Strolling Along

When in NY, do as New Yorkers - which means tons and tons of walking. Saoirse, of course, can't walk the whole way, and she is getting so big and heavy, that carrying her all the time in the wrap or the backpack gets tiring. So we have a stroller - a big stroller, with big wheels and lots of accessories. When I was looking at strollers, I decided I wanted the option to put two kids in a stroller without having it be super long or door busting wide, and I wanted to get it now rather than buying a second stroller for the second kid. I found the Phil and Ted's line, and decided that that was the one for me. I had played with them a bit at the store, and liked the option of the second seat and the fact that it had real tires (the end of our road is dirt, and it's a nice walk) and an adjustable handle. Being the thrifty mama that I am, I didn't want to pay for a new one (super expensive!), so I found one on Craigslist and scooped it up - lock stock and barrel for $400. I even got a kit that turned the second seat into a bouncy seat, which was totally awesome for when the baby was tiny. All in all, the stroller is great - does what we wanted, and has tons of options. However, the thing is a boat! It folds in half, but the tires are large, and it takes up most of the back of our SUVs. Now, around here, no problem. But when you're trying to get in and out of a cab, or stash it away in a small "hotel" room, its not exactly practical. So I ventured into the realm of finding a new option. While in NY, we saw a few different strollers, and I kept looking at the names of the ones that I thought I would like. One stuck out, and surprisingly I didn't always know it was the same one until I saw the name. The B-ready - and it's made by Britax. I started looking into it when I got home. This thing is insane! multiple position seats, front and rear facing toddler seat, second seat option, double with a baby carrier, the list seems endless. It's still a big stroller, but it folds down more easily and much flatter. Plus, I love the seat better. Now, being my thrifty self, I still wasn't going to pay full price for this one (another super expensive!), so I hit up Craigslist again and found the stroller for a great price. Another great was that the woman lived just a few miles from the hospital so I could go grab it on my way in the other day. Now, this time I just got the stroller, and not all the bells and whistles with it, but I can piece together the other stuff as we need it. Mike already likes this one way better than the Phil and Ted's (he always voiced his dislike for many aspects of that stroller). All in all, I'm now the proud owner of two exorbitantly expensive strollers, although most likely I'll sell the Phil and Ted's once I'm sure the Britax is just what I want.
The first two days of this chemo flew by. Saoirse was running around and playing, wanting to color and walk, and eat like crazy. She did take an extra nap on Wednesday, but she is also on a lot of meds that make her sleepy. She wanted to walk everywhere. She is getting so independent, and as long as someone is with her, she wants to walk on her own and go her own way (this is difficult when walking outside - especially in the city as she doesn't like to hold my hand). Sadly, for this round, she has to be attached to the pole constantly for a medicine to protect her bladder from irritation. It has become harder and harder to follow her around with a pole as she likes to go her own way, and fast, and get into small places. Getting her to walk at a nice pace is a challenge, but I'm glad that she wants to be independent. I think my favorite thing right now is that she is really starting to open up to other people more. The nurses and volunteers are able to entertain her when she's feeling good, she likes to color with the people in the play room, and she even will strike up a "conversation" with someone she has just met. I've been a little worried that she was getting too used to the people she knew, and not learning how to interact with new people. I guess this is to be expected when she is being somewhat sheltered from some of the outside world right now. I'm just happy to see her starting to enjoy interacting with people other than the family.
After a fabulous yesterday, filled with tons of fun and food, Saoirse has had a very yucky day. The carboplatin had started to kick in, creating a very nauseous baby (luckily she only got two days of this drug, and she was already done with it). At 3 am she started throwing up. Not a lot, just some mucous. You could tell she was not happy. She wanted to stay asleep, and it was hard to even sit her up long enough to wipe her face. That's when it started. She threw up every hour until 8 am. She slept through the whole thing, but she wasn't getting great rest. When she did wake up a bit around 10, I tried to get her to eat a little something. She wanted nothing to do with food. I was, however, able to get her to take her oral meds after she had one more little puke at 10:30. Once she took her calcium carbonate, and the nurses rearranged her nausea medicines, she was able to comfortably sleep for about four hours without puking. She woke up, and did throw up a bit, but I really think it was because she was a little upset and was crying.
After I left for the night, she slept some more and then was up for a bit. She even ate a little for Mike, which is great, because getting some food in her belly would really help with the nausea. I'm hoping that she will drink a little milk overnight, and that she will slowly get her appetite back tomorrow. We knew this was coming, but it's still hard to see her go through it. I think the saving grace today was that she slept for most of the day and wasn't up crying and miserable. When she was sleeping she really seemed to be comfortable, and she loved it when I held her for a while. I feel like just our being there with her and holding her sometimes makes all the difference in the world. She is so loved, and I know she knows how much we care for her, but the element of touch just seems to make her relax. We'll keep on holding her, and let her run when she feels better.