Sean's 2-yr Check Up

Sean had his two year check up yesterday, and I know my little guy's getting so big because we don't have to go back until he's three!  It wasn't that long ago that the visits were every few months, was it?

Here's the scoop on Little Man Sean:

Height:  33 inches (25th percentile) i.e. he's short

Weight:  24.5 pounds (10th percentile) i.e. he's really frickin' skinny!

They no longer measure the head, but I don't think any would argue that he has a gargantuan cranium.  Even though he's a bit short now, the doc still predicted that Sean will be six feet tall, based on my and Trey's height (assuming that I guessed right that Trey was 6'1").

But I had lots of questions answered, and Sean won't be too excited about everything that went down.  The doctor attributed some of Sean's food pickiness and low weight to the fact that he drinks too much juice - so only 2% milk at the three meals and water in between.  Long explanation short, he's getting too much energy and satisfaction, but not enough actual calories, from the juice.  Plus, his digestive issues are fine now, so there's no need for all that "help."  So it also explains his, um, "lack of firmness" in the diaper area.  But the doc's not worried about his health, and agreed that our crazy schedule these past two months hasn't helped.  So back to our normal schedule, keep offering him lots of variety, feed him what we feed ourselves.  And expect normal 2 year old fickleness and testing of limits!

Dr. Felkel also suggested the book 1-2-3 Magic by Dr. Thomas Phelan, a positive reinforcement parenting book.  Luckily, the Blake's across the street have the book for us to borrow. Trey's annoyed, but since he disciplines so differently than I, I asked him to please read it and not dismiss it.  Trey uses humor to deflect Sean's bad behavior, and I use time outs, so we need to get on the same page.  Joe and Ann (i.e. The Blake's!) both admitted it was a great book and worked wonders with Miss Emma.  

Other than that....

No need for breathing treatments until the first week of October, when cold season starts kicking in.  So far, only colds bring on breathing issues for Sean, no seasonal allergies yet.

But he still has excema, so we'll keep him well lubed!

The doc is sure Sean just had a virus last week, that all his signs are typical of a virus that Sean was allergic to.  Okie dokie.  Still scared the crap out of me!

He gave us some tips on getting Sean to bed at his normal time, despite the fact that it's light until almost 9pm and Sean doesn't want to go to bed!  

No concerns about potty training, or lack thereof.  The doc did love my story about Sean peeing on the floor, tho!

No visit to the dentist necessary until age 3.

They did a basic vision test, and so far he has 20/20 vision like his Momma.

And no shots!  He's up to date on all vaccinations, so I was ecstatic!

And everything else is great - no concerns with speech or physical development, or anything else.  Just a normal two year old.  Who was a very good boy with all that poking and prodding, and Momma was very proud of her little guy!

Trey and Amy Celebrate Five Years!

As if we haven't had enough birthdays and celebrations these past two months, today Trey and I celebrate our Fifth Anniversary!  

Happy Anniversary 

to the Love of My Life!

Happy Birthday to our Boxer Baby Girl Sophie!

Sophie's fallen on hard times, ever since Sean made his entrance into this world.  She's no longer the center of Momma's world, and I'm not sure she's ever fully recovered from taking second chair.  And she has yet to realize that she's being knocked down another rung.

But we still love her to death, and my sweet Boxer Baby Girl turns four years old today!  Check out her Dogster page and show her some love and throw her a bone!

Join the Dogster community

I'm Just So Hungry!

What is it about pregnancy that brings on ravenous hunger?  I distinctly remember this with Sean, casually telling Trey that I was hungry, and within minutes ripping his head off because I was so hungry I wanted to eat his arm.  I can't remember if this was just a certain trimester or the whole pregnancy, but I remember it!

So far, this has only hit a few times, and not quite as intense as I remember with Sean.  But last night was a new experience.  After our long weekend out of town, we treated Mom and Jay to a big dinner of grilled steak, roasted potatoes and roasted asparagus - Major Yum! - for taking care of Sophie for us.  I definitely ate until full, though I didn't overstuff myself.  By bedtime, I was telling Trey how I already felt hungry again, but I went to bed.  By 4am, I was up and out of bed, rummaging in the kitchen, looking for something light enough to satisfy the hunger, but let me go back to bed.  Two hours, two english muffins and a cup of yogurt later, I was finally satisfied enough to be able to go back to bed!  

Trey thought I was a nut, telling me to just go to bed, with me responding with a bit of a whine "But I'm just so hungry!" I heard Sean calling for me around 7am, but luckily for me, he must have fallen back to sleep, because it was 9:45 before I heard him again, and this time, I was ready to get up as well.  So we've been up just a little bit, and of course, I'm ready to eat again!  I better go shopping today, otherwise I'm going to be eating cardboard by the end of the day!

Child Rearing is Exciting

Exciting, yes, but not always in a good way.  My kid's got something.  And I have no idea what it is!  Tuesday, after our Playgroup birthday party, Sean has some diarrhea, which came out of nowhere, but I blamed it on letting him lick some raw cupcake batter that morning.  Cuz after it was over, he was fine, and all was hunky dory with the world, except for my exhaustion.

Wednesday, both Trey and I really noticed that Sean had been scratching himself a lot lately - on two places on his torso, but there was no signs of redness, just his scratching.  He has a history of excema, so I added it to his list to discuss at his 2 year check up next week, and pulled out the hydrocortisone for some relief.  

Yesterday, all was good with the world.  Sean and I had oatmeal for breakfast, and he went gangbusters on the pecans I added - eating more than he ever has before, but he had eaten them before, so like everything else this week, I thought nothing of it.  We played all morning, Sean torturing the dog, rolling around on the carpet, acting like a madman 2 year old.  

Around 1:30, I notice that Sean has a beet-red goatee, with red bumps.  Yikes!  Pecans?  Dog?  Dried food on his face?  Not having any idea where it's coming from, I get a cool, wet washcloth and gently wipe off his face.  Within 15 minutes, I noticed that he's scratching incessantly at his neck, and getting irritable.  He climbs up onto my lap, and snuggles in - not like him in the middle of the afternoon, when he's usually fighting the urge to nap.  He keeps at his neck, and I notice his entire neck, from chin down to the top of his chest, is red and swollen with hives, and now I realize that he feels hot!

Panic Mode!  I get the thermometer and take his temp - 100.3.  Not high enough to usually call the doctor, but with the red rash, I'm not sitting at home to wonder.  Call the doc, they tell me to come straight in - and they tell me to come to a side-entry door, so as not to expose any other kids, so I'm really freaking out!  Neither Sean nor I are dressed for public, so I lay him down on my bed, so I can run around getting myself and him together.  And I see that he's laughing, now, and being playful again.  And I think to myself - this will be cleared up by the time I get there, won't it!

Sure enough, in the time it took to get dressed, drag-race to Lake St. Louis in the rain, the rash is all but gone, and he no longer has a fever!  This is all in less than hour!  Gina, the nurse practitioner, checks Sean out, and after hearing the week's history, decides it's most likely one of two things, though there's no way to really know.  With the diarrhea earlier in the week, maybe he has a virus, and this is just a few of the ways that he's working it out.  Nothing we can do.  Or with his history of excema, maybe he's experiencing an overload of irritation.  Again, nothing we can do.  She, nor I, think it's the pecans, because the symptoms showed up three hours after he ate them, and a food allergy (as I well know!) typically shows up within 10-15 minutes.

She tells me to get some Zyrtec, and keep Hydrocortisone on for the next five days, and afterwards, keep him well-lubed up to prevent the excema from flaring up.  By now, Sean's back to his normal self, though he's obviously sleepy and fighting it.  We drive home, and he starts coughing like crazy!  So WEIRD!  I skip Walgreens at this point, thinking it's best to just get him home and in bed for some rest, as this must be the weirdest virus I've ever seen.  It's 3:30 by the time we're back, and he goes straight to bed, no fighting.  And he has no rash at all at this point.

Flash-forward to 5:30, when Sean wakes up crying (unusual), so I go in to get him.  My Kid Is Swollen!  His face is puffy, his ears are beet-red, and his entire torso and groin is covered in red bumps!  I freak, of course, and hand him over to Trey as I run to Walgreens for that Zyrtec - yes, I'm kicking myself for not having made that stop already!  Trey and Sean take a bath/shower, and Sean is acting just fine - he's just Swollen!  

Within 30 minutes to an hour after taking the medicine, it's obvious that Sean's swelling is going down.  He never had any breathing problems, and actually, besides itching like crazy, wasn't acting like he felt bad.  This morning, his eye lids look a bit puffy, but absolutely no redness or swelling anywhere else.  No coughing - yet - and no fever or anything else.

WTF!?  It's like a mom's worst nightmare - something's wrong with your kid, and not even a health professional can tell you what.  The best you can do is treat the symptoms, and hope it doesn't get worse.  It's a horrible feeling.  And it certainly keeps life exciting!

Week 11 - She Keeps Bringing the Drama

I had another scheduled appointment yesterday, and had another impromptu ultrasound.  This little one keeps bringing the drama, and I started spotting, again, after stopping for over a week.  Part of me believes that Julie, the nurse practitioner, just really loves doing ultrasounds, but I'm glad that she let me have another one, so I could not only see the baby, but also so she could do a thorough search of everything down there.  She could not find anything wrong, whatsoever.  Again, big relief!  Again, more rest for me!  

In the meantime...check these ultrasound pics out!  She finally figured out how to print the 3D images full size, and they are simply amazing.  Before you get all weirded out and having flashbacks from "Alien," take a look at the animated thing on the side of the blog, and the baby's looking very much like what the graphic says it's supposed to!  And check out the details of her face!  (No, no confirmation yet whether "she's" a boy or girl!)

In this image, you can so clearly see her eyes, nose, mouth, even ears!  And long, gangly arms!

Here she's raising her hands up to her face, as if to say, "OK, that's enough, no more pictures!"

I also have two 2D images, but they barely resemble a baby compared to these above.  

So where are we at 11 1/2 weeks?

Weight Gain:  0 lbs!  But, I fear that I'm losing some muscle mass by not working out like I'm used to.  Definitely getting squishier!

Lil' Bit Length:  Measuring in at 4.88 cm, or just about 2 inches!  She's growing super-fast!

Lil' Bit HR:  A super-strong 157!

Symptoms:  I'm so grateful that the nausea is going away!  I get queezy every once in awhile, but the day long, in-my-throat feeling is long gone!  YAY!  My energy is definitely coming back as well, though I do still get more tired than usual.  And with the spotting, still have doctor's orders to get plenty of rest.  I've had more stretching pains this week, and that belly is finally popping out just a bit.

...two is twice as fun as one...

Sean's party on Saturday was a lot of fun, and Trey, Sean and I are so thankful for everyone who helped make it a success!  

We had a Backyardigans-themed party, since Pablo and the gang are Sean's best buddies!  The whole idea was about having Fun, since two year old's are just full of fun energy!  

We started out with a huge lunch of Italian Beef sandwiches, recipe from my great friend Jodi!  YUMMY!  They were awesome!  We also had brats and dogs, crunchy asian coleslaw, veggies, chips and dips.  

Next was present time, which, believe it or not, I think Sean was a bit overwhelmed by.  Lots of people, all looking at him, Isabella and friend Grace right there helping out.  

But he loves all his new toys and books, and Momma appreciated all the new clothes!  We had his Playgroup friends over for a party yesterday to play with his new toys!  

Then came cake & ice cream time!  Sean wasn't sure what to do with blowing out the candles, so Momma helped.  

He loved licking the icing off of the cake figurines!  But we sang, blew out the candles and I know Sean loved the cake!  

All in all, we had a great time and thank everyone who was able to come, and those who couldn't be there, but sent their love instead!   

Happy (early) Birthday, Sean!

I realize I'm a day early - the Lilypie ticker on my MySpace page officially says that Sean is 1 year, 11 months, 4 weeks and 1 day old today, but who's counting?  Sean turns two tomorrow, Saturday, May 17th, and I have no doubt that I will be too busy to sit down and reflect with a party to host and out of town family to entertain.  And it's not like I haven't been a bit reflective all week!

Look at how incredibly handsome and sweet he was on the day he was born!  I had no idea on that day how much my life would change because of his presence in it.  My view of the world has changed now that I see it through Sean's eyes.  So full of excitement and awe, and it's like I'm seeing many things for the first time.  I've learned to be more helpful, more patient, more loving, because I want those things for him and know that I am responsible for showing him how to live a good and just life.  The pursuit of all that is hip and trendy has been replaced with savoring every moment I have on earth with this incredibly cool human being.

But this is a post to honor my Little Man - who is, in fact, one cool kid.  Sean is a Mini-Me of Trey - incredibly handsome, wickedly funny, and he loves to bust a move whenever he hears a good beat!  And then there's his love of sports and cars.  I had no idea that things like this were so ingrained in a child so young, but Sean is fascinated by any sport involving balls and he loves cars and trucks!  But at least I can stake claim on those big brown eyes and dimples!

Today was a Mommy day.  We got up early and headed over to Paul's Donuts for breakfast with a couple of Playgroup moms.  He was literally a kid in a candy store, overwhelmed with the choices behind the glass case!  Afterwards, we ran a few hours of errands, and he was so sweet and friendly with me and with strangers, laughing, talking, waving "Hi!" and "Bye!" to everyone we met.  He ran among the flowers at Mannino's, stopping to smell the flowers and saying "Mmmm!" when he sniffed some he liked.  At Target, he wanted to walk and carry the hand-held basket himself - which was hilarious, since the basket is bigger than him!  He ducked around the racks of close, hiding from me, and then hoping I would find him - and squealing with glee when I caught his eye.

We ended our outing with a trip to McDonald's. When I picked up the tray from the counter, he yelled "Mmmm" loud enough that the workers stopped and laughed.  He followed me to the seat, where he climbed up after me, and sat down like such a good little guy.  It was pure joy sitting next to Sean, watching him eat his hamburger and fries all by himself, picking up his milk and drinking like a big boy.  He fed fries to Sleepy Bear, flirted with the older couple across from us.  Prince's "When Doves Cry" came on the radio, and he was grooving in his seat - no doubt this kid's mine!

We came home, played with sidewalk chalk and bubbles, took a walk down the street.  Now it's mid afternoon, and Sean's down for a nap, and I'm sitting here grateful.  Grateful for being blessed with an amazing little boy.

Potty Training, Round 1

All I can say, is, don't look for Round 2 any time soon. Deep in my heart, I truly believe Sean just is not ready for potty training.  He sat up late, crawled late, walked late, got teeth late.  There's no reason for me to believe that he'll be early or even on-time with potty training. Plus, every site and pamphlet from the doctor says to look for the physical signs of readiness, and he has none of them - no way he can hold his pee for two hours, I think he pees every 20 minutes.  And the texture of his poo?  Well, let's just say it's not where they say it should be.  However, he turns two this week, and I've had enough prodding from various friends and family to at least see if there's interest on Sean's part.

So this week I set up the potty chair in the hall bathroom.  I figured I'd follow my mom's example and when I needed to go, I'd invite Sean in for a seat on his new throne.  So yesterday, he followed me into the bathroom and thought I'd give it a go!

First off, he was excited to see a new apparatus of some kind to play with.  He especially likes playing with the little boy pee-pee guard.  Ick.  So I'm sitting on my pot and I invited Sean to sit on his.  We pulled down his pants and took off his diaper, and sat him down.  Not as easy as it sounds, though.  With the pee-pee guard sticking up so I don't get any shooters in the eye, it was a bit confining for Sean when he had his jeans wrapped around his ankles.  So I thought it best to take off his pants, which meant taking off his shoes, which, as you may know, means a fit.  He wasn't happy about his shoes being gone, but once he was naked from the waist down and sitting on his new seat, he was smiling and laughing again.  We sat there for a few minutes, with me asking him if he needed to go pee-pee in the potty.  He started playing with the rubber ducky on the side of the tub, instead.  At this point, he stood up with his duck in hand...and peed on the floor.

I immediately screamed "No, No, No!" and sat him back down on his seat.  He looked at me with complete confusion, like "What just shot out of my pee-pee, momma?"  So while I'm grabbing toilet paper to wipe up the puddle, he stands up - and starts peeing some more!  And he also notices some pee running down his leg, to which he asks "What's this?"  

The kid had no clue what was going on.  I don't think he got that he was going pee, like mom was asking, and that mom's objective was for him to do that while sitting on the seat.  So we're 0-1 so far.

I will leave the seat in the bathroom, and let him sit on it if he wants.  But no pressure from me at all.  He's obviously not ready, and I see no sense in forcing the kid to figure it out this summer, only to have Baby Latta show up later this year, and potentially have it all backfire on me.  And in the meantime, I better keep a stack of clean-up towels close at hand in the bathroom!

Allergies, Baby Brain and a Mystery Cat

Most of you know that I have severe allergies, and pregnancy is not my friend this time of year. Yes, the doc said it was OK to take my Flonase (miracle steroid nose spray) and Claritin, but for some reason, it wasn't OK with my last doctor when I was pregnant with Sean. So given that I'm in the critical first trimester, I made a deal with myself that for the first trimester, I would not take the Flonase at all, and only take the Claritin when I absolutely needed it. At first, I thought pregnancy cured my allergies, as a month ago, I had hardly any symptoms. What I failed to appreciate was that with such a cold early Spring, allergy season was just starting later than usual. These past two weeks, I've been sneezing like crazy, and secretly wished that I had one of those golf course ball washers so I could pop out my eyes and give them a good bath.

So Wednesday it rained all day, making me even more sleepy than my normal pregnant-self. Luckily, my kid rocks, and played to his heart's content while I laid on the couch like a slug, drifting in and out of consciousness. It also gave me some renewed energy for yesterday (Thursday) morning, and I woke up with an urge to do some cleaning! This urge hits me rarely these days, so I jumped on it!  And then Baby Brain kicked in. (Baby Brain: The phenomenon that occurs when the baby you're body is building taps into and sucks out your brain, rendering you a bumbling, stumbling idiot.) I decided to start dusting!

And not just spot-dusting, but deep dusting, we're talking the top of the entertainment center dusting.  I started in the living room, and had moved on to Sean's room when it finally hit me that this was a mistake.  The full body sneezes were my first clue.  If you've never seen a full body sneeze, just imagine that there's a string in the center of your back, and when you sneeze, it's as if someone jerked on that string hard, sending your arms and legs flailing in front of you.  So I stopped dusting in Sean's room, but decided it was smart to vacuum those rooms that I dusted.  I was not prepared for what happened next.

I finished straightening up Sean's room, and pulled out the vacuum, which, I'll be honest, hasn't seen the light of day in two weeks.  Last time I saw it, Trey used it in the dining room, and then gave it a good cleaning.  So I turn it on in the far corner of Sean's room, and am immediately hit with an odor I have yet to fully describe accurately - a vinegar/ammonia/concentrated cat piss smell, so incredibly strong, my stomach immediately hit my middle-throat.  For some reason, I insisted on finishing Sean's room, by which point, his room and hallway were filled with concentrated cat piss.  OMG! 

Not really sure if the smell was emanating from the vacuum or the carpet itself, and not completely convinced that there wasn't a mystery cat in the house, I got down on all fours and inhaled me some carpet fibers.  As if my lungs weren't already screaming.  It definitely was not the carpet.  At a complete loss for what was going on, I understood that Sean's room was in a horrific state, so I pulled out another lung-irritant, and doused Sean's room with some Oust and turned on his fan.  At this point, I decided a break was in order, and I fixed Sean and I some lunch while his room deodorized.  I also called Trey at work to ask him what the hell he did to our vacuum, but I'm pretty sure he thought I was completely crazy when I relayed this story to him over the phone, and he had no idea where the order could be coming from.

It didn't take long for the Oust to knock out the smell, and Sean was down for a nap about an hour later.  And I was wiped out!  If you have allergies, you know that it's more than sneezy symptoms - an overload of allergens can not only turn you into a snotty, runny mess, but really knock you out physically.  So I was done for the day, barely able to leave the couch to even feed myself.

And I continued to pay for the Dusting Incident, as I didn't even think to take my Claritin until bedtime, and it was just too late.  I was up half the night sneezing, and wishing I could gouge my eyes out with a fork.  It was 4am when I finally thought to seek out my allergy eye drops, which did finally give me some relief.  And now I'm just tired.  And I'm afraid of my vacuum cleaner.  Gives a whole new meaning to "Where's the Cat?"  

Not familiar with the "Where's the Cat?" phrasing?  Well, next time your loved one rolls over first thing in the AM to say good morning, and his or her breath knocks you out, ask them "Where's the cat?"  They'll ask "What cat?"  To which you answer "The cat who sh*t in your mouth!"  Or, apparently in my house, pissed in your vacuum cleaner.

David Archuleta's "Love Me Tender"

I only recently started watching American Idol this season (Thanks, DVR!), so I never had any favorites from the beginning. Missouri boy, and resident rocker, David Cook is probably my favorite of the final four - he's a good lookin' guy, great voice and stage presense.  But last night, I was blown away by Lil' David Archuleta.  Check out his version of "Love Me Tender" by Elvis Presley.

Now, this kid's got pipes, but his style of singing isn't necessarily my favorite.  Plus, he's 17, but looks 12, so I don't get the "pop star" vibe from him.  But "Wow" was all I could think listening to him sing this song, and even Trey (big-time Elvis fan) got chills from his rendition.  He evoked a bit of Aaron Neville, captured Elvis' tenderness, but still giving it all his own style.  So I hope the kid wins it all - he deserves it!

Week 9 - Oh, she's a Drama Queen!

What?  Did Amy just say "She?"  Well, I'm only speculating at this point, but all the drama this baby brings to the table, it has to be a girl!  Cuz my little guy is way laid back compared to the little one in my tummy right now!

What drama you ask?  Well, symptoms come and go big time.  Five days of straight nausea followed by four straight days of nothing.  Two weeks ago, this caused me to curl up in a ball for a few days until the ultrasound confirmed that everything was hunky-dory.  The only thing that kept me from going off the deep end was that I wasn't spotting.

Hey, guess what I woke up to yesterday morning?  Spotting.

So I called the doc's office as soon as they opened, and by 10:15 I was in for a second ultrasound to find out what was going on.  Once again, I was relieved to see a bouncing baby on the monitor, heart beating strong, and this time, the central nervous system was in full operating order, so Lil' Bit was moving all over the place!

Isn't she a cutie?  Little round butterball with wee-bitty arms and legs!  Her heart was beating at a strong and fast 167!

I realize now that I miss-posted the baby's length the last time - she was actually only 0.46 inches last time.  This week, she has grown to 2.45 cm, or .96 inches.  She's measuring exactly 9 weeks and 1 day, which just happens to be the exact length of my pregnancy as of yesterday - perfect!

The 4D image on the right does not show how awesome it was on screen - you're looking at the top of the head, and you could totally see both lobes of the brain, plus it's little arms just beneath the head.  I can see it, but won't even pretend that anyone else will be able to tell what's what.

In the meantime, I'm not sure if that belly is bloat or baby - or the after-affects of a weekend traveling and all the fine food that goes with that.  I'm going with bloat, as my tummy sticks out a few inches after each meal!  Ugh, I hate the sluggish digestive system of pregnancy!

As for the spotting, there's no obvious cause.  Because of that, I had to get a RhoGam shot.  (Layman's Terms:  I'm a negative blood type, Trey's positive, and that can mean bad things for baby if our blood mixes.  The shot prevents my body from rejecting the baby should that happen.)  Not only did I get a shot in the butt, I'm on "pelvic rest" for the next few days.  Ha!  Nice euphemism!  And no heavy lifting, and no leading stroller aerobics until at least 3 days after the spotting stops.  Which works well with my ongoing plan of sleeping as much as possible.

Isabella's Nine Years Old Today!

Happy Birthday to our Little Stinker!  Daddy and I hope that you have a fabulous day, and we had a great birthday weekend with you!

SMom Amy and Princess Isabella on her 3rd birthday!