The 2nd visit to the ER in less than a week

Jack's ok but MY NERVES are at the very end of what they can possibly take.

It started just like a normal day. Jack woke up at 7.30 in a bright and happy mood. We had a good 1hr 30min nap and accidently missed playgroup because we read the calendar a day too late. So instead we went and did some shopping for our families for when we get home. We bought some 'DC' tops and some postcards for the great Nannas'. Jack played at the little toddler playground at the mall while mum enjoyed a quiet Starbucks and then we had lunch at our favourite place, Fuddruckers. We did a little grocery shop on the way home and when we got home Jack went to sleep for his afternoon nap.

Jack slept for only an hour which is unusual and he woke up like he was having a bad dream. He was only semi-awake and very warm to touch. He went back to sleep quickly and the blanket was taken off. Jack then slept for another hour and a half and again woke up stressed and hot. Jack had a big drink of water and then laid of the couch in a bit of a daze and watched cartoons until he fell asleep again in front of the TV (very unusual.) So we got out the panadol and called Dad to bring home a thermometer.

Then the WORST CASE SCENARIO happened and Jack had a full blown grand mal seizure. It lasted for 3 minutes as Dad was called with me in a panic. Stu came home from work in less than 10mins and we were at the local ER 5 mins later.

I don't think I'm being melodramatic about this, it was the worst pain I have felt since having a baby and possibly even worse than that to see my Jack (Blinky Bill) in this state. I have become accustomed to Stuart's epilepsy but seeing this happen to a baby is much, much worse. And my baby at that.

2 hours later Jack is diagnosed with a 'Bi-Lateral Ear Infection' (that means both ears) that caused a febrile seizure and he has antibiotics and two types of pain relief and fever reducing medication.

Thanks so much for calling America tonight Mum and Dad.We really did need you guys here tonight and it was like you just were.


- Hope it didn't cost you too much :)

N.B If you are travelling with a young child you will find that having full and comprehensive travel insurance with no excess is very reassuring as we did tonight.

Dad says, 'When in Rome we do as the Romans' do.'

Some of the local guys from Dad's work invited him to go shooting for the day at the George Washington National Park. The local guys own at least 5 guns each. One of them had a silencer on it and apparently that's legal around here.


The gun below is the special one. Dad was very lucky not to get hit the face with its kick back as Anthony did. The crazy guy behind Dad is the one who owns this big gun (apparently also very loud). The bullets fired from this gun are over 2 inc. long and over 1cm wide.

Apparently the purpose of owning these very expensive weapons is so they can go shoot paper targets occasionally with friends. There is no rhyme or reason for it really and although Dad had fun on the day I am very glad that it is harder to buy guns and own guns in our country. It seems to be a part of the culture amongst the local guys here (even the ones who have good jobs and work in offices) to own many, big and expensive guns - just to have.

I don't get it - but I'm just a girl. Any comments or questions and I will gladly get Stu to explain :)

On the way home tonight we stopped to get petrol and there were several police cars at the servo. They had apprehended a young guy with a skate board presumably holding up the petrol station. This neighborhood is just like ours at home, if not more 'up market.' Houses around here go for no less than $600,000. It's so crazy this country and that this would happen at our local servo (I know it has occasionally happened at Kippax too) but I have stopped watching the local DC news, there are shootings every day. Apparently Washington DC has the highest homicide rate of any other US city. If I kept watching the news at night I might never go out! Luckily when I do take Jack out in the evening I have about 6-7 large boys from the SOC to protect us :) (and we are always home by 8pm)

When Dad goes to Work

Here is Dad, he is one of the important team members opening up the Verizon Business, Security Operations Center (SOC) in Ashburn. This is why we are all here after all.

Dad says that work is mostly boring stuff. He looks very relaxed at work (see back left). Some people have been asking what we get up to when Stu is at work and as you can see below. We found a Chuck E Cheese today so that is what we did. We also went to the playground after our afternoon sleep and we got some groceries from Wegmans too. I love Wegmans and Jack loves Chuck E Cheese so it is a fair deal.



The first two photos are thanks to Anthony - thanks!

The Circus in Washington DC

We went out with the boys from Dad's work to go to dinner and the circus. It was a great night out and we had an excellent time. We decided to catch the train into the city and we took a while to find a train station but eventually found one. We had to walk a few blocks to find dinner at Fogo De Chao.



It was an amazing dining experience and Stuart's favorite thing since we got here. The bill was quite significant including an 18% tip which was already factored into the bill. Luckily Stuart's work is paying for his meals. It really was a 'boys' place to eat because you could eat as much as you wanted and it was all spit roasted and beautifully seasoned. The waiters bough you meat and you turned your token over when you were full. I'm sure we will go there again.



Here we are at the Ringling Bros. Circus.


In the USA you are allowed to have live animals of all kinds and we were thrilled to see the amazing stunts that the elephants and lions could do. The horses and little dogs were also very cleaver and there were many acrobatic stunts as well.




Jack sat in amazement and danced along to the music and tried to click his fingers too. He enjoyed every minute and was mesmerized for over 2 hours.

Thanks to 'Uncle Wells' for organising this trip and also to Anthony for supplying some of the photos above. Anthony also came from Australia at the same time as us. You can see some of his pictures here. They are very good. Dries also has a blog but it is in Dutch. He is from Belgium and staying in Virginia with our group also. Dries has an excellent photo gallery on his blog, it is here.

Jack's First Stitches & Xrays

We were a bit worried when Jack base jumped off the lounge and straight into the coffee table but we cleaned up the blood and went to bed with a small dose of baby panadol and the bleeding seemed to stop after about 45mins. On closer observation he had chipped his tooth but we couldn't really see the laceration because of all of the bruising and swelling.

We really were worried when Jack woke up this morning with a mouth full of blood and blood stained sheets! The wound was not healing so we needed to go the emergency. The doctors were lovely and the nurses were fantastic. They have a special section for pediatrics and they give you a room of your own. ($400)

The ER doctor said that he definitely needed stitches and an Xray to check the teeth were intact but the best place for that would be the pediatric dentist. Australia has a long way to go as far as pediatric dentistry! We walked into a huge playroom with toys and a tree house. We were greeted by friendly nurses in brightly coloured scrubs and they were all very helpful. The waiting room was amazing, aside from the cubby house they had a baby movie theatre, a giant puzzle, a bookshelf full of beautiful books, Gloria Jeans Coffee, an air hockey table, play stations and x boxes.

Jack had his own dentist chair, he even had his own movie screen with the Wiggles. The dentist was Dr Pacella and she was just wonderful and sang songs to Jack as he screamed. The nurses were also wonderful and now Jack has a souvenir hospital bracelet and mouth x rays. ($127) We have a follow up appointment in 2 weeks but there is no permanent damage to the teeth other than the small chip out of his front - right tooth. He also has to eat soft food for 2 days and we need to watch for infection.

We are going to Cold Stone after Jack's nap and Jack is going to have a big ice cream all to himself for being so brave.

Deep Breath - Mum - Deep Breath

See the waiting room in the add at the bottom of this website

*update

This is Jack during his bath tonight. As you can see the swelling has gone down and the stitches are inside his mouth on his lip but you can't see them and there is no obvious external damage to the child. Sorry to scare you Jules!

Jack likes America

He's a big fan!

Smithsonian National Zoo, Washington

It was the perfect weather for the zoo today, 18C and not at all windy. Washington Zoo was easy to find with plenty of signs along the way. It was also free entry although the parking cost $16. It was a long walk up the steep hill to the Asia trail but the best parts of the zoo were actually at the foot of the hill. The Great Apes and the Tigers were beautiful.



Jack was exhausted by mid morning and he fell alseep in his stroller. He missed the Aquarium and the butterfly house but we took some nice pics - will upload a picasa album soon.