What a Wednesday

Monday 4th. Asher hurt her wrist this evening. It has happened at least 3 other times (not always the same wrist). It hurts her so much, even with small movements and so today I put it in a sling for her (thanks Ruth for the idea). She was much more comfortable and happily left the sling on for at least 20 minutes. The wrist normally comes right within an hour or two (which it did again thankfully). I had to smile at this photo though. Both enjoying something very interesting on the TV while she sat having a little cuddle from Dad.
On Monday morning I knew the antibiotics I had over the weekend had not been enough. The tooth sensitivity I had (on the two teeth next to the gap) was finally clear - but the ear ache continued. The dentist suggested I see the doctor as they didn't feel it should be related to the tooth extraction. I saw the doc and found out that my ear was fine. So it is most likely related to the extraction and he put me on a new antibiotic. I felt better about this than just having a longer dose of the other (which should not have been used with me still breastfeeding). So I got started on the new one on Monday evening.
On Tuesday I took videos of Rachel's first private ballet lesson. She worked her very hard and even pushed a bit more than an hour (she normally only had a 45 minute class). She got a lot done (getting 5 new routines introduced) and now the hard work starts. The teacher has given her an idea of what to do on each day of the week, so she can get practice in every day and also build up her fitness. It's a very demanding exam this year.

I stayed with the girls till St John started as Rachel wanted me to take a video of the "skit" they re-did from last week's camp. So I got to take a video (photo above) of Rachel helping lead the waiata, as well as them doing the skit (photo on left). I'm not sure if I can put the videos on here, but I thought these small photos would be ok as you can't see anyone's faces. :-)
Ruth also got her uniform tonight, which she was very excited about. She looked so good in it too. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with when I picked them up and when we got home it was just a rush to get them into bed. I will have to take a photo of her in uniform next week. Perhaps we will even wait until her skirt has been adjusted. A friend has said she will help with that as it is so very big that the zip needs to be re-done. Far too much for me to try tackle at this stage.
And talking about sewing, Hannah asked the friend if she would help her finish her bag after their reading session on Wednesday. They had been working together on it during some sewing sessions they had earlier in the year and so it was nice to see it all finished. It looks so good.
The hardest day last week was Wednesday and it ended up being even worse for me this week. The doctor had mentioned that a possible side effect from the new antibiotics is diarrhoea, and to just call if that happened.
Well, I thought it was all fine with getting through Tuesday ok. On Wednesday morning through, I knew it was not ok. I called the doctors rooms and they said I should stop taking them. The doc was fully booked but the nurse called later in the afternoon with the script for a new ab the doc suggested - that would be easier on my stomach. So that got posted out on Wednesday evening and I started them on Thursday lunch time.
It was only on Thursday mid-morning that my stomach finally felt ok again. Wednesday was the hardest day. I was so drained, and still had the ear ache.
Off we went to Brownies on Thursday afternoon. The girls enjoyed a bit of cooking. I even had a nice sleep in the car. I could not believe how tired I was.

And then on Friday morning we headed into Champion Centre again. Thankfully Asher has not had any more "screaming sessions" since our visit last week. I think that tooth of hers is finally through enough to not be causing more pain. So we had a fun morning.
First she saw the physiotherapist who got to have a good look at her feet and knees, as well as examining her carefully as she walked around and played a few games inside. Then we headed outside for her to have a little bit of time on the bridge. She remembered to hold on to the rail here and on the steps (which was great). We don't have rails to hold onto on our steps at home - so it's something new for her to learn.
You can see Ruth behind having fun walking over the top of the low monkey bars. :-)

Ruth also asked me to take a photo of her doing her "Mary Poppins" impersonation. :-) It was wonderfully warm today and we were all comfortable outside in short sleeves.
Then she had a session with the Early Intervention Teacher. She gives her different games to play and watches what she does. At this stage she is really just getting to know Asher and what her strengths are. One of the things today that she mentioned was just checking that Asher would use both hands and also cross the midline. She also got a big piece of paper out and encouraged Asher to use a crayon to draw. It made me realize how simple it is to just spend a couple of minutes each day with her "drawing".

Then it was time to meat the speech therapist (who was away last week). It was more of an introductory session, with her and I mostly chatting through how things will works in our sessions.
The ladies are all so supportive and I already feel the benefit of having their input and encouragement as we deal with Asher's speech difficulties.
I remembered to buy more carrots while we were out today, and these two were very pleased. They will often snack on a carrot.
It was only on Friday evening that I realized I had not had to take pain killers through the day. It is now 3 weeks since I had the tooth out, and I have had to take pain meds every day up till now. I hate taking pain meds, so that added to the emotional stress of these weeks. Hopefully this means this 3rd lot of antibiotics are finally managing to get on top of the infection. It's been a long and hard 3 weeks.
I thank the Lord for His faithfulness to me through it all. He has been the daily strength that I have needed. He has been "my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1