3/25/08 The Explosion

There are moments in a toddler's life when from one moment to the next, you almost don't recognize them by behavior. Since when could she do that? Katrina is exploding with new words, new actions, new forms of understanding.

Tonight I was sitting in the dining room talking with Gabriel, and I told him to put away his knapsack after he was done with his cookies. I had to say it several times for him to acknowledge it, then moved on to something else. To my amazement, moments later, in tottered Katrina, carrying the knapsack, and she handed it to Gabriel! "Bah?" Her sincerity was so cute and endearing I was about to explode myself.

She's also "saying" a lot more, mostly one-word utterances...or rather, one "phoneme" utterances, never finishing the sound, always in a questioning tone, such as "buh?" for brush, or "boo?" for book, or "see?" for sit. But now there are more attempts to say something than I can count.

She "went" in the little potty again tonight too. I still don't think she gets that she did it, but she knows enough to look in there now. Then she says "yay bee!" which means "yay baby!" It's funny that I'm praising one for going, and another for not going! (Julian's been doing pretty well; slightly damp 2-3 mornings a week.)

I have to surmise that the end (or break from?) a long period of grouchiness and irritability, and this new explosion of learning, are related. Either that or she knows she's coming up on 18 months -- the Golden Age! The flip side of toddlers -- they can be so unbelievably adorable.

I went to see a physiatrist -- a sports medicine doctor who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation -- about my ongoing foot troubles. Since the Big Bunny Fun Run, and a short goof-around dance in the living room yesterday, my feet and ankles have been bothering me constantly, but the sensations shift around so much, I don't know what to make of it. The areas under both outer anklebones start buzzing if I sit for too long, and just lying down, I'll get random sharp pains across an anklebone. I can't make it start, and I can't make it go away. It's very odd!

I wasn't expecting any instant answers, and I didn't get any. I liked the doctor, she really listened and understood (also a runner with 3 young children), and did a thorough job probing me -- both my history and body. None of the initial tests she did indicated any obvious nerve problems, though she scheduled me for a thorough nerve test in April. The only thing that troubles me is the heavy emphasis on prescription drugs -- antidepressants, narcotics -- for pain management. In fact, once she heard I have migraines, Topamax was the answer, partly in case what I have is a nerve thing, but bonus, maybe it'll help migraines too. But I don't live in so much pain that I can't function, and I'm very reluctant to resort to daily drugs that could bring with them more problems than solutions. Prescription drugs are nasty, nasty stuff: powerful, addictive -- yet easily available, often paid for by insurance companies, and without the stigma of illegal drugs. I can't believe there's such a stew about medical marijuana when legal painkillers are way more dangerous.

Dave left for a business trip to Austin this morning, so I'm single mom for the week. I'm taking a painkiller for that now: chocolate chips.

3/25/08