She is cute. She was a very pretty baby girl right from birth, and she is a very pretty girl as she continues to grow up.
Lately, this pretty face has had me troubled. She has become so pale. She is showing some darkening under those big, blue eyes. Her little body is so skinny because her heart is working so hard she is having trouble holding onto calories.
Lately, she has been having trouble keeping up with her regular activities. She has been complaining of feeling tired. She takes breaks from playing to sit a few minutes. Even though I know this behavior is expected, due to her current cardiology status, it still catches me by surprise. Jersey #2 is normally our most active child. She loves to run and dance and play, It is hard to see her sit, tired, and sunken.
It is even harder to see her break down and cry. She has had a few episodes in the past month or so, where she has just started crying for no apparent reason. We run through the list of possibilities, asking her if she is sick, or hurting, if she is worried about something, or sad....but she responds that nothing is wrong, and she doesn't know why she is crying.
Well, last night, I had a rude awakening to the source of her tears. Her poor little body is just exhausted. She tries to keep going and can't. So, the tears flow.
Last night, The Referee and I were both battling that stomach bug the kids had a couple days ago. It hit us before dinner, giving us no time to cancel our evening activities. The Referee had his Tae Kwon Do class to teach. I had to take Jersey #1 to her basketball practice that runs at the same time. I'm the Team Mom, and I had the snack roster ready to bring to practice. The Referee sat during his TKD class and let his higher belts run the activities in his place. I strapped the youngest 2 kids into the double stroller and watched basketball practice with a plastic bag in reach. We were a mess.
When we got home, I went to bed and tried to not move, in an attempt to keep my stomach from exploding. The Referee relaxed in his recliner, and let the kids lay in the living room and watch movies until they fell asleep. That is not our typical bedtime routine, but we were desperate for rest. Jersey #2 chose to lay in bed with me, instead of watch movies. She was tired, and needed sleep. Movies keep her awake. She was so exhausted and tearful, that I kept asking her if she was going to puke. I was certain that she had to be sick too.
She kept assuring me that she was not sick to her stomach. She did not know what was wrong. She just kept telling me she was so tired. I cuddled with her and rubbed her back, and watched her closely. She had such a hard time falling asleep. She was so fitful during her sleep. She was whining and crying even in her sleep. And that is when it hit me that she is doing too much, and her little body just can't handle it right now. She is too exhausted.
That day I had taken the kids to the science museum. We were all good and tired by the time we returned home. After dinner, she participated in Tae Kwon Do class too. I finally saw the connection that the days when we have such large activities going on, she has a breakdown by bed time. This did not used to be a problem, but now she is having trouble keeping up.
After talking to The Referee about my observations, we decided that we will reduce our activites to only 1 per day. On days where we have more than 1 thing scheduled, we will drop something. I am going to work on adding more down time into our days as well. Jersey #2 gave up her nap as a toddler, but I wonder if a little quiet reading time after lunch might help her rest more.
In preparation for her upcoming surgery, I was already planning to reduce activities in general. I am not signing up for anything new. I didn't want her to feel like she was being punished by being removed from her activities in order to have surgery. So, I figured letting the current activites run to completion, and then not starting new ones would simplify our schedule by May. That alone is a big transition for our family, as the kids and I are involved in many, many activities and are accustomed to spending a lot of time with friends.
It looks like now is the time to reduce our activities much, much more. On the bright side, we've got an organized house now, so it might be nice to start spending a lot more time having fun at home. Being out of the public realm more should also cut down on germ exposure. We are trying to keep her healthy through the winter, so that she is strong enough to endure surgery in May.
The cold, hard reality is that if she tries to push her body beyond her heart's capacity, the body's response will be to pass out. I'm hoping to wise up real fast, now, before anything like that ever happens! No activity is worth that risk.
Lately, this pretty face has had me troubled. She has become so pale. She is showing some darkening under those big, blue eyes. Her little body is so skinny because her heart is working so hard she is having trouble holding onto calories.
Lately, she has been having trouble keeping up with her regular activities. She has been complaining of feeling tired. She takes breaks from playing to sit a few minutes. Even though I know this behavior is expected, due to her current cardiology status, it still catches me by surprise. Jersey #2 is normally our most active child. She loves to run and dance and play, It is hard to see her sit, tired, and sunken.
It is even harder to see her break down and cry. She has had a few episodes in the past month or so, where she has just started crying for no apparent reason. We run through the list of possibilities, asking her if she is sick, or hurting, if she is worried about something, or sad....but she responds that nothing is wrong, and she doesn't know why she is crying.
Well, last night, I had a rude awakening to the source of her tears. Her poor little body is just exhausted. She tries to keep going and can't. So, the tears flow.
Last night, The Referee and I were both battling that stomach bug the kids had a couple days ago. It hit us before dinner, giving us no time to cancel our evening activities. The Referee had his Tae Kwon Do class to teach. I had to take Jersey #1 to her basketball practice that runs at the same time. I'm the Team Mom, and I had the snack roster ready to bring to practice. The Referee sat during his TKD class and let his higher belts run the activities in his place. I strapped the youngest 2 kids into the double stroller and watched basketball practice with a plastic bag in reach. We were a mess.
When we got home, I went to bed and tried to not move, in an attempt to keep my stomach from exploding. The Referee relaxed in his recliner, and let the kids lay in the living room and watch movies until they fell asleep. That is not our typical bedtime routine, but we were desperate for rest. Jersey #2 chose to lay in bed with me, instead of watch movies. She was tired, and needed sleep. Movies keep her awake. She was so exhausted and tearful, that I kept asking her if she was going to puke. I was certain that she had to be sick too.
She kept assuring me that she was not sick to her stomach. She did not know what was wrong. She just kept telling me she was so tired. I cuddled with her and rubbed her back, and watched her closely. She had such a hard time falling asleep. She was so fitful during her sleep. She was whining and crying even in her sleep. And that is when it hit me that she is doing too much, and her little body just can't handle it right now. She is too exhausted.
That day I had taken the kids to the science museum. We were all good and tired by the time we returned home. After dinner, she participated in Tae Kwon Do class too. I finally saw the connection that the days when we have such large activities going on, she has a breakdown by bed time. This did not used to be a problem, but now she is having trouble keeping up.
After talking to The Referee about my observations, we decided that we will reduce our activites to only 1 per day. On days where we have more than 1 thing scheduled, we will drop something. I am going to work on adding more down time into our days as well. Jersey #2 gave up her nap as a toddler, but I wonder if a little quiet reading time after lunch might help her rest more.
In preparation for her upcoming surgery, I was already planning to reduce activities in general. I am not signing up for anything new. I didn't want her to feel like she was being punished by being removed from her activities in order to have surgery. So, I figured letting the current activites run to completion, and then not starting new ones would simplify our schedule by May. That alone is a big transition for our family, as the kids and I are involved in many, many activities and are accustomed to spending a lot of time with friends.
It looks like now is the time to reduce our activities much, much more. On the bright side, we've got an organized house now, so it might be nice to start spending a lot more time having fun at home. Being out of the public realm more should also cut down on germ exposure. We are trying to keep her healthy through the winter, so that she is strong enough to endure surgery in May.
The cold, hard reality is that if she tries to push her body beyond her heart's capacity, the body's response will be to pass out. I'm hoping to wise up real fast, now, before anything like that ever happens! No activity is worth that risk.
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