August/September updates

So, it's not so much that I've been too busy to blog (although I really don't have any free time), it's more like I don't have much to blog about. There is nothing going on that is all that exciting. Here is all I can think of:

I ended my 13 weeks of maternity leave with a week of jury duty. I really thought I wouldn't get picked. I figured, what judge and lawyers would want me on their jury. I'm a nursing mom and would need to leave the courtroom every 2 hours to pump. Well, the judge apparently didn't see that as a hardship, and I did tell him that as long as I could pump during a morning break, lunch break and afternoon break, I'd be OK. We started late most mornings and obviously got a lunch every day. Whenever he thought about breaking in the afternoon, he'd look over at me and ask, out loud mind you, if I was OK or if I needed a break. So, everything worked out for me. It was a joke one day as we came back from our lunch break late. A few other jurors were afraid we wouldn't get an afternoon break so I told them to signal me if they needed to go to the bathroom and I'd get the attention of the court crier. The signal...they imitated milking a cow then grabbed their boobs. So funny - it made me laugh out loud. Fortunately, it was a much more casual courtroom than I expected. We found the defendant guilty, and I'm waiting to hear what his jail sentence is.

With that, Aaron and I are doing well with the breastfeeding thing. He is taking a bottle for daddy great everyday while they are home together. I feed him from the breast for every other feeding, except occasional times if we are out and I know it would be a little difficult to feed him myself. So far, all breast milk, no formula! Woo hoo! I have a feeling that is going to end soon, but somehow we keep getting through another day! I'm really happy that we've gone this far. With Ben, I started supplementing at 3 months, when I went back to work. It helped this time, that I started pumping early and began a frozen backup. If I could get to 6 months with no formula - wow! That'd be awesome!

Work has been going well. I actually enjoy going because it gets me out of the house. I absolutely adore my kids and miss them when I'm not with them, but I really have no free time (as mentioned) so working almost feels like my free time.

Ben moved up to the next room at daycare. He moved up early. We were concerned because there have been several teacher changes at school, not to mention the change at home of having a baby, and now this is another change. We wanted to make sure he wasn't being moved up because they just needed room in his old room. They said he is ready for the new room. There are kids there that he already knows that were moved up previously, and four other kids moved up with him. He's doing great with potty training at school, and they think his communication skills are good, but will improve because there will be older kids that speak well, and he'll learn from them. J.R. and I have both had conversations with the new teachers and checked out the new room. Ben really likes it. There is a bucket of cars, so of course, he heads to that first thing every day. There are dinosaurs to play with, a construction corner, a book corner and there is a computer that they are going to let him play around with too. They are also going to teach him another language. I'm sure it won't be anything he'll be fluent in, I'm thinking more like teaching him hello, 1 2 3, etc. After all, he isn't even fluent in English yet!

Aaron gave us a scare a few weeks ago. He had a fever and a rash so J.R. took him to the Dr's. While there, Aaron started screaming and wouldn't stop. The Dr. wanted blood work so J.R. took him to CHOP because the blood work results would come back immediately. Apparently, fever, rash and screaming can equal meningitis. Fortunately, J.R. fed Aaron and he calmed down, and CHOP didn't need to take blood work. It's just a rash that they commonly see in the summertime. Phew. Two kids, two ER visits, one summer. I'm done!

We found a new apartment. It's not far from where we are now. The living room is bigger, so I'm very excited that I'll actually be able to have guests over. I'm looking forward to having a stamp party, and to having some of my student e-boards over for dinner/mentoring. The boys room is bigger too, so Aaron can actually go into his own room (well, with his brother) instead of staying in his pack and play in our room.

The past three nights I've been putting Aaron down for bed around 8:30 PM. He'll wake up 1 1/2-2 hours later, then around 5 or 6 am, so he's not quite ready for that early of a bedtime, but he'll get there! He's really a good sleeper. Most nights he does sleep all night. Ben's been sick with a fever for the past two days, so he's been sleeping with me. I've put Aaron in the crib to get him used to it, but end up putting him back in the pack and play after Ben falls asleep. Hopefully in the new place, I can get Ben to start going to bed earlier.

Well, for having nothing to say, I've said a lot. I guess there is more going on than I thought!

Thomas and the Emergency Room

So, I'm all ready to blog about our day at Strasburg Railroad on Friday, and how we took Ben (and Aaron) to see Thomas the Tank Engine. I'm thinking about how it's great Ben is now identifying characters and has favorites. We are able to buy things for him now that he likes, like a coloring book with "Cars" on it, Thomas the Tank Engine mini trains (thanks Karin), Bob the Builder Videos, etc. When I was able to shop for the birthday party, it was cool. Taking Ben to see Thomas was fun. It's been fun mommy stuff...another notch on my "I feel like real mommy" belt. Fun events for Ben's childhood. Well, how's this for a "I feel like a real mommy" moment ... our first emergency room visit.

About 15 minutes after we got home, I took a couple of necklaces out of a container of jewelry cleaner. Ben grabbed the lidless container and before I could get it out of his hands, he shook it, sending cleaner all over his shirt, face, and in his eyes. I had J.R. rush Ben to the sink to spray cold water in his eyes and I called poison control. She told me to put Ben in the bath, dump water over his head into his face for 20 minutes and go to the Emergency Room. So, we did and of course Ben hated that. He was fine for the drive over to CHOP though, and for our surprisingly short wait in an extremely full waiting room. But if he was OK, would I have a story to tell? Of course not.

A doctor took a PH test by sticking a small piece of paper in each eye. We knew he wasn't going to like it, so in order to prepare him, two nurses wrapped him in a sheet like a cocoon. That probably scared him more than someone poking his eye. The PH test came back high so they had to flush his eyes. If you thought Ben hated the cocoon, he despised what happened next. No, I'm not sure despise is a harsh enough word. Anyway, they wrapped him back up in the sheet, placed him on a board and velcroed him into the board. Horrible. He's screaming, I'm praying, and Aaron is not happy either. Aaron finally decides to eat, so at least he's not screaming anymore, but I can't get up to be with Ben. That was a good thing, I guess, because since a nurse (there are now four in the room) is standing in front of me, I can't see the plastic contact lens type things go into Ben's eyes. The lenses are attached to tubes which are attached to IV bags which then empty out into Ben's eyes. He's screaming, I'm crying, and thankfully J.R. is able to stand next to Ben and talk to him the whole time. The nurse in front of me walks away and I can see the saline solution running out of Ben's eyes...into his nose, his mouth, his ears. (I'm thinking to myself "He's going to drown!") The longest 10 minutes of my life passes and the tubes are taken out of his eyes (thankfully the nurse came back in and blocked my view again). They test the PH level again and check for scratches to his eyes. My prayers are answered and he's fine. He doesn't have to go through any more trauma. A Child Life Specialist (counselor) came in and told us he's too young to remember this. Thank God! He may not remember, but I'll never forget the picture in my head.

Ben fell asleep on the ride home, and stayed with us in bed that night. He was fine the next day. I don't know if he remembers anything, and I don't want to bring it up. But I wonder if it taught him a lesson.

Two weeks

Ok, it's been a while. In the past two weeks...I worked a lovely Graduation Gala at school, my students graduated, I spent my first Mother's Day trying to get Ben's 103 degree fever down while he beat a double ear infection, Ben has three new teeth coming in, we got rid of lots of stuff at a yard sale, we visited with Grandma and Grandpa, I took J.R. to the Emergency Room because he had the stomach flu, daycare ticked me off, Ben had lots of good days at daycare, and we are in the middle of doing 10 loads of laundry because the electricity was off in the basement and common areas.

Ok, update over, here are the pictures....
Here's my sickie with his juice
I'm not sure if there is a sick Ben in this picture with me, or if it's an alien baby
Ben riding his new toy Grandma bought for him

Baby steps

Long story short, (because there are more important things to say) Ben is sick, possibly a slight case of croup. I really think it's just a bad cold. J.R. picked him up early from day care yesterday because he threw up 3 times (if food is fresh in him, he spits up a bit when he coughs), and although we called the doctor and we have a note, I kept him home today. Only because we rethought the barking cough, but again today, I was assured by the nurse he is fine (small attitude from daycare, but whatever).

OK - on to the cool stuff....Ben took a couple of steps by himself both yesterday and today!!! Wow! Yesterday J.R. had him and he let go of J.R. to get to the activity table. Today he let go of, oh I don't even remember, but he took two steps to get to me. He stands up by himself quite a bit, so I think his steps were mostly letting go of something and stumbling to something else (although it didn't look like a stumble), but still, pretty cool. Other than that, he is just starting to be OK with me holding his arms while he puts one foot in front of the other.

Another fun thing today....he made his first wall art! I should have taken a picture. His hands were a mess from eating baby spaghetti and his high chair is right next to the kitchen wall. Cute now, I'm sure it won't be later.

J.R. thinks it's sad when I blog and don't post a picture, so here's a couple of shots for ya.

Ben's Mom

Ben and I have been sick all week. I ended up staying home from work on Tuesday. I had a sore throat and didn't feel good to begin with, then after I fed Ben, he threw up on me three times before I could even leave the nursery with him. I decided it was probably better for us to both stay home. He's been "teary" and "cranky" according to the new notes that are sent home from day care. I love that we are getting notes, but I'd rather them say he was doing well. I'm surprised I wasn't called to pick him up today because when I left him, I thought he felt a bit warm. Also, he cried a ton after I woke him up and before I fed him. He never cried like that in the morning before. I took him to the Dr's today for the 2nd part of his flu shot. He didn't have a fever so he was able to have the shot. A nurse gave him the shot - he barely flinched, and even gave a laugh when she rubbed his leg with the gauze to soak up the (very little) blood after the shot. I wanted a Dr. to take a look at his ears, but the nurse said I'd have to make a "sick" appointment for him. I really don't think he has an ear infection, but I thought since I was there, they could check. Oh well.

The best part of my day happened at day care this morning. I was getting Ben settled in and the lead teacher in the room wanted my attention so she called me, "Ben's mom"! :) Now, I wish she knew my name, but I didn't even think about that. It was just really neat to be called Ben's Mom. I think that's probably the first time someone has called me that (besides someone close to me). I was talking to another new mom friend of mine today, and she joked that she's lost her own name and will now always be her son's mom. I said, "For the rest of our lives." Seven and a half months later, it's still so amazing to me. I have a son. I'm a mom. I'm responsible for this little life. He'll become a great man because of my influence. For the rest of my life, I'll be Ben's Mom. How cool is that?

Let it Snow!

I was at work for an hour today when I got the phone call to pick up Ben. He was burning up and had vomited all over day care's carpet. So I picked him up about an hour later, took him home, and took his temp. 98.6. No fever. He did feel a little warm though and he is catching a cold again. In fact, later on this evening, his eye was crusted shut. He's got some kind of goop going on. I'll have to call the Dr. tomorrow.

I feel really bad that we don't take Chloe to the park that much anymore, so when it started to snow this afternoon, I promised her I'd take her around 6:00, thinking there would be other dogs there. There wasn't, but wanted to get outside before the snow turned to sleet, then rain. I also need to admit, I really wanted to bundle Ben in his little snowsuit and take him out. We haven't had any real snow for him to use it. So, out the three of us went. We didn't stay out too long, because of Ben being sick, plus, the snow was changing to sleet. I did take these pictures though.

On another note, J.R. has begun classes again. He took an English writing class last spring, then took some time off to spend with the baby. Now he's taking a Business Presentations class - basically public speaking for business majors. I'm very excited for him. I think he'll do well. I'm proud of him too - it takes a lot to go back to school after so much time off and having so many responsibilities at home. Since I've been at La Salle for a while now, J.R. can take classes for free.

Peace.

New Year, New Blog

Everybody else is doing it, so I why can't I? Oh, I can? Good. Fine, I will.

I thought about doing a blog while I was pregnant, but never did. I thought about starting it once Ben was born, but never did. So, I guess a new year is motivation for me. Besides, I haven't been scrapbooking and I'm forgetting Ben's firsts, so this can be a good way for me to write them down. I don't have time to scrapbook, but I can use the computer while Ben is nursing so hopefully I'll be better.

I chose crankybaby as the name of the site because Ben is sick right now and he's a bit cranky. Ben's quite the needy guy. Day Care thinks I hold him to much. I really don't think I do. He just wants attention all the time. J.R. and I have always called him "needy boy", even when he was weeks old. I decided today that maybe I do pick him up too much, but I don't care. I'm his mom so I can, right? I just hate to hear him cry. He's exhausting though. My apartment is a mess because I don't have time to myself so I can clean. Oh well. His new thing is he doesn't want to sleep in his crib. He'll fall asleep on me when he's done nursing, and comfortably stay there as long as I let him. However, as soon as I put him down in his crib, he wakes up. I'm hoping it's because he's been sick...first it was a stomach virus, now it's RSV. Gosh, I hope he gets over it soon. I can't keep getting up every hour. J.R. and I decided it's probably best Ben stay home from Day Care one more day to make sure he's feeling better.

Ben's not cranky all the time though. In fact, he's usually pretty happy (except since he's been sick). While I was typing this, J.R. had him cracking up laughing. Then he put him in the Jolly Jumper and you've got to check out this video - it's hysterical. Note the Irish music in the background (thank you Avalon String Band Mummers) - it so adds to the jumping.

Happy New Year everyone! May God bless you with love, good health and happiness this year!