Micah's Schedule

As we are preparing for the birth of Twoey, I decided to write out Micah's schedule (and a food list, and a list of activities) for my parents to use as a guide for caring for Micah while I'm in labor (and at the hospital after her birth). Our current plan is that (depending on the time of day), my father will come to the house and care for Micah while my mom meets DH and me at the hospital. After Twoey has arrived, my Dad can bring Micah over to meet her. My parents will likely sleep at our house for the 2 nights we are at the hospital with the baby. I think other parents always enjoy seeing others' schedules, so here is our basic schedule. The ranges given are approximate - Micah usually wakes up anywhere from 8 - 8:30, but it can always be earlier or later at times.

8:00 am – 9:30 am Wake Up & Milk & Breakfast

• Change diaper, bring downstairs to play, give sippy cup of milk (mix in 1.0 ml polyvisol vitamins), prepare & serve breakfast, get Micah dressed AFTER breakfast.

9:30 am

• Sunday: Playtime/activities
• Monday: Take to daycare
• Tuesday: Playtime/activities (usually class, or free activity)
• Wednesday: Take to daycare
• Thursday: Take to class from 10:30 – 12:00
• Friday: Take to daycare
• Saturday: Playtime/activities

12:30 pm Lunch & Milk (Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday)

1:00 pm Nap time (Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday)

• Can be flexible with this…no earlier than 12 or 12:30 because he will be grumpy in the evening, and no later than 2. He usually naps 2 ½ - 3 hrs.

4:00 pm Milk & Snack (Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday)

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm* Playtime/activities (Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday)

*5:30 pm – 6:00 pm pick up Micah from daycare

(Monday/Wednesday/Friday)

6:00 pm – 7:00 pm Dinner & Milk

7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Playtime

8:00 pm – 8:30 pm Bath & Bedtime

• Bath on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (and once over weekend).
• Bedtime routine: Brush his teeth, take him to the bedroom, read him a book, put on his music, turn off the lights (leave fan on), rock and sing with him a bit, place him in the crib, close bedroom door and leave.

A picture is worth 1000 words

Saw this today at a meeting. Just needed to be published:

30 week ultrasound

At long last...an update on my 30 week ultrasound (along with pictures from both the 28 and the 30 week ultrasound). We had our appointment last week on Thursday. My cervix seems to be holding steady right around 2.9-3.0 cms (good news), but I'm having way too many contractions. We finally were able to talk to my regular doctor, and he gave me medication to help control the contractions now that I am no longer taking the P17 shots to prevent pre-term labor. Everything else looks great - at 28 weeks, Twoey weighed 2 lbs 9 ozs (Micah weighed 2 lbs 10 ozs at the same point in the pregnancy), and she was measuring about 3 days behind (totally normal - probably just means she'll be small like Micah was). I was able to tell the doctor about my frustration with his staff and the other doctor, so I felt better about that. I guess I just have to believe that things are going to turn out okay this time and try not to worry about these contractions too much.

Here are the pictures from Twoey's 28 week check. She was laying sideways across my belly with her legs twisted all over the place, so these shots were not so clear. She had a hand by her face, and in one of the 2D shots, she has a foot right in front of her face!









And here she is at 30 weeks - head down, much better shots. She made sure to suck her thumb and stick her tongue out at us!

He's got the beat....

Micah woke up this morning feeling great - he has been fever free for over 24 hours, and he barely has any sign of the rash remaining. I'm glad that he did not get a particularly bad case of coxsackie virus, but I think all these post-viral rashes are awful! I'm sure we have many more to come in the future. We double checked with the pediatrician, and Micah was cleared to return to daycare, so off he went! Naturally, the daycare manager asked us for a note from the doctor confirming that he was cleared to return 24 hours after his fever disappeared, so we had to scramble a bit to get them to fax over a note.

I've been on a picture binge lately...I just can't stop taking pictures of Micah! Everyday, he is doing more and more amazing things, and I constantly feel compelled to document it. For example, a few days ago we were driving in the car. Micah was a bit cranky (this was a day or two before we realized he was sick), so I put on some music and started clapping to the beat and singing. All of the sudden, I heard a giggle from the back seat and a clapping sound! I glanced in the mirror and realized that Micah was clapping on beat with me! Yes, I said it - on beat! I stopped clapping, and Micah continued on clapping...right on beat! My son has rhythm, which is more than I can say for his Daddy (or mine, for that matter). He repeated the process again watching some music on tv - he is even able to find the beat on his own and maintain it. I'm so proud of him!

Micah has been playing with toy cars a lot lately. His Aunt and Uncle gave him a toy garage for his birthday, and he seems to really love the cars. He will "drive" them all over the place, and he now says "vroom vroom" as he pushes the cars around.

Micah has also crossed into the land of "big boy" eating - at breakfast the other day, he insisted on taking the WHOLE banana to eat, peel and all. I couldn't resist snapping a photo:

He also likes to sit at the dining room table in a grownup seat now - either to eat a snack, sit with his cousin who came for a short visit this weekend, or just to sit and act like a grownup. He and the dog have an interesting relationship now - she loves to watch him eating through the glass table, she tries to steal his food when he holds it below table height, and she will even try to climb up and join him at the table.

Hand, Foot and Mouth

My little man is SICK. Everything seemed fairly normal this week - Micah had been a bit cranky, but I presumed it was due to the teething. A few times on Wednesday I thought he felt a touch warm, but I figured it was just from the teething, and I did not even check his temperature. He was SOOO cranky on Wednesday night, so I was in a huge hurry to bathe him and put him to bed.

On Thursday, Micah woke up a bit early. He was very cranky again, and hardly ate any breakfast at all. I decided to give him Tylenol - it helps with the teething pain, and often gives him his appetite back. We took my car over to a free car seat inspection/installation event, and Micah had a great time! He wandered around, and I made the mistake of putting him in the driver's seat - he LOVED it! Unfortunately, we could not convince them to install the car seat in the driver's seat, so Micah was quite unhappy when we made him return to the rear seat.


After the car seat installation, we took Micah for a visit with his Grammy at work (while DH and I went for another ultrasound of Twoey). I was afraid he would be miserable the entire time. I'll separately post the update about Twoey and our ultrasound appointment, but it turned out Micah actually behaved himself! When we went back to pick him up, I thought he felt a bit warm. We were running late, so we ended up missing our class and going home instead. While DH headed downtown to a meeting, I put Micah down for a nap.

Much to my surprise, Micah took a LONG nap. DH made it home before Micah woke up from his nap. I knew he was tired, but he slept for nearly 4 hours! When he finally woke up, he was burning up. I took his temperature, and it was 104.3. I immediately gave him some Tylenol. I called the pediatrician, and they said that I did not need to rush him to the emergency room unless he was listless, and I should work on getting his fever down and bring him in to the office in the morning. About 45 minutes later, I checked Micah's temeprature again...and it was up to 104.8. I was concerned, so I called the after-hours emergency number to reach the pediatrician. While we waited for her to call back. DH informed me that we had gotten an email from Micah's daycare informing us that there was a case of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease reported in his classroom. Immediately, I was fairly certain Micah had caught the virus.

When the doctor called back, we mentioned the outbreak at his daycare and we discussed the fever. She suggested I try to give Micah Motrin, too, and place him in a lukewarm bath if his temperature did not start to drop within an hour or two. She said we should go to the hospital if the fever continued to climb and we could not get it to drop within an hour or two, or if Micah became listless and lethargic. At that point, my mom showed up, and we stripped Micah down to his diaper. I checked his temperature one more time, and it was 105.1.

About 45 minutes later...we had gotten Micah's temperature back down to 103.8. Who would have thought that a temperature of 103.8 would be a relief? Over the next hour, Micah's crankiness started to dissipate. He started to drink some milk, he ate some graham crackers and some cheese, and he started to run around and play with his toys. He seemed to be in good spirits...so I decided to head out for a few hours and leave Micah with my mom. Instead of our weekly date night, DH decided to take a class that interested him, so I made plans to meet my friend. We just went for dinner at a tapas placed. The weather was beautiful, but unfortunately, those Tea Party people were holding a rally on the square where we were eating. I was really annoyed to have my peaceful dinner being disturbed by that stuff. I believe they have the right to demonstrate...but I also believe I have the right not to listen!

I was definitely laughing when the Tea Party-ers decided to play their "anthem"... Independence Day by the Dixie Chicks. Yes, the Dixie Chicks. I'm guessing that the Dixie Chicks would not be thrilled about this political group co-opting their name or their song, and I think it is ironic that these are likely the same people who blasted the Dixie Chicks for being anti-war (and called them un-American). Ahh...the irony. By the way, can someone please explain to me how people can be pro-war and anti-government and taxation at the same time? Unless I'm mistaken, the war efforts are one of the biggest government expenditures (and a HUGE component of our current federal government). Sorry...got off on a tangent there.

Anyway, I came home after a few hours - apparently, Micah and my mother had a fun night together, and he went to bed easily. He did sleep until 6:00 am on Friday, but he woke periodically crying on and off overnight.

Friday morning, Micah still had a fever of 104. We made an appointment and took him to the pediatrician. Naturally, when we got there, his fever was only 98.4! Apparently, all the meds were helping. Micah looked fine upon examination, and we mentioned the case of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease (also known as the Coxsackie virus) at his daycare. Micah's throat was read (and he had a negative strep test), so the doctor presumed that this was likely a Coxsackie viral infection. He warned us Micah's fever would stay high for another day or two, and that he might develop sores in his mouth and a rash on his hands, feet, and possibly his tush.

We kept him medicated and comfortable all day. We also learned that 4 other children in his daycare class (out of 6) were out sick with this virus. Ah well...I guess in the scheme of things, this really has been fairly minor. DH took Micah on a long walk in the afternoon, we watched Sesame Street, and we had a nice afternoon.

Around 7:00, our niece came over for dinner - she was in town for a conference, and Micah got to spend some quality time with his cousin. We bathed him and put him to bed by 8:30, and the three of us stayed up talking until about 1:00 am. I then drove her back downtown to her hotel.

This morning, Micah woke up with some blisters on his tongue and a slight rash on his feet, tush and hands. Definitely Coxsackie! I have to say, that sounds so much better to me than Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, doesn't it? I checked with the pediatrician again...I do not need to keep him isolated while he has the rash - just until 24 hours after his fever breaks. His fever has been below 100 today, so we will hopefully be able to return him to class on Monday.

In the meantime, Micah has been having some fun around the house. Apparently, he pulled this box off of the counter so he could play with it:
In the past few days, Micah has learned to shake his head "no." Another sign of the terrible twos, I suppose. He says "no" when he doesn't want food, or if he doesn't want to go upstairs for a nap, or really for anything else. It is kind of cute, but I have a feeling I'm going to grow to hate that.

For giggles, here is a picture of Micah in "his" chair:


Here are a few other pictures from last week.

Natural History Museum on Tuesday:






Hanging out with Daddy (after stealing his glasses):


Friday Spring Fling:

16 months

I can't believe it...Micah is 16 months old today!! He is talking up a storm (although not all of it is intelligible), and he is just so active. Currently, his favorite word is "uh-oh." I chuckle as I hear him toddling around the house saying "uh-oh" over and over again. He is getting pretty good about saying "hi" and "bye-bye" and waving. He says "baby" all the time now, too. He definitely is starting to repeat words, and he is finally in the pointing stage.

It looks like Micah is trying to cut another 4 teeth, and the poor guy has been miserable with sore gums and a runny nose (I think he also has allergies). I love how he comes over to give me kisses all the time, and he has been quite vocal about what he wants and doesn't want. He is just so loving all the time - he loves to cuddle and kiss, and he loves to be tickled and chased. He hates having his nose wiped, too. He has become a HUGE thumb sucker - all day long, and he will even suck two thumbs at once if he can! I wish he wouldn't suck his thumb as often, but what can I do?

He loves having me read him books, and he is just so curious all the time. He likes to point at things in books, and he is starting to identify animals. He is starting to use a spoon to feed himself, but generally requires a bath after any attempts.

Micah loves bath time - he continually places his face in the water and blows bubbles. He has fun splashing in the water and playing with his toys and dumping water over his face and hands. I am hoping to enroll him in a swim class this Spring - I hope he'll love the pool and swimming.

Micah still adores Elmo - I'm constantly amazed how Elmo can end any temper tantrum. We are definitely entering the terrible twos - temper tantrums and frustration outbursts are getting more and more common. Micah gets very stubborn, and he does not like it when I tell him no or make him stop doing something he is enjoying.

Recently, Micah has taken possession of the rocking reclining chair in the living room. He firmly believes this is "his" chair. We are not allowed to put anything on it anymore (he throws any objects he sees on it right on the floor). He likes to climb up on the chair and sit (by himself) and rock. He also likes to try standing while Mommy yells at him to sit down. He will also yell and throw a tantrum if someone else sits in "his" chair. Micah does not know this yet, but we plan to move that chair to his bedroom after the remodel (since we will be moving the glider into Twoey's room).

This week, Micah figured out how to open the front screen door - we will be keeping that locked from now on! He is starting to get out of his stroller more and walk when we are out in public. I have not yet taught him to listen or stay close, so this is not a fun development for me.

Micah weighs about 20 lbs right now. He is still wearing size 12 months clothing (the 12-18 month sizes are still a bit large on him). I'd guess he is around 34 inches tall - he won't be measured again until June. He is mostly still wearing a size 3 diaper, but once we run out of this box, we'll just put him in the size 4 diapers. I believe he is hitting all of his milestones on target. It is hard to imagine that it has already been 16 months. I'm excited each day to see him grow and learn. Happy 16 months, my little man!

Just a summary

On Thursday, we had another busy day. I woke up with my tush still burning and itching from the shot I had gotten on Monday. This week has been the worst - I have been so uncomfortable, itchy, and in pain from the shot all week, and I kept thinking it would just go away if I waited another day or two. Upon inspection, I realized that I was having an allergic reaction to the shot. As I thought about it, I realized that this was my first shot from the new set of vials (originally, the pharmacy sent 4 vials, and last week they sent my next 4 vials). These new vials are a different color (yellow, and the prior vials were clear). I was concerned that perhaps they used a different oil and that was causing my allergic reaction. So, I decided to call the pharmacy and ask about the shot. Apparently, there is a new manufacturer of the shot, so the formulation is different but the oil used is the same. I was directed to call my nurse and speak with her.

I then called the nursing company who administers the shots each week. They informed me they are getting reports of many reactions - almost 50% of the people who are receiving them. I was told that in most cases, the reactions are limited to the welts and itching, but can progressively get worse with continued shots (although some people only react the first time). I tend to be extremely allergy-sensitive, so I immediately decide that I'm not willing to risk escalating allergic reactions. I asked if they could obtain the P17 from the prior manufacturer and was told they could not. My only choices are: 1) to continue with the shots and deal with the allergic reaction ; or 2) stop the shots.

I tried to call my maternal fetal medicine specialist, but the gatekeepers at his office made it impossible for me to speak to anyone. I called the midwife, and she agreed that it was reasonable (but unfortunate) to stop the shots now. We also discussed my contractions and my concern about them increasing (or continuing to go on untreated). I now have a prescription for terbutaline, and directions about how she suggests I take the medication. I guess we will see where things are on Thursday next week.

After my crazy morning, I took Micah to a "Mommy and Me" event at the local shopping center (where his class is scheduled). We got a balloon, signed up for some free things, ate a quick lunch - it was a fun morning. We then went to our class at 12:30, and Grampy surprised Micah with a visit in class. Micah was SOOO excited to see him - he started to scream and yell and ran over to him.

We did have one meltdown in class. Micah was nestled securely in the teacher's lap (he LOVES her) and I saw another child in the class try to go running by. I grabbed that child and plopped him on my lap during the music circle time, and then Micah spotted me sitting there with another child in my lap. He went ballistic! He started to yell and came running over ready to push/hit/smack/move the other child out of the way and off my lap. All I can say is "uh-oh" - Micah is in for a rude awakening if he thinks he can keep me all to himself all the time. I've never seen him be so possessive of me, but it is definitely starting to show.

Thursday night was our weekly "date night." Once again, we used the time for practical purposes, and ran to the baby stores. We returned a few items, bought a few items, and looked at baby furniture for Twoey. We think we might have picked out her bedroom set! There is a new line of furniture coming out through this store later this month. It is American-made, green (as in environmentally friendly), and very reasonably priced. We are just waiting for the floor samples to come in to make sure we like the way it looks in person, and we are all set! If not, then we may just buy the same exact set we got for Micah in a different color.

On Friday morning, I took the dog to her follow-up appointment at the animal hospital. I had a long discussion with the doctor before we signed out last week, and she said this was just an xray and a blood draw, so I did not need to schedule an appointment. She placed a tech service order to allow me to drop by any time. Needless to say...I got there and they insisted I needed an appointment. The doctor I dealt with was nowhere to be seen. I had to deal with a condescending "case manager" who was solely interested in telling me they were right and the confusion was clearly my fault (can we say customer service was not their strong point?). I was so angry at the whole situation. Ultimately, the emergency doctor saw us and ordered the xray and bloodwork. The good news...my dog looked good on examination, her lungs were clear, and her kidneys seem to be doing okay (her creatinine level was normal, but her BUN was *slightly* elevated). We do not need to go back again for another 3-4 months for a follow-up with the cardiologist.

On Friday late afternoon, we went to a kids event at the place where Micah takes classes. They did a Spring Fling event, which included a musical performance, open gym time, some art projects, and pizza. Micah was climbing on the slides, and he loved the musical performance, and he even spent some time putting stickers on the art project. He ate a few pieces of pizza and then we headed home for the night.

Saturday, Daddy and Micah went to services in the morning. The weather was beautiful, so in the afternoon, we set up the gym set that my parents' bought him for his birthday outside. Micah spent a while playing basketball, climbing on the slide and running around outside. We then had friends come over to meet us for dinner. We just ran out for Chinese food, and then spent a few hours relaxing and catching up. Unfortunately, we could not find a babysitter for the evening, but it was still a wonderful night.

Sunday, we decided to meet some friends at a local orchard for a bunny festival! Micah had SOOO much fun - he got to pet sheep, a bunny, baby chicks (well, he nearly smashed those), and play with some toys in hay. Then he sat on a wooden choo-choo train, rode John Deere tractor tricycles, played in a wooden house, watched some children on pony rides, took a hayride, went on the moonbounce...it was a day full of activity!! We got some amazing photos of Micah:



















After all the activities, Micah was exhausted, so we took him home for his nap. We fed Micah dinner, and I decorated some cupcakes. After dinner, I headed out to an Indian restaurants with the cupcakes to help celebrate a friend's birthday. It was a nice evening.

Yesterday was back to the grind - I had a meeting downtown today, so it was a busy day. Today, Micah's daycare had a trip to a museum, so I decided to take Micah and join them instead of going to class in the morning. He had a lot of fun - there were all kinds of animals to see and a butterfly exhibit! Unfortunately, the trip started late and Micah started to get grumpy partway through the trip. I had to leave a bit early to get back in time for my OB appointment, so they agreed to keep Micah to finish up the activities (and DH met them back at the daycare when they returned).

My OB appointment was this afternoon - 30 weeks!! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is flying. We discussed my contractions, and the midwife was concerned about the number of contractions I"m having. She recommends that I start taking the terbutaline on a regular basis now, and she did a fetal fibronectin test (it can predict pre-term labor) just to be safe. Other than that, I'm measuring 29 weeks now, baby's heartrate sounded great, and my sugars have all been normal. I picked up the booklet on the diet - I have to say, I could never eat that much food! They recommend something like 2400 calories a day, 12 ozs of protein, 10-15 veggies a day, 3 fruits....perhaps it would be easier if I wasn't vegetarian, but the only way I can consume that many calories a day is if it includes a nice big vat of chocolate ice cream...and brownies...and I don't think that is what they have in mind.

One last note...Micah (and his Daddy and I) wanted to wish his Poppy Ira a VERY happy birthday today!! We're thinking of you, and can't wait to see you.