Grammy's here!

Grammy' back in town, that can only mean one thing....Eliseo is getting covered in kisses!  We were very busy this weekend, it's been non-stop action and I can't believe it's Sunday night already. 

We started off Friday night with my favorite:  a free concert in the park!  But not without my other favorite:  a trip to Chill frozen yogurt YUM!!  We hit the ice cream place and took it to go down to Windjammer Point for a night of Rock N Roll Oldies (mine held up but my mom's turned to soup..BOO!).  What a gorgeous night it turned out to be...not too hot or humid which has been hard to come by lately.  Although I kept Eliseo out a little later than when I do during the week, he enjoyed the live music and Grammy's company.  He's always such a good boy.

Saturday, we started off with a nice walk around the neighborhood in the morning.  Glenn took a nap with E in the late morning, so Mommy got some me time.  I went shopping :), actually took my time looking through racks, trying things on, it was very nice...and  bought some stuff too!  Too bad it starting raining in the afternoon, I wanted to take E to the pool but it actually got a little cold and the timing didn't seem right.  We went to church and then to Grammy's apartment pool party (even though we didn't go in the pool). The rain chilled out thank goodness, we had some good eats, took pictures in the photo booth and my mom even won the grand prize for the raffle, which was money off of her rent WOOHOO!  We had to stay until 10pm to collect that prize, so again, E was up late but we went home right after and he was asleep before his head even hit the pillow (well he doesn't really sleep with a pillow yet). 

Today we met Aunt Donna and Aunt Janie at Forest Park for a run.  Temps were great (low 70's) for a good run.  I felt good, getting really strong pushing the 30 pound stroller during a 6 mile run.  I'm so happy that running is becoming part of my life again.  It's a love/hate relationship, but really I have missed it.  Then we headed over to Grammy's again...we were going to go swimming  but again, it was cooler and rainy.  Finally we decided to go in the afternoon when the sun was out in between showers.  Just a little while in the pool, I didn't bring any of E's rafts, it was more of a test run to see how he would enjoy the pool.  And he loved it.  He did one of his favorite things:  SPLASHED!!  After swimming, we took another little shopping trip and then grabbed a bite to eat.  We played a lot with Grammy before we left for the night, again my little man all tuckered out by a busy day of fun. 

Now it's time for me to join Eliseo in sleepy land...night peeps! 

Cuz My Mommy Said So

Well I got in trouble for not posting for so long. My mom said its time for a new post! June 19th she said....so, here it is. We are getting ready to get rid of our laptop so I haven't been using it since I cleared a bunch of stuff off...so I'm posting from my phone which is really kind of annyoing.  May not be a very long or fun post.

We have an appointment with the allergist next Tuesday to check out the potential egg and peanut butter reactions. I hate to think about the testing methods but I know it's necessary since the reactions were pretty severe. The pediatrician also presribed us Eppi pens, which freak me out a little. I picked them up from the pharmacy and the pharmacist demonstrated for me with the test cartridge and I thought I was going to have an anxiety attack. But...I guess I need to practice cuz if I ever need to use it I'd better know what I'm doing. He said its just designed to buy some time so there wouldnt be a minute to waste reading the instructions.  I hope I never need to use it.

We have been going for lots of walks. I signed up for a pedometer contest at work and realized how little I actually walk around during the day since I work from home. I thought it would be easy to get to 10, 000 steps a day, but beoing tied to my computer during the day was making it impossible to get there. So you know if I worked in an office I'd get up a whole lot more...walk from the car to my desk.. to the cafeteria to get a coffee and oatmeal....walk to the restroom after drinking the coffee....going to the microwave to heat up lunch and vending machine for a sugar rush....late afternoon "I'm bored" walk around the building....back to the car.. I know this because that was my routine when I worked in the office. I'm sure you gathered.  So what's wrong withe getting up 3-4 times a day and walking outside for 10 mins? NOTHING! So I've added those to our usual evening walks and getting to 10, 000 steps a day is a lot easier.  Eliseo and Snickers are loving it. E and I like to walk at the park a lot.  Nice change of scenery, but in a pinch, a walk around the neighborhood is nice too. Jamaica in 2 months....this momma isn't looking too shabby...or should I say flabby.  HA I crack myself up. I keep fluctuating between 136-138, but consistently under 140..yay! When I weighed in at 8 weeks prego with E, I was at 148 so I'll take it. 10 pounds less than pre-prego although I had a lot more muscle because I ran so dang much. 135 was my initial goal so almost there, but I'm going to start up Bikram yoga again for a month starting mid-July and watch the last of the pounds melt away in the heat. Love Bikram.. but expensive.

More about E, today I mixed up his cup for daycare, only 2 oz of breastmilk and 4 or organic whole milk...I think by the end of this week the whole thing will be whole milk. So do I want to keep pumping? I don't know, I've been doing it for so long, I'm afraid of not having enough supply, but without sending any to daycare I really won't use it, so....I've cut down on the number of feedings lately. I'm down to 4 from 6.  He's been doing great with the lunches Janelle feeds him and I've been giving him real food dinner every night. After the reaction I haven't tried anything new but I've been giving him pasta, sandwiches, turkey burger bites, a few other things. Even though he only has 6 teeth, he chews things up pretty well. I think he might have another one coming in up top.

Whew...that was way longer than I thought and I keep having to fix the autocorrects...lol hope I got them all. Its driving me nuts!

Bad and Good

So many good, big boy things to tell you all about, but unfortunately I have something icky to report too :(.  We took a trip to Urgent Care tonight because of a terrible, horrible, scary reaction to...dun dun dun.....eggs.  Well, egg.  One egg.  A few months ago, I made scrambled eggs for Eliseo.  I noticed that as he was eating them, he started getting blotchy skin on his face and a hive or two.  So I stopped giving them to him at the time.  So lately, I've been trying to get more into big boy food.  I chose some recipes to make and I went shopping for ingredients this weekend.  Yesterday the menu item was mini salmon cakes.  He's had salmon several times and enjoys it, so I thought this would be a yummy form to give it to him in.  One problem:  I was out of eggs.  I picked up said eggs yesterday evening and put the salmon cakes back on the menu.  As I was mixing the 1 egg the recipe called for, I was thinking about the reaction he had the first time.  But that was months ago, and that was straight eggs.  This is mixed with salmon and breadcrumbs.  Well, as you can guess, it didn't go well.  He was eating them and I started noticing blotches and some small hives.  He was really stuffing them in there, so I got the Benadryl ready for when he was done.  I couldn't recall the amount that the pediatrician said was ok for my little peanut, so I gave him the smallest dose.  It seemed to help a little, but then he started really rubbing his eyes and getting very fussy, nose running, coughing.  I thought maybe he was tired so I was going to take him for a walk.  Had him loaded up in the stroller, dog in hand and I looked at his face....SWOLLEN.  Very swollen.  And red. And the coughing getting worse.  Out of the stroller, into the house and a call to the pediatrician, who recommended calling 911, which just freaked me out.  We have a pediatric urgent care about 5 miles away, so I just thought the fastest way to get him medical attention without having an ambulance visit would be to take him there.  I was allowed to give him more Benadryl according to the doctor, so I gave it to him and it was knocking him out....they took his oxygen count which was good, a little low but not critical and checked him out.  He was red and blotchy all over, including his legs and tummy.  My poor baby.  He was given a dose of steroids.  His breathing was better and he was released with a prescription for 5 more days worth.  He fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep, I held him for a long while and then put him in his bed. The swelling and redness all gone, but I'm still on monitoring duty.

So the good things....bottle...gone.  He is doing really well with the cup.  Kinda give or take, but he doesn't all out reject the cup.  I've been starting to mix organic whole milk into it, so I think by next week he will be getting whole milk in the cup when he goes to day care.  I'm still buidling my milk supply because I'm afraid to stop, but I'll probably use it all for weaning which (sorry peeps) I'm not doing for at least another few months.  Also, I've switched up his meal times a little bit.  I'm starting to pair up nursing and food into one feeding instead of staggering.  This means nursing upon wake up and then feeding him his breakfast BEFORE he goes to day care instead of sending it with him.  And Janelle is feeding him real lunch at 11am with all the other kiddos instead of just his milky.  It's a subtle change really, but just another step in the big boy direction.  He had grilled cheese and green beans today.  He turned down the peaches and cantaloupe, but he also had 4oz of his cup that was mixed with 2 oz of whole milk.  He'll be eating those hamburgers soon enough.

OK peeps, very late as usual, here are some catch up pics, and the allergy culprit. 

Done with the bottle?

This week I committed to working on Eliseo giving up the bottle. Ok, so I committed my babysitter to give it up lol. Easy for me right?! So yesterday he had his first milk in a cup...all breast milk, and he pretty much drank it all, no fuss. When I got home from picking him up from daycare, he wanted to nurse so I did nurse him shortly then went straight to lunch and he was happy.  Today, Janelle gave him the cup and he didn't want it. But...he was happy to eat all of the Puffs I sent with him....ah Puffs...baby crack.  I got him home and gave him lunch right away and offered the cup...but he still didn't want it. And he was happy! So I think I see an opportunity to drop a feeding. This means I'll need to feed him breakfast (cereal) before day care and Janelle can feed him lunch with a cup of milk with the other kiddos. And...I'm going to switch up to whole milk. So....HE'S SUCH A BIG BOY NOW!!!

Still nursing though :).

Playin with my Cuz

We spent some time today with my cousin and his family, which I always say I need to do more of. Katie loves Eliseo, as he loves her. She really likes to pet his head. They had so much fun together, and I even got to play a game with Doggy Katie and Doggy Eliseo. I was so honored to be a part of that.

First Hair Cut and tooth #6

He didn't have a lot of hair to cut, but I felt like it was time for a little trim. I didn't feel the need to wait until he had a baby 'fro going on or anything like that. I wasn't too sure what to expect, if he was going to scream or not, but the cool car he got to sit in was enough to distract my little guy from the sharp scissors nearing his head. He was SO
GOOD!  The only time he got a little fussy was when she brought out the clippers. He wasn't sure what to think about those. Overall a very good experience, and for a dollar extra we got a certificate with his picture and a lock of his hair.

And the other update: I noticed at dinner tonight that he cut a 4th tooth on the bottom so now he has a total of 6! He looks so grown up now. I can definitely tell his face is filling out and looking more "little boy" and less "baby".

Alrighty...pics and then bedtime for me!

He should be eating hamburgers by now?

I wish I was more organized.  And less of a procrastinator.  And maybe more of a morning person. 

This line of thought hit me yesterday, out of the blue.  All I wanted to do was look up some recipes to make dinners for Eliseo.  Up until about a month ago, I had been making all of E's baby food.  I started trying to puree meats and ramp up his protein, but pureed meat is, well, pretty gross.  I also had tried to give him small pieces of meat but without teeth to chew them up, he gagged on them.  So in an effort to make sure he was eating enough protein, I decided to buy him some jarred baby food with meat that was a nice texture for him.  Meanwhile, I had still been giving him pieces of meat and he was doing much better with breaking them down and swallowing...I've also been giving him other things, veggies, pasta, rice, bread, basically anything that is on my plate.  But now I'm starting to feel lazy, because I haven't MADE him a dinner in a while now, I just keep giving him baby food.  But when does that turn into making him tv dinners or getting McDonalds?  So I looked in my cookbook...and he's supposed to be eating WHAT already?  They have like mini sandwiches and quesadillas and who knows what else in there for 12-18 months, there is no way he could eat that stuff already!  He only has 5 teeth!  And then I started reading the info before the recipes, and it said that he should be about out of the high chair by now, and only drinking 16 oz of breastmilk, and getting rid of the bottle....now I'm no supermom, but I feel like I've been doing more than the average mom...but how do people do this? 

OK for starters, I just moved him out of the Bumbo seat and into the high chair about a month and a half ago because he was too little to fit in it before then.  In fact, I still can't get the seat belt tight around him.  And 16 oz of breastmilk???  I probably give him at least 24-30 oz a day.  And the bottle...he only has 4 bottles a week, but I'm still nursing him.  So, I started to panic.  I don't want to hold him back.  I've been following his cues and trying new things, but I know I move slow.  I did find some recipes that I'm going to try, but let's be clear about one thing, I am not planning on cutting down on the nursing anytime soon.  As for giving him breastmilk in a cup....I guess I'll start trying it.  Right now, he drinks water but only a little at a time. 

This is what gets me though:  I don't have a usual "kid friendly" schedule.  Glenn is only here half of the nights out of a week and when he is home, we eat dinner pretty late, like 8-9pm.  I dont go to bed until after midnight.  When I'm here by myself, I dont like to cook myself dinner.  So, I have this picture in my head of how I'd like for things to be: wake up early, start work around 7, be done with work by 4 then make dinner for E and me and Glenn, when he's home.  But, I'm an old dog and that's a new trick.  It ain't gonna happen.  I've tried too many times and I just fall back into the same schedule.  I keep E on an earlier eating schedule, but we dont have an established "dinnertime" where we all sit down together and pass the peas, so to speak.  As E gets older, I know this is important and we need to enforce a dinnertime, where Mommy cooks and we talk about our day.  I guess I have to start sooner or later. 

Does anyone have advice to offer about any of this?  I know I dont get many comments, but I'd sure like to know what other moms have done.  But for now, I won't panic.  I think I'm doing OK.

Not Much New Around Here....

Geez, time in blog world goes by almost as fast as vacation time! Guess I've been a slacker again.  Nothing too crazy going on around here. Glenn worked all weekend, so I'm pretty boring by myself. Really this was a pretty quick weekend, especially since I didn't have to work.

Friday started off with some excitement, but not in a good way. One word: TORNADO.  Ok so my house didn't suffer any damage as the path of it started about 10-15 miles southeast of here. But it got pretty crazy. Actually, there were 3 that affected the area. The one I mentioned was tornado #2. Tornado #1 started about 20 miles west of here and moving east. Anything west of here is bad, cuz that means its coming this way. You betcha I was in the basement with Snickers and Eliseo.  I decided its time to build Storm Central so I went out and bought a recliner to start things off. Next to purchase will be an area rug and I think everything else I have here....a bed for Snickers, a weather radio, tv, flashlight, candles... The sucky part is going to be clearing out the part of the basement where I want to put it. But with more storms on the way next week...it will be getting done. Thankfully, we were spared again this time. I drove through part of the city today that didn't fare so well, not even the worst part, and it takes my breath away, how treetops are snapped off and rooves are peeled back. Makes me feel very small.

Now for the TMI portion of tonight's post. I have a plugged milk duct :(. It hurts! Its been this way for a couple of weeks but I just figured out what was going on.  The treatment includes a hot compress, and one of the websites I looked at recommended making the compress out of a diaper. I mean wow. I'm impressed with how much water this thing holds.  So now that I've identified the issue and I'm treating it with a hot diaper compress and massaging, hopefully it will unclog. I hope so.

Yes, you waited almost a week for this very sad blog post. Eliseo keeps amazing and entertaining me every day, but still no new major milestones.  But, I do have pictures which are worth a thousand words!