Two Months

-- Robert is 12 1/2 pounds and has outgrown most of his 0-3 month clothes. He just moved up to size 2 diapers. I was trying to finish the last package of size 1's and finally gave up when my mom said the size 1's were like bikinis on him.

--He's smiling a lot and lets out a giggle every now and then.

-- He frequently sounds congested in his head and chest, but breathes normally once he calms down and when he sleeps. He has very dry, irritated skin, especially on his face.

-- When he's fussy, sometimes he likes to just be laid down and left alone. He'll kick and play for a long time by himself. Just don't put him in his crib for alone time. The boy's not stupid.

-- His fists are always clenched. I have to pry them open at bath time to wash all the gunk out. Between drool and spit up that gets in there, they start to reek after a while.

-- As of a week or so ago, he's holding his head up really well.

Resting Peacefully

~~It's 9:15 and someone is still sleeping~~

Quick Update

Clara is finally feeling better. She woke this morning with coughing and horrible chills and was still running a slight fever part of the morning despite the fever reducers. Her appetite returned with a vengeance at breakfast. She had a bagel, waffle and pear and still wanted more to eat.

She was playing and coloring for the first time in a week and didn't want to lay around on the couch all day. She's been laughing and smiling too but she's still pretty clingy and doesn't want to take her medicine. All we have to do is tell her that if she doesn't drink her water and take her medicine that we'll have to take her back to the doctor for a shot. Works every time.

I Was Right

More pictures of the cutie pie. The "I was right" part is further down.





Clara woke up this morning still sick with fever, runny nose and cough. The doctor yesterday actually wrote a prescription for an antibiotic since she's been sick for so long and said I could start it in a day or two if she wasn't better. I don't like giving an antibiotic when no infection is present but I just couldn't see how this wasn't an infection by now, so I had planned on filling it tonight if she wasn't better.

Well, when nap time came, she started complaining of a stomach ache. I figured it was just from all the drainage and just wrote it off. She started crying more and more and then was screaming that it hurt. I couldn't get her to stop screaming, so I called Chris and he immediately left work to come home.

I called the dr. office and they wanted to see her right away so I got her dressed, woke Robert and changed him and Chris got home and we left right away. She had calmed down a bit before he got home but then started up again and was screaming when he came in. He wanted to take her to the ER, so we went to the one that he visited back in the summer when he had chest pains. He's raved about the place since then, so we headed there instead of the hospital's ER. He was right; this place rocks.

She was doing ok in the car and when we got there. There was no one in the waiting room and we were taken right in. They did a chest x-ray and everything looked fine. When the doctor examined her, he said she had a severe upper respiratory infection and bronchitis and was dehydrated. The stomach stuff was just gas or cramps or something. Nothing to worry about.

I was thinking about it and she's never really had any stomach aches or intestinal complaints of any kind. No diarrhea or constipation or anything, so it makes sense that at a time when she's really sick and has this new pain she's never felt before that she would just go completely nuts. I'm just slightly kicking myself for taking my child to the ER for gas although I'm so glad to have an answer.

I asked the doctor how likely it was that the infection just cropped up overnight since 24 hours earlier I was told her lungs were all clear. He squirmed a bit and I could tell he didn't want to answer my question. He said, "All I know is you have one very sick little girl". So yeah, Chris has been wanting to switch pediatricians and this kinda sealed the deal. This would be the second infection she's had that has been missed. She had a sinus infection a year ago that the doctor didn't catch. We only discovered it because I asked if she would do a swab since it didn't seem normal to me to have a coughing fit every single night for 3 months straight.

Part of me thinks maybe it's not such a big deal, I mean she did prescribe an antibiotic, right? My problem is she sent me on my way telling me there wasn't an infection present but gave me meds for an infection. I just really don't think this went from all clear to severe in 24 hours and if she didn't believe it was an infection, I don't think she should be prescribing antibiotics. But maybe that's just me.

She's on round the clock Motrin and Tylenol and also an antibiotic, expectorant and antihistamine. She's completely miserable tonight so I hope she's able to get some rest. The antihistamine causes drowsiness so hopefully that kicks in soon.

Stubborn Bug

I just got back from taking Clara to the doctor. I really have no idea what takes so long there. The waiting room was basically empty when we got there but it was still about an hour before we saw the doctor.

Anyway, Clara was sick with a fever and croupy cough almost two weeks ago. Both subsided after about a day and she was left with a normal cough and runny nose that I figured was just the tail end of her illness. After almost a week of that, she started running a fever again on Thursday and has had it on and off since then.

I was sure it had turned into an infection by now, but I was wrong. After taking a look in one of her ears though, the doctor decided she needed to clean out all the wax because she couldn't see anything. It made sense that it was blocked; she's been asking me to repeat everything I say these last few days. If you remember, Clara has had issues with earwax buildup and had her ear irrigated in the ER back in May. This was also the third in-office cleaning she's had. The doctor stuck that stick in her ear probably 10 times to get enough wax out just to be able to see her eardrum. Clara was not happy.

And now we're just sitting at home waiting it out. Stubborn bug. Chris got back from a week long trip to Rio this morning. He felt a little crummy during his whole trip and still does, so he'll be getting himself to the doctor too. Oh, and Robert's nose is a little stuffy. Having a winter baby is nerve-wracking I tell ya.

I Thought This Looked Familiar

I took this picture today.


It looks an awful lot like this picture taken about 4 years ago, wouldn't you say? Same hairline and everything.

I'm Smitten

That hairline cracks me up!





Clara finally let me do something fun with her hair today. She never wants me to do anything but a bow but today she let me do braids. She woke up whiney from her nap so I took her temperature a few minutes ago. Yep, another fever. She's coughing a little and has a slight runny nose. Can't wait to see what we've got this time.

Newborn Pictures

Birth announcements have been sent, so I can now post pictures from Robert's newborn session. They're not amazing, but there's only so much you can do with a 10 day old baby who refuses to cooperate or sleep for two straight hours. The pictures of the four of us didn't turn out at all. Clara refused to smile and Robert was fussing the whole time. The photographer offered to retake them if I wanted since Robert was not a happy camper, but I wasn't about to subject myself to that again.

Storytime

Robert joined Clara and I for her story at naptime today. He's hoping he'll get a cool book made especially for him by his grandma someday ;)


Robert has really turned a corner this past week or so. He's much more amiable thank goodness. As I suspected, as soon as he started making more eye contact and smiling, he became tolerable. I can now nurse him and either put him down or hand him to someone else. Yay! It was a rough few weeks so I am just giddy that other people can hold him and love on him now. His big smiles just melt my heart. Love, love, love my baby boy!

Yesterday was a major milestone for him. If I'm not mistaken, it was the first time I put him in the car while awake and he didn't cry for at least a couple of minutes. He was quiet as I put him in so I thought he had fallen asleep. But no, his eyes were wide open. I ran to get in and told Clara to hurry and get buckled before he starts crying. Lo and behold, the crying never ensued. Five minutes into our drive I was sure he was out cold, but Clara said his eyes were still open. Oh happy day! He would start fussing at every red light, but the no full blown crying (until we got to our destination). He's screamed every time since, but I know it's possible now.

A Lazy Saturday Morning

...... spent smiling in our sleep in Mama and Daddy's bed,

doing a bang up job drinking from our very first bottle,

playing airplane with Daddy,

and just being a cutie!

Got It!

A bubbly grin just for you!

She's Sick Again

Clara started running a fever yesterday. She was tired and had no appetite, but that was about it. She started sneezing and her nose started running later and then right before bed the barking cough started up. So, this is my first time dealing with croup. Her cough isn't bad at all. It just flares up when she's upset. I'm praying Robert stays well. We're washing hands a lot and she's quarantined on the couch and not allowed near him. I'm just hoping it's enough.

Last night and the night before, Clara has woken up screaming because of bad dreams. Chris and I both went in to her room last night. She was terrified and took a few minutes to calm down. In between sobs she kept saying "there was too much water". I thought she meant she drank too much and wasn't dry, but Chris questioned her a little more and figured out she dreamed that she was drowning. She just didn't know the word for it. Ugh! Stab me in the heart; I just about cried thinking of how terrified she must have been dreaming about something she doesn't even really have a good concept of.

Robert is doing well. His rash or acne or whatever it is has mostly cleared up. It's just dry red patches on his cheeks now. We weighed him at my 6 week checkup on Monday and he was 11/3 with clothes on.

A Few More Christmas Pics