I haven't posted anything to the blog for a while. I apologize. Life has been a little crazy. I have suffered through an ear infection for the past week. And, now I have a sore throat. In addition to that, I have been trying desperately to finish all my thank you notes so that I don't have to worry about that any more. And, my computer is giving me fits.
Meanwhile, Ian had another allergic reaction to his formula. It all started last Tuesday with a little constipation. By Tuesday evening, he pooped out little pebbles after much anguish. So, I called the Dr. and was told to give him a little water to help with the constipation. By Wednesday morning, he was doing better and had a fairly regular poop. But, by Wednesday evening, I could tell something was wrong. (FYI: He acted the same on Tuesday evening, but I figured that was due to the constipation.)
Ian is not a fussy baby. He cries when he wakes up so that someone will pick him up. And, you would think the world is coming to an end when he is hungry because of how hard he cries. But otherwise, he is a calm and peaceful child. (God definately knew what he/she was doing by giving me a child with this great calm temperment. If he had my fiery Irish temper, I can just imagine the trouble we would have!)
Anyway, at about 10PM on Tuesday until 1AM and again on Wednesday evening, he was clearly upset. He would wail for about 5 minutes then fall into a deep sleep for about 20 minutes. Then, the whole process would repeat itself. Meanwhile, he could not be put down without triggering the wailing. Beth and I walked the floors holding him and humming to him. How does Mark always manage to be out of town when this happens?!?
At about Midnight on Wednesday, Ian did his infamous projectile vomiting. Again, it is not normal for babies to do the projectile thing. And, it is really tough to watch and deal with as a parent. Very scary!
So, we called the on-call nurse at the Drs. office. She said that it sounds like colic and to just do what we were doing to make him happy. I disagreed, but there was little I could do about it at midnight. (I helped Sam with Cullen who truly had colic. He screamed for hours each night not a few minutes or a couple of days.)
I called and got an appointment the next day with the Dr. I explained what was going on to Dr. Matt, he said it sounds like he either has a bug or is having a reaction to the formula. He did a rectal exam on my poor baby and decided it was probably a reaction to the soy formula. So, we have switched to another formula in the hopes of eliminating the problem.
So far, things are better but not 100 percent. I am hoping that he is just having some issues with the change and will adjust. But, I am not holding my breath. We are still not sleeping soundly until about 2AM when he is too tired to be upset any more. Thankfully, he is not wailing like he was, just restless and gassy. Like I said, I am not holding my breath that the problem is solved yet.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Friday, July 21, 2006
Ian's World
My Grandpa loves me. I'm the first baby he has ever held.He does a really good job!
My Grandma loves me too. This is what happens
when she wants me to burp and I don't want to!
I am really mad!!
My cousin Alex does a good job of helping my Mommy.
Mommy and my cousin, Cullen, went to Build-a-Bear and
made me this monkey cause Mommy calls me 'Monkey Toes'.
His name is Barnaby Sprout Edwards.
This is me in my crib and I am dreaming. Sometimes mydreams are so good, I roll my eyes back in my head and smile!
It makes my Mom and Dad laugh. I guess I look silly.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
The Evil Returns
Ian had developed an uncanny ability to wait to poop until we are in a place where we can't escape the smell. So, like I said, the evil returns or maybe, he is just like his parents? (One of Mark's favorite things to do is trap me in the car with his stink. Sam, I don't want to hear it. I take great pride in the Christmas incident in the Christmas Shop.)
The other day Beth, Alex, Zach (Alex's friend), Ian and I went to dinner at Nothing But Noodles. (A really cool restaurant that serves all types of dishes which require noodles. Thai noodles, Italian, macaroni and cheese, etc.) Anyway, after dinner and ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, we got on the highway to head home. Unfortunately, we got caught in a huge traffic jam caused by construction. We creeped forward, then sat for awhile, then creeped forward, etc. for about 15 minutes.
Right in the middle of the traffic jam, Ian decides to cut loose with a particularly stinky poop. Thank goodness he has not touched the heights of the "stank", but he does a pretty good job of clearing a room or car. There was no escaping this stink. We just kept inching forward until we reached the next exit which seemed like an eternity. We rolled down the windows to only be assaulted by the heat and smell of gas fumes. That wasn't going to work. So we rolled the windows up and everyone did their best to hold their breath. Meanwhile, Ian is happy as a clam. Apparently, your own stink doesn't bother you, it's just good to get it out! And, I think, like his father, he takes pride in trapping me in the car with the stink. Like I said, evil. It must be a boy thing.
The other day Beth, Alex, Zach (Alex's friend), Ian and I went to dinner at Nothing But Noodles. (A really cool restaurant that serves all types of dishes which require noodles. Thai noodles, Italian, macaroni and cheese, etc.) Anyway, after dinner and ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, we got on the highway to head home. Unfortunately, we got caught in a huge traffic jam caused by construction. We creeped forward, then sat for awhile, then creeped forward, etc. for about 15 minutes.
Right in the middle of the traffic jam, Ian decides to cut loose with a particularly stinky poop. Thank goodness he has not touched the heights of the "stank", but he does a pretty good job of clearing a room or car. There was no escaping this stink. We just kept inching forward until we reached the next exit which seemed like an eternity. We rolled down the windows to only be assaulted by the heat and smell of gas fumes. That wasn't going to work. So we rolled the windows up and everyone did their best to hold their breath. Meanwhile, Ian is happy as a clam. Apparently, your own stink doesn't bother you, it's just good to get it out! And, I think, like his father, he takes pride in trapping me in the car with the stink. Like I said, evil. It must be a boy thing.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
2 AM Feedings
The other night, I received a lesson on what not to do during the 2AM feeding. It was a hard lesson to learn, but very valuable in the long run. Valuable, because I will never do it again and therefore will not be injured. It is also valuable because I can warn others.
Ian is still having problems telling the difference between day and night. He likes to sleep during the day and stay up at night. (Sounds like his father doesn't it?!?!) I, on the other hand, have developed a real appreciation for sleeping when it is dark outside. Silly me, what was I thinking all these years!
So, we have this nightly battle to get him to sleep. I want him to sleep in his crib and at night. He will sleep after much coaxing, but prefers to sleep on my chest or lap. By the time midnight rolls around, I am exhausted and not thinking very clearly. Here's where the lesson comes into play....
You need to be at least partially awake to warm a bottle at 2 AM in one of those fancy bottle warmers.
Mark and I received this great bottle warmer contraption as a gift for Ian. You put a little bit of water in the well, put the bottle in the hole and turn it on. In about 1 minute you have a perfectly warmed bottle. This contraption was definately invented by a woman who couldn't stand to hear a child cry/scream in the middle of the night because it works so fast and efficiently. It is truly wonderful until you do what I did the other night.
I stumbled into the kitchen doing everything I could to hold on to Ian who was having a major fit. (FYI: Children are like greased pigs when they are mad in the middle of the night and you are beyond tired.) Apparently, I was awake enough to keep ahold of the squirming child, but not really awake enough to deal with warming the bottle. I pulled the bottle out of the fridge, poured the water in the warmer and put the bottle in to be warmed. ( I learned quickly to make the bottles up before I go to bed. It is impossible to measure and mix a bottle in the middle of the night while half asleep with an upset child waiting impatiently!)
As I stood there in my sleeping stupor, 1) trying to remember why I was even in the kitchen at that horrible hour and, 2) trying not to drop a now screaming child, I did my best to recall if I even poured the water in the well. That's when it happened..... The plastic cap from the top of the bottle built up enough pressure from the steam that it launched itself off the top of the bottle! It hit the ceiling like a speeding train, bounced off the stove on the opposite side of the room and finally came to rest on the floor at my feet. Meanwhile... I nearly jumped out of my skin, screamed a few foul words, managed not to drop the baby and nearly peed my pants! Thank goodness I was standing off to the side leaning on the counter in an attempt to keep myself upright while I waited! I would probably have come away from this learning event with an imprint of the bottle cap on my forehead! How would I ever explain that one?!!?
The lesson: Do not leave the cap on the bottle when you place it in the warmer. At 2 AM it becomes a speeding rocket that will be launched thru the house and you better not be standing in the way!
My other revelation: We really need to work on this sleeping issue before I cause myself bodily harm.
Ian is still having problems telling the difference between day and night. He likes to sleep during the day and stay up at night. (Sounds like his father doesn't it?!?!) I, on the other hand, have developed a real appreciation for sleeping when it is dark outside. Silly me, what was I thinking all these years!
So, we have this nightly battle to get him to sleep. I want him to sleep in his crib and at night. He will sleep after much coaxing, but prefers to sleep on my chest or lap. By the time midnight rolls around, I am exhausted and not thinking very clearly. Here's where the lesson comes into play....
You need to be at least partially awake to warm a bottle at 2 AM in one of those fancy bottle warmers.
Mark and I received this great bottle warmer contraption as a gift for Ian. You put a little bit of water in the well, put the bottle in the hole and turn it on. In about 1 minute you have a perfectly warmed bottle. This contraption was definately invented by a woman who couldn't stand to hear a child cry/scream in the middle of the night because it works so fast and efficiently. It is truly wonderful until you do what I did the other night.
I stumbled into the kitchen doing everything I could to hold on to Ian who was having a major fit. (FYI: Children are like greased pigs when they are mad in the middle of the night and you are beyond tired.) Apparently, I was awake enough to keep ahold of the squirming child, but not really awake enough to deal with warming the bottle. I pulled the bottle out of the fridge, poured the water in the warmer and put the bottle in to be warmed. ( I learned quickly to make the bottles up before I go to bed. It is impossible to measure and mix a bottle in the middle of the night while half asleep with an upset child waiting impatiently!)
As I stood there in my sleeping stupor, 1) trying to remember why I was even in the kitchen at that horrible hour and, 2) trying not to drop a now screaming child, I did my best to recall if I even poured the water in the well. That's when it happened..... The plastic cap from the top of the bottle built up enough pressure from the steam that it launched itself off the top of the bottle! It hit the ceiling like a speeding train, bounced off the stove on the opposite side of the room and finally came to rest on the floor at my feet. Meanwhile... I nearly jumped out of my skin, screamed a few foul words, managed not to drop the baby and nearly peed my pants! Thank goodness I was standing off to the side leaning on the counter in an attempt to keep myself upright while I waited! I would probably have come away from this learning event with an imprint of the bottle cap on my forehead! How would I ever explain that one?!!?
The lesson: Do not leave the cap on the bottle when you place it in the warmer. At 2 AM it becomes a speeding rocket that will be launched thru the house and you better not be standing in the way!
My other revelation: We really need to work on this sleeping issue before I cause myself bodily harm.
Monday, July 10, 2006
More Pictures
My nephew, Alex, is going to be a great Dad someday. Heis great with Ian. He even changes diapers!!
Ian's first bath in the sink. He looks like he really needs someone
to rescue him, doesn't he?
Mark and Ian doing what they do best.
Uncle David is getting in some practice time with Ian. Ian doesn't seem to mind at all.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
The Evil That Lurks Within
While I am writing this blog, my perfect, beautiful son is sitting in his bouncy seat beside me calmly surveying his world. Amazingly, there is no hint of the evilness that lurks within this child's body. Yes, I mean evil, there can be no other explanation for what he did to me yesterday......
Mark has been talking about trading in his truck and getting a new one for months. Needless to say, we have been a little busy and that has been low on the priority totem pole. Anyway, yesterday the car dealer we always buy his truck from was having a pretty good sale and we decided to go see what they had in stock.
The moment we stepped on the lot, I should have known that Ian was going to be a handful. We got out of the car and I covered him with a blanket to keep the sun off of his face. Well, he was going to have none of that. Every time I covered him, he pulled the blanket off. The child likes to be outside and he loves a breeze blowing in his face. So, I kept fighting and losing until I gave up and went in the building. Meanwhile, Mark test drove the new Explorer he wanted.
Once in the building, the fun really began. Of course, Ian was an attraction for everyone to see. The owner of the business even came up to talk to us. I think each time someone came up to us, he tooted so that he smelled worse and worse as time went on! When, Mark came back from his test drive, we sat down to talk to discuss a deal. At that point, Ian decided we were a captive audience, made the poop face and let loose in the diaper. This stuff will make your eyes water at 10 paces and we were stuck in a small cubicle!! I waited a few minutes to make sure that he was finished and then headed to the bathroom to get rid of the offensive smell/diaper. (I am unsure if the smell helped or hurt the deal we finally worked out. But, it certainly made it move along very quickly.)
Once inside the very plush bathroom, I felt pretty safe that we would not be causing any further problems. I would just get him changed, return to the deal process and that would be that. Right.....
I took off the diaper and started to clean him up. He waited about 1 second and grunted. Fortunately, I was quick with the wipe and caught the flying poop with my hand and the wipe! Again, I waited a few minutes to make sure he was finished. When, nothing else spewed forth, I felt safe in continuing the diaper change. That's when the evilness reared it's ugly head. I swear the child was simply waiting for me to let my guard down. The minute I took the wipe away from his tiny butt, he let fly with another round of poop. This time, I was not so quick and spent the next 10 minutes cleaning up the bathroom! He got the countertop, the sink, the faucet, the wall, the mirror, his outfit, his blanket and his burp cloth. I was the only thing in the room that managed to get out of the way of the flying poop!!
I can't believe that he could have that much poop in this tiny body. I mean, he had already filled the first diaper and still had enough to let out two more shots during the diaper change. Not only that, the boy has some serious back pressure behind that poop. It shot out of him about 5 feet!!!! How can something so small project stuff out of his body that far!?! Next time, I will be better prepared for when Ian decides he will be evil and tries to shoot poop across the room. Who knew he could be so darn cute and yet so evil at the same time?!?!
FYI: The post about the food issues posted below the Thor's Uncle blog if anyone is interested in what happened. I don't know why it did that, but who am I to figure out the way the internet and computers work.
Mark has been talking about trading in his truck and getting a new one for months. Needless to say, we have been a little busy and that has been low on the priority totem pole. Anyway, yesterday the car dealer we always buy his truck from was having a pretty good sale and we decided to go see what they had in stock.
The moment we stepped on the lot, I should have known that Ian was going to be a handful. We got out of the car and I covered him with a blanket to keep the sun off of his face. Well, he was going to have none of that. Every time I covered him, he pulled the blanket off. The child likes to be outside and he loves a breeze blowing in his face. So, I kept fighting and losing until I gave up and went in the building. Meanwhile, Mark test drove the new Explorer he wanted.
Once in the building, the fun really began. Of course, Ian was an attraction for everyone to see. The owner of the business even came up to talk to us. I think each time someone came up to us, he tooted so that he smelled worse and worse as time went on! When, Mark came back from his test drive, we sat down to talk to discuss a deal. At that point, Ian decided we were a captive audience, made the poop face and let loose in the diaper. This stuff will make your eyes water at 10 paces and we were stuck in a small cubicle!! I waited a few minutes to make sure that he was finished and then headed to the bathroom to get rid of the offensive smell/diaper. (I am unsure if the smell helped or hurt the deal we finally worked out. But, it certainly made it move along very quickly.)
Once inside the very plush bathroom, I felt pretty safe that we would not be causing any further problems. I would just get him changed, return to the deal process and that would be that. Right.....
I took off the diaper and started to clean him up. He waited about 1 second and grunted. Fortunately, I was quick with the wipe and caught the flying poop with my hand and the wipe! Again, I waited a few minutes to make sure he was finished. When, nothing else spewed forth, I felt safe in continuing the diaper change. That's when the evilness reared it's ugly head. I swear the child was simply waiting for me to let my guard down. The minute I took the wipe away from his tiny butt, he let fly with another round of poop. This time, I was not so quick and spent the next 10 minutes cleaning up the bathroom! He got the countertop, the sink, the faucet, the wall, the mirror, his outfit, his blanket and his burp cloth. I was the only thing in the room that managed to get out of the way of the flying poop!!
I can't believe that he could have that much poop in this tiny body. I mean, he had already filled the first diaper and still had enough to let out two more shots during the diaper change. Not only that, the boy has some serious back pressure behind that poop. It shot out of him about 5 feet!!!! How can something so small project stuff out of his body that far!?! Next time, I will be better prepared for when Ian decides he will be evil and tries to shoot poop across the room. Who knew he could be so darn cute and yet so evil at the same time?!?!
FYI: The post about the food issues posted below the Thor's Uncle blog if anyone is interested in what happened. I don't know why it did that, but who am I to figure out the way the internet and computers work.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Thor's Uncle
I had a blog ready to post about Ian's last few days, but this is far more important at this moment. I will post that blog at a later date.
Mark's brother, Lanny, passed away at about 9:00 this morning. Lanny has been in the hospital since the Saturday after Ian was born. He came over on Friday and saw Ian. Then, had a major heart attack on Saturday. The Drs. then discovered that he had cancer in his stomach, liver and pancreas.
On Friday, he was moved to Hospice of Dayton. Mark came home that afternoon and we stopped by after picking him up at the airport. I am so glad that we did that! Since I refused to take Ian into the hospital, Lanny had not seen him during the last 2 weeks. Once he was moved to Hospice and I was happier that a bunch of germs weren't flying around, we were able to take Ian to see him.
We had a nice visit and headed for home to get some rest. At about 1:00 AM this morning, we received a call that Lanny was unlikely to make it through the night. Mark headed back to Hospice, while Ian, Beth and myself went to Brittany's. (Brittany is Lanny's only daughter and Daddy's Little Girl. So, we felt it was very important that she not be alone.)
Mark came home about 7:00 this morning and Steve (Lanny's only son) called to tell us that Lanny passed away peacefully at about 9:00. Needless to say, the rest of this day has been a blur and full of making plans.
Explanation of the title of this blog: The few days before I had Ian, Lanny kept dreaming that I had the baby. Each time, he woke up with a different name in mind. In his last dream, Ian was named Thor Cecil. So, Lanny became known as Thor's Uncle. I am saddened by the idea that Thor's Uncle will not be able to teach our son all the things that only an uncle can teach a child. You know the things I am talking about: How to slurp a spaghetti noodle, How to play golf, etc. Ian aka Thor will never get to know what a caring person his uncle was, what a sense of humor he had and how much Thor would have been loved by Thor's Uncle. We will just have to keep telling him as he grows older. But, it's just not the same.
Mark's brother, Lanny, passed away at about 9:00 this morning. Lanny has been in the hospital since the Saturday after Ian was born. He came over on Friday and saw Ian. Then, had a major heart attack on Saturday. The Drs. then discovered that he had cancer in his stomach, liver and pancreas.
On Friday, he was moved to Hospice of Dayton. Mark came home that afternoon and we stopped by after picking him up at the airport. I am so glad that we did that! Since I refused to take Ian into the hospital, Lanny had not seen him during the last 2 weeks. Once he was moved to Hospice and I was happier that a bunch of germs weren't flying around, we were able to take Ian to see him.
We had a nice visit and headed for home to get some rest. At about 1:00 AM this morning, we received a call that Lanny was unlikely to make it through the night. Mark headed back to Hospice, while Ian, Beth and myself went to Brittany's. (Brittany is Lanny's only daughter and Daddy's Little Girl. So, we felt it was very important that she not be alone.)
Mark came home about 7:00 this morning and Steve (Lanny's only son) called to tell us that Lanny passed away peacefully at about 9:00. Needless to say, the rest of this day has been a blur and full of making plans.
Explanation of the title of this blog: The few days before I had Ian, Lanny kept dreaming that I had the baby. Each time, he woke up with a different name in mind. In his last dream, Ian was named Thor Cecil. So, Lanny became known as Thor's Uncle. I am saddened by the idea that Thor's Uncle will not be able to teach our son all the things that only an uncle can teach a child. You know the things I am talking about: How to slurp a spaghetti noodle, How to play golf, etc. Ian aka Thor will never get to know what a caring person his uncle was, what a sense of humor he had and how much Thor would have been loved by Thor's Uncle. We will just have to keep telling him as he grows older. But, it's just not the same.