In Sickness and in Health

Tuesday's routine got a shock when Day Care called at 11:000. Siena had a 102 fever and was a wreck, and would Daddy come get her? Of course.

Siena's been teething, and whatever the experts say, it sure seems to bring on congestion and fever. Nothing to do but try and keep Siena cool, hydrated, and comfortable. All of which Daddy had to do by himself for the next nine hours, with a welcome lunchtime respite when Mama came home to check on her little boo.

But other than that, for nine long hours Daddy literally held Siena, breaking for about three minutes at 6:00 p.m. for a bathroom break. All day long, Siena cried and whined if Daddy tried to put her down. At least Siena's vocabulary was improving; when you asked her what hurt, she pointed to her mouth and whimpered "Deet" (Teeth).

Good news is that, after a good night's sleep, Siena was back to her old self, running us ragged every waking moment. We didn't do much for Siena, though she has gained a fondness for children's Tylenol in the dropper. But mostly we just held her and kept her comfortable, and that seems to have been good medicine.

Togetherness

Saturday was Mama's midterm, so Siena and Daddy spent Saturday morning at the L.A. Zoo. Silly Daddy thought that he could run Siena ragged looking at giraffes and monkeys all morning and get her to crash for a couple of hours after lunch, giving Mama and Daddy a little break before the afternoon shift. No such luck.

Oh sure, the moment we left the Zoo Siena crashed like the Hindenberg, and she stayed sound asleep the whole way home. But no sooner did I park the car on our street then a voice from the back of the car whined "Mommy!"

Nothing was getting this kid back to sleep. But we did notice something new. When Mam tried to rock Siena to sleep, Siena cried for Daddy. but when Daddy took the reins, Siena cried for Mama. So what ended up quieting her down, if not putting her out? A big group hug, with Mama and Daddy holding Siena.

Same thing happened that evening, when a long walk up and down the Santa Monica beaches did nothing to put Siena down. She had to be rocked by Mam and have her back rubbed by Daddy, jsut to get her to quiet down even temporarily.

We later figured out that Siena's having some discomfort as her eye teeth come in. But why did she need both of us to calm her down? Maybe Siena's tired of the late nights that keep either Mama or Daddy from saying goodnight to her four nights a week. Maybe we're projecting our own parental anxieties onto Siena. And maybe this is a good time to stop ths blog until Siena does something cute.