Jasmine is 3

Our darling little girl is 3 tomorrow. Today was her party complete with frock, cake, candles, party bags, grandma, nani, auntie seema and some of mum and dad's friends and their respective broods. Ok. So it was really a bit of a do for us. But who cares? A great time was had by all. Only downside was that Jasmine's chestiness has returned, as have our suspicions of asthma, so she's been put straight back on the montelukast today after months of going without. We'll just have to see how it all pans out...

Piccies to follow.

Found the catch with Montelukast the wonder drug

Something's up with Jambeans. She's basically had 2 modes all weekend - either outright anger, or teary moany barely audible wimpers. It started with the big crying fuss at Sophie's birthday party over the balloon (my balloon, my balloon, MY BALLOON... waaaah and so on. Obviously, it was so not her balloon) after which she wailed, in the middle of lunch, at top volume "Want to go home. Want to GO HOME! Sob. Want. sob. Hooome." And she's been a total handful since then.

I know this sounds like typical toddler behaviour, and that's definitely an explanation, but Jasmine is what one would describe as a 'good kid'. She certainly has her diva moments, but they're infrequent and easily manageable. Bf and I are quite relaxed parents, but Jasmine hasn't really given us reason to be more disciplinarian either. Then suddenly, this weekend, a switch flicks inside and she's good to qualify us for Supernanny.

We think it could be the Montelukast - Jasmine's been on it for the last 5 days - and some of the side effects include tiredness, restlessness, agitation, aggressive behaviour and irritability. So we've taken her off and will see if we get our lovely daughter back or whether the Jekyll and Hyde monster is here to stay.

It had to happen some day

Bf and I are having a really tough couple of weeks. We're just so wiped. Work is tough. Kids aren't quite 100% and various bugs that keep attacking are lingering and wearing everyone down.

Felix is onto 6 teeth now. They're coming at an alarming rate. His cold has been hanging around for over 2 weeks now. And he's waking up in the middle of the night consistently. He wouldn't settle this evening. Cried like a mad thing, and he's normally so easy. Had to go upstairs and check him after I put him down. Found him standing in the cot, peering through the bars, snot and tears pouring off his puffy little face. He was standing in the cot. And doubtless couldn't get down again. Felt that familiar twinge of a baby growing up. But he looked so helpless, and desperate. And totally adorable. Warning sign though. Next he'll be talking - then the demands will come. Just like his diva of a sister...

Jambeans' phases of sleep rebellion seem to be lasting longer and longer. After sounding so confident she wasn't going to get horribly ill, she went and got horribly ill again. Though to be fair, nowhere near as bad as we've seen her in the past, so reckon the drugs are still keeping various horrors at bay.

Last night, for the first time in about a week, we got her to sleep through in her own bed, rather than wake up and then moan for a mummycudd for the next hour till we give in. She's acting a bit weird these days (as in diva weird.) Bf says he can't wait for her to recover fully, then we can stop giving her the montelukast and get our normal, pliable, amenable daughter back. Somehow I'm not holding out much hope.

You can only go to bed once you've had your ice cream

It's early days yet, but this montelukast Jambeans is on seems to be working wonders. We give it to her as soon as the early symptoms of a cold begin to show and continue for a one or two week course. Twice we've given it to her now, and twice she's had just a cold. At worst she's a fever during the night. But her breathing hasn't been out of control and she's been mainly well in herself and able to go to school (as in nursery. We call it school. It's gonna make actually going to school a whole lot easier.)

It's taken an enormous weight of our shoulders. Jasmine's quality of life seems to be on the up, and no longer do we anticipate the onset of a cold with dread and stress. I've also noticed we don't snap at each other so much (or maybe, we just snap about other things).

Montelukast has to be taken with cold food. So every night we entreat Jasmine to have 'ice cream with magic dust.' Normally, she's totally up for it. But on occasion when she's been tired it's just "NO! NO ICE CREAM. I tired. Want to go upstairs" and we get all disciplinarian and have to go "Jasmine. You can only go to bed once you've had your ice cream" which is just totally weird.

what's wrong with 5?

I'm amazed I'm still able to function. I'm working all hours god sends - till 10 or 11 at night and weekends too. And in between it's commuting, kids, and inconveniently enough, petitions (more planning applications to object to yadda yadda). The residual guilt that I'm deserting my children is rising ever closer to the surface. So, when yesterday the inevitable happened yesterday and I was called to take not one, but two sick kids home from nursery, I was strangely looking forward to being able to spend some time with them.

How wrong I was.

Looking after two sick kids - bub yelping, toddler moaning - is like being in a war zone, it's just so full on. The only upside is that it gave my arms a full work out from having to carry one or t'other (or both) of them pretty much continuously. And it's not like either of them is properly sick either (Jasmine's wonder drug seemingly performing miracles as it keeps the breathing difficulties at bay.)

Right now, Felix is banging the radiator and Jambeans is singing with her daddy, only the number 5 seems to have fallen out of favour: '1,2,3,4,6 once I caught a fish alive.'

Heads are down, new teeth are coming and we're all coming down with something

To make up for 4 consecutive months of teething without teeth, Felix at last has not one, but two pearly whites beginning to poke through.

I had made the decision to stop checking for teeth because of the 'watched pot' effect, but regretted it the minute I had to hear the news second-hand, from the staff at nursery. That felt totally wrong, but I'll deal with it. I'm sure as hell not going to give up work...

...which I'm still enjoying most muchly, but, alas, the honeymoon period is definitely over. It's busy. Damn busy. I've had my head down solidly since Thursday and on Friday I didn't leave till well after 4pm*. So instead of pitstopping at home, I had to go straight to nursery in full work regalia (smart togs, Coccinelle handbag, inappropriately high heels) where Felix promptly did a major vomit all over me. Niiiice. Thanks baby.

And then he did another major vom in the buggy just as we got to our front doorstep. And sice then he's been farting offensively and doing horrible poos and moaning and waking in the middle of the night, so we're figuring he's caught some kind of bug, and then oh my god, last night did he do one seriously large projectile vomit all over our bathroom? There wasn't a single surface that hadn't been sprayed in the stuff and for once, I am not exaggerating.

Whatever bug he's got has now made it's way over to Jasmine which is always more of a worry, in case it goes straight to her chest. And now I'm back at work that familiar stress of having to negotiate who takes the day off is lurking...

It doesn't feel so bad this time though, because we're setting great store in this new medication she's just been prescribed. Suspecting asthma, bf took her to see a specialist at Great Ormond Street, who's put her on something called Singulair. Comes in powder form, you mix it with ice cream, so no inhalers, no spacers and no pinning a reluctant and fighting toddler down to take it. We're to give it to her for the duration of her cold and it should, fingers crossed, help steady her breathing.


*i realise this makes me look like I am, in fact, slouching off rudely early, but being a working babymomma I'm only contracted to work till 3pm.