Llamatorium

Happy fourth of July! Tomorrow we will grill up some meat with some friends!

New reflux meds for the crankmonster.. AND he's definitely teething. We're in for a loooong ride!

Alex was crying at daycare on friday and his little pal London crawled over to him and kissed his hand. London got a gold star for being a good friend. All of us parents said "AWWW!"

Mommy and Daddy are tired. Alex is getting up every 2 hours right now at night.. but now that we have new meds for the reflux, hopefully that will be better.

Must make dinner.

When we go to daycare, we bring the "medicine bag". Tylenol, gas drops, teething tablets, reflux medicine and orajel. I feel like we've got so much going on with him!

Last week the doc switched Alex's reflux medicine. This past week has been hard on me and Dave. Alex has been getting up every 2-3 hours crying. Mommy and Daddy are very tired. We were lulled into the false comfort of his new almost-through-the-night pattern until this started.

When the baby is crying, how do you know which "thing" is making him cry? Is it the teething? Is the new reflux medicine not working? We called the doc on thursday because he wanted us to check in about the new medicine and I said to the nurse "I have no idea if it is working". He's crying and really fussy, but how do I know if it is the teething or reflux?

Today we really took the time to try to figure it out. He's spitting up more (reflux, check!), he has sudden reflexes that seem like a reflux reaction and he screams when he has them (reflux, check!).. and sometimes he seems to scream out in pain when nothing has happened (reflux, check!). We called the doc (yup, its Saturday. I love my pediatricians office) and they put us back on the original reflux medicine, but at a higher dosage because of his weight, and only twice a day instead of 3x a day.

I hope this works. The worst is seeing him so obviously in pain and uncomfortable. He was so much better on the original medicine but he HATED the taste of it (Mint.. who makes an infant medicine in a mint flavor that cant be masked??!! Zantac!).

Next up? Teething. He is SO teething... even the doctor confirmed it. At 13 weeks, it is slightly early... but what can you do? Teething hurts. Hurting babies scream. Screaming babies dont sleep. Great. We give him tylenol during the day and motrin at night. We have Hyland's teething tablets (Thanks to Two Pink Lines into Motherhood!), frozen wash cloths, refrigerated teething rings and mommy and daddy's (clean) fingers. I think we'll know better once the reflux is controlled but so far he still seems quite unhappy.

So wish us luck this upcoming week. Hopefully the Zantac will bring the reflux back under control, the teething tablets, etc. will work and we'll all get some much needed rest. Even more important though.. I hope poor little Alex will feel better.

please excuse the diversion from mommy posts...

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Dear Keith,

This morning at 5am, Alex woke up. He didn't cry but I heard him cooing in his crib and I knew he would be hungry, so I got up. I went into his room and I looked into the crib and he was looking at the stars and the moon with the hat on his mobile, looking peaceful and content like he was having a conversation with the universe. He saw my face and smiled. One of those big smiles that melts your heart. I said good morning and I picked him up. He snuggled into me and we sat down in the rocker so I could give him a bottle. He intermittently ate and smiled at me. When he was done he snuggled in and once again drifted off to sleep.

One year ago today, Dave and I conceived what would become this beautiful boy.

One year ago today, we lost you.

It was too soon. It is still too soon. It hurt then and it hurts now. I have so much to tell you and so much to show you and every now and then.. ok more than now and then.. I need you to kick my ass into gear (I know what you are saying.. I should kick my own damn ass into gear).

I still hear your lessons in my head. Your sage advice mixed in with expletives about the lazy and unmotivated people in the world. Some people only heard the expletives, I only heard the compassion.

I miss you. Every day. I think I always will. I am sad that you never got to meet Dave... or Alex. I am so sad that you are not here.

We're keeping an eye on Melissa. I can see why you loved her so much. She is wonderful and amazing and strong. Today she is with people who also loved you and I hope they can all be of comfort to each other. I wish I could have been with them today. I should share with her some of the music you and I talked about.

I will try not to cry today, but I dont make any promises. I know you'd kick my ass if I cried at work.

Forever your friend,

Liz

Where has the week gone??

So to update you.. yes.. the Zantac is the king of reflux medicines. Switching him back was the right decision because although he clearly hates the taste of it, he feels SO much better than before. He's sleeping better too.. He goes to sleep anytime between 7:30 and 8:30pm and mostly sleeps through until 3:30 or 4:00, wakes up to eat, goes back to sleep until 6:00 or 7:00am. Sometimes he switches it up, and sometimes he just throws the whole routine out the window.. but thats just what babies do, right?

Alex FINALLY likes his Baby Bjorn! He hated it when he had to face me with his wobbly head, but now that he has head control we can face him out to see the world and he loves it. Thank goodness for small favors! Now I feel like I can take him on errands and to the grocery store without having to lug out the carseat and the Click-n-go. We walked around Marblehead and went in and out of shops with ease. Found a couple of really cute toy stores for Alex (and Daddy!) and some foodie adventures for me.

On Sunday we went to a cookout to meet a bunch of other mommies and daddies. I joined a Mommy Meet-up group and mostly I cant join them because they do alot during the day when I am at work, but this was a weekend thing so we went. It was really hot out but we had a good time. We even dipped Alex in the swimming pool.. he didnt seem to care about it. Maybe if we went in with him (we didnt have our swimming suits) he'd realize it wasnt bath water.

A week from today is Alex's 4 month Pedi appointment. I cant believe he's 4 months old already. He's grown so much! Tonight for the first time we tried to spoon feed him some oatmeal (he already gets it in his bottle, and has for a long time, so I figured it couldnt hurt for practice). It was funny and he got it all over himeself but he did really well! Looks like we'll have to get the highchair out of the basement and figure out where to buy a pad for it. We got it for free from someone who was getting rid of some baby items (the sister of someone who Dave works with) but it doesnt have a pad or cover. It's a Graco chair, so I hope I can find one somewhere.

We have so many questions for the Pediatrician.. what are some of the questions you all asked at the 4 month appointment?

I have no idea what we have planned for this weekend.. except for an outing to The Willows with some people from the mom's meetup group and Denny's with some friends on Sunday.

I need a haircut... badly

I am a filthy little girl.

no .. really..

I think every shirt I own has a stain on it. Sometimes on the shoulder but mostly down the front. I am the lamest stain remover EVER. I dont even know how half these stains got here... I do know how the shirts I wore while pregnant got stained, that was all me.

Alex has radioactive spit-up.. that is really the only explaination.

Someone needs to buy me a new wardrobe.. at least shirts. Lord knows I dont need another pair of tan pants.