back from the ped

It's "only" a cold . Good news--his ears are perfect, chest is clear, and nose isn't broken!! She said to continue to alternate motrin and tylenol as needed for fever and 1/2 tsp -1 tsp of dimetapp in the am and pm. She said not to worry about giving it b/c the worries about cold meds are those which contain sudafed. This isn't one of those, and she even gives it to her babes when they don't feel well. I feel much better............now to get my Sweet P all better!! Oh and he's back on his growth curve!! Our goal for his well-baby was 18 pounds--he's 18 pounds and 6 ounces!! Yippee!! She said to take him on vacation more often.

1st sick visit

Our 1st sick child visit is this afternoon. P's ped's office was swamped yesterday b/c of the holiday weekend and didn't return my phone call placed 10 minutes after they opened at 8:10 am until 5:10 pm. I called at 3 pm just to make sure they planned to call me back before they left for the day. I'm pretty upset, b/c when they did call back his ped had already left for the day. The on call physician said more than likely his nose is just bruised and probably not broken. We are going in today to have our ped look at it since he is sick also. I pray it's perfectly fine!! This is our 1st cold, so I'm pretty worried. They said to saline, suction, humidify, etc. Also to alternate motrin and tylenol for his fever and children's dimetapp cold and allergy every 4 hours. I'm kind of anti-med unless it's absolutely necessary. The nurse agreed with me and said to at least give it to him in the morning and at night. Despite being sick, P is still in good spirits laughing and smiling!! He's been a lil' more cuddly than usual but is still eating, sleeping, and breastfeeding great. I'll update when we get home this evening!!

possible broken nose & 1st cold

Okay I'll start with the 1st. On our last day of vacation, P was playing inside our suitcase. I was getting ready and Mark was reading the paper. We should have been watching him closer!! P decided he wanted out of the suitcase and crawled off. I should've known b/c the same thing almost happened the previous night. Well, he totally ate the floor face 1st. He cried longer and harder than I have ever heard him. Even momma's milk didn't comfort him. He has carpet burn on his entire nose, underneath his nose, and on his upper lip. He got a fat lip b/c his bottom 2 teeth jabbed into his top lip--there were teeth marks. The bridge of his nose is bruised on both sides. Sunday he had some bloody mucous dried on the side of his face when he awoke from his nap. It doesn't look crooked or anything, but I am worried beyond belief. Our peds office was closed this weekend b/c of the holiday. I will put in a call as soon as they open. I pray it isn't broken!!

P didn't sleep well at all last night. He was very restless and woke up twice--he usually sleeps through the night. The 1st time he fussed for a minute, went back to sleep, and fussed a few minutes later before going back to sleep . Later he woke up and couldn't get settled. This morning when he woke up for the day, I noticed he sounds very congested. He also has dried mucuos around his nose. His voice sounds a little more husky than normal. His nose has been a lil' snotty this morning. I am extremely blessed to say this, but I don't really know what to do for him--he has never had a cold!! I will ask his ped's office, of course, when I call to talk to them about his nose and to reschedule his well baby we missed when our flight got canceled last week.

Pierce's 1st Birthday

On his actual birthday I made a special pancake breakfast. We went to work with Mark while he did a short case and then went to a Greek restaurant for lunch. Pierce loves chicken kabobs and a Greek dessert called milfy. Later that afternoon we took him to a park where he enjoyed the slides and swings. That night we had a small party with just the three of us. He enjoyed his birthday cake quite a bit. He was actually pretty clean about eating it and would just dip his fingers into the icing. It was only after I tried to get him to eat the actual cake portion that he rubbed his hands all over his face. Saturday the 19th we had a larger party, but still kept it small and intimate with close family. We had an excellent time!! He received quite a few books and toys including a tricycle a push/ride toy, a ball popper, a water table, and a pool. Many thanks to you all for the very special birthday wishes!!

Here is a link to the slideshow of pics from his birthday and party. http://picasaweb.google.com/mandklowe/Pier...key=uYQbP_efRrg Click on slideshow for the entire picture and caption.

1 year stats

Birth weight and height: 7 pounds 7.8 ounces, 20 inches
One year old weight & height: 17 pounds 4 ounces, 29 3/4 inches
Current Milestones: waving, clapping, pointing, shakes his head yes and no, cruises everywhere, signs "more", "all done", "eat", "milk", "up", and "all done", standing, can say dada, nana, mama, yum yum, and hi
How many teeth, how much hair: 6 teeth, thin and kind of long red/blonde/light brown hair
How has your life changed over the past year: In every amazing way possible!!
Describe your little one's personality: P is extremely easy going and laid back (just like his dad)!! He rarely fusses!! We are so blessed!!

I praise God every moment for my sweet P!! He truly is my pride and joy--my EVERYTHING!!

My 1st Mother's Day

I am definitely spoiled!! Mark is on call this weekend and was gone to the hospital this morning before P and I got up. I awoke to a note laying on top of our laptop saying how much he and P love me, happy mother's day, and I would be spoiled when he got home. Mark came home with a big gorgeous bouqet of flowers, a very sweet card from himself, and an adorable card from Pierce!! Plus, he got me an intrance massage (between swedish and deep tissue) at a local spa!! I have never received anything like this before!! Wow!! Mark really surprised me--he said he's been planning this for a while. Oh, and my sweet in laws sent a bouquet of flowers yesterday with a sweet card too. But ya know what, just like I told Mark and P--my sweet P is the greatest gift of all!!

from Mark and P

from in laws

best gift of all--my sweet P!!


I am so very thankful!!

chicken nugget fans??

P is!! We actually just discovered them. I had a chicken strip salad (yummy) from Chick-fil-a on Saturday for lunch and I gave P a chicken strip. He loves them!! Sunday when we went to brunch we got him some chicken strips and he ate them all over the next few meals!! I promptly made Mark take me to our natural food store and got him some organic ones. He ate 4 with lunch today!! He's definitely a fan!!

waving

P has been waving since about December, but only within the last few weeks has it become consistent. He waves at EVERYTHING!! Two days ago he started saying hi too!! In the morning when I go to get him out of his crib, he waves to me. We walk down the stairs he waves to Mark!! When we go on evening walks, he waves to cars. Yesterday, a neighborhood cat approached us as we were getting ready for our walk. Pierce even waved to the kitty!! When we walk into a store, he waves. He waves when new people enter the room. He is such a friendly babe!!

P's appt

went great!! He is no longer borderline anemic!! His levels were 11.3 nice and high (anything over 10 is good--he was 10.1 and 9.5 at previous checks) so we get to toss the iron!! He weighs 17 pounds 2 ounces naked. She said his slow weight gain since his 6 month well-baby is probably a combination of 3 things: being borderline anemic, increased mobitlity, and heredity. Again, she isn't concerned at all, but it's so hard not to worry!! She's still predicting he will continue to follow his new growth curve. She said he is right on track developmentally--he even demonstrated some skills such as waving, pointing, and shaking his head no!!

I talked to both her and the nurse about the MMR and chicken pox vaccine. Apparently, Texas' law is pretty laid back and you can delay vaccines as long as you want. In fact, you can just sign a waiver for refusal and not vaccine at all. She said she vaxes her babies on schedule, but wouldn't mind at all if I chose to delay the MMR and chicken pox. They typically give these in one combined shot, but they also have them in stock separately. She said if you read the one big study that was done with the vaccine's link to autism, the doctors have retracted their findings. She isn't worried at all, but again supports my decision to possibly delay!! I am so happy to have her support!! I was actually thinking about forgoing the chicken pox vaccine altogether, but DH said that he sees adults in the hospital all the time where chicken pox has reactivated in their bodies as shingles (definitely NOT something that I want!!). Still not quite sure what I am gonna do.........

Finally I talked to her about weaning. I told her that P and I are really enjoying our nursing relationship and he still isn't taking to the sippy. I mean, he'll drink out of it, but just sips here and there--not an entire feed. I asked her about keeping the 1st morning feed and the last feed before bedtime and using milk the rest of the time. She said, actually many moms keep the feeds before bedtime and naptime up until 15 months. She said they encourage these comfort feeds to be weaned by 18 months. Mark said, that's pretty much when P nurses now!! So, now I have Mark and our ped on board for extended nursing!! I am sooooooo happy!!

Thank you all soo much for your thoughts and prayers today!! I appreciate them more than I could ever do justice with words!!