Super Park

This week I got to play nurse, both of my babies were sick. On Monday Avery had a rough night. Her nose was stuffed and it was making it impossible for her to sleep. At 3 am she woke up and could barely breath (she sounded like Pugley), I suctioned her nose but that completely woke her up. I spent the next 3 hours rocking her as she tried to mouth breath (she looked like a fish out of water). When she finally fell asleep on my chest I pulled a blanket over us and let her sleep on me in the lazy boy. Exhausted, I closed my eyes but couldn't sleep through her deafening snores. My poor sick baby :( She woke up about 40 minutes later when Steven triggered the motion sensor light on his way to work.

Good Morning 

I managed to get her to sleep in her crib a bit later and passed out myself. Steven woke me up at 9 am to get ready, he had an appointment in Seoul that afternoon. The appointment took roughly 3 minutes (so glad we made the 2 hour drive for that) so we went to the PX and got lunch before heading back to Humphreys.

Learning about nature with Dad

Tuesday was the monthly Breast feeding Support Group. I was invited to the meeting even though I am no longer breastfeeding. I did it for 8 months so I have some useful advice plus its a good reason to get out of the house :) Pagi picked up Avery and I for the meeting. At the meeting I noticed a few babies much younger than Avery already crawling :( I know all babies do things at their own pace but I have to admit I was jealous since Avery can't crawl yet. She has a roll-scoot system that gets her all around the living room so she has no real interest in crawling. While all the other kids were walking or crawling around Avery just sat there playing with toys, perfectly content.

Attempting to crawl

By the end of the week Avery was still stuffed, sneezing and coughing. Steven woke up Friday morning feeling absolutely miserable. Fluids and bed rest would have done wonders for Steven but unfortunately he had CQ that day :( Avery and I made him a little bag of goodies to get him through his 24 hour shift: a big bottle of water, some books, Dayquil, and his small table fan. That evening I realized Avery was getting worse. She had been refusing bottles all day, only wanted to sleep, felt warm and had projectile vomited all over the place. Avery was covered from head to toe, I was covered from head to toe, her play mat, her rug, the chair and the kitchen floor were all drenched in baby vomit... I was worried she would dehydrate quickly so I took her on base to the after hours clinic. We were there for 3 hours. Avery did have a low grade fever but her ears and throat looked good. She was such a big girl, she didn't cry once at the doctors even though she was given a complete exam by 3 different people. The doctor said that a virus was going around the CDC and a lot of kids were coming in with Avery's symptoms. I guess its that time of year.

She crumpled so much of that exam table paper

Steven made it home by 7 am the next day which was unexpected since he always gets kept late. He came home feeling like death so he napped for a few hours. Avery was still feeling yucky but definitely got her appetite back. Avery learned how to fake cough this week. Every time Steven coughs she will cough twice a few seconds later.

Chilling out in her track suit

Chuseok is one of the most important holidays for the Korean people, its often referred to as Korean Thanksgiving because its a celebration of the harvest and thanksgiving for the bounty of the earth. During Chuseok people visit their ancestral homes so its a very busy time. This year Chuseok was September 29 to October 1. Nearly everything was closed on Sunday in observance of Chuseok. Avery and I went on base to give Steven a little quiet time but the place was a ghost town. Thankfully the commissary was open so we could get Steven cough medicine. On my way back to the car I noticed a very long line of people waiting for a taxi. I hadn't seen a taxi all morning, I doubt many of them came into work on this important holiday.
I spent a year in Korea without being able to drive, and so far another 6 months sharing a car with Steven. I remember how frustrated I would get when people would pass me without offering a ride even when I was super pregnant and walking everywhere. Since getting my Korean license I usually offer rides to people on base. I drove up to the line of people waiting and offered a ride to whoever needed it. A solider was more than happy to take me up on my offer. She had gone for toothpaste and ended up getting a cart full of groceries that were quickly heating up in the sun. I gave her a ride to the barracks and felt good for helping someone that day :)

That evening we were invited to a birthday party. Our friends' daughter turned 4 so we celebrated at the park with cake and ice cream. We played on the play ground with Avery and got to hang out with other parents and soon-to-be parents. Pagi is due on Wednesday! I gave her my yoga ball to hopefully help things along.

Avery Quinn - 38 weeks