really?

Friday started off well enough, we got up, had breakfast, took a nap and went to Target. We were looking forward to a great weekend and planning to have some fun in the cooler weather. At Target,, Jack started to feel a little warm. By the time I got him home, his fever was 102. I called the pediatrician and took his temperature again and it was 102.7 and he was whining and limp in my arms. I was terrified and rushed him to the doctor.

For the third time in less than 3 months, Jack is sick. We are all tired of him being sick, most of all Jack. He's a great patient 90% of the time but when the fever starts to spike, he is whiny and clingy and miserable, and when it happens in the middle of the night, there is no consoling him until he cools off and is able to go back to sleep. We are all exhausted and even Chewy said enough is enough, let's keep this kid well after this!

Yesterday was the first day he was fever-free for 18 hours or so. He still woke up in the night burning up but this morning he was back to normal and even played for a little while.

Hopefully this is the end of it and we can all stay healthy for a long, long time. Otherwise, I am going to start looking for a baby-sized bubble to keep him in.

all systems go

Jack had his 4-month check-up on Saturday (just hours before the puking began) and, in case we didn't already know, the doctor said he is perfect!

He weighed in at 12 lbs, 9 oz and stretched out at 25 inches!

He got some shots and once again, took them like a champ. (better than Momma did for sure)

Here are some pictures taken when everyone was still mellow and happy (and not throwing up):


(is it me or is Jack starting to look like his doctor? hmmm...)

preview

Everything went well at the Dr.
I will keep comments open for guesses until Monday so there's still time!

no sharps, just smiles

Today Jack and I are going on our first solo outing. We both have a Dr appointment (such an exciting life I lead now) so we will see how it goes. Luckily, my OB and his pediatrician are in the same building so they are just an elevator ride away from each other.
I have been looking into an alternative vaccination schedule and I think I found something that I can be happy with. I am going to talk to Jack's Dr. about it today and hopefully he will be on board with it so Jack will not be getting any immunizations until he is 4 months old, including the Hepatitis B shot that I would not let them give him in the hospital.
I don't have the time to really get into it right now but babies these days are getting a shocking amount of immunizations before they are 2 years old, many more than were given even 10 years ago but almost double the amount when I was a kid. Many well respected doctors have written about this and there are many alternative schedules available that will still allow him to get all of them before he starts school but allows us to space them out so we can tell which ones he may have side effects from and allow his poor little body to recover from having all these foreign substances put into it.
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Enough about all this seriousness, let's have a smile:


Jack decided yesterday he does indeed like his swing after trying it and hating it a few times. He fell asleep in it for over a half hour both yesterday and today and that makes Jack's mama smile too!
Happy Wednesday!

look who's 5 days old today!

At the crack of dawn, we all set out for the pediatrician.

Jack was given the once-over twice and passed all tests with flying colors.
He measured 20 inches this morning so unless he grew an inch in less than a week and he will be 4 feet tall in a month, his measurement at birth was slightly off.
Either way, he is slightly taller than average, slightly thinner than average and has a smaller head than average. Who likes being average anyway? And there are worse things in life than being a little tall and thin and I have had a pea-sized head all my life and did OK so overall we are very happy.

He enjoyed his first outing since the trip home from the hospital and slept the whole car ride again. He didn't enjoy the exam quite as much though, as you will see:

typing with one eye open

Well, I cannot promise to be much more coherent then I was yesterday because I have definitely hit a wall when it comes to sleeping. It seems like just when I think it is as bad as it can be (the peeing, the waking up starving) even worse things come up (leg cramps, sore hips, stiff back) and I find myself grateful when I only wake up 3-4 times in the night instead of what feels like every 10 minutes. I wake up most days already exhausted but staying in bed is not an option because the stiffness and soreness hits a peak after 8 hours or so and only getting up and moving around makes it feel better so sleep is no longer an option after 7:30 AM or so.


Anyway, that's the story of why I walk around in a haze now and why it has become so difficult to write a real post the last few days. I was hoping it was just a post-trip hangover but am beginning to understand that it is instead the new status-quo. So, I will adjust, it just might take a little while.

Now, about my trip.


NJ is so beautiful this time of year, with the leaves changing, and I am really glad I got to see it for a couple of days. It was also incredibly, unseasonable cold so I didn't spend much time outside except for a brisk walk Monday morning with Cathy to get some exercise and check out the changing leaves and suburban Halloween decorations.

The shower itself was so overwhelming, with so many people and presents and I felt such love and gratefulness to everyone. I don't know if I can ever fully express how warm and fuzzy it all made me feel. My sisters, Cathy, Beth and Nancy, really went above and beyond in everything, from the invitations, decorations, cake, preparations, etc. They really thought of everything and on top of it all, gave us some really generous gifts, including a gorgeous quilt that Nancy made herself.


They even thought of what to do with all the gifts that were brought to the shower and will be shipping it down here to me this week. (and I, like a little kid, can hardly wait for it all to get here, though I really have a big job ahead of me now, making room for everything in our not-so-big apartment) We have already received a lot of big things (swing, bouncy seat, bassinet) all of which are still in boxes in the guest room/future baby's room but Chris and I discussed last night exactly how we will arrange things to make room for those things as well as the crib and dresser/changing table that we have yet to buy. Also, the room really needs to be painted (as well as our bedroom) and as much as I don't want to do it, my baby is not coming home to a house with scuffed-up walls, it just won't happen, and I think this may be the beginning of what "they" refer to as NESTING....


In other news, I went to see another pediatrician today and now we need to decide if we want to go to a big practice with slick offices and lots of doctors or a small practice in a charming office and only one doctor. There are many other things to take into consideration but for the most part, those are the big differences between the two and personality-wise, I really like them both so we will see. I don't have to decide until right before Kumar is born so I have a little bit of time to (obsess) weigh things.


On the way home from the pediatrician, I decided to give Kumar his first lesson in exercising his rights as a U.S. citizen.

I let him wear the sticker.

where would you rather be?

Today I went to see a potential pediatrician for Kumar. I made the appointment super early (7:45) so that Chris could come with me before work but of course, that did not work out because this is the day he starts JURY DUTY!!

*Cue: creepy music and thunder clap over the courthouse*

Since Chris was going to be trapped in the most horrible criminal courthouse ever made, I didn't have the heart to make him feel bad about missing the visit because having to spend the day (or possibly multiple days) there is punishment enough. I know how horrible this place is because I had to go there 3 years ago, about a week before we left to get married and luckily the judge took mercy upon me and let me go after the first day when I told him that I was going to St Lucia to be married in a matter of days. His exact words were, "Get out of here and go get married." He was a nice judge and I have not gotten called back again *knockonwood*....

Anyway, the pediatrician took his time and answered all my questions about vaccines and cord blood banking and other stuff on my list and I had a nice little tour of the place and it seemed like they have a good set up. They have a lab on the premises and a bunch of other locations in the area that have doctors on call after hours and weekends so there are really no complaints. I have an appointment with another pediatrician next week after I get back from my trip that has a much smaller office and then we will make a decision. Since I really have no problems with this first place and they were both recommended by my OB, it makes me comfortable to make a decision after only seeing the two.

Considering we are going to be spending a lot of time in the pediatritian's office the first year of Kumar's life, this is a good place to do it. The second place will definitely not be able to beat the view from the exam rooms: