Happy Birthday Roxanne!

Today is Roxanne's first birthday! To celebrate, she took her first really real steps. I know I said the other day that she took a step, but today she actually took like 3 or 4 in a row, and she's done it several times. Yay! She is really getting to be a handful now. I remember thinking a couple of months ago that Roxanne was so easy because she liked to play with her toys, whereas Ben (also very easy) seemed somehow drawn to everything that he wasn't supposed to have. Well, the joke is on me, because this baby is a terror! She has a HUGE toy bin in the living room that is overflowing with fun new toys, and all she wants to do is slap the dog, try to mash the buttons on the computer tower, open and close the desk drawers, and climb all over the nasty dog bed. So today I dragged her to Target after work and we finally got a baby gate... I was trying to hold out until consignment season, but Justin and I agreed that it was time when Roxanne scooted into the kitchen the other night and had a piece of dog food in her hand by the time we caught up. She also is drawn to the stairs, so the gate blocks her from getting to those, too. Of course, the baby gate does nothing to keep her from the computer, the desk or the dog (and her bed) but it does at least keep her from the stuff that is really dangerous. Most importantly, now I can lay around on the couch and there is no place she can go that I can't see her.

I will take pictures of her tonight eating a cupcake. Well, in theory she will eat it. She totally didn't have any interest in the one at her party. But maybe the second time is the charm...

On an unrelated note, I just want to vent for a moment about child healthcare providers. Last night, Roxanne woke up and started crying with this awful-sounding hoarse cry and when I went to get her, she was wheezing. I brought her back to bed with me after Justin tried unsuccessfully to get her to settle down and go back to her crib, and all night she was just miserable! She would nurse and settle and drift off and then start wheezing and want to sit upright, on and off for a few hours. Sometime around 4:00am, I brought her into the bathroom and ran the hot shower while we sat and breathed in the vapor. It definitely helped her breathing, but I was still really anxious. I kept being terrified that she was having an asthma attack or something, since she had NO symptoms before going to bed. I almost brought her to the children's hospital about four times, but then she would drift off and her breathing would get easier. So this morning, she had absolutely no wheezing, and I really couldn't even hear any congestion. But, afraid of a repeat performance tonight, I called the pediatrician's office and talked to a nurse. She asked me lots of questions, and then basically told me to watch her tonight and if it started back up, I could either bring her in to the emergency room or come in the pediatrician's office tomorrow morning. When I mentioned that her 12 month check up is on Tuesday, she basically said, "well, if you don't see any more symptoms, just wait and mention it at her appointment." I've been watching her like a hawk all today, and I can't say she's had many symptoms. She's had a couple of brief coughing episodes that sounded congested, but her speaking voice sounds totally normal. I decided to call Children's Healthcare anyways, thinking I could maybe take her to one of their "urgent care" centers after work, since they are open until 9:00pm. So I spoke with a nurse, who was rude, condescending, and basically told me that Roxanne probably wasn't really wheezing, she just was congested and that I should run a humidifier in her room tonight. And if I brought her to an urgent care center, I would just be exposing her to serious illnesses for no reason at all, and that I would be negligent and cruel to do so. When I explained that I just didn't want to risk her having another night of this scary breathing, she just told me that I could bring her to the hospital if it happened again or take her to the pediatrician's office in the morning if it wasn't too severe. Then she got really nasty with me when I told her I thought it would be safer to have her seen this evening and couldn't understand why I couldn't go to the pediatrician's office right away if I was "so worried." I tried to tell her that I was at work and that Justin and I share a car and there was no way for me to take her to the doctor's office until after leaving work, and then she thought I was saying that I was Roxanne's nanny and not her mom. That's when I decided to end the call. I mean, I certainly understand her point, but she was so rude! And acted like I was a terrible mom. That's like the third time we've had a terrible experience with them. I don't get it!

Whew, what a ramble. Can you tell I'm running on empty?

So anyways, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!