Pain

I know I haven't posted anything in awhile, but I have had a good reason. Poor Jack has had a tough week and a half. So, consequently, this has been an exhausting time for us. Jack is sick. And it isn't just one thing, it is a whole host of problems. The poor little man has so much going on right now. Where to start? 1st Jack had to have a little procedure done to correct his circumcision. I won't go into details, but it was supposed to be painless, but leave him red and a bit raw for a couple of days. This was done on Friday the 26th. 2nd While we were there, we thought why not give him the flu shot to save a trip back to the office. (Technically it was Stuart's idea, but I won't point the finger...) Well, he was in pain when we got home, screaming during diaper changes, and running a fever from the shot. But by Sunday, he seemed to be getting better.

Well, that didn't last. By Sunday night he had developed awful diarrhea. (that's 3) We think he picked up something at the doctor's office. Since he had to wait 30 minutes for the numbing cream to take effect before the procedure could be done, he had ample opportunity to run all over the office, checking out all of the other kids waiting in various patient rooms. The diarrhea wouldn't be so bad, but it has caused a bad infection. (4!) This virus really irritated the previous condition to the point that he screams whenever his diaper is even slightly wet. And, if he has a messy diaper, he screams like he is being tortured. (The neighbors must think I am beating the child at this point.) It is heartbreaking. If I change him, he calls out for his dad repeatedly and if Stuart changes him he calls out for me. He is red, swollen, and covered with sores all over the genitals. Because of this, he can't sleep more than a couple of hours at a time because any wetness causes great pain. Last Wednesday it got so bad I just couldn't let it continue. The doctor saw him Friday and wasn't sure what kind of virus he has but gave him multiple ointments to use at every changing. So, now we have to torture him more by slathering on these creams 10 times a day with a kid who can't stand to be touched there. After the middle of the night applications, he is so hysterical, it is impossible to get him back to sleep. We are so tired. (4 hours of sleep at night just doesn't cut it!)

5th So, did I mention our boy is still teething on top of this? Yes, all 4 molars are in, but he isn't slowing down, he is on to the next 4 teeth coming in simultaneously. In addition to everything else he has had a low fever pretty constantly for the last week.

6. Yes, there is more. Jack got his leg stuck between the bars of his crib last week and started screaming because he couldn't get it out. As a result, he has a 4 inch bruise down each side of his right shin. It doesn't seem to be fading and just looks awful.

7. Oh, he also was playing with a tiny pumpkin and hit himself in the face, bruising his upper lip. As seen in the picture above. (No, we didn't take pictures of the other stuff, be grateful!)

8. Well, because of all these issues, we don't want to take Jack too far from home right now. Sunday evening, we decided to go to a Halloween costume store near our house. We were looking for some accessories to go with his costume. Jack loved the place and was happily walking all over the store with a plastic pitchfork in hand. He ran into a metal hanging rack that was empty and sticking out at eye level. Total swollen eye. (not to mention some screaming.)

I just wish I could take away all his pain. When we pick him up now, he protectively brings his knees to his chest to ensure there is no pressure on his diaper. We have to go to the doctor everyday until this clears up, so that is lots of fun. As a result, our house is very messy. Stuart and I know we should consider ourselves lucky. He really is such a happy boy. Between all this, he really finds time to play and laugh. I can't imagine being that happy with that much pain going on.... Luckily, today we got a glimpse of an end to all the madness. Last night, after a rough start with lots of waking and screaming, he finally got some uninterrupted sleep from 8:30pm and is still asleep at 7:30am this morning. I think he is just exhausted at this point.

BTW, I know there are some grammatical errors in this post and I don't care. I am to tired to worry about accuracy.