Wednesday, July 25, 2007

No mom - I don't want to do that again!

Yesterday was another fun-filled day with my darling newborn. We went to to see an allergist. The wee man had a red and dry rash on the backs of his legs, elbows and tummy. Our pediatrician saw him last week for his 4 month appointment and was a little concerned.

So off we went to the allergy doc - she was very nice - even though she was going to make my dear one cry. She took a thorough health history - I say that grinning since he's only 3.95 months old - and included us in the history.

He was examined by 3 doctors (I knew he was special and deserved it :) and all 3 concluded that he most probably had an allergy to milk. Next steps - test for allergy. Normally that wouldn't be too difficult, however, da wee man is a wee one. The scratch test (and yes, they really do scratch him to inject the allergen) was performed to include dairy, egg yolks, and egg whites. They marked on him with a SHARPIE! My little one was tough, but he still cried. I thought that was the worst part... I was wrong.

The test came back negative, but I was informed that "false negatives" often occur in babies. So why the H*ll did you just do that AND make him cry if you thought it would be negative. SO then they had to draw blood for another test. Blood - from my baby - you must be joking. And you want me to hold him down whilst you are doing it... you are insane.

But I did - and he survived. He only whimpered a little. Kudos to the wonderful nurse who did it. She was a pro and used a different technique than I had seen before. She was very gentle. We go back in month to see the results.

In the meantime, I can't eat any dairy for 2 weeks and then no eggs for 2 weeks. This ought to be fun - I live for cheese! If it will make my little one better, its a small sacrifice to make. I brought him home to our amazing nanny who scooped him up and gave him the TLC he needed. Stay tuned.

Here are a couple of more recent pics. Did I mention I melt when he smiles. Oh --- and I think he laughed :)
PS - Our nanny loves to dress him up!






Monday, July 23, 2007

New toy


I'll figure this thing out one way or the other...

Guess what I found...

My foot... I can't find it all the time but I found it... Now if I could just figure out how to get it into my mouth.. hmmm that gives me an idea for later...

Wee man can now use his jumper roo? photos to follow..

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Someone else to drool on

So it's been one week since I returned to work full time. Each day gets easier and easier, but my heart still aches when I leave my little man behind. Our nanny is wonderful and loves our little one as he was one of her own. Thank goodness I found someone like her.

I have a wonderful calm feeling when she arrives in the morning and my little man gives her a giant toothless grin. As I kiss him goodbye and walk out the door, I often think to myself that he doesn't even know that I'm gone. He truly is unaware. I'm sure that its harder on me that it is on him. For 3 months I was the only woman in his life (aside from grandmas and visitors) and now he has another woman in his life.

I'm sure every mommy feels this way - but it still hurts a bit.

I can say, though, that the best thing in the world is seeing that toothless grin when I walk in
the door after work.


Here are some more pictures for your amusement...


























Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Avast Ye Scurvy Dawgs...



Boating

One new experience down a million more to go...

Luckily for us, the wee man is calm.

Some friends have a boat and well this past weekend the whole Team took a trip. Well it is summer in the Southeast of the country and it is just damn hot... I think it was like 99 - 100. The wee man did complain about the heat. But then again I think everyone did.

We just kept everyone hydrated and cool.

Wake and turbulence... no problem...

In fact one time the Mrs. was hanging on and the wee man was just giggling up a storm. I guess that lack of fear is a good thing..

I doubt I will say that when he builds a home made catapult or trebuchet...

And just to make sure that the grandmas wouldn't worry he was well covered and protected from the sun..

Thursday, July 5, 2007

The Return

For weeks I was in denial that I was going back to work. After all -- my little boy is so much fun now - why on earth would I go back to work? I mean let's face it, he still throws up, poops, and pees one me, but now he also smiles, giggles, coos, and is starting to sit up.

This past week has been like a ticking time bomb. So on Monday when our dear nanny came for her "trial period", I was still in denial. The trial was a joke, because she knew what she was doing already. It was really just a reassurance to me that she could do the job. Of course, she was wonderful and my dear boy loved her. Every time I would pass the refrigerator with the calendar, my heart would get heavy. Could I do it? Would I be a basket case? Would I survive?

The answer to all of the questions is yes. I won't say that it was easy. In fact it was the hardest thing I've had to do. I cried a lot leading up to today. So this morning my little boy awoke at 4 am for his feeding and again at 5:30. Instead of being bleary eyed, I was wide awake and took notice of everything about my sweet one. His new hair, chubby legs and wrists, bright blue eyes and a big smile when I lifted him out of the crib.

I hopped in the shower at 6 and was shockingly ready at 6:30. I took my sweet boy from his daddy's arms and didn't let go of him until the nanny arrived at 7. I put on my brave face and drove to work. And then I cried.. out loud and profusely for about a half an hour.

At 10:30, my nanny's dear daughter called to report that everything was OK and my little one was napping. I was relieved and happy.

I've still had a couple of moments where the tears have welled up, but I'm OK. I just can't wait to get home. The minutes are ticking by slowly.

I'm very lucky to have a wonderful husband and wonderful friends and wonderful family members who are so supportive. Kind words and reassurance are what new mommies need to hear. I'm just glad that I have that.

More pics tonight I hope, but not until I've spent the remainder of my little one's waking hours today.