Great success! High Five!

Andrew has been doing very well with bedtime. As in, I put him in his crib, turn on his aquarium, and he goes right to sleep (about a month ago, I was having problems with him crying as soon as I put him in his crib).

I've found that the trick is he wants to sit up while I point to the fishies and the coral and the starfish. So, the conversation goes, "Look at the fishies! There's the pink one and the yellow one...and there's some coral, and some more coral. Oh, there's the starfish. Let's push the button and get a different song...what color lights do you want?" [I push the button several times to click through the blue, the green, and the yellow]. He watches with a smile on his face and by the time the thing turns off (about 10 minutes), there is silence so I know he's sleeping.

Well, last night, he surprised me. I set him in his crib (upright) and he went right for the pillow to lie down, all with a big smile on his face. What an angel! I then did the whole routine, so as not to throw off the good groove we had going.

He went to sleep! By the way, my boy's bedtime is 9:45/10:00. That's slightly insane, but any earlier, and he isn't tired enough and screams. I am hoping to creep back the bedtime some, but for now, this is what it has to be.

ETA: He also only got up once to nurse, and that was at 3:30 am, meaning he slept for 5.5 hours straight. That rarely happens! Could he be thinking of weaning soon? Stay tuned...

This was our picture-perfect weather yesterday...

It reached 90 degrees! Of course, I had to work all day. I did get to enjoy a nice walk with my family after work. The crazy thing is, it's April! It never gets to 90 in April. Last summer, it never even hit 90. It was 93 in September, and that was the last time it was close to being warm. We had thunderstorms last night/this morning, which is good. We are officially in a severe drought whereas normally, April is so rainy here. We have some newly planted grass in a couple spots and need it to grow, so I'm okay with the rain. I just wish it would fall when I'm at work. Today, it's in the 40s/50s and raining. Ew. Right now it's sitting at 52. Tomorrow should be a better day. Off to clean the house now.

Sunset over Lake Onalaska, 4.24.2009

Sharing another photo...

My beautiful boy. Andrew loves to be outside. It is his favorite thing, after boobie. :)

Subway Robots.

I've noticed within the past few months, whenever I walk into Subway (any of their locations), the person working says, "Welcome to Subway" each time the door opens. They don't say it with any real voice inflection, and they usually don't look up from what they were doing. I was in one day and it was super busy, so the Sandwich Artist kept saying it. They may as well drop it! That's my opinion. The Subway CEO must have mandated a greeting, and they're just fulfilling his request.

The other thing that irks me is the fact that they always ask you if it's "for here or to go". Um, does it matter? They still put it in a bag. I see no difference in the technique when I eat in versus taking it with.

Weird.

I like their food though! Although effective today, not all regular foot-longs are $5, just a select few. It sucks. This is to forewarm you all--those of you who don't want to pay $6 for a turkey breast and ham like I did today for lunch.

OMG, RIGHT NOW, the commercial is on. Sick of it! Love the food. What a connundrum.

What's your favorite smell?

Mine is rubbing alcohol. I think it smells so good! It brings back childhood memories because my mom used to put it on our mosquito bites when we were little, claiming it would make the itchies go away.

Now you all REALLY think I'm weird...or not, maybe you agree. Does anyone else want to fess up and be weird with me?

Idol Watchers....

Who do you love and why?

I am TOTALLY pulling for Adam. He is awesome. He has an amazing voice--it's almost Axel Rose-ish. I am in awe of him. When he performed Mad World, I was in love because I love Gary Jules' version in Donnie Darko (my favorite movie). Every week, I have been loving him though. It's funny, because I started out as a Danny Gokey fan because I liked him too, and he was from Wisconsin.

But now, I'm all about Adam!

Have I ever showed you Andrew's face he makes?

He does this all the time to elicit laughs out of people when we're out and about. It is so funny! He squeezes his hands real tight and makes this face. He does it over and over again. We'll be at the grocery store and he'll do it (unprompted) for the cashier. I never taught him this face, but after he did it the first few times, I did encourage it.

I think I have myself a little extrovert. :)

Forgot to update!

Andrew started feeling better on Friday night. He gradually started eating more and on Saturday, I could tell he was back to his old self. Whew! That was a relief to be done with that shit (literally). Now he is immune to Rotavirus (although they didn't diagnose him with that, I did, after reading about all the symptoms--seriously, diarrhea and vomiting don't usually hang around that long with a regular stomach bug; also the diarrhea was incredibly clear-the-room-foul-smelling, which I did read online as being characteristic of Rotavirus). It was great to see Andrew downing his favorite meal: noodles in tomato juice. He ate SO much, I was worried he'd get sick again, but luckily it stayed down.

We even went out for ice cream yesterday at DQ! :) We shared a Blizzard and it was quite delicious.

Still hanging in there...

Andrew is still lethargic today and was lying on the bathroom floor as I got ready this morning. Andrew's friend, "Blow Dry" has died. A little background: he LOVES the blow dryer. He drags it around the house and expects us to hold it up to him (unplugged) and say "Wooooooooooooooooo" (making a blow drying noise). He even brings it to us and says it himself (when he is feeling better). Well, this morning, it was making funny noises. I barely got my hair done ("got my hair did" LOL) before the thing started smelling all electrical and got quieter and quieter down to a wurrrr. I have to get a new one after work. I would get Andrew a toy one, but I don't think they have cords on them, not even fake ones. He would know that it's not real. (Am I imagining it, or have I seen pink toy hair dryers before?)

Anyway, I'm going home at lunch to nurse Andrew. He is basically surviving on breastmilk right now. I got him to eat a few egg noodles last night, as well as 3 bites of applesauce. At least there was no vomiting yesterday.

Back from ER

I took him to walk-in last night because something just didn't seem right. The on-call doctor didn't examine him at all and simply stated, "there's a stomach bug going around and that's probably what he has". She didn't check him over or anything. I had taken him in because he had just thrown up again--a whole much of breastmilk I had just fed him. I laid him on his back to change him and he started gagging and then threw up.

Anyway, last night he dry heaved some. I got him to take a little bit more liquids and he ended up throwing up a couple hours later.

This morning he was still so lethargic--almost like he didn't care about anything. When I got ready for work in the morning, he just laid on the floor in the bathroom, where normally he will want to play with the blow dryer.

I decided to go to my mom's and get her opinion. She thought he didn't seem right either--this has been going on for way too long. We called the nurse advisor line and the RN said to bring him in to the ER.

We got there and they took us back right away. I started nursing him because that's the only thing he would take. We also got some liquids into him with a syringe, although he fought it. The doctor came and looked at him and said he's definitely dry/dehydrated, so they put in an order for IV fluids. They ended up giving him 400 CCs of fluid with electrolytes. They also drew some blood--that was the hardest part because it was hard for them to get a lot out since he was dehydrated. He was crying the whole time because they were poking him and then they had to start the IV. I nursed him on and off while the fluids went in. He ended up falling asleep.

Anyway, the bloodwork came back normal. He wasn't as dehydrated as they thought, but they said it was good that he got the fluids because it'll help him for the next couple days in case his diarrhea/vomiting continues.

Everything I have read leads me to believe this was Rotavirus. He is sleeping in my arms now, and we're glad to be home. I am so mad that the on-call doctor blew us off last night, and I think the ER staff today were mad too. They kept asking me about what happened when I came in last night. My mom came with me and I was glad she was there too.

I figured it was better to be safe than sorry, and in this case my mommy instinct was telling me that something more was wrong with Andrew.

This is just frustrating as hell...

Andrew was lethargic all day. His fever has been gone since Sunday, but he's just dragging and doesn't have much of an appetite. After work, he was so excited to see me and wanted to nurse for awhile, so I just let him. The doctor said breastmilk is just as gentle on the stomach as Pedialyte.

I go to change him a little while later and he throws up everywhere. I decided to take him in because he was all weak (probably due to not eating much today). I was scared about him getting dehydrated.

So, I take him to walk-in (in Pediatrics) and she really didn't say much of anything except that there's a stomach bug going around and that's probably what he has.

Um, okay. So maybe, that's all it is. I just have bad feelings about this, and it's hard to explain.

I went to change his diaper before bed and he starts gagging again, so I hold him forwards so he can throw up but all that comes out is a puddle of drool. You know that feeling when you're dry-heaving but nothing comes out? Well, that's what he was doing.

Why is this happening only when he's on his back?

Why has he been sick for so long? Most 24 hour bugs last not much longer than 24 hours.

I am really worried and scared. I pray that he is better soon. Gosh, now I'm crying. Keep us in your thoughts! Thanks...

Hopefully tomorrow....

Hopefully he'll be better tomorrow. He didn't have a fever today, but 3 diarrhea diapers. He also threw up tonight, but was playing immediately after (it was weird because he was sitting on the floor and he bobbed his head a couple times; then I realized it was because he must have felt something rumbling in his tummy). I think DH fed him something that just didn't settle well. He is acting like regular Andrew again. Gosh, I hope tomorrow goes better! This just sucks--this is the most sick he's ever been.

The little guy is sick...

It started Friday night with just a runny nose, then that night he had a fever while he was sleeping. He woke up yesterday coughing and really snotty--I think I wiped his nose 50 times yesterday. Last night, during the night, he threw up in his crib. He woke up hot, and has since thrown up a couple times this morning. I did get some Motrin down about 45 minutes ago, and his fever is going down some. I got him to eat some dry toast. He just had a diarrhea diaper 10 minutes ago (this is his first time ever having diarrhea, so I guess it was coming eventually). He is now playing, so that's a good sign. I'm going to have DH pick up some Pedialyte.

My poor bebe........

PS, Rob is totally blaming the daycare for this.

See how tired I am?

This was my mood yesterday. Super tired. It's actually my "365 Project" shot for yesterday.

OMG, tired...and hubby update...

I am so tired these past few days. I feel like I could fall asleep walking down the hall at work and my eyes are so heavy. I can't wait for the weekend so I can sleep, sleep, sleep!!!

DH had his follow-up appointment yesterday with the orthopedic surgeon. I've included a pic of his fixed wrist so you can see his new hardware. Yay for him! He started physical therapy today, and next week they're going to put on a removable splint. Hopefully it's only a matter of time before he's back to biking, gardening, and fixing things that need fixing around the house (he never did quite finish the framework around the new door we put on Andrew's room). Oh well!

Is anyone doing anything fun this weekend? Please share! Keep me awake!

Update!

It went great today. Andrew had so much fun with the other kids, and the daycare provider said she has never seen someone just jump right in on day one and fit in so well. She was also amazed at how much food he could put down!!! She said he was eating and then trying to tell her something, well she finally figured out he just wanted more food. Yes, apparently he eats more than any of the other kids she watches, including her own. :) She had no idea where he puts it since he's a "string bean", as she said. I agree--he is pretty long and lean!

Oh, Andrew also woke all the kids up during naptime. He woke up after 15 minutes, screaming. Yikes. Oh well. She said most all of the kids do that at some point on their first day. I don't feel too bad.

Basically, the rest of the time he was all smiles! The other kids just adored him and the feeling was mutual on his side.

He also took a liking to her husband (he works nights as an LPN; she works a combinations of days and PMs as a CNA). Apparently, when he woke up screaming, she couldn't get him to calm down, so she woke her hubby up and he was able to get him to calm down.

They played outside, Andrew played with the dogs, and they played with Play-doh and colored. Andrew hasn't colored yet because I thought he was just a little too young, but tonight we went to Target and got some of those short, fat, Crayola crayons made for 18m+. And some construction paper. And some Play-doh. We're good.

I think we'll try and take him there once a week, but probably not every week.

Dropped Andrew off this morning...

I decided to take Andrew to daycare 2-3 days a month just so he can be around other kids. I mentioned this before, but a girl at my work (she's a CNA) runs a part-time as needed daycare out of her home. It is only 10 blocks from my work! :) Oh, and she only charges $25.00 a day. That's a pretty good deal.

He did a lot better than I thought he would! They have a couple of dogs, so the first thing he did when we got there was go chase after them. He was exploring the premises, as I knew he would. There are a ton of toys for him to play with! This co-worker of mine has 3 kids--the oldest, a girl, is 7 ? I think, and she goes to school (which is literally across the road), and she also has a 3-year old boy and a 16-month old girl. Today there was another co-worker's 15-month old girl there too. She watches her whenever her mom works.

So, anyway I got there 1/2 hour early today so he could get acquainted, but he totally felt comfortable so that's awesome! I hope he goes down okay for a nap. DH normally puts him down in his crib, turns on his Baby Einstein aquarium, and he goes to sleep no problem. I have no idea how he'll do in a different crib with possibly a different crib toy. Yesterday, he fell asleep on the living room floor (he has never done that before), so I guess anything is possible.