ON THE MEND

Just thought I'd give everyone an update now that James has seen his pediatrician...

James' boy parts are looking MUCH better today. However, he didn't wet his diaper last night (he hadn't had much to drink after the ER visit last night though), and when he finally went this morning, he cried because it hurt. The balanitis is mostly gone. It had been caused by the granuloma, which was caused by the abscess, for which the cause is not clear (perhaps some dirty water got trapped during his bath). The yeast buildup from being on all those antibiotics didn't help the situation. He is still on his antibiotics (Bactrim), he got a shot of penicillin, and he is taking Nystatin orally for the thrush (which is almost gone), and is also using it in cream form along with some Bacitracin to clear up the yeast. His urinalysis came back clear, as did the cultures. No UTI, no bladder infection, no problem with his kidneys. He does not have to be circumcized. His ears are not as severely infected as the ER doc thought, but the right ear did flare up again, so if he isn't better by Monday (at his 18-month well baby exam), we're going to the ENT and most likely getting him tubes. No more messing around. This is the last week we let our baby try to heal a reoccurring ear infection with antibiotics.

2 VISITS IN 24 HOURS

To the ER.

Yup, it's been another one of THOSE weekends. Unfortunately, it's also been probably the WORST of THOSE weekends. And since James is going to read all this someday, I'm not going to go into too much detail. About any of it. But here is a list of James' ailments, in order of appearance/discovery, starting last night during a diaper change after we returned from Jackson...

Urinary Retention

Abscess

Balanitis

Yeast Infection

Otitis Media

Thrush

First, we noticed that James hadn't wet a diaper in over 4.5 hours. During James' bath, Jay noticed that James was having trouble urinating (via dribbling and crying). He had cried a bit in the car on the way home too, which we had incorrectly attributed to BM issues. Upon inspection, an abscess was discovered. We waited an hour and a half for a callback from the after hours nurse, during which time James screamed every time he tried to urinate, only to be told we needed to head straight to the ER for a catheter. Jay took James; I stayed home with our sleeping beauty (she slept 9 hours through the night last night). It was traumatic and exhausting for both of them, and they didn't return home until 12:45am. James slept OK, but woke screaming at one point, so Jay ended up spending the rest of the night/morning with him. He woke with a wet diaper, so we felt a little better, thinking he was on the mend. The morning cleansing and ointment application procedure was an absolutely horrible experience though - even worse than watching Cora receive her IV last month. We did it a second time before James' nap. No wet diaper though. And no wet diaper after his nap either. So back to the ER they went, for another catheter. This time he filled a bed pan. And this time it was diagnosed also as balanitis, with a bit of a yeast infection. Oh yeah, and his right ear is severely infected again, even though he's still on antibiotics (His 6th round? It's getting hard to keep track). And he has thrush. Our poor little boy. It's just not fair.

So, what caused all this? There are a variety of possibilities... The fact that he's been on antibiotics almost constantly since Mother's Day (Yes, since May!). The retraction of the foreskin the pediatrician had instructed us to start doing after his first birthday, and the resulting partial reattachment we didn't know was occuring. Soap buildup. And who knows what else. He goes to see his pediatrician tomorrow, and hopefully we can get an appointment with a urologist ASAP. And get referred to an ENT too.

All I can say at this point is that James is a very brave kid, and we are so, so sorry he's having to go through this. Please keep our baby in your prayers this week.

CHEER UP

I need some cheering up, since James is currently at the ER for the second time in 2 weeks (due to bladder issues this time). So, here are a few random, cute photos from today, before the drama started...

As usual, James woke up with awesome hair:

We went to the Mississippi Celtic Festival for a few hours and had a good time with the Kennedys listening to music and watching Irish dancers. It was a warm and sunny day, so we dressed Cora in the only sun hat she owns that actually fits her. It just so happens to match that adorable ruffled panty and dress that she wore to Sandy's housewarming party. Doesn't she look pleased as punch to be wearing it?

And after an exciting dinner at Sal and Mookies (most dinners out at restaurants with 2 babies under 2-years-old are exciting for some reason or other...), we returned home to find that it had rained in the 'Burg while we were gone and we had some lovely puddles in the driveway, which Jay encouraged James to enjoy. Good times!

I'll update on the drama tomorrow. For now, just keep James in your prayers please. It's nothing serious, but he sure isn't having a good night. And neither is Jay, who is at the ER with him while I stay here with our sleeping beauty...

OH GREAT.

He's learned how to climb up into his old toys, all by himself. We assume this now means he's unstoppable. Hope our extreme babyproofing methods hold out... at least for a while...

And since we hadn't seen him use his car in a loooong time, I had to look back through old photos to reminisce. Of course, I found one from the first time he used it, at 6-months-old. And of course, I must now share the comparison with you:

See? I TOLD you he was growing up. He doesn't look like my little baby anymore...

WHAT THE ANIMALS SAY...

...according to James:

He gets these animal sounds right, most of the time. We have the best success when he's trapped in his carseat or booster seat (don't mind the mess in the video, he had just finished dinner) and is less distracted by toys and cats. He still does the monkey too, but I forgot to ask...

JUMP JUMP!

James learned to jump over the weekend. I'll use the term loosely though, as his jumping mostly consists of big, dramatic attempts, with barely an 1/8 inch of air. The effort totally cracks us up! We're trying to get video, so stay tuned. In the meantime, all I can do is describe it... He squats low to the ground, then throws both arms up in the air while pushing himself quickly up onto his tip-toes. He very rarely actually gets both feet off the ground at the same time. He very commonly falls forward after the attempt. Either way, he is extremely proud of himself, and will do it over and over and over. Until I get the video rolling, of course...

Anyhow, this is what the end product looks like:

In related news, the Johnny Jump-ups (AKA Surprise Lilies) are in bloom:

SOYLICIOUS

James had another ear recheck appointment with the good doc this morning. He weighed 27 lbs fully clothed. He still hates the doc. And he STILL has fluid on his ears! We were THIS close to getting referred to the ENT, but Jay mentioned the milk allergy that I had as a kid, and James was given one more chance at avoiding the knife. We're cutting out all dairy for a month to see whether it makes a difference. James obviously does not have a real, strong milk allergy, since he doesn't have any adverse reaction to it (no tummy troubles, no rash, nada), but he may have a mild milk allergy (potentially causing his reoccurring ear infections, runny nose, and cough). He goes back in 2 weeks for his 18-month well baby, so perhaps we'll see some improvement by then. For now, no more milk, cheese, or yogurt. No more of his favorite snack: yogurt-covered raisins. He can't even have his new yummy find: Pirate's Booty, because it's made with real cheese. What a bummer.

Luckily, he loves the soy milk (infused with chocolate Nesquik, of course):

And just because he's adorable, here he is in the tub tonight, being silly as ever:

(Seriously though, could he look any older? Yikes!)

CORA STARTS DAYCARE

Cora started daycare today, at 12-weeks-old. After a 6:15am nursing session, she fell back to sleep in our bed, and I had to wake her up at 7:15am to get her ready for the day. And I thought that my baby girl should be dressed up for her first day of "school":

I LOVE this birdy onesie I found on ETSY at veryKIKI.

I added a bow to her ensemble for our "first day of school" photo:Yes, she has the same diaper bag as James. Except hers is a pretty pink.

It was a small adventure dropping both kids at daycare by myself this morning (Jay had to get to work early), and I'm definitely going to have to tweak my method... Cora, as usual, cried half of the way there (She dislikes her carseat. And car rides.) while James babbled to me (Or himself. Who knows.) I got the diaper bags out first and set them outside the back passenger side door by James, then got Cora out of her carseat (because she was now screaming that I had let her sit for 2 whole seconds after I turned the car off - blasphemy!), then went to get James out. Ummm... How to loosen his carseat straps while holding Cora? Impossible. So I laid Cora in his lap (still crying) and used both hands to loosen the harness and undo the buckles, then, luckily, he helped me by getting his own arms free, since I had already scooped up Cora (because she was now screaming again at having been laid down). How to lift James out of his carseat while also holding Cora? Not easy. Luckily, James helped (a little) by holding on to my arm. And he was a good boy as I set him down, grabbed the diaper bags, and took his hand so he could walk in with me. We walked VERY slow because James was wearing his other new shoes, which are a bit big on him, and he's still getting used to them. Then his teacher spotted us and came to the rescue. He ran up to her, so then I just had to deal with Cora and the 2 diaper bags - no problemo. Tomorrow I leave Cora in the carseat while we enter the building though...

Things are so different the second time around. I remember crying as I left James at daycare on his first morning, after spending 20-30 minutes checking things out and playing with him, but with Cora it was a quick 10 minutes of instruction and I was out the door. I honestly didn't feel sad at all. I suppose some of that is due simply to the fact that I know the women who are caring for her. They have been heavily involved in the care of my first child for well over a year now, so I know I can trust them completely with my baby doll.

Jay went by an hour later to pick up James for his ear recheck appointment (yes, again), and he reported that Cora drank most of her 9:00am bottle, then passed out. She was sleeping unswaddled (no way!), on her back, with her arms up in the victory pose when he checked in on her.

An hour after that, her teacher sent me a text message saying "Hey Mom!" with this cute photo attached, just to let me know all was well:

As I did with James, I plan to go to daycare on my lunch breaks to nurse Cora until she turns 6-months-old. She was napping in a swing when I arrived, but happily woke up to eat. She wasn't famished, since she had split her morning bottle as 2.5 oz at 9am and 1.5 oz at 10am, but she ate well enough. She was quite happy and content after lunch, so I took some time to play with her and chat with her caretakers (everyone came in to talk to me and tell me how cute she is). Of course, all I really wanted to know was "Has she been a bear? Or has she been behaving herself?" Apparently she had been on her best behavior throughout the morning. Though, admitedly, they had all taken turns walking her around and showing her off, so really, she was getting exactly what she wanted...

Before I left, I changed her diaper (I wanted to see how they were doing with the FLIPs on her tiny little frame), and I had to give them a reminder that the hybrid cloth diapers have to be snapped to the very tighest setting to avoid leaks. I'm sure it won't be the last time I have to remind them, but I don't mind. I'm just glad they let us use them. And at the end of the day, she was still clean, her teacher was playing with her on the play mat, and she had a good report for the afternoon. Congratulations Cora! Perhaps you'll follow in your brother's footsteps and be one of the favored babes at daycare...

BABYLEGS

The ever-talented Amy surprised me last week with a pair of handmade "Babylegs"

They're a little big on Miss Cora right now, but they certainly do the job of keeping her legs warm while making diaper changes fast and easy. They're adorable, and they match her cloth dipes perfectly!

James wanted to be in a photo with his sister, so we figured we'd put him in a pair of his own Babylegs:

Thank you Amy!

NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT?

Have WE got the answer for YOU!

Just come on out to Mississippi and babysit Cora for a couple of weeks. While under Cora's intense exercise program, my Dad lost 6 lbs! And he probably walked at least 30 miles. So the shirt we got him, which says "EXERCISE: Some motivation required." is quite appropriate...

And isn't this just the cutest picture of the two of them?

WHILE DADDY STUDIES...

I take the kiddos for a walk:

James goofs off with the laundry basket:

And then they both crash on their Mama for a good, long nap:

NATURAL SCIENCE MUSEUM: TAKE 2

Yesterday, after dropping my Dad off at the airport, we headed over to the Mississippi Natural Science Museum to give it another try. We had a great few hours there, with ZERO drama! (Yay!!)

While James enjoyed the dioramas...

...he really preferred the live exhibits (especially the large fish).

I think the sturgeon were his favorite.

Cora got to face forward in the Bjorn for the first time, and she seemed quite content to be able to look around.

The weather was so wonderful that we decided to do one of the short trails outside.And what family outing would be complete without a family photo?(This was the best we could get... James wanted to get down and run, and Cora was falling asleep)

BYE-BYE GRANDPA

My Dad had to leave today, to get back to Cali, and Mom, and all his responsibilities there. It was a somber and quiet morning here as we counted down the hours until we had to leave for the airport. I made pancakes for breakfast (and they actually turned out for once!), Jay took James' 18-month portraits, and then both kids crashed for a long morning nap...

Cora slept in her brand new, 50% off (thankyouverymuch BabySteals!) Miracle Blanket, which Dad wishes we'd had the whole 2 weeks he was here because it works so wonderfully.

James slept in his Grandpa's arms. Again. And Dad even dozed a bit.

But to end on a more chipper note, here are a few photos Dad took while he was here...

Here we are goofing off in the kitchen while making dinner. I was replacing the paper towels and thought it would be fun to teach James to make silly noises through the roll. He loved it! He was all sweaty from his hot carseat. Cora was happy hanging out in her bouncer. And no, Jay and I did not plan to both wear red shirts that day, it just happened.

James likes to sit in his chair more and more these days. He reads there. He lounges and drinks his chocolate milk there. He plays ball from there. And he hugs "Bear Bear" there. He sleeps with Bear Bear and his monkey every night, but he's recently started to carry Bear Bear (that's what James calls him) around the house, giving him hugs and "sharing" him with the rest of us (we're suppose to give him hugs, then give him back). It's too cute!Yesterday afternoon Dad taught Cora to roll over (well, a half roll, from her back to her side, like she used to do 2 months ago when she was a super tiny newborn and was flipping all over the place without even trying)! Just kidding, but he WAS the first one of us to witness it. She really likes that monkey rattle and wants to get closer to it!Thanks Dad, for coming out here and spending time with all of us. I know Cora was difficult at times, but I also know she'll look back on the photos and stories from these weeks and treasure knowing that she got to spend so much quality time with you. She is very lucky to have such a sweet and patient Grandpa. And James is really going to miss his Grandpa, his buddy, his teacher, his naptime/bedtime snuggler, his morning rescuer. So get back out here as soon as you can - we miss you already!

JAMES' 18-MONTH PORTRAITS

Portraits by Jay

(NOTE: It's EXTREMELY difficult to get still photos of a wild 1.5-year-old. Even when you balance him on a large rock, expecting him to be unable to wiggle his way down...)

HALF-BIRTHDAY CAKE

You can't have a birthday without cake!

JAMES' 2ND HALF BIRTHDAY

Happy YEAR-AND-A-HALF Birthday James! He measures just over 32 inches against his growth chart:

Weighs 26.5 lbs: And yes, at 18-months-old, he still sucks his thumb. Constantly. Though he now also twirls his hair while doing so, JUST like my brother did as a kid. Cute, eh?

(He fell asleep in his Grandpa's arms last night while watching football)

SHE'S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD...

...in her hands!

Cora discovered her hands yesterday. Dad and I witnessed her first realization following an afternoon diaper change, and we just so happened to also catch it on video, while we were getting her to do her other trick (which is to smile when we tell her to "show us happy"). The look on her face when she noticed those hands were something she could control is priceless!

Later that evening, as we were eating dinner (minus Jay, who was entertaining his fussy daughter), Jay yelled to me from the computer room. Thinking something was wrong, I rushed back there. Turns out Cora was showing her Daddy what she learned earlier in the day. Since we had forgotten to tell him about it, he was completely surprised and very excited to tell me all about it. Cora, your Daddy couldn't be more proud of you!

IS IT MORNING ALREADY?

Yesterday afternoon was rough on Dad. Cora was a bear (probably due to her DTaP vaccination - the same one that caused James to cry uncontrollably when he got it at 2-months-old), and she blew out 3 diapers (not too surprising, since she hadn't gone in a couple of days). Dad was exhausted and sweating when I got home from work, and he was more than willing to pass Cora over to me! Then she exhausted Jay and I as she continued to cry until about 9pm. And THEN she was up every 3 hours to eat. Needless to say, she spent the night with us from midnight onward. Good thing she's a good co-sleeper (she likes to cuddle, but isn't a bed hog like James was and doesn't fidget like James does).

This morning she was all smiles, cooing in the dark and watching the lights flicker on her empty monitor. After an hour or so of playtime, I put her back to bed (in her crib). She was tired because she woke up early (5:50am to be exact, when she usually sleeps until 6:30/7am), and oh man does she ever fuss when she gets tired (she needs our assistance to fall asleep, in the form of swaddling and rocking/walking). I certainly couldn't leave her like that with Dad after yesterday's performance! I just wonder how long she stayed asleep... Hopefully she's taking it easy on her Grandpa today!

I dressed her in her big brother's hand-me-downs today:

Dad definitely needed his coffee this morning.

And it looks like James needed some too, doesn't it?

Don't mind the bags under James' eyes. He slept great, as always, he just didn't want to wake up this morning (the kid would sleep until 8am every day if we let him). And his hair is always wild like this in the mornings. Perhaps he's old enough now that we should start conditioning it?

PACI'S ARE SECOND RATE

This video is a few weeks old (I finally learned how to convert the files from my new camera over the weekend), but Cora still feels this way about pacis...

DINOSAUR BOOTY

(It's a bit reminiscent of that old Madonna video, right?)