Sick (me)

I felt the beginnings of a sore throat last night. I went to bed with a headache, too. For the first time in ages, none of the kids woke up in the middle of the night. However, I proceeded to wake up at each hour of the night because my throat hurt so badly. I think the opening in the back is swollen and when I lie on my back in bed, the tissues get blocked. I had to lie on my side, but I kept waking up and that irritated me so much. I have a temperature and the chills, and I slept so poorly. My parents were going to come watch the kids while I took Nikko to the gastro this afternoon, but Denis kindly decided to work from home today. It was Valentine's Day. He took the kids downstairs to play after breakfast so that I could catch some zzzzz's in the living room upstairs. And when I took Nikko to the gastro, he stayed with the other two. It was a relief for me that he was around, and I am grateful. :)

We arrived on time for our appointment but the gastro was running at least a half hour late. When she finally came in to review our records, she noted that with me changing Nikko's diapers 8-10 times a day (literally from 9-10a until 7p, sometimes twice an hour), she said that it looks like the miralax isn't working for him and that he's not at the state she'd like him to be. That state, when I asked, is having 1-2 bowel movements a day, with sizable poops, not necessarily formed but liquid is ok, too. On the miralax, he was going too frequently and subsequently that's why she said it's not working for him. (Note to add: when using lesser doses of miralax, e.g. 1/2 or 1/4 capfuls, he would become constipated over the course of a few days and then I'd see him struggling to pass a bowel movement. That's when I'd have to use a suppository.) The doctor gave me two choices: mineral oil or lactulose (generlac). The mineral oil was syrupy and she asked if he'd drink something like that, maybe with chocolate syrup or with yogurt. I said no, because his tastes shift so often. She opted for the lactulose, at about 2 teaspoons a day to start. She said we need to start somewhere, to form a baseline, so at the end of the week I should call her office to see how it's working and then we can tweak the dosage for the rest of the month. Nikko ate many lollipops in the office and got whiny when the nurse took us to get his weight and height measurements. He also whined when the doc put the stethoscope to his chest and poked at his tummy. Overall, however, Nikko was a champ.