Halloween--Is Eddie a cow, a giraffe, or Mickey?

In anticipation of our friends, Rob and Lisa's annual Halloween bash, I decided to buy Eddie's costume early. I bought a cow from Old Navy. Got it home and decided it wasn't all I had hoped for, so I went out to Babies R Us (sister of Toys R Us) and bought a giraffe. [Dennis tells me that his mom sewed a giraffe for him when he was a kid, to wit I replied he could buy himself a sewing machine if he wanted.]

I planned to return the cow until Super nanny, wanton for something to do, took off the tags and washed it with 8 other of Eddie's clothes--the tinest load of clothes I've ever known to be washed. So the giraffe went back and I accepted that the spots on the cow costume would be complimented by the spots all over Eddie's recovering-from-pox body.

Then, while shopping with g'ma and g'pa Ohio, I spotted the perfect costume--Mickey Mouse. Unfortunately it was a 3-6 month size. We tried it on Eddie and decided if it fit over his clothes reasonably well, we'd be fine.

Went to the Halloween bash on Sunday and Eddie fell asleep within minutes of arrival. So, g'ma Wisc. sat with him inside, along with a bunch of breast-feeding women. We had a great time--eventually joining G'ma Wisc. and Eddie inside. Eddie's friend Eli was the giraffe Eddie was going to be, and there was only one other, much older Mickey Mouse.

On Halloween Eve, we tried the cow costume, but I think Eddie prefered the Mickey one, as he was fussy as a cow, but happy as a mouse.

G'ma and G'pa Jones pulled babysitter duty so we could use up some movie tickets on Monday night. They really got some quality time with Eddie on Sunday and Monday afternoon--sure is nice to have them so willing.

G'ma and g'pa Wisc. Part 1

G'ma and g'pa Wisc. arrived on Sat. night (Oct. 29). They left this morning (Tues) for Baltimore and will return Thurs. afternoon. They will then stay until the following Monday--the 7th. That is why this is 'Part 1'.

Those Wisc. folks sure are traveling this year. Cousin Nancy came through town on Sunday and stopped in to see the newly pox-free crowd. She brought her dog Raven, pictured with us. We are not dog people, but if we were to be, Raven is the kind of dog we'd like. Happy, well behaved, and friendly, without badgering. Here are a couple shots of Nancy with Ed and us. And of g'ma and g'pa Wisc. with Ed.

Dennis just loves the brightly colored playpen in the living room. There is one in our office too (I got an amazing deal on them). After that toy spree with g'ma Ohio--it wasn't that bad--we only needed one cart for the two of us, I agreed to finally put away a couple big toys Eddie no longer uses. Sigh.

Grandparents, A Wonderful Thing

G'ma and g'pa Ohio were just out for a quick trip to help me while Dennis was away and then at an all day meeting on Sat. [He was appointed to the local budget committee for our community and there was a Council retreat to discuss the budget, so he went.]

G'ma and g'pa Ohio took Eddie and me shopping. We bought clothes for mom and the growing boy, who is now just about in 12 month clothes. While I know that Eddie will smile at a blank wall, I'm still amazed at G'pa Ohio's ablity to make Eddie laugh and how he interacts with him. He knows all these tricks. And the beard is a nice novelty. G'ma Ohio has always said she is holding out till he is walking, talking, and toliet trained, but she sure looks like she's having a good time with him in the above picture.

We also bought some toys. G'pa got to relive his days of assembling toys, as he put together a rocking horse that g'ma really wanted to buy him--who am I to deny her the pleasure of buying him a toy? As you can see, everyone had a great time.

G'ma and g'pa Ohio left just before g'ma and g'pa Wisc. came to town (we're not set up for that many grandparents at one time at the moment). It'll be nice to have back-to-back babysitters.

Boring Update for Dad

Eddie put himself to sleep this evening--took about 3 minutes of whimpering. Course now he is wimpering again an hour later--UGH. Last night was plenty rough --made me glad my parents were coming. He woke up I think 5 times, but when it's that many, who can count?

My super nanny (SN for short) made this week not bad at all. She is the live-in nanny for a woman in the neighborhood whose daughter started pre-school this year. As a result, SN has some free time on her hands. She is a grandmotherly type and is in fact a grandmother, having raised 4 kids. She is petite, not about to be pushed around by anyone, and not afraid to share her opinion. She is from Honduras (perfectly legal), and Eddie and I are polishing up our Spanish while she learns English from us (well, me). I've been amazed at how much I comprehend for the 2 years of Spanish in elementary shcool and the 2 years of Italian in college.

I left Eddie in her care today for 8 hours--the longest I think I've been away from him and it felt so good to get that break. Course I was able to get a lot of work done and some errands run. I think she is the secret to my sanity when Dennis is on travel--and still being able to get any work done for my job. She even washed the sheets and made the guest room bed while Eddie napped. I have to give her stuff to do, because if I don't, she will find something. One day she complained that there was no laundry to do.

I'm dreading the day she tells me she's retiring.

8 month addendum

I’ve been watching Eddie intently over the last several days. He is just doing so much now.

He is really sitting up well by himself. We no longer have to put pillows around him. Sometime during the chicken pox he must have mastered it while we were obsessing over how bad he seemed to be feeling.

He sleeps with his butt up in the air—I find this on par with the cuteness people seem to attach to all babies—its just so darn cute to see. Speaking of sleeping, he won’t take his morning nap. It’s as if there is too much going on. He is so tired, I can see it in his eyes, but he won’t sleep. So, for the second day now, at 12:30, he just crashes. This morning however, it must have been too soon after eating, because he woke screaming after 30 minutes. At least he had the decency to wait until I had dried off after my shower.

He is with the nanny now, hopefully she is working her magic and getting at least a bit of a nap out of him, or I’m in for an exciting evening. But then again, she said she could watch him till 6 if I wanted, boy that is tempting!

He is so incredibly close to crawling. Every day I expect to be ‘the day’. Depending on how strict a definition you want to attach to crawling, one could make the argument that he already is crawling, just not in the up-on-all-fours kind of way. We sit him down. He leans forward for something and goes up on his knees with his arms in front of him instead of under him. Unfortunately, he has yet to figure out how to use both his arms and legs at the same time for support—he can get himself up quite high on his hands (from his stomach), or get his legs under him (from sitting), but not both at the same time. He scoots himself all over.

Nothing is beyond his reach, but he has yet to figure that out. Well sort of. He's at that stage where he wiggles and worms all over while you hold him, but doesn't want to be put down, he is trying to reach something he can only grasp when held--doorknobs, stereos (one of his favorites). I do wonder why they haven’t invented a toy that is just like a remote control or cordless phone. Eddie could amuse himself for hours with those if we let him. I think it’s the lights and the feel of the buttons, not to mention the good size for his hands.

He is starting to try and pull himself up (per picture in the crib), he’s got a bit to go, but he gets ‘A’ for effort.

Today we tried Mangos with breakfast. They must have seemed a little tart. He was making such funny faces that I actually stopped feeding him to get the video camera. Got some good video.

Fell into the playpen today. I know we bought this particular one because it has a door, but the playpen is so low and the door so childproof, that I never use the door. Was trying to pick Eddie up and should have stepped into the playpen, but just tried leaning over. I got him standing and holding to the edge. I started to pick him up and just lost my balance. We both fell right into the middle. Eddie had a pretty stunned look on his face--we're both fine. Good thing I bought that gym mat to put down as the floor of the playpen.

While Dad's Away

Dennis is gone this week, that's right, the WHOLE week in Albuquerque (yes, I used Word to spell that). This is the longest Dennis has been away since Eddie was born. Fortunately, my parents are coming into town on Thursday to help out, so it won't technically be the longest I've been with Eddie by myself. That, and I have a super nannywho watches Eddie a couple days/week--more about her in another post.

So the posts this week are likely to be a lil' mundane, and frequent, as they'll be focused for a dad who misses his baby.

Said baby is upstairs right now, trying to put himself to sleep. I can hear his feet banging on the crib mattress and the noise the mattress makes when it hits the crib springs. Ka-Wham! Ka-Wham! And I don't even have the monitor on. Hard to believe such a little body is capable of making so much noise (he obviously wasn't collicy). When he's not walloping the mattress with all the force of an Olympic gymnast, he is chatting with himself, fun excited chatting, then quiet low-key chatting and sometimes it goes to a whimper--that is when I listen a little harder so it doesn't get to a full blown cry, which will blow the whole nap. I vary how long I let him go--probably shouldn't do that. I try and wait at least 10 minutes, then go check on him. It's erie when he goes from chatting incessantly to sudden quiet, like he fell asleep mid sentence.

Last night was a good night--went to sleep at 7, slept till 1:45 and then again until 7. I could get used to this! The above was taken after breakfast this morning. Figure I might as well get the milage out of that bib. Eddie was very smiley this morning.

MONTHLY--Eddie at 8 months

Both Dennis and I keep tripping up today and saying we can't believe Eddie is 7 months old. I guess the last month has really been a blur of spots.
Despite illness, Eddie seems to be doing well. We keep thinking he is getting close to crawling, but this time I mean it. He is soooo close, we can just feel it. He's been up on all fours once or twice. Not that we're in any rush, but it is fun to watch as he changes and learns new things each day. Dennis thinks he'll get his first tooth soon too--something we've been saying since Eddie was 3 months old.

While as yet he can't crawl in the 'traditional' way, he still manages to get around lightening fast. He rolls, scoots, and if you can picture this, spins himself in a circle so fast, you wonder how he's not dizzy. It's like having a compass trying to point north--as you walk by, he spins to follow you, in whatever direction you walk.

We think he either lost a little weight, or just didn't exactly continue his pound packing ways during the chicken pox (heck even I lost a couple pounds) as he weighs just over 20 pounds. Not sure how long he is--you try measuring someone who moves around more than a nightcrawler trying to escape your grasp.

He has stood up holding onto the edge of his playpen by himself. He can't go anywhere--and we are in no rush, but the books say to do this, so I figure it can't be any harm.

We haven't offered him much in the way of new foods, as we wouldn't be able to tell if he was having a reaction--or just more pox. We, did buy a couple books, Super Baby Food and Blender Baby Food, so we can try making his food insteading buying 30 jars/week of baby food, which gets to be a real drag when trying to check out quickly at the grocery store--although he does like to go grocery shopping with his dad.

The pictures above were taken today. He is such a ham--really we could pay for his college if we could just get him a modeling gig--I promise I wouldn't be a stage mom :)

We Know Eddie is Feeling Better Because...

He is sleeping better! He has now had 2 good nights of sleep. This means that he goes down at 7, and aside from a quick wake up before we go to bed for the night, sleeps through till 3am. And this morning he slept in till 7:15--hallalulah!

Maybe he'll keep sleeping in like that--so nice. And to add whip cream and a cherry to this whole development, he went down for his naps today not only by himself, but very quickly without much fuss. I am deleriously happy.

See the 2 posts below for pictures over the last several days.

Don't Let the Smile Fool You

The top picture (with Eddie holding the green frog) was taken Friday, the 14th--the day we went to the doctor's. For comparison, the picture on the post on Thurs., the 13th was taken less than 24 hours before this--the pox exploded Wednesday night, but then Thursday just completely took over. Don't know if it shows on the web, but there are significantly more pox on this shot than the Thursday post.

This sideview shot was taken on Sat. the 15th. You can kind of see how bad they got his head.

And, the picture with the halloween bib was taken this Monday, a full week to the day after we discovered his first pox. If you look closely, you may be able to see the pox on his legs and feet, poor fellow.

If you want more pictures, there's another post below, titled 'Graphic Pox', the name says it all.

Graphic Pox

These three were all taken this Monday--believe it or not, he looks MUCH better. Saw the doctor this day (Monday) and it was a quick visit--the doctor being pleased with the progress. We were still a show and tell, with several nurses stopping in to see us. One, who had not seen him commented on how bad he looked and another, who remembered him from Friday commented to her that he was much better than before.

Anyway, as of today (Wednesday), probably 80% or more of his pox have scabbed, so we hope by the end of the weekend he will no longer be contagious. Also, many of them have disappeared altogether. Weehoo!

Rounding the Corner?

I promise to get a picture up of Eddie soon. With the main computer out, it's a little more cumbersome. Eddie woke up today sans fever, but with a big smile. This is the first time we can remember that he's smiled without being smiled at first since he got ill and a sure sign he's starting to improve. I'd say 60% (maybe more) of his pox are scabbed over. And best of all (for us), he had a good night of sleeping--waking only about 5 times and then going back to sleep. We're going to the doctor today as a followup to make sure everything looks good. Thanks for all your thoughts, it sure looks like things are improving for our little trooper.

The Saga Continues

Took Eddie to the Dr. on Friday--he was running a high fever (101-102 and higher) since Thurs. with no sign of improvement and his demeanor was pretty rough. Long story short--Eddie was the show and tell of the Dr's office. Even the triage nurse whom I spoke with on the phone came back to see him for herself. We were ushered in the back door after walking up 6 flights of stairs (our choice). All the nurses wanted to get a look at him and the Dr. (B. Sullivan) said it was a lot of leisons.

The Dr. (whom we love), was with us for 30 min. or more. He looked Eddie over and over. When Dennis asked, he said it was a moderate to severe case. He checked for the secondary infections they worry about--pneumonia, etc. To give you an idea, he says to me, as we're dressing Eddie, "you know, you could always bring him in next week to get the leisons checked out and make sure nothing is infected". Trying not to be too alarmed that the Dr. is this worried, and at the same time, jump right on that, I replied, "if you think we should", and with all seriousness, he said, "yes, I do, I'd like to see you next Monday/Tue.". This is a man, who has such a calm, understated, as Dennis says, un-alramist demeanor.

He gave Eddie the same "wonder" drug I got--to make me drowsy and stop the itching. Unfortunately, it's not working as well for Eddie. I'm going to call and see if we can up the dosage. We've taken to mixing the meds with his formula/pedialyte because he vomited when I tried to give it to him, then vomited again 30 min. after our 2nd try. Had to call the Dr. to find out if we could give it again.

Once more brain cells are firing, I will attach a picture of little Eddie. He's been quite the trooper, but is clearly miserable. At the moment, Dennis and I are pulling shift work. I took the first shift and now is my shift to sleep, but this is kind of my therapy now (writing this), so had to get it down. What a wretched experience. All I could think of last night, was 'who cares about the scaring, lets just get him through this quickly and safely'. We're having a hard time keeping him from scratching.

I'll try to write an update later, if anyone knows a way for us to trade places with him, let us know! By the way, the picture currently up on the previous post, shows a fraction of his leisons, there are probably conservatively, twice that many on his face. currently

Pox Presence

Well, the nurse predicted the 11th, and it started on the 10th. He wasn't too bad at first--in fact I almost posted yesterday, 3 days into the breakout, that he wasn't getting them that bad, but then was afraid to say that...with good reason. Last night they exploded.

This is not for the faint of heart--his scalp, under his hair, and his neck are the worst, the density is intense. His face is pretty covered, including around his eyes and ears. Dennis has trouble looking at his neck (which you can't see in this photo and I won't gross you out by posting a photo in which you can see his neck). They have also spread to his hands, diaper area, chest, underarms, and back. Dennis thinks he's gotten even more spots since we took this picture just a couple hours ago.

Eddie is definitely taking this illness better than his parents. He's got a great demeanor, but then this is Eddie we're talking about. And as you can see in the picture, still manages to smile for us. Between mom's guilt at having given it to him and his dad's having to care for two back to back chicken pox patients...we know he'll be okay, but it's pretty scary to see your child not feel well.

We're seeing a couple of his pox burst and start to scab over, which we hope means we are appraoching the halfway point, but new blisters can and likely will still appear. Red spots start to form and they develop into blisters (altho I've found that not every red spot develops into a blister, esp. later on in the illness). The blisters hang out for a couple days and then they pop, dry out and scab over. You are contagious with the pox from a couple days before you break out until all the blisters have scabbed over. I did find that some of the blisters just kind of vanished.

Tonight, Eddie is running about a 102 degree fever. We're hoping tylenol does its thing. I'll try and update again this weekend--our hard drive is bad in our computer, so the posts will probably not be as frequent until it gets replaced next week--the computer is less than a year old. Argh!

Looking forward to healty times again.

Uh-Oh

Well, I think I saw Eddie's first pox--2 on his neck and 2 on his head. The ones on his head lead me to believe it is the real thing, as that's where mine started. Also, he's been sucking his thumb like it belongs in his mouth full time, something he usually only does when he tries to fall asleep. And pulling on his ears. Believe me, we keep him well fed and well rested, so it can't be that.

So...if you don't hear from us for a couple days...that would explain things. I sincerely hope I'm wrong. In any case here's a photo of him in the swing g'ma and g'pa Ohio bought him, hopefully he doesn't scratch the pox too much....

No News Is Good News

Since several people have asked...no pox yet. But Dennis commented on how lethargic Ed seemed today, so we'll see.
Here they sit watching Den's Wisconsin Badgers lose to NW.

How Many Toys Should I Take?

If the pictures here are in the order I expect them to be, first we have Cousin Steve, then his two kids Kirsten and Kyle with Eddie and then Gwyn, Jim, and Sami, and finally Sami, meeting Eddie for the first time.
I know well that they say you can entertain a baby with pretty much anything. I also suspect 'they' haven't sat in a hotel room with a baby all day, trying to get a little bit of work done.

We have now been on 3 plane trips and close to a half-dozen driving trips with little Eddie. And while I have managed to gain reasonable control over the clothing related aspect, I still manage to take more toys than we really need.

Could it be because I pack the clothing and everything ahead and throw in the toys at the end, so as to ensure we not only take his favorites, but also leave those out for him to play with down to the last second? Is it the fear that he will actually get bored--as if that has ever happened in any situation? I just can't figure it out, queen of the, 'if I need it, I'll buy it' packing style (sort of).

Regardless, my cousin Gwyn still commented on how little it seemed we had, could it be she was commenting on what she thought was only one suitcase?? At any rate, we managed to score a last minute booking at Cousin Club South Florida, since even I agreed Eddie was too young for 'The Mouse' of Orlando.

We manage to get a fair number of guests living where we do, but nothing can compare to the trail of guests Gwyn, Jim and Sami endure, er host--we had a great time with them, hanging out by the pool, going on an airboat (Gwyn hung out with Eddie and Sami), and just relaxing. We also got to visit with and have Eddie meet some other South Florida cousins--Kyle, Kirsten and Steve (mom Sandy was away).

Maybe someday he'll play with every toy I bring...or maybe I'll just learn to pack less toys? nah.

Florida

As with most trips, Eddie seems to meet a ton of people. Orlando and South Florida were no exception. At dad's conference, Eddie charmed all around, esp. the woman who makes the conference run. She was all over him. They'll get to rendezvous in the spring at the Huntsville, AL conference.

I swear I didn't mean to match Eddie when I put us in these, they just happened to be what I picked out. Don't we look cute :)

The above are frequent Orlando party pals and dad's colleagues from Beantown, Brian and Warren hamming it up with Eddie.

The picture that won't post

Don't know why it's been so difficult to get this picture up there, but here it is...

The Pianists

Been trying to get these pictures to upload for a while (we're talkin' weeks here)--was about to give up. Feeling oh so much better. I'm alive!!! That is, until Eddie comes down with the dreaded pox. Or not.

So Eddie and dad were goofin' around with the Wisc. hat and I got a whole series of cute pictures.

Then Eddie and his buddy Lizzie (these are all well before the pox emerged), played piano.--they were just cute photos...
enjoy--until I get the FLA pictures up.

Picture is worth a thousand words

This is technically Day 6 of my illness, day 4 of the 'full' breakout. Just imagine how bad I looked on days 2 and 3! Pray that Eddie is spared.