Lucas and I had a date tonight. Often we'll go out to do things with one of my girlfriends or family. But tonight it was just us. We went to Hunter's birthday party at the Play Cafe first. I didn't think we'd make it at first. Lucas has been so super crabby with those molars coming in. But, that Tylenol kicked in and we made it.
After the fiesta (where Lucas literally shoved a mini cupcake in his mouth), we went to dinner at Rudy's. Let me tell you, trying to carry a 26 pound toddler, a diaper bag, two slices of pizza, a salad, and a diet Pepsi was ridiculous. I had to do it in shifts, all while Lucas was grabbing for the food. I bet I looked very sexy. (:
Lucas was not a very polite date. He chewed with his mouth full, spit out chewed up food, threw food on the floor, begged for my food, refused the salad and flirted with everyone else in the restaurant. But, as always, he still managed to be very charming. I decided to keep him.
Sometimes life is tough. Scratch that - often times life is tough. But tonight, I had fun. (:
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Today Lucas stole everybody's food, tried to wake up the neighbors, and got stuck in the stuffed animals. Great day! (: He's using that mischievous gleam in his eye to try and glamor us into letting him get away with stuff!
- Katy
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
He seemed in good spirits. He snored like a grown man during his morning nap. (: We went outside today (Lucas did NOT want to come inside).
- Elisha
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Played a lot with Benjamin today! Walking all over the place. We made an indoor playground today because it was too cold to go outside.
- Ilana
Friday, December 2, 2011
He seemed sleepy this morning and fell right asleep at naptime. Everyday he learns something new and interesting from his toddler friends! Today he was screetching and meal times. I also saw him giving his friends gentle touches.
- Elisha
Monday, December 5, 2011
When we went outside this morning he was P.O.ed about having to wear a hat . . . He complained every moment but he eventually started pushing the little red push cars and was happy(ish).
- Elisha
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Today Lucas hid under tables, played king of the mountain on the rowboat stairs, played peek-a-boo with Natalie A., lounged in the baby pool and gnawed on books.
- Katy
The hilarious thing about these reports is the food portion. The teachers check off how he ate at breakfast and lunch. Lucas ALWAYS has "All" checked off. I never see that on toddler reports. Kids will usually have it checked off some of the time. Lucas definitely loves his food!
Lucas goes to Brian's on Saturday for his first overnight. This one was my idea because Bri has asked for him overnight on Christmas night. Christmas can be overwhelming for little ones with all the commotion, so I thought an overnight before Christmas would be wise. Plus, I'm so nervous and sad that I didn't want to spend Christmas night all freaked out because it was his first night away.
So, I have absolutely no concerns that Lucas won't be well cared for while he is away. He will be doted over, I'm sure. I think it's just that separation. I know that it's going to be foreign to him and I can't explain it to him so he can understand it. I'm still nursing a few times a day as well, so I'm worried how that's going to go over at bedtime and at wake up.
I know how important it is to grow this bond with Brian. I think I just continue to struggle with the realization that this isn't the way things were "supposed" to be. Not with marriage or anything (those are separate issues - ha ha), but with parenting. When I imagined being a mom, I never imagined having to let my one year old, still a baby, spend the night elsewhere a few times a month . . . Which will eventually grow into a few whole weekends a month. It just sucks and it makes me sad. But that's me pouting. I may never get the opportunity to have more children and this might just be the way God intended it to be for me (just not sure why yet). I am committed to making sure that Lucas has EVERY part of his family and doing what's best for him, and that is very often what doesn't feel right for me. He's gonna have a blast with his Daddy.
So, I will be sad, anxious, and so on, but hopefully that fades with time and practice. After all, I heard someone say the other day that motherhood is the art of slowly letting go. Bittersweet, and very true.
Monday, November 21, 2011
"He showed off his walking skills to every teacher he saw. He inspired Adelyn to start walking at school, and was visited by teacher Allison! Lucas got to experience some VERY WINDY weather outside!!"
- Elisha
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
"Lucas loved his hat falling over his eyes! Private peek-a-boo! He enjoyed pounding the dinosaurs on the blue table, interfering with attendance and being coy!"
- Katy
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
"He's starting to stick up for himself in the room. He woke up a bit discombobulated from his morning nap."
- Elisha
Monday, November 28, 2011
"He was happy to see his friends again after the long weekend. He spent a lot of time today trying to figure out how things/toys fit together."
- Elisha
So, now that Lucas is in the toddler room, he gets "Toddler Reports" sent home. They tell all the details of his day and they also have a place for comments. Those are my favorite. I don't want to save all that paper, but I want to save the comments. I'm going to save them here! Plus, they're fun to share:
10/19/11
"Lucas was enamored by all the children today! He loved playing in the big red car and pushing it around when Natalie was in it." (Elisha)
10/21/11
"Not scared of anything! Took the first steps we've seen." (Katy)
10/24/11
"He had a lot of fun driving the big red car and knocking over the block tower Jaxsen and I were building. He ate really well and seems to be having the easiest transition ever." (Elisha)
11/2/11
"He's having a great morning! He definitely likes to people watch and he's still very interested in everything Natalie A. does." (Elisha)
11/14/11
"He is having a great time today! All the teachers think he grew over the weekend! He is walking more and more. Now he walks w/ me holding onto 1 hand. I think he's trying to decide if walking is faster than crawling." (Elisha)
11/15/11
"Lucas becomes confused when the other children cry, as if he doesn't understand what all the fuss is about." (Katy)
11/16/11
"Lucas is such a joy to have in class. Today he was laughing at Soren and Natalie. They were a trio of friends." (Elisha)
11/17/11
"I feel like Lucas' trust and knowledge of the classroom environment allows him to adjust more easily than other children. Good job, Mom!" (Katy) She also wrote, "Lucas is an expert tower destroyer."
11/18/11
"Lucas was very adventurous today. He tried really hard to get Marcus to chase him. He seemed sad when Marcus couldn't figure it out." (Elisha)
These are so awesome. I love the comments. They make me feel better about leaving him all day!
It's amazing how much difference a year can make. I'm pretty sure I look 5 years older than I did a year ago. Half my hair fell out. I have stretch marks. My house is always messy and I don't get a lot of chances to sit down. I don't have any extra money, I'm single and I'm exhausted. But you know what? I love my son. I love being a mom. I blessed and so thankful that I have a healthy, smart and beautiful one year old Lucas. All of these experiences have made me a better person. I work very hard to remember this every moment of the day. I'm grateful. Happy Birthday Lucas! I love you!!
We have all these moms at work who just baffle me. One in particular who just gets so bent out of shape about everything. Instead of enjoying their small children they are lost in this cycle of working mom guilt and introspection that distracts them from seeing the FUN part of watching a child grow!
Relax! Take a moment and laugh at yourself. I fully believe that parents are their child's most important teacher, but that doesn't mean you can learn from others too!
Let them get messy. Let them stay up late and get off schedule sometimes. Let them have refined sugar and French fries every so often. Let them discover on their own without you hovering. It's hard to let go of that control, but it's crucial.
In the wee hours of the morning when Lucas wakes up, I bring him to my room and nurse him before we actually get up. It's a way for us both to wake up a little.
Last night I was reading something on my phone before I went to sleep and just laid my phone on the bed next to my pillow. It eventually got buried under a blanket. After Lucas finished nursing this AM, he sat up and was smiley. Then my phone made a noise. It was some text message alert or something. He immediately started looking for my phone and found it buried under blankets.
My phone is like treasure because I won't let him play with it. That makes it automatically classified as "baby gold". He will seek it out. He was SO proud of himself that he'd found it that I let him hold it for a whole 5 minutes till he got distracted with something else.
I love the stages in child development. Lucas is learning that even if he can't see something, it's still there. Good ol Piaget and his object permanence.
So, my dear little man, he's been waking up a lot. A lot, a lot, a lot. And, he's been getting up so early that it makes my brain hurt. I don't think I've ever regularly woken up at 5 am. I mean, at least it's light outside, but it makes my day much harder. No matter how hard I force it, I am not a morning person at all. I much prefer to stay up a little later and sleep in a little longer. But, it is what it is, so I'm trying to adapt!
Lucas is really getting big. He's doing big things and I can almost see his brain growing every day. He's clapping now (although I have yet to get it on video). I think it's a matter of a few weeks before he's crawling everywhere. He's getting on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. He won't stay still for anything.
He's also watching me more. When I let other people hold him or I walk around the room, he watches me to see where I am going. He hasn't started to get upset or anything yet, but he definitely makes sure of where I am.
Work has been absolutely insane lately, and I am really happy that I have Lucas to come home to. It really does make the day much better. (:
Here's a few new videos of our little guy. . . .
Lucas is really mad at this biter biscuit. I think he was cranky because he was getting tired, but it cracked me up how he just was so pissed off at the biscuit.
This is another bath tub video. Lucas will not lay on his back in the tub, he wants to be on his tummy all the time now.
At my parents house, so this means I can post a new blog! I've been trying to upload these videos for weeks! But my stolen internet access is too darn slow to really make a dent in any upload or download. These videos are a tad bit old, but still good!
The one below is of Lucas investigating the "grass" in his Easter basket. Really, it's yellow paper, all scrunched up, from the basket that Lucas' Grandma Patty got for him. I think he likes this paper better than anything in the basket. I, for one, appreciated the chocolate bunny!
The next video was just taken a little while ago. Lucas has to have a nebulizer for his congestion in his chest. The doctor isn't sure if he's "pre-asthmatic" or if it's just virus after virus that's affecting him. In any case, every night when he falls asleep, I have to load up this nebulizer with albuterol and pulmicort, and it steams out and he breathes it in. I do it when he sleeps so that he doesn't fight me too badly. This video is of him getting his noisy neb treatment, plus my narration in the background (you can really barely hear it).
Lucas is busy growing a tooth! The first one (bottom right front tooth) has popped up! The one next to it is close behind it, I suspect. This week he learned a few very important things . . . When he hits a toy on the tray of his high chair, it makes a really cool loud noise. Also, he's learned how to pivot on his tummy. He can turn himself around in a circle! Crawling in no time, I'm sure.
Carrots, green beans, peas, squash, sweet potatoes, avocado, bananas, prunes, and pears down. Peaches tomorrow! Apples, and then the mixed flavors I suspect, to follow! He does love to eat!
My goals for Lucas, besides the ol' normal developmental goals, are to reduce our night feedings from three to two (for now), and to slowly get him into the crib. That wedge he sleeps on is getting smaller and smaller, as he gets larger and larger (like, 20 pounds)! I also need to get him a toddler car seat pretty soon (the infant car seat is getting too small)!
My Lucas is such a happy baby. I'm so, so, so lucky! More pics coming soon!
So, I took this on my regular camera, not the normal Flip Video camera that I normally use. I notice that the sound and video sync up is a little off (i.e. the sound doesn't match up with what is happening on the video very well). I apologize in advance for that!
Lucas was having such a great time in the bath today, I had to film him. He kept splashing himself in the face, silly boy.
Okay, okay, okay. I know it's been awhile. I don't have a very reliable internet connection as I am poor and can't afford to pay for internet access. So, stealing it is.
Lucas is getting REALLY BIG! He's already in his 6-9 month clothes! And he has a TON of 6-9 month clothes that are almost entirely hand-me-downs from Hunter or Cobin. I've bought a few things from consignment stores too. Oh, and of course, the shoes. I'm a little obsessed with shoes, both for myself and Lucas. Ha ha.
Lucas has started eating solids! I hate how they call them solids though, because they're not solid. They're very liquidy. We started with rice cereal. This made him a little slow in the poopy diaper department, so at the Dr.'s suggestion, we switched it up to oatmeal. He actually liked that better anyway, so SCORE! Then, we started carrots. And last week it was green beans. This Saturday, peas! And then squash and then sweet potatoes. A new food a week to make sure we aren't having any food allergies. I really want to feed him fruit, but if he's anything like his mama he will only want to eat fruit. So, we start with veggies.
He's getting better at eating. I think he likes it. But, it doesn't seem to appease his appetite. It doesn't make him sleep longer at night, even when I feed it to him right before bed. He wants milk, milk, milk. Which is okay, I mean, that's good for him. He's obviously not hurting for food, Mr. 18 pounds.
No teeth yet, but we have very rosy cheeks, lots of drool, and hands in the mouth. I suspect in the next month or so we'll see a couple pop out on the bottom.
Lucas' latest love is his jumperoo. It's the rain forest one that Carlie let us borrow. He just discovered how to jump last weekend and he loves it. He could spend hours in that thing. I suspect it's fairly good for his gross motor development too, holding that neck up! The video below is him in his jumperoo.
We're working on rolling over from back to front. He gets almost entirely over, but that head gets in the way (and a little arm gets in the way too). It will be very soon though, and childproofing the house will be here before I know it.
Lucas is only sleeping 2.5 hours at a time at night. If I'm really lucky, I get three hours at a time. I think he's growing or something. Tonight I've swaddled him in hopes that his flailing hands won't wake him up as easily. We'll see. At least he goes back to sleep fairly quickly after I nurse him.
We've been singing a lot. I usually sing him songs that I've learned for the classroom. Elisha sang him "Jumping Bean" while he was in the jumper the other day. He also likes "Slippery Fish" which is the most ridiculous song ever, but he loves the "OH NO" part. It makes him smile.
Lucas loves Megan and Elisha. Probably because he sees them the most (and because of their charming personalities). He also adores his teachers at school. We go and see Grandma Lori and Grandpa Brad usually once a week - they have to get their fix.
The funniest thing about Lucas is that he's an amazing baby who is going to be quietly stubborn (where on earth does he get that from?). He definitely gives me a harder time than anyone else, but that's his job. He's given me a lot of purpose and hope in a really icky part of my life, and for that I am very thankful.
So, I'm hoping that this will be the week that Lucas and I can both stay well. (:
I am so blessed to have such an easy going baby. This week I have felt worse than I have felt in a LONG time and Lucas was such a good baby. Aside from him refusing to take a bottle, he was so easy to have around. Such a funny boy. I had my mom come and stay with me on Friday because I was just so sick. I thought if he slept out in the living room with her, and wasn't around me at all, that maybe he'd take a bottle from her in the middle of the night. But, no, he wasn't having it. It just made him really upset, and he doesn't usually get upset. And honestly, I woke up every three hours all on my own. It must be the mom radar I acquired when I birthed him.
Thank goodness for friends and family though. I quickly spiked a fever of almost 103 F after trying a day at work on Friday, and if it wasn't for Emily, Breanne, and my mom I would have just been a puddle on the floor. Breanne dragged me to the doctor and Emily watched Lucas, then my mom came and got up with him early so I could sleep in. And on Saturday, Megan did all my laundry for me, even my sheets. Lucas and I are so thankful for people in our lives that we love!!
Today we napped in bed together and on the couch together. And now I'm going to try to go to bed here at 8pm so that I can attempt to do some paid work tomorrow. I am praying that Lucas doesn't get this because it was really awful. If this was/is influenza, they aren't kidding when they say it will knock you on your butt.
On a positive note - Lucas will be 4 months old on Friday!! I sat him in his ultra cool highchair that Lindsey got him today, and he looked so cute. I think I'm going to try the cereal at about 5 months. We see the pediatrician on Friday (oh no, shots!), and I will ask her about it. She'll probably tell me to wait till 6 months, but the way he's starting to watch me when I eat makes me think he is really curious about this whole "food" thing. (:
So, this is one of those stories that Lucas will NOT want me to tell his girlfriends when he's in high school.
The girls in the infant room are impressed with the level of gas that Lucas has and how badly it smells! I went down there to feed him today, and they were getting ready to change his diaper. They said, "Oh, he's just leaving a poopy diaper!" And I said, "I bet he's not." And they said, "But it totally smells like it and he's been grunting for the last few minutes!" And I said, "Yep, that's his gas." He's pretty impressive. I mean, aren't breast fed babies supposed to have non-smelly gas? And I was right, it wasn't poopy! And as Kati went to wipe him he was just letting out all this gas! Like he was going to explode! It's a little scary too, because there's that possibility he could go all over the changing table . . . and you! It's happened to me!
He also burps like a grown man!! I have to get this stuff on video.
Today when Brian took Lucas I cleaned my house. I also made my lunch for the next two days at work, set out all of our clothes, got the coffee ready, took out the recycling and the garbage, and painted a ceramic box to use for the "tooth fairy" box when Lucas eventually loses teeth. I was pretty ambitious.
Lucas' cough is pretty icky. But, he seems to be getting the stuff in his lungs out easier this time and having less of a hard time breathing.
I have a fun new video of him to put up, maybe tomorrow from work. He's such a talker. And, almost rolling over from back to tummy!
He didn't eat too badly for Brian today, but he didn't eat too great either. I'm wondering though, if that was more because he was sick and less because it was the bottles. I think he refuses to take the bottle when I'm anywhere nearby because he can hear my voice. I think Brian will always be more successful at getting Lucas to eat from a bottle because he doesn't associate Brian with breastfeeding.
I have to start going to bed earlier or I might just become the walking dead. Lucas doesn't need a walking dead mom. It's difficult to balance though because when he goes to bed I have to get all the things done that I don't want to do while he's awake (clean, pay bills, make food, do laundry, etc.). Balancing act!!
Poor Rocket. I need to take five minutes every day and remember to love and pet him. He gets lonely too, and once Lucas starts moving he's really in for it!
Lucas is sick again with a chest cold. I know the doctor said he would be more susceptible to chest colds, but it still sucks. I hate to see him sick and I wish I could take his little cough and flush it down the toilet.
Tomorrow is Sunday and Brian is taking Lucas for the day. I'm in this place where I am really happy that Lucas gets to spend the day with his dad and that Brian gets to spend the day with him. But I'm also really bummed because it's one of my only days with Lucas too. I really don't get to see as much of him as I want to during the week because I have to work and he goes to bed so early. I want to spend as much time with him as I can during these times because I know it goes so quickly. It feels weirdly "painful" to be away from him for long periods of time - especially when he's so little. But I don't want to be selfish, and I do want to do what is best for Lucas, which is to have loving relationships with BOTH of his parents. So, even though it's extremely difficult for me personally, I just have to bite my lip and distract myself while he's gone, and hope that even though it's hard for me, it's what will help Lucas grow into a strong, happy person.
Yesterday, Lucas, Elisha, Pohl-Face, and I all drove to Will's surprise birthday party in Mt. Vernon. MaryCaitlin invited us a little while ago. The party was at 6:30 pm, so I was a little nervous to bring Lucas because he usually falls asleep at like, 7:30-ish. This is usually proceeded by some crankiness.
Lucas was a trooper. I had to sacrifice my finger though, because he doesn't take a pacifier. I needed to keep him relatively quiet until Will walked in and everyone yelled, "SURPRISE!" If they would have heard him crying or fussing, it would have been a bizarre situation. He did so good. I feel so blessed to have a GOOD baby. And he was smiley and happy for most of the night too.
It always feels good to spend the weekend with Lucas after I feel like I never see him at all during the week. We did a little shopping at WeeOne's. He'll be out of his 3-6 month clothes in no time and I had to be prepared with some 6-9 month clothes. We just needed some PJ's and jeans. I have about seven million short sleeved onesies.
I have a nasty cold and do not feel very good (one of the perks of my job). I am hoping and praying that I don't give it to Lucas. That's all he needs is to get sick, AGAIN.
Monday is picture day at work (aka, my worst nightmare). But, because I work at the Y, I get the pictures 50% off if they turn out well! Here's hoping!
Well, it's been a busy week back to work! I'm absolutely exhausted, but pleased that we made it! (:
Lucas and I went down to Children's on Thursday and visited the metabolic genetics people. It was a follow up to the work we did in November. I was sleepy, and I hate driving when I'm sleepy and by myself. Of course Lucas slept the whole time so I couldn't talk to him. (:
They were really impressed with his progress. They said he looked like a different kid. So, they decided to do some follow up testing on his amino acids. Apparently they were a little low in November. This could be due to dietary stuff, because he was feeding really intermittently at that time and doing lots of throwing up. If he's still low on those acids, they will give him a supplement. If that fixes it, it's just a dietary concern. If it doesn't, they'll have to look at some more genetic testing that has to do with conditions affecting energy production and muscle tone. It was hard because the head doctor had a really thick accent from some country in Asia and it was hard to understand him. I think he was talking about kinectin.
Of course one of the doctors was like, Mr. Handsome, right out of Grey's Anatomy or something. And while I was talking to him, Lucas pooped all over me. And we're not talking like, a little poop. He pooped ALL over me. I should have taken a picture. It was pretty humorous. That didn't stop me from stopping at the GAP outlet on the way home. (:
I've been trying to update with some pictures. . .
Lucas "sacked" out on Superbowl Sunday.
At the Dr. receiving a breathing treatment before we were admitted. Look at that frown underneath the mask!
Another nebulizer treatment picture.
He was pretty happy about being on crinkly table paper!
In St. Joe's with the new stuffed friend I bought him.
Silly machines.
Lucas on his first day of "school". February 1st, 2011.
We're home, and this makes me extremely happy. I don't think you really appreciate holding your baby or child until you've tried to spend hours, days, weeks holding your child attached to a bunch of beeping machines by a host of colored cords. I can bathe him, feed him, dress him, and rock him without feeling like a tangled mess.
Lucas spend most of the day sleeping, but when he was awake his eyes were much brighter than they were yesterday. Megan helped me transport all the loads of stuff home that we seemed to accumulate in 2 days at the hospital. I was getting a bath ready and Lucas started coughing while Megan was holding him. He coughed up all sorts of mucus in Megan's hand. Ewwww! (: But it's awesome that he got it up on his own.
Every time I feed him I have to suction out his nose first (with the saline solution and everything). He hates this, and so do I. Hopefully we won't have to do this for much longer!!
Tomorrow is Superbowl Sunday and it will be filled with all sorts of good foods and weight gain and funny commercials and Steeler massacres. It's funny to think . . . last Superbowl Sunday in 2010 I would have never expected to have a Lucas!
So, at like 4:30 am, Lucas woke up to eat. I fed him, and he ate quite a bit. Then he started coughing and coughing and coughing. He threw up everything he ate. I have never seen a baby throw up everything they eat!! And he kept coughing and throwing up. Poor Lucas. They had to suction him out with the tube down the nose.
They said if he can't clear his own airway of the mucus they don't want to send him home. I don't want him to go home either if he can't stop coughing!
Just a quick note before I try and get some sleep. . . .
Lucas is doing alright, but probably a little worse than he was last night. He gets these coughing spells and he can't stop. He has so much gunk down in his lungs and he can't get it up. The breathing treatments with the nebulizer don't work so hot, so the only thing they can really do is to put a saline solution in his nose and then suction it out with a vacuum sucker thing. It is not a pleasant process for poor Lucas. Tonight the normal sucker wasn't doing the job, so we had to stick a small tube down his throat to suck it out. The nurse said it gives them the sensation like we're sucking out his breathe. Fantastic. He gives me these looks now like, "Mom, why are you letting them do this to me?" And he turns his mouth in this upside down frown (just like both his mom and dad can do). It completely breaks your heart.
They said if he stays off oxygen and continues to nurse he will probably be able to go home tomorrow. This is wonderful, but it also makes me nervous because he doesn't seem so much better. I'll have to talk to the doctor about this tomorrow.
BLAST these testy alarms! (:
The baby next to us is almost 7 months old. He's really cute. He has to have the suction vacuum too. Darn RSV.
I hate that I'm using all these precious vacation days to the hospital. I would love to take a few real vacation days with my son in the summer and play in the grass or at the beach. I'll just have to save up some money.
The alarm keeps going off and on and off and on. The nurse will come in, and the alarm will turn off. Lucas doesn't tolerate the sound as well as he did when he was a tiny newborn. Neither do I.
It will be a loooong night. Hopefully it will be our only night here. (: Stupid RSV.
Oooh, baby's first cough turned out to be RSV. Not a fun little virus for babies.
We went to the doctor today, the on call doctor, and they checked him out. He had some suspicious ear wax, but they didn't seem to think it was infectious. And they tested him for RSV. The whole process involved scraping his ear wax and then sucking some mucus out of his nose after injecting a little saline solution. He was livid. We saw Dr. Gass (who I really liked) and he said that for being labeled "hypotonia" he sure was strong. He had more fight in him for that 20 minutes than all of the time at Children's Hospital in Seattle. And he's lost his little baby voice! When he cries, he "silent cries" with no noise!
RSV is a cold in adults, but in babies, especially babies under the age of 6 months, it can be really bad. A lot of babies are hospitalized for dehydration because they stop drinking fluids during the virus. They can't treat it with antibiotics because it's a virus, so you just have to let it run it's course. I have to keep an eye on his fluid intake, or if he seems to get worse. He's not cranky but he's SO congested in his chest. No runny nose, no fever, just an awful cough and wheeze. A moment ago he coughed out a bunch of mucus (which is good, I suspect). He is eating less too.
Well, so I went home from work today and I won't be working tomorrow. Say goodbye to all those vacation days!! We'll see how he is on Friday. He can technically go back whenever as long as he doesn't have a fever, but the Dr. said he should stay home today and Melinda wants me to stay home tomorrow. I guess I did go back to work part time at first. (: The Dr. also said that Lucas will probably be more susceptible to respiratory-wheezy stuff for quite awhile after this episode of RSV. Hopefully this isn't a sign of asthma to come. He asked if it ran in the family. I know Lindsey had a touch of it, but I'm not sure about anyone on Bri's side.
Well, so below is a video of Lucas coughing, and you can hear him wheeze too, if you listen closely. I think his cough just sounds so bad, I had to film it. Megan is coming over to make us dinner, which is really nice because I am super tired.
Oooh, poor Lucas. He has a nasty chest cold. I'm keeping an eye on it so he doesn't get too sick. Dr. Putney said that a chest cold could hit him harder than some kids because of his low muscle tone in his upper body. I think it's funny that he got a cold even before he started childcare.
I ran a hot bath tonight and then left the water running in the bathroom afterword to steam up the room. We Vick's Vapor Rub-ed it too. I hope that loosens it up a little. There's not much you can do for a little body with a cough. No baby Nyquil for Lucas.
If he spikes a fever I guess I won't be going back to work after all tomorrow. I think he feels okay, just sounds awful.
On a happier note, Elisha and I happily watched Lucas try to figure out how to get a toy in his mouth today. It looked so frustrating!! He's getting there though! He's not grabbing at toys yet, but he's hitting them. It's really fun to watch all the little steps he's making.
Yesterday I went to the "reunion" of our childbirth class. We got to see all the babies, six of them total. A few of the little ones were born at the beginning of October, one born late October, and then the last three (including Lucas) were born within a week of each other. Lucas was #4. The picture here shows the babies in order of birth . . .
This is Quinn, Faye, Kenton, Lucas, Lila, and Emlyn.
Here are some more pictures . . .
Kenton, Lucas, Lila, and Emlyn - I think Lucas needs to make Lila his girlfriend. She's super cute.
Lucas looks SO serious in these pictures. Well, I guess all the babies do! Lucas was pretty big too, in comparison to the two girls born right after him. It was pretty fun to see everyone. I really like a few of the girls too (the moms), maybe we'll keep in touch (good ol' Facebook helps with that).
Lucas projectile vomited all over me today! Woo! But he quickly redeemed himself by grinning at me. It must have made him feel better.
Jacqui and Megan came over this weekend. Jacqui changed Lucas' diaper for him, and right before she set him on the mat to change him, he gave her this look like, "Do you really know what you're doing here Jacqui?" We immortalized the look in a photo . . .
This is just proof to Jacqui that we knew her before she was famous. Now she HAS to let us into her movie premieres. We were there before IHOP (she'll know what I was talking about). (:
One more day before work. I'm going to miss my little man so much. I know I'm so fortunate to get to have him close to me all day in a room with a bunch of girls that I trust so much. The infant room is really great. But I am the only mom from my childbirth class that is going back to work so early, and who is going back to work full time. I don't have a choice because I need to save some sick days for Children's Hospital and when Lucas inevitably gets the flu and I have to take off of work. I also cannot afford to take any unpaid time off since I am the only income in our house. But, it doesn't stop me from feeling guilty about bringing him in earlier that we usually start most families downtown. I keep trying to tell myself this is normal "working mom guilt". Geeze. I know and HIRED the girls who are caring for Lucas. I know the intricate inner-workings of the center. I RUN the center and I am still nervous about leaving him all day. Can you imagine the poor moms who come and visit us only a handful of times before leaving their precious babies?? If anything, Lucas will make me better at my job. I could always try to relate, but now I really can understand.
I am so thankful for my job though, in that I can afford to put Lucas in a quality childcare. If Brian and I had to pay full price for our slot we would be out $867 per month (that's $433.50 EACH). With my discount and a scholarship that I received from the Y, we split the cost at $333.50. That is an amazing price and since I don't qualify for any State services, it saves my butt in finances. Phew.
Yesterday the physical therapist, Stefanie, came to do some work with Lucas. She's super cool and Lucas loved her, which helped. The things she told me to do are so small I probably wouldn't have even known how to do them, or that they were helping in any way. One of the things was having him sit up, like on my lap, and holding him back just a small fraction. This way he has to lift up his head just a tiny bit more than he does when sitting straight up.
It's hard because I can see just how much effort it takes for him to hold his head up. He often leans it back and rests it looking up because it takes less strength to do that. When he actually holds it up straight it's the equivalent of us lifting up a big weight in the air with one of our arms. Poor kiddo.
I have multiple meetings scheduled at work next week to sort out stuff that hasn't been going as peachy as I would like it to. This will be hard because I'm not quite sure when Lucas will be eating. Now I know how all those moms at work feel, trying to schedule their lunch hour around their child's eating schedule. It's a mentality shift for me, work does not come first, Lucas does. That's new and part of the balance. At least he takes a bottle well, so if I have to I can let the girls in the infant room feed him and I can pump later, it just takes more time in the long run.
And I'm not sure HOW I'm going to do campaign in March. He has been going to bed at 7:30 pm and campaign usually lasts until 7, and then we clean up after. I think I'll ask to do more work on set up and then I can just take off right at 7. Hopefully that will work.
So, a new video. I think sometimes these videos are boring for my Facebook friends. But I know if people are reading this blog they just can't get enough of Lucas, so here you go! Video. I'll have another one soon.
Well, one more week until I go back to work. I feel mixed emotions about this. Yay, I get back on a schedule and have regular contact with big people! But, nay, I spend less time with Lucas and I worry I won't be able to balance everything very well. But, lots of women do it, so I shouldn't be anything less than successful. I'm excited to see everyone again, but I'm apprehensive of the demands that my job gives me. When I was "without a child" it wasn't as much of an issue. I just can't do as much for my employees that I would have been able to do before, whether they're okay with that or not.
Lucas was especially cute today. I laid him down on the wedge tonight, and he didn't even wake up! He completely submerged himself under water in the bath tonight though. He does this thing where he pushes himself back and will not stop! He pushed himself a little too far and his head dunked. I think he scared himself!
Emily posted this picture on facebook, and I think it's really cute.
