It's an ear infection....

We just got back from the doctor. Caleb does have an ear infection in one ear, and the start of one in the other. So, we picked up some antibiotic on the way home; first dose is in, along with some Tylenol, so hopefully that will kick in! He's down for a (late) nap right now. The dr. also said to stick with the soy formula and if he's not back to normal in 10 to 14 days, to come back and see him. I just hope he'll feel better soon; I know he's worn out. Gabe's doing better, just still a little bit of a runny nose and cough (which, when I asked how long that might last, the dr. said "All winter." Lovely.)

Teeth! (and some other stuff)

OK, I've been delaying this post trying to get some pictures of the captioned, but I need to jot this down before I forget. Caleb got his top tooth (on the left, if you're looking at him) on Valentine's day and the other one came through yeseterday. So, four teeth so far! His favorite teething toy has been his icy socky (very technical term for ice cube in a sock with a knot). With all the other issues going on, it's hard to know if that's what's been bother him or not, but I'm leaning not (for the first time ever, since I typically blame everything on teething :-)).

He's really runny and coughing now, so we're going back to the dr. this afternoon to make sure it's not an ear infection (or get some antibiotics if it is!). The last couple of nights have been rough, so hopefully we can get him some relief soon, whether it's his tummy, teeth or an ear infection (it's gotta be one of those, right?).

Soy and Sleep Updates

It's been over a month now that Caleb hasn't been sleeping well. He's been pretty fussy during the day sometimes and then gets really upset when we try to put him down for his naps or for bed. I should say that it hasn't been ALL bad; when he finally does go down for his naps, he sleeps 1.5 to 2 hours, usually, and he has even fallen asleep on his own several times. However, he was continuing to wake up at night very upset and stay awake sometimes for an hour or more. Dan and I were talking and decided that we've heard him cry more in the last month than the whole first 6 months of his life! So, it's just been really frustrating not know what to do and whether something's bothering him or he's just being a stinker.

Since I had to take Gabe in to the doctor last week, I decided to do a two-fer (is that how you spell that?) and take Caleb in as well, just in case I was missing something, like an ear infection. I really felt like the change coincided with his 6-month shots (although we had a few episodes before that) and explained everything to the doctor (which was a different doc than we usually see). He ruled out any serious side effects from the shots, no ear infection, etc. By process of elimination he started to wonder if it was acid reflux, and agreed that we were not crazy to wonder what was going on. He gave us a couple of cans of soy formula to try for 5-7 days, which we started last Friday.

Things seemed pretty much the same over the weekend, but last night he was SUPER easy to get down for bed - took a bottle and then fell asleep on his own in just a couple of minutes around 7 p.m. And.....drumroll please.....slept until 5:30 this morning! He woke up and talked to himself a couple of times during the night, but went back to sleep.

He fell asleep easily and on his own for his morning nap, too. Not quite as easy for the afternoon, but very easily by 6 p.m. tonight for bed. Although, he woke up around 7 and was up until about 8, but not upset like he has been over the last few weeks.

So, I know writing all this will probably jinx the good sleep, but it was at least good to get a breather, and maybe there's something to this acid reflux theory? In which case I feel really sad if he's been in pain because of this. I just hope that things will keep getting better and that he'll keep feeling better, poor guy. I think we'll definitely stick with the soy for now!

Revised List

OK, still way behind, so here's my updated list:

Soy & Sleep Updates
Forts
Army crawl
Teeth
Spicy Whipped Feta
Sweet Dreams
Bapa Hogan Visit

My Silly Man....

....is not feeling very well. He's been congested and coughing all week with a little bit of a temp and when I took him in Thursday they said he had an ear infection. So, we're on an antibiotic and he is acting OK, but still sounds pretty bad and still has a bit of a temp. It's always just so sad when they're sick.

These are some recent silly pictures. The one of the ties and hat and my slippers is what I came home to on Thursday...too funny. The other one with the stickers was him giving himself "tatoos" (also while my mom was here). I just love his silly and sweet personality; he comes up with the craziest things sometimes. This morning when my dad asked him over the phone if he was feeling better, he said, "um, not quite."

Lately he's also been so thoughtful, asking "how do you think so-and-so are doing today?" or "do you think so-and-so is feeling better?" It's so fun to see him growing and developing into someone who is starting to think more about other people.

Peek-a-boo

Check out Caleb's new trick!

Sweet Picture

I just thought this was a sweet picture of Gabe and my dad looking out the window at the snow last weekend.

Sitting, reaching, but not sleeping!

Caleb is really good at sitting up now, and has been for the last few weeks. I still put the boppy around him, but he usually wiggles his way out of there and ends up half-way across the rug. He also chases things as they get away from him and scooches on his tummy trying to reach for things. He's pretty strong; if he falls backwards on the boppy he can usually do a major crunch to get himself back up to sitting.

On the sleeping front, we are still having daily troubles getting him down (sometimes it's a breeze, sometimes it takes 2 hours!). He's still waking up usually twice during the night and this has all been going on for a month or so. I am waiting for a call back from the doctor's office to talk with them about it. I just want to make sure I'm not overlooking something like an ear infection, etc. I guess I just need one more reassurance that it's not an illness before we try to do some sleep training (I'm full of excuses, I know). What's funny is he's been falling asleep more in public, noisy places - at Dan's work dinner the other night, at church yesterday, etc. It's like he gets so tired he just poops out sometimes. What to do!?

A quick list...

....OK, here are a few things I need to post about before I forget:

Forts
Sleep Updates
Teeth
Peek-a-Boo
Sitting
Spice Whipped Feta
Sweet Dreams
Miscellaneous Pics

Hopefully I'll get to these in the next couples days. I've been a little worn out due to item #2 on the list above. :-)

Hungry Girl

I am definitely that in most instances, but I am not referring to myself. :-) I found the Hungry Girl website through the Weight Watchers website, and I think it's really helpful and fun to read. She gives lots of good suggestions for good snacks and recipes, eating out, etc. (and also gives the points values). You can sign up for a daily e-mail, too. I was at Whole Foods tonight and found a lot of the things that are among her faves.

WW is a little slow going, about 16 lb. down and a LOT more to go, but slowly is better than not at all, I guess. Here are a few of my faves lately:

• Sugar Free Jello w/ Light Cool Whip
• Sugar Free Mint Chocolate Jello Pudding w/ Light Cool Whip
• Frozen Blueberries with Light Cool Whip (sensing a theme here?)
• Thomas's Whole Grain English Muffins w/ cream cheese
• Fiber One Bars
• Anything in a 100 calorie pack (especially those mini rice cakes)
• Wasa crackers (7 Grain) - only 1 point for three big crackers
• Crystal Light On-the-Go mix-ins in the Blueberry Green Tea flavor
• Raw red pepper strips

So, I'm trying to snack better and just try to eat better overall. Just thought I'd share this website and these snacks in case anyone is interested!

Seven Months

So Caleb's 7 month birthday was last Thursday, but me and the boys headed up to Rockford that night to spend a couple days there, so I haven't had a chance to post until today. Part of the reason we went was to go to Portrait Innovations for his "six month" (now seven month) pics. These are a few of my faves. I was torn, because how do you go and just have pics taken of one baby while the other one is just standing there? So, we threw Gabie in for a few, too, though he'll be getting his done again for he three-year birthday coming up soon (and also had them done three months ago, come to think of it). Anyway, here's a link to the rest. I was really happy with them..again...and despite my initial resolution to come out with only the $9.95 special, I again purchased the SIX POSE PACKAGE. So, I told Dan he gets to take them next time and see if he can get out of there for less than that! I think as a compromise I probably will do something more informal for his 9-month pics (like with our camera :-)), since he's already 7 months.


More posts to come. I'm way behind, as usual.