Not feeling well

I will cut to the chase first, then give the back story: Joe brought Izaak to the pediatrician first thing this morning and it turns out he has double ear infections and RSV. L

As it turns out, Izaak did make it all day at daycare yesterday but I think they really should’ve called us to come get him early. We got there around 430, as usual, and he was still in his crib napping (way past naptime) and first thing I saw was a rash on his face. I asked right away if they had noticed and the teacher was like, well, I thought that was from him sleeping on his face or something. Then she tells me that he’s been sleeping nearly all day and coughing really hard (she wasn’t in there most of the day, the other teacher had marked down all the times he had been asleep and left a note about the coughing). Plus he had loose stools and didn’t want to eat his breakfast, barely ate lunch and didn’t want a snack. Uh, that kid is usually a good eater, hello! Red flag!? They call us when he’s barely got a teething fever but don’t call when he’s totally not acting at all himself?? So, at that point, the doctor’s office is closed and we have to wait until the morning to get him in for an appt.

[Side Note: he clearly wasn’t feeling great, but we didn’t feel he was bad off enough to go to the ER, still no fever and the rash (which covered his torso and face) didn’t seem to bother him. He’s also been grumpy but we’ve been attributing that to his teething.]

We had already decided that Joe was going to take him to the doctor in the morning (I am reeeeeeally short on time off) and we’re tired of swapping the carseat between cars so we stopped and got a new carseat for Joe’s car last night too. Sure, I could’ve driven Joe’s car and let him take mine, but his brakes feel funny and I really hate driving it so I gladly bought the new carseat.

Izaak slept pretty well last night, I got up with him a couple times, but just to give him his binky and cover him back up again. He still had the rash in the morning though it was less pronounced, he’s still snotty, and very very very irritable, particularly about being on his changing table. Diapering a baby that won’t lay on his back is not an easy task. I’m not happy about being at work when I’ve got a sick little one at home. I hope he’ll be able to fly next week. It would suck to have to cancel our trip and the airfare is non-refundable too. According to Joe, the doc says Izaak should be ok to fly but needs to have a follow-up appt on Wednesday to make sure he’s doing better. She wasn’t concerned by the rash, she said it probably flared up as result of the virus.

These are a few of my favorite things... (part 1 - nursery)

For awhile now, I've really wanted to write about what stuff we've found that we liked for Izaak and what we could've lived without. We really don't have a whole lot of kid-oriented friends and interaction with babies had been kept to a minimum before our little bundle of joy came about. (So, basically we were fairly clueless as to what to get for the kiddo, save for a list from my friend, Lori, who had had her first baby within that year as well). We didn't have a baby shower and it's not in my budget to buy everything new. Plus, I kind of like the idea of "recycling" some of the baby stuff anyhow so I've spent many hours scouring reviews on the internet and shopping on Craigslist with occasional digging through garage sales and Once Upon a Child. I'm sure that "it depends on the kid", but the following are some of the things we've come across. First we'll start with the nursery:

Crib:

We got a "sleigh-style" convertible crib for Izaak from Walmart.com. Actually, I picked it out and my parents took care of the bill (yay! thanks again!!) and Joe assembled it. I am wary about the quality of any product from Walmart but this crib is (so far) very sturdy and quite handsome. It will convert to a toddler bed and eventually it can serve as the headboard and footer of a full-sized bed. It was extremely similar to a crib at Babies R Us (from what I understand, the same company makes both cribs) except the price tag was much more kind at Walmart and it included a decent crib mattress, plus the toddler rails (hard to argue with all that!). I picked a black finish and even though I didn't care for the matching changing table and dresser (we were looking for more of a combo unit anyhow), I figured it would be no problem to find other matching furniture. We came to discover that while not impossible, it certainly wasn't easy to find other black furniture! While I'm quite pleased with what I finally ended up with, I would recommend finding a SET that you like and going for it!

Rocking chair:

Decided to go with a traditional, plain, wooden rocker rather than a fancy glider. Not sure why. Found the rocker with the help of my neighbor, Jenn, at a nearby consignment shop. Eventually, I found some chair cushions to go along with it at a Ross (or equivalent) store. We don't use it a lot, but I'm not sure if that's more of a matter of Izaak not really being into it or if we don't feel like sitting in his room for very long. We usually try to soothe him back to sleep while he's still in the crib and if he's really throwing a fit, I bring him out onto the couch in the living room. Either way, I didn't spend a whole lot on the rocking chair and I'm glad it doesn't take up a huge amount of space. Starting to get nervous about Izaak bonking his head on a sharp corner or pinching his fingers on it now though...

Another important piece in Izaak's room is a giant yoga ball. We use that more than the rocking chair and sit on it while he's fussing in his crib, it's high enough to be able to lean in his crib to hold his hands to soothe him back to dreamland. If I am rocking him in the rocking chair, the yoga ball also doubles nicely as an ottoman. During the day, Izee likes to whack his hands on the ball so it makes a fun noise!

Changing table:

Izaak's room isn't terribly large so I searched high and low for a small dresser that would double as a changing table. And I figured it would be an easy item to find on Craigslist. No, not easy. Black was my first color preference but I was fine with having to do a little refinishing work like sanding and painting and/or replacing knobs if I could just find the right piece. Not too high, not too long, not too cheaply made, not cost both arms and a leg, not too hideous... no dice. Finally, I found a cute dresser/changer combo made by Carter's on Amazon.com that was not only the correct color but also the perfect size. The price was a little steep so I did a little more research and found the exact same thing elsewhere for way cheaper. SOLD! Then Joe's parents surprised us by so very kindly covering the cost (thank you, thank you, thank you)!! The changing table part can be disassembled when it's no longer needed for that purpose, leaving a nice dresser behind too - excellent! We have it crammed full of Izaak's clothes that currently (at least somewhat) fit him. I'm happy to say that I'm very impressed with the overall quality also.

Another thing that I'm glad we found for Izaak was a changing pad that has three (rather than two) contoured sides (Serta brand from Babies R Us). Kiddo would've bonked his head many times at the top of the changer if it weren't for that little bit of extra cushion, sooo totally worth the extra couple of dollars!!

Baby Monitor:

We didn't go for a "baby monitor" per se, I tasked Joe with picking out some sort of video baby monitoring system (and installing it, of course) and he found a video surveillance system made by Uniden that has been wonderful! It seems much sturdier and higher quality than the setups we saw in the stores that were marketed as baby monitors. Good pick, Joe!

Other misc nursery items:

Breathable bumper set - also found at Babies R Us, have heard that babies can get their faces pressed up onto traditional bumpers and we're all about safety! It's not terribly adorable but it does the job. The "sheet" is ridiculously easy to change - it lays flat, velcros around the edges, and is made of a water-resistent yet soft material. I bought a couple of spares for in case of emergency and they're nice to have extras of anyhow.

Cute hamper - nothing crazy, but it does the job, it's very lightweight, fairly sturdy. and we use it A LOT! We also have a very adorable laundry basket that I happened to find at the grocery store, of all places, that I use just for Izaak's stuff. It's smaller and works perfectly for a load of his laundry.

Vicks Starry Night Cool Mist Humidifier - we use this mostly as a night-light for the kiddo, it shines a starry sky on the ceiling that changes colors... mesmerizing! Also does its job as a humidifier which we've thankfully not had to use a whole lot as of yet. The filter gets gross very quickly but really, the night-light alone is worth it on this thing. I got it when it was half-price or so also... bonus!

The humidifier sits on a small, turquoise-colored end table that I picked up from Target for under $20. We also have a tall, black bookcase (it was used for actual BOOKS and such at one time) that we now use to store diapers, wipes, and extra bed linens and "blankies". It resides next to the changing table. I stock up on diapers and wipes when they're on sale and/or when I have coupons so we always have a bunch of extra boxes of both. The kiddo goes through them very quickly so it's convenient to always have a fresh box nearby. The bookcase is aesthetically perhaps not the most ideal choice - but it is organized and functional!

Last two items for this post:

Rainforest Mobile - Picked this up for $12 at Once Upon a Child. It's $49.99 at Babies R Us. It has some different settings and musical selections, we mostly just use the rainforest themed music (the top, green button, by the way!). It comes with a remote which we haven't really needed to use but sounded interesting in theory. Seems to calm Izaak down so totally worth it. We have other "Rainforest" gear so somehow this became a must-have. Originally, I was going to make a mobile for Izaak's crib - my plan was to take apart an existing mobile for the music box and spinning mechanisms and attach I don't know what to it. Luckily, this one presented itself.

Rainforest Soother - If I remember correctly, I had found this before the mobile (I might be wrong though!) and it resides on the opposite end of Izaak's crib. It gets less use but has similar sounding and soothing Rainforest sounds, the monkey swings, the fish bubbles, and it looks like the waterfall is flowing when you press the toucan. I bought it for $10 from Craigslist and feel that it was definitely worth the ten, not sure about paying the Babies R Us price of $46.99 though!

Next post(s), I will discuss bottles, breast pumps, car seats, shopping cart covers, bouncy chairs, bumbo seats, high chairs, toys, and more!

IKEA, Carrabba's, Dakota, Flying, Curtains, and MORE!

Cute! Why don't we have an IKEA? Probably so I don't get in trouble for getting Izaak a bunch of super cool stuff!!! Haha :) Izee is an adventurous eater but hasn't been too happy with being forced to eat some baby food still. He seems to enjoy his puffs, loves his Baby Mum Mums, usually likes yogurts melts, but mostly would like to eat what you're eating. Dinner time is a messy affair! We went to Carrabba's recently and let me tell you, that kid can put down some bread!

Joe and Izee while waiting for a table

Izaak is very excited to see Dakota, our neighbor-dog!

Posing with a cute onesie and ABC train from Joe's Aunt Michele and Uncle Bob!

Over the weekend, Izaak and I met up with our friend, Lori, and finally got to meet her adorable 2-month old son, Beckett!! He is absolutely precious and I can't wait until the kiddos can have an actual playdate! We don't have any photographic proof that we met up, but I assure you that it happened! (Way to drop the ball on not recording cute moments, moms!) It's always nice to catch up with Lori, I used to work at the company she works for and we had neighboring cubes up until I decided to take another job elsewhere, because it offered a more attractive salary and benefits... what a jerk I am! I used to workout at lunchtime with her rather than going out to eat every day too. Guess how the butt-size correlation goes for me with that equation? Hint: NOT GOOD! Hmmmm.... maybe I can get my under-paid job back???

The big news is that I bought an airplane ticket to Phoenix for Izaak and I to go meet his Great Grandma Dorothy and my Aunt Jordana and cousin, Alex and of course to see his Grandma and Grandpa Waters towards the end of the month!! We'll just be visiting for a long weekend but it should be a wonderful time. I'm a little nervous about traveling with him on my own - Joe is going to be setting up fireworks in Louisville that week - but I'm sure we'll be fine. I've mentally packed the "important" stuff at least fifty times and I'll make a physical list as the date nears!! 

Other notes of (in)significance: I bought a Dyson DC25 vacuum (on clearance from Target.com with free shipping) and LOOOOOVE IT!!!!; my Mac mini is driving me crazy due to its slow performance and inability to multi-task efficiently so I ordered a new laptop last weekend that I'm super excited about, it's a Lenovo IdeaPad Z570 and I got a great deal on it too (I saved over $500+ free shipping!)... the Adobe software that I'm going to have to pay retail price for on the other hand, is going to break the bank. At least I'll be able to write it off on my taxes next year! My 2011 tax refund is what allowed the new "toys", by the way. And we finally got some curtains for the living room. Who's an adult now?! Seriously, I think curtains = adult. Poor Izaak. How's he going to turn out with a mother who thinks it's perfectly acceptable to "convert" bedsheets into curtains as long as you use a respectable curtain rod? I swear that I got brand-new, "real" curtains, not even from a discount store for the living room though. I really hated spending so much on the things though they were about the cheapest option I could find and they do look nice enough. They are totally bland and do their job (i.e. filter light) but now I'm going to have to get a "real" curtain for the back door too because the bedsheet I had repurposed stands out like a sore thumb. Ok, enough ranting about the dumb curtains! Clearly, I need to sort this issue out with a trained professional or something. 

To wrap things up, and I've probably already mentioned this but, I'd like to let you know that Izaak is the sweetest thing on the planet and I'm a better person for having him in my life. It floors me how over the moon I am about him! Even when he's being a little terror!! He pulls my hair relentlessly if I carelessly wear it not in a ponytail, he rips my glasses from my face, I can't wear necklaces anymore, he jabs his grubby little paws anywhere he's able! A couple days ago, he poked Joe in the eye. With his finger. And said poking managed to scratch his eye. How does that happen?! Izaak is fast like lightning! We tease that "He is the Brute Squad" (a quote from "The Princess Bride" in reference to Andre the Giant.

EASTER BUNNY!

1st Encounter with the Easter Bunny!

I think that particular Easter Bunny is terribly creepy looking... and reaaaaaalllly tall! Izaak LOVED him though and was all smiles and giggles :) I had to take the day off work because he wasn't allowed to go to preschool that day due to a fever he spiked the afternoon before - most likely caused by teething. I don't have much vacation time to burn but we had a great day!! I wish I could spend every Wednesday (well, every day, really) with him! We met up with Joe at the mall for lunch and I figured we might as well get some bunny pictures while we were there.

9-Month Update!

St.Patrick's Day coincides with Izaak's 9 month birthday, how convenient!
And he is a little bit Irish too, btw :)

Izaak’s 9-month appt was last week and I’m happy to report that it went very well. While still on the large side for his age, he's finally out of the 90% range. He weighed in at 22lbs, 10oz, and he was nearly 28in tall. The doctor answered our laundry list of questions and it turns out that we were already doing most everything right (surprisingly!). We did find out that he had recently outgrown his infant carrier carseat that we were still trying to cram him in (you mean his legs aren’t supposed to hang over the edge like that??) so we switched the big kid seat from Joe’s car (we had used it maybe two times in Joe’s car??) into my car as soon as we got home from the appointment. The problem with it is that it’s gigantic and I can’t reach to pop the binky back in his crying little mouth while I’m driving or hold his hand to soothe him when it’s just Izaak and I in the car anymore. Maybe those things aren’t 100% safe while driving anyhow but it’s better than having a wailing baby the entire way home from the grocery store. I’ve seriously had to pull over and get out of the car and into the backseat to get the binky back in, then he spits it out as soon as I get back on the road. Not. Cool. This isn’t always the case, he’s usually a pretty happy-go-lucky little dude, but it seems to happen when he’s really tired and/or hungry - when a little hand-holding would usually calm him down until he could fall asleep or would suffice until we got home for a bottle.

New carseat.

Yay. More stuff to put on Craigslist: Stroller/carseat combo, matching Pack ‘N Play, Rainforest bouncer seat, baby Bjorn carrier. It’s crazy how much money we spend on all this stuff, especially considering how short of a time frame it’s actually able to be used!! Izaak has slowed his growing pace at least a little so maybe we’ll be able to use the clothes he’s in now for a little while longer. 

We’ve also come to the conclusion that Izaak may be trying to get his top front teeth in, he’s been a drooling maniac and kinda moody, along with fierce chomping on anything he can get his little paws on. I can’t feel any hard spots on his gums yet but I don’t leave my fingers in his mouth for very long either, those bottom two teeth are sharp!! He’s trying to stand on his own now too which is hilarious. He gets his feet on the ground and straightens his legs while pushing up with his hands--also on the ground--leaving a cute little tush in the air. Shortly thereafter he folds or tips over, of course, but it’s funny that it looks like he’s trying to do a yoga pose or something… downward facing dog perhaps?? His crawling has improved in tandem with his “walking” efforts. There’s more equal leg movement and he even does the traditional up-on-all-fours style here and there! I think that we’re still a ways away from actual, honest-to-goodness steps though. The doctor assured us that his progress is normal and that some kids never crawl and go straight to walking. Izaak is right on target with his developmental milestones and we were informed that we shouldn’t be concerned that he doesn’t want to hold his own bottle (why would he when someone else does it for him?!), uses his sippy cup primarily as a percussion instrument, and it’s ok that he doesn’t wave goodbye yet.

We've really got to get our butts in gear and baby-proof the house better. We’ve put in the plastic outlet covers and tried to move as many cords up and away that we are able. We don’t have the sort of kid that you can tell not to do something and they listen. “No-no Izaak, don’t pull on that cord”… “No-NO! Do not touch that cord!!”.. “IZAAK! No cords!!”... I already feel like a broken record. He knows he’s not supposed to play with cords, pull the cat’s tail, or take DVDs/Blurays off their shelves. I know that he knows this because as he goes to do all of these super-fun activities, he turns his head and smiles at me in a way that says, “Haha, Mommy, I’m doing a NO-NO!!”. Is it possible to FEEL your hair turning gray??!

"Check me out! Standing on my own!!"

Taking the (Mostly) Good with the Bad!

Let's start with some pictures:

Sweet sleeper!

I LOVE this picture! Izaak and his Daddy on Valentine's Day :)

Cuties!

"Yummy puffs, Mom!"

Playing

Wreaking havoc.

"Catch me if you can!"

Two wild and crazy dudes!

Monsters, Inc

Izaak adores this Super Grover remote! It makes all kinds of noises and is a great distraction when we switch out one of our remotes or cell phones for this one since his slobber may not be good for such things...

Playing in his walker from the Ellers

Having a super fun time!

Is there ANYTHING sweeter than this?! I don't think so!

Izaak - up thru 8 months <-- check out the latest shutterfly.com photobook I made for the kiddo!

Ok, now let's get the "bad" out of the way: Izaak had some fevers last week (except when in the doctor's office, of course) and still isn't feeling tip-top. After some trips to pick up our little snotty boy early from daycare and a couple trips to the pediatrician... we still don't know what is wrong. Unexplained virus of some sort. He is on the mend but poor guy is congested and has been entertaining us with his "whiskey voice". I hope he isn't developing allergies. I'm looking into getting a better vacuum cleaner, a Dyson perhaps (bye-bye tax refund!), our current vacuum barely pushes the dirt and cat hair around anymore. It's seriously pathetic!

Otherwise, things are good! Daycare has been going well, Izaak seems to really enjoy playing with the other kids and having a huge room in which to roll around and terrorize!! My only complaint (and it's a minor one) about daycare is that he often comes home filthy. He's learning to self-feed, somewhat, and it appears that he feels his clothes are famished and deserve a good portion of his food. Since his mother suffers from paranoia and isn't sure what he "is allowed" to eat, it's good that he gets some variety at daycare! Izee still isn't into doing a traditional crawl much but he's sitting up on his own and getting more adept at playing with toys independently. He's sleeping better at night, for the most part, and is still the sweetest thing on the planet.

Last weekend, we drove up to Myrtle Beach for a visit with Izaak's Nana, Papa, Big Papa Leo, Aunt Michelle, Uncle Tim, and cousins Dylan and Aydan (Joe's family) to celebrate Leo's birthday before he heads back up to Erie, PA. He had been staying with Joe's parents (his son and daughter-in-law) for the winter and is set to return home in the next week or so. I wish we had been able to visit more often while he was down!

Since Izaak is nearing 9 months (already!!), I was recently asked which seemed longer: the pregnancy or the time since the baby's arrival. I immediately answered "pregnancy". Man, that was not a walk in the park. Granted, we don't get any sort of regular sleep now and going anywhere with the kiddo is kind of a big production but I wouldn't trade him for the world. As far as adding to our brood... I don't think it's a necessity - at this point in time at least.

I keep meaning to write a post about baby accessories: what we've discovered that we love and what we could've passed on. Maybe next time!

Cooties and More!

"What have we here?"



The shape sorter from cousin Aydan!

 

He zips along like a madman these days
but still has time to snuggle with Daddy sometimes :)

We are just shy of 8 months and Izaak is doing better with crawling, his style is still very "military" but he can get from point A to point B like nobody's business! And it's so enjoyable to watch him play, he's very inquisitive and sometimes will just sit quietly and carefully inspect whatever it is that he's holding. Mostly though, it's a chaotic race to see how much stuff he can knock over, drool on, and make noise with. Either method is fun to witness. He's sitting up on his own much better and has somehow learned to clap his hands - which we find to be incredibly adorable, of course. Taking pictures of him is getting more difficult since he's so often on-the-go and his playing style predominately seems to be "rough and tumble". He's become a pretty adventurous eater though his appetite seems to be waning. Maybe he'll slow down with growing a bit? He already fits in a lot of his 12-month sized clothing!
We've come down with the first round of daycare cooties. Izaak seems to be on the mend though still contending with a runny nose and a little cough. (His parents are having a rough time with their colds as well!) Izaak has already came home from daycare with some bruises (from falling over) and germs but he seems to be enjoying it. I like that it's learning oriented, he gets to play with other kids his age, they give us written daily reports about his mood and what he ate when, all about dirty diapers, etc., the facility is new and it's much closer to home, plus they don't have a TV in the classroom. I'm not anti-TV, just don't think he needs to be watching it all the time. Daycare even sent him home with a fingerpainting that he did yesterday (we have it on the fridge now, of course!) Having him at the babysitters when he was a tiny little guy was great because he got individualized attention and didn't have all the germs to battle but he seems to be thriving well at his new school.