Easter

We tried to celebrate Easter with my family on Friday.  But it was not in the cards because my brother forgot he already had plans and my dad got sick - that took out 1/3 of the family.  So we decided to cancel and Mike and I would make our HUGE ham another night.  Saturday we headed up to the Nistler's so we could be at the celebration on Sunday.  We almost got through the entire day without taking a single picture for Easter!  Good thing we remembered in time to capture a few at home to remind us of Derek's first easter:

Happy Easter!

These feet are my favorite

Yummy!

Sitting with my bunny.

Oops - good thing Dad was there to catch me & bunny.

Single Mom

My reign as a single parent is officially over.  Mike returned home from traveling for work.  He left on Monday and returned home late last night.  While it was hard and quite a bit more planning on my part, I think it went well.

Some aspects I really missed him.  Getting ready in the morning took so much longer when it was just me - so I quickly learned to prepare most things the night before - including me.  After getting Derek to bed, I started prepping for the next day - washing bottles, packing milk, showering, clothes ready to go, etc.  This prep, along with all of the overnight & morning feedings meant I didn't get as much sleep as usual.  I didn't even attempt to give him a bath by myself.  Some day soon I'm sure I will but I just wasn't up for it this week.

In other aspects, life was easier.  Decisions that were made were solely mine.  No discussion about what we should do.  This meant that I just decided and went with it.  Not all were good ones and I think had Mike been here to discuss it, things may have gone differently.  But it was a learning experience for both of us and it got a little better every day.

I'd have no reservations about being a single parent if Mike would need to travel for work again.  I'm definitely more appreciative of all he does around here.  And I have a lot more respect for those single parents out there.

Road Trip

Derek took his first road trip this weekend to Milwaukee.  We've been to St. Cloud but that was easy to get to during the course of a nap.  Traveling to Milwaukee (6 hours normal drive) is a little different.

We met up with my family late afternoon on Friday and started our journey.  We had no idea what to expect but all knew that it was going to take a little longer than normal.  Derek fell asleep after about 20 min of driving and slept for almost 1 1/2 hours.  Mike sat next to him to keep tabs on his progress and keep us up to date on when we needed to stop.  Derek woke up and was a hungry little man - luckily there was an exit right there and we hopped off.  He got the whole treatment - food, diaper change, and a little play time.  Meanwhile, the rest of us ate and I pumped.  Back in the car and on the road.  This time Derek fell asleep and stayed asleep the entire rest of the trip down - it was his bedtime and he was used to it.

The wedding shower for my cousin was a lot of fun and Derek met 90% of my aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Playing my first game of Dominion

Cuddling with Aunt Marcy

Meeting Aunt Cindy (Cara's godmother)

The ride home was a little different - this 6 hour car ride was taking place in the middle of the day and we were scheduled to arrive home right about bed time.  If he slept in the car, that meant he probably wouldn't sleep well at night or vice versa....I was nervous.  Again, Mike sat in the back with him and kept him entertained.  He was pretty busy keeping toys available for him to play with, giving him his pacifier, regulating his temp (with blankets or unbuttoning clothes), making funny faces, and coordinating naps & when it was time to stop and eat.  The last bit of the trip, Derek was a bit fussy but overall it went well.

My future's so bright....

Happy holding dad's finger

The view from the back seat

The general consensus was it's best to travel at night with him during his normal bedtime but we'd do it again.  Good thing too because we've got several more trips to Milwaukee planned this summer.  :-)

Baptism

Prep for Derek's baptism started early in the week.  Unfortunately, I came down with a nasty cold and have not been into work.  (I actually sent Mike to my work to pick up the grocery list).  Getting over a cold when I'm sick normally takes a lot of out me and takes a while, but when I'm nursing, it's particularly exhausting.  I did call the lactation consultant and I am not able to take any medicine stronger than claritan.  Since I already take a medicine daily for allergies, this option was not helpful.

We had two goals for the weekend:  1) Derek baptized  and 2) not get anyone at the party sick.  Mike was very busy doing two jobs to get everything ready - both mine and his.  I enlisted the help of my parents on Saturday too because I didn't want to touch any of the food (to accomplish goal #2).  Between my parents & Mike, we got everything cleaned & disinfected before Sunday, as well as all of the food made and the house set up.  They were all a HUGE help.

There were two babies being baptized yesterday.  We were first.  Derek did well during his baptism - he did not cry at all.  We had been practicing (inadvertently) for a few weeks - each night we were washing Derek's head over the kitchen sink to help get rid of his cradle cap.  Mike was holding Derek and the pastor was whispering stuff to him during the service, like where to stand, what to do, etc, but Mike couldn't hear him.  I couldn't hear either of them and just followed Mike's lead.  After the water was poured over Derek's head, we went back to stand in our spots but there was still more of the service.  The pastor called us back over for "the most important part" and did the sign of the cross on Derek's head.  I felt foolish walking in circles (literally) in front of the entire congregation - clearly we should have paid more attention to the other baptisms in church so we knew how the logistics went.  After the service, we had a chance for a few photos:

It's tough work being baptized

My family

Mike's family

Great-Grandpa George

G&G Nistler - she made this cute outfit

"I want to hold him by myself"

Hanging out with his cousin

We brought a bottle with us "just in case" and didn't end up using it because he was so good.  In all of the excitement and festivities after, we completely forgot to put it back in the fridge.  Two days later we found the bottle still in the diaper bag. It was hard to see the result of my late nights & early mornings literally poured right now the drain even though I know it was the right decision

Mike & Derek Duet

We had a great weekend - probably one of the best since Derek was born.  We spent some quality family time together, were successful at getting Derek to nap and Mike and I even got some time to play a game ourselves (a flashback to life pre-Derek).  But what really made this weekend special was this moment - it went on for almost 20 minutes (the video is under a minute though):

A Nurse, a Pharmacist, and Poison Control

After Derek's last round of shots at 2 months, he was very fussy and only wanted to be held.  It was a very long 24 hours for Mike and I.  We were prepared for the same thing to happen this time and also prepared Lorri, our daycare provider that this might happen.  The nurse/doctor sent us home with a sheet which explained which medicine we could give him, what the proper dosage was, and which medicines to avoid.  I read the sheet about 5 times and compared it to the medicine Mike had previously purchased (the box said it was for 2-3 year olds) and was surprised to find he picked up the wrong stuff.  So on my way to drop Derek off at daycare, I swung by the store to pick up the correct medicine in case he got a fever at daycare (meds for kids 6-24 months old).

Derek did great at daycare but started running a fever early evening so Mike gave him some meds before bed.  He was still running a slight fever in the morning so Mike gave Derek another round of medicine with his morning bottle.   In the afternoon, Lorri called and said Derek was running a fever and she was wondering what dosage to give him because the amount the doctor recommended wasn't consistent with what the box's recommended dosage for someone his weight.  She gave him what the box recommended dosage was and we said we would figure it out when we got home.

We called the nurse line Wednesday just before the office closed to get this issue straightened out.  I explained the situation to the nurse and she agree that Derek should be receiving the dosage that the box recommended.  But then why did the hand written doctor's note say something different???  We conferenced in a pharmacist to ask their recommendation.  The pharmacist agreed to the dosage on the box.  I kept pushing the issue because it didn't feel right.  While the nurse was checking more databases and consulting other nurses, I reread the sheet and it actually said that the medicine we had been giving him was in the "DO NOT USE" column.  Ahhhh!  I told the nurse this and she looked up the dosage of the meds we were supposed to be giving him and yep, that's what the sheet was referring to.  By this time though we had already given Derek 3 dosages of medicine that said "DO NOT USE!".  Now what?

The nurse conferenced in Poison Control so we could find out what next steps were.  (Seriously, Poison Control!!! Okay - by this point, I am getting really anxious).  The man on the Poison Control line listened to what happened and agreed that we should not have given him the medicine we did.  He directed us to discontinue using the wrong medicine, not to give Derek any more medicine for the evening, and to use the medicine Mike had originally purchased.  Because Derek didn't take all that much of it, there was very little risk and there was nothing we could do to off-set the mistake.  He said Derek would probably be fine.  Derek seemed okay all evening and woke up happy and smiling Thursday morning.  Thankfully, no more fever and he has been medicine free ever since.

4 Months Old

Derek had his four month check up earlier this week.  He is officially 13 lbs 2 oz (20%) and 25 in (60%).  He dropped a little in percentages from his last visit but overall is a healthy little boy.  We were told we need to fine tune to his weight a little bit and start to give him a little more in his bottles.  (After his last appointment and learning that we were grossly over feeding him, we weren't sure when to increase the amount he eats.)   So we are now giving him 5.5 oz per feeding and will be working up to 6 oz by the end of the month.  

We talked about the possibility of introducing solid foods.  Mike and I discussed it prior to the appointment and we are not looking to rush into it.  We learned from the doctor that we should wait until he's closer to 6 months but he could be ready anytime between 5-6 months.  Surprisingly, we shouldn't wait to long because there is a window of opportunity where babies are open to this new experience and waiting to long could make him want to reject it all together.  Signs he'll be ready for solid foods include:  controlling his head while sitting up, get hungry (eating 8-10 times a day & waking up 2-3 times a night to eat), and be interested in food (likes to watch us eat, tries to grab our silverware, etc).  We'll be on the lookout for these cues and gradually start solids when he's ready.  When the time comes, we are hoping to make our own baby food with fresh fruits & vegetables in the food processor.  

After our last visit to the pediatrician didn't go to well, this appointment decided whether we stay with her or move onto a different pediatrician.  Our appointment was scheduled for 8:25 am and was supposed to be our doctor's second appointment of the day.  We weren't seen until 9:15 am!  Unfortunately, this was a big improvement over our last appointment, which was scheduled at the end of the day.  (I remember my mom telling me stories of how my pediatrician was always running late too - maybe it's common among the profession.)  Both appointments she had a student with her.  We learned from the last appointment to only ask a question or two to the student rather than all of them and then have to repeat them all again when our pediatrician came in.  Our pediatrician was very calm and explained things well.  We felt like she took the time to answer all of our questions and was very clear.  She was back to the pediatrician we first saw and liked.  So for now, we'll chalk that 2 month check-up to a fluke and we've decided to keep seeing her.  

Mike has been taking pictures of Derek each week so we can see how he's changed.  We recently added a stationary object to the photo so we can see how he's growing.  Here's some photos of Derek on his 4 month birthday:

New favorite position - checking out those feet.

He's our wiggly little man.