Photo Friday


I haven't put a lot of pictures out recently, so here are some from the Family pictures my friend Donita Jacobson took, and some others from Christmas.  The snow is now gone due to the wacky 50-60 degree temps we have been having and I already miss it.  Well I miss it around my house anyway.

Cuddling with Teddy



Yes, he is that cool :)

Playing with Lilly

Walking in the leaves

Someday we can get him to smile in a picture!

Wait...what is that?  A smile!!!

Such a big boy!

Just hanging with Santa.  Just wish he was feeling better for this one.  I think you can see it on his face.

Going for the Ralphie look...all we need is a super long scarf!.

The snow for Christmas was so beautiful.  What a perfect view on Christmas!

Oh Christmas tree

I know Christmas is over :(  but I don't want to take down my tree yet.  I really don't care that much about the other decorations, but I love the glow of having the lights turned on at night.  Because we have such an active and curious little one we had to come up with a good solution on how to put up the tree so he couldn't get to it.  Hopefully this will be the only time we had to do this...but we actually took an extra dining room table and put it in the living room with the tree on top of it!  Thank goodness for high ceilings and smaller trees.  We were hoping to get a bigger tree, but it looks like it will have to wait until next Christmas...although if I can ever make it out of the house to go shopping, I'm hoping I can find a tree on clearance.  Somehow I doubt there will be any left at this point.  But a girl can dream!! 

Maybe I will break down after this weekend and take the tree and the rest of the decorations down.  It makes me sad so I have to look at the bright side...we will have more room for the ridiculous amount of toys that Max has in there.  I'm serious...it's insane and I am currently trying to weed through the toys to sell them or give them away.  Thankfully I didn't purchase most of the toys and Mom got them at the resale store.

Holiday Joy

It has been a struggle to make the time lately to update my blog.  I had a couple days off from work and although I had appointments most of my first day off, then some Christmas shopping to do, I did have one day that I got to spend with Max.  I got him all to myself and we had a wonderful time.  Such a good day playing and cuddling! 

Christmas this year had felt a bit rushed for me to the point of wanting it to be over quickly until Christmas Eve.  We had snow on the ground and were set to get more snow and I could not wait to see how Max would react to his toys.  Knowing that we would surely be getting the video camera out and how early we normally wake up in the morning I felt lucky to have been able to put on some clothes and pull my hair back before Max woke up and the Christmas fun began.  Ah no make up, circles under the eyes...can't wait to see that video :)

Santa got Max a battery powered car and he likes to sit in it and push the button that makes all the sounds but pushing the one that makes it move forward is trickier.  He is starting to figure out that he needs to hold it down, but he keeps looking behind him to see if someone is pushing him.  Really cute.

But it gets even better.  Daren handed me a box to open from Max and then one from him.  When I opened the one from him, I saw fabric and was just sure he got me a snuggie!  I was wrong...it was a Halloween trick or treat bag...hmmm, something fishy here.  Inside the bag was a small box.  That's right you guessed it.  It was a ring.  Oh wait, did I mention that he had the video camera on me while I was opening everything?  Yup.  He was looking at me through the camera so I made him ask me 3 times if I would marry him until he looked at me.  LOL!   I did say yes though :) 

Does this mean that it is time for the seemingly obligatory pre-wedding weight loss attempts?  :)  But of course!  Ok, really my health is more important that the weight and I do need to do more to make myself healthier.  What I really need is a haircut so I can stop looking like a crazy woman.  My hair is so thick right now, when the weather is just right I look like I have had my hand on one of those static balls that makes your hair stand out all over.  Thankfully I now have an appointment for next week.  YAY!!!!

Weekend craziness

I think this last weekend may have been crazier than this coming Christmas weekend will be.  We had attended the birthday party for our friends 3 yr old daughter.  Max did so good.  I think it was because there was so much going on.  Right about the time we needed to leave he started to get a bit restless.  I don't blame him either.  He is a very active boy and he sat still for an hour and a half.  Good job!

I had to get Max to take an earlier nap than usual so it was even more challenging.  Plus he ate food that he normally didn't eat.  Oh and on Friday he came down with pink eye, so he wasn't happy about that.  Again, I don't blame him, his eyes went from normal to looking painful and swollen overnight. 

Right after the birthday party we had to run home and grab some things and drive for an hour to a family Christmas dinner.  He hasn't been in a car for that long of a period since before he was able to crawl.  He did well on the car drive over.  Another happy surprise!  Then we got to my uncle's and the great chase began.  I didn't get much time to visit with my family because we were chasing Max all over trying to keep him out of danger or breaking something.  They have 4 dogs and thankfully 2 of them seemed to be interested in Max and Max was very interested in them.  He tried a few times to give them hugs. 

He was so busy and having a blast looking at everything that I could barely get him to eat anything for dinner.  Finally, about an hour before his bedtime(after 2 hours there) he started getting cranky and we knew it was time to head home and try to keep his normal bedtime.  The drive home wasn't as great.  I was hoping he would doze off, but he had a couple crying episodes and I didn't know what was going on...if he was in pain, tired, had gas, or something else.  I tried rubbing his little feet to try to help him feel better until we could get home.

We got home and noticed that his thumbnail had broken where he had smashed it a little while back(we still don't know when and where it happened).  Half of his nail was pretty much hanging off, so we had to cut it off.  It doesn't look bad, I just worry about the top part of what is left catching on something and pulling off.  We got him to bed and that is when it got worse.  He cried in pain and woke up about every hour.  I was sure it was gas, but we never heard anything to confirm that.  Daren took him in the other room to sleep to see if that would help, but it didn't help much.  He woke up with blood all over his lips where apparently his lip split in the night.  Not sure if he bit his lip or it was from being dry from mouth breathing from being congested.  Also his other eye now has pink eye...oh the poor kid!

Sunday wasn't too bad, we got to relax and try to get Max back on schedule to see if that would help him.  He seemed to be doing better at times and other times you could tell that he didn't feel good and he would just cry and throw himself down.  His crying usually doesn't last long, but I felt bad for him and did everything I could to comfort him.  When he took his nap he woke up again with blood on his lip. 

Thankfully, I think things are starting to get better.  He still isn't happy with getting his eye drops and they still don't look great, but he slept though the entire night and his lip looked better this morning and there was no bleeding.  Woo hoo!  It's the little things that make me happy.  Hopefully today will go well, the weather won't get too bad and we won't have to cancel Max's Dr's appts.  Keeping my fingers crossed!!

Photo Friday

Thursday was the Christmas party in Max's daycare room and since neither Daren nor myself could go, Max was lucky enough to have his grandma and grandpa there.  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa.  By the way...who brought pink eye to the Christmas party?  I don't think I saw that on the list of things to bring!

Here are a couple more pictures from our family picture outing :)

Definitely winter!

It is so cold outside!  I have to say there is one thing I don't like about winter...shovelling snow.  That isn't exactly true.  I didn't used to mind so much.  The thought of it doesn't bother me too much now...but getting out there and feeling the pain from it...well...it just makes me feel old :(  I was out there on my lunch today for about 40 minutes and stopped when my back started cramping.  I guess I need to add some back exercises to my list of things to do.  Oh that list includes exercising too.  Can I count today as working out?

Today wouldn't have been that bad if it weren't for the rain we got on Saturday and then the snow on top of it Sunday.  UGH.  Layers of ice and no ice skates?  LOL.  I'm sure if I tried ice skating anywhere right now I would be on my rear in a matter of minutes.  I think the last time I went skating was when I was in school.  Ummm...way too long ago to mention.  Maybe I'll be out there again some day with skates on with Max :)

Yes!

Ok, I'm ready for a break in the weather so I can get the last of my Christmas shopping done.  Ok, that's a stretch because I still have a lot to do.  A lot.  I am so far behind this year and the only one I'm done shopping for is Max.  And I still keep seeing things I want to get him, but then I stop and think about how much he already has and lord knows how much his grandparents got him.  I don't even want to think about it.  It already looks like we run a daycare from our house.  I need to go through all of his old toys and start to weed out what he doesn't play with and give them away or sell them.

Yesterday Max started doing another new thing.  At least it is the first time we have seen it.  He started nodding yes when we asked him questions.  It was slow and really deliberate and of course cute :)  I was also able to see in his mouth this morning.  I didn't get to see one spot, but he now has 2 molars fully out, both on the same side.  The top on the other side just has a bit of white  poking through.  I think the bottom on that side was the one that looked to be moving the slowest, so some of the tooth may be coming through, or it may still be trying to break through.  From all of the comments I have received from friends about the molars, it can be a really rough time, but I think Max is doing pretty well.  He still has a low fever on and off and I'm hoping it is from the molars.  All I want for Christmas this year is good health for the family.  If we can all be healthy and enjoy this special time...that is all I want.

He still wakes up about once a night.  Last night he slept until 4 am.  I tried for an hour to get him back to sleep and then gave up and took him to the guest bed.  The first time in a very long time since I have done that.  Daren has done it a couple of times when Max was sick but that is it.  This morning I think we probably fell back to sleep at 6 and then Max woke up at 7.  Daren got him and let me lay down for a bit.  I fell back to sleep and actually slept until 8:30!  Shocking.  Now if only my dream of waking up to Starbucks waiting for me in the kitchen came true...that was a good dream :)

Photo Friday

This morning Max was showing off...walking backwards through the family room and kitchen.  He had this look on his face like, "Ooooh...look what I can do!"

Here are a few of the pictures we had taken recently.  They were all great and I can't wait to share them with my friends and family.  I'm saving some of the best for some surprises.  Thanks Donita!!!!

Lots of hugs

One of my favorite things that Max does right now is running up to me and hugging me.  I LOVE IT!  It's not just me he does it to, he does it to his Daddy of course, his Grandma, Grandpa, and Granny.  I'm sure there are others as well.  I can't wait for the time when he can say I love you...I might just cry!  Boy do I love those hugs though.  The dog on the other hand does not enjoy it at all and lets everyone know it.  Doesn't stop Max.  He will just keep trying over and over to hug her.

Ok, I'm trying to keep my mind off of the persistent annoying cooties that are still in our house and apparently all over from the reaction at the Dr's office when I called today.  So I'm trying to think about Christmas and what happens...guilt!!!!  I'm not worried about Max...gift wise.  I'm going to get him a few more little things but for the last 3 years something has happened where I can't get out and do the shopping I want to and I am disappointed that I can't do for others what I want to do.  I love shopping for other people but I'm so frustrated with my shopping and this year is no exception.  So I apologize...hopefully next year my brain will be working better and I can think of better gifts and maybe even get them ahead of time!

I guess I should really focus on the fact that this year Max is a little more aware of everything and might be able to enjoy Christmas a little more.  I don't want to get tunnel vision and only focus on Max though...even though I really want to.  I am so deeply in love with my son that really, nothing would make me happier. 

Cooties be gone!

I just don't know what is going on with us and it just never seems to stop.  Daren had strep over our Thanksgiving days off.  We tried like crazy to keep myself and Max away from him so we didn't get it.  Then we all get some bug last week that gave us headaches and nausea and some other fun stuff.  Poor Max got sick and you could tell the vomiting was upsetting him.  He hasn't been eating well since and I'm not sure what is going on.  So we may have to make a trip to the Dr to see if it is something other than the molars coming in. 

Then I wake up at 2am on Monday with a swollen throat and a fever so I was sure I had ended up with the strep and made my way to the Dr's office on lunch...on the ice with a spare tire on the car(what a weekend we had!).    The quick test said it wasn't strep but they said they were wanting to wait for the official test to come back to be sure.  I mean if it isn't strep...what the heck is going on?!  So frustrating.  Especially during the holidays when there is so much to do. 

On to some more pleasant thoughts.  I have to say that I am amazed daily at the new things Max is learning and saying.  He is speaking more clearly and doing new things everyday.  Last night I had to smile when he took off a sock and ran over to the spot next to the chair where I put his clothes that I just took off that later go to the laundry room.  He put the sock there and then took off his other sock and put it there too.  In the past when I tell him we need to go get his pajamas, he will go look beside the chair first to see if there are any there.  Too cute.

Occasionally, when we have the TV on, Max will be playing with something(last night he was in his tunnel), then he will stop what he is doing and start dancing.  He is dancing to the music in commercials that sometimes I don't even notice until I see him dancing.  He also popped up last night in the little space between the chair and end table and started dancing.  He had been hiding back there playing with blocks until that.  He just notices everything.  At school they say he is very "curious".  LOL!  I know what that means...he is into everything and has to check everything out.  Hope they have some good running shoes!

The evolution of dance

I love love love to watch my little man dance these days.  It is so funny to see the little changes he has made since he first started dancing.  He started out just moving back and forth from one foot to the other and did that for several weeks.  Then he started twirling around and around.  Sometime recently he started raising his hands in the air while twirling and dancing.  Now...he does this squatting down bouncing type of thing that I just love.  He really gets into the music. 

I haven't necessarily found a certain type of music that he likes the most, may be the type or the beat, or something else that strikes his fancy that makes him dance.  The other night he started dancing to a commercial on tv that had classical music in the background. 

It really is the little things that make me happy!

So much to do...

Time flies and I'm not so sure it's because of fun!  Last week Daren got strep throat.  I'm still praying that Max and I don't get it.  His mom was in town for several days and I missed out on Black Friday shopping because of the cooties.  Then Sunday Max fell and bite his lip on the inside and outside and did a bit of bleeding, but after that slowed down we knew he would be ok.  Then last night he pulled down a heavy object off a table onto his head.  It got blue and swole up so fast we threw him in the car to take him to the after hours clinic to have him checked out.  This was our first issue with something hitting his head so it freaked us out. 

They said they thought he was fine but to check him every couple hours and to watch for vomiting and not being able to wake up.  Do I even need to say that I didn't get a lot of sleep because I kept checking the video monitor to make sure he was ok?  And wouldn't you know it...I have had to get up with him every night at least once and usually for an hour at a time for the last week...except last night.  He slept and I didn't.

This week is full of meetings at work and Dr.'s appt's for me and Max.  It is a crazy week and I had hoped to get some X-mas decorating done on my lunches, but I don't think that will happen at all.  I wish we could have gotten it done this last weekend, but we were trying to keep Daren away from Max and there is no way I could have brought the boxes up and worked on the decorating while watching Max.  He is a maniac lately.  Not sure if it is a preview of the terrible two's or a little bit of the teething he is going through with getting his molars in.  Oh, then I just remembered the cookie party for my mom's group and a baby shower this weekend.  I'm hoping it slows down next year sometime!!!!!

By the way I'm not sure if I said it before but his daycare acted like I was wrong about him teething when he got the last round of hand foot and mouth, saying that they have similar symptoms so it is easy to confuse the two...well I was soo right.  I think all 4 are coming in and taking their turns. They all look to be in different stages with one fully through, one partially through, one where you can see the tooth still under the gum and the last one swollen and soon to show white under the gums.  Of course this was last week when I checked and hopefully when I try to get another look tomorrow I will see more progress.

Ok, I just have to note some changes I have seen in Max lately and then I am totally calling it an early night and going to bed.  He just started changing what he calls his pacifier.  It went from "ba"(no clue why) to something that sounds like "pass".  It is really cute when he says it though.  Yesterday when I picked him up from daycare it was raining out and I was talking about it and all of a sudden I hear from the back seat "craining".  He also started saying "Granny" when Daren's mom got here, which I'm sure she loved.  I think my mom thinks she is going to run off with Max someday and I think secretly she is trying to get him to call her "mama".  Ok, maybe his attempt at "grandma" just sounds close...but I'm keeping my eye on her ;)

Hopefully I made a tiny bit of sense tonight, but just in case I didn't I'm blaming my recent lack of good sleep...and with that, I'm off to bed!

Internet down

I'm just starting to get back into everything since my internet went down right after my last blog post last Wed night and was completely down until Sunday.  I know it was only a couple of days, but it felt like it was forever!  Now we have family in town, staying with us, so I may not get any more time until this weekend to write any posts.  But I had to add in this picture....cracked me up!  I was trying to round up some things for Max to get his bath and when I turned around this is what I saw...

He was totally trying to see if there was any water that he could drink!  Silly boy...Thankfully there was no water there yet!

Full moon

I knew it!  I was right, there is a full moon this week and I wish it was already here and passed.  This week has been nuts.  I'm not kidding, the craziness really kicked in on Monday morning when I wasn't feeling well and found I had a low fever, looked in the mirror and noticed a gray nose hair!  I'm not even kidding.  I found  a gray nose hair...sticking out no less.  I just had pictures taken on Sunday.  Wouldn't that be funny if you could see it in the picture?  Now everyone who reads my blog and sees the pictures will be looking for the hair...don't lie, I know you will.

So I think I have a cold or sinus infection or something and I am praying that Max doesn't get it.  I swear everytime we try to make plans for anything he gets sick.  I'm not sure if we could plan a vacation if we wanted to right now.

Now if I can get a tiny bit of sleep tonight I might be able to face tomorrow and the next round of strange and unusual things to add to my list this week.  Just about anything has to be better than last night, so I will make sure that Max gets his medicine tonight to see if that helps him feel a bit better and therefore sleep better, and maybe I'll take a Benadryl so I can too.

Busy Busy Bee

Wow what a busy weekend we had.  It has carried over to this week and I think there may be no stopping the momentum at this point until a week after Thanksgiving.  We had family pictures taken.  I would be surprised if we get any shots back with Max actually smiling.  It is really rare for us to capture it with a camera.  He is usually very focused on something like playing or trying to get the camera that it just never works out.  Or the picture is super blurry because he is so active.

I also got to visit with my cousin Rachel who dropped off some Christmas stockings I asked her to make for me.  I saw some online that were a lot more than I wanted to pay and asked her if she could make them.  They were so good and I think they look exactly like the ones I saw online.  She did a wonderful job and I can't wait to see them up on the wall.

After that I went to the Chambanamoms birthday bash.  I got to visit with some local moms, have a bit of wine and had a good time.

Back at home, we are still trying to get back to our latest version of normal.  Ever since the last round of illness we have been going back through the sleep training process...or my version of it anyway.  Last night I only had to go into his room once for a few minutes and that was it.  He woke up a few times after that, but put himself back to sleep quickly.  I think I only checked the monitor once or twice after getting up.

I think the little man may be going through a growth spurt.  He is definitely eating much better than he had been.  I have been impressed several times this week already.  Especially that he seemed to really enjoy eating lima beans.  His daddy on the other hand does not share that feeling :)  I however, like them just fine.

There have been a few more changes too.  In the last couple weeks, Max has started talking like crazy.  Not just single words, but babbling like he really has something to say.  He talks a lot!  I wish I knew what he was saying though.  I'm sure it would be interesting.  I guess I will have to start watching what I say very soon.  My mom says that she thinks she heard him singing the other day.  I haven't seen it yet, but I can't wait to see that one.

I won't even go into all of the odd things going on so far Monday and Tuesday...not having the best luck and I would be willing to bet that there is a full moon soon.  I just hope it passes and our luck changes a bit..and quickly!  I need to keep moving forward instead of hitting walls and having to figure out how to get around them.

Photo Friday

Miss you both very much and hope you are together.  Sorry you never got to start your opium den with your poppy plants Grandpa :)
 

Slowing down

The last 2 weeks have really thrown me off my game.  I have a lot going on at work and home and my brain needed a break.  Since I am looking into other options for daycare, it doesn't look like things will slow down until after the holidays.  At least everyone is starting to feel a little better.  Just have to hope it stays that way for the holidays and the family visits.

The time change is throwing us off too.  Poor little man is tired early and I keep waking up an hour earlier than I need to.

Now if I can only keep Max from hurting himself and getting anymore bruises on his face for the family pictures this weekend.  I thought we were doing really well until he got up this morning with a couple scratches on his face, then he was standing on a small ottoman and when getting down, one foot slipped a little and his head hit a couple times on the table beside.  He didn't cry, but I'm just sure there will be a bruise for picture time.  Oh well....he is a boy!  I think I will just settle for no viruses at this point.

Random thoughts

I wasn't traumatized by tuna noodle casserole when I was a child.   My mom didn't make me sit down and eat every last bite before I was allowed to get up from the table(that I remember).  I'm pretty sure I liked it too, but for some reason, I don't ever want to have it or make it as an adult.  I have no clue why, but it just isn't going to happen.  I keep thinking that I know it is probably easy to make and fairly inexpensive, so maybe my drive to find meals just like this will change my mind.  So far, not so much.  I wonder when Max gets older and goes to a friends home for dinner...will they serve tuna noodle casserole and will he love it, come home and ask me to make it.  I suppose for the love of my son, I would do it. 

I keep trying to think of other meals that I feel the same way about but I really can't.  Are there any that you feel the same way about?

Photo Friday delayed

This week has been a little crazy.  Poor Max has been so sick with yet another round of Hand Foot and Mouth.  That's right...his 3rd time.  And if anyone is counting...so far since Feb, he has had countless ear infections resulting in getting tubes put in, 2 bouts of Croup, a stomach virus, Roseola, what I believe was the Norovirus and 3 rounds of Hand Foot and Mouth along with several colds.

This last round was particularly painful for him and Tuesday morning he only ate about half his breakfast and not much again until Friday.  Getting him to drink was challenging.  We are still working on getting his diet back to normal, but because of the little food he actually would eat, he had painful gas and come constipation.  He still has a ton of marks on his tongue where so many of the blisters were.  I didn't even get to look in his throat where the doctor said there were a ton.

At this point I completely blame his daycare and know am now in the process of looking for other options.  Hopefully we will find what we are looking for very soon.

On to happier moments...like just before Max started to get really sick... I took this picture of him on Halloween.  It is blurry, but I like it  :)  We didn't get many pictures of him that weren't blurred because he was moving so much.

The three-eyed monster and his daddy.

Sick again??!!

I can't even begin to talk about how upset I have been since Tuesday when I had to go pick up Max from daycare because they said they found some sores in his mouth and Hand Foot and Mouth is going around again.  This is his third time and the worst he has ever had it.  He is so very miserable it is breaking my heart.  Please please let him get some relief soon!

I think it is time for a change!!

Another tooth!?

The little one just got his 8th tooth last week, while his favorite teacher at daycare was on vacation.  He was a bear.  But I'm afraid this week may be worse.  Yesterday I noticed that one side of his gums were seriously swollen...I tried to look, but was only able to see one section of his gums.  He was keeping his mouth shut!  I think last night he woke up twice before I went to bed and I had to soothe him, then about every hour after that, but he went back to sleep on his own, after waking us up of course...and always in the middle of a dream.

He has been doing soo much better with his sleeping lately so I don't know if I should hope that all four molars are coming in at once or one at a time.  I just feel bad for him, he wanted to be held a lot this weekend.  He would hold his arms up to me and cry "momma" or "baby".  Not sure where the "baby" part came from, but either way I knew that he wanted to be held. 

I had started to wonder if he was getting a cold or if it was the "terrible two's" starting early.  I'm glad it's a tooth, but I just hate him being in pain.  And boy does he get bad breath in the morning from all of that drool.  And trying to brush his teeth....I don't think so!  I ordered a new toothbrush for him last week that I thought he would like and it will probably arrive today, but I'm guessing I won't be able to get him to use it today.  I can hope... and hold my breath in the morning if not :)

Photo Friday

Ok Grandma, I know I didn't get any pictures up last week....so here you go!

Time for my snack!  Got in the chair all by myself too.




Who cares about a picture with Mommy...let me see that camera!



Daddy is home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Changes

Well...I FINALLY made a little progress on our kitchen.  I got some of it primed and I started putting some paint on during my lunch break on Monday.  I only got a tiny bit done, but later that night Daren and I both agreed that we didn't like the color...UGH.  So now I have to stop and wait until we figure out what color we want now.  I was really wanting to have that decision made since we are also now trying to make a decision about flooring.  We would love to have everything done by Thanksgiving, but the way we make decisions, I don't think it is going to happen. 

The house isn't the only thing that is changing.  Max refuses to stay the same...I keep asking him to stay my little boy forever, but it clearly won't happen since he has a mind of his own.  Bath time is now much smoother and he gets very excited to get his bath.  He usually beats me into the bathroom running and sometimes giggling.  He knows he has to get his earplugs in and rarely gives me any trouble when I try to put them in.  I have even asked him what else we needed to do before he got in.  I was thinking taking off his diaper, but he pointed to his ears :)

I have to say that I am still amazed by some of the behavior he learns at daycare.  We don't always make him stay in his chair when he eats, so sometimes we put his morning waffle on a table and he goes to get pieces of it when he wants leaving the plate on the table.  We even use glass plates and he is so good about it.  Twice I have let him sit on the floor on a plastic mat to eat part of his dinner and he will sit on the mat when he is eating and leaves the plate on the mat. 

Last week he starting picking up washrags and paper towels and blowing his nose in them.  I had to laugh last night when Daren left his napkin in his chair and went to the other room to get something.  Max saw it, grabbed it and blew his nose into it 5 times and then went to put it back on the chair.  :)  I thought he was going to leave it as a present for Daddy, but he picked it up again and I ended up getting it and throwing it away.  You're welcome Daddy!

Of course with the good(sleeping is still going so much better) comes the bad.  Separation anxiety is happening more often lately.  Mostly with Mommy, but every day this week he has cried when Daren dropped him off at daycare because the usual morning teacher is on vacation this week.  Poor thing.  I'm glad he has a positive attachment to one of the teachers though.  It really helps that he likes to go in the morning and he has no problem telling me "bye-bye" and blowing me kisses in the morning.  I think the funniest part is if he happens to still have his pacifier in his mouth when it is time to leave and I tell him to give me the paci because he is going to school and he pops it out and puts it in my hand without pausing.  Hopefully this will mean that when it is time to give it up for good it will be easier.

Sleep update

Well, we are doing so much better.  In the last several days Max has, with one exception, slept the whole night in his crib.  Woo Hoo!  He is also no longer waking up every night an hour after he was put down.  He did have one night that I had to go in several times and rub his back and one night when he cried a lot and Daren finally decided to take him to the guest bed where he slept soundly the rest of the night. 

Such a big improvement, I don't want to be prematurely happy, but I will take what I can get!!!  I'm just grateful for every night that Max sleeps well.  Thankfully his health has also been better, and I know this helps a lot.  Some times I miss the times when he was in bed with me and he would quietly just look over and gently touch my face.  Sooo sweet.  I know that getting his sleep is way more important than any of that time is for me, so my mission continues to train Max to be a good sleeper and get as much restful sleep as he can.  Now if I could get him to sleep with a blanket on him it would make my day!

Here's to good health!

I recently got good news from my Dr.  I am pretty happy and am now on a new mission to improve and maintain my health.  I promise to take my vitamins, eat better and continue trying to get more exercise.

It all started a couple weeks ago when Max was sick...once again...and we found out a few days later that he had Hand Foot and Mouth Disease again. The next day I had a fever and Daren wasn't feeling well and looked to be getting a cold.  I just felt a little bad. That was Wed.  On Saturday we went to a birthday dinner and that is when the headache really started.  I went home and took some Advil but it didn't help. I woke up the next morning with a really bad headache.  I was down most of the day and was grateful when my parents offered to watch Max for a while.

Sunday night I barely slept, I was in a lot of pain and the nearly unbearable nausea lasted most of the night.  By the morning I knew I had to go to the hospital.  At this point I could barely think straight and I was super light sensitive and only wanted to keep my eyes closed.  All I knew was that I needed relief and I needed it now.

Mom got me to the hospital and they gave me a shot for the pain.  I thought it would work quicker, but it took about an hour to give me some relief.  They asked me alot of questions about my pain, which I described as my helmet of pain since it hurt from under my eyes, all the way back and down my neck.  Plus it hurt to move my eyes.  If I tried to look to the side I felt pulling and pain behind my eyes.  They decided to do a CT scan to see if I was having a bleed in my brain.  Then they said that to be sure, they needed to do a spinal tap.  I asked to think about it for a few minutes.  I was scared of having it done, but since this was the worst headache I have ever had, I thought it would be best just to rule it out.

So they did the spinal tap and it was uncomfortable, but I made it through.  Just after, Daren showed up as well as my Stepdad.  It took a little while for the tests to start coming back and I just had to lay still.  They said the spinal column had to replace the fluid they had taken so I had to lay still and flat for a few hours.  My blood pressure had dropped a little and they wanted to give me fluids and started an IV.  One of the 4 attempts made was in the wrist and to be honest was more painful than the spinal tap!  I'm not sure how long it took, but I was feeling better and was sure that they were going to release me when the Dr. came in and asked me who my primary care Dr. was again and said he would call her and be right back.  I didn't know what to think but knew that wasn't a good sign.  My mom tried to eavesdrop and said, I think you are going to be admitted.  Since they had told me they were checking for a bleed, that is what I thought I had.

The Dr. came back in and said, "We're going to admit you to the hospital, you have Meningitis".  I don't think he said much after that and I went a little blank.  I thought I was going to die.  I knew someone who had died from Meningitis and knew it worked fast.  I was just...blank.  I asked Daren to go call my boss to let her know I would be out the next day and to call Max's pediatrician to see if he needed to take Max to the Dr.  I was praying they would not have to do a spinal tap on him.

I was still a little blank until Daren came back and told me that the Dr. said that if I had the viral kind then I could still hold Max, but she didn't want me sleeping in the same bed with him for a few days.  Well that snapped me out of my shock quickly and I started tearing up.  The thought that I could not hold my son really upset me.  In case I had the bacterial kind of Meningitis, which can kill you in 24 hours, they started loading me up on antibiotics.  I'm not sure how long after that another Dr came in and started asking a lot of questions to see if they could tell from that if I had viral or bacterial Meningitis.  I think by this time they thought it was viral and were waiting for the tests to come back to confirm that. 

They told me that they were going to be running a lot of tests and not to be surprised.  That if it is viral, I could have gotten it because of some underlying issue.  They wanted to test me for a ton of stuff, from Lupus and MS, to West Nile.  When the Neurologist came in to look at me the next night, he said he wanted to get me out of there, that there were worse things I could get while in the hospital and to follow up with my Dr. in 7-10 days.

So I was a little anxious and waited until Monday, called the Dr's office and asked about the test results.  They said they would call me back, but didn't until Tues morning.  The nurse said she didn't feel comfortable interpreting the results and could get me in late in the day with the Dr.  That made me nervous too...I mean why couldn't they give me good results over the phone, unless it wasn't good.  Thankfully the Dr. just wanted to check me out and said that all of my tests were negative, except one.  The test for Rheumatoid Arthritis showed one little point outside the normal range, nothing to worry about though.  Woo Hoo...no major issues.

So now the mission begins...

Funny boy

Recently I noticed something happen for the first time.  Max was working on his comedy trying to make Mommy laugh.  It started while I was getting his dinner ready and he was playing with a plastic bowl.  At one point I had it and put it over my mouth and made some noise so it would have a different sound.  He decided to try it, put his whole face in and started babbling.  I had to laugh.  He saw me, did it again and looked at me waiting to see my reaction.  I smiled and laughed again...and so it continued.  You could tell that he was enjoying my reaction and that was my favorite part...the look on his face.  So sweet.

He did the same thing in the bath that night.  He was having a good time moving his legs back and forth making a good size splash and he kept pausing and looking at me to see what my reaction was.  I wished Daddy was home that night to see it.  Too cute.  He is such a Mommy's boy lately.  I feel bad for Daddy though.  He will ask Max to come over and give him a hug and instead he will run over to me. 

There have just been so many changes lately I can barely keep up.  He is trying to say just about anything you ask him to say.  He just starting saying "no" and shaking his head...I see trouble coming from this one :)  My favorite is some of the things they teach him in daycare that they don't tell me about and I find out on my own.  The cutest is when I started singing a song that I didn't know they sang at daycare..."I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee..." and when I started singing he held his hands together in front of him and started moving them from side to side.  I LOVE IT!  So stinking cute we have to get it on video soon.

Good news too...Max slept again the whole night in his crib and I didn't get up at all to help him back to sleep.  He still moved around quite a bit.  I actually turned the monitor down a bit so I could try to be a little less obsessive about checking the video monitor every time I hear him move or grumble.  Now if we can only get him to sleep more soundly at night.  I personally think he is overtired since he had to move from 2 naps to 1 a day at daycare.  Plus we found out yesterday that he is slightly anemic and will need to take some supplements, so perhaps that will help him too. But for now I'm glad we are making progress!!!!

It's a tooth!

I was so worried about Max getting sick again having a low fever this weekend...then last night we found it...a new tooth trying to poke out.  I tried to feel the other day for a new tooth and all I got was a good bite on my finger.  But last night during bath time while he had his mouth wide open I could see the little bit of white where I ad been expecting to see a tooth for a long time.  I mean he could still be getting sick with the move to a new room in daycare and exposure to new cooties, but I think this is what we have been seeing this weekend.

He was late getting his first tooth at 9 months and at 15 months this will be his 8th tooth, they seemed to be coming in pairs until the last one...so I have been looking for this one to come in for probably a few months.  Still waiting on the molars to come in and I hear that isn't a fun time to be around, but I'll have to keep an eye out now.

Now if we can only get him to sleep more soundly!  Last night he spent the whole night in his crib, but it was definitely not a sound sleep and he was making noise about every hour.  It's not easy for me to fall asleep, so I was awake a lot.  Finally, an hour or so before it was time to get up, I went into the guest bed by myself and wish I had done it much earlier.  Since it was Daren's night to take care of Max he had the monitor next to him, but it was pretty loud.  I may have to do the same thing tomorrow night.  I have just been so exhausted lately, I'm not sure what else to do.  I'm going to have to wait until next year to take a vacation, and I'm pretty sure that is what we need right now.  Ah vacation...just the word sounds soooo good.

Mom guilt

I have a serious case of guilt today that would not have happened before I had my child.  It is a beautiful day out and I have absolutely no energy.  None whatsoever.  I have a list of things to do and my Max is visiting with my parents for a few hours so I have the time...I just have no energy to move and I feel very guilty about doing nothing.

I just sit here thinking of all the things I need to do and how much I do want to get them done, but I don't...or maybe can't do them today.  Is it due to my recent illness, lack of sleep from the child that rarely sleeps through the night and is sick so much, diet, no time to exercise?  Could be any of these.  Or could it be that I waited until I was 35 to have a child?  Ugh.  Too much to think about.

I have been on a mission to change Max's sleep habits and I'm sure it will happen, when is another question.  And after being sick I am now more concerned with my health and taking care of myself.  I am taking vitamins and I promised myself today that I will start eating better tomorrow.  Not that I eat that poorly...I don't, I just know there is room to change.  Today I am eating a lot of crap today. 

This week one of my goals is not to drink any soda.  I don't drink much of it anyway, but I really want to quit all together.  I think the hardest part is when we eat pizza, which we do about once a week.  Tough.  Pizza and coke just go together so well.

I'm always open to suggestions, so if anyone else has experienced something similar and found something that helped, let me know.

Sleep update

Well my hopes for a healthy weekend to aid in our new sleep mission didn't quite work out.  Yesterday Max had a fever and was just not feeling well last night.  He did however go to sleep on his own and wake up several times, never called out or cried and went back to sleep on his own.  I know because I was watching the video monitor like crazy to make sure he was ok.  Then at 2:30, after being awake for a good while and not being able to go back to sleep he stood up and started to cry lightly so I went in to help him get back to sleep, but could tell he needed some medicine because his fever had gotten higher.

I got up with him, got him some medicine, changed his diaper, put some lighter pj's on him and took him into the guest bed.  I guess part of being a mom is the paranoia.  I was completely paranoid that the place where he cut his lip when he fell at daycare Friday would become infected.  Just thinking about it made me want to keep him with me.  Yes I am a little crazy :)  Not all the time I promise...oh no...am I turning into my mom???!!!

Tonight will be better...I'm just sure of it.

Sleep update

I began the first part of step 1 this afternoon.  I put Max down for his nap while he was awake.  I did go in 2x to get his pacifier that he threw on the floor, but the last time I did not.  It took him a while to fall asleep, at least 20 minutes, but he did it...and without his pacifier.  Now that was something to be excited about!

Surprisingly, last night Daren only had to go in twice to rub his back to help him to sleep.  But he didn't have to pick him up and that was wonderful.  When Max woke up after 5am though, Daren did take him in the guest bed so he could sleep in a bit himself.  I woke up too, but went back to sleep and was shocked when I woke up and realized it was 7:30.  Now that is sleeping in for me and I loved it!

Photo Friday

It was just too sunny out to get a smile!!!

Big Daddy and our little man.

 Me and my little man.

Sleep update

So I got to read more of the book I got and it had a few suggestions I wanted to try.  First of all I have to say that I decided not to let Max "cry it out" this week.  He just started in a new class in daycare and he is so very tired in the evenings and adding another change from the usual is just too much for him right now.  But I still was committed to not taking him into the guest bed and sleeping with him unless he was sick. 

So last night he did a little better than his usual.  Instead of waking up at 8:20 he waited until 11:30.  I went in to help him.  His pacifier was on the floor, so I got that and held him for a very short time and helped him get back to sleep.  I went back to bed thinking that was way too easy.  I was right...he woke up maybe 30-45 minutes later and this one was hard.  I knew he had a little gas and I tried to sit in the chair in his room and help him back to sleep, but he was so squirmy that I thought he was going to throw himself out of my arms and onto the hardwood floor.  We struggled for a long time and I'll just say it...I had cramps...so I caved.  I just wanted to lay down and so I took him to the guest bed where he cried and got mad at me for moving him repeatedly from on top of me to the side of me so he wouldn't roll off the bed.  I feel bad, but I just didn't feel a lot of sympathy and frustration was more like it. 

I think because of this frustration I tried something different.  I waited until he fell asleep, then instead of waiting an hour to make sure he was asleep, I waited only about 5 minutes and then took him back to his crib.  Miraculously, it worked and he slept the rest of the night in his crib.  Of course by this time it was hard for me to get back to sleep, but that is a problem that will have to wait.  In the end I think he was up the second time for about an hour, maybe a bit less and I think I was back to bed around 1:30am.  We'll see how it goes this weekend.

Ahhh sleep

Well I had intended on taking on Max duty last night again and while I started getting Max ready for bed I started feeling like I was going to be sick, so I asked Daren if he would go ahead and take care of Max if he woke up.  Good news...he only woke up once when his pacifier fell from the crib and Daren went in to get it and help him back to sleep.  He went back to sleep quickly and slept the rest of the night!!! 

I know he has the ability to sleep at night and I know he was on the right track before he started getting all of the cooties and ear infections, so hopefully his immune system will keep getting stronger and we can continue seeing sleeping through the night.  I know we all need it.

In the meantime, I will continue to read the sleep book that was recommended to me so I can be prepared on how exactly I will handle the night wakings.

Baby needs some sleep!

Last night I got to go out to be at my Mom's group's open house.  It was my night to watch Max and I know Daren was hoping that he would sleep until I got home, but he has a strong track record of waking up an hour after we put him down.  Apparently last night was no different.

I got home to a dark house and found Daddy and baby asleep in the guest bed.  I woke Daren up and told him I would take over and he told me that he had to carry Max around for 20 minutes because he was crying so hard and he thought he might have had gas pain.  I never heard him do anything like it the rest of the night so I hope that it passed or it wasn't gas at all, because I think I've hit my limit on this not sleeping without us issue and am ready to put an end to it. 

I tried at about 1:30am to put him back in his crib and he stayed there for about 30 minutes(I think).  Then he started stirring and wasn't happy when I came in after a couple minutes to try to soothe him back to sleep.  He expected me to pick him up and take him out of the crib and when I didn't he reacted like he normally does lately when he doesn't get his way immediately.  Eventually he figured out what was happening and he laid down.  I know he tried to get back to sleep, but he kept looking up to see if I was still there and if I wasn't, it started all over again.  After an hour I finally gave up to take him to the guest bed. 

I made a vow, however that this was the last time.  Even though I am only 16 pages into the sleep book I am reading, I'm ready for a change.  So tonight I will be more prepared and will sleep on the floor of his room if I have to in order to keep him in his crib.  I'm thinking of taking the sheets off the guest bed to keep us from taking him in there.  We have given up way too easy.  Plus I am no longer worried about him crying it out, I don't like hearing him cry, but I'm at my wits end.

So the question is...am I strong enough not to cave?

I miss sleep!

I was so excited last week.  I told the little one that I was getting a book from the library on how to help him sleep so he should probably just sleep the whole night in his crib.  I told him they probably were going to tell us to make him cry it out and that didn't sound like fun so he should just get to it on his own. 

Ok, I realize that he is only 15 months old and none of this made any sense to him.  I probably sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher, but oh well.  Somebody had to warn him and I figured that since he loves me more than anyone else :) it might as well be me.

So he had 2 good nights and I thought we were turning a corner until everything went out the window last night and neither one of us got much sleep last night.  He wasn't feeling well and had a few blow outs yesterday while visiting his grandparents.  They were so unprepared I wish I could have been a fly on the wall as they tried to clean up the house and themselves.  Sounded a bit chaotic with tales of poop on the floor and trying to hose the boy down in the shower and all of them getting wet.

I ended up worried about him being sick overnight and I kept watching the monitor to see if he was ok and thought if he woke up I would go check his diaper.  So at 11:30 when I heard him drop his pacifier on the floor and saw him sitting up for a minute, I thought I would go check....BIG MISTAKE!!!!!  Diaper was perfectly dry.  I then tried to get him back to sleep and just as I was about to leave the room Daren ran into a door in the other room and freaked Max out.  He was so awake I had to hold him for almost 2 hours, ended up having to change his diaper twice because of all of it and then finally got him to sleep in the guest bed with me.  For a little while anyway.

Then the gas started with the tossing and turning until about 3am when he woke up, upset with me for moving him away from the edge of the bed(how dare I??!) and he began screaming and thrashing about...for I don't know how long.  I had to hold him in bed until he angrily cried himself to sleep in my arms.  I was so tired at this point that when Daren came in to get me up 2 hours later I startled because I was finally asleep and in the middle of a dream finally.  I felt like I was in a total fog...then I forgot to turn the fan on in the bathroom and got out of the shower to a real fog!

So I am totally tired tonight.  It is approaching 8 and I really wanted to go to bed an hour ago, but told myself I would wait until 8 so I felt less guilty.  Tomorrow night I am back to trying to read that sleep book.  I'm on a mission!  I could never let Max cry it out, but at this point I am willing to try anything.  Seriously.  We have to get this taken care of and get him back on track.  That baby needs his sleep and I don't want him to be a poor sleeper all of his life.  Plus, I think I might enjoy being well rested.  I vaguely remember it and I'm pretty sure it was a nice feeling. 

Photo Friday

Wait...that box wasn't there when I left the room a minute ago!  I guess he was really intent on helping reduce the electric bill.  Thank you sweet boy.

Confessions

Ok, I'm not Catholic, but for some reason I feel the need to confess...

• I only recently began writing anything at all in my 15 mo. old's baby book (was it planned that his first meals of solid foods happened on holidays so it was easy to remember?)

• Sometimes the newspapers sit on the front porch for 3 days before I remember to go get them(I guess this happens when they call me and tell me it is cheaper to get it all week rather than just on the weekends)

• I don't recycle.  I know I should and would like to start, but like everything else in my life right now...where to start...

• I will eat just about anything for breakfast...I hate to let leftovers go to waste.

• I really enjoy giving my son his nightly bottle and letting him fall asleep on my shoulder.  I want to get him off the bottle, but I love the way he takes a break, puts his pacifier in his mouth, then takes it out and just opens his mouth like a baby bird when he wants me to put the bottle back to his mouth again.

• While there were many days when I really enjoyed the special time I had when breastfeeding, I was jealous of the mothers who formula fed and didn't have to pump.

• Most days, the only reason I put on makeup is because I have to pick my son up from daycare and don't want to look like the laziest person on earth because I'm not.  I find it hard to believe that any mother of an infant/toddler could be called lazy.

• Some days I go to bed at 8.

• I don't cook often, I need to learn and never have a clue at the store what to buy

• I feed my son the Gerber Graduates meals more than I care to mention...I'll never tell.

• I hate shopping for clothes and groceries. 

• Sometimes when I need a chocolate fix, I pour the Hershey's syrup straight into my mouth. Yes, Daren, I really do :)

• Many times I leave my clean clothes in a chair in the bedroom and just get my clothes every day from the pile rather than putting it away.  I'm getting better about this with a new habit I'm working on though.

• I will use the soap until I am scraping it off the soap shelf unless Daren replaces it.  It's true, I'm cheap, and it's just one of the many little ways I try to save money so I can spend it on more important things.

• Similarly, I won't throw away a lotion container until I have gotten every last drop out.

• I hate spending money on myself, and prefer spending money on others. 

• I like watching reality tv, not all of it, some of it really is junk food for the mind. 

•  Ironing?  I'm sorry, what is an iron?   ;)  If I don't get the chance to get the clothes out of the dryer I will turn it on again to get the wrinkles out.  And yes I have done that a few times to the same load in the past.

•  I often think of the time when Max will grow up and go out on his own and I can't stand it.  He is growing up too fast as it is.  I would do just about anything to slow time down.  But I don't want to be one of those mothers who can't let go...

Lawn Mower

I'm not sure what happened with Max.  For a while he was trying to say several words, a lot that started with a "B", like bird, ball, bye-bye, Bob (my parents cat) and book.  Then it just seemed like it stopped.  He was using his pacifier a bit more at home, but even when he didn't have it, he wasn't doing much but making animal sounds.  He was using the sign language that he gets taught at daycare, so he was still communicating, just seemed like he took a break from talking.

Then all of a sudden, about 2 weeks ago, we were out on a family walk and Max pointed to a riding lawn mower that was partially covered up and said something that surprised me.  He was trying to say lawn mower!  OK, it sounds like he is saying "monmor" but he definitely knows what he is talking about.  Since he has been able to crawl, he loves to watch Daddy out the window when he is mowing the lawn.  So now he is saying it all the time.  I really have to get it recorded it is so cute.

Now he is trying to say all kinds of words, squirrel, socks, shoes, out, walk, yogurt, rock, dog, bath...  Of course nothing sounds quite like the words yet, but boy is he trying.  It's like a light bulb went off and nothing is going to stop him.  I thought he might be delayed due to his hearing problems before he got the tubes put in his ears, but if it was, he is certainly trying to make up for it now!  We have just gotten to the point, where we even have to spell some words like walk because he really loves to go for a walk.  Oh my baby is turning into such a big boy!

Mom knows everything

Mom knows everything...except when she doesn't!  Oh and this momma had to do some apologizing last week.  I really did have a good excuse, I mean I was in the hospital!  Plus they said it could affect clear thinking and make me irritable.  But when it came down to it, I got irritable about something I was wrong about, and I felt bad.  So I apologized.

I love to be right, it's true.  I'm not sure I know anyone who likes to be wrong!  Thankfully, when I am clearly wrong, I don't have a problem admitting it and apologizing for it.  I am human and I'm in no way perfect.  Trying to be perfect just sounds way too exhausting to me! 

Even though I like being right, I certainly don't like reinventing the wheel.  When I don't know something I will usually try to ask others that I think might know and of course asking my mom.  What frustrates her is when I ask her for advice and end up doing the exact opposite.  I know she thinks I do this on purpose, but I don't.  I just like to hear other opinions and the reasons behind them and take that into account when I make my final decision.  I think in my mind it will help me make up my decision, but I probably already have my decision made, don't realize it, and am just looking for support for it. 

I really like to think things over, take my time and then move forward.  I'm not sure if I was ever really a spur of the moment kind of girl.  Oh sure, I have been at times in the past, but not overall.  Sometimes I get frustrated by all of the choices when I go grocery shopping, so I just leave without buying something that I might have wanted to get.  And buying our house and latest car was hard.  We made an offer on our house the same day we looked at it.  I'm really glad we did, but I had to be talked into it.  I didn't think it was a bad decision, but I just wanted to make sure it was the right one. I wasn't sure about the new car until we got a new stroller and I had to make sure it fit like I wanted...ok, I have to take the back wheels off to make it fit like I wanted, but it does and really that is all that matters :) 

So do these admissions mean I will feel any better about being wrong?  NO WAY!  If I say something wrong and realize it...but a part of it is right... you better believe I'm going to focus on that part!  Oh and if you are reading this Daren, you should just operate on the assumption that I am right.  It is just easier that way :)

Fall

I absolutely love the Fall.  I love seeing the leaves changing colors, although I hate to see them actually fall.  Wouldn't it be great if they could stay on the trees all year with those vibrant colors?  I will say that this last spring was our first in this house and the flowering trees out front were just so beautiful(for a couple weeks).  So I do look forward to seeing the trees flowering again.  But I sure love the Fall!

I'm just not a hot weather girl.  I don't know if this is something that will change in the future, but right now I don't like the really hot weather.  So now that the temp. has dropped a bit and I really want to get out and take walks and go to the park, but just like this summer, I feel like my life has been hijacked by illness.  I think we have only had a few weeks of being healthy this summer.  It is making me crazy! 

Yesterday I tried to get back to work, but my body protested.  So I layed flat on my back on my entire lunch yesterday and looked out the window watching moms in the neighborhood push strollers and wagons by and I was so jealous.  So I will stay positive, get lots of rest today and hope that by next week I am feeling better and the tests come back with the best results.  Because I can't miss out on this weather!!!  We are dying to take Max to see some pumpkins!

Forced rest

Well I am down and don't like it.  Like my typical post baby self, all I can think of today is all of the things I need to be doing.  I had to make a not so lovely trip to the ER first thing Monday morning and after a ridiculous amount of tests (I counted 15 different needle pokes) I am home and resting.  I really wanted to just get some things picked up around the house, laundry, etc, but I knew after being up for a short amount of time that my body was telling me to get back down.  So I will listen to my body and rest.  I know not taking care of myself now will only slow the healing.

So I am totally bored.  I couldn't take a nap if I wanted to, so the question is, what can I use this time for and still let my body get the rest it is demanding?  So I guess I can look up recipes for things to attempt to make in the future, or work on my Christmas shopping list.  Maybe I'll get out one of the magazines I haven't gotten to read yet, or make a new list of things to do...boring!

Photo Saturday?

Ok, I missed my post yesterday with the other issues that were going on, but I wanted to post this picture that I am in love with.  It is Max right after he took his first steps.  He was sooo happy!  This is definitely one of my favorite pictures.

Here is one from his first birthday.  He was sick that day, but still got to enjoy his birthday cupcake :)

Big moments in our lives...I won't ever forget.

Sleep interrupted

Well, it wasn't the restful nights sleep I was hoping for, but it was better than Daren's night, since it was his night to take care of Max.  He had to sleep in the guest bed with him early on, after he woke up an hour after going to bed with horrible gas pain.  He was screaming and crying out "Momma".  Daren and I both tried walking with him, tried doing the bicycle legs, gave him gas drops, I tried a small warm heating pad on his tummy, but nothing worked and we just had to wait until there was some movement and the pain passed. 

I woke up around 11:30 to hear the screaming again and I went to check on him and Daren.  Daren started walking with him again.  I knew there wasn't a whole lot I could do this time, so I thought I better try to get a little rest and told Daren to come get me for a break or if he wanted to split up the night.  It's not easy walking around holding him for long, especially when he is in pain and trying to push away from you at the same time.

I sent his gas drops to daycare with him today to give him regularly to see if we can get this to pass easier for him.  He was still passing quite a bit when I was getting him dressed this morning.  I just can't imagine what he thought as he had this pain that we couldn't take away.  I remember one time I had gas pain so bad I was lying in bed in tears thinking I was going to have to go to the hospital, until I felt some movement and realized what it was.  Understanding what it was comforted me, knowing that it would eventually go away.  But how do you explain that to a child, that while he understands many things we say, couldn't begin to understand this yet.

Yesterday when I called to check on him in daycare they said he was a little cranky and thought he might be teething.  Well he definitely isn't teething!  Poor kid.  I hope this isn't something he will have to continue battling for a long time.  Does anyone have any experience with gas in toddlers? 

Back on track

After having to keep my sweet son home since Sat, I think we are finally back on track...I hope!  I seriously hope that this is the last round of daycare cooties this year.  It's a hard part of being a working mother and having a child in daycare.

But now we can get back into the swing of things, get back to our schedule and back to making progress on everything that got put on hold.  So now, my house is clean...WOO HOO!  My laundry is almost done..really it's never done.  And perhaps on my lunch tomorrow, or this weekend, I should be able to start painting my kitchen at long last.  I am ignoring the areas I can't get to myself, like the behind the refrigerator or behind the stove right now.  I'm so intent on getting it started I don't care.  So now we'll have to see how long it takes to finish.

As today draws to an end, I look forward to one thing and one thing only...nice clean sheets on a freshly turned mattress.  Isn't that one of the best feelings? 

Illness

Right now my baby is in his crib sleeping.  Probably temporarily.  He has had a persistent high fever for several days.  We went to the after hours clinic this weekend and will go to his pediatrician tomorrow.  I'm hoping that it's like your car acting up, that by the time we get there he will be all better and his temp will be back to where it should be.
But right now I am just waiting.  I have the guest bed ready with the thermometer and medicine nearby, water to keep him drinking fluids and my pillows(not that I will get any sleep).  Even if he is sleeping I will be constantly checking on him and trying to get a read on his temperature.  Thankfully, not that long ago we decided to buy one of the forehead thermometer and boy am I glad we did.  Once we got it I doubted that we could take his temp. while sleeping like the information said, but the other night I did exactly that.  It beeps, but it never woke him up.  I couldn't read the display in the dark and kept my cell phone close by for some extra light.  I highly recommend one.

At this point I'm hoping he stays asleep for another 45 minutes until it is time for more Tylenol.  I really can't stand the thought of him sleeping alone when he is like this, so I don't think I will even bother laying down myself until it is time to get him and get his next dose of medicine.  I used to think it was best not to wake a baby to take medicine, but not now...Since we don't know what is causing the fever now, I want to watch him non-stop. 

Does this part get any easier? All I know is that I love him so much, even when he is sick, I can hold him and cry from the joy that he is in my life.  And I don't want that to ever change.

Full of it!

Max and gas...oh dear, where do I begin?  The last 3 nights, we have been spending a lot of time in the guest bed with Max so we can get some sleep.  You should see Max's hair in the morning from all of the tossing and turning he does all night from the gas.  Last night wasn't too bad, I actually got some sleep and when I woke up I realized that Max was no longer laying next to me, he was laying with his head on my shoulder.  I must have been sleeping hard for that not to wake me up! Highly unusual.

Right now I have 3 cousins expecting and it takes me back to the beginning.  I expected alot of problems but everything that I experienced was different from what I read about( I read alot).  I had no clue why Max was crying so much and I'm not sure how old he was but it was somewhere between 1-2 months old when the other problems calmed down and we started figuring all the other things out.  I had gotten to know Max better.  I think the cries tended to me a bit more distinct at that time and I would notice that Max would stiffen up, and scream, then relax a bit, then soon after do the same cry again.  I would look at his face and I just knew it was pain.  It was sudden and not a constant cry like the other cries.  Around this time you could also hear grumbling in his belly which amazed me.

I did a lot of searching on the internet after that.  I read one mom's story and how she mentioned that when the baby cried she would feed him not realizing that this was actually making the problem worse because she hadn't realized it was gas that was making him cry.  That was me!  I also had been having low milk supply so I initially thought he wasn't getting enough milk.  We even bought a scale to weigh him before and after feedings to make sure he was getting anything.  I know so many moms have babies with gas and it is so hard to figure out why and what to do to keep your baby from experiencing any pain.  And then you go to the Dr and they just tell you that many babies go through this and they will outgrow it.  Did that make me feel any better?!  I don't think so!!!  And we were at the Dr's office a lot in the beginning.

So I tried the big obvious elimination diets since I was breastfeeding and eliminated dairy for like 3 weeks.  It was so hard because there is all kinds of hidden dairy in food that I had no clue of.  Well that didn't seem to make much difference and I missed dairy, so I started back on my normal diet.  I have heard from moms that they could tell a difference immediately with certain foods...I didn't.  Plus Max spit up a lot...he pretty much lived in bibs.  I would put him in the car seat with an additional burb cloth draped over him he did it so often.  After every feeding I had to hold him upright for like 10 minutes and especially until he burbed, which I had to be super diligent about, before I laid him down.  And I started giving him gas drops with every feeding(which I am starting to think I should do again now).  There are so many different things to try it becomes overwhelming, you have to start somewhere.  I even tried probiotics I had read about...didn't work for us, but I felt better that at least I had tried it.  I also switched to Dr. Brown bottles.

I still remember when I was pregnant and getting a bunch of gifts and one item was gas drops.  If I remember correctly, my aunt told me that my cousin said not to be afraid to use them.  Well I clearly remember the night that Daren and I looked at each other and wondered why Max was crying so much and we remembered those gas drops and got them out and used them for the first time while stumbling around in the dark.  We didn't know it was gas at the time, but were willing to try anything.  And gas drops every once in a while didn't help, only with every feeding did we notice a little difference.

I think back to everything and wonder if my problems will help anyone else.  I know this is a small posting for a big problem, but it's something.  I'm sure I will be giving more advice to my pregnant family or anyone else that needs it, because I think if I can help anyone going through something similar it is worth it. By the way, I also know several moms that swear by taking the baby to the chiropractor and it helping with a variety of issues including constipation.

In the end, having a gassy baby stinks.  ;)  There are a ton of different things you can try.  I only tried a few that made sense for us.  Just do as much research as you can, talk to your pediatrician, and try anything else you feel comfortable with to see if it works.  Oh and everyone is full of advice on this topic, so listen to it and in the end, do what you think is best.  Every child is different and you know what is best.

Photo Friday

Seriously, the boy stands on his giraffe and rocks back and forth with no hands.  Every time I see it I end up singing..."If everybody had an ocean...".   For some reason he doesn't look that happy in this pic, the only pic I have gotten, but he is.  You should see the video we got the first time he did this.  The giggling wouldn't stop.

I see many hospital visits in our future.  Not even 15 months yet...what am I in for???!!

Bath Time

Here is just one more area I feel the need for my mommy mentor...bath time.  Max is a very active boy and the bath tub is no exception.  There's no telling how many times I say, "Please sit down" while he is in there.  I only put a small amount of water in the tub because he is constantly putting his face in the water and then coming up coughing.  Or even better, as he did tonight peeing in the water and then doing a belly flop on top of it! Fun!

Of course the part that worries me the most is that he had to get tubes in his ears a few months ago and has to wear ear plugs around water.  The other day he turned his head to the side and put his ear in the water!  I said,  "Don't put your ear in the water!"  Well I think the selective hearing is already in effect and he turned his head to the other side and put that ear in the water.  I just have to pray that the ear plugs are working well enough under those conditions. 

So usually we make it through bath time with no major injuries...unless you count the fact that I'm waiting for the heart attack to get me at any moment from the craziness.  And even though when bath time is over and Max is ready to get out, once I try to dry him off and put a diaper on him the tears and attempt at running away and attacking the toilet begins.  There is usually a struggle and bribes of various toys, hopefully something that peaks his interest and if I'm lucky there is a pacifier nearby.

Monday night I got so lucky and the entire bath process was so smooth I thought my child had been body snatched and in his place was an alien...a sweet well behaved alien.  Tonight on the other hand...hmmm.  Belly flop in the pee pool, trying to bite all things metal, and screaming, writhing until I had to hold him down then distract him with a comb to get his diaper on.  Oh the joy of bath time :)

Getting it together

I think I need a plan for getting everything done and doing a little more for myself as well.  This weekend things seemed to go more smoothly and I felt like I was able to get things done around the house.  Not everything I wanted to do, and none of my house projects, but I got stuff done none the less.

Last week I got the rest of my wallpaper glue off, with the exception of behind the stove and I am dying to get that paint up, so I have to hurry and get the rest of the patching and sanding done.  I also am getting very frustrated with my closets and the fact that most of my clothes don't fit me.  That and somehow my closet seems to have a lot of visitors from my mom's house.

So this week my two projects are to work on my closets(yes I have 2 closets full of clothes) and to get the walls in the kitchen ready to paint, or get the painted started by this weekend.

First I am going to take about 5 to 10 minutes each night before I go to bed and move clothes that I don't like/never wear/shouldn't be wearing, to the other side.  Then I will move these all to one spot, right now, Max's closet, until I decide what is going to happen to the clothes.  I'm thinking of having a clothes swap party at my house if anyone is up for it...let me know if you are interested.

As far as the kitchen goes, I think I am going to set aside 20 minutes on my lunch each day to work on it.  Then I can take about 20 minutes to get some chores done, possibly even eat, and feel like I am making progress as well.

As far as time for myself?  I hate working out at night, but if I can get a little walk in with Max at night I may at least feel like I'm doing something for myself.  We're going to get a new stroller, so not letting the money get wasted will be enough motivation for me to get out at night until it starts getting dark then.

So that is the plan, let's see if I stick to it  :)

Bottle withdrawl

I tried to get Max off his bottle.  It didn't go well.  We are really only down to the bedtime bottle and that's it, but I think he would have done better if I had picked a better night.  He was pretty tired and got cranky pretty fast.  It may have been the cup that I tried to give him instead. 

To compound the problem it was dark in the room and I thought he had initially drank a lot, but then when he started getting really upset I went to switch to the bottle and it didn't look like he had drank much and the milk had a ton of bubbles on the top.  So I was sure that he was going to have bad gas...and he did.  I was up from about 10, not long after I fell asleep, until I finally put him back into his crib at 3:30.  I call him my little pinball on nights like this because he can't get comfortable and just keeps moving back and forth and up and down all over the section of the bed he sleeps on.

So I guess I will wait and see if there is a better night this week to try it.  Keeping my fingers crossed!!