Head Cold Week

August 20, 2010

Head cold week. Jakki and I have been sick for the last few days with a moderate summer head-cold. Unfortunately, Natalie has the cold too, as she is congested and not breathing easily. This cold is making us all lethargic and unmotivated. I am starting to feel better, but I am prolonging my recovery by going to work instead of staying home and resting. This is not by choice as I am out of sick leave. With Jakki’s dad going through major surgery earlier this year, I depleted my sick time off and need to build it back up for this winter, where I know I will get sick beyond this cold.

Still no crawling. Natalie and Jakki have been working hard on the Physical Therapy this week. So much that Jakki recognizes which exercises Natalie doesn’t like, and which ones she does like. I think this is a good step because Natalie is very particular. She doesn’t have any problem letting us know that she doesn’t like what is happening. I agree with Natalie on some of the exercises, as I see no benefit to rubbing Natalie’s head on the floor to the point where she is crying out in pain and discomfort. I suggested that we just skip this one, but Jakki said that this was Dr.’s orders. I want to meet with the therapist and rub her head on the floor until she cries and ask her which muscles are being worked on.

Communication is a funny thing. Sometimes, I worry about Natalie’s communication development. She isn’t forming words, or even attempting to. She grunts and whines, holding long notes of varying volume and tone when she wants or needs something. She used to babble, but I have noticed that she has not babbled (baba, dada, lala) in the last few days. I hope that this is not a regression in her speech development.

I played with Natalie in her chair last night, building colorful rubber blocks up on her table, and I noticed that she cannot grab and hold the blocks yet. I don’t know when this “should” happen, but it bothers me that she isn’t at that point yet. She can grab and hold a soft book or small board book, but not her blocks yet. She does not yet coordinate her two hands together. She isn’t clapping yet. Maybe we are pushing our expectations. Maybe she should still be a baby, and we shouldn’t worry about her grabbing and holding larger things. But I want her to show signs of development, so I worry about these things.

I can tell that Jakki is worrying about it too. She has had a few days of depression and volatility. Not with Natalie, per se, but about Natalie. She is just frustrated, sad, and angry. Jakki isn’t the type to take to comforting or sympathy, so I am left hanging with what to do to help her. I just want her to feel better, accept the situation, and hold onto the positive moments in our lives. Easier said than done though; especially when we are all sick, and we have no idea what Natalie’s life is going to be like from day to day.

I need a positive ending, huh? Well, I am really looking forward to spending some time with Natalie outside. I think that will be the goal for Sunday, assuming that we are all feeling a little better. We need some fresh air in our lives. Jakki has spent too much time in that house, and I think it would be best for all of us to get outside and play for awhile. So I am making a personal goal to get us all out of the house on Sunday for playtime. No errands. No chores. Playtime. I am looking forward to it.

~ Nathan