Boyd - 15 months

We've had some really great days with Boyd. Sleep is going well (knock on wood) and he's really turning into a little person with his own preferences and opinions. I'm also happy to report that he's following commands as well.

• More teeth have arrived - MORE TEETH! This time it's the lower canines. I can't see his upper gums because Boyd generally doesn't cooperate when we want to open his mouth, but I'm assuming they're on their way too. This means the tooth count is currently at 14, possibly 16.
• When we say "I don't know", Boyd will lift up his arms and look around
• Our boy is obsessed with chap stick and lip balm. His new favorite thing to do is get hoisted onto our bed, crawl over to D's side, and then gesture for us to give him the lip balm. He'll pretend to put it on himself and/or me, then occasionally rub it on his belly. Lately he wants the cap off too so he can dig his little fingers into it.
• Purchased new boots for him - Baby Bogs. Another mother in our music class recommended them to me. Boyd LOVES them. I say, "let's put on your boots!" and he immediately reaches for them and very adorably attempts to put them on his feet. They're still a bit big so I hope he'll grow into them this summer.
• I was so proud last week - as we read Baby Beluga before bed, he successfully identified most of the animals on one of the pages (I asked, he pointed). And when we got to the "good night, little whale, good night" page where the Eskimo girl is waving, B started smiling and waving too. He's been doing it every night since. He gets SO excited for that page and will flip to it if I'm not reading fast enough.
• My mom has 2 American flags displayed at her house and Boyd will point them out when asked. When she says "salute!", he'll put his hand up to his forehead in a mock salute. SO CUTE.
• Music class ended Monday. During the last session, Boyd correctly tapped his nose and eyes as we sang the song, "Old Brass Wagon." He was his usual smiley and friendly self, and even submitted to a hug and kiss from his friend Jillian.
• I'm pretty sure he said "ma" this morning after I said we're going to Grandma's house. No real words yet. Come on kid, talk already!
• He knows the difference between regular milk and "mama's" milk, and is pretty excited to nurse in the mornings.
• Once he started walking, there was no turning back. Some days he practically sprints and I can't keep up with him.
• Going outside is probably one of his favorite activities, hands down. He CRIED the other day after I made him come inside. I'm letting him "get dirty" outside and explore more.
• He's adept at removing and screwing caps on bottles. Is also able to thread a shoelace through little holes, place small items into little containers, etc. 

Enjoying a homemade smoothie while out at an Eagle River restaurant a few weekends ago.

He's quite enamored of the dog's food storage area.

Trying out the lawn chairs at Fred Meyer. I ended up getting the white ones - one for home and one for Grandma Ann's.

Springtime in Alaska.

Another free museum day. He loved the padded area.

Vote for Boyd!

A few weeks ago I mentioned that Boyd took part in a photo shoot for a chance at the cover of Alaska Baby & Toddler magazine.

The voting is now open! http://www.alaskababymag.com/_pages/cover_contest_vote.html
Enter your information and Boyd's ID #, which is 25.

No smiles, but the photo turned out better than I expected:

You can see all of the kiddos here: http://www.alaskababymag.com/_pages/cover_contest.html

Sick baby

Gosh, this post is difficult to write - thinking about how scary the whole experience was for everyone involved. A week ago, our sweet boy had taken a turn for the worse after having croup-like symptoms for a few days. Last Tuesday my mom reported that he was not himself during the day (he goes to "Grandma Daycare" every Tuesday - Friday while I'm at work).

That night Boyd was fussy, refusing food and water, and altogether upset. We had him in the tub for a bath and decided to call our doctor's 24-hour nurse line. After listening to him breathe over the phone, the nurse advised us to take him to the emergency room. To compromise matters, D was scheduled to leave that evening for a quick trip back to Minnesota. I know it was so hard for him to leave us, but my mom was able to accompany me and Boyd to the hospital so at least that was a relief.

We arrived at the ER around 8 p.m., which is Boyd's normal bedtime. After going through intake and getting settled in a curtained area, Boyd was exhausted and cranky. He ended up crying/screaming for 2 hours straight while the emergency department crew tried out different tests and treatments: supplemental oxygen, steroids (to treat advanced croup), chest x-ray, nose cannula, and finally an IV for fluids after it was determined he needed to be admitted to the Children's Hospital (pediatrics unit). I'll spare you all the dirty details, but needless to say it was excruciating to hear and see him that upset.

Oh, but our boy was SO BRAVE. It makes me cry just thinking about how well he got through everything. He was resilient and able to adjust to this awful situation. Basically he was confined to a little crib in a Peds room for 2 days/2 nights, and all hospital staff had to gown- and mask-up before entering his room due to the respiratory nature of his sickness.

The nursing staff carried out vitals checks every few hours (night and day) so invariably Boyd would wake up and stay up for at least 45 minutes. None of us got much sleep during his stay! I probably averaged 2 hours that first night and about 3 the next. No naps for me but I made it up that weekend.

As you can see from the photos Boyd is all tubed and wired up:

1. nasal cannula provided oxygen
2. pulse oximeter on toe measured oxygen and heart rate (86% was his lowest pulse ox level - normal is 97-100%)
3. three leads on chest measured heart rate
4. IV in left arm provided fluids and a conduit for medication. 

After a lot of initial discomfort that first night, we were amazed to see Boyd pretty much ignoring all of the tubes. He slept with them and didn't remove any, which was a small miracle. Halfway during the first full day & after the first night, the nurse felt confident enough to pull out the nose cannula since he had maintained a 95-97% level during a long nap (levels usually decrease during sleep). That was a great sign! And then late on the second night, another nurse removed the IV in his arm. Yay!

The nurses encouraged me to climb in the crib with him for comfort, so I spent a lot of time in that space breastfeeding, playing or just holding him. He was a trooper, honestly and truly. Normally you can't confine this kid - he's constantly moving, touching, learning, walking and running - but somehow he made it through this hospital stay.

Our pediatrician came to see us a couple times and says the croup may have turned into a respiratory illness, most likely pneumonia. Boyd's system was compromised because of the croup and allowed an infection to take hold.

So, we arrived at the hospital on Tuesday night and finally checked out on Thursday morning. It was a long, scary journey (and most likely expensive - even with insurance I shudder to get that bill in the mail soon) but thankfully it wasn't a worse situation.

Boyd still has some residual coughing once in a while but he is definitely on the mend and back to his old self! I'll have a 15-month update next week that will focus on all of his happy milestones.

Boyd - 14.5 months

Our wee little guy has croup. He is handling it like a champ but it's tough to see him sick again - he just had a cold a month ago! Babies do tend to get sick quite a bit so I guess we need to get used to it. Early Sunday, around 2:45 a.m., we awoke to hear Boyd crying in his room. He was making this wheezing noise (stridor) that made me immediately think of whooping cough, which is life-threatening for babies. Luckily our doctor's office has a 24-hour nurse line and the RN told us to bundle Boyd up and take him outside to breathe in the cool air. That, along with moist, steamy air, are both helpful in relieving the airway constriction. We've been running a humidifier at night and that seems to help him. He's running a slight fever and his appetite is down, but otherwise Boyd's doing pretty well.

Updates:

• For a week there, Boyd was pinching both my arm and the skin around his knees. Not hard, but like he was curious about it. 
• We missed the latest music class due to Boyd's croup, but we should be able to make up a session before the end of the program in mid-May.
• He's pretty proficient at drinking from a cup using a straw and will grab/hold the cup by himself.
• Has used a spoon and fork (correctly) for the last couple weeks. We mostly have to spear or scoop food onto them and then he manages to get the food into his mouth.
• Becoming more curious about how things work. Lately he's been putting toys down a toilet paper tube and then lifting the tube to get the item.
• A couple weeks ago he was taking two naps a day, and then the following weekend was sleeping around 2 hours during one nap, which is almost unheard of for our boy. I think it may have been a growth spurt.Average nap time is 60-90 minutes.
• D and I are pretty sure we heard him say "I love you" the other evening before bedtime.
• He has been trying to put on his own shoes and socks.
• I can't believe how quick he can be - lately he's been crawling or walking to his bedroom door, flinging it and the baby gate open, and then zooming towards the stairs - all the while giggling like a little maniac.
• He likes to show us where the cat is hiding.
• Boyd is practically weaned already - we're down to one nursing session in the morning when he wakes, and that will continue until he shows signs of self-weaning or I get sick of nursing. Since he's been sick, I've been feeding him in the evening too.
• Would rather not wear hats or sunglasses. While he is distracted or outside, we can keep these items on him - otherwise they are pulled off ASAP. 
• Knows the sign language motions for "more" and "eat" and "all done."

Carhartt fishing onesie from Risha & Gabe.

Alaska Love t-shirt - it's so cute! My boss' sister owns this company.

Adorbs shirt from my wonderful friend Emily.

Boyd is truly a water dragon (his Chinese zodiac). Loves the water.

Video: Laughing in the car - 14.25 months

I can't get enough of Boyd's laugh - his giggling is infectious! We were going to Costco the other day and I could hear him just having a great time while sitting in traffic. At the stop light I whipped out my phone to video him. (You can see the car moving, but don't worry, I just held the phone up behind me and edited the footage later.)

Updates

It's been a very busy couple of weeks. Our last health fair of the season was held this past Saturday and I'm happy to have that behind me. Now I can tackle the mounds of other work piling up on my desk!

After the fair, I rushed home to prep Boyd for the Baby & Toddler Fair downtown. I signed him up for a photo session for a chance at the cover of AK Baby & Child magazine. Our time slot was at the beginning of his naptime, but D managed to get him to sleep early. D dropped us off at the convention center and we hustled in for our scheduled shoot. It was quick but Boyd wasn't having any of it! No freak outs or anything, but he just wasn't his smiley self. So I don't think we'll be making the cover this time, but at least we'll get mock-up cover of the magazine in the mail in a few weeks.

Still waiting for all of our snow to melt and spring to really arrive. It snowed again this week - although the dusting was a light one. The blue skies are back and temps are getting up to the mid-40's during the day. I'm really looking forward to this summer and hope to get out more. Last summer was tough for me - back to working full time with a baby who wouldn't sleep at night. My goal is to enjoy myself this year!

Video: Whirling dervish - 14 months

This kid is a bundle of energy - almost always moving and getting into things. As is evidenced by this video, he is part Godzilla, part cheetah.

Video: Sticky fingers - 14.25 months

Boyd gives us the biggest grins when he gets a hold of what we call "contraband" - things he isn't really supposed to have. Like a jar of Vaseline...

Video: Bedtime giggles - 14 months

Boyd - 14 months

Our boy is a joy, and I love him more everyday. He really has brought so much happiness into our lives. Of course, he drives me batty sometimes too. It's not all rainbows, cotton candy, and unicorns around here every day (just most of them time!)

• I am totally crossing my fingers on this, but it seems as if we have finally made it over the 6-week hump of teething and colds. SIX VERY LONG WEEKS. Somehow bedtime has shifted later - to 8 p.m. - even with a new nap schedule (down to 1 per day). But actually that's fine with us because hopefully we don't have to rush home before 7 p.m. anymore to get Boyd home. I think my family is getting pretty tired of having to meet at restaurants by 5 p.m. to accommodate our baby's bedtime.
• I got a little teary-eyed at Boyd's last music class, watching him bop and sway to the beat. I can tell he really enjoys it and I love that it's giving him an opportunity to express himself and interact with other people. He loves crawling over to people and giving them a big smile during the sessions.  He's probably the friendliest kid in there. This is totally true, you can even ask my sister. :-)
  
• Knows more words: ears, eyes, nose, mouth, feet, hat, jacket, etc. 
• I tend to fret (just slightly) when Boyd hasn't yet hit a milestone, but invariably he reaches it right on schedule. The latest thing is talking - he isn't saying anything intelligible yet, although I could have SWORN that he said "hat" this morning when I dropped him at my mom's house.
• Sleep update: I start bedtime at 8 p.m. and he's been going down around 8:15. Usually sleeps through until 7 a.m. or so. Last night he just wouldn't settle and after going in to check on him, I smelled the problem: big time dirty diaper. After that he was just really upset and finally calmed down to sleep around 9:30. 

Anchorage Museum

On the first Saturday of every month, our local museum (Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center) opens its doors for free to all Bank of America cardholders. Since D needed some time for home improvement projects, I took Boyd for a quick visit to the Imaginarium Discovery Center, which is inside the museum. It was surprisingly uncrowded and I suspect that the blizzard warning kept many of the other families away. Not us - I wasn't going to miss a free day! Plus I scored with a free primo parking space outside of the building, which was fortuitous because it was quite the trek pushing Boyd in his stroller through a sidewalk with 5 inches of fresh snow. 

Inside, I loved that there was plenty of space for Boyd to crawl around in, without the threat of other kids mowing him down in a frenzy of excitement. We visited the 5-and-under area and he was able to climb a foam mini-mountain and come halfway down a small slide. Then we scooted over to a dollhouse where he played for about 15 minutes (amazing!). We also looked at puzzles, used a crayon to color on a plastic wall, and took time out for snacks.

In another section, staff had two small python snakes on display that we were able to pet. I also showed Boyd a live turtle and little bearded dragon (behind glass, of course!) We quickly walked through the kinetic space (he's still too young for that exhibit) and marveled at the bubble exhibit where older kids were playing.

Earlier that day Boyd and I met my mom and sister for lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe'. It's sort of a nostalgic place for me and Risha. We remember enjoying cups of clam chowder and yummy sandwiches after shopping with my mom. Neat to come full circle with my son.