Friday, March 2, 2012

Happy 21 months....well for the most part....

Well it has been a very busy month, that started with a computer crash and lots of things lost (still not dealing with that but it explains the absence of blogging) and a very very tough week. Matteo I think is already experiencing some terrible two tantrums, even though he is only 21 months old! We celebrated his being 21 months old with the little boy being sick...and ended up at CHEO again last Sunday as Matteo woke up with very bad hives and very itchy...didn't know what was happening to his little body...had planned to go to see his doctor in the morning but Sunday night he kept waking up with a hoarser and hoarser voice and then seemed to be having trouble breathing...I decided that instead of waiting for the middle of the night, we'd head to CHEO as I was worried he was having some kind of allergic reaction that was getting worse.

Well 4 hours later, emergency doctor thought he was experiencing an allergic reaction to something, but she didn't think it was food but maybe something else and not to worry it happens often to children and sometimes won't happen again so she said I shouldn't try to figure it out.  The night before I hosted our monthly SPA gathering (Single Parents adoption group) and there were lots of adults and six children so knew there were new smells and stuff, but nothing I don't think out of the ordinary. I tried to tell the doctor that Matteo seemed a bit off the last few days and she felt the hives and the breathing were two different things..he had a cold and she could hear some congestion. They tried to give him some benadryl, cinnamon flavoured and he promptly threw up!!  So at 4:30 we headed home exhausted. We both slept a bit,  but Matteo was up 3 hours later.....but then had some other symptoms and the hives seemed to have gone away.

On Tuesday we had our previously scheduled CHEO adoption clinic appointment, our last one, and the doctors were great. They felt taken together all of Matteo's symptoms, it is more likely that he is fighting some kind of virus that has symptoms like hives, low grade fever, and the other things I won't mention here. We had a couple of sleepless nights of him waking up often and I'm not at my best when I'm tired...but bubblegum flavoured benadryl also didn't stay down, but with his milk it is, so that is how we're coping for the week....Anyhow he is much better now, he stayed out of daycare for a day and the hives are continuing but much smaller. He is a tough little boy, who loves eating snow, who would watch Thomas the train 24 hours a day if I let him, who likes roaring like a lion, and gurgling like a fish.  He can be as sweet as my saying I was feeling cold and next thing I know he was bringing me my sweater, and then on the other side he can scream so loud just because he doesn't want to get in the car seat, or if I tell him to say goodbye to Thomas for a bit....he likes what he likes etc...but is learning so much and changing every day.

The other birthday present which may be more positive though we have not made a firm decision yet, is that a daycare spot has opened up in a daycare that is run out of the elementary school in the neighbourhood that Matteo will attend one day (where I went to school as well!!). It is a licensed centre and a subsidized spot, however I want to see Matteo in the space and see how he reacts. It is a ratio of five children for one caregiver in the toddler program and all have ECE qualifications and from what I saw it looked great.  It was started by parents and is a non-profit centre where parents are heavily involved so we will see.  I am sad to leave my cousins as Matteo is very very happy there and she is so so good to him. She won't be able to fit us in full-time until September and that was what we were going to do and then this spot opened up.

The job is going well and there is enough work for me to put in a few more hours so that is good. I am really enjoying it and it is even allowing me to dream of possibilities and future dreams of living in Italy for a year and Vietnam too. As I work at home on a computer and the work is not tied to one place, (one of our team is in Vancouver) there are options of still having a job and working far away!! As long as there's an internet link, I can do my work! Of course at the moment these are all dreams and off in the distance, but it is nice to dream. Matteo was a dream and he is now a reality, so dreams really do come true.

Anyhow  I am glad this week is over and Matteo is sleeping soundly at the moment....2012 continues to surprise us and I continually feel blessed at how well we are being taken care of even when things are bad...we are being guided and new pathways are always opening up.  For now the immediate plan is to catch up on sleep and praying the little one is even better tomorrow.

Here is a photo to remember Matteo's hives and then a couple of photos of the SPA gathering with the six children all playing with Matteo's toys and he was so good with sharing (for the most part).






5 comments:

  1. Hi Francesca,
    Good to hear from but so sorry the month has been so difficult. The hives are interesting as two of the blogs I follow, "Catherine's Chatter" and "Are We There Yet Len", the children have also had hives. Catherine when she took her daughter for allergy testing was also told it could have been a virus and Lisa has been madly doing laundry to see if it is laundry powder. It's a pretty wicked virus these little ones have had to endure. Your SAP group sounds so good. I feel so alone in this process, here locally, and rely on you guys that have successfully completed adoptions as my light at the end of the tunnel. Take care of yourselves,
    Elizabeth

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    1. Hi Elizabeth, thanks for letting me know about the other blogs with children with hives..I'll take a look..I really would rather it be a virus than an allergy as really I don't think Matteo ate or was exposed to anything out of the ordinary...he is such a good eater and loves a variety of foods so wouldn't want to stop that, and wouldn't want to stop attending SPA get togethers because of fear of some smell or detergent that someone else is using...Anyhow s for the SPA group it was started by two single parents who were waiting to adopt, I think maybe 4 years ago. I remember the first gathering I attended there was only one baby and then a second arrived later but the other 8 adults were still waiting....now over the past few years many of us have adopted our children, a few are even, or have already adopted a second time, so it is a great support group. We have even discussed trying to get a babysitting coop started though that has not happened yet.It is informal, we have a yahoo group that keeps us connected between meetings and you can share or not on the listserv, and attend as many or as few of the gatherings as you want....the children are from different countries, so that is great too as they will all share the adoption experience while also experiencing different cultures. All you need is a second single person to start one and then send your idea to a few social workers to share your contacts with other singles....that is how I found out about it by getting a message through my social worker. Anyhow good luck. It is good to know that others know what you are going through and/or are going through it as well. Blogs are great too! They kept me connected and kept the hope alive when it sometimes seemed like I didn't believe it was going to happen!!

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  2. Pauvre petit Matteo, il a encore été malade. Et ça ne doit pas être facile pour toi non plus de le voir comme ça. Mai heureusement, si j'ai bien compris, il semble mieux !

    Je te souhaite vraiment de réaliser ton rêve d'aller vivre en Italie. Tu es chanceuse de pouvoir faire ton travail à partir de n'importe où !

    chantal xx

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  3. Ciao Chantal and thank you. Yes he is better but yes was sick again...we have a followup appointment with his doctor this Tuesday so hopefully he will be all better, but he is still not back to sleeping normally so our nights are very trying....and I've gotten sick too, so thankfully not through his worst time...and yes my dream is to live in Italy for at least a year and also to live in Vietnam for at least a year....I think I'd like Matteo to attend high school in Vietnam...I know there is an international Canadian school in Hochiminh (Saigon) so will keep in touch with them...who knows when I am in Italy or in Vietnam, maybe you can come and visit us!! xoxo kisses for Mae-Ly Rose. Is she all better now?

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  4. L'italie, oui je rêve d'y aller un jour et manger plein de pasta ! Alors si je connais quelqu'un là bas, c'est encore mieux ! On ne sait jamais xxx

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