ER Scare

Wow...so not sure where exactly to even begin on this one... Reid got his 4 mo. shots on Thursday and was quite the trooper. He only screamed for about a minute, then calmed down and was his happy camper little self again--even slept while mommy was at Target buying the rice cereal the pediatrician said we could start (which was NOT a big hit on Saturday night--not even sure if any actually made it into his mouth, lol). He was pretty cranky a little early, so we put him to bed at 6 rather than his usual 6:30. He slept throught the night (fourth night in a row...a new record!!) and wasn't even cranky at the sitter's house on Friday. Friday evening, the crankiness began. He seemed beat, so I put him down just before six. Jason had daddy duty on Saturday morning so I could go garage saling in our neighborhood-wide garage sale (yes, thrifty me got some good bargains!) and he said Reid was cranky and had to be moving virtually the whole time. He didn't really nap well that day, but ate like a champ. He's finally taking more than 4 or 5 ounces at a time--yay!! After an attempt at the rice cereal (it was a joke--we'll try again in the next week or two) it was bath time. I thought he had a very vociferous and horribly gaggy smelling fart, but then I noticed that there were suddenly chunks of #2 all over. Lovely. Got it all cleaned up, then cleaned him all up with a second bath and got him to bed. The fun began in the wee hours of Sunday morning. He awoke SCREAMING at 2:30. As soon as I went into his room, you could smell that he'd poopied (very odd considering he hasn't made a poopie at nighttime in about five weeks) so I changed him, thinking maybe he was uncomfortable. He was totally inconsolable and went two more times. I finally fed him out of desperation (maybe with this big increase in appetite, he's having a growth spurt??) and he fussed for another 30 minutes and had yet another poopie, but finally passed out. So I was exhausted after battling him for an hour and went back to bed to pass out myself. Repeat the same thing at 5am...ending with his normal feeding just after 6am. He slept about an hour after that and then the REAL fun began. Imagine the most foul diaper ever, but add some bloody mucous. And not a normal amount, but just enough to warrant a diaper change. So long story short (and 5 bloody diapers later), at 4pm I finally called our pediatrician's after hours nurse line (which charges you $10/call--still ticks me off!) and they sent us to Acute Kids Urgent Care. From there, we were sent to the ER at Children's Medical Center Plano. Four hours, an x-ray, sonogram, CBC, and other fun things later, we emgerged exhausted with our poor crabby infant knowing that he thankfully didn't need surgery, but not really knowing why he's been having poopie issues. Sigh. Same thing at our follow up with the pediatrician today. So we've been given the green light to have him back at the sitter tomorrow and have been told it could've been a bug or a very late milk protein allergy. I don't buy either--he's been on this formula over two weeks (and obviously loves it since he's eating like a little piggy) and wasn't vomiting or having fever. My bet? The shots. But I'm not a doctor... We are just thankful that he seems okay (just tired, cranky, and blood-free "sharts" today) and didn't require anything crazy like surgery. And I've gotten to be a pseudo stay at home mom today, which has been a dream, even if just for a day. My little Reid and I enjoyed a long, sweet nap together this morning and it was wonderful :)

On a happier note, our deep freeze (which went out a week after I quit breastfeeding and housed ALL my hard work...breast milk I'd worked so hard to pump for four months--all gone!!) is working. Apparently, all of the outlets in the garage had been tripped. Jason pressed the reset button and voila-they're fine!

Grandma Penny & Grandpa T's Visit

It's been (another) crazy week. I guess this is the new normal...there is never, ever any down time and it seems like we go, go, go all the time. Between work, dr. appts, events on the weekend, and attempting to do housework, cook, and normal daily activities, it's amazing we can get any sleep at all (and believe me--it's never enough!). So I meant to get this uploaded closer to the actual visit, but better late than never, right?

Last weekend was Grandma Penny's first visit to see Reid. We also had the privilege of meeting her new husband, Tim, who compliments her perfectly. They decided that he will be called "Grandpa T." We were happy to have them stay with us and Reid loved watching him walk around--we think mainly because he is so tall it must've been fun to crane his neck back and watch him way up there. I didn't take nearly enough pictures (hard to do when you're holding a baby all the time, lol) but here are a few from our weekend. Reid was a bit out of sorts because he refused to sleep on Friday evening when we all had dinner at Patrizio's (the five of us plus Steven, Aimee, Hayden, and Henry). We did his normal evening routine, then got into the car at bedtime instead of into the crib...it was downhill from there. As soon as we were seated (thankfully on the patio, where I could make an easy escape), he began wailing so I figured if I walked him around in the stroller, it might lull him to sleep. 30 minutes later (and JUST to sleep), I parked the stroller at the table...only to have it jostled two minutes later by the waiter. So I am quite grateful that others took turns walking him around, too, and I could scarf down some dinner.


I had a sneaking suspicion that the evening would go that way, so here's the onesie he wore. (It says, "I'll sleep when I'm good and ready" if you can't read it)

The next day...and a very tired mama... He was a good little guy, but still cranky from missing sleep the night before. We headed over to Steven and Aimee's that evening and Steven grilled some delicious goodies for dinner. The weather was great, Reid went down without a fuss, and all was good. (He popped awake an hour later and was fussy until we got home, though. This kid can't sleep anywhere but his crib or swing...not sure how we're going to rectify that problem!! Any advice, mommies out there??)

Henry with Grandma Penny and Grandpa T.

I can't believe Hayden is in kindergarten this year! He, in true kindergartener fashion, asks tons of questions (some are so funny!) and has typical kindergartener reasoning... Check out what he has to say about his new brother/sister (who will be making his/her debut around Valentine's Day). It cracked us all up!

If you couldn't quite hear the end, he would like a sister because "she won't hit me."

After a bunch of naps on Sunday, our little guy was back to normal on Monday. He loves his bouncy seat (and yes, I realize it is quite odd that it is in the master bath tub, but that is the only place I have room for it in the bathroom...and he has to come with me when I get dressed, etc.)

Please ignore the really irritating noises I'm making in this one... At first I was just trying to get his attention for the camera, but the crazy noises ("Wanna hear the most annoying noise in the world?") were making him laugh and giggle, and of course I wanted to get that on video.

And for the last laugh, Reid officially crapped on himself in the bathtub for the very first (and hopefully last, but I have a sneaking suspicion it won't be!) time last night. It was absolutely revolting and I don't think there are enough cleaning products on earth to make me feel like I really, really got it clean... Oh, joy.

4 Months

I can't believe it...Reid is four months old!! Here's our little guy (not so little anymore!) in his latest monthly photo:



Some of his latest favorites...his new glow/music toy from Gamma and Papa has been a big hit! Some nights when he wakes up in the middle of the night, I can put the little seahorse on and it 'lullabies' him back to sleep. One night, I cracked the door again after turning it on because I thought I heard him. He was just caressing the glowing tummy. It was precious!! This was the best pic I could get.

And I have been videoing like crazy, thinking of all the cute things I thought he'd do for much, much longer (but has since quit)... Here he is after our weekend of visitors (preview of an entry soon to come--Grandma Penny's visit!). Jason and I were laughing so hard that the couch had to be shaking, but somehow I managed to get it. I was also graced by the presence of Dixie, who normally avoids any area close to Reid. Guess she was feeling especially auspicious that day.

And his latest feat...rolling from his tummy to his back (on a regular basis) independently! Watching football had to be a part of it, of course.

And we just (finally!) found a mobile to put in his crib. Since he seems to love animals and sports, it combines the two...and still matches the nursery decor fairly well. Back when the showers were going on, we had gotten the cutest monkey mobile off of our registry from Jason's Aunt Lynn and Uncle Nigel, but I found that it had recently gotten some bad write ups as far as safety is concerned, so I took it back. My backup mobile was a precious lamb mobile, which has basically been on back order since I chose it. The nursery's "theme" kind of accidentally ended up being sheep/lamb along with my original color scheme....which has been absolutely perfect because Reid is a little "lamb of God" and my maiden name is Shepherd :)

And, finally, tomorrow will be a happy day... I'm turning 34, but this time it's not the, "Oh, no...another year passes with no baby...and I'm not getting any younger." My birthdays are traditionally disasters, but this year is already off to a great start with my two favorite guys :)

Big Weekend

Reid has had a big weekend for such a little guy! He is now able to sit, unassisted, in a Bumbo. It's pretty funny since he's still a little bit wobbly, but it's GREAT for Mommy b/c I can set him down for a sec to wash out a bottle, etc, and he's not upset (like when I lay him on the floor) b/c he can still see me.


The little guy is getting soooo long!! I remember when we brought him home from the hospital and he was too little for the carseat...we rolled up blankets and put them in the seat so he didn't wobble around. Now, his legs hang off of the carseat and his swing! Check out the happy boy:





On Saturday, we went to nephew Henry's b-day party at Chuck E. Cheese. Birthday Boy had a blast doing everything from eating pizza to playing games to high fiving Chuck E. himself.



It was great to see Steven, Aimee, and Hayden, too!

I thought Reid would love it with so many things to watch--all the kids, colors, and lights--but he was NOT a big fan after about 5 minutes!! We did get some happy footage, but this was just before it all went downhill:

Soon after that, he was VERY cranky. We were going to leave earlier, but it was so fun to see the boys enjoying themselves and good to catch up with family and the Cerises. Soon, Reid passed out. We really should've taken a pic from the front b/c he was all squished in this funky position, but I didn't dare move him...

Later, we enjoyed the LSU game at the Keys' house. Great to catch up with old friends! Reid and I enjoyed an evening stroll home so Jason could stay and watch the game--a nice little taste of the Fall weather we'll hopefully have soon!

Reid's Dedication

Thanks SO much for all the prayers--Jason's checkup at the new cardiologist went well. His BP is back in the normal range, and the EKG didn't have anything abnormal. He'll go for another follow-up appointment on my b-day, Oct. 6. Sorry it's taken me so long to get that posted...it was an especially nutty week and we've all felt kind of bleh with allergy issues.


Yesterday was supposed to be a great day, but for me it kinda sucked. We were so excited to have both sides of the family coming into town! But in true Stacey fashion (or should I say "Laura fashion"? She was sick on and never made it on a single field trip in elementary school), I got sick. I felt pretty icky and just thought it was allergies catching up with me. We'd had a really fun night with our neighbors next door, whom we hadn't gotten to hang out with in quite some time. We sat outside for a couple of hours and had some wine, then moved inside for a delicious dinner. Holly and I chatted for another hour after the guys checked out for the night and I was very surprised it was nearly midnight when I left. So when I felt icky yesterday morning, I just assumed it was the allergies and being up later than I had been in awhile. I took a nap when Reid did, but still had no energy whatsoever. Jason grabbed us some Sonic for lunch, which tasted fine, but about an hour later after I'd put Reid down for his afternoon nap, it hit me. I felt worse and worse...and then finally upchucked it all. Lovely. I ran a low grade fever for awhile, so not sure if it was food poisoning, a virus, or if theh Sonic just didn't sit well with me...but it was right in time for everyone's arrival. I finally had to just go lay down upstairs and my parents ran to CVS since our Pepto Bismol was expired. I rested most of the afternoon (never really slept b/c I felt so bad) and went to bed early. I hated missing visiting/dinner with everyone, but was very grateful people were here so I could rest w/o having to worry about Reid, and my mom was gracious enough to forego dinner to help me. Moms are good like that, no matter how old you get ;)

On to the fun part...pictures! Here's Reid helping me update the blog last week or so. I should've taken a picture of the back of his monkey outfit--it has a big monkey face on the hiney, so we called him "monkey butt" all day. So cute!

Here's Reid after Gamma and Aunt Kristen dressed him in Kristen's old A&M outfit...a French tradition. Gamma now has pics of all the grandkids in it! (the booties are especially cute)

And here's our happy boy in a precious personalized outfit, compliments of my friend Julie--we taught together in Houston. We are soooo excited he's rounded the proverbial corner and is a happy boy most of the time now (versus being an unhappy/fussy boy the vast majority of the time).

And now for today's festivities! Here's our little family unit as we waited for the first service to let out. Crazily enough, we ran into just about everyone we know, including my old roommate Jill and her mom, who live in Houston!!

And we were able to get the coveted shot all Stonebriar families want...a picture with Chuck Swindoll! I just had to share with him how Reid would kick around in my belly about five minutes into the sermon EVERY single Sunday--he got a kick out of that.

Reid was such a good little guy during the dedication (and in the nursery, which was a great improvement over last week, where I was paged 15 minutes into the service!) and it was so special. I don't think many people nowadays realize what an important job being a parent is. You have the responsibility for raising your child and guiding him/her as they soak in all the important things in life, so better make sure you're a good, faith driven example yourself! Especially in this crazy world...

After the service, we gathered all the kids from the nursery and got ready for a few family pics. Wish we could've gotten everyone all in one, but we didn't know anyone to take that many pictures for us...

Hanging out with cousins Hayden and Henry:

And Uncle Steven...

Papa and Aunt Kristen:

The Frenches (Reid had had enough)

The Shepherds and us...and I didn't put it on here, but we were all laughing so hard in the next picture b/c the older couples sitting near us were so tickled by Reid's crying as we're trying to snap "one more" shot...

This was SUCH a meaningful, special day for Jason, Reid, and me. We're thankful that our wonderful families were willing to travel up for this, and wished the rest of our families weren't sooo far away (Grandma Penny and her new husband are in California, but visiting next month--yay! And Aunt Laura and family came to see Baby Reid this summer, from Australia!). Our goal is to be the best parents we can be. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6.

Prayers, please...

So I am dead tired and wish I could just go crash into bed right now...but more importantly, we need your prayers, please! Jason had a routine physical today (for his new company/insurance) and his blood pressure was high plus the EKG showed an abnormality. We're trying not to worry, but it is a concern, especially considering the random fainting/blackout spell and ER trip just before school started last year. Thanks so much, prayer warriors!!

3 months

At the risk of jinxing ourselves just for mentioning it, I think we may have FINALLY rounded a corner, thank the good Lord!! Reid is only a grumpy baby now when he's tired or hungry (and a few other times now and then), not 24/7 grumpiness with a few smiles thrown in!! Yaaaaaay! He has had a ginormous eating increase, too--went from about 2 1/2 ounces a few weeks ago to eating 5+ ounces this past week! Which makes me wonder...was I inadvertently starving him and had no clue??

I really don't think my milk supply was an issue until the first week of school...and that's when the real stress and odd pumping times began. I discovered I could potty, prepare, pump, wolf down lunch, and clean up all in 15 minutes the first week of school. Didn't really want to, but that's the only way it could work. Fast forward to this past week, and I'm only squeaking by with the help of some freezer milk. I've been on fenugreek a week and just began blessed thistle (two herbs that are supposed to help) Saturday, but I'm not seeing any difference except that I now smell like syrup and my pee smells like curry sometimes. Sorry--TMI ;) So I'm at the crossroads of deciding to just go with it and lessen the pumping...or fight it like crazy and try Reglan, a stomach medicine that has the odd side effect of making you produce milk. But you have to pump every 2 hours the entire first 24 hrs you take it--like I'm not sleep deprived enough already!!

Anyhow, our little guy is up to 12lbs 4oz as of last week, and after the huge eating binge he went on during the day this past week, I'm pretty darn sure he's now even more. It's getting hard to pick him up, and people keep commenting on how looong he is. Now he's beginning to fill out and get chubby little folds everywhere. I love it! Here's our little double-chinned cutie (and note the bubble beard, which he blows many times a day, now):




He's been a persnickity eater this weekend (which means waking up two or three times/night again, sigh) but we just discovered today that he's happier with a level 2 nipple on the bottles. Wonder how long ago we should've switched... But he's definitely growing, which is the important thing. So after all the ravenous eating last week, this week he's decided to stop eating long enough to smile at you and have all the milk dribble out of his mouth, or do this:




And this was two weeks ago, when he turned 12 wks:



And he just saw his first LSU Tigers game. The whole family was wearing our purple and gold, including Reid.



Jason just happened to find a Crown bottle just Reid's size. (And no, he did not have any--it's actually amaretto inside the bottle--made a nice travel size for our fancy French toast recipe last summer on vacation)


True to being a boy, and much to my chagrin, Reid LOVES to watch football on tv. Eek--I'm outnumbered!



New things in the past week: Reid is obsessed with his hands and especially his feet. He kicks ALL the time (below is a little tidbit...he, of course, pretty much stopped as soon as the camera came out, but you get the idea)--in the swing, in your lap, on the playmat, in his swaddler blanket, etc. His tongue is going crazy and he's a cooing, smiling machine, too. We love it and much prefer it over all the crying!