15 Months 6 Days - Catch Up!

Wow! I've been a slacker! I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I last updated this blog!
SO...what's going on???

Walking: Christopher's walking great now. So well, in fact, that I'm moving him up to the 1-year-old Sunday School class at church this coming Sunday (March 25). He needs to be around walkers and not crawlers, so that'll be good for him. He has yet to actually start running (successfully), although, he's been walking faster and faster. I'm sure it won't be long. He's tried to run a few times only to fall on his face! LOL!

Teeth: He now has his molars and is working on his bottom canines. That'll make #13 and #14 when they come in. At the rate he's going, he'll have his 2 year molars by the time he's 18 months! He goes for a checkup with the dentist sometime in April. Hopefully, that will go smoothly.

Health: He can't seem to shake those darn ear infections. He got his first back in December and has either not gotten rid of it or now has his 3rd one. This time, it's his first double ear infection. The first time, he was given Amoxicillin, which we soon found out that he's allergic to. So, they switched him to Omnicef, which has HORRIBLE side effects! Poor thing got his first yeast rash. For the second EI, they once again gave him Omnicef. Since that hasn't worked, he's now on Suprax. I was warned to keep a close eye on him for a reaction since there's a 20-30% chance of one since he's reacted to the 'cillins. Well, he threw up in the middle of the night last night. I figured it was a reaction to the abx as he was acting and eating just fine. I called and spoke to a nurse who thought it was more likely a result of a coughing spell and not a reaction to the meds. I guess we'll find out for sure tonight since I gave him another dose this morning. If he gets sick again, it's the meds.

He was supposed to have his 15-month weight check tomorrow (Thursday, March 22), but since he's been sick, Tammy recommended that I cancel the weight check and schedule a "sick visit" for this past Monday (March 19). She said that if his weight was a problem, we'd reschedule the weight check for another time. They weigh him at each visit, including "sick visits" and this time, with clothes and a dry diaper, he was 20 lbs 14 oz. When he was there 3 weeks ago, he was 20 lbs 8 oz with clothes and a semi-wet diaper. Tammy said that she's satisfied with his weight and that it looks like he's just taking on his own curve. Considering his height, he doesn't need to be at the same weight as the average child. IMO, that would make him OVERweight instead. She's definitely going to be keeping a close eye on it at future visits, but we shouldn't have to worry about extra weight checks!

Other than dealing with ear infections and the side effects of the abx, he also had a stomach bug a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully, he only had one day of vomiting. The diarrhea continued for a few days, but it wasn't really bad.

Eating: He's almost off the baby food now. I still give him a jar if we're going to be out and about or if Shad and I are eating something like chili or tacos that we don't want him to have. He got his first Happy Meal from McDonalds a couple of weeks ago. I got him the chicken nugget meal with apple juice...also a first. The only other time he's had juice was when he was constipated at about 5 or 6 months old. Of course, I really watered it down. He LOVED the juice box! Note to self: only give him a juice box when it can go in one of those plastic holders! He loved that part, too! I occasionally give him rice cereal mixed with fruit for breakfast. However, he's also eating regular oatmeal. As of right now, his favorite seems to be the fruit 'n cream variety...specifically strawberries 'n cream.

Nursing: I'm still nursing a couple of times per day. Primarily at bedtime and in the middle of the night. We experimented a couple of weeks ago and found that he CAN go to bed without nursing or taking breastmilk/formula, so that was a plus! We tried that when I wasn't home, so don't know how he'd do if I was home. I think it's going to be the middle of the night nursings that will be the hardest for him to give up. I was wanting to try and wean him soon, but am not going to attempt that while he's continuously sick. That would be just plain cruel! My "goal" is for him to be weaned within 6 months...that's by September. Surely that can happen!

Hair: He's still quite bald, but the hair in the back of his head is growing more now. He's actually getting enough that we're noticing CURLS every so often! It's SO cute! Of course, Shad wants to cut them off!!! I told him that he'd better NOT touch them! First of all, I think curls on babies/toddlers is cute. Second of all, it's taken HOW LONG for him to grow hair??? We're not cutting ANYTHING off for a while!!!

Talking: Still nothing more than Mama and Dada...and those don't happen very often. Hopefully, his language skills will take off in the next few months. HOWEVER, I've been teaching him a little bit of sign language. So far, he knows "please," "more" and "eat." I'm trying to teach him "thank you," "all done" and "milk."
In other Christopher news: I've signed him up for the preschool at church. He'll start this Fall and will be in the 1-year old class. The minimum age will be 18 months by then, but he'll be about 20/21 months. As of now, he's only 1 of 3 kids signed up! While he's in "school," I'll be working in the 2-year old class. We'll both be there on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-2. That'll be good for me to work and good for him to be around other kids in a structured church environment.

We turned his carseat around to forward-facing after his last visit for his ears. That's when he was officially over 20 lbs. I know it wasn't by much, but he's so much happier facing forward! We've now installed the portable DVD player that Richard (Granddaddy)gave us for Christmas. We've only had the chance to use it once. I let him watch VeggieTales, but he didn't really pay much attention to it until the trip home when it was dark. Then, he only watched it for a few minutes and fell asleep.

Shad and Tami News: Shad left for New Orleans on Monday (March 19) and will return on Saturday (March 24). He's on a mission trip with our church and is helping to rebuild a house that was destroyed by Katrina. This is the 2nd time for him to go since Christopher's arrival. The first time was when he was 6 months old. It seemed so much easier that time! Probably because he wasn't mobile and wasn't sick so much.

I had my annual ob/gyn exam a couple of weeks ago. I've lost all the baby weight and am now 1 lb under my pre-pregnancy weight!!! Yay!!!

We got our tax return money back in February and were able to pay off my car!!! Another yay!!! We're now going to start saving up for a new (used) vehicle for Shad. His truck is on its last leg, so hopefully we'll have time! He's wanting to get a Ford SportTrac. It especially needs to be something that we can transport Christopher around in! And preferrably something that I can drive, too.

Well, it's time to head off to church, so I'd better end here. I'm hoping to update more often, especially to document all his illnesses/ear infections. His next scheduled doctor's appointments are in 3 weeks to check his ears and then his 18 month checkup on June 19.