I am the worst blogger ever!

Ok, so it's been a while! My excuse is that I have a busy 8 month old who keeps me away from the computer as much as possible! So I have a lot to catch up on!

So Scout now has 2 teeth on the bottom and can i just say "Oh my word! They are so cute!" Wasn't at all fun GETTING them but now that they are here it's just fine! He has discovered and mastered the art of the "army crawl" but hasn't quite figured out crawling on hands and knees! But we are soooo close! And just today, he has learned to pull up on things and stand! Take for instance this morning when I went in to get him.....standing in his bed! which was not lowered at the time.Guess its time for that! Last thing I want is to have him dive head first outta the crib onto his head! Geesh! He has also learned to tell mama "no" by shaking his head! I was thinking at first maybe he didn't really know what it meant, but I'm thinking he knows very well what he's telling me!grrrr!

Since my last post we have gone on vacation, started eating meats, and took our first swim lesson! And he loved every bit of it! Pics to follow! That's all for now! I will try not to stay away so long next time!

Just another day in the life.....

Well, I THOUGHT we were teething but now I'm not so sure! He had every symptom...irritable,wakefullness,sore gums,snotty nose. Now....nothing....and no chompers to show for it either!! So I'm not real sure what is going on, but he's fine now.Who knows!!

We have recently started solids! And whoa!What a mess! He LOVES to blow bubbles with a mouthful of whatever I have just put in there!! Lovely! BUT.... he loves everything we've tried so far! Why do I sound suprised?He IS his fathers son!!:)

Another thing I am a HUGE fan of....The Jumperoo!!! Wow! He absolutely LOVES this thing and is perfectly content to stay in it all day long(*not that I would do that to him*)! He has even bounced himself to sleep in it a couple of times!It's so cute! I happen to love it because I can put him in it and be able to actually get stuff done! Thank you Fisher Price!!

And for your viewing pleasure......my son, the baby model!

One sad mommy

Well, I was wrong in thinking that I no longer needed my Zoloft the doc prescribed me when Scout was born for post partum depression. I weaned myself off of it about a month ago and until tonight, I thought I was handling it very well and that it was all okay....not so much! In fact, I am shocked at how quickly it came on and with the amount of vengeance!It was actually quite scary to say the least. I noticed myself being a little weepy today, but that could easily just be me; I'm emotional.But Scout has had a virus this whole week and I was becoming a little ragged. He has been very whiny and clingy today so I got next to nothing done around the house.Not to mention I woke up with a horrible headache,too. So this day promised to be pretty bad from the beginning! But it wasn't until about the time Jason got home WITH A HORRIBLE HEAD COLD that I just lost it. I was trying to do too many things at once and Scout was refusing to eat and I just broke down!! And it was like the flood gates opened and I couldn't shut it off! Jason was scheduled to do his sleep testing (for sleep apnea)tonight but he rescheduled it because he was sick. He was no help because the last thing I needed was TWO sick babies in my house, so he was asleep by 8pm.Which left me to battle the worst feeling a woman can endure all by myself AND take care of the baby,too.Needless to say, I am back on the Zoloft! The only thing I don't like is how long it seems to take to get into your system. I don't know if its all in my head, but I think it has already started working.(Thank you Jesus)Next to the epidural, Zoloft is the worlds best invention! I remember I used to think people were "over medicated" and "senselessly anesthetized to their own emotions" with the whole medication thing. HA! Boy was I wrong! When Scout was born, I was so bad if you had told me that the only way I would feel better would be to chop my pinkies off ...I would have done it myself!! Its the worst feeling I have ever experienced and I never want to feel this way again so I believe I will be giving it the "one year plan" after all! Hopefully we're on the upswing of things now.

On a lighter note, even though he is still kinda whiny, I believe Scout has pretty much whipped this virus thing! Good thing because mommy can't afford another day of NOT going to daycare(still have to pay if ya dont go!)Geesh! Poor guy, even though he was obviously sick he rarely frowned the whole time. We had quite a weekend with it too! We had 2 public blowouts: one in Walmart that required a bath in the sink in the bathroom and the purchase of new onesies and the other was a couple of hours later at La Altena when he projectile vomited all over me, the booth and the floor almost immediately after our food arrived! Oh! And did I mention that this happened because our babysitter bailed last minute on us so we took him to eat with us! LOVELY! I am really hoping this week gets better!:)

Valentines Weekend!

We have had a very busy weekend! Scout had his first Valentines party at school....which was really just the older kids eating cupcakes, but still...it was his first, therefore there is a picture preserving the day...

Afterwards, I took him up to his Asa's (long story short...it's my aunt Sarah, but most of the kids have always called her Asa and it's just stuck.) He stayed with them on Friday night so Jason and I could go to the Bald Headed Bistro in Cleveland.We have always wanted to go there; in fact, we have made reservations several times in the past but never made it. It was really good, by the way!We love wild game and theirs is really good!We had a great time though. Even though we missed our little man, it was nice to just hang out with each other for a change.We, of course, got up early, grabbed breakfast and went to pick up Scout. Then we went to Babies-R-Us and got our jogging stroller! I love it! We went to Harrison Bay State Park on Sunday afternoon to break it in!

Speaking of "breaking" things....4.5 miles is more than enough for a maiden voyage for mommy! I am feelin' it today!!Whew!!But we had a great time. It was a beautiful day! Scout slept the entire time; and it is NOT a smooth path by any means. But it didn't seem to bother him at all.

Also....we had our first appointment with our new pediatrician...DR.SHUMAKER!!!Whoo-hoo!!We absolutely love her!! Soooo much different than our last doc! She is just what we wanted in a doctor! Scout loves her,too!He is 26 inches long,weighs 17 lbs. and is in the 90th percentile again!!!He's a hoss! He had to get 4 shots today though! Poor baby!!! He only screamed for like 10 seconds and then he was fine. However, by the time we got home from the grocery store and I decided he needed to try sweet potatoes......he had had it proceeded to MELT DOWN COMPLETELY!!! I dont mean he cried for a little while....I mean he screamed at the top of his lungs... body completely rigid.... tears streaming down both cheeks....full on MELT DOWN! I was beyond frazzled! This child never cries.So you can imagine I was freaked out beyond the telling of it!!I had barely put the groceries up when he started this so once I finally got him calmed down and asleep AN HOUR LATER...I went to go put the rest of the things up and realized I had left out two frozen (now thawed) pizzas and a lasagna!!UGH! Anyway, bad idea those sweet potatoes. He just wasn't feeling good enough today so of course....it made for some good pics!:)

Poor baby! But he is sleeping it off now in a Tylenol coma, bless his heart!Hopefully he'll be much better tomorrow!!

How "CORN"-y is that?!?

We went for another flouroscopy last Monday and as it turns out, we just have to thicken his formula to honey consistency.Which is very hard to do with cereal and formula alone.So after all the drama of having a severe cold and trying to get to the bottom of the breathing dilemma...add a terrible case of the DI-RIPPENS (as we so affectionately call diarrhea at our house)!!!We started Scout on this stuff called Thicken Up...to thicken his formula.Two tablespoons and I'm talkin' sludge!!The very next day, he had horrible diarrhea and it continued for a week thereafter! Well, I called the doctor and the nurse suggested that maybe it was just the remnants of his cold;just a viral thing since there was no fever,vomiting or lethargy. So she just said to be sure he didn't get dehydrated. We started giving him Pedialyte(with Thicken Up,too)and of course, he LOVED it!So, problem solved,right? NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!!The diarrhea rocked on for 3 more days!!And as a result...a terrible little case of diaper rash debuted on his little bottom!!!Poor baby! We had had enough of it, so we started our OWN research!(which for 1st time parents consists of massive Googling and WebMDing!)Come to find out....

OUR SWEET BABY WAS HAVING AN ALLERGY TO CORN!!!!!!

Thicken Up is pure CORNSTARCH! And Pedialyte contains a corn derivative,too!!!After much poking around on the good ol' web, I also learned that he may not necessarily be allergic to corn....it's just that corn is a known allergen and you're not supposed to introduce allergens of any kind into their still developing systems until at least 6 months. UGH! I felt horrible about doing that to him but then I realized we were only following our doctors advice. Why would they not warn us of this being at LEAST a possibility??We are now with a new pediatrician,by the way. I shouldn't have to diagnose my own child!!I feel like we were being led to this new doc anyway. She has been recommended to us by several moms, my brother went to her, and then, on accident...I happened upon her Facebook page!!!So I really feel like that's where we are supposed to be. He goes on the 16th, so I'm really looking forward to meeting her.

This Sunday at church, they are having New Arrivals Day for all the babies born in 2008. There will be a short slide show and then a Dedication.We are very excited about this.In fact, we currently will have 20 people there just from our families alone. It's so nice to know that we have such a loving family. And ya know, even with the economy being the way it is, being on a strict budget,working one less day a week, making less but now having to spend more......even with all the unknowns.......I still feel more blessed than I ever have!

Lordy mercy....what a week!!!

Well, where do I begin? On Wednesday, I noticed that Scout was a little more snotty than usual so to be on the safe side, I called his doctor and they wanted to see him since he is so little....just to make sure it wasn't RSV. So we went in and she said it was just a cold but she wanted to send him to T.C. Thompson's for x-rays and a flouroscopy to determine the cause of the little squeaky noise he makes when he breathes. So, Thursday we went to children's and he did so good.(Look at him in his little hospital robe!) I was so proud of him. He wasn't supposed to eat after 6am and we were very worried about that because he has never had to wait on food!But he did just fine. He was talking to all the nurses and flirting with them! You'd never know there was anything wrong with him; he such a little trooper!So anatomically, there is nothing wrong.No hemangiomas.No polyps.No trachiomalcia("floppy trachea").Whew! So now we go back on Monday for a swallowing test.They will test different consistencies of formula to determine which consistency is best for him so he doesn't aspirate into his lungs(which is a concern of theirs). So fingers crossed that all it is is making his formula thicker.

We ended up having to go BACK to Children's on Friday night only this time it was to the emergency room! His breathing was getting really raspy and I was afraid it was moving into his chest so I was worried about RSV and pneumonia. I knew there was a HUGE possibility I was overreacting but I would rather be safe than sorry. The doctor there was AWESOME! He said he was fine...just a severe cold;nothing to really worry about.They sucked all the snot out and sent us on our way!He slept very well last night and all day to day he did fine. The only time he cries is when I have to suck the snot out!He hates that!He still sounds a little rough, but he seems to feel fine. We have stayed indoors this weekend and I am planning on staying home with him all day tomorrow too. I may go a little stir crazy but its worth it if he gets better.:)

Daycare Drama!!!!

Whew! What a day! Talk about a roller coaster of emotions....yesterday was mentally and emotionally draining for me!!! It was Scout's first day of daycare and my first (official) day back at work. TOO MANY "FIRSTS" FOR ONE DAY! I had been dreading this day since the moment I found out I was pregnant. I couldn't sleep that night before at all. I was actually ok until we got in the car. (Jason went with me b/c I knew I'd be a wreck!) My cousin Jessica works in the office right down the hall so she can check on him throughout the day; but she met us at the door and walked us to his classroom. I was okay until Jason asked me if "Mommy wanted to tell him 'bye'?"UGGGHHHH! I lost it! In front of everyone- i boo-hooed like one of the many babies staring at me in awe. But I didn't care...I was having to leave my child for the first time with someone other than family for more than just a couple of hours and I was heartbroken. I absentmindedly went over his feeding schedule with the teacher and then Jason held him up for me to kiss goodbye. Luckily, he was asleep the whole time! I don't know what I would do if I had to stare back at those beautiful babyblues and say bye. So, we left and Jason drove, thankfully,as I bawled my eyes out all the way to Starbucks! That helped alot though; it's amazing what problems expensive coffee can make better. So I only had a half-day at work so I went back and got him as soon as I was done.I tell ya...I couldn't get there fast enough!!But when I got there he was asleep again. His teacher bragged on him and told me how good he had been that day! Everyday, they give you this sheet of paper they fill out thru the day. It's a detailed account of exactly how much they eat and when, how often they nap and for how long, and how many dirty/wet diapers they had and when! That is sooooo awesome! So far, I am very impressed. I think Thursday and Friday will go much better now; I guess I just had to get that out of my system. But can I just say... I LOVE having Wednesdays off! I am really looking forward to going to church tonight; a new women's Bible class starts tonight on Esther by Beth Moore. I absolutely love me some Beth Moore so I am super excited. I believe we will be going to meet Jason for lunch today,too. He loves getting to see Scout in the middle of the day!So today is ALREADY better than yesterday!!