Mary McBride
Medical Emergencies Aren't Adorable... Unless You're Elvie
It all started out so well; I planned a trip to New York City to visit friends in the area and show my girls around the city, and we were having a marvelous time. While my six-year-old was interested in seeing the sights, Elvie just took the new city as a brand new place to make lots more friends. She smiled and waved and said hi to just about everyone who would engage in eye contact. We spent a full day seeing everything from Grand Central Station to the Statue of Liberty, and when we got in that evening, I thought she was just tired from our big day. She went to sleep a bit early, but I wasn’t alarmed. It wasn’t until she woke at 1am, sick, that I knew there was a problem.
From 1am to 5am, I held her wiped her face, tried to get her comfortable, but finally knew that this wasn’t just going to pass in the night, like many viruses do. I knew there was probably more to it. So off to urgent care we went, only to ultimately be admitted to the hospital; Elvie had one of her trademark UTIs, and because of her complicated medical history, the doctor didn’t want to take any chances. It was a huge bummer, and it changed the trajectory of the remainder of our trip. Still, as tough as it was, Elvie held on to her spunk and her spirit. If I were in the hospital being treated for a major infection, I would definitely not look this adorable. But Elvie? Well, she just can’t help it. Here are fifteen photos of Elvie keeping it adorable for her hospital stay.
Six Family Rules That Keep Our Home Happy
Whether a family calls them that or not, most families I know have rules. As babies become toddlers and then grow into children, more rules seem to spring up. In our family, there are little things that we are already teaching Elvie, even before she really knows why. We’ve started having her practice table manners, like waiting until everyone sits down to eat and using a napkin. Though she can’t say the words yet, when she hurts someone, she must indicate that she is apologizing before she moves on to something else. We want to teach her to be a kind, thoughtful person, and most of our rules revolve around that or safety. But our most important rules revolve around loving each other well. There are six rules that we have in our family, which will not change as our children get older and more independent, and these are the rules I strive most to teach by example and by my words.
How to Spot the Teething Woes
Elvie has seemed a little out of sorts lately. She’s still been her happy self, but she’s just been a little bit off. I knew that she was working on cutting some teeth, but I didn’t realize how many things that were going on were related to teething. Before, we had drool and a tiny bit of fussiness that was relieved by teething tablets or ibuprofen. Then up a tooth would pop, and she was done. This time, though, it turns out she is cutting a molar, and the symptoms are different. In addition to a quick check in with our pediatrician, I’ve been consulting with other moms, and it turns out that none of the symptoms she’s experiencing are unusual for toddlers cutting molar. Sure enough, a little corner of a molar popped up this afternoon. Here are the six symptoms she’s had that turned out to be tooth related. I can’t wait to have that tooth all the way in so she can start feeling better. If your little sweetheart is experiencing these same things, we can commiserate.
Our Path to Elvie: Remembering the Special Days
As of June 23, it will be one year since we met Elvie, and June 25 marks one year of her officially being in our family and having her in our care. As those dates draw closer, I have started to reminisce about all the special moments that led us to her. Sometimes just before I turn in for the night, I’ll look back at what we were doing a year ago, to see if anything particularly special was going on. Turns out that one year ago today was one of my favorite days in the long slog of preparation for meeting Elvie. It may seem a silly little thing to some, but to me, it was a big deal.
