The First True Parenting Test - Check!

In early December Kevin and I took the Jetta in for a tire rotation, oil change and fuel filter change... everything went fine.. until three days later.  Three days after our cars check-up the alternator went (a pricey problem and one that must be fixed). This situation irritated Kevin and I as here we had brought in a healthy car and now three days later it was broken. WTF!  Well we chalked that up to something that "Just Happens"... irritating but just happens.

Now you wonder how does this story have anything to do with Max and our parenting skills.. well let's see.  On January 9th, Kevin and I took Max in to the doctor's office for his 6 month checkup. As always he did wonderfully! Healthy as a horse... a perfect little man!  He weighted 20 lbs. 7 oz. - 91% for weight, 27.5" - 82% for height, and had a head circumference of 47.0 cm - 97% - big brains we say!! Overall it was a good appointment!! At the end of our appointment he got shots.. lots of them!! Including the Flu Shot!! It was terrible! He screamed and was not happy!! This made mommy very sad!!

Mommy & Max at Dr. Cox's Office!

The next day after Maxwell's appointment, after Mommy picked him up at Daycare Mommy noticed he had a slight fever and felt warm. I took his temperature and was right he had a slight fever! Kevin and I gave him some medicine and it immediately came down. We attributed this to the shots and thought nothing of it! Max was luckily at his Memaw's the next day so we told her to keep an eye on him and give him some medicine if his fever came back. Needless to say the fever came back and Maxwell was progressively getting sicker.  Memaw held him and kissed him and he wouldn't let her go at all when she had him... Memaw could tell something was wrong with our little man and suggested to me that we take him to the doctor.. that was it for me!! If Memaw says it it must be true (Thank you Memaw... we Love you so much and appreciate all the love an attention you give our little man!) so by Thursday of that week (Jan 12)- a mere 3 days since having gone to the doctor - Mommy, Daddy and Max were back in the doctor's waiting room as he had developed a cold and his fever kept coming back. Mommy was immediately worried about RSV having had a cousin who's son had gotten it. I was terrified. As we sat waiting in the waiting room, I could feel Max getting hotter! I pulled him from the car seat to find that he was burning up! I sent Kevin to the receptionist telling him they had to get us in the office or I was going to freak out.. (truthfully I already was). They quickly took as back and Dr. Cox came running into the office!! Max had a fever of 105.. It was crazy! I was crying Daddy was about to punch someone and Max was well very upset! Just remember it is making me very sad! I was terrified that something was going to happen to my baby and was panicked!

Dr. Cox is great! He immediately accessed Max and listened to what we had been doing with Max for the past few days! He was very happy to hear that he was taking medicine and the fever was going down, this ment to him that it wasn't bacterial but viral.. viral is good bacterial is bad!! They gave him more medicine and then tested him for RSV.. which he popped positive for! I swear you've never seen a staff nor a doctor so excited for a positive test! Although RSV isn't exactly treatable it's viral and this meant that it wasn't something worse (ie meningitis or something).  We were relived but freaking out all at once. We were sent to the ER... Akron's Children's ER in Boardman. So we headed over.

Once at Akron Children's they took us back and again accessed our little Max. He was feeling better but still wasn't good. They reviewed Dr. Cox's notes, and gave him some Motrin - mommy's apparently you can give Motrin and Tylenol at the same time which the staff at Dr. Cox's office did not tell us.  So they gave him Motrin - which is amazing and immediately took down his fever - and sent us back for x-rays.  Cue the worst thing ever! Poor Max and Poor Daddy! They had to take x-rays of Max's chest to ensure he did not have phenomena.. he passed and his lungs looked good!! Daddy had to hold him down for this x-rays however, and it was horrible!!!

Baby feet!

After he was feeling better.. smiling... relieved Mommy is smiling too!

Feeling much better!! God I love him!

Trying to take his toe tag off!

So $800 odd dollars later, we left the hospital with a diagnosis and some Motrin.  We were also warned that little Maxie would get worse before better.  So we kept a strict watch to make sure that we never let his fever get high again, alternating Tylenol and Motrin ensuring that his fever would never peak again. And so it would begin. We will count hospital day as Day 3 of our RSV scare.

Day 4 Friday - Max stayed home with Daddy in the morning and mommy took a half day and was home by noon.  Max was actually pretty normal today, except we started to notice his lack of interest in eating. Odd for our little elephant.  So we just noted this and chalked it up to him being sick after all.  By Saturday Max was miserable!! He was full blown sick.  He slept practically all day! This worried Mommy & Daddy extremely! As Max never sleeps this much and never doesn't eat.  So we started to feed him through the medicine syringe as we were told NOT to let him get dehydrated! We were clueless and scared and freaking out!! But we kept pushing through, I think we called my dad a hundred times and I read every blog site I could find. I couldn't get any exact answers (I later found some info from the hospital that said all this would happen but couldn't find it at the time).  So he slept and refused to eat. It was awful. I finally decided that I needed to do something so I turned the shower up high, and steamed up the room. Then I took him in there and we hung out. The shower cleared him out and he ate. Thank god!! I even took a shower with him, which he enjoyed! And we snuggled and watched over him all weekend!!

Sunday was better than Saturday, but Max still wasn't normal!  He was still refusing to eat - apparently the RSV makes babies very congested and they feel like they can't breath so they don't eat. He also would throw up or did throw up a few times because he was coughing and the phlegm would come up. Again seeing a baby throw up is miserable and breaks my heart!! 

So Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday go by (Jan 16-22). Each day he got a little better... let me tell you each of these days sucked and was a challenge. I've never cried so much or have been so scared in my life.. where was that damn owners manual again? Why did our little man - break down - just like our car when we took it in for a tune up!! Why? By Friday he was eating better and by Saturday he was practically normal.  

Thank goodness, because Mommy had to leave for a work trip starting Sunday, Jan 22 and I was gone for 5 days. Again cue sad music, cue miserable mommy, cue everything. Thankfully Kevin works from home so he took Max to my mom's house and stayed with my parents for the week. This was good for Max and Kevin gave me detailed reports each day. It was also good for Kevin because it meant he'd have lots of help. By Sunday, after I left that  morning, Max was back to his old self - eating and drinking and healthy! He had alot of fun at his grandma's house and was showered with love and attention so that he wouldn't notice his mommy was gone! Just want he needed! Plus this meant an extra week away from daycare so we could ensure he was 100% healthy.. the last thing we wanted to do was send him back when he was a little sick and him get something else... Needless to say, Kevin and Max being with my parents made my time away go quickly and finally WE could all relax!! Let me just say this again -- this RSV thing was the most stressed out Kevin and I have ever been as parents. There were a few days were I thought we were going to lose it on each other... as we were both scared and frustrated. I wanted answers and neither of us had them! But you know what - we stuck it out and I know I could never ever do this parenting thing without my better half - Kevin is an amazing Daddy and Husband -- me and Max are so blessed to have him!!!!!!!!! Love you honey! 

So that brings me to today - almost 3 weeks from when we started this whole sick thing!  It took a good solid 2 weeks to get over the RSV and a 3 weeks to be back in mint condition!! Today Max is healthy, happy, and active! He's trying to crawl and wants everything and anything that you have! This includes water bottles, coffee, necklaces, earrings, CELL PHONES (especially iPhones), wooden spoons (his new favorite toy) etc. He's rolling around, sitting up on his own 100% of the time, trying to get to the sit up position on his own(this is very challenging, even for some adults), pulling himself up onto his knees, walking around in this walker (okay pushing himself around), talking, mimicking, kissing (sorta it's more of a french kiss now), shoveling anything and everything into his mouth, and just being perfect! His laugh is wonderful.. and Kevin and I are more appreciatively of his healthy appetite and him being a great sleeper more than ever! Now, maybe this weekend we can move him back into his room... as we have had him set up again in his playpen in our rooms again since he was sick.... hmmm.. maybe!! 

Love him!! 

 

Hmmm what toy to choose?

A Week of Firsts

This week was a week of firsts for us!  We experienced our first fever, our first Halloween, our first Halloween parade, our first sleepless night in like 2 months and our first meal of solid food.  Wow! We've had alot going on... where should I start.

The Fever
As most NEW parents will tell you the first fever that there little baby has is the scariest thing ever... we were lucky to be at my parent's home with my father a 30+ year practicing Emergency Medical physician so although this experience was quite scary having a trained medical practitioner there made a world of difference.  It all starting when my dad was holding Max on Halloween day watching football, I was running around taking care of things and daddy was packing up the car so we could go home... my dad said to me that he thought Max had pooped and that he felt a little warm. So I scooped him up and changed his diaper (he had pooped) and took his temperature while I was upstairs (thankfully I had brought the thermometer with me).  To my dismay, he did indeed have a temperature... ahhhh!! Of 101.4... I immediately began to freak out... Max on the other hand was acting quite normal... Ahhh.. I'm freaking out more.

I, again thankfully and as an over prepared mother, had brought his baby medicine with me as before we left Canfield had a feeling that he was coming down with a cold.  So my mom and me gave Max the prescribed amount (again thank you doctor Grandpa), Max hated it!  And so my mother, now sorta freaking out, and my father decided that I needed to go out and get baby acetaminophen suppositories (here's a link to the Feverall website http://www.feverall.com)  because Max hated the medicine and he might not be getting any.  I fought this, because I didn't think they existed -- but was proved wrong. As they do exist.  So I rushed out and got them...  freaking out by the way the whole time.  Thinking why the hell am I out getting these why am I not home with baby - answer - because I wouldn't trust anyone else to do it.. it needed to be me as I am fast and I get things done right. Crazy mother thinking, huh!

By the time I got home Max's temperature was back to normal and there was no need for the medicine. Relax and calm became me... phww! Over the next day, Max ran a slight temperature and we did give him the suppositories.  They worked quick and were easy to give to him.  He went to daycare on Monday but spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thrusday with grandma... by Wednesday he was in "mint condition" as Daddy would say, and back to normal. Our first scare was over... but damn was it scary and damn do you over react about everything when they are sick... it's horrible. I hope he never get's sick again - cue crazy mother thinking again.

Halloween & Halloween Parade
On Monday, October 31st - yes Max was running a slight fever but nothing serious so we sent him to daycare - we weren't going to initially have him participate in the Halloween parade but when we discovered it was really just 2 laps around the parking lot in a stroller we relented... we didn't want to be those parents after all.  It was great and I'm glad we did it.

I came early & helped them dress Max in his Chicken Costume, that Daddy had gotten from the Old Navy at a discounted price... he found a loose string on it and therefore got 50% off. He looked adorable.  I love him!!  Daddy came too and we watched them push Maxwell around the parking lot. It as so funny.. Max was like hmm this is interested while the other kids where having breakdowns.  See the video and pictures below.. Kevin and I had a blast and were so glad our little angel was in the parade! Love him!

I think the kid sitting next to him is 7 months old.. haha.. Max is just as big as him.. so darn cute!

Our little chicken!! Love him!!

Look at the other kids - half are crying!

Sleepless Nights?
So this whole fever thing and sickness thing made Max very restless at night and therefore Mommy and Daddy didn't get much sleep. Max, normally a great sleeper, was waking up 2 or 3 times a night for a few days and Mommy not feeling good herself was really suffering.  Lucky this has appeared to have just been a few day thing, as he's back to sleeping regular - getting up only one time a night, although he has recently been waking up earlier and fussing when his pacifier falls out of this mouth - so mommy's still not sleeping perfectly yet but it's better!

Mommy of course freaked out and did all this research when Max went a few nights sleeping bad and thought he might be experiencing 'Four Month Regression Sleeping' but now that he's back to normal I think it was just a thing.  We've also started him on cereal so maybe that's helping him sleep.

Cereal
So I have been after Kevin for the past few weeks, telling him we need to start Max on cereal. We've been putting it off because we've been scared... go figure new parents scared. I've done all the research, cue crazy mom music again, and this is what I discovered about starting cereal...

1. Is the baby double their birth weight - check
2. Are they showing interest in food - check - staring us down at every meal asking where his is:)
3. Between the 4 & 6 month age - check
4. Seems hungry even after being fed - semi-check - he loves his Momma milk but I think he could use more
5. Eating there hands.. umm.. check check check 

Ready to eat mommy - see I can sit in high chair and eat hand!

More hand eating!

 So we went for it this week, again the sleepless thing contributed to us trying this out, and he took it like a champ.  We're talking opening his mouth for the spoon and everything. Now he's definitely messy with it - which he's supposed to be as it's supposed to be fun - so who knows how much he's actually eating, but I know this will improve with practice.  Either way he loved it.. and we had so much fun feeding him. Check out some pictures!! 

Hm, what's this.. yummy!!

More please.. move it!

Yum -Yum!

Just give me the bowl I'll do it myself!!

Yummy - opening wide!

As you can see - it's been a fun week & we are ready for the weekend! Phwww, exhausted Mommy!

11 Weeks Old - 1 Week More Til It's Back to Work

Wow! I can't believe it's been 11 weeks so far... 11 weeks today to be exact! To be honest part of me is ready to go back to work -- and the other part is sad that my time at home with my little Maxwell is over. I'm mostly freaking out about Daycare and being away from him.  What will that be like?  Will he miss me like crazy! Hell will he eat. We've introduced bottles and Max has spent at least one day away from me with my mom, but I have no idea how he will be with complete strangers all day. I'm also not looking forward to him getting sick - as I know Daycares have tons of germs and there's nothing we can do about that - he's gotta go. Okay I'm officially crying now. Oh pathetic mommy! I know he will be just fine! I'm going to be the one missing him like crazy! He's a good boy and will do just fine! (Repeating myself I know!) And mommy  needs to go back to work - my social skills need a little touching up(yea right! - haha), plus I've got lots of ideas and creativeness that needs to get out there.

Daddy's going to go through some withdrawals too.. He's acting all tough and whatnot but I think he's going to miss me and Max not being here - at least he will have the option of going over to his Mom's on her two days a week to spend time with Max if he wants. I hope he does that some days.  That would make mommy happy. I just hope that Max doesn't start loving everyone else more than me. I've done that math - we're only going to have like 4 hours of awake time each night and like 1 hour of awake time each morning so that's like 5 hours a day x 5 days that's only 25 hours a week (of weekday hours at least). Ah! I'm miserable about this. This is really my first time talking about it too - so sorry you all have to read it. Honestly I'm going to be okay. (Keep telling yourself that Danielle!!)

Here are some picture's of Maxwell... I'm honestly guessing on the weeks below! Haha! I'm horrible!

4 weeks old!

1 week old!

7 weeks old! Hanging with dad!

9 weeks old!

9 weeks old!

Okay mom my clothes are getting a little tight - 9 weeks old!

Ah no walk mom come on... please no!! 

Loving my elephants!! Hating pictures!

My little stubborn boy after bath time!! Love him!

Disney movie bed time!! He falls asleep literally two minutes after we start watching! This was a Cinderalla night and just last Sunday! 10.5 weeks!

The shirt says it all - "Mommy Loves Me!"

Today - 11 weeks old!