Onward and slightly upward

Well, it looks like we have finally emerged, again in fits and starts, from the month of hell. We're back to the usual level of unbelievably tired and overwhelmed.

Hooray!

Which explains my inability to muster the energy to post anything here. It took something rather stupendous to rouse me from this slumber, and Lupito was kind enough to deliver.

In spite of the fact that he has been taking steps for quite a while now, he hasn't really been 'walking'. It was more of a lunging kind of thing, where he'd eye some bit of furniture or wall or person or object which he figured he could hang on to and lunge towards it, taking as many as four or five steps in the process. It resembles walking in that it involves taking steps in order to propel himself forwards, but I have not been ready to actually call it 'walking'.

Then, last night, he actually started walking. Full on bipedal ambulation. Moving up past 10 steps is one thing, but adding the ability to start and stop without the aid of something to hold on to as well as throwing in a couple of turns for good measure and style points has lead me to admit it.

Let the record show that he officially started walking on Jan 25, 2009.

I, for one, am glad he took his time. When he started crawling at five months, the situation looked dire. I privately fretted that he might be walking before he turned 9 months old. Thankfully, he was content to crawl in a way that Ruby never was. In the end, he started crawling a full two months earlier than she did, yet it appears that she actually walked before he did. I can't find confirmation of when she actually started, but there is an old picture on the blog for which I wrote this caption, "Mommy and baby doing what baby loves best right now - walking with a helping hand (yes, she can do it alone, but can't achieve the desired speeds that way..." that is timestamped by the camera Sept 14, 2006. That would put her 2 days older in the picture than he was yesterday.

Day 31

Jan 15: Antonio is still feeling really worn out, but not technically sick. Ditto for Natasha.

We have no idea what Ruby's problem is, but she is in a serious mood all day long. This is, of course, a pain in the ass, but really it's just Ruby being Ruby, and can't be counted as part of the 31 days of hell. What can, though, is the fact that Lupe is teething again. He woke up from his afternoon nap in a fussy mood, then woke up screaming at irregular intervals all night long.

This is compounded by the fact that Ruby refuses to go to sleep, and in spite of the fact that she was actually in bed by 8pm, she doesn't actually go down until 10:30.

Sometimes it seems like they are actively trying to kill us. Or at least break our spirits.

The fact that they were broken long ago makes this type of thing seem just cruel...

Day 30

Jan 14: Although no one in the immediate family is technically sick, Antonio is still feeling quite lousy from the stomach flu, and Natasha finally drops by the Dr. to make sure that there is no medical reason that prevents her from snapping out of it. He says that there is not, and prescribes antibiotics.

Nonetheless, she is still unable to snap out of it.

As a fun bonus, Lupe's buddy, Cecil, vomits profusely all over the couch while in Antonio's care, prompting a bath for the both of them, since a normal cleaning won't get the stink out.

Antonio and Natasha are still unable to finish the 20 minutes left on the movie started on Jan 9.

And on the 29th day...

Jan 13: Antonio is no longer the only member of the family not to have puked during the 29 Days of Hell.

28 Days of Hell and Counting

Alright, let's recap,

Dec. 16: Took a long, long flight from SF-Pitt to visit the Grandparents for Christmas. We end up getting to their house just before 10pm. This feels like a huge ordeal at the time, but seems like a walk in the park, in retrospect, compared to what is to come

Dec. 17-20: Ruby is violently ill with the flu (see previous post for details)

Dec. 20-23: Lupe is teething

Dec. 20-30: Lupe sleeps in stretches of about 20 minutes at night, depriving parents of sleep

Dec 30-31: Natasha is violently ill with stomach flu during marathon 5am-11pm trip home from the holidays

Jan 1-4: Sputtering, exhausted, and not nearly fully successful recovery from holidays

Jan 5: Everyone resumes normal schedule; work, school, childcare

Jan 6-9: Antonio has rheumatic flare up rendering him non-ambulatory

Jan 9: Kids are asleep by 9pm, and Natasha and Antonio are able to start, but not finish, watching a movie

Jan 10: Natasha has flare up of her sciatica, rendering her non-ambulatory

Jan 11: Natasha's sciatica is worse, and Lupe has a cold

Jan 12: Natasha is better, Lupe is better, but Ruby throws up all over Antonio as he is getting her ready for school.

That brings us up through 11am this morning. I am now hiding out in my cubicle at work, feeling a not unreasonable dread at the prospects for Jan 13, Day 29...