In Sickness and in Health

Things have been kind of screwy lately. Lots of emotions going on. Good things and bad things happening all at once. Lets start with the good, shall we?

In the last few weeks I have noticed Jesse started sucking out of his sippy cups and bottles. The kinds we use make it pretty simple to suck through. It was a step in the right direction. So on Friday (before Memorial Day) I got off work early and went to my friend's house to hang out and let the kids play. Her son is 9 months older than Jesse. We were sitting around talking, the kids were doing their thing and I look over and Jesse has JJ's sippy cup. I tell him no because it's JJ's and my friend tells me it's fine, so I let him be. Another minute later I look at him and he's over there drinking away... out of a valved sippy cup! His cheeks were sucked in and he was going to town. They let him just have it and JJ got a new one. Jesse ended up finishing it. This is extremely exciting for me. Yes, it may seem like someting small, but to us this is huge! He's never been able to suck before and now he can. He's never been able to use a valved sippy cup, now he can.  Maybe we can transition and stop using the leaky non-valved sippy cups and wean him off the bottle. I am so proud of him.

The weather finally broke and we've been getting the warm days we are supposed to be getting this time of year. Since Jesse is walking pretty well we have been spending a lot more time in the back yard and took out the baby pool for him. He loves it. Looks like I have a little water baby.

Paul gave him a haircut too. Turned out pretty well I must say. He used the clippers and basically just shaved the bottom and left the top long. He needed a cut bad! I called my salon and it was going to be a few weeks before I could get him in. Paul and I talked about using the clippers, I really didn't think he'd actually do it!

So to the flip side. Things are not going so well for Paul. He's been in a lot of pain lately and everything he's going through is effecting him mentally. It has been on and off since the beginning, but I think I amseeing it as more regular these days. People have also been asking how this is effecting him up there. I don't go into much detail, but I am honest about it. I think it helps me cope to share what we go through. I don't want pity, but I do want people to understand. This road we are on is not a smooth one. It's bumpy and there are obstacles, but we have to keep going, he has to keep going. It breaks my heart to see what he's going through and there's nothing I can do about it but be there for him. In sickness and in health.... mentally or physically.

He started a steroid pack since WC won't approve a steroid injection. I guess there's a shortage of steroids right now? The pharmacy didn't have what was prescribed so he got something else. Prednisone maybe? Oral steroids help his back feel better while he's on them, but it usually doesn't last. There are side effects too. His first night after starting them, he was up until 5am. He wasn't able to sleep all night. Steroids also cause mood swings. These are hard to deal with because you never know when it's going to strike or what will set it off. I find myself just agreeing with him so there's not a full on blow out. I pick my battles and right now I am not picking any.