and, we have a walker!

We continued the physical therapy weekly up to 2 weeks ago. Honestly, prior to that appointment Eric and I had doubts about whether PT was helping, or time was, but we could see slow and steady progress. On Sept 8th, the daycare teachers said Tyler had taken 5-6 steps 3 times that day. Friday, the 9th, he took steps on his own and got up to 11! That weekend he did take some steps at home but not anywhere near 11. Grammy Kay watched him Saturday night for us so we could go out and celebrate our anniversary, and she worked with him too. Then that next week he was walking all over the place! He still prefers to crawl, or knee-walk, even 2 weeks later, but he's getting more and more steady every day with walking. He's also learned how to stand up without pulling up on anything.

Apparently that is all they were waiting for at daycare to move him to the next room. He moves to 1b (same schedule, different teachers) on Oct 3rd. They started keeping the tables & chairs out all the time (they used to bring them out for meals/snacks only), and Tyler loves to sit in a chair during the day.

Speaking of moves, I have a new role at work and start in that role tomorrow! I am going from being a people manager to being a project manager. I have been a team manager for 6+ years now so it is time. My work will be demanding in a different way, and my schedule will be much more flexible. I'm very excited about the new adventure!

Tyler had his 18-month appointment in early September. Everything went well, and as expected he did not like the shots. As a matter of fact, he told them "bye bye" rather insistently, through tears. As far as his growth, he is on track, right around where he normally is. He was ahead in his communication skills and on the late end with walking (technically he would still be 'normal' up to 19.5 months since he was 6 weeks early).

We've continued the Gymboree Play & Music classes and have fallen into a habit of going to Bob Evans for breakfast after. He seems to enjoy breakfast there (a pancake) and eats more and more each time. Usually by the time we get home after that he's ready for a nap, although this past week he was snoozing before we got to Bob Evans, so he was up for going to a couple of stores and then came home to nap. We have a couple more classes and will probably not renew after that.

So now we'll be working on his continued progress on walking, towards running, and then it'll be on to our next milestone.

Flying Summer!

This summer has flown by! It's been a good summer overall. A few updates for you:

- there is something in the water and many, many of my friends/coworkers are pregnant. I am not drinking said water, but I am over the moon happy for each and every one!!

- We started a fish tank. We started with a few fish, one had babies, several unfortunately didn't make it, and now we just have the 3 fish babies. Our tank's chemistry is off so we are treating that and hoping to be able to add more fish soon.

- Tyler loves to watch the fish in the tank.

- He also has several books that he loves to look thru. He will point to something and want you to say what it is. If you don't say it, he points more insistently and makes noises at you. It's very cute. He also will point to the right thing if you ask him, for example, "where's the zebra?". Such a smart boy!

- We're continuing physical therapy for his walking, and he is making progress each and every week. He will now walk holding one hand, so now we're working on balance and freestanding. I know everyone says we'll wish he wasn't walking soon, but I am more than ready for that challenge right now.

- He still loves his daycare. They've had a few more teacher changes and he's adapted to each one with no problems. The way he eats now you would never know eating was an issue (so I know in a few months we'll be saying the same thing about walking).

- We went to Texas for vacation a week or so ago. We were able to meet up with many of my friends (Andy, Aaron & Christina & family, Pam & John & Kathryn & the rest of the Frisco crew, Heather & Bill & family, Shannon & Arline & family) plus saw may parents many times. We stayed at the Southlake Hilton which was a great venue. Tyler also got his first balloon, and his second one when the first burst. He was great on the flights thanks to the fact that Eric loaded the whole first season of Bubble Guppies on his iPad. When it came time to get off the plane Tyler would say "bye bye" to anyone who's eye he could catch. Very cute.

- Tyler had a stomach bug this past weekend, but it must have been a 24-hour one because it was gone pretty quickly.

- He will also tell you when he's hungry, signs "more" all the time", gives high fives, dances, blows kisses and will "raise the roof" (you have to see that one)

Bullets again! What we've been up to!

- We did end up up for Gymboree class and Tyler really enjoys it! The class is on Saturdays and not too far from home.

- Tyler had to attend his first funeral last week, for his great-grandfather Clyde Gray. He was very good for the whirlwind trip to Richmond & back, and he was great with his Grammy Kay.

- Knock wood, he's been healthy even with his umpteen teeth coming in!

- We saw a Physical Therapist this past week for consultation on his walking (or, more correctly, not walking). We had noticed that his feet turning in seem to hamper his walking, and the PT agreed with us. We are going to start with new shoes and exercises at home and go back to PT in a week.

- Tyler loves Bubble Guppies (on Nick)! We have several episodes recorded and each and every time we put on on he gets really excited.

- He's getting more and more words now....very exciting to watch him process when we ask him something!

Ear Infection again!?!?!

So Tyler was on antibiotics (Augmentin) for 10 days and that cleared up his ear infections from the last post. For about 3 days. Sigh.

We went in for our 2-week check up on the ears last Wednesday. Dr. Gessner looked at both ears and said they were clear. HOORAY, right!?!?

Thursday night he was feeling warm so we took his temperature - fever. Other than that virus he had at the beginning of April the only reason he gets a fever is ear infection. We kept him home from daycare Friday and kept him on tylenol for the fever. We called the pediatrician Friday evening and she said it would be best to get him in to their office in the morning so we did. One ear was clear but his right ear was a mess. Now we're on another, stronger antibiotic (Omnicef) and hopefully that will do the trick. I really want one of those ear scopes myself so I can check him!!

The meds seem to have helped so I think we're on the mend. At least I hope so!

I am a Terrible Mom!

So yeah, teething? Could be, but the main reason he was so fussy was an ear infection in BOTH EARS!! :(

We went to his 15-month appt a week ago yesterday, and everything went great - except the ear infection thing. He had goop in his eyes too, so we asked the pediatrician about that. Turns out the ears + eye goop = one feisty infection that has to be treated by Augmentin. We just finished that and I think it did the trick. But now, I'm not so confident....good thing we have the follow-up appt next week!

I felt terrible about the ear thing. Glad he seems no worse for the wear!

In other news, daycare is going well. They have water days on Fridays and he *really* enjoys that. He's been eating well - generally not a huge fan of pasta but today he wanted some of my spaghetti and seemed to like it so maybe we're getting over that.

We also took him to a class at Gymboree Play & Music. Very similar to Little Gym, but he seemed to like it more - not sure if he was just in a better mood or what. They offer a 10-class deal and we're going to sign up for that this coming weekend. He seemed to enjoy crawling around and meeting the other kids. Fun fun!

Day 1 in the Toddler Room

Today was Tyler's first full day in the Toddler room and it went pretty well. His teachers don't get in until 9 so I drop him off to the floaters, but that works out ok and I like the floaters a lot. I mentioned to one of them that we had a hat for him to wear outside and they remembered to get it for him when they went out to play. Drop off is a lot more busy in the Toddler room, so it consequently is a faster process than what we're used to.

He didn't eat well today but that's because he's not a huge fan of pasta and they had Mac & Cheese. They generally don't have something else - because they want them to eat what's offered - and since Tyler eats the snacks well we are ok with it. Soon he will realize that he's gotta eat. And until then we know he'll eat when he gets home (and he sure did today). The teacher also remarked that if they are hungry they won't sleep, and he napped GREAT today.

He knows several of the kids in this room from when they were in the infant program together. His journal has some really cute pictures of him and those kids, including one of him and another girl holding hands at lunch!!

Funny stories from today:

- He and his buddy Tristan know each other and hang out a lot. Apparently today they were outside and he crawled over to Tristan (who is walking) and didn't like that Tristan was standing up and he wasn't, so he went and got one of the walking toys so he could stand too. Smart kid!

- he napped great today, like I mentioned. He's been sleeping on a cot the last 3 days of last week and transitioned fine to it (helps that we have one at home). Today he was snoozing and Tristan came over and woke him up. We saw that last week on the video last week too, made us giggle!

- Then he and Tristan were seated for snacktime. They were sitting across from each other at a rectangular table, just the 2 of them. Reminded me of 2 old men sitting at a table about to play checkers; too funny!

We also had a great holiday weekend, except Tyler was teething. He seriously has a mouth full of teeth! He had a slight fever, was drooling all over the place, chewed his fingers and pulled on his ears. Caused some teary crying episodes but once we broke out the Orajel swabs all was well.

Tomorrow morning is our 15 month appt!

Sent from Mary's iPad

Latest Feeding Therapy and more updates

We had what was probably our last (or maybe 2nd-to-last) feeding therapy appt yesterday. As always we bring food that he does well with and food that he doesn't do so well with. However, he was very interested in eating all of it, proving Mom & Dad wrong once again....Anyway, he was slow to learn to chew really well but has totally gotten the hang of that and chews great now. The Feeding Therapist was very impressed with his progress, gave us a few recommendations, and said we don't need to go back again unless we just want to check in with her in 6-8 weeks.

Tyler's been doing great on the eating front. This week they are having him in the Toddler Room 2 hours per day, including lunchtime, and he's eating like a champ. Today they had chicken nuggets (which are tough for him since he's a slow chewer), but he ate enough. Monday he ate 1.5 of the cornbread muffins at breakfast and 2 servings of lunch (chicken stir-fry). We were amazed.

Daycare has officially set his transition day to the Toddler Room as 5/31. YAY! He's not walking yet but I would not be surprised if he's walking relatively soon after the transition since most of the kids over there are walking.

Tyler got his first haircut on Mother's Day. We went over to Snip-It's in Brier Creek, and it's totally kid-centric. The only thing Tyler fussed about was the cape they tried to put on him so we went without that and it went fine. We had the big camera and video to record the moment, and they gave us a clipping of his hair. Got some great photos too.

We also got him bigger shoes this past weekend - kiddos feet are growing slowly but surely. We had a coupon so we ended up getting him 2 pairs, so he's ready for any occaision now.

And did i mention that we are now a bottle-free household? So glad not to have to wash those Doc Brown bottles with a gazillion parts each. Sippy cups go in the dishwasher.

And as a mom of a reflux-y baby, it's so nice to do his laundry every week or so! For a while there we were doing it daily, so this is a much needed change.

And those are all the updates I can think of for now......

Sent from Mary's iPad

Eating more & more!

Tyler got over his virus just a day or two after our last post. We also figured out that he had two molars come in when we weren't looking, plus another tooth. He had a stomach bug last weekend which resulted in a lot of stinky diapers. There had been a bug going around daycare and We had to have our turn.....But now he's over that and doing great.

On the eating front...Tyler's been eating more and more these past few weeks. We have them offer him whatever they are having at daycare and he seems to pick and choose what he'll eat. We noticed that he really started eating their food right after daycare had me put his baby food containers in the cabinet (where he could not see it) instead of his cubby (where he could see it). Not sure if him seeing it has abything to do with it or not but it sure is a coincedence. Some of the things he's eaten are: taco salad, chicken, ham sandwich, goldfish, nutri grain bars, toddler mum mums, cheeseburger, rice krispie treat, jello, fish sticks, tater tots, french fries, and chicken nuggets. We're continuing to offer him food to see what he'll take!

Sent from Mary's iPad

rough night

Rough couple of days here..After we picked Tyler up from daycare Friday we noticed he felt a little hot. Took his temp and it was almost 103, so we went over to Urgent Care. They were able to see us relatively quickly and we were diagnosed with really nothing but an RX for an antibiotic. I went to fill the prescripton then came home. Tyler was asleep by the time I got home with the RX, so we were going to start it in the morning. Eric and I got to talking and neither of us felt comfortable with the disgnosis from that doctor - it seemed like he came in with a decision of what he was going to do and nothing would change his mind. He didn't see any evidence of an ear infection, said we probably have RSV (even though it's very late in the season for that), and said to take the antibiotic even though if it WAS RSV it wouldn't help (the V stands for virus....). We also were concerned about having him on another antibiotic and he didn't seem to care about that. So we kept Tyler on baby advil to manage the fever.

Saturday morning his fever went even higher so we called our pediatrician and they were able to see us. The doctor on call was one of the ones we really like, very experienced and good with patients. So, she checked him out and didn't see anything in his ears. She noted how late it was in the season to be RSV, and got a white blood count to see if he had an infection. WBC was normal so she says he has a virus. No need for the antibiotic, keep him on ibuprofen, and he will probably be over it in 2-3 days. We felt so much better after seeing her - she said we were smart not to give the antibiotic and to get in to see them today.

Yesterday was still rough. He was fussy and tired and just not himself. He slept a lot, but would get super sweaty then wake up with the chills. He ate pretty well, thank goodness. It was a scary day and we almost ended up going to the ER at one point during the chills. That continued overnight but he woke up this morning feeling much better temp-wise, so we're hoping we're over the worst of it. Cross your fingers.

Sent from Mary's iPad

Today, he ate...

in the last 24 hours, Tyler has had tortilla chips, a piece of lettuce, a grilled cheese (a taste, not the whole thing), peas, peaches, shortbread cookies, and kix cereal. Baby steps but we're making solid progress!

Sent from Mary's iPad

March Recap

It's been a busy month for us....

- Eric started his new job at the end of February and has had to go on 2 business trips. The 1st one was one day, the 2nd one was 4 days. It was tough with him gone but we had fun. I was glad to see Eric when he got home, and Tyler missed him too!

- He's mimicking us a lot - he'll say "hi", "honk" and a few other things where he's copying what we say.

- We had our follow-up appt with the feeding therapist at UNC and this also included meeting with a gastroenterologist nurse practitioner. We are still really happy with the folks at UNC; they seem to be well known in the industry and know their stuff. They approach the feeding them from end to end (input/output, if you now what I mean...). So, we're now trying a probiotic to help restore the "flora" in his GI system after those 3x antibiotics, we're staying on track with the prevacid, and we added Miralax (if you're backed up it can back up the whole system). We also are trying some Periactin to treat his almost constant congestion. Two add'l side effects of this medicine are helping him sleep and increasing his appetite. So far he's doing great on this - he ate a waffle at school, he eats oatmeal, and today he ate some tortilla chip. Continuing progress!

- we love his new daycare teachers! We got a cute card for St. Patricks' Day, and can see that they interact with the kids a lot.

- One of my friends is pregnant so between her and another friend who we are hoping will be pg soon, we were able to get rid of a lot of Tyler's old stuff.

- we're on whole milk but going whole hog on regular whole milk was not kind to his digestive system. We tried Lactaid milk and that seems to be going well. We did 2 bottles (of 4; the rest were formula) first, then we went to 3 bottles. This past weekend we went to all Lactaid milk and it seems to be working out well. Generally kids outgrow the need for Lactaid milk and I hope that is the case for him!

Throwing down the crutches?

The last couple of times we've been at the pediatrician we've asked about Tyler's eating and that's what lead us to the feeding therapist. Our pediatrician would say to keep offering different foods to him, that "he might throw down the crutches one day and just start walking". We were dubious, given that Tyler's pretty cautious about everything he does, but we might have gotten to that point over the last week or so! This started with the french fries at the beach...and we got some great ideas from the Feeding Therapist at UNC...and we've been trying to offer more and more things to him. Today alone he's had french toast sticks, vanilla wafers, yogurt, whole milk, part of a hamburger, part of a fish stick and some animal cracker.s A few weeks ago he would have none of this!

So yes, we met with the feeding therapist at UNC and really liked her. She was very knowledgeable and we liked her approach, interaction with Tyler, and her suggestions. She consulted their dietcian who provided suggestions on how much formula/milk/purees/table foods Tyler should be eating. She explained why the diced peaches and pears were not big successes (the natural instinct is to try to swallow slimy stuff like that) and what food would work better (dry solids like crackers, pancakes, waffles, etc.. the natural instinct is to chew those by moving side-to-side in your mouth). And she was right. We stocked up last weekend on some of the suggested foods, and have been trying pancakes & graham crackers this week. He really likes them all. We don't get a ton of chances to try stuff during the week so this weekend we're trying all kinds of stuff before going back to daycare on Monday. We got back in a month for a check up.

She also suggested moving from the OTC Prevacid to the Prevacid solutabs (which are by prescription). We never thought Tyler would take the solutab by mouth but lo and behold, he does!

Tyler's first birthday part was a great success. We had a Mickey Mouse them and although he didn't smash the cake, he had a great time. Many friends and family joined us and Tyler got some wonderful presents.

We went to Tyler's 12-month appointment at the pediatrician on Friday, 3/4/11. Got a clean bill of health and the ok to start whole milk. I'd wondered if he'd be delayed on that since he's a preemie, but he's growing so well there is no need to delay it. The pediatrician said some people ease into it but many kids like it because it tastes better than formula. So we've tried it this weekend and so far, so good! I asked the pediatrician about organic vs. regular milk and he said that although there are no conclusive studies showing the benefits of organic milk, his kids get organic milk. So, I think we're going to try and go organic as much as possible (without freaking out if he gets regular milk).

And we're working on transitioning him to the Toddler room at daycare. We've been working on this for a while since he is the oldest kid in his current room and has no one to look up to, development-wise. His current teachers just left this past week (one gave her notice and one up and quit), and they are moving one of his old teachers up to his room starting Monday which is a good thing. They started having him the the toddler room for short amts of time last Friday and will continue that this month with the goal of having him transitioned by April 1.

In other news...

- Eric got a new car yesterday!

- we're both contemplating iPad2s!

Week at the Beach!

Ok, so updating daily for this month? fail. Oh well. Continuing to have a good month, though :)

We just returned from a few days at Kure Beach, NC to celebrate my 40th birthday. Last year when we were celebrating my 39th birthday the hospital, I told Eric we would need to celebrate my next birthday big. He asked what I wanted to do, and I said, rent a beach house and have all of our friends come and stay with us.

We found the beach house and invited everyone. We had a total of 18 people coming so we found a HUGE house (that was a great deal being off-season). t was us, Eric's parents, Adam, Noah, and Chase (Rachel & Amy were home sick, boooo!), Pam, John and Kathryn, Ed and Kristen, Eric's aunts Joann and Janet, and my friend Shelley from work. Eric and Pam conspired to put together an "All About Mary" cake which was amazing. Everyone arrived Saturday and the weather was great. Some folks left on Sunday, some on Monday, some on Tuesday and our final guests left on Wednesday. Tyler got to play in the sand and seemed to enjoy it. Gifts were amazing - so many of my favorites in so many different ways. It was a GREAT weekend and I am so lucky to have such great friends and family to celebrate with.

Funny story: Pam, John and Kathryn flew into Raleigh Friday night and then followed us out to the beach Saturday morning in their rented Chevy Tahoe. We were leading and Eric used the windshield washer fluid to clean the front window. Pam sent a text laughing about the "shower" they got behind us...so Eric does it again, hee hee hee. Next thing you know John is speeding up and gets in front of us, cleans his windows and sprays us, then goes back to following us. We were cracking up!

We lost my car keys for a short time, and had to ask Ed & Kristen to go by and get our spares overnighted to us. They were so awesome to help us out. Turns out we found the keys but still, such great friends.

Tuesday night it was just Eric, me, Tyler, Joann and Janet left at the house, and they offered to take us out to dinner. We went to Jack Mackerels. Eric's meal had french fries and Tyler kept reaching for them so we gave him one -- AND HE ATE IT!! We were amazed!!

He also is really getting into standing up and walking (using a walking toy). He had a great time being entertained by everyone.

Next up:

- feeding therapy appt tomorrow at UNC

- first birthday party on Saturday!

- working on transitioning to the Toddler room at daycare - we met with the owner & director to discuss this

No big events

Not a lot going on these first days of Feb...Tyler's doing great! He's finally over his ear infections (confirmed today), still has some congestion (apparently just gotta wait for winter to be OVER!!), and is overall doing well.

We're having hardwood floors installed on the 2nd floor tomorrow - whoo hoo!

I really need to update more!

so sorry! I keep thinking about it and just don't get around to it. Maybe for the month of Feb I will try and update daily. I have a feeling Tyler's 11th month - the month leading up to his first birthday - is going to be a great one!

On 12/24, Tyler and I were home while Eric was at work. I was on vacation, daycare was closed....anywho, I put him down in the pack & play to nap and turned my head, next thing I know he's up on his knees looking at me! He also crawled forward for the first time that day! Big day for the kiddo. We'd already baby-proofed because a few weeks prior he got the hang of rolling around to get where he wanted, but we really had to make sure to keep an eye on it all after that!

Christmas for Tyler was fun! He got a ton of great toys, got to see his whole family (in person or via Skype), and then spent the week at home with us since daycare was closed.

Other happenings:

- Tyler is totally pulling up to stand and also playing on his knees.

- we switched AR meds - now on Prevacid and it seems to be helping

- he has another little cold but was minor in comparison to the last one

- plans are well underway for his first birthday

- we met with a feeding therapist a week or so ago, and she had some good recommendations to get him eating more solids. we have a 2nd opinion at UNC in a few weeks

- finding toys on Craigslist rocks!

- we went to Stride Rite in the mall yesterday and bought him some cute new shoes. I wanted to get him properly measured and they noted that he has small, chunky feet, lol

- we also popped into Pottery Barn Kids to test out the Anywhere Chair - he liked it so he'll be getting one of those for his b-day

- today we had a playdate with RJ, his buddy from daycare (who has since switched daycares). RJ is 6 weeks older than Tyler and was also a preemie. He's a great eater and Tyler was trying to imitate him and ate a couple of things he'd never eaten before. He also took to a sippy cup, and had lots of fun seeing RJ again

and general news...

- we've decided to stay in this house for 5 years or so and now we're going to work on making it more comfortable. We're thinking new flooring (hardwoods/laminate) and new (smaller) furniture. More to come on this!