On Snot Snatching and Suturing

A while ago, our beloved hospital grade nasal aspirator (aka a snot-snatcher!) burst at the seam (literally) and we no longer had a good way to clean out Daniel's nose. I browsed online and found some but Daniel got over the bad cold he had and I never did order one. We tried gorilla gluing it and it held for a whopping 5 seconds! Dave mentioned off-hand that we could try suturing it if the glue didn't work, but it started it's second life as a chew toy instead.

Fast forward a few weeks and Daniel has another bad cold. The same one that Dave had all last week and this week too. The one that I hope doesn't mess up our Thanksgiving plans. So when Daniel pulled out a random pack of suture from the bedside table today - and no, I don't know how it got there - I decided to try my hand at that most essential surgical skill. It takes a little practice to get used to the curved needle. I could see why people accidentally poke themselves with it, at least until Dave came home and reminded me that you're supposed to hold it with another instrument and not just your fingers. I tried out the aspirator and it still leaked a little air, so Dave added a second layer of suture to fill in some of the gaps, then went over the needle holes with a layer of glue. It worked pretty well on Daniel tonight, but he still couldn't breathe when we put him to bed. :(

I was going to say that this was my first experience with suture, but then I remembered that wasn't true. I used suture last year to string up parsley stalks to dry. It worked very well and was much easier than tying them. Now when we go to Africa, I can be Dave's surgical assistant! (Totally kidding - about being his assistant, that is)

So much for that!

So much for NaBloPoMo-ing it this year. I can't seem to keep up with my life, let alone write about it. This has been a very busy season for us. We had a couple weeks where Daniel was teething, sick, and/or injured. Right now, he's into everything and I just can't seem to stay far enough of him to keep him busy and get the things I don't want him into away. I am thoroughly convinced that we were not intended to live in isolation and that we were not designed to be parents alone, without the support of family and community. We're really struggling with that right now. As much as I've tried to find people who can help me, it's just not working out. Right now, I'm 0 for 4. It makes me wonder if it's time to quit asking and just do it myself. It makes a difference emotionally. When I was doing it on my own, I was mostly managing. But once I decided (realized?) that I really did need some help, I feel even more overwhelmed when I'm all on my own. It seems like it would be easier to just quit thinking that I need any help and then not be disappointed when I can't get it. Or maybe I just need to hold out a few weeks and see if I can get one step ahead. Maybe I'll get lucky and 15 months will be slightly less intense than 14 months has been :)

NaBloPoMo?

Although it's hard to believe, it's November again, which means that it's National Blog Posting Month. I did it last year and (mostly) enjoyed it, though my dad kindly suggested that I "not try that again." But I have lots to say and lots of pictures to share and I don't because I haven't made it a priority. So I'm considering NaBloPoMo-ing it again this year. Am I crazy?