Update and Horrible Situation

Thank you all for the lively discussion on my last post.  I enjoy reading the comments and thoughts, so please keep them coming!

I am doing well.  The baby is growing and growing.  Oh my!  Crossing my legs is difficult.  Seriously.  Bending over the crib for my son is...impossible.  When I merely lean forward the baby kicks like I am invading his/her space.  My son's pediatrician said yesterday "when are you due? you are huge!"  lol  It doesn't bother me.  I am huge.  I am trying to find my camera to post some pics. 

It was funny, a few weeks ago my dh said to me "did you tell you were pregnant?"  I laughed and laughed telling him that there is no way the folks seeing me in person would doubt.  God love him!  He really is just used to seeing me for me!

It has been fun getting out the newborn clothes and washing them and putting them away.  We don't have as many gender neutral as I recalled, so many came to the rescue after he was born with gifts of clothing and a trip to Wal-Mart accomplished the rest.  I was thinking we didn't need much in newborn size with my son since they grow so fast.  But, between him losing weight before he gained, my mastitis that affected nursing and more weight loss, and the fact that they poop out those little diapers and soil their clothes OFTEN.  I recall washing every newborn outfit every day the first week until I went out and bought more!  My sister has girls born in similar seasons and so I know we will be fine.  I did, however, break down and buy a very sweet girl's outfit to take to the hospital with us, just in case.  Pictures coming!

Sleeping this past week was so difficult, but it is much better now.  Charlie had been a seven to seven sleeper-huge blessing-but his awake time kept getting earlier over the past month.  Well, part of it was we had started putting him down just little bits later and that makes such a difference with him!  Then last week, about 9 days ago actually, he started getting up in the night.  Not the ten min here or there and fuss and go back without assistance.  No-full on screams for an hr and inconsolable.  If it occurred to close to morning, then he was up-4am on some days.  Dh and I were dragging! 

I went through every possible reason and decided the reflux was to blame and he had grown out of his dose.  At the pediatrician we found out his ear tubes were blocked with wax, likely creating pressure similar to an ear infection.  Since my son can feel his toe nails grow, I am sure that is the case!  I was shocked and happy to have an obvious fixable reason.  We were prescribed ear drops.  We have now had 3 days (with one in between) of perfect night sleeping-7pm to 7am again.  It is glorious and I feel so much better!

Now for the horrible situation.  My dad is a sweet soul.  He is a helper by nature.  He likes to be needed.  Sadly, he doesn't know how smart or wonderful he is and no amount of convincing helps because it is something internal to him.  He suffers from depression among other things.  It rarely comes up these days as he is on good medication, but every once in awhile a situation arises where all those dark feelings of worthlessness in him rise to the top.  Yesterday was one of those days. 

We have all heard of internet schemes of folks who need money wired or are in some trouble in another country.  I have personally received five this year already.  Our priest mentioned them at mass, even, because he almost fell for one.  In that particular situation the person was out of the country so it seemed more logical.  Yesterday morning I received one such email from my cousin who lives in Jordon.  She is very close to my folks, perhaps closer to her own parents.  I recognized the email as spam and did forward it to her to let her know.  While I didn't want to be the millionth person telling her something she already knew, it was too important not to.  My email also said that since she is out of the country, it is more likely some folks will fall for this and please let people know.  Unfortunately she couldn't because she was locked out of her email and the addresses weren't all in her new account.  I didn't think to repy all and warn them myself.

My dad got the email.  He thought it was real, again it seemed plausible in her situation and he had never received something similar to know.  He took some special money he had saved and wired it to her.  He got a reply that she needed a bit more.  He sold some very special items to him at cents on the dollar to someone he knew would buy them to get the rest of the money and wired it to her again.  Then he called her husband later in the day to see how she was.  And he realized.  And while this hurt extra bad because of the parts sold, the money lost (over $3k), etc more than anything it hit his self-esteem.  He felt like the biggest idiot ever there was.  And not how you and I would feel it, but amplified.  He told my mother he wanted to die.  He said he was going to kill himself.  He didn't get out of bed.

To hear that your father said these things, I don't know how to explain it.  My heart aches for him so badly.  There is literally nothing I can do.  I am not even supposed to know, but I am debating talking to him if I think I can do more good than harm with him knowing I know.  My sister was able to help through my mom, by sharing something her husband fell for out of the country.  He is a very educated doctor and it seemed to make a difference to my dad and he perked up a little.  That was last night.  I haven't heard an update today.

Please, take the time to say a prayer for my dad.  We all make mistakes.  He won't be able to get the specialty items back that were dear to him, or the money, but he is not a material person.  What he needs back is his own self-worth.  He is so important to our family and so loved and respected, even if he doesn't know it.