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!

Since we last spoke...

Tyler has been sick since that last post! Yes, you can count 'em, we are in our 7th week of illness. We went thru 2 rounds of antibiotics there, and chalked it up to a cold, but after week 6 we decided we had to do something else, and got a referral to a ENT. We met with them last week and although they didn't tell us much that we hadn't heard, they did take a sample of the mucus and sent it off for culturing. Turns out its bacterial (moraxella catarrhalis), and can be treated with a stronger, different antibiotic. So we started that on Thursday and are hopeful.

In other news...

- we have added a 3rd meal of solids in now, and he's still a good eater

- he is still not crawling, but scoots around like crazy

- this past weekend he started pulling up to a standing position

- Eric got a new position at work that he will start toward the middle of Feb

- he's enjoying his new room and teachers at daycare

- he has 8 teeth

Omnibus Blog Update!

We've had a lot of excitement in our house the past few weeks.....

Tyler had his first plane trip! He got to meet his grandparents, great-uncle, and many of our friends who live in Texas. We stayed 2 nights at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, and then one night with Pam, John and Kathryn. He did great on both plane rides (even with teething on the way home) and got to go into a swimming pool for the first time too.

On 10/16 we went to a wedding (3 hours away) and were lucky that his daycare teacher also does babysitting so she watched him from about 2 in the afternoon until midnight. It was a great success - the only reason she called us was to ask if it's normal for the dog to chase the cats like crazy! (and the answer there is yes). They had a great time together including a long walk. The wedding went well, too! :)

On 10/23, Eric and I flew up to Boston for another wedding. We were gone just over 24 hours. Grammy (Kay) watched him Saturday morning and then Kristen watched him from around noon on Saturday until we got in around 9 am on Sunday. We missed him like crazy but he was having a great time. The wedding was great fun - got to see some friends I hadn't seen in a long time and Boston was beautiful. We survived the first night away from him.

We've added a second meal of solids, moved up to Gerber stage 2, and even given the meat varieties a try. So far he seems to like everything, although he has his days when he's just not feeling what we've chosen for him. Overall he's a good eater and is good with the spoon.

He has a total of 6 teeth, and 2 more on the way.

He's sitting up really well and gets up on all fours too. He will rock in that position but its not crawling yet.

We attempted to wean him off of his reflux meds (the doctor said that we should try around 7 months), but that didn't work out so well, so we put him back on them 2x per day. This past week we went to the doctor for a full evaluation regarding the reflux, and ended up upping his dose. The doctor took the time to walk us thru why he does not recommend doing anything add'l (further testing, different meds, etc) and it all makes sound, logical sense to both Eric and me. It was great to hear his logic and fully understand that we're addressing it appropriately. 1:10 kids will stay on reflux meds past 9 months and it looks like Tyler will be the one.

This past week was Spirit Week at daycare. Monday was Pajama Day, Tuesday was Team Colors (Tyler wore his Aggie jersey), Wednesday was Wacky Tacky day (we didn't participate; couldn't handle him being non-matching!), Thursday was Classroom Colors Day (yellow, we went out to get another yellow outfit but had a big spit up, so we wore a backup outfit w/yellow in it), and Friday was Halloween (he had a Halloween t-shirt plus his Skunk Halloween costume). Fun fun!

We thought that would help out the spit-up issue that seems to have reoccurred, but it got way worse over the weekend. We are pretty confident that this is due to his being sick and all the associated mucus hitting his belly, and making him throw up. Since was sick all weekend, he's home with Dad for the day.

Today was supposed to be his first day in the next room in daycare; hopefully tomorrow. Daycare sent some wonderful pictures too (including a few with his little girlfriend!). He'll be in a room with some of his friends and a few older kids. At first I was wary (we love Ms. Robin) but I think it will be good for him to be with the older kids and see what they are doing.