Worrisome Wednesday

Yesterday, was a rough one for Brody and mommy. Brody woke up earlier than normal, around 5:45 a.m. His nose was pretty stopped up and he kept snorting a lot. He apparently had a hard time breathing through his nose, so I think that's why he woke up so early.



His stuffy nose is still causing him to have a blocked tear duct, so we are still having issues with his eye. It's continuously producing a lot of white to yellowish goop and hasn't stopped since his two-month doctor visit. I've tried everything (vaporizers, baby aspirators, saline drops, vapor bath bubble stuff, antibiotic eye drops, propping him up when he sleeps), but nothing has worked. I can't get his tear duct clear this time. (The photo to the left was from a few weeks ago, right after he woke up so it was pretty matted and gross. This was when his eye was really bad, now it's not even close to that and it's mostly white and clear fluid.)

Tired of the goop and waiting for this to get better, I called the doctor yesterday and they squeezed us in that afternoon. My pediatrician prescribed me a different kind of eye drops, that she wants me to put in both eyes (even though we are only having trouble with one). She also took a swab of the goop (not sure what she's testing for). So, hopefully, these drops work and we get some results soon.

In other Brody news, he is showing symptoms of teething. He's been producing lots of little spit bubbles, crying, had several inconsolable fits and he is starting to gnaw on things--rags, fingers, etc. I've been putting some teething gel on his gums and using teething tablets here and there when he's fussy and nothing else works. But I haven't felt any teeth come up yet.



The doctor said that the teeth are moving under his gums, which will produce symptoms of teething, but he probably won't produce teeth for a while. So, I guess every new stage, brings new challenges!

All in all, yesterday was exhausting. Brody wouldn't stop crying all day and didn't go to sleep the entire day. I had to constantly hold him and when we were in the car, he cried the entire time--both to and from the doctor appointment.

Can you say headache!? I went to Starbucks twice just to try to make it through the day, and while I waited in the drive-thru line at CVS to pick up his medicine, I popped a couple of ibuprofen--it didn't help much. Then, I got home, Brody had been asleep for a 20 minutes, so I went into our office to TRY to START working. I don't even have my computer on yet, and I hear Billie and Stretch growling at each other. Well, it was more like Billie growling at Stretch.

Scared and angry that they might wake Brody, I rushed in the living room to see what all the fuss was about. I saw a hard, round blackish thing--what I thought was poop-- on my rug. My rug is one of my favorite things I have in my house, and it's a mixture of different shapes of different shades of brown and white (see picture). Of course, the "poop" was on the white part of the rug. But I noticed there was black powdery-like stuff that looked like it had rubbed onto the carpet. Huh, that's strange.

I went to pick up the "poop" with a paper towel, only to realize it was CHARCOAL. I guess Billie had brought some coal in from outside--Klay had cooked a few nights ago. This dog is seriously going to be the death of me. With black all on his beard, teeth and paws, I had to wipe him down as best I could. Luckily, my dad owns a carpet cleaning business, so I tried not to fret too much about the rug. But honestly, what else can he get into!?

Meanwhile, Brody wakes up and is ready for his next feeding. After his feeding Brody spits up three times. I started to worry that he was sick. He felt a little warm, and with me being sick this week, my mind filled with worries that he was SICK or starting to get sick. Luckily, I think it was just me thinking of all the worst things that could go wrong. He was fine the rest of the night and this morning.

He was smiling up a storm this morning, but it was at 6 a.m. again! Klay's had to get up earlier than normal the past three days, and I swear, if he doesn't start getting up the first time the alarm goes off, his wife his going to push him off the bed or do something worse. That drives me crazy!

Well, we just put Brody down for the night, so I should probably get in bed while I can.

Hoping all parents everywhere have had a better week than us!

Cassidy

First Mother's Day

Although I was extremely excited about my first Mother's Day, it wasn't an amazing, relaxing day like I'd thought it would be. Saturday night, I, along with a few others, planned a surprise spa party for my sister. We spent the entire night enjoying mini mani's and pedi's, food, desserts, wine, gifts and massages. It was relaxing, fun and we laughed all night, telling stories and enjoying our time free of men, kids and work! (What perfect timing with it being Mother's Day weekend and all!) Everyone even got a party gift/favor (see picture).

The next morning, I woke up not feeling so great. It wasn't the wine or anything; I'd only had two glasses. Apparently a few other girls woke up with upset tummies too. So, unfortunately, I spent majority of Mother's Day sleeping, sick and in the bathroom.



I did, however, get a beautiful card from my two favorite men--Brody and Klay. Brody signed this card with his foot- and handprint (which was a little smudged, but that was ok cause it was perfect!). I also got a gift card for a pedicure from them! It was so sweet.

We went over to my mom's for a bit to celebrate, and Brody spent most of his time outside. He absolutely loves it. He's so alert now and constantly looking around at everything. He hardly ever wants to be held in a cradling position any more. SAD FACE. He wants to sit, facing outward so he can get a good look at what's going on around him. Already so grown up!

He's really starting to turn his head when someone talks and especially when his daddy walks into the room. He hears Klay and his eyes widen while he tries to find him. We're enjoying every moment of this, because before I know it, he'll be sitting up on his own, crawling and then graduating high school. Ok, maybe it's too early for that, but these past 12 weeks have gone by so fast.



Everyday this gets more and more fun. He's always doing something new and smiling is an everyday deal now. We're just loving every moment with our little angel! =)

Hope all other mommies had a wonderful Mother's Day and are enjoying every moment with their babies (big and small!).

Wishing everyone the best,

Cassidy

Can anything go right?

Today was one of those days where just about everything goes wrong.

Lets start with how the day began, shall we!? I had a hair appointment early this morning in Rockwall. Mom offered to watch Brody for a few hours while I spent some time relaxing and getting my hair done, so I started the day early. I got up to a not so fun monthly gift from mother nature, got dressed, make-up on, got Brody up, dressed and fed (with some of Klay's help--he had his final exam and had to head off to school), baby bags ready and in the car, a big poopy from Brody (woo hoo!), my son in the carseat with no fuss, and finally we both made it inside my vehicle, strapped in tight and ready to meet mom at Starbucks in Terrell. I was right on time, actually a little early, I was pretty proud of myself--should've seen that as a sign.

I get to Starbucks without a hitch, hand my kid off to mom, take some tylenol she gave me (cramps!), kiss him goodbye, run through the drive thru, grab a white chocolate mocha--yum--a breakfast sandwich and head toward Rockwall. Making great time, I thought proudly, I'll even be there a little early! Getting to somewhere early, instead of running a few minutes or extremely late, was something I haven't done in a really long time. Having a kid changes my success in arriving early or on time anywhere. Something always goes wrong (he spits up and you have to change outfits, he has an extreme, over-the-top hissy fit and I have to calm him down, or you run in and out of the car three times because you forgot your cell phone, purse or a pacifier; it's always something). 

Needless to say, I arrived to Rockwall in one piece, 20 minutes before my appointment. Well, I walk in and see my stylist with a client, and I thought, That's odd thought I was the first of the day. I decided to walk to the bathroom to waste some time and I notice that my stylist was starting the client's color. RED FLAG.

I poked my head in and said, "Hey, my appointment's at 10 right?"

"10 tomorrow. I told you that on the phone yesterday when you called," she replied looking confused at me standing at the door.

See I'd called yesterday asking her to confirm my appointment time for tomorrow. She was with a client, naturally, so she responded at 10, but I'm pretty sure she didn't say Friday. Anywho, it doesn't matter. It could be my mommy-mushy-brain...

So, I had to turn around and leave, hair ugly and not beautified, only to have to return and do the same thing in the morning. The good thing was I was able to get a few, could-have-been-timed-better errands done. Once I left  and my pride of arriving early went out the window (cause chances of that happening tomorrow are slim to none), I eventually started heading back toward home. Klay, who was still in Mesquite, heard all about my frustrations on the phone, and he also knew I needed to go home and get some stuff done for work, so he offered to go out to mom's to pick up Brody.

I got home and the dogs went nuts, as usual, wagging their tails, barking, jumping at me, like they haven't seen me in weeks. I headed to the back door to let them out when Billie knocks over his food bowl, which is right next to the door, spilling little tiny bits of dried food all over the floor. He then stepped in the water bowl, making it tip over, and got water all over my feet and again all over the floor. I'd gotten something to eat on the way home, it was around noon then, and I was pretty hungry, but that had to wait. I had to wipe up the water, scrape up the dog food, and then as I proceeded to walk over to the sink with the dripping wet water bowl, spilled the rest of the  tiny bit of water on me. Angry at the bowl, I threw it in the stink, and said not-so-nice things.

I only got more frustrated as I ate my cold burger and fries. I finally walked in the office and started working. Once Klay got home, I went and checked on Brody. He was just starting to wake up--go figure. But honestly, I was really happy to see his blue eyes pop open and look at me! He started whining, so I picked him up. I realized I needed to go to the bathroom, so I passed Bro off to Klay. While I'm in the potty, I hear Brody crying hysterically. Meanwhile, Klay runs in and shows me a chewed up plastic bottle that looked familiar. There wasn't much liquid left in Brody's Tylenol bottle, apparently Klay found Billie chewing on it. (He also chewed up a baby aspirator, the syringe to the tylenol bottle, a medicine-bottle-dispenser thingy and almost empty bottle of gas drops the day before.)

I called a friend of mine who works for a vet and she told me I needed to feed Billie a little hydrogen peroxide to make him puke it up. So I tried to handle Brody, who was practically inconsolable, while Klay tried to make sure our dog wouldn't die or have to go the pet ER. Billie finally got sick, a few times, and he was fine. Brody however decided to cry and not sleep the rest of the day. My cramping and crying kid got the best of me, and I was wiped out. Klay made me go take a little nap.

The rest of the night was luckily uneventful. But all of the things I wanted to get done today, didn't happen.  My whole day was thrown for a loop and tomorrow now too. I should probably go to sleep while I can; it's past midnight. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a bit better...

Night! P.S. Happy 29th Birthday to my sister, Britney!

Sorry if there are any typos or things that don't make sense. I'm out of it.

Ups and Downs

Finally, at a little over two months old, I think we have arrived at the "getting better" part. For the past couple of weeks, he's been sleeping consistently--about 7-8 or more hours at night. I may have to get up once or twice in the middle of the night when he starts squirming to give him his pacifier, but he's been sleeping pretty well! So mama's happy! =) 

And with him sleeping more, we've been sleeping better (obviously), but now we are sleeping even better, thanks to my amazing friend Cami! She got us a crazy deal on a king size bed. For only $65, we got a brand new king size bed and box spring! It was perfect timing cause Klay had just ordered a new king size bed frame from my dad's friend for only like $25 or $30! Klay and my brother-in-law went and got it Sunday from the store. We've been sleeping amazing since we have so much room! Thanks, Cami!

We went to his two month check-up last Wednesday, and Brody is growing nicely according to our pediatrician! He's 10 lbs 4 oz and 21 3/4 inches long. We told the doctor about his constipation issues and she recommended that we give him an ounce of water mixed with an ounce of apple juice every day to see if that helps. We've been doing that, but he seems to be having really watery stools after he drinks it, so I've been cutting it down a little each time to find the right consistency--and only giving it to him when he really needs it.

He also had his two month shots. That was sad and hard for mommy and daddy to watch, but he was a trooper! He barely cried and as soon as she was done, he was fine. But the shots wore him out; he was pretty lethargic and slept more than he ate. He stayed like that for about two and a half days, just extremely worn out. Luckily, he didn't run a fever and wasn't the least bit cranky. He was just exhausted!

The pediatrician did however notice that he had a little cradle cap. I noticed his head was dry, but I didn't see too much to be concerned. She told us to use a little head and shoulders every other day on him and that should help.

Now that he's getting a little older, our Brody Jack is becoming a lot more active. He now wants to sit up and look around the room all the time! He's pretty strong and can keep his head up for longer amounts of time now. He's making more cooing noises and almost sounded like he was started to laugh in his sleep! LOVE IT!

We've been trying to get him to repeat vowel sounds, which they say they will sometimes do at this age, and we're getting a little reaction from him! This is all the stuff that makes all of the late nights and exhaustion worth it. Watching him smile and react to more sounds around the room or turn his head to look at whoever is talking is so much fun. Every day he's doing a little more and I'm loving every moment of it.

This truly couldn't happen a better time. I think I was really suffering from some baby blues, or a little depression or something. Being in the house all day, every day, was getting me down. This is probably why I haven't posted lately. I was struggling to get motivation to do anything--eat, put make up on, shower, etc. Taking care of him was consuming my life. And his constipation and fussiness from his tummy troubles, really wore on me. I was so tired and felt like I wasn't doing anything right.

But I finally snapped out of it. I hated that I had to sleep when he slept, had to shower when he was napping, had to make my self something eat when he was finally content and calm. I needed to start creating a schedule for me and not just live by his schedule. If he cries some, it's ok. I had to realize I have to do stuff despite if he's crying or not. I need to try to blend his schedule to mine, and make him realize mommy can't hold him all the time, and I may not be able to run to him every second of the day.

So, needless to say, I've been feeling a lot better. I started opening the blinds and getting outside more. I have to start taking care of myself, because if I'm not happy and not taking care of, what good will that do him?

Anywho, things are looking up around here! Hope all is well with other mommies and daddies!

Wishing the best,

Cass