Away On Business

I always miss Carl when he's away on business. Now the snoring, ummm, not so much. So I was looking forward to getting a good night's rest this week while he's in Indiana for deployment training. But of course Nathan had other plans. After sleeping through the night Thursday - Saturday, conveniently Nathan started waking up the day that Carl left. So much for wishful thinking!

You Want Me to Eat What???

Hey guys, it's Nathan here. Now you know I'm a healthy eater and am willing to try pretty much anything. But the other night mommy gave me something called chicken. Yuck, what was she thinking? My fist tasted better than that stuff. I tried to let mommy know that I wasn't happy; I spit the food out with my tongue, I fussed, I wiped my eyes, I fussed some more. And what did she do, she took pictures. Come on now!!!



I was finally saved by my big brother's cries for help. Even though he ignores me I think deep down inside he loves me.

I later overheard mommy and TC talking about the cats licking the jar clean and then mommy said "I hope the cats don't get sick from it". Now why in the world would she feed me something that she's concerned about the cats getting sick from eating? I know I'm only 7 1/2 months but that doesn't make sense to me.

Now that I'm older and wiser I'll pop back in from time to time. But for now I need to make sure the parentals are staying on top of their game.

Deuces

A.K.A Chunky Chunk, Nathan J, Nate Dizzle, Nate the Great, Bam Bam, Chubby Checker

PS - I really think they need to come up with just one nick name and stick to that, don't you?

Trip to the Dr

We thought Justin had gotten over whatever bug he caught while we were in Myrtle Beach. But yesterday he only drank one cup of milk, wouldn't eat any solids and had diarrhea. He managed to drink a second cup of milk, only to throw it up immediately after finishing. Since he didn't have a fever I didn't worry to much.

Well this morning Carlene called around 9:30 and said that J was lethargic, which sent me into panic mode. Of course my mind went back to September 2008 when J was hospitalized with pneumonia after having the same symptoms. I immediately called his pediatrician and was told to bring him in.

While I was undressing him I noticed a red rash all over his body. It hurt just to look at it and J was clearly miserable and kept scratching himself. I actually noticed some redness on his legs last night but I chalked it up to irritability from the frequent diaper changes yesterday.

Long story short, J has hives. Dr. Hirsch said hives are pretty common with strep, and since his throat was bright red she tested him for it. The initial test came back negative but it takes 48 hours for the throat culture to come back.

She gave him some Benadryl, which fortunately worked pretty quickly and helped settle him down. I've never seen J as irritable or clingy as he was today; Dr. Hirsch even commented that this was not his personality and she's never seen this side of him before.

I hope we're past the worst of it now; it's painful to watch J suffer and not be able to do anything about it.

Medical Update

After having another seizure early last month I am now officially diagnosed with epilepsy. Initially I took it pretty hard, but after talking to the neurologist I realized that all it really means is that I've had more than two seizures. My Dr. actually wasn't that concerned when we called to tell her about it since all of my tests (MRI, CAT scan and blood work) came back normal. Since I had missed several doses of my medication the seizure was more than likely the result of a drop in my levels. Which means that I now have to take an anti-seizure medication for the rest of my life. But other than that, and being on a 6 month seizure precaution (i.e. no driving, no standing on ladders, drinking in moderation) from the date of my last episode, I can lead a pretty normal life.

Even though my neurologist wasn't concerned, after the last seizure I figured it was time to find a primary care doctor and get a physical. At the initial appointment my blood pressure was very elevated (150/100) so the Dr. discussed switching my current BP medication. Now I really think I have white coat syndrome, so after discussing this with him, along with agreeing to change my diet, start an exercise routine, and check my BP at home 2x daily, he agreed to have me come back 2 weeks later and check my BP before starting any new medication. Long story short, those modifications worked, and I no longer require any blood pressure medication, YAY! All of my other test results came back great as well.

What's going on?

Nathan cracks me up when he wakes up from a nap and starts peeking out of his bassinet or crib.

2 More Weeks

and then I think I'm calling it quits on pumping. Most days I only get about 1 oz per session. On a good day I'll get 4 ozs per session, but that's with me massaging my breasts, going back and forth between the expression and let down phases AND leaning over to let gravity do its work. Today I only got 1 oz and that was from two 20 minute sessions. Are you kidding me, what the heck is going on with my supply?!?!

Maybe it has something to do with the time I forgot to pack valves, membranes and shields; or the next day when I had meetings and presentations offsite but left my pump at Headquarters; or was it the day that I packed valves and membranes but forgot shields? That being said, I was still able to manually express, which honestly seems to be more efficient than using my pump anyway. Maybe if I pump more than 2 times a day, resume taking Fenugreek supplements and drinking Mother's Milk Tea my supply would increase.

With cold and flu season just around the corner I'm sure any amount of breast milk would be good for Nathan. But is 2 ozs daily enough; is it even worth it? This is where I'm torn and feel guilty about quitting. Although I'd still nurse when I get home from work and when/if he wakes at night.

But let me know your thoughts. If you breastfed and pumped, when did you know it was time to stop nursing?

Hanging with Nana

Carl's mom watched Justin for us this morning while Carl and I took pictures for a newly engaged couple. This was the first time she's watched either of the boys alone and we figured it would be too much for her to watch both of them. We knew Justin would be easier to watch since he's so independent and plays well alone. And if all else fails, he can be easily entertained with Elmo. But Justin had a great time with his Nana.

Leave it to Carl

to provide priceless memories:

Nathan was in bed with us this morning and got a little fussy so I asked him, rhetorically of course, if I had nursed him on both sides. Carl, who was half a sleep, thought I was asking him if I nursed him and answered NO, lol!

Yesterday we were trying to rush through our grocery shopping since it was getting close to Justin's nap time. But J was so tired that he fell asleep shortly into the shopping. I turned my head and Carl and the boys were gone, but when they reappeared J's head was propped up on a roll of paper towel. Leave it to my dear husband to think of using that as a pillow; good looking out babe!

"It's Friday...

waitin on 5, lol"

My BFF Ambyr sent me the above text message yesterday evening. It's nice to know that I have loyal readers so I really try to keep the blog up to date. But as I'm sure you can imagine, life with 2 little ones gets a little hectic sometimes. So I thank all of you for hanging in there with us and following faithfully.

5 on Friday

Here are 5 reasons I'm loving my boys this week:

1. Justin loves reading flashcards with TC and gets excited whenever he sees her pulling them out. I finally got to see him reading his flashcards in person. It was so cute seeing him recognize each picture and tell me what it was; he was grinning from ear to ear.

2. Nathan was dozing off to sleep but as soon as I smiled at him he opened his eyes really wide, smiled back at me, and then dozed back off to sleep.

3. We're trying to introduce J to whole milk w/ carnation instant breakfast but he realizes it's different because it's cold. So we mixed half Pediasure (room temperature) and half milk but he still knew it was different. Carlene had to pour the mix in a different sippy cup when he wasn't looking and then he drank it. Justin's smart, but not smarter than his TC, lol.

4. Wednesday morning AJ wouldn't eat his oatmeal but Justin was more than happy to eat it for him...but only out of TC's bowl with her spoon.

5. Justin and I were walking down the steps and I yelled to Carlene to come see J walking down the steps like a big boy and J repeated "big boy" after me.

Nathan Slept Through The Night

When we woke up this morning Carl asked if he slept through Nathan waking up and was just as shocked as I was when I said no, he slept through the night. Now if I could just remember exactly what I did yesterday so I can repeat it today, lol. Keep your fingers crossed for me that last night wasn't a fluke.

Brotherly Love

Naptime

The hardest part

about being a mom is watching your child suffer. My heart broke seeing J so miserable on our trip home from Myrtle Beach. When we finally got home early Monday morning he had a temperature of 102 so we gave him some Tylenol, turned on his vaporizer and put him to bed. He slept until about 11 but didn't eat well and threw up a couple of times. Today he still has a bit of a runny nose but his fever broke and he's eating much better.

Now Nathan has a little bit of congestion and a runny nose. Fortunately no fever and he's not warm to touch so I'm hoping it doesn't turn into a full blown cold.

5 states, 30 hours

and I'm totally drained from our long weekend in North Myrtle Beach for my cousin's wedding. Road trips with kids under the age of 3 are for the birds so we'll definitely be flying on future trips.

I thought the ride down was pretty rough but the return trip was 10 times worse. J got sick and threw up all over the place so we spent about 30 minutes on the side of the road cleaning up the mess. After that he did okay for a few hours, happily watching Elmo and reading his books, but towards the end of the trip he got so restless and was really fighting his sleep. I spent 20 minutes in the back seat, hunched over Nathan's carrier trying to console J in his car seat.

But, all in all, we had a great time. My cousin's wedding was beautiful and it was nice to spend time with the family.

Big Boy Bath

Now that Nathan's sitting up unassisted he gets a bath in the big tub like his big brother & cousin.

I asked for a crib

and this is what they gave me. Now you know my first born, if he can climb out of his crib at home he can definitely climb out of this pack n play.

5 on Friday

Here are 5 special reasons I'm loving my boys this week (with a special appearance from my 3rd favorite boy, Aiden):

1. J was upstairs in his room when Aiden came home Sunday but as soon as he heard him come through the door he ran to the gate at the top of the stairs and started climbing on it to try and see his brouzin. And when AJ heard J he started rushing up the stairs.
2. J has been repeating what Carlene says for a while now but just recently started repeating after me. Yesterday I was talking to Carl and Justin started calling his dad Carl.
3. As I was walking out to run errands AJ walked me to the door and when Carlene told him to say bye to TT he started waving and then leaned over and gave me a hug.
4. Looks like I have another Yo Gabba Gabba fan on my hands. Nathan was laying on my lap, face down, but when I turned on Yo Gabba Gabba he turned himself around and sat himself up to watch.
5. Aiden has really taking a liking to Nathan and is always checking on him and patting his head. His newest thing now is trying to feed Nathan. AJ likes to sit right next to Nathan, wrap his arm around him and help him drink out of his sippy cup. Now if I can get him to help with his bottle that'll really be great, lol.

Dermatology Appointment

Justin saw the dermatologist today and initially, just like Dr. Hirsch, was a little stumped with the "rash" on J's butt so he took a sample and will have it tested. But he felt it could be one of two things, either an early stage of ringworm or the more likely case is an eczema patch; so he wrote a prescription for Desonide cream and told us to use it 2x daily.

Everyday With Nathan

Carlene's always sending me pictures of the boys while I'm at work. This post features some of Nathan's funnier pictures.

Gammy's Gone

As usual, Gammy's visit flew by way too fast. It's still hard to believe that my sisters and I are all mothers and that in 3 years my parents now have 4 grandchildren.

7 months

Leave it to Carl...

to provide some priceless memories.

Justin had his 6 month follow up with the pediatric surgeon who monitored his progress while wearing the helmet. Carl has taken him to this appointment once before but forget exactly where the office was located so he spent roughly 20 minutes wondering around Children's Hospital looking for her office. But, all things happen for a reason and the tardiness resulted in our son becoming a tv star. His Dr. is being featured and there was a camera crew in the waiting area filming. Carl said J walked up to the camera and waved. I'm sure that footage will be included as they had Carl sign a release; but the story should be posted to the DMC website in a couple of weeks and I can't wait to see it.

Nathan, Justin, ... Child

When I was younger I always wondered why my mom could never seem to keep her girls names straight. After all, she was our mother, the one that gave birth to us and named us; so why was it that she'd look directly at me and call me Lalla. After realizing I wasn't Lalla she'd call me Carlene, then realizing I wasn't Carlene she'd throw her hands up and say "child, you knew I was talking to you", lol.

But now that I'm a mother I totally get it. And I find myself doing the exact same thing. When I want J I call him Aiden or Nathan. And all I can do is think back to my childhood and laugh. Oh, the memories!

What's J Eating These Days

J still drinks 3 cups of Pediasure daily, but he eats, or should I say he at least tries, pretty much everything we eat. He prefers the pureed type foods; his favorites are applesauce and cream of broccoli soup and we recently added yogurt to his diet. Since his favorites are the mushier foods he still gets some stage 3 baby foods. His favorite snacks are goldfish and vanilla wafers but recently he's started eating Cheerios and Rice Chex. He likes chicken nuggets and bacon but often times he stores it in the side of his mouth and chews on it like cud.

But all in all he's doing very well with solids. I just need to stop worrying about pushing him to far. Often times I stop trying to feed him after just a few bites for fear that his reflux will rear it's ugly head.

Justin's 1st Hair Cut

Justin got his first hair cut last night and I almost missed it. I walked out of our bedroom to find Carl cutting J's hair in the bathroom. Which was surprising because after AJ got his hair cut last week we were both thinking that J didn't even have enough hair for a hair cut; not to mention the fact that we didn't think he was ready for it and wouldn't sit still. But he was really good, he just stood there and layed his head in his dad's lap. And boy did it make a HUGE difference, I must say my little man is so handsome!

Labor Day Weekend

5 on Friday

Here are 5 special reasons I'm loving my boys this week:

1. We had just gotten back from shopping and were unloading the car. When I knocked on the back door to tell Carlene to unlock the doors J peeked around the sun shade as if to say "who is it"?
2. Nathan fell asleep in his crib on his own without having to be fed or rocked to sleep. YAY!
3. We were heading downstairs for lunch and as J got to the edge of the top of the stairs he turned around and reached out his hand to grab mine. Since I was carrying Nathan and holding J's hand it was going kind of slow. So I jokingly said to J "you need to hurry this up" and he started scooting down the stairs.
4. The other day a telemarketer called and while I was patiently waiting for a good break in the conversation to say "I'm not interested" I heard someone pressing the keys. The telemarketer, thinking we had gotten disconnected, asked if I was still there and I said that my son was dialing on the phone. It was at that moment that a light bulb went on in my head and I hung up. Thank you J, my new telemarketer buffer.
5. J likes to help dress himself. He puts his feet out when he sees his shoes, holds his legs apart so we can put on his pants/shorts and puts his arms through the arm holes.

Introducing Ariana Lila

Born September 2nd, 6:47 am, weighing 7 lbs 5 ozs and measuring 21 inches long. Lalla progressed so quickly that we almost missed it. We got the call that she had been admitted at 3am and was 3 cm dilated. Carlene and I debated on whether to go to the hospital at that moment but decided we'd sit tight until we heard more from Richard. But we were way to anxious to sleep so we started packing the boys diaper bag and getting their clothes ready. Good thing we did because at 5:30 we got a call that Lalla was 8 cm dilated. We rushed to get ourselves and the boys dressed and headed off to the hospital. When we arrived we were told that we couldn't go back because Lalla was "working" and pushing but a minute later Richard walked out to come and get us. We walked in just as the Dr. declared that Lalla was fully dilated and started pushing. Click HERE to read Lalla's birth story.

My Son the Acrobat, Take II

Looks like Nathan is taking after his big brother, or maybe it's just part of being a boy; but it seems Mr. Nathan likes to push himself off of the bed. He was laying on his back in our bed and I turned around for just a few seconds to talk to Carl. I could feel him starting to scoot so I turned back around to see him hanging off the bed smiling, seconds away from completely falling off of the bed. For those of you questioning why he was even on the edge of the bed, I had just finished side nursing him and hadn't gotten up yet. So for this very reason, and the fact that he's now rolling, I started putting extra pillows on the side of the bed just in case.