said that if we get stuck in traffic on the way, we had to call 999 for a paramedic.  The nearest children's A&E is in Ormskirk, so after we drove there, about 25 minutes had passed.  We were so worried on the way there but when we saw that the waiting room was empty, and that we could be seen by a doctor right away, that made us feel a little bit better.

The doctor diagnosed it as impetigo and gave us a cream for that and another one for the diaper rash.  He said that it is highly contagious and that Jackson must stay away from nursery for at least 48 hours, but it could last all week depending on the severity and openness of the sores.  He also looked at his throat and ears and said they are really red (which is due to his virus that he still has lingering) and to deal with that, we need to keep administering paracetamol (Tylenol).  So at the same time he was supposed to be celebrating with his friends, he was dealing with an itchy, uncomfortable slew of issues from head-to-toe.  More of his impetigo is now on his knees and stomach, but this has started appearing as tiny red dots instead of a lumpy, dry rash.

I cannot believe the illnesses and bad luck we've had for the past month!  Last Saturday night, after I wrote the blog, Lee developed a terrible food poisoning and at 2 o'clock in the morning, I found myself at a clinic in Formby picking up anti-sickness tablets so that his symptoms would finally subside.  He had to miss a day of work to recover from that on Monday.  Three weeks ago, we were at the Southport A&E for six hours (until 2:30 in the morning) on a school night for a case of conjunctivitis that I had.  We have been to the hospital and doctor's office five times and have called 111 seven times in the past month!  We really need a break.

Hopefully next Saturday we can try to have his birthday party again with his friends.  Please send good thoughts and prayers this way.  We're just hoping for one week without a new sickness, that's all.  Well, let me rephrase that:  We're hoping for at least one week without a new sickness.  Because if we could never have another illness, that would be great.

Opening presents on his birthday.  Thank you to all of my friends from work and church who sent gifts and cards for Jackson!  He loved his presents and you made his birthday even more special.

Exploring his new toy

Getting ready to try the tunnel 

We let him have a mini chocolate doughnut for his birthday breakfast

All of the party people (and camerawoman).  It was a small celebration, but at least we had plenty of food, cake, and drinks!

Obviously the food won't keep another week, but we're hoping the helium balloons stay afloat for round two of the birthday bash

All of his beautiful cards from near and far

Eating his birthday cake with a tiny bit of frosting!  You can see a bit of his rash on his cheeks, but the rest is covered-up by cake-y hands.

Developmental updates:  Jackson has learned how to cheer and pounds his fists up and down when he's excited.  This week, we heard him squeal with delight when he opened his presents and he was especially really excited to play on his new Little Tikes climbing frame.  Jackson didn't cry once this week when I dropped him off at nursery.  I think he really likes it there--despite coming home with every illness under the sun!

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

Best Year Ever

A year ago from yesterday, I made my way to the Southport Hospital on the bus for a check-up to see how things were going and the doctor decided that it was time to go to the maternity ward in Ormskirk as soon as possible.  So I got a taxi to Ormskirk and called Lee on the way.  We didn't know that it wouldn't be until four days later that we would finally get to meet Jackson, but each day passed with great anticipation and growing discomfort (for me).

When Jackson arrived on Sunday, October 4th  at 12:29 P.M., we knew we had something very special and precious awarded to us and it was the best feeling in the world to finally hold our baby in our arms.  Some people say they miss being pregnant, but during the nine months I was carrying Jackson, all I wanted to do was to hold him and cuddle him in my arms.

After having spent a year with the most precious little baby I could have asked for, I can officially say that this was the best year ever.  Being away from work responsibilities didn't mean that there wasn't work to do, but spending every day with a baby is much different than regular employment since everything is on your terms and deadlines don't exist for paperwork or menial tasks put forth by the educational powers that be:  Ofsted.

Every day was perfect even if it was challenging at times.  Jackson allowed me to live each day and enjoy the hours we spent together from morning to morning (sometimes it felt like there wasn't a minute to sleep, but that was fine).  He also expanded my social circle through his play groups and allowed us both to make friendships that we will have for life.  And taking this year off also gave me time to learn how to drive a manual car on the left side of the road and the right side of the car.  Now I can drive to visit my friends and take Jackson to nursery and various play dates.  What a life-changing year!

When people say that the first year flies by, I can see their point, but for me, it feels like I've had Jackson for a long time and that somehow, he has always been a part of my life.  Even remembering past trips with Lee, I can imagine Jackson there, but I know it was impossible that he was.  He's in my dreams and every decision I make depends on his happiness.

So, Happy Birthday, Jackson!  You are the smartest, funniest, most loving--best--baby in the whole world!

To celebrate Jackson turning one, I started a webpage that will chronicle his home videos.  You can watch them if you would like by clicking on this link:  https://vimeo.com/user57091275  I will be adding a few videos every week to try to catch-up with all of the videos I've recorded back to when he was born.  We will also be having a birthday party for him next week with all of his friends.

Entertaining us with his new hat which he wore for quite a long time.  Such a trendsetter!

Resting with Daddy after a hard day fighting off another illness.  Our Peaceful Dreamer.

Developmental updates:  Jackson decided that he loves chocolate mousse at nursery so much that in order to get seconds, he tried to steal his friend's serving by reaching his hand into her bowl.  At least he knows what he likes!  (We did have a talk about being greedy, though.)  Jackson only cried one day this week when I dropped him off at nursery.  He seems to have a crush on one of the key workers named Sarah and he will let her hold him right away when we go into the room.  His undeniable charm has won over all of the nursery teachers and they all seem to dote on him now.  Yesterday, he had to leave nursery early (around Noon) because he caught another bug which seemed to affect his stomach and diapers in a bad way.  The poor thing!  He's still recovering from his virus and now this.  This new bug seems to be going away already, though, so it must have just been a 24-hour illness.  Jackson loves life and this week, his key worker said that out of all of the babies, he is the one that takes the most risks.  Whenever they do a new activity, he jumps right in while some of the others keep their distance and are a bit timid.  This could explain how he got a bruise on his forehead in the outdoor area, but when his teacher tried to put a cold pack on it, he swatted her hand away and kept playing.  He's a tough cookie, in training for his role as James Bond.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

Are You My Mother?

When reading this book as a young tot, I'm sure all of us thought, "Really, bird?  You can't recognise that your mother is the other bird in the neighbourhood?  Obviously, it's not the cat or dog.  Come on, bird."  But for baby humans, to differentiate between their mothers, it must be just as difficult.  Jackson is almost a year old and I thought he could pick me out of a crowd just as easily as I could find him, but that wasn't the case this past week when he had a horrible case of mistaken identity that ended in inconsolable sobbing.

On Thursday, when I entered Jackson's room at nursery, I heard him crying and saw him being held by his key worker with his blanket.  She said, "There's your mum, Jackson," to which he reached for me and started to crawl towards me.  He started settling down and I listened as they explained that when Lilianna's mom came in to pick her up, Jackson thought that it was me because we both have thick-framed glasses and shoulder-length dark brown hair.  He crawled to her and when she didn't pick him up, and instead picked up her own daughter, he started screaming and crying.  Then, he reached for her legs and started pulling on her trousers for attention.  Lilianna's mom and I exchanged smiles and I said, "I guess I'll have to get a new look."

I was happy that I arrived shortly after this incident so that Jackson wasn't crying for too long.  Also, so that he would know that his mother actually does love him and wasn't ignoring him.  The torment that must have been running through his mind and the hurt in his heart was probably agonising for him.  Poor little guy!  I'm also glad that I arrived while Lilianna's mom was still there or else he would have thought that his mom not only chose another child over him, but left without him as well.  I'm sure that would be a little baby's worst nightmare!

Every day, it is so good to pick him up and be reunited after a long day of work, but on that day, it was especially good because we were both reminded how much we need each other.  We are bonded for life and he will always be my little baby no matter how big he gets.

Playing with his new toy today--a Fisher Price Ballapalooza!

He loves his new toy and feels like a big boy when he can move all of the pieces and parts on his own.

Developmental updates:  Jackson is back on track with his eating and tried chocolate mousse this week at nursery.  Apparently, he held his hands up in the air when they were serving the mousse out to all of the children because he was so excited.  He has made his best friend at nursery and his name is Arthur.  Whenever Jackson is upset, Arthur will pat his head and find Jackson's starred blanket for him and bring it to him so he calms down.  Something that he definitely didn't inherit from me is his love of playing in the puddles and dirt.  His key worker at nursery said that every time they go outside, Jackson has to be dressed head-to-toe in his 'waterproofs' because he goes straight for any water he sees and reaches through the fence to dig in the dirt.  Jackson is feeling a lot better now and his cough has almost completely disappeared.  He even started singing in the car along with the Shania Twain CD we listen to every day on our way to Preston.  (It was only £3 at Tesco for an album of her greatest hits!  I couldn't pass it up.)  The newest activity at home that he's taught himself to do is to climb under the coffee table and exit carefully so that he doesn't hit his head while crawling through.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.