Nate's B-Day

He got his Wii!!!! He's wanted one so badly and because he's such a great, dad, husband, son, son-in law, uncle and brother/brother in-law, we all chipped in and got him the Wii and accessories to go with it. It was Max's idea of course:) He was surprised and thrilled. He's having so much fun with it already (crawled into bed about 2am Sunday morning!).

Though, I think even better than the Wii is having out little boy back! He is all smiles again and had a good, but tiring time, entertaining everyone Saturday. We had fewer than expected, some who were sick (hope you're feeling better Emma!) and some who didn't want to get sick in my germ infested house, but there were other's who couldn't resist their grandson/nephew---- I mean Nate for his birthday:)

But our little guy is doing much better. The RSV generally lasts 2 weeks so we still have a few more days to go but its mostly just a loose cough and little runny nose. He's back in his crib (mattress is just propped a little bit) and loving it. He likes his swing but I think he really likes to be all stretched out (I don't have one of those swaddle babies!). Last night I didn't have to get up at all, he'd cough some but settle himself back down. He's pretty much back to his normal eating schedule, eating a little less still but about 6 times a day again (with first feeding at 3am instead of 4:30..... but that may mean solids are in our near future). Most everyone else is better, I'm still working on it....but all we really care about is Max being better!

Aunt Ellie is becoming quite the photographer so we get all kinds of cool shots now!

Cousin Luke always manages to ammuse himself!

Silly Grandpa is always good for a laugh!

Finally got to meet Great Grandma Nancy....

Getting better!

Thank goodness our little guy is getting better. We're even getting some smiles back! Tuesday night was rough but we had a good Dr's visit yesterday and he was quite pleased with his progress. Apparently a lot of these cases haven't been going too well, I can't imagine it much worse, poor families! I guess they end up in the hospital. We only have to do the nebulizer twice a day for another day or so and he has no ear infection (which often comes with this because it creates so much mucus). You can tell he's in a lot less pain too, his cough is still bad but it doesn't make him cry like it had been. Last night he got some good solid cough free sleep. He has lost almost a pound so we have to bulk him back up! He's not eating nearly as much but I'm trying to feed him more often since he only wants a little at a time.
The only bad thing is this is contagious, but in its adult form its just a cold. Of course a week of him coughing in our faces, Nate, my mom and I have all caught it so that just adds to our sleep deprived fun but I'd take it 10x worse if it means Max is better!!!
So we'll continue with our lots of rest (he sleeps a lot!) because we have to get better. Grandma has been back in town with Great Grandma for 3 days now and we still haven't seen them:( Tomorrow I will do my best to de-germ the house before they, Aunt Ellie and family and Grandpa all come over for Nate's B-day party!

Thank you

Thanks everyone for your prayers and concerns. We are finally looking a little better I think (hope!). Things took a turn for the worse Sunday night and yesterday and we had him back to the Dr's. His breathing was really bad and his cough was dreadful. So they checked him out again and same diagnosis but he just has it pretty bad. They said sometimes they call it the "Happy Wheeze" cause some kids aren't bothered at all. Obviously that wasn't the case with our poor little guy. They sent us home with a nebulizer which really seems to help. He hardly fights it anymore because he knows it makes him feel better. If that didn't help the next step would be to admit him and put breathing tubes in but luckily I think this is working. We all finally got some good, cough free, sleep last night on and off and he seems a little bit in better spirits today and is eating a little more. The other good thing is that is fever broke yesterday too. We still give him Tylenol sometimes because he's in pain from the coughing but we're happy he's nice and cool at least. We go back tomorrow for a follow up appointment, they want to keep close tabs on him.
I know it probably never gets easier when your kids are sick but man is this emotionally draining on us... its not easy to see your 4 month old son so miserable:(
But thanks again for the prayers and concerns, its working:)

Update...

Just a quick Max update. He ended up being pretty sick. We canceled our weekend plans. We were all packed and ready to go and our hearts couldn't take our boy coughing all the way to the turnpike so we turned around and came home and are very glad we did. We ended up at the Dr's this afternoon (Sunday). He has a respiratory viral infection. Luckily she didn't seem too concerned. We just have to make sure he doesn't start wheezing or have any breathing problems. He's had a steady fever around 100 and a cough, runny nose and diarrhea. And he basically just sleeps a lot, poor thing. You can tell he's miserable but breaks into a smile every now and then. On top of all that, we noticed at the Dr's office that he has cradle cap, which she said the virus could have activated so now we have to take care of his head. It just breaks our hearts to see such a little baby so sick but the good thing is for us that he's all about us comforting him and Mr. "On the go" just wants to cuddle all day, which we glaldy accept. So keep him in your prayers please!

4 months, first lessons and Dr. Mom

4 months:

Well, its official, he's 4 months this week! We had his Dr's visit yesterday and he's 24 1/2 inches long (in the 32%) and 14lbs 14oz (in the 47%). We're kind of surprised actually, I would have guessed a good 36-37lbs, lol! But he's doing just fine. Mom-mom had to come along because he needed more shots and I don't do shots so well. But he was great. I think he hated being held down on a piece of paper thing they cover the table with more than actually getting the shots. But the Dr seemed impressed, he could do everything developmentally that she asked. We're a little disappointed that she doesn't think he's quite ready for food yet.... she says when they start consistently waking up at night to start which sounds crazy to me, I like my 10pm-4am sleep and would really prefer we don't reverse so we'll wait another week or two but he has been getting up earlier and earlier so I think it will be time to start soon.

First lesson:

My son, genius that he is, has realized how much faster and easier a bottle is to take than to nurse. Tuesday and Wednesday when I got home from work, he decided he was NOT going to nurse and just screamed till we got a bottle for him, which of course he drank right down. I'm rally not ready to stop nursing yet! So at the Dr's yesterday I asked, "He's starting to not want to nurse because he knows the bottle is easier, I guess there is nothing I can do about that huh?" And she, with a smirk, said of course you can, don't give him the bottle. To which I answered I would be bringing him to her place while he screamed bloody murder. But she assured me she did it with her kids and that he would learn. So was my mission when we got home for his 1:30 feeding. I started about 1pm, thinking it would be best if he wasn't starving yet. And sure enough he laid on the boppy on my lap for 40 minutes, screaming most of the time, while I wiped the little tears from his face and just quietly prayed he would "get it". And sure enough, Dr's know what they're talking about. He eventually did. Of course he was so tired by then I had to really work at keeping him awake to eat but he did it so I'm chalking that one up to score one for mommy. We do realize that we may have our hands full. This little guy is WAY more stubborn than either his mom or dad (especially when we were that age) so this was probably a lesson for both of us and I am well aware that we'll have many more to come. But I guess the point is he got it (not that I think its over, I'm gearing up for another struggle here in about a half hour) but he'll learn....its all part of parenting I suppose, tears (on both our parts, mine just came later!), and smiles:) (which I got after he was rewarded with a two hour nap on my lap and woke up the happiest thing ever, nice they don't hold grudges!)

Dr. Mom:

Both my boys are sick. Max has a slight fever and a cough and daddy is nursing some kind of bug. They're both sleeping upstairs right now. We're hoping it passes quickly. Max seems in good spirits and his cough only woke him up once last night so it wasn't bad. Its just so sad to hear it on such a little guy. Dad called off work and is taking the day to rest. We have big plans to be gone all weekend so we have to see what happens...

We've had a bit of a heat wave so my neighbor and I decided to take a walk Saturday. Of course Max was sleeping but I thought it would be good for him but in picking him up, putting him in his snowsuit, in the stroller and 2 laps around the block, he was still like this! He did finally wake up then but man was he OUT!

The other week we were at a friend's house and they have this big rocking Tiger that I put Max on and he just loved (got the big "I think I'm so cool" eyes) so when Nate and I went for our first date night on Saturday, we stopped by the kids consignment shop (yes, date night included a trip to Babirs R Us too, lol! but we did have a nice Japanesse Steak house dinner as well) and found this little pony. Its great cause its small. Of course he can't do it by himself yet but he loves it. I had to give the poor pony a hair cut though cause Max was trying to eat it. Nate thinks poor pony's new do looks like how I used to cut Barbie's hair to make her look like a man (I didn't have enough Ken dolls) but it seems to be a little better for Max. Of course it sings a
Pretty Pony" song that just plays in my head ALL day long!

I'm growing!

He's just getting so big. I finally got around to taking some random pictures that I wanted. He's just too cute, I want to be able to remember him like this! He's doing great, he had a sleepy week which usually means a growth spurt. We go next week for his 4 month and I can't wait to hear his measurements. But he's also getting so grown up. We're letting him be a bit more independent these days. We don't go running when we hear him at night and he's learning to settle himself which is nice. He is a huge sucker, everything goes in his mouth. He likes his paci but also sucks his fingers and hand too, we're not sure which is worse....but it calms him instantly so we go with it. He's also able to play more, he's still grabbing and swatting at things so its nice that he can amuse himself like that. He still loves his new gurgle talk that he does. He's really just hours of entertainment. Its amazing how spoiled the first babies are but you just can't help it!

Here are some cute ones:

With neighbor Rowan, gonna be best buds in a few years!

He loves bath time:

Mini Eagle: