The One I Haven’t Wanted To Write….

I’ve been milling this post over in my mind for a week and a half now, trying to come up with the right words to describe the fear and horror of watching you’re baby struggle for air. I’ve decided that there are no words strong enough, so instead I will just tell you what happened.

If you’ve followed my blog you might remember a few month’s back when Noah had a bad experience with cheese. If not you can read it here. Well, the ER doctor had told us at the time to wait a few months and then try dairy again. As Noah approached 8 months we decided we would try it again soon so I bought some organic baby yogurt. I was so afraid to feed it to him that it set in the fridge until like 2 days before it expired. Anyways, we decided to try it on Monday of last week (I think it was the 14th?) We only gave him 4 baby spoons full of the stuff (and of course he LOVED it) because we were afraid to give him to much. Well ya’ll apparently 4 spoonsfull was WAY too much. Almost exactly 1 hour after he had it he started sneezing like crazy. There was snot everywhere! Then the hives appeared, and boy did they come fast. Well we immediately gave him benedryll and called the doctor. The doctors said to bring him in right away so we loaded him up. Noah had been screaming the entire time, but by the time I got him in his carseat he was having difficulty holding up his head.

At this point his entire body was bright red and it sounded like he was having trouble breathing. By the time we got out of the neighborhood he had stopped crying and was seriously struggling for air. Thank God we live like 1/2 a mile from the hospital so we just booked it there since we were already in the car. I am SO thankful for my husband who remained calm the entire time, because you guys I LOST it. Billy had to walk me through things to try to get him to cry so there I sat trying to tickle his feet and begging him to “just cry for mamma.” As soon as we got to the ER I scooped him up and ran inside. While the receptionist was trying to get his info a nurse saw us and yelled that she was taking us and she rushed us back where they immediately started working on Noah.  It was so overwhelming watching them wrap my baby in a blanket to hold him down so they could put an IV in him. I had actually walked away, but then Noah looked at me with this fear in his eyes and I realized just how selfish I was being. I immediately returned to his side, where all I could do was sing “You Are My Sunshine.”

The nurses and doctors were amazing! They got his IV in first try and immediately gave him epinephrin and more Benedryll. He also had a breathing treatment right away which he did not like but I took his fighting it as a good sign; at least he was breathing. After the breathing treatment they gave him some steroids. Actually, he ended up on steroids for 6 days. All of the drugs worked their magic very quickly and soon Noah was flirting with the nurses and being his regular happy self. Unfortunately about half an hour later he started itching and screaming again so they had to give him another dose of Benedryll. Noah seemed completely stoned for about 10 minutes and then he was BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS CRAZY. Apparently he reacts to medicines the same way my father does (Benedryll makes him hyper, novacain doesn’t work -which we learned from his circumcision)

After the last dose of meds the doctors told us they wanted to keep him for observation overnight so we were moved upstairs to the pediatric ward. It was amazing the difference in the nurses up there. They are some seriously amazing people and Noah absolutely loved them, but really the kid loves everyone. Luckily my mom came up to visit and brought us up some things. By about 9 o’clock the crazy effects of the drugs had started to wear off and Noah fell asleep. He had a hard time getting comfy with the IV (he was sleeping on the cot with me  while hubby slept on the pull out couch) but did pretty well. At 1 am his IV went bad but since he was nursing and peeing fine they said they could just leave it out. At that point Noah fell alseep and didn’t budge until about 7 when a nurse came in. (He slept straight through the nurse checking him at 4.) She told us that Noah looked great and as soon as the doctor looked at him we should get to go home. We were so excited. Unfortunately it took until about 1 pm for the doctor to see us and another hour and a half for the nurse to discharge us, but we were thankful none the less.

The whole trip only lasted about 24 hours but it felt like a week. I honestly don’t know how parents of seriously sick children do it. My heart goes out to them. I can’t even imagine their struggles. We left the hospital with a healthy baby and a prescription for a junior Epipen. The doctor told us he actually had to look it up and see if Noah could have it because he had never given one to a child that small. It’s scary but it’s also a relief just knowing that it’s in the diaper bag at all times.  We followed up with our pediatrician yesterday and he’s getting us a referral to a pediatric allergist. Until then we just have to hold off on trying any new foods. My hope and prayer is that he outgrows this. Dairy is in EVERYTHING. He has had pancakes and things in the past that have dairy in them so we are hopeful, but I guess only time will tell. Here are a few more pictures from our hospital trip to close this post out. Sorry everything is blurry!

By the way Noah thought this crib was the bee's knees and ever learned how to pull himself up on it!

Let The Negotiations Commence…

Okay negotiations are officially in the works for baby #2. It all actually started w/ a pregnancy “scare” if you will. About a month ago I was convinced I was pregnant (and to be perfectly honest the thought freaked me out big time) so I took a home pregnancy test (or 3) and my husband and I were both a bit surprised by how disappointed we actually were when it (they) were negative. That got us thinking so I made an appointment with my OB (who I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE) for a “preconception consultation” to discuss our action plan. Last time it took us well over a year and several hefty doses of meds to conceive so I was a little worried about going through that again. Luckily the doctor has high hopes that we won’t need medication this time, or at least not as much. We won’t really know until after Noah is weaned which I’m planning to do around his birthday. That’s only 4 months away (insert giant sad face here.) I wasn’t even expecting to have a cycle before then, but to my surprise I started a new cycle today. I guess we’ll see in another month if I am actually ovulating now or if it’s another “fake cycle”

I have to be honest and say that the thought of a second child does sort of scare me. My main fear is that we’ll be taking something away from Noah. The thought of not being able to give him my undivided attention at all times kind of breaks my heart but I also realize that by that time he’ll be a toddler and not a little baby anymore. Besides, I know Noah will make the world’s best big brother and I can’t wait for him to have a sibling to play with. He loves being around his cousins so much and I know that after the jealousy wears off he’ll enjoy having someone else around.

The One With The Fedora…

About a week or so ago we were at the mall doing some shopping and decided to stop in at Janie and Jack. Billy had seen a fedora in the window and he HAD to get it for Noah. (My husband desperately wished he could pull off a fedora, sadly, he can not.) So we went in and tried it on and OH MY GOSH I nearly died from the cuteness. The best part is Noah loves it and he’ll wear it for hours. Here are some pictures in case you need proof that my child is the coolest kid eva!

You wouldn’t believe the number of comments we have gotten on this hat. We literally can’t go anywhere without random people stopping us to ask where we got it, and how we get him to keep it on. (Personally I think he knows it looks awesome, and that’s why he keeps it on.) By the way the second picture is Noah doing “so big!”  Man I love that kid!

My 1st Mother’s Day

Yesterday was my first real Mother’s Day and I must say it was pretty awesome. I remember last year I was pregnant and dreaming about what kind of mom I would be to the little peanut wiggling around in my belly. I was about 18 weeks or so and had just started feeling the first little flutters. Fast forward one year and my life has changed more than I ever could have imagined! Noah is far more than I ever could have expected. He amazes me every single day and I feel so honored that I get to be his mommy.

So here’s a recap of my 1st M’s day.

The morning started off pretty standard. We went to church and then went to Chelsea’s Kitchen, this fab little restaurant that we tend to save for special occasions. We enjoyed a great brunch along w/ an amazing pitcher of sangria. We then went home and took a family nap (Ah-mazing) before heading out to my grandmother’s for this big family lunch. (Literally the entire family meets at my grandmother’s house EVERY holiday.) We then headed home and I went for a little solo shopping trip to Target. Now, normally I HATE leaving Noah and make these trips as quick as possible but this time I quite enjoyed myself. I even decided to go swim suit shopping and found one that doesn’t look awful on me. Here it is.

Cute, no? I like that it covered my post-baby belly without looking like an old lady swimsuit. I also bought Noah these because we have a birthday pool party to go to this weekend.

He looks so cute in orange. Can’t wait to see him in it. I just hope he likes the pool, but I doubt it because the kid HATES the bath. Anyways, all in all it was a great day until about 10:30 when I realized Noah was getting very squirmy and starting to feel a little feverish. Full blown fever set in around 2 a.m. Poor guy. I sure hope he can kick this thing today. I hate seeing him sick.

Wordless Wednesday…

Noah’s 6 month photo shoot.

When Pregnant Women Are Taking Over The World….

When we were trying to conceive, it seemed like the world was being over run by babies and pregnant women. They were EVERYWHERE! I  saw them everywhere I went. Sometimes it felt like they were taunting me or something, and at times it was extremely hard not to just burst into tears. I know I would have looked like the crazy, crying lady because none of them knew what was going on. As hard as it was to see random pregnant strangers, I think the hardest thing was that both of my (younger) sisters got pregnant while we were trying.  As the oldest child I think I felt like it was my birth right to give my parent’s the first grandchild and it took a while for me to accept the fact that that just wasn’t going to happen. (Please note that I love my nephews SO SO much and wouldn’t change a thing now.)

It’s funny how we have this time table of how we think our lives should go but God often times has other plans. I learned many lessons while trying to get pregnant that have shaped not only who I am, but what kind of parent I am as well. When we did finally get pregnant it was clear that the timing was perfect. Funny how that happens.

Okay, I’m way off of my intended topic. Time to get back on course! When I started writing this post my goal was to talk about how I was pregnant at the same time as 7 of my friends and family members. I kid you not there were six other pregnant women at my baby shower. It was like a fest of hormones but it was amazing! It was so fun to get to share that experience with so many of my friends, and now Noah has so many friends and cousins that are so close to his age! I love that he has so many people to play with!  One of my friends had her baby girl the same day I had Noah even though our due dates were a week apart. Noah is one hour and 2 minutes older than her daughter and the funny thing is they were the exact same size; 6 lbs 8oz. (Of course now my little chunker-monker has like 4lbs on her.)

Looking back I realize how blessed we were to get pregnant at the exact time we did. When I was 3 months pregnant I got laid off. I taught preschool for a public school district who laid off all first and second year teachers (and I was a second year teacher.) At the time it was devastating, we didn’t think we’d be able to make it on one income. Three days after I got my pink slip we had our little pregnancy scare and it quickly became clear that we were going to find a way for me to stay home. I actually could have gotten my job back since I have a specialty degree, but staying home is the best thing for our family.  Okay I’m getting off topic- time to wrap this up.

I know there are many women that struggle with infertility, and when you’re trying desperately for a baby it can seem like the end of the world so here are the words I would share with you. Relax, I know it’s hard not to let it consume you. Have faith, don’t stop believing in it. Trust, there are lessons being learned even if they are difficult ones.  And lastly just talk to your spouse, infertility is happening to them to and it really can bring you closer together.

Okay that was a wordy post. Let me close it out with a cute picture!

In The Thick Of Things…

About a month ago we started Noah on solids. He was only five months old so I was a little apprehensive, especially since the pediatrician recommended waiting until 6 months. I don’t know if it was mother’s intuition or what but I KNEW he was ready. He had all the signs. He was grabbing for our spoons, showing interest in food, and all that good jazz. Plus he was still pretty much nursing every two hours and I was really ready for him to stretch his feedings a bit. Luckily, it’s gone pretty smoothly. Due to his eczema I was really worried about food allergies but so far the only thing that has caused problems is rice cereal.  The poor kid gets so sick, but I do have hope he will out grow it as some point. Now I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that he won’t be allergic to all of the products that have rice flour, which is basically all of the puffs and other finger foods. I guess time will tell. I know I’ll eventually have to try those foods but I’m so afraid of making him sick. It must kills me to see him that way and knowing I caused it is just heart wrenching.

One thing I had been super excited about since we found out we were pregnant was making my own baby food. I’ve had a few friends who had sworn by it and the whole concept just seemed really appealing to me. When I was pregnant I registered for the BEABA Babycook Baby Food Maker and when I didn’t get it I honestly assumed my husband would not want to spend that much money on it so I figured I’d do it the old fashion way. I should mention here that my husband is loving, supporting, and amazing and that sometimes he surprises the heck out of me. Anyways, he was totally on board for the gadget so we ended up buying it right before Noah hit the 5 month mark and so far I think it was completely worth it. Especially since Noah will more than likely not be our last child.  I really enjoy making batches of baby food and knowing that I can control what Noah is eating. However, I do still buy jarred food for when we are on the go. I’m a little weary about taking the frozen stuff on the go since it is not supposed to be thawed at room temp.

Here is a picture of the BEABA Babycook.

If you plan on making your own baby food I highly recommend it. It’s definitely pricey, but if you have a Buy Buy Baby near you they honor those 20% off coupons for Bed Bath and Beyond that always come in the mail so it makes it a little easier on the wallet.  The machine steams, blends, and reheats so it really is multifunctional. I’m excited to try some new recipes now that Noah is ready for the stage 2 foods. It’s so much fun to watch him experience a new food for the first time! It’s one of the many joys of mommy-hood!

Where The Wild Things Are…

So a lot of my favorite mamma bloggers have been doing nursery tours lately so I thought I’d share some pictures of Noah’s room. While it may not be as modern or cutesy as many of the others I absolutely love it. I can’t even count the hours we spent working on it. Once it was finished you could usually find me sitting in there at 2 in the morning folding and organizing all of his drawers, dreaming about how this little peanut kicking inside of me was going to change our lives forever. I really never could have imagined this. So here are a few pictures of the room in progress. My friend Liz hand painted all of the murals and my loving hubby did all of the molding and trim work.

Now the arctic animal theme was inspired by the bedding which we both fell in love with. We wanted to do something a little different from the standard safari or sports theme. I’d like to point out that when we chose this theme it was IMPOSSIBLE to find things with whales on them. Now if you buy anything from Carter or Old Navy you will see that whales are every where. I like to think that Noah was just ahead of his time. So here are a few pictures of the bedding.

And finally a few pictures of the finished project. Now you should know that our house was built in the 40’s which is extremely old for where we live. It’s also all of 1,000 square feet and was literally in shambles when my hubs bought it 5 years ago. It has been an endless project since then but this is definitely my favorite room in the house. Here’s the crib,

And this is the view from the door.

Although I love my glider I hate to say I hardly ever use it. I think it’s mostly because Noah sleeps in our room so we’re never really in here.

I have a serious love for children’s books, and as an ex-teacher my son inherited my classroom library.

Since our house is so tiny there was really no room for a dresser. So it is hiding nicely behind these closet doors.

So there it is. I know it’s nothing fancy but I love it and I hope that when Noah is older he loves it to. Right now the room doesn’t get much use but I know that will change eventually.  Oh yeah and this post has made me realize that I REALLY need a new camera that can take decent photos. Mine is ancient and doesn’t do anything for my non-existant photography skills.

Doctor Doctor Give Me The News…

Today was Noah’s 6 month check up and I am glad to report that all is well. The doctor was really impressed with physical and social development and of course that makes mamma very happy. I mean I know Noah is progressing perfectly but it’s always good to hear your doctor agree with you. Of course his skin is still an issue. That dang eczema just won’t go away but for now it’s not bothering Noah so we’re just going to keep an eye on it. I was worried the doctor would be mad that we started solids last month since he recommended waiting until 6 months but he was very supportive when we told him why we started them. The kid is growing like a weed. At 67 months and 4 days he weighs 18 lbs 2 oz and is 26 inches long. He’s 50-75% for his weight and only 25-50% for his height but neither I nor my husband are very tall so chances are Noah will be pretty average. Did I mention that his head is 75-90%. The kid has a big noggin! It’s funny how important all of these numbers become. One of the things I look forward to the most at these visits is finding out his measurements to see how he stacks up.

On a side note the poor guy had to get his 6 month vaccines today. He got 3 needle pokes and a vile or that sugar liquid stuff. Anyways, this isn’t a post on choosing to vaccinate so I’ll stop here. Here’s a picture of him worn out from all of the excitement. See the little band-aids on his poor widdle wegs? Ignore my un-made bed please.

Adding To The Mix

Sixteen months ago by parents had zero grandchildren. Zero. Today they have 3 and a 4th that is literally coming any day. It’s a little overwhelming to say the least, but it’s also amazing. My youngest sister was the 1st of us 3 girls to give my parents a grandchild. My nephew Caleb is the cutest, chunkiest, little thing you’ve ever seen. He’s 16 1/2 months old. My nephew Aiden came 5 months later and surprised us all. The kid is hilarious and it’s hard to believe he’ll be 1 in just a few weeks. Noah was the 3rd grandchild. At 6 months he’s 5 1/2 months younger than Aiden. Now we are waiting on Katelyn who will be 6 months younger than Noah (and 16 months younger than her brother, Caleb.)

Needless to say we are being over-run by babies. When we attempt to all go somewhere together people look at us like we’re nuts. My parents had us very young so they are just now in their early forties. I think people are usually trying to figure out which baby belongs with who. We’re quite the scene.

While we were trying to conceive, it was difficult to watch both of my sisters get pregnant so easily. Jealous didn’t even describe it. It was unfair and there were days I would just sit and cry, especially after another negative pregnancy test. The amazing thing is that I wouldn’t take back any of the tears and frustration. I honestly believe our infertility turned out to be a bit of a blessing. See, if I had gotten pregnant right away I wouldn’t have Noah. He wouldn’t be exactly who he is today and I think he’s perfect. And now I LOVE that he has so many cousins to play with. He’s only 6 months old but he already gets SO excited when he sees them. You can tell he’s just waiting to get in there and play with them. I am sort of sad that he won’t be the baby of the bunch anymore but we will finally have a little girl to spoil. I can’t wait to see how all of the boys are around her. I know they’ll be great.

Here’s a picture of my dad with his three boys. Of course this was a few months ago.