Thankful Thursday

Well now that I am getting back into blogging I want to participate in something several of my Blogger friends do:Thanksgiving Thursday, a time to remember blessings we have been given each week. I have several things to be thankful for today.

1. I am thankful for Doctors and hospitals that work all hours of the day. Without them, we couldn't have gotten the medicine my baby needed last night to help him start feeling better.

2. I am thankful for family who are willing to come help us anytime of the day, or just sit with us at the hospital in the middle of the night.

3. I am thankful for jobs that are understanding of having sick kids!

4. I am also thankful for my job. Our taxes are already done (for free!) and we should be getting our refund check tomorrow! Hooray!

5. I am thankful for my husband who will get up in the morning and go get me a milkshake for my sore throat.

6. I am thankful for my little boy, who, even when not feeling well, finds small things to delight in and brings a smile to my face.

7. I am thankful for my mother-in-law who is on her way to bring us some Cracker Barrell for dinner! Yum!

An Unplanned Trip

Last night we got to go on an unplanned trip. Zachary has not been sleeping well lately & when I put him to bed last night all I was hoping for was a decent nights sleep. Well on my 3rd trip back to his room about 1:45 I noticed he sounded wheezy and felt warm. Sure enough he was running a 102.3 fever. Kyle got home from work about this time so we called the Dr. And he wanted to get him checked out considering his symptoms & the time of night it was. So about 2:30 off we trot to TC Thompson Childrens Hospital. By the time we got checked in his fever had already come down, almost back to normal thanks to Tylonel. After what seemed liked forever (maybe it was) the Dr came in & diagnosed it as croup. Apparently the cold I developed the previous day spread an infection in him and got him sick. :( It's an awful feeling knowing you got your baby sick! Z had to take a dose of steriods and then we were allowed to come home once they were sure it had stayed down. He was so good during all of poking, prodding, and examining. He even started motorboating to the Dr. and trying to take away his stethascope! We finally got home about 6:15 this morning. Hopefully my little baby will be feeling better soon!

Read All About It!

So, a few weeks ago, Zachary made his first debut in the Chattanooga Times Free Press! We were in an article about breastfeeding and society's views on it.

Each week on Wednesdays since Zachary has been born we have been attending a breastfeeding support group. No, you don't go in and say, "Hi, My name is Ellen and I'm a breastfeeding Mom." (This is what my boss thought! ha!) It's a group where nursing Moms can come and go, weigh their baby, feed them, and weigh again to see how much milk is being taken at a feeding. It is also a chance to sit and chat with other nursing moms and a lactation nurse is on hand to answer any questions or concerns. While Zachary and I have not gone EVERY week, we do try to go regularly, and it was really great at the beginning because it gave me lots of reassurance that my baby boy was eating well and gaining weight. Now it has become more of a chance to be around other Mommies for me. I am very thankful for this group. I've talked to a lot of other of my nursing Mommy friends and they all wished they had something like this where they live. I must admit that breasftfeeding was definitely a challenge at first, and some days it still can be. A lot of people really aren't aware how much of a committment it is when you decide to nurse a baby. But it has been a very rewarding experience for me and Zachary, and I know when he stops nursing, I will miss having that special bond with him.

**Side note: The other Mom pictured in the article works at the hospital and was actually one of my night nurses while I was there. She is one who was there in the beginning to help me, especially at 3 in the morning when we were sooooooo tired and we couldn't get Zachary to latch on. Her baby girl was born about 2 weeks later.

A Whole New World

Well, Z turned 6 months a few weeks ago so we decided he was ready to try solid food. He was already taking rice cereal really well, so we got out the bowls, spoons, BIBS, and most importantly the CAMERAS and introduced Zachary to the exciting new world of baby food!

We decided his first food should be a veggie, but we didn't want to scare him by giving him something blatantly strong (you'll see why later!) so we compromised with sweet potatoes. As you can see, he was not real thrilled with it the first day, but by day 2 he was eating them pretty well.

We tried pears next and he liked those okay, doing better with those now. Then we tried carrots. Z LOVED carrots--I think the pictures say it all!

Yummy! Love those carrots--just like his Mommy! We've also tried peaches (not crazy about them) and then came the peas....Oh My. Mommy was at work the first day he tried them and this is what I missed...
He HATED the peas, as you can see. I think the tears were in part that he was tired and ready for a nap and then Daddy gave him these nasty green things....So, we've since tried them again, thankfully withOUT the tears, but not with much success. He refuses to swallow them! He will just store them in his mouth and then he'll sneeze and spray it out everywhere. So we are going to have to try hiding them in other foods. I can't blame him though, I really only like peas if they are hidden in my mashed potatoes.

We tried bananas over the weekend and he liked those pretty well. We are trying squash today. We'll see how that goes....In other news, my Mom bought me a Food Processor so I can make Z his own food, so I am hoping to make some carrots tonight for him!

Trying to Do Better

Well, I admitted it from the start, I am HORRIBLE at this. I love to read other people's blog's but am horrible at keeping up with my own. But I really wanna have something to look back on one day when Zachary is all grown and remember these times by. So, even if it is just a quick line or two, I am going to TRY and do better!

Life remains crazy for us these days. Kyle has been pulling a lot over overtime at work and Z had been pulling lots of late nights for Mommy. He was doing soooo good and then I don't know what happened. I thought it was a growth spurt. Then we had his 6 months shots and he got his first fever. It was 103 and he was soooo pitiful. Of course, Kyle was working late again that night so Mommy was up quite a bit. That was how we shared our Valentine's Day this year. Up with the crying, feverish baby. How romantic. :P Anyway, then it seemed like his 2nd little tooth was getting ready to make its appearance (yes, I said 2nd, he got his first one about 3 weeks ago now-that was a fun night, too!) and well, it still hasn't. But, he has been a lot happier during the day the last week, so I don't know what is going on. Besides the horrible night wakings right now, Z is a happy little boy who loves to play with his toys. He is sitting up on his own really well now and working on crawling. He loves bathtime and his Daddy.

Traveling Times

So, we got brave and decided to take Zachary on his first big road trip. Zachary's Aunt Jamie's brother was getting married in Henderson, where Kyle and I went to school, so we went to the wedding. Zachary had been suffering from a cold all week, but was clearing up pretty well by Friday, so we thought he'd be okay to go.



We left Chattanooga about 1:00 on Friday afternoon and traveled with Grandmommy and Grandpa (Daddy had to work). Cousin Matthew (19 mos.) also rode with us last minute because Aunt Jamie was not feeling well. (Daddy, Aunt Jamie, and Uncle Kevin met up with us Saturday). Zachary fell asleep pretty soon into the trip but only slept about 20 minutes then woke wide awake! I thought for sure he'd be fussy. But he just sat and looked around. Eventually he fell back asleep for about an hour until we made it to Dickson, on the other side of Nashville. We stopped and ate at Ruby Tuesday and the boys were both soooo good! Then we continued on to Huntington, where we were staying the night with our friends Aaron and Jenny Dodson. We only had to stop one more time so I could nurse Zachary and made it in about 7:00. We got there, got the Pack-n-Plays set up and got the boys ready for bed. This was Zachary's first night sleeping away from home ever, and the first time I would be sleeping in the room with him. I had no clue how he'd do, but he slept all night long-8 hours! I was so proud (and relieved!)





The next morning we got up and played a little and started packing up to finish toward Henderson for the wedding. Matthew had to be there early for some pictures. Zachary was so well behaved being away from home and not having all his familiar things. I nursed him before the wedding and we got him asleep for his afternoon nap about an hour before the wedding started. Right as Kristen, the bride, was getting ready to walk down the aisle, Zachary stirred and I had to rush him out of the auditorium before we ruined her big moment! But I got him back asleep quickly and we went back in and sat with Brittany and baby Hudson, who is 20 days younger than Zachary.



After the wedding I went and pumped while Kyle showed Zachary off. Then we headed over to the Hardeman House for the reception. This was special taking Zachary there because that is where I met Kyle for the very first time, and where I had my candlelighting after he proposed to me. Zachary was good during the reception and didn't even wake up crying to eat right away (for once!) We left the recption a little early so that we could start getting ready for our long trip back to Chattanooga. This time, Daddy rode with us while cousin Matthew rode with his Mommy and Daddy. Zachary traveled well again, but got a little fussy, as he was getting hungry and tired. We stopped in Dickson again, this time at Cracker Barrell and ate. We got Zachary ready for bed and I nursed him before we left. He fell sound asleep nursing and went straight to his carseat without stirring at all. He slept the whole way home and we only rocked him a few minutes when we got in to transition him from the carseat back to his bed. He slept through the night again! But we were all so tired from the trip we stayed home from church the next morning. It was a good thing, too, because Zachary slept away almost the entire day!

Zachary's Forever Blowing Bubbles...

Well, prayers have been answered and Kyle was assigned 2nd shift permanently! He started yesterday and it was his first day of patroling on his own. Unfortunately it had been raining all day, so he had to work several wrecks, which = several reports to write. But not a bad day in all. He is also able to work extra jobs now, which will be nice to earn some extra, needed money. He is working his first one tonight.

Speaking of needed money, I have recently signed up to be a consultant for Usborne Books at Home. It is a well-renown children's book company. It is a great way to make a little extra money, as well as build Zachary's library and stay involved in the field of education. Let me know if you are interested in learning more about it!

Well, Zachary is now 11 weeks old and his latest thing is making spit-of any kind! He has found his fist quite tasty to suck on, and has discovered how to blow bubbles! He thinks this is a hoot and tries to make as big a mess as possible!