PITIFUL POLAR BEAR

Thank goodness this is another 3-day weekend. We need it. Before I go on, let me assure those of you with youngin's that we are planning to visit this week or next, that we'll all be just fine by then. In fact, most of the household already is.

Oh, and this post is titled with 'Polar Bear' based solely on the adorable outfit James is wearing. It's from his Grandma. And it's so cute and cuddly he's already worn it twice this week. Don't worry, we washed it.

OK, back to the story. It all started Thursday after work. Jay was fine. Then, all of a sudden, he was not so fine. Stomach bug, he thought. Bad yogurt he ate that I warned him not to, I thought. Poor guy was up all night with issues, felt worse the next morning, and had to stay home from work. I was still good at this point. And we thought James was too, even though he'd snuck in a couple low-grade fevers both Wednesday and Thursday after work. Teething, we thought.

So, I drop James at daycare and head to work. About an hour later I get a call from them that he is feverish, cranky, sluggish, and pitiful. What's a mommy to do but make the earliest available appointment at the pediatrician and go rescue her baby from daycare. Luckily, the pediatrician was NOT busy for once and we were in and out in less than an hour. Unfortunately, my baby was diagnosed with a viral infection. In his throat. Oh my, the sight of all those white spots almost had me in tears! And James WAS in tears, because apparently the doctor is no longer his friend. He no longer tolerates her poking and prodding and squishing and peering. He literally climbed the exam table trying to escape into my arms. Luckily, she works from the bottom up, so she was able to listen to his lungs and check his ears while I was holding him. And the last place she looked? His throat. "Aha", she exclaimed, "Here is our problem". Boo. And there was nothing we could have done, even if we'd caught it sooner (other than keep him home from daycare, which probably would have been a good idea). Viral infections mean no antibiotics or meds of any kind. He just has to ride it out...

I get home with the baby and Jay is crumpled in bed. I figure I'll be staying home for the duration of the day to take care of BOTH of my sick boys, then WHAM, it hits me too. Not sure if it was a stomach bug or something I ate, but I was pretty much out for the count until yesterday evening. Luckily, for me, it turned out to be just a 24-hour bug (or whatever) and I've been good-as-new today. And I never had the "issues". Just tummy pains and EXTREME nausea. I feel so very bad for you pregnant women who actually have to deal with this for months on end. One day was MORE than enough for me. I'll take my sciatica any day of the week!

So, today I'm good. James hasn't had a fever since Saturday morning. Not even a low-grade one. He's been eating well throughout, even though his throat must be killing him. And he has WAY more energy than he should (and way more energy than either Jay or I could deal with yesterday... for once, we actually resorted to the television to help keep James occupied while we writhed in pain on the couches). Jay, on the other hand, was still coming down from it all this afternoon, though he seems much better this evening. Again, poor guy. Hope he's back to 100% by tomorrow!

Your reward for listening to all this belly-aching (ha ha) is a series of adorable James photos and a video that might amuse you, no matter how badly you DON'T want to giggle. All in his cute polar bear outfit.

Here is something the little guy picked up over our Christmas vacation. It started out as part of his separation-anxiety routine. I'd walk 2-3 steps away from him and he'd army-crawl to my feet while crying, lay his head down ON my feet, then stick his thumb in his mouth and whimper. And yes, he still does it sometimes. However, he now does this whenever he doesn't get his way, or when he realizes Jay and I are on the other side of the baby gate from him. This is what it looks like when my feet are not involved:

See? He doesn't even LOOK mad. Such a faker!

On a more positive and uplifting note, James has finally started letting us read him stories again. For a LONG time we have been completely unable to keep his attention. He'd shut the book on us, kick it, try to eat it, push it out of the way, roll/crawl away from us, etc. But not any more. This weekend he has (thankfully) been a great sport about storytime (it's so very easy to do on the couch while NOT moving). We're so happy we can incorporate this into James' bedtime routine again, as it will be key (we think) to getting him to sleep once I'm no longer nursing him at bedtime. How cute do my boys look learning about bird calls?

And James has been perfecting his standing skills this weekend. He can now do it with just one hand, and he can even make a 90-degree turn to go from a toy to the couch. He looks so tall standing up now that he's learning to tuck his booty in... and he's awfully proud of himself:

Of course, it's still a learning process... A mere 2 weeks ago (when this all started), we were still sitting or standing nearby whenever James attempted to stand. We had a hand at his back. We gently guided him down when he lost his balance. That's all changed though, and it's actually surprised us how quickly we went from absolutely paranoid for his safety to completely expecting and accepting the bumps and bruises. Even as first-time parents, it didn't take us long to realize that there are some things James just has to learn for himself. Consequences and balance are 2 of those things. While he was great from the start at getting himself back to a sitting position safely when he wanted to, he still loses his balance unintentionally multiple times per day. But that doesn't stop him from trying. The kid just gets right back into it, determined to conquer the challenge. The steps and stairs in general are his favorite challenge. Please don't be alarmed at the following video, and don't feel bad if you giggle a little. We did (quietly). And don't worry, we ran to rescue him after the 3rd fall. Though honestly? The kid wasn't even phased. He was more annoyed when he pushed his forehead into the edge of the stairs (fall #2 in the video). He's a tough one, our James: