A few days ago Aubrey was taking a nice nap - rarity at our house. I embraced this alone time with our son with arts and crafts. Austin thoroughly enjoys coloring and stamping. It had been months since we experienced play-doh, so we popped open the lid of blue and started rolling, cutting, and smooshing. After a few moments the phone rang, as I answered the call, Austin took a nice big bite of the blue clay. --Mom mode kicked in and my finger instinctively became a fish hook in his mouth...it was gone. Only remnants of blue bits on his lips.
Flash back to my childhood. My neighbor friend regularly ate play-doh. She is now a remarkable young woman, finishing up her college degree... So, obviously Austin would live to see another day after ingesting the non-toxic clay.
I promptly gave Austin a snack of rainbow colored goldfish and water to wash down the play-doh. We placed the remaining play-doh into its' container and retrieved paint dobbers from the bin. After a short while of splashing paint onto paper, Aubrey awoke. While I tended to her needs, Austin decided his rainbow goldfish were just not quite colorful enough...Yes, he dobbed paint onto the goldfish and was shoveling them into his mouth. Thankfully, the paints were also non-toxic. And before my inquisitive toddler could ingest more "non-toxic" items, we packed up arts & crafts to find something a little less dangerous to play with.
My family
My Family
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
October 9th
Austin will be 2 years old in December, therefore he has experienced two October 9ths since his birth. This date seems to carry unfortunate events for him.
Saturday, October 9, 2010 - Austin eats eggs and experiences anaphylaxis for the first time.
Sunday, October 9, 2011 - Austin woke just before midnight with a high fever. We gave him medicine and waited for it to take effect. Several hours later, he was expressing he was in pain and his fever was still climbing. We loaded up at 3am to head to the emergency room. Four hours and $100 later we were home and back in bed with a diagnosis of double ear infection.
As I sat in the waiting room with Austin asleep on my lap, I realized these two medical events had occurred on the same day --October 9th. All in all, I believe we have been blessed to only have had two "medical emergencies" in the two years of his life. One event per year isn't all that bad.
**To clarify, I am not "that" good with dates. My best friend's baby was born October 8th of last year. I was receiving her phone call with her birth announcement when Austin began anaphylaxing. Last Saturday, we attended his 1st birthday party, hours before Austin woke with a high fever.
Saturday, October 9, 2010 - Austin eats eggs and experiences anaphylaxis for the first time.
Sunday, October 9, 2011 - Austin woke just before midnight with a high fever. We gave him medicine and waited for it to take effect. Several hours later, he was expressing he was in pain and his fever was still climbing. We loaded up at 3am to head to the emergency room. Four hours and $100 later we were home and back in bed with a diagnosis of double ear infection.
As I sat in the waiting room with Austin asleep on my lap, I realized these two medical events had occurred on the same day --October 9th. All in all, I believe we have been blessed to only have had two "medical emergencies" in the two years of his life. One event per year isn't all that bad.
**To clarify, I am not "that" good with dates. My best friend's baby was born October 8th of last year. I was receiving her phone call with her birth announcement when Austin began anaphylaxing. Last Saturday, we attended his 1st birthday party, hours before Austin woke with a high fever.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Ah Ha!
This week Adam made a connection and we both had an "ah ha" moment.
History: From the week Austin came home from the hospital he was an amazing sleeper - woke once to feed and then straight back to sleep until morning. Around 4 months old a switch flipped and his sleep habits were a literal nightmare. Austin would wake screaming every hour from 9pm to 6am. Each hour Adam and I would spend 30 minutes soothing him back to sleep. Many times utilizing high decibels (vacuum cleaner) to silence his screams. Oh the memories... (I have honestly forgotten exactly how miserable this time of my life was - lack of sleep does things to your mind).
Recent history: Earlier this summer Austin had an allergic reaction to watermelon. This prompted another blood allergy panel testing for fruits. The results revealed a banana allergy. Initially I thought it was interesting he was allergic to bananas because he has always expressed a dislike of bananas. I had previously thought it was a texture issue for him. But now with these results, I realized that the bananas must make him feel badly - a good reason to refuse to eat them. Pretty smart that boy of mine!
Now for the real "ah ha" moment. And, I must give full credit to my wonderful husband for making this connection. We began mixing bananas into Austin's cereal around 4 months of age. He was underweight and his doctor recommended adding bananas to his cereal to help him pack on some extra calories. Now remember it was 4 months old when Austin began having sleep issues. Could his sleep problems possibly have been caused because his parents were feeding him a food he is allergic to??? I cannot imagine the digestive cramping and other internal reactions his body experienced during that time. There is no way to prove this but I do believe the bananas could have been the culprit to our sleepless nights.
History: From the week Austin came home from the hospital he was an amazing sleeper - woke once to feed and then straight back to sleep until morning. Around 4 months old a switch flipped and his sleep habits were a literal nightmare. Austin would wake screaming every hour from 9pm to 6am. Each hour Adam and I would spend 30 minutes soothing him back to sleep. Many times utilizing high decibels (vacuum cleaner) to silence his screams. Oh the memories... (I have honestly forgotten exactly how miserable this time of my life was - lack of sleep does things to your mind).
Recent history: Earlier this summer Austin had an allergic reaction to watermelon. This prompted another blood allergy panel testing for fruits. The results revealed a banana allergy. Initially I thought it was interesting he was allergic to bananas because he has always expressed a dislike of bananas. I had previously thought it was a texture issue for him. But now with these results, I realized that the bananas must make him feel badly - a good reason to refuse to eat them. Pretty smart that boy of mine!
Now for the real "ah ha" moment. And, I must give full credit to my wonderful husband for making this connection. We began mixing bananas into Austin's cereal around 4 months of age. He was underweight and his doctor recommended adding bananas to his cereal to help him pack on some extra calories. Now remember it was 4 months old when Austin began having sleep issues. Could his sleep problems possibly have been caused because his parents were feeding him a food he is allergic to??? I cannot imagine the digestive cramping and other internal reactions his body experienced during that time. There is no way to prove this but I do believe the bananas could have been the culprit to our sleepless nights.
Aubrey is 2 Months Old
Our baby girl is a whopping 10 pounds, 8 ounces! That is a 4 pound gain since birth. She does enjoy her meals! She is in the 38th percentile for her weight, quite different than her brother who has never been higher on the curve than the 10th percentile.
Aubrey is 22.75 inches long - 63rd percentile in height. Maybe she will be short like her momma...
She is full of smiles, bubbles and "coos" - we love them all. Her daily goal is to wear her entire wardrobe in one day - today she scored an 8.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Not a Baby Anymore
I find myself calling Austin a baby on a regular basis, however the exact opposite is true. He is no longer a "baby" but a toddler - a full of energy, strong willed, temper throwing TODDLER. So why is it that I find myself still calling him a baby?
Before Aubrey was born, I was warned that Austin would seem to age overnight. And indeed he did. He looks like such a big boy when playing around his sister. He definitely feels like a big boy when carrying him compared to Aubrey.
Soon after Austin was born, I received advice from fellow mommas. Many telling me that I would wish back the days of him being a newborn. I vowed to myself that I would not spend Austin's life reminiscing of his younger years and wishing them back. But, rather embrace and cherish every moment of his life, as to not miss anything. I like to believe I am staying true to my vow. I love the sound of his bare feet pounding the hardwood as he races through the house. He is learning to talk and expressing his desires and independence. In the past week, Austin has kicked his binkie habit to the curb...with no resistance, while getting two new teeth. He is officially growing up. Soon we will be embarking on the next stage of toddlerhood - potty training.
But yet, Austin is still my baby. Yesterday I took him for a hearing test. The final component of his speech evaluation, to rule out hearing loss. Unfortunately the audiologist had little to no experience with one year olds. The entire experience was terrifying for Austin and momma too. As he shook with fear, burying his head into my neck and clinching my body with arms and legs, I realized - he is still and always will be my baby.
Before Aubrey was born, I was warned that Austin would seem to age overnight. And indeed he did. He looks like such a big boy when playing around his sister. He definitely feels like a big boy when carrying him compared to Aubrey.
Soon after Austin was born, I received advice from fellow mommas. Many telling me that I would wish back the days of him being a newborn. I vowed to myself that I would not spend Austin's life reminiscing of his younger years and wishing them back. But, rather embrace and cherish every moment of his life, as to not miss anything. I like to believe I am staying true to my vow. I love the sound of his bare feet pounding the hardwood as he races through the house. He is learning to talk and expressing his desires and independence. In the past week, Austin has kicked his binkie habit to the curb...with no resistance, while getting two new teeth. He is officially growing up. Soon we will be embarking on the next stage of toddlerhood - potty training.
But yet, Austin is still my baby. Yesterday I took him for a hearing test. The final component of his speech evaluation, to rule out hearing loss. Unfortunately the audiologist had little to no experience with one year olds. The entire experience was terrifying for Austin and momma too. As he shook with fear, burying his head into my neck and clinching my body with arms and legs, I realized - he is still and always will be my baby.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Updates
Life with a toddler and newborn is quite busy leaving little time for me to blog. I actually have a minute (maybe less) so I wanted to update my readers on our family.
Austin was tested for a speech delay the beginning of August. He was found to have a mild speech delay of 7 months. Next Monday his speech therapist starts coming for weekly visits to work with him. We have been continuing to work on sign language with him to help him communicate with us his wants and needs. He knows about 4 signs and is excited to use them.
Aubrey is now 5 weeks old and starting to be more awake during the day. She gives us an occasional smile that truly melts our hearts. She is extremely lucky to have a big brother who repeatedly replaces her pacifier when she spits it out. I normally only replace a few times before I give up, but Austin will do this all day. Tuesday she went to the doctor for a check up and weighs 8lbs 5oz and is 21.5 inches long. We also found out her newborn PKU screening results were positive for an amino acid disorder. Wednesday she had a repeat PKU screening. We will find out the results in another week or so. After much research we have found that it is not uncommon for this screening test to come back with a false positive. We are prayerful this is the case for Aubrey.
Today Adam took a day off work to stay home with us. We are headed out this afternoon to get some much needed shopping done. Adam and Austin are taking on the grocery store while Aubrey and I are tackling target. We are having family photos taken this evening - - any suggestions on how to keep Austin in good spirits are appreciated.
Austin was tested for a speech delay the beginning of August. He was found to have a mild speech delay of 7 months. Next Monday his speech therapist starts coming for weekly visits to work with him. We have been continuing to work on sign language with him to help him communicate with us his wants and needs. He knows about 4 signs and is excited to use them.
Aubrey is now 5 weeks old and starting to be more awake during the day. She gives us an occasional smile that truly melts our hearts. She is extremely lucky to have a big brother who repeatedly replaces her pacifier when she spits it out. I normally only replace a few times before I give up, but Austin will do this all day. Tuesday she went to the doctor for a check up and weighs 8lbs 5oz and is 21.5 inches long. We also found out her newborn PKU screening results were positive for an amino acid disorder. Wednesday she had a repeat PKU screening. We will find out the results in another week or so. After much research we have found that it is not uncommon for this screening test to come back with a false positive. We are prayerful this is the case for Aubrey.
Today Adam took a day off work to stay home with us. We are headed out this afternoon to get some much needed shopping done. Adam and Austin are taking on the grocery store while Aubrey and I are tackling target. We are having family photos taken this evening - - any suggestions on how to keep Austin in good spirits are appreciated.
Monday, August 22, 2011
1 Month Old
Miss Aubrey is 1 month old (and 2 days, Mom is a little behind on blogging)
Stats: Weight - She was 8lbs 1oz last Monday, tomorrow she has another doctor appointment, so my guess is about 8lbs 7oz (2lbs larger than birth)
Length - Will update tomorrow after her appt. Guess is 22 inches (1 inch longer than birth)
Sleep - She wakes 2-3 times each night
Austin enjoys giving her a pacifier (to make her stop crying). He has given her the occasional kiss on the head. Every day he is getting more brave with her.
Sizes - As of this past week, she does not fit into newborn size sleepers. 0-3 month sleepers are a little big still. She is still wearing newborn size diapers.
Medical milestones - Aubrey had an umbilical granuloma that we discovered once her umbilical cord fell off. Last Monday she had a treatment of silver nitrate to take care of the granuloma. Her belly button still looks funny, but who cares...I do not foresee a bikini in her near future.
Developmental milestones - She can hold her head up - a much needed skill for life. (Austin had rolled over by 1 month old, so maybe, just maybe she will be less busy and on the go than him)
Stats: Weight - She was 8lbs 1oz last Monday, tomorrow she has another doctor appointment, so my guess is about 8lbs 7oz (2lbs larger than birth)
Length - Will update tomorrow after her appt. Guess is 22 inches (1 inch longer than birth)
Sleep - She wakes 2-3 times each night
Austin enjoys giving her a pacifier (to make her stop crying). He has given her the occasional kiss on the head. Every day he is getting more brave with her.
Sizes - As of this past week, she does not fit into newborn size sleepers. 0-3 month sleepers are a little big still. She is still wearing newborn size diapers.
Medical milestones - Aubrey had an umbilical granuloma that we discovered once her umbilical cord fell off. Last Monday she had a treatment of silver nitrate to take care of the granuloma. Her belly button still looks funny, but who cares...I do not foresee a bikini in her near future.
Developmental milestones - She can hold her head up - a much needed skill for life. (Austin had rolled over by 1 month old, so maybe, just maybe she will be less busy and on the go than him)
She was less than impressed with my desire to take her picture capturing her size at 1 month old.
Attempt at a close up, again she was not happy with me.
And some 1 month photos of Austin for comparison. If she wasn't crying in the above pictures they actually do look pretty similar.
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