Quarantine

Imagine having a fever, and then suddenly looking at your limbs and noticing red spots. Taking a deep breath in, pain begins radiating down your throat as your tongue finds sore after sore.

Is it the plague?

Nope.

Oh my God, you have small pox!

Not quite.

Bird flu?

No.

Are you dying?

Don't be a drama queen.

What is this feverish hell you ask? 

Ladies, and gentleman may I present the joy that is HAND FOOT AND MOUTH disease!

Margo day 5 

Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease is a virus, and like all viruses, the only thing to make them go away is time.

That means, no pill or shot. Just day after day of quarantine, because until the fever disappears it is highly contagious.

Yes.

Highly.

Contagious.

Yes. The highly contagious that would spread from one child to the other and then the other.

Three girls within five days suffering a high fever and varying degrees of sores.

It was bad.

There were sleepless nights and round the clock doses of Motrin to help with the pain. There were oatmeal baths, and repeat applications of Aquaphor.

Popsicles. Milkshakes. Milk. Gatorade.

And even a few applications of magic mouthwash - equal parts liquid Maalox and liquid Benadryl dabbed on mouth sores. It does live up to the name. 

I thought the five days of quarantine were bad and then Bryan came home with a fever.

Usually I am one to make fun of the "Man Cold" or "Man illness" but in this case, the sores on his hands, feet and mouth have made me a little more sympathetic.

Here he is, day 6 walking in pain as the sores on the pads of his heels and feet pop open, wincing as his fingers hurt. I feel bad.

But not bad enough to want to get it too. As of today, I'm fever free. I have no sores and I pray to God I remain this way.

So, if you think you are having a bad summer, it could be worse.

Your house could be taken over by Hand, Foot, and Mouth.

The above photos were taken day 1, and yes Margo is rocking her beads, because nothing says "I have a contagious virus that hurts like a mother" quite like purple Mardi Gras beads. 

Rewind, Pause, Save.

It's a rainy Sunday morning in New Jersey.

Sofia is speaking to a mermaid, Maeve sits mesmorized, while Mo's fingers slide photos on the new family Ipad of the year that has passed.

This year, the year 2013, the year our family became a fearless fivesome has made some fabulous memories. This moment right now gives me a much needed minute to stop, to look back, and to see what the hell we did this year, because I must confess, frankly it's been a blur.

So, I'll steer clear of my usual flow and overly wordy prose, and instead let the pictures tell the story.

A Year In Photos 2013

 What a fun filled year!

One

It had been told to me when I had Margo, that time would seem to go faster.  I was warned that the year of babyhood would speed by, quicker it would seem than the first years of her sisters.

I laughed, as I held that new fresh bundle for the first time that December morning.

The sleepless nights to come, the what seemed like endless nursing sessions, and the spit up, oh the spit up! How could this possibly go too fast, I wondered, in the middle of the night?

But alas, before I had time to savor it, we were somehow back to December, planning a first birthday party. 

We had survived, all be it with a lot less sleep, this first year.

Somehow, someway, she grew and she grew and she grew and alas, she became this perfect little person. 

This perfect little person that I get to mama.  

Happy Birthday to our Stinkerella, our Margo Baby!

Look Ma, No Hands

At eight and a half month, dear Margo seems to have lost any sense of fear, and hesitation as she began letting go and standing.

No Hands!

Not quite twenty four hours after this photo was taken, she took three steps unassisted between Bryan and I. 

I don't know if I'm ready for a walker, especially one so tiny?

At least she's cute!

Rinse, Repeat

I have hit a wall my friends.

I thought I had this three kids thing down.

All  are fed, clothed, and kept clean to a degree.

We have managed to keep our house in one piece. No visits to the emergency room...yet. We've made it to school, library story hour, play dates, grocery shopping trips, and even a few meals out.

I assume from the outside I look like I have it together. I'm trying to be brave. I'm trying to appear normal, but I'm not yet. Every night, as bedtime looms, my anxiety increases. Sleep is nothing but a joke right now. I've tried to keep it together as much as I can, but I lost it last night. Grabbing Bry and holding him tight I started to bawl.

I am at a loss.
I don't know how to fix it.

Margo is a shitty sleeper, and by default, I have become one too.

For my friends reading who have known me for any extended period of time know that I need sleep. Like, consistent, 8 hours plus a night. We're working on five and a half months of sporadic at best stretches of sleep for me.

I'm baked. I fried. I toasted. I'm melting. I'm completely and utterly done.

I remember vividly Moira sleeping well. I thought waking up once a night at three and half months old was bad.

Boy, did I have it wrong.

I will confess here, much of Maeve's first year is a blur. I assume it was a survival mechanism as I did have two kids under two for much of each day by myself. I don't remember yearning for sleep as much as I do now.

This whole third kid is another story. Thank God she's cute and has a good disposition.

Confession here, this morning after nursing Margo and setting up Mo with her usual cereal bar and milk, I spent an hour scouring the web for sleep solutions. I seriously contemplated typing:
Tell me, oh wise and powerful Internet, how can I get my kid to sleep for longer than three hours because I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown? in the google search window, but instead settled on sleep training + 6 month old.

Alas, from this little bit of research I realized it's time for this mama to suck it up. Cry it out commences today, or for you PC peeps- I'm using the extinction model of sleep training.

It's currently 3:19 pm. I set Margo up in the crib, awake at 2:00. She screamed for 13 minutes. I prepped Mo and Maeve for the worst.
Margo's got to learn how to go to sleep in her crib. I shared. I refrained from adding so mama doesn't go cray-cray. to the end of that sentence.
She's still asleep.

I won't peek.

Tonight, I'm going to try this extinction method again. (It does sound so much nicer than crying it out, right?)

God help me that it works, and she sleeps for more than three hours.

Hopefully this little hurdle can be jumped tonight or tomorrow, and my bed can become my refuge again.

Blessed

Our sweet Margo Baby was baptized Sunday, April 28 surrounded by our family and closest friends. Our dear friend, Lynsay serves as Margo's godmother, while my baby brother, Joey is smitten and happy in his new role as godfather. 

While we were unable to use the same beach chapel we had used for our wedding and previous baptisms, we were honored to have the baptism officiated by Brother Bob. 

I do believe there was some degree of divine intervention in this event. 

Let me submit the following evidence:

1. Not only did I find a dress in my closet that fit my post baby body, I also discovered a pair of fabulous red heels that worked beautifully. 

Winning!

2. During the ceremony there were nine children present. Throughout the nearly thirty minute event, there was barely a peep, even from our youngest guest, Zoe who is 10 days younger than Margo.

They made the faces AFTER the event. 

3. Margo was happy the entire event.

Okay, not the entire event, but the entire ceremony, even as the water was poured on her head. 

She even calmed down enough to get a photo with her sisters. A photo in which they all were looking at the camera at the same time!  

frame worthy

4. Finally, my sister was able to keep the baby in...

for only three days later, we met our newest member of the family, 22 days early.

Tiny, but feisty!

Welcome to the world Danny!

What a week! 

Photos courtesy of Ashley Pierce Photography.