six month check-up

Jonah had his six month check-up today. He did pretty well. He got one oral vaccine (which he puked all over the place... we've had quite the pukey day today... I've changed his chest bandage three times...), 2 other vaccines, and a flu shot. They tell me EB babies have a high tolerance to pain, which must be true because I was talking to him and playing with him, and he just laughed his way through the first shot. He did cry for the next one, and the nurse said that one always hurts them. He seemed fine tonight though. He never runs a fever or gets extra fussy (or even extra tired) when he gets shots. His height and weight are both between the 25th and 50th percentile. His growth is great, and the doctor was just so pleased with how he's growing. She thinks it's a God-thing too, because it sure doesn't make worldly sense how he keeps pulling it off.

They did well today, and I'm happy to report there was no injection-site-rubbing or tongue-depressing. He was handled with great care. :)

I LOVE Dr. B. She is just so sweet, and she spends so much time with us. I never feel rushed or like she's doing an "obligatory" visit. She spent at least a half an hour with us today. And honestly, the appointment ended up being more about me than about Jonah. I had a slight emotional breakdown and pretty much went off about everything from sleep deprivation to what's wrong with the health care system in our country (soap box much?). She was so sweet, and just kept saying she wishes there was more that she could do for us and that they're here for us. And they are. And I love that. And I'm better now... sort of.

It's been a tough one. On the days where he vomits much and sleeps little, I get more overwhelmed. But usually he follows up with a wonderfully non-vomitous day, and things always seem brighter in the morning. And it's Matt's night tonight, so I'm hoping for some nice sleep.

He semi-put himself to sleep tonight. We fed him. He puked. We fed him some more. He puked some more. So by that time he was very awake, to say the least. So then we just put him in bed and turned on his mobile. I stayed in his room but out of sight, and after about thirty minutes, he got really quiet. I went over, and his eyes were closed, and he was rubbing his face, so I just held his hand down by his side for about ten seconds, and he was gone. I'm hoping this can kind of start being a habit. Dr. B says he's probably waking up so much at night for butt-pattings, because he just doesn't know how to get back to sleep on his own. She knows that crying it out is not an option, but this is kind of a modified talk-yourself-to-sleep method, and I'm hoping we can work with him on this.

Oh, I've been invited to speak at my first event. I don't want to give the details yet, because it's just been a game of phone tag with the organizer, but I've said yes to her voicemail. I'm totally nervous and kind of want to throw up in my mouth a little bit, but I really believe in the event, and really want to be involved however I can. I'm excited but scared out of my mind. Even though I love to talk and am a (former) teacher, I still get really nervous with public speaking. It's kind of one of those things that I freak out about until the moment I start talking, and then the nerves kind of just go away. I'm hoping that will be the case this time... you know, if it works out. I'll keep you posted.

Well, I'm off to bed. This very long day has come to an end. But I'm still thankful for it. I hope I never sound ungrateful when I'm having these tough days. I'm definitely not. I thank God every day for Jonah, and even if the circumstances are less than ideal, I'll do what I need to do for him and will praise God for every moment I get with him. Please don't misread exhaustion for ingratitude. He is so great! He's stolen my heart.