Truey Update

We saw Dr. H this morning and she said Truett's ears look great! I was shocked. It turns out he's just got a fever virus that is going around. It usually includes a sore throat and upset tummy. Hopefully he'll feel better soon.
Chrys

"I Made an O!"

This boy loves the alphabet. Especially O's.
Sick brother looks zoned. He was up several times last night and we're headed to the pedi later this morning.
Chrys

Summer Fun, Sort-of.

Sweet T doesn't feel well and I suspect it's an ear infection. Shocker, I know. He's got a low fever and he fussed nonstop today. Nonstop. Like, making me craaaaazy nonstop. Poor guy.

I filled up the baby pool on the patio, thinking it might distract him and cheer him up. But he would have nothing to do with it. He just cried and cried. He was hot and miserable so I finally brought him inside and we watched Brother play through the window. O's a ham and he thoroughly enjoyed entertaining us...
Chrys

So Momma's Not Crazy & An Allergy Update

The last week of parenting has kicked my rear. Seriously. I am so beat down.

Whining. Irrational crying. Disobedience. Irritability. Discipline, discipline, discipline.

Oliver, who typically goes right to sleep at night, has made bedtime a miserable event for everyone in our house. And probably for our neighbors as well. It has taken hours - HOURS??? - to get him down the last several nights. And you can forget potty training b/c he screams bloody murder when we mention it. (Thanks to the elimination diet he's on I can't use M&Ms for bribery anyway.) We had to leave the library without any books thanks to the fit he threw over not getting to do the puzzle he wanted to do. Approximately three-fourths of his excessive toy collection is in toy prison b/c he chose not to pick them up and Mommy had to. Are you getting the picture??

And Baby Truett must be held at all times or he will cry. Granted, he doesn't shed a tear after bloodying eight fingers by slamming them in a kitchen cabinet. But walk past him without picking him up? You'll break his heart.

So. I took both boys to the pediatrician this morning thinking there had to be an explanation for their behavior.

Ear infections all the way around. Yep. Again.

We hoped things would improve on the ear front when the weather warmed up. Hmmmmm. We'll return for a checkup in three weeks and will talk then about tubes for poor Truett.

The meds haven't helped the boys yet but somehow those two new antibiotic prescriptions have made me feel better: I'm not crazy! And perhaps we haven't really raised children who will intentionally act this way forever!

I'm rejoicing.

Allergy update: Oliver can't have his beloved milk but is intrigued by all the "new milks" in our fridge: goat, almond, rice, and soy. He requests a new one each time and hasn't missed a beat. The fact that I got a couple of chocolate versions of the new milk has definitely aided in the transition.

Thanks to those of you who emailed and commented with ideas. We got some Sunbutter as well as cashew and almond butter. He likes all three and has been sampling a little of each at mealtime. We're still adjusting and haven't seen a real improvement in his symptoms yet but I know it hasn't been long enough.

I felt sorry for him at church on Sunday b/c he had to wear a huge, florescent sticker proclaiming his allergies. His teacher is a friend of mine and said he didn't even notice when the other kids were eating cheddar goldfish at snack time b/c he was too busy playing intently. So that's good.

On Sunday our thoughtful friend Jan surprised me with an orange cake, one of my favs, for an early birthday celebration. She even called my mom for the recipe, super sweet. It was delicious and I felt so sad for Oliver b/c he couldn't have any of it. He started to fuss but Mike ran to a vending machine and came back with Oreos, which we learned are vegan. Who knew? Oliver had never had Oreos before but he is understandably now a fan.

And finally, for the record, Oliver weighed 32 lbs today and Truett weighed 18 lbs, 9.5 oz.

Chrys

Miserable.

I feel horrible for this poor child. I quit counting at 80. Oliver has a ton of fire ant bites. And, yes, they are toxic. He is running a low fever and we're watching him closely. Please pray for his comfort. There are even bites in between his toes. He is miserable.

Chrys

7 Months Old

Sweet Truett,

I am so crazy about you. You are an absolute doll baby.You are babbling ma-ma-ma, da-da-da, bub-bub. You also say "hi". And you laugh all the time. I LOVE IT.

You are always on the move. You are drawn to cords, electric outlets, plants and anything dangerous. You open cabinets and can already almost climb the stairs. I can't believe how fast you're growing up. You just want to keep up with your brother!
We started you on solid foods this month and you've gained 2.5 lbs in only four weeks! You weighed in at 16 lbs, 7 oz at the doctor on Monday. You little piglet! Unlike your big brother, you will eat anything. You have even chowed on spinach. You think biter biscuits are the greatest invention since beboo milk. You crack us up.Your favorite thing to eat is my special avocado recipe that I made just for you. You can't get enough of it. It has given you a bit frog belly and lots of rolls on your cute thighs.I cannot keep you out of the Pothos Ivy so we had to move it. I found out today that it can be poisonous if you ingest a lot of it. That's scary! I don't think you ever swallowed any but you certainly tried.Yes, we were back at the doctor this week b/c you have yet another ear infection. You poor baby! I don't think it will be long before they recommend we see an ENT doc. You've just had so many problems with your little ears. I'm so sorry they hurt.

You are still on Prevacid and that seems to help a lot.
You make hilarious faces and people always laugh if they've never seen you do it before. When you're hungry you start signing for milk while you snort and scrunch your nose. You get your point across.It is hard for me to believe that you're already standing up in your crib and pulling up on everything. You even turn the music on in your crib. You're supposed to be a baby!It's a good thing you're so tough b/c your brother likes to wrestle with you. You rarely cry when you get hurt. You love baths and have never once cried in the bathtub. You do, however, cry if I walk by you and don't pick you up. It's like I have broken your little heart. So sad. You are definitely momma's boy.You have been sleeping better since you started solids. You're still unpredictable and don't seem to require as much sleep as other babies your age. We tried to put you and brother in the same room but you kept waking him up. So we'll try again later.

You are a joy, baby boy. I can see you growing before my very eyes. I dreamed last night that you were already walking. It probably won't be long. Slow down!

I love you.

Momma

Something To Look Forward To

Well, we didn't get to have our night away after all. So sad. Mike started feeling achy on Thursday night and by Friday morning he had a 101+ fever. We were just sure it was the flu. Ironically his doctor was out with the flu and their practice was totally booked b/c of all the sick folks around here so he went to a random clinic and got a flu test. It was negative, thank God. (I was especially concerned about baby Truett getting the flu b/c he's too young to take Tamiflu.)

Even though it wasn't the flu, Mike still felt terrible and it only got worse. So we decided it was best to cancel our reservation (I still don't know anything about those plans). Later we were even more certain that we'd made the right choice b/c I started feeling achy and sick by that evening. Thankfully Mike's folks were here to take care of the boys so that we could rest. I never had more than a low grade fever but poor Mike was burning up. We slept a lot and woke up Sunday morning feeling a thousand times better.

And we are all well now. It is so exciting!

Jammie & PawPaw have promised to come back another weekend so that we can try it again. It gives us something to anticipate, which is always fun. We hope to get that on the calendar soon. This will be our first time to leave the kids overnight so it's a big deal.

Chrys

Yep.

No big surprises today. Oliver has a sore throat (not strep), an ear infection and infections in both eyes. And Truett has a sore throat and a double ear infection. These infections are clearly not responding to Augmentin so we're calling in the big guns. So big, in fact, that I had to go to three pharmacies and almost had to take out a loan just to get the prescriptions. So Suprax it is. We'll see how it works.

Piper told us that this is the worst sick season they've seen in years. She assured us that it's nothing we're doing wrong and it's not b/c they've got poor immune systems. We just haven't been able to get rid of the congestion so they keep getting ear infections. It's wild b/c, prior to the past month, Oliver has had one ear infection in his entire life. Strangely his ear infections seem to show up in his eyes, too, which I had never heard of before.

Truett also got another Nystatin ointment prescription for his vicious diaper rash. They recommended letting him go without his diaper but that's easy for them to say, right?

Baby T had his six month "well baby" check and he's doing well in spite of being sick. The nurses and the nurse practitioner oooohed over how well he gets around and one predicted he'll be walking by seven months. Yikes. I am so not ready for that. They also laughed at him when he animatedly signed for milk as though I hadn't nursed him all day.

Truett is a skinny guy. He weighs 15 lbs, 3 oz which puts him between the 5th and 10th percentile. His brother weighed just a little more at this age so I'm not concerned, especially since we've recently started solids and he's sure to gain quickly. Also he's been sick for the past month which couldn't have helped. He is average in his height (26.25 inches, 50th percentile) and head circumference (43.4 cm, 45th percentile). I realize that breastfed babies are usually smaller at this point so I'm much more relaxed about it this time around. No science fair projects for me!

Aside from putting on weight his development is all normal or ahead of schedule. He crawls all over the place, tries to climb, jabbers (mostly using consonants like m and b), squeals and recognizes his own name. He shows sharp mood changes and acts as though his feelings are hurt if you walk by him and don't pick him up. He kisses his image in the mirror and can sit alone for a bit without falling over. He "stands on his head", which we think is hilarious. I need to get a picture of it. He loves his big brother and no one can entertain or distract him the way Oliver can.

Yesterday Mike heard a noise and then a hurt cry coming from Truett's room during his nap. He went into the nursery and deduced that True had pulled himself up to standing in his crib, fallen down and hit his head on the other side of the crib. He's out of control! He keeps getting caught in between his bumper pads and the crib slats or stuck with a leg or arm hanging out of the crib. It's crazy how different they are b/c we never saw any of these antics with his brother.

I am hopeful that we'll be feeling much better soon. Here's to Suprax!

Chrys

Our Annual President's Day Celebration

Aunt Jordan braved the rain and the fevers to come see us this weekend. Even our germs couldn't keep her away. That's devotion.The boys remain sick but we decided we couldn't bear to skip our annual President's Day/Anniversary brunch at Bread Winners and our pilgrimage to the jeweler to get our wedding rings checked and polished. It was three years ago in that restaurant atrium that we celebrated our first anniversary and decided on Oliver as our boy name.

I loved being out and about after being homebound for three weeks. And it was extra special to have Jordan and Truett there to celebrate with us this year. (Well, Truett was there last year, making me very nauseous.) We all enjoyed a yummy brunch and Oliver decided their bread is indeed a winner.

True sat in a high chair like a big boy and he and Oliver acted like brothers. It was adorable. And hilarious. Check out this action:

Truett desperately wanted some of our food. Poor guy. He's too much of a table food newbie to enjoy the fare this year. He was pitiful, though:

Aunt Jordan, I'm begging you for a tee-tiny bite of that French toast.

What?? No food for me? Then I will lay my chin down on this table and watch you with huge puppy dog eyes to ensure that you are unable to enjoy your fine cuisine.

Yes! A crumb! I must be sneaky.

Drat. Foiled again.

You'll get your turn next President's Day, Brother. It's worth the wait.

Four years this Thursday!

Our little family of four.

Though the boys were exhausted and Oliver's mood was dwindling we attempted a family photo shoot when we got home. I'm working on those pics now and will post some soon.

Oliver's eyes are gunky again and today marks his fourth day of high fever (102+) so we're headed back to the pediatrician tomorrow morning. My guess is that this is bacterial and we'll get prescriptions for at least a couple of ear infections.

So stay tuned for the always exciting, continuous coverage of Sickfest 2008.

Chrys

Back to the Doctor

Yep, more sick talk ahead. Remember that this is our baby book so I want to record these details. I don't expect many of you to be interested other than the grandparents.

With that preface, on with the details: Oliver has had 102+ fever since yesterday and we made a special Saturday visit to the pediatrician this morning. He was up a lot last night and I was really concerned. Dr. H said that one of his ears is infected and his throat looks bad. She checked Truett's throat and it looked just like O's but his ears are fine. They did a strep test on Oliver and it was negative.

But since the boys just finished ten days of antibiotics yesterday it seems crazy to put them back on another antibiotic. She thinks it's viral so we'll wait it out and see if they get better without meds. We'll return on Tuesday for a checkup and Truett's six-month well baby visit.

This fever is driving poor Oliver crazy. He was in the bathtub today and played for so long that the water got cold. I was playing with Truett when Oliver said, "I-I-I-I need a-a-a-a- blanket in da baff, plea-a-a-ase!" His lips were purple and he was shivering! Poor guy. He didn't want to get out b/c he was too busy playing in the tub but his little thermostat is all messed up b/c of the fever. So his teeth chattered and we wrapped him in a blanket and held him tightly while he warmed up. Bless his sweet heart.

Chrys

More of the Same

I wish I had something more exciting to write about but, alas...

Boys are sick. I am sick. Mike is getting sick. Again. Truett has had 102+ fever for four days now and I've rarely been able to get it below 101. He has been miserable and it's so sad. He lies there and moans. He was inconsolable for several hours last night so I called the pediatrician first thing this morning.

They immediately suspected the flu. But they tested him and it's not! Thank God! (There's nothing they could do for him if it was b/c he's too young for Tamiflu but they would have prescribed it for the rest of us.) Turns out his ear infections look better so the antibiotic is working. His throat is red and it just looks like he's got another fever virus. And, to top it off, the poor guy has a hefty case of a diaper rash that requires a prescription ointment.

So we wait it out. Ironically, we probably keep picking up these bugs at the doctor's office since that's the only place we've been lately.

I think what I've got is just sinus junk. My voice is pretty much gone and I've got congestion and a incorrigible headache. I do not have a fever so I'm not concerned that it's the flu. (Yes, we got our flu shots.)

I hope to write about something else soon. Today is Oliver's 28-month birthday but it's hard to get good pics of a snotty-faced, bleary-eyed kid. He does not have a fever today so that's good. We have a giant stack of new library books so we're about to tackle those.

That's all for now. I'm weary but grateful that it's just tummy bugs and viruses and snotty noses. It could be so much worse.

Chrys

P.S. Random thought: Mike and I watched an excellent, thought-provoking movie last night. It is called God Grew Tired of Us. It is a documentary about three of the Lost Boys of Sudan.

P.P.S. Update: Forget what I wrote earlier. Oliver's fever is back.

Oliver Van Winkle & His Baby Brother

I put Oliver down for a nap at 2:30 this afternoon. I watched him on the monitor and he didn't go to sleep until nearly 3:30.

And he is still asleep.

Yeah, so it's 10:30 p.m. and he's still napping. I guess we'll see him tomorrow. Is he a teenager already??

Oliver was a grouch yesterday. I should have known something was going on. He hit me (which he's never done before) and he refused to eat anything (unfortunately that's fairly normal). He also told me that his ear was hurting him. He has never said that before so it caught my attention. Then while I was cooking supper he told me that his eye was hurting. His eye??

I looked up to see nasty junk oozing out of his eye. (Yes, of course I took pictures. But they are too gross and sad to post on our blog.) I immediately suspected pink eye and called the on-call nurse at his pediatrician's office. She said that since he's been sick (stomach bug last week, never ending runny nose, cough) and was complaining about his ear that it could possibly be related to that. She told us to keep a close watch and monitor for fever or worsening symptoms.

We woke him up last night about midnight to check on him and that didn't work out so well. (I can say that b/c it was my idea.) He woke up and was ready to play even though his right eye was nearly swollen shut. We put him in bed with us (another bad idea) and for the next two hours we tried to sleep. How do you co-sleepers do it?? Oliver giggled, tickled us, laughed, sang songs, talked garbled nonsense and kept stretching out and saying, "I'm squishing you! I'm squishing you!" I finally announced that he was plenty well to sleep in his own crib b/c sick children do not act like silly geese at 1:30 a.m.

He wailed at the top of his lungs and I felt terrible so we gave it another try. But no. That didn't work, either. He ended up back in his room and I had to put on my game face. He finally went to sleep in his crib a little after 2:00 with everything situated just as he wanted. He demanded "purple Bible songs" (he refers to his Cedarmont Kids CDs by color) but we couldn't find it so he settled on "Bullbugs & Flowers". (He was talking about Bull Frogs & Butterflies but was a little out of it.)

So this morning we took him to our favorite nurse practitioner, Piper. Oliver told her that he needed a stethoscope and wanted "a check up right here". She said the problem isn't pink eye but is related to the ear infection in his right ear. Hmmmm. Oliver has only had one other ear infection in his life. As she wrote a prescription for an antibiotic I asked her if Truett was likely to get sick. She offered to take a peek at his ears and boy I was thankful she did b/c it turns out that our littlest guy is the sick one. My goodness, the poor child has two terrible ear infections. Bulging. I feel awful.

So I walked in to the pediatrician's office with what I thought was one sick kid and I left with three ear infections and an eye infection. Mom of the Year award for me, anyone?

We went to the pharmacy and got both prescriptions filled. Too bad they don't sell Augmentin at Sam's in a giant value pack. We came home and I gave the boys their medicine and put them down for naps. Oliver is still dreaming away.

Sweet Truett took a nap and woke up just before 5:00. Normally he's ravenous and very enthusiastic about supper time but he was acting really weird. He wouldn't nurse and seemed offended when I kept offering. He fussed and stared at me with a strange look on his face. Just as I was about to panic Truett began vomiting everywhere. Repeatedly. Violently. Some even came out of his nose. I'll spare you any more details but just know that I was baffled at how much his little tummy contained.

I could see the medicine and I got freaked out b/c I was concerned that he was reacting to the new antibiotic. I called the pharmacist and the advice nurse (they love me, I know) and they both said to watch him carefully but that it was probably b/c of the ear infection since he didn't have a rash or any other crazy symptoms of a drug allergy.

So tonight was spent trying to keep some milk and medicine down True. Bless his sweet heart. And tummy. He is sleeping now and we'll see how tonight goes. I am not real hopeful that it will be filled with much sleep on my end.

Although I was quite distracted by a squirmy, fussing baby in my lap I managed to watch LOST. Ahhhhhhhhhh! Fans, what did you think? What are your theories?

Chrys

Update: The night went great! We woke Oliver around midnight to give him the antibiotic and change his diaper then he went right back to sleep. It's 8:30 on Friday morning and he just woke up after sleeping for 17 hours. The first words out of his mouth were, "Dere is a booger in my eye." We laughed.

Truett slept well too and only woke once to nurse. He went straight back to sleep and is still snoozing away. He kept that milk down, thank God. So far, so good!

I Will Not Eat Them, Mom I Am

Try them! Try them and you may! Try them and you may I say!

Oh, Oliver. I'm sorry.

Fixing Green Eggs & Ham (minus the ham) for supper probably wasn't the best idea considering you had the dreaded rotavirus yesterday. Sorry, bub. I totally forgive you for not eating them.
If it makes you feel any better, I didn't like them either.

Not in a box. Not with a fox. Not in a house. Not with a mouse.

Love,
Momma

P.S. The eggs are not green b/c of broccoli, Oliver. When are you going to believe that there are other green foods besides broccoli?? For the record, this was spinach. It will make you strong. But you have to eat it.

WAY Better!

We are a thousand times better, thank God. No one has gotten sick in the past 24 hours and we're so relieved. We took both boys to the pedi this morning and the doc said it sounded like we all had the rotavirus, which is going around.

Truett weighed 15 lbs, 5 oz and Oliver weighed 28 lbs, 4 oz.

T is either just getting over an ear infection or could be getting one soon so we are going to keep an eye on that.

Must finish the laundry!

Chrys

Dominoes

Truett on Tuesday.
Mommy on Wednesday.
Dadoo on Thursday.
Oliver on Friday.

And that's how the stomach flu has ravaged our house. This is a nasty bug. I've already lost 7 lbs. (No complaints on the weight loss, of course, but I wouldn't recommend this method.)

Will blog again when we are well.

Chrys

Ear Today, Gone???

Truett seriously gets cuter every day. I could just gobble him up.
You can't tell it from these smiley pics but T has been sick for a couple of weeks now. He has been up every three to four hours each night since the week before Christmas. I'm losing my mind. He is fussy 90% of the time and happy as a lark the rest of the time. He screamed--not cried, screamed--for over two solid hours on our way back from Abilene last night and we all thought we were going to go crazy. Even Oliver kept saying, "Please be quiet, Truett!"

Poor guy. I thought he'd be happier in his own crib but he slept very little last night. So, back to the pediatrician we went.

And, yes, it's another ear infection. Stink! Just a week ago he finished his antibiotics from the first ear infection. And then he got croup. He's been such a grouch. I knew something had to be up.
What are the chances that the doctor we saw today (Dr. W) did his pediatric residency w/ the pedi we saw last week in Abilene?? Small world.

True weighed 14 lbs, 8 oz today. He is already pushing up on his arms and will be crawling before we know it. Hard to believe.So now we've got a new antibiotic and renewed hopes that our littlest boy will feel remarkably better very soon. (And some sleep would be nice, too!)

Chrys

Sickly

The boys have been congested for a couple of weeks and their coughs have gotten much worse. We finally took them today to a pediatrician here in Abilene who took care of me when I was a little kid.

Poor Baby Truett is the sickest. He has croup and had to get a cortisone shot. We have to watch him really carefully b/c his breathing is wheezy. Mike's folks got a humidifier to put in his bathroom so hopefully that will help. T's ears are well from his ear infection and he weighed 14 lbs, 11 oz so that's all good news. He has a rash on his face that the doctor said is just a teething rash.

Oliver has been on antibiotics for an ingrown toenail that was infected. It wasn't looking better and it turns out he's got a staph infection. So he got more oral antibiotics and ointment for that plus medicine for his terrible cough b/c he has an upper respiratory infection, too. He weighed in at 30.5 lbs.

Since they're both contagious and sick we're staying put in Abilene for now. I've been up much of each night with Truett since we arrived so we need all the help we can get. It is so nice to have family around!

Chrys

Poor T

No wonder poor Baby Truett has been a grump...
He has a double ear infection! Poor little guy. That would explain being up every three hours the last two nights.

We started him on antibiotics tonight so hopefully he'll feel much better very soon. He was a happy guy when he discovered the cute baby in the mirror today: For the record, he weighed 14 lbs today at the doctor.

Chrys

Halloweenies

Poor Baby Truett's first Halloween was so lame. We didn't do a thing. We didn't even wrap him up in foil. I'm not into Halloween anyway so I guess it's no big deal. The boys and I have been sick all week so we've only left the house to go to the grocery store.

And when we did? Oliver ran into the love of his life in a cart near ours...he threw his arms out to her and announced, "I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you!" I was stunned. Not sure what he found so wonderful about this little girl, but her grandmother and mother were certainly amused by his passionate declaration.

We took this pic of the boys in O's crib yesterday when we got big brother up from his nap. (Notice the scabs all over Oliver from his itchy rash.) I love how T is holding on to Oliver's finger:
We handed out candy to trick-or-treaters last night. Some of their costumes were really scary and I was concerned O would be afraid. Nope. The most frightening one was a skeleton-looking guy and Oliver called him a "funny monkey". He continued to talk about that funny monkey all night.

Oliver screamed through his nap time today and refused to eat supper tonight. I guess his 103 degree fever explains his behavior. Poor kid. Hopefully we'll all be feeling better soon.

Chrys

P.S. I did have a good idea for a costume for Oliver. I was thinking he could go as a two-year old: He could wear a pair of pants with a wooden spoon attached to the seat.

Maybe it's a good thing we didn't go anywhere.

Reflux Redux

So I haven't written much lately. It's b/c I've been concerned, confused, frustrated and very tired.

I thought that Truett's fussiness was just normal newborn stuff. I didn't worry about it much until weekend before last when we had lots of company and I couldn't carry on a conversation with anyone b/c of all the crying. (The baby, not me. Okay. Occasionally me.)

I called the advice nurse at his pediatrician's office last Monday. I thought T was just gassy. She gave me some ideas: hold him upright for 15-20 minutes after feeding him, burp him a lot during feedings, put him on an incline to sleep, massage his belly, bicycle his legs. I did all those things and nothing helped. I've tried Mylicon. I've tried Gripe Water. I tried cutting back on my intake of dairy (though I don't get much dairy in my diet anyway). I did tons of research and talked to lots of folks about what worked for their babies.

Last weekend I went out of town for our annual Savannah girls trip. Truett screamed the entire way to Oklahoma. He had already been crying all day while I was trying to pack and get out of town. I thought I was going to lose it. But that night he slept a good 6.5 hours stretch with 4 hours after that. I was encouraged and relieved--sleep does amazing things! But the next night was miserable and Sunday I drove back to Dallas on less than two hours of sleep.

His sleep patterns, eating habits and behavior have been so inconsistent. I can never predict what's going to happen next. Since he is now more than seven weeks old, I thought things would be getting better. But they're not.

So I took True to the pediatrician today and I'm glad I did. He is healthy and weighs 11 lbs, 9 oz. He looks great. But the doctor thinks he has silent reflux. I didn't even consider GER (gastroesophageal reflux) b/c he rarely spits up and I thought that was, by definition, part of reflux. Turns out, silent reflux is actually worse b/c the contents of the stomach reflux up the esophagus and then go back down, coating it twice with stomach acid.

It makes sense to me now. He chokes a lot, burps a ton, has the hiccups all the time, swallows often, cries not long after nursing, arches his back and stiffens his legs. He prefers being held upright. He wakes up easily and often makes a face like he's got a bad taste in his mouth. He also wants to nurse constantly and I realize now that this is for comfort to soothe or alleviate his pain. He is generally uncomfortable and unhappy. Don't get me wrong, he's happy and will smile and coo for a little while after each feeding, but then the pain kicks in.

I wish I could approach this naturally and not give our newborn medicine. But the stomach acid can do damage to the esophagus if left untreated, not to mention the fact that our baby is clearly hurting. So we started Prevacid this afternoon. It works by reducing the production of stomach acid and we hope it helps Baby Truett. If it doesn't, then we'll know that it's not reflux at all and I'll start a serious elimination diet to see if something I'm eating could be causing him pain.

Regardless of what is causing this discomfort, the good news is that he should outgrow it as he gets older and his digestive system matures.

We just want our littlest guy to feel better. I'd love to hear advice from moms that have had experience with this. I've got lots to learn.

Chrys

P.S. Is it just me or does Truett look a little like Yul Brynner?? It's his cute little bald head. A friend of mine made me laugh recently when she called Truett a "bald Oliver".

Belated Update

I'm sorry for not updating all week! Hang on tight, this will be a long post...

No, I haven't had the baby.

Thanks for all the guesses on the last post! They are fun to read. I still haven't picked a date and need to do that. Mike and all the grandparents picked "boy" and I'm pretty sure I'm thinking GIRL! Crazy, I know. What would we do with a girl?? That's so foreign to me! I can't wait to find out!!!

We've just been busy. Home and on bedrest, but busy. Family in, friends over, just hanging out here.

I got really sick last Thursday night. I was nauseous, had a migraine and had vErTigo. I've never had vertigo before and it was miserable. I was lying in bed hanging on for dear life b/c I felt like our bed was spinning in a whirlpool. So strange. Mike took my blood pressure early Friday morning and it was 138/72, which is very high for me. We paged Dr. H and he wanted to see me b/c the symptoms sounded like pre-eclampsia. I was scared.

We went to the doctor and were thrilled to find out it wasn't pre-e at all! Thank you, God. Leave it to me to have something weird--I had a random, inner-ear infection called labyrinthitis. It's a virus and has to run its course, so we just treated the symptoms. I took Antivert (Dramamine!) and Tylenol for several days until it passed. Such a weird deal, but I'm totally fine now.

Jordan and Melissa were here last weekend and I think everybody had fun. I was pretty out of it but I remember eating lots of good food. Oliver loved seeing his aunts while Jammie & PawPaw went home and enjoyed a much-deserved break. They came back on Sunday night and have been taking such good care of us. I don't know what we'd do without them.

My mom finished the baby bedding and it is beautiful. What a labor of love! I will get pics of that to post soon.

Oliver has been a HOOT. The boy can make me laugh like no one else.

* He's been doing lots of imaginative play. He will fill half of an Easter egg with imaginary green juice and offer you a drink. If you ask for a refill, he goes to the fridge and pretends to fill it up there.

* He likes to share his drink with the baby. He pulls my shirt up and puts his sippy cup up to my belly so the baby can enjoy a refreshing beverage.

* O loves to say the "bessing". As soon as we sit down for a meal he immediately sticks both hands out to hold hands w/ the person seated next to him, then bows his head. He often says, "Gear Dod" instead of "Dear God" and it's soooo cute.

* He has been brushing the teeth and hair of his rubber duckies in the bathtub. Jammie recently overheard him say, "Close your eyes, please" before he rinsed shampoo from the duck's non-existent hair.

* He puts his transparent spoon or fork across his face and calls it his "glasses" or "goggles".

* He's obsessed with birthdays--birthday cake, birthday candles, the Happy Birthday song. We've told him there's a big birthday coming up any day now and we're going to have a party at the hospital.

* Honey sent him a little basketball goal for the bathtub. He says, "Slam dunk it!" and asks to play in the bathtub all day long. He doesn't care if there is water in it or not.

* He fixes and serves cups of "ice cream" from bubbles in the bathtub. Mmmmmmmm.

* This morning at breakfast he kept calling his strawberries "kiwis" and laughing b/c he knew he was being silly.

* He knows the names of more construction equipment than I do! When we drive down the road he points out excavators and scrapers.

* His current favorite book is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. He talks about ABCs and coconut trees nonstop. He recognizes and names about 2/3 of his upper case letters and has now learned a lot of his lower case letters, too. I am amazed at what a little sponge he is. He even knows the sounds a lot of the letters make.

* We were flipping through channels the other day and he saw the letter "V" on television. He turned to me and said, "V says 'vvvvvvvvv'!" Then he went to his LeapFrog phonics magnets on the fridge, picked out the V, and brought it to me.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something fun that I wanted to record. Oh well.

Mike took some pregnancy portraits of me with Oliver on Tuesday night but I'm not sure how they came out. I know he said he was disappointed in them and that we'd have to try again, but I'll have to ask him and see if he was able to edit any of them.

I will be 37 weeks tomorrow and was so excited to go to the doctor today to find out if I had progressed! Last night I dreamed that Dr. H told me today that this baby is so big that we'd have to schedule two separate appointments for the baby and me next week! (He laughed at that one.) So, here's the latest doctor update...
I saw Dr. H this morning and I measured big--over 39 weeks. I've also gained 3.5 lbs since last week. I knew my belly was bigger! Dr. H did a quick sonogram and biophysical profile on the baby. Everything looked good and the baby is still huge. The head measured 41 weeks, 5 days. I asked if the head would stop growing and he said no. He took very quick measurements today and thinks the baby is just under 9 lbs right now. We will go back on Tuesday for an appointment with the sonographer before we see Dr. H again that afternoon.

Mike and I spent much of today's sonogram with our eyes closed b/c we don't want to find out the gender yet!

I have progressed and am now 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced. The baby is still at a -2 station. Dr. H is not on call this weekend so, even though bedrest officially ends tomorrow, I am going to take it easy through the weekend. Since I dilated another centimeter while on bedrest, I don't know what to expect when I'm up and gravity does its thing. I really want to get some good family time in this weekend w/ O and Mike, though. I have missed getting out with them. So maybe we can do something fun on Saturday and hopefully go to church on Sunday.

I'm trying not to complain, but it's a fact that I'm just not sleeping at all. The last time I looked at the clock this morning before I fell asleep it was 4:38 a.m. And I even took Benadryl. Ugh! The doctor prescribed some medicine that I'm going to take tonight and hopefully I will get some rest. I just don't want to go into this labor exhausted and sleep-deprived.

The baby is head-down but is facing the wrong way. I had a feeling this was the case b/c in the past few days I have felt some pressure in my lower back during contractions. Back labor nearly wiped me out with Oliver so I am fearful of it with this one.

I'm learning just how fearful I really am, honestly. I worry about a lot of things! B/c I try to control a lot of things! And I shouldn't! B/c God is in control and I know that. Earlier this week I read a very convicting quote by Oswald Chambers:

Fussing always ends in sin. We imagine that a little anxiety and worry are an indication of how wise we really are; it is much more an indication of how wicked we really are. Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way. Our Lord never worried and He was never anxious, b/c He was not "out" to realize His own idea; He was "out" to realize God's ideas. Fretting is wicked if you are a child of God...All our fret and worry is caused by calculating without God.

I have such an image in my mind of how I want this labor to go. I hated having a c-section with O and feel like I missed out on so much of the birth experience. (I realize that some women don't feel this way about their c-sections.) I am thankful for our healthy boy. But I want to experience a natural birth if at all possible. If I have to have another c-section it will only be after I did everything I possibly could to have a natural delivery. All this talk of a ginormous baby can leave me feeling a little overwhelmed, but I am really trying to let go of those fears. God knows how and when this baby will be born. I trust Him.

Please pray that I would rest in Him and trust Him with every detail. No fretting!

And, thank you, God...our baby will be considered full-term tomorrow! YAY!

Man, I am all over the place in this post! Only the most dedicated readers are still with me by now! Thanks for hanging in there! :)

Chrys

P.S. Funny story...Today I asked Dr. H the size of the biggest baby he'd ever delivered. The answer? 12.5 lbs! And it was a great, vaginal delivery! That was seriously encouraging to hear. Mike jokingly said, "Yeah, and the mom was 7 foot 4, right?" Dr. H laughed and said, "No, just over six feet." Hey, I'm almost six feet!

Insect Confusion

I guess all this much-needed rain we've had recently has made some ants think that our kitchen is a great place to stay dry.

This morning Oliver was eating breakfast in his high chair when he got a panicked look on his face, pointed to the kitchen counter and breathlessly said, "Bees! Yucky! Bees! Yucky! Oh no! Uh-oh! Get it!"

He has a fascination with bees even though he's never seen a real one. But he got his insects confused in this situation. What he meant to say was "ants".

He clapped for me and said "yayyyyy!" after I so bravely conquered the "Yucky! Gross! Ants!"

I showed him a (dead) ant close up and explained that, while bees and ants are both colonial insects, they are very different.

He's got a lot to learn. And I probably need to brush up on my entomology before he starts asking bug questions that I don't know the answers to.

Thankfully he didn't have a fever when he woke up this morning! I got really excited but then his temp went up a little bit. It hasn't been over 100.2, which technically isn't even fever. So maybe we're getting well? He has been pretty fussy today, though. This is what he's doing right now...Chrys

Still Sickly

Little O is still sick and the last few days have been pretty quiet around our house. His fever has stayed between 102-104 all week. Poor guy. He's not miserable but he's definitely not himself, either. He's been sleeping alot (until 10:00 this morning and then took two naps during the day) and doesn't have much of an appetite.

I spoke with the advice nurse this afternoon and she said it's not uncommon for fever to last five days with a virus. They will want to see him again if it's not gone by Saturday.

We have done lots of block stacking, puzzle working, book reading, song singing, show watching (Bob the Builder and Thomas the Train are his new favorites), bathing in bubbles, drawing and backyard playing. He's getting better and better at his ABC's.This morning he made me laugh by pretending to eat some imaginary food. He has never done that before. He offered me some and I pretended to eat it, then he did the same and said, "Mmmmmm. Nummy!" He proceeded to name the various imaginary foods he was offering me: cookies, oats, waffles, and milk.

He's a little parrot who repeats everything we say. He has recently started saying "Oh gosh!" I had no idea that I say that so often and I'm really trying to stop. (Apparently I say it the most when I'm changing dirty diapers.) Oliver even sounds like me when he says it: "Oh, gyosh!" :O

We recently found some ants on the kitchen counter and he witnessed me frantically smushing as many as I could. Oliver saw an ant today and said, "Oh no! Oh no! Gross! Bug! Yucky! Ant! Get it! Oh gyosh!" Yesterday we drove past a construction site on the way to the grocery store, our big outing. As we sat at the light he observed the scene and said, "Bob! Wendy! Yes!"

I love how he lines up his toy vehicles on window sills all over the house. Long after he has gone to bed I always smile when I see evidence that he's been playing there...
Oh, how I love this sweet, funny boy. He is such a gift.

Chrys

Monday Night Fever

To be accurate I guess the title should be "Really Early Tuesday Morning Fever". I awoke during the night to Oliver screaming. He was burning up. His fever was between 103-104 and he was drenched in sweat. Poor, poor guy.

Mike and I brought him to bed with us and offered him everything we could think of that might make him feel better. All he wanted was his "num num pillow" (a new pillow Honey got for him that matches his num-num blanket) and some milk. Through his tears he asked once for "Dordan", as well as for "piggies". ("This little piggy...") Sweet kid.

Mike and I were hesitant to give him the milk b/c we both thought we remembered hearing that you're not supposed to give milk to someone w/ fever. So at 4 a.m. I was online researching milk and fevers. I couldn't really find anything definitive and O kept crying for it, so I figured it would help bring his temperature down to drink something cold (he refused the water we gave him). Apparently it can sometimes cause stomach upset but O did fine w/ it.

I was certain it was an ear infection b/c of the way he was carrying on like he was in pain. I gave him Motrin but couldn't get the fever below 101. He was so uncomfortable.

His appetite certainly wasn't affected, though...Even with the fever he was in much better spirits after I gave him everything he requested for breakfast: oats, green juice, milk, and his new Little People ABC video. He's a demanding little guy!

I called the pediatrician first thing this morning and scheduled an appointment.
And...It's another virus! His ears are fine, his throat is fine. Ugh. The doctor said he probably picked it up in the church nursery on Sunday. (I've heard since then that a "fever virus" is going around.)

By the way, I asked the pediatrician about giving Oliver milk while he has a fever and he said it's fine as long as he's keeping it down. He said he needed the calories to get well and the hydration is obviously muy importante, too.

For the record, Oliver weighed 25 lbs, 6 oz. As we were weighing him, one of the nurses walking by said, "Nearly twenty-five and a half pounds...probably enough that your OB would say not to lift him!" Yikes! What will I do when that happens??

The new nurse practitioner was great and commented on how much she loves Oliver's curly hair. He was wearing just his shorts for the exam and she said he looked like a surfer.When Mike got home tonight we were telling him about seeing the "new" doctor, a guy in the pediatric practice who we hadn't seen since we were in the hospital when O was born. Oliver said Dr. Y's name and then said, "balls" b/c the doctor had basketballs, footballs and soccer balls on his tie. I thought it was cute that he remembered that detail and told Mike. He also told him about Dr. Y's "thetha-cop" (stethoscope).

Here's the surfer dude with his num-num blanket when he turned around and discovered the mirror in the exam room. Oh, how he loves mirrors. I think this pic is so cute:So it's another wait-it-out kind of sickness. Yuck. Maybe we won't have to wait that long. He slept for five hours this