A Few "Something News"

Because I'm a mom now, I find childhood development incredibly interesting. As a parent, you have the privilege of noticing new things your child does, no matter how tiny they might be. Well, he has started doing something new, and it caught me by total surprise.

When his fever went down and he started feeling better, he was able to play. When he started heading for one of Brother's toys, or the fireplace, I would pick him up and say "No, no Preston, let's stay away from that..." And he did the unthinkable.

His whole body went limp, he threw his head back, and he proceeded to pitch a royal fit. Kicking and screaming. Do 7-month-olds throw tantrums? I thought we had some time before they started this. Case in point:

I thought it just might be a fluke and he was cranky, but every single time I take something dangerous away from him and he wants it, he flips out. He is still so small, and can't understand right and wrong (obviously) so this is hard.

Another something new... cruising along furniture and completely letting go. He stands there for a minute, tries to kind of take a step, and then falls and cries. I am thinking we will have a walker on our hands really soon, which seriously blows my mind. Again, thought we had a few more months to prepare for that!

Another something new... his first CBHS football game :)

                   

And for the last something new, diaper boxes aren't just for diapers anymore.

Snack Stealer

Martha Kate better watch out!

A Week to Forget

So, Preston is finally on the mend. I preface this by saying I am so glad I work at a children's hospital. I think it really helps my anxiety level when it comes to having a sick baby.

After picking Preston up on Monday with his raging fever, we snuggled and swallowed Motrin like it was our job. It was just an upper respiratory infection. Then the puking started. Then diarrhea. Then the fever went up even higher. After being up almost all night, Tuesday he seemed a little better. I stayed home with him to monitor and his fever seemed to be better, but the stomach stuff was not. He continued with the stomach stuff until Wednesday night. Thankfully, my MIL stayed with him so that I could return to work. Then, in the middle of the night, Preston woke up congested and crying, and his eye was almost swollen shut. There was a little bite next to his eye that we noticed the night before, but thought it was probably a mosquito. I gave him more Motrin, because I thought it might help with inflammation, and knew we could deal with it in the morning. This is how he looked in the morning, much better than the middle of the night:

I got P in to see his pediatrician. I can't say enough about our pediatrician. I appreciate his candor with me. I think he knows that because I work at a children's hospital, I am probably not as sensitive as some first-time moms might be. When he saw P and I, the first thing he said was "Please tell me you got a picture of that eye, Cami." I told him, "Of course." The swelling was definitely a bug/spider bite and could be treated by Benadryl and an antibiotic.

He won't go back to daycare until Monday. Hopefully, we are over the stomach bug, fever, AND bug bite, and we can pretend that this was the week that never was. I have to especially thank my mother-in-law who seriously stepped in and cooked us dinner (the best!), nursed P back to health, and allowed us to not have to use our vacation days at work. THANK YOU!

Sicky

Ugh. Today, Brian got a phone call from Preston's school. They said he had a fever of 102.9. This scared me, because P has never had a fever this high. My first thought was ear infection. We are lucky, because P has never had an ear infection before. I left work and raced to his school to pick him up. On the way, I called our pediatrician to see if he could be squeezed in. He could see us at 4 p.m. I figured that was okay. Motrin could fix the fever until then.

I got to his school, walked into his room, and was totally shocked by what I saw. Preston was laying in his bed (he has his own bed with his name and blankets and lovies from home), on his belly with a blanket over him, and he was just staring. This seriously freaked me out, because anyone that knows P, knows that he is NEVER still. He was just laying there with his eyes half open, red and puffy, and I am pretty sure my blood pressure went through the roof. Plus, his teachers who probably love him as much as I do, were very worried and wanted me to call them when we got out of the doctor to see what he said.

I scooped him up, called the pediatrician's office back and told them I could not wait until 4 and needed to see someone now. They worked us in with another doctor in the practice and we headed straight there. Thankfully, he had only had a fever for about an hour when I got him, so I felt like we were being very proactive.

At the pediatrician, Preston got weighed. He was 18 lbs., 10 oz. Can't believe my baby is so big! By this point, the Motrin had kicked in, so his fever was down to about 100.2. We saw the doctor, who told me P's throat and tonsils were red and he had a virus. His ears were perfect. Thankfully, at 7 months, we are still ear infection free!! But a part of me wanted to hear ear infection so that we could get an antibiotic. With viruses, you just have to wait. Boo. So, we spent the afternoon doing this:

Poor baby

 Y'all, he never does this. NEVER. He is not a cuddler, nor is he still for any period of time. He was sick! I have to say, a part of me loved it, because he would never do this normally. He slept on me for about an hour. Plus, he clung to me for dear life. Hopefully, this virus moves through him quickly. Brian and I hate seeing him like this.

On a happier note, we had a really nice weekend. P cheered for the Vols against Florida, although I am not sure that it helped.

Also, P picked up a pair of chocolate brown Toms. I couldn't resist.

That's life at our house right now. We are DREADING tonight, because we know he will be up a lot. Having a sick baby is no fun.

The Faces of Preston

While we are busy working on a playroom, here are a few of our favorite faces. Quite the expressive baby!

A Momentary Gush

We are proud parents. There is no question about that. Brian and I talk about how sometimes we look at Preston and we think he is SO cute that we literally want to eat him. Like, I cannot kiss him or hug hard enough. Just want to swallow him. Ridiculous, I know, but it has to be how most parents feel. We just love him fiercely, and I think that's where it comes from.

He has two teeth now, and we are currently dying over that. I didn't think he could be cuter, but with two bottom teeth it is literally too much.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Lord for such a precious and gush-worthy child :)

Zoo Trip

Brian and I took off work the day of P's 7 month birthday to tour preschools. We spent the morning looking at schools, getting very excited for our big boy to start preschool next year. Time is flying.

Since we had already taken the day off, we decided to take Preston to the Memphis Zoo for the first time. He loved it, and we actually saw everything at the Zoo. I expected that Preston might get sick of being in his stroller, or want to crawl around, but he was such a trooper and really had a good time.

It was a little warm, but we managed. The Memphis Zoo is fabulous! A lot of it was shaded and they have a lot of indoor exhibits we could go into that had AC. Preston loved the polar bears and the kids that were playing around them.

Preston took a little snooze in the stroller when we saw the apes.

We took a break for a bottle, and the monkeys came up to where we were sitting. P loved it!

We had a little talk about how we grew up going to the Memphis Zoo. Who knew we would be taking our own there?! I think we'll be going there lots in the future. Preston was very intrigued by the animals and by all the kids playing. Such a fun Wednesday off!