Dinner

[ste_noni]

[cross-post with Ellie's blog]

Ellie has always been so good when we eat out. She snacks, she plays, she's generally quiet and happy. BUt she's never eaten six dinners out in a row before. Two nights ago, we had an awful dinner at Tony Roma's. The food was crummy, it was over-priced and Ellie was not happy. We walked a bit after dinner so we had a chance to talk to Ray and that part was fine, but I felt bad. It was not pleasant or relaxing.

Last night, we had dinner, a little earlier for Ellie, with the guy Joe is replacing and his senior enlisted guy. They chose a really nice restaurant. Very expensive looking. Within about 5 minutes, Ellie had thrown a knife on the floor and then I managed to fall on the floor leaning over to pick up the knife. It went downhill from there. The food was very good and I has about five bites of it. I spent the rest of the night giving Ellie small bites of the broth that came with the beans. Then Joe and I switched so I could eat, but he didn't catch on that she was just eating the broth and not the beans. He gave her a bean, she spit it out, arched her back, and screamed. To calm her down, I took her into the bathroom. She seemed sleepy and I thought maybe I'd nurse and and she'd sleep. She did doze off but then some girls came in and she wanted to see what they were doing. The rest of the night was simply a repeat of all of the above. Oh, and the bill for dinner - $100! Just for the two of us - for food I didn't even get to eat! We took it home, but it wasn't the same eating out of the metal tin on the hotel couch.

So, no more dinners out for a while. I think we may just be eating Subway in the hotel room for a few days.

In other news, I'm a bit worried about Ellie in general. She has been eating substantially less since we got here. I know she's getting enough nutrition from nursing, but I don't know what has changed her appetite for solid food so much. I would just chalk it up to change and adjustment, but she's had a runny nose since we arrived also. Joe thinks he has allergies here and I'm afraid she does too. Do they make Allegra for babies? Would I even want her to take it if they did?

Also, yesterday afternoon, she was having a great time standing in front of the aquarium in the lobby. It's huge and she was just walking back and forth between my chair and the aquarium. Then she'd stop for a while and follow the sharks along the aquarium itself. At some point, she decided to expand her area and she tried to walk to the metal and glass coffee table in the lobby. She didn't make it and she fell and cut her nose. She's fine now but there was a lot of blood when she fell. The lady behind the front desk gave me an *alcohol wipe* when I asked her for a first aid kit. We went to get some Neosporin and she's fine now. Her nose has a half-moon shaped cut on it and is a bit swollen. It's been a rough 24 hours.

Comments

[casperflea.livejournal.com]

About her eating less, my guess would be that one or all of the following would be relevant: if it's significantly hotter there (I know I eat less when it's hot); all the discombobulation and change; if you're having trouble (which I can easily imagine, living in a hotel) obtaining the same kinds of food she's used to and feeding her in the same sort of setting. Does she ususally eat less when she has a runny nose or a cold? It could be allergies, but it also could be all new germs, either from the plane, or from being out in public spaces (and gnawing on them) in a place where she hasn't been exposed to the common colds in circulation. That plus weakened immune system due to stress of change. Actually, my vague impression of allergies is that they are rare in children under 2 (except food sensitivities, of course). Casper's mosquito bites don't even itch!

Is the nose her first major walking boo-boo? It won't be the last! And that could have happened anywhere...

[ste-noni.livejournal.com]

The nose is the first major boo-boo. It looks better this morning, but it's still pretty red. I hope she doens't have allergies. My friend's daghter had similar symptoms and had to have her adenoids removed, but hers went on for over a year *and* she was sick all the time. I suppose that's what's jiggling around in the back of my brain.

I think you are right about where she's eating. There's no table in here so even though I have her booster seat, there's no where to attach it. She eats sitting on the couch or my lap, neither of which is ideal.

[amy37.livejournal.com]

What casperflea said. I also always react to the change in tap water when I travel, and there you've got all the salt air. Plus, there's just no minimizing how kids react to change -- and Ellie's undergoing a big one. She'll adapt, but don't worry too much about it now -- just soothe her and give her lots of snuggle time.

[ste-noni.livejournal.com]

Thanks! The snuggles have been good - I think she's even more snuggly now, so that's nice.