LUCAS' FIRST HALLOWEEN!!

I'm a total slacker for not posting this sooner!  We had soooooooo much fun on Halloween.  It was a Monday so we were a little rushed after work to get home, get in costume and meet up with our friends at Melissa's house for some trick or treating but we made it happen! We decided to do a theme costume with the three of us and went as Doug, Patty Mayonaise and Porkchop from the Nickelodeon cartoon Doug. :)  Mainly because I found a cute little Carters doggie costume for Lucas and then for Doug and I it was super easy to just throw together a costume from things we already had.  All Doug did was put on a vest and he was done. LOL.  Anyway we met up with all of our friends a couple blocks from our house (it's super convenient that we all live within a few miles of eachother) and all the little babies just strolled the streets with us as the bigger kids trick or treated. Then we congregated in Mel's driveway for some food and drinks while handing out candy. It was a ton of fun!!

 Miss Addie and Mel

 Bahahahaha!!!  Peanut Butter Jelly Time... Only Candace :)

 Best Iron Man costume ever!!  Cousin Dev

 Miss Addie and Jenn

 One of the twins (I can't remember which!) and Josh

 Lady Bug Keira and Steph

 Lo and Kev

 My Porkchop :) :) :)

I don't know why they are staring at him :)

 Let me out Momma!

 OMG Best thing ever. These kids went as a Mariachi Band and strolled up playing Low Rider. They were amazing!!

 Jeff and Meg

 BEST Surprise ever!!!!!  Doug's mom drove out from Virginia and is here to stay!!!! Yaaaaaay!  She is staying with us until she gets settled and we absolutely love it!!  Can't believe she made it for his first Halloween (wasn't supposed to arrive until that weekend)

Don't know this kid but LOVED his costume!

The Twins Dylan and Morrison :)

9 MONTH DOC APT

We had Lou's 9 month check up last Thursday and of course had a lot to discuss. First I have to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE his new pediatrician. She is a little hippie-ish which I'm totally down with. The first thing we discussed was his weight and eating issues. He weighed in at 17 lbs 14 ounces which put him in the 10th percentile (height was 28 inches - 40th percentile and head was in the 60th percentile) :)  He might be skinny but he has lots of brains in that big head of his! LOL  Anyway, we looked at his weight on the growth curve and it clearly just leveled off at about 6 months on (which we already knew).  She said this is actually quite common since most babies plump up and grow like crazy in the early months and then taper off at around 6-9 months as they become more active and just naturally slow down a bit in their growth.  She said that looking at his weight alone is not real cause for concern, especially since he looks perfectly healthy and his weight is very evenly distributed.  What caused concern was the family history (cousin with EE, dad with food allergies) and his current issues with solid foods (not eating purees for us (mostly me) and his put food in mouth - chew - spit food out method with finger foods). She explained she wasn't overly concerned since these both could possibly be easily explained but just to be safe and given the family history she wanted him to see a GI Specialist.  She further explained that the not wanting to eat for us could simply be because we are away from him all day and when we get him home it's probably just not what he wants to do. Why would he want to eat cereal and peas when he could do his favorite thing in the world - NURSE!  Or maybe he just wants to play with us.. or probably a little of both.  And the fact that he eats solids just fine at daycare for the most part, that leads her to believe it's a behavioral issue verses a physical issue (another good sign).  Food therapy was also brought up as a way to help him with the textured foods.  At this point I felt pretty good and was happy that I had kept the GI Specialist appointment that I had made a while ago (which was now a week away).

Next we moved on to the sleep issues... at 9 months he is still waking up a TON at night to nurse.  Some nights 5 times a night and others just 2 and very rarely he'll just wake up once.  And man does he get angry if I try to withold the boob - he suddenly becomes a contorcionist and will twist himself into a pretzel and chew through night gown if it means he will get to a boob.  It's rediculous.. and totally hilarious.  He has never taken a bee bee (which was not due to lack of introduction on my part).. I tried and I tried in the beginning and he just had NO interest. Well I haven't given up hope.. every night I leave several bee bees in his crib hoping that during one of his middle of the night wake ups that he will just reach for a bee bee to suck on instead of mom.  So far no such luck.  HOWEVER, he loooooves to hold them. hahahaha.. every time I go to get him during the night and in the morning he always has one in each hand. Strange right?? I've never seen a baby that just HELD their bee bee.. Anyway, his doctor told me she usally suggests night weaning by 6 months old (yes, I know this and actually had him night weaned (for a brief time) by 4 months) but she said she doesn't go by the book on what you should or shouldn't do.  I explained to her that I cannot do the "cry it out" method which other pediatricians have recommended and she understood completely and advised to do what makes me most happy.  Whether that is waking up every 2 hours to nurse or starting the night weaning process with the least amount of tears or even co-sleeping.  She actually believes co-sleeping is a great alternative for moms that work outside of the home during the day since it's important to have that closeness and bonding time with eachother.  Lucas is most likely waking up every two hours to nurse simply because he misses me and wants the comfort it brings.  I like the idea of co-sleeping but the reality of it is just too hard. I've tried it a handful of times and it was miserable every time (mostly for me) I couldn't move around the way I wanted and was constantly worried about smooshing him.. and then we don't go to bed or wake up at the same times.. it was just a mess.. so we will continue putting him in his crib and I will continue to nurse at night.. for now.. eventually this boy needs to be weaned!! I think it helps that nursing is one of my favorite things in the entire world. I absolutely love our time together and the bond we share from it... so that is why I continue to do it.. is zombie-like as I become I know that this, like everything else, will pass and that I will truly miss it. Oh and the important part of the docs advice was that whatever route we take that we need to be consistant.. Consistancy is huge..

Lastly, she wants him to be checked for glaucoma. :( Yep... but not to worry, that it is totally just precautionary.  The first thing she noticed about Lou was his enormous eyes, which is the first thing everyone comments on when they meet him. :)  She asked me if his eyes water which they do.. pretty much everytime he is out in the sunlight they will water.  Apparently big eyes combined with the watering could be an indicator of congenital glaucoma.  She said not to worry and that he's probably just fine but that she wants him to be checked just in case.. so that appointment is scheduled for December 7th.

So now to the GI Specialist (that appointment was this morning).  She pretty much said everything his pediatrician said and explained that she is very confident that he does not have EE (yaaaaay!). She thinks the eating issues are behavior combined with not really knowing what to do with the food once it's in his mouth (the reason for spitting it out).  She thinks he is having a hard time getting it to the back of his throat to swallow and he's just in a transitional period that could be helped along with a little food therapy.  She is requesting he be seen by a food therapist for an evaluation and then go from there.  In the meantime we will watch his weight but as his pediatrician said, he looks great. 

All in all I was very happy with todays appointment and am very confident my little man is going to be just fine. :)

One thing we've learned about Lou is that he HATES elevators.. he does not like the feeling when it drops or rises.  Here he is today, safe in Daddy's arms :) while riding up to his doctor appointment.. stroller and all... :)

Lou Bear at 9 Months

(this was after I took his toy :) can you tell he wasn't happy with this?)

BITTER SWEET

Today was bitter sweet for many reasons. First, my little man turned 9 months. I know, I can barely believe it. Second, I was reminded of the brevity of our time here on earth after attending the funeral of my boss' mother. And lastly, as of today, my Wednesdays will be spent in the office vs. at home with Lucas.

I knew when I got pregnant that I would need to return to work after our son was born and my maternity leave was over. This was a much easier concept to grasp while Lucas was still in my belly. :) Once he arrived and my three month maternity leave came to a close there was nothing more heart wrenching than the thought of leaving my beautiful, innocent baby who physically and emotionally needed me, while I spent 11 hours a day away from him to resume my position at work. It was, and remains, the hardest thing I have ever done. Regardless of the fact that working moms have become more of the norm in today's society, I have a hard time with this concept.  The first day I dropped Lucas off at daycare I literally felt like I left behind a limb. It felt (and continues to feel) so incredibly unnatural. How can it be right when my baby relies on me for all of his basic needs? And nothing screams more unnatural than pumping breastmilk in the server room at work 3 times a day!! (TMI!) Anyway, I digress..

I am lucky enough to have great bosses who were willing to work out a modified schedule with me once I returned from maternity leave.  They agreed to let me work from home on Wednesdays for as long as I was able to. I am so incredibly thankful for this as I don't think I would have survived the last 6 months without my Lucas Day to break up the week.  Well, this is where the bitter comes in..  Now that Lucas is so mobile and interactive, it is very difficult for me to work AND take care of him. The nature of my job requires a certain urgency that can sometimes be very difficult when I also have Lucas to tend to. It has gotten to the point where I am not able to do both jobs well, one will suffer and that is not acceptable.  I can't sacrifice my son's care for work and I have to work. So the only option was to say goodbye to my Lucas Day.

On the bright side, me working helps provide for my family and therefore has an important purpose.  Whether it feels "right" or not, it is a reality in order to sustain the lifestyle that we enjoy.  We are very fortunate to have a beautiful home and the ability to do things we love (which unfortunately requires money!). However, this prompts my next train of thought.. Is it really necessary we both work outside of the home so that we can have all these nice things?  Is spending our days away from Lucas the right thing since we can provide more for him and ourselves? Maybe.  I don't know.  Or do we need to re-align our priorities and cut out all the "stuff" that we think we need so that our Sweet Lou doesn't have to spend his days away from Mom (or Dad)? I don't know.

Who knows what the future holds. It is both our hopes that someday I can stay home to raise our kids so I am confident that the day will come.  In the meantime, we will do our best to provide for our son and eachother the best way we can. 

I WILL survive without my Lucas Day.  I WILL survive.

NEED.HELMET.NOW.

Lucas has reached the next level of mobility....... he is now pulling himself up and cruising furniture! Unfortunately, with this new found mobility comes bruises... lots and lots of bruises. :(  He is a complete hazard to himself and is constantly bonking his head.. 9 times out of 10 it's the coffee table that is to blame.. it has no sharp edges but is the PERFECT height to where he bonks his head as he crawls under and bonks his head as he crawls out.  Don't ask me why but this does not stop him from crawling under it.. it's like there's some sort of magnet drawing him in.  We are in the process of looking for a new table which will likely consist of several soft ottomans with no crawlspace underneath.
What else is new...He started giving five and will even wave sometimes. :) so precious. And I THINK he's starting to say Momma!!! He's been saying DaDa forEVER but today I heard him say Momma a few times.. we will see if he keeps it up.. As far as his eating and sleeping goes, that is still a huge challenge.  He had a few weeks of eating GREAT and then this past week he was back to his complete disinterest in solid food. He's been seen by the doc twice in the last two weeks (first to discuss his lack of sleep and second because he was sick with a horrible cough) and the doc noted that he had lost 5 ounces between visits. This could just be because he wasn't feeling well and in turn didn't want to eat.. We back to the doc for his 9 month appointment this Thursday, so we will discuss his eating and weight again.  Project plump up Lucas continues!!!  Aside from his complete disinterest in eating and sleeping he is one happy, funny and active baby!!!

 ( I am in LOVE with his baby legs!!! not only are they super cute but they protect his knees - which get super beat up from crawling)

'

VISIT FROM GRAMMA!!

Finally!!! :) We had been dying for a visit from Gramma! Although only a 6-7 hour drive away it's not always easy to get in a visit with our busy schedules. So last weekend was amazing!! My mom drove out with her boyfriend Jon and Sienna and Chase and stayed with us for the weekend. We had our friends over for football on Saturday (the usual) and my mom was able to steal Lou for a little one on one time. They took a walk down to our local park and then had the whole night together while we went indoor skydiving for Jenn's birthday. Then Sunday we all headed over to the pumpkin patch to get Lou a pumpkin and hang out with some of his friends.  After that it was time to say our goodbyes :(  which is always a tearful event...  We miss eachother so much and have a hard time being apart.. especially now that Lou is here. We do our best though, and will continue to try and make time for visits every other month.  Next visit will be Christmas when we head back to California.. yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! :) We love you Gramma!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PROJECT PLUMP UP LUCAS

We received some disturbing news last week when I took Lucas in for his follow up appointment for his ear infections.  Doc weighed him and we noticed he was essentially at the same weight he was 2 months ago (just a few ounces heavier).  Which dropped him yet another weight percentile (now down to 15-20% which is a huge drop from his original 90%  - this sort of drop is definitely cause for concern). This prompted me to discuss with the pediatrician his latest trend of refusing all solid food.  Mealtimes for the past several months had been a challenge and seemed to get increasingly worse with every passing day- to the point that when dinner rolled around and I put him in his high chair he would clamp his lips shut and shake his head no. And the foods that he should be able to chew up and swallow at this point such as puffs, teething biscuits, rice cakes etc. - he will pick them up, put them in his mouth, chew them up and then spit them out. And if he accidentally swallows a piece he usually gags. :( I of course. in true Charlaine fashion, have been an enormous worry wart, frantic to figure out what is wrong with my poor baby.  Frist thought was a food strike due to teething since he is clearly on a sleep strike (he is currently on 2 months of waking every 1-2 hours at night - poor guy is having such a hard time with his teeth coming in). But the thing that has been in the back of my mind ever since he was born was the possibility that he could have EE like his cousin Devin.  It tends to run in families and Doug is pretty certain he had something very similar, if not the same thing, when he was little.  It just wasn't diagnosed back then...  Anyway, it's a pretty severe food allergy that affects the esophagus and can cause eating to be painful - to the point where kids that have the disease will just stop eating altogether and may even need to be tube fed. :( 

I'm trying to remain hopeful that this is not the case for Lucas and today actually boosted my spirits TREMENDOUSLY since he ate a whole thing of pears for me in the morning and a whole thing of peas for lunch.  His pediatrician (who now joins the group of ex-pediatricians) suggested we see how he's doing at his 9 month appointment and if no improvement in weight etc. then he needs to see a GI Specialist.  This was the plan she conveyed to me at the appointment. Well the next day (after losing what little sleep I still get these days) I had all these theories running through my head of what was causing my little guy to refuse food.  Doug brought up a possible correlation to the formula we supplement with for 1 bottle a day (we started this 2 months ago).  He thought this could be flaring up the EE since it is milk based and if EE he likely can't handle milk protein. Anyway, this was a good point so I called his pediatrician that morning to see what she thought about switching the supplemental formula for the next month to see if he improves.  Her response was (as blunt as it comes) "No, that won't work.  Switching formula will make no difference.  If it's EE he will need to be tube fed." Just like that.. she told me over the phone, while I was a work, that if my baby has EE (which at that point i was 99.9% certain that he did) that he would need to be tube fed.  Needless to say there were tears shed after the call.  Thankfully, having a nephew with the condiion (who was never tube fed) I knew that wasn't the only option. Anyway, that is why we won't be returning to that doc and for his 9 month he will be seeing Dr. Venezuela, who we LOVE!  (Lucas saw fer for his ear infections when I had to get him in same day).  I REALLY think she is a keeper! Lucky number 8.  That's right, Lucas is 8 months and has seen 8 differnt pediatricians..  To say I have a problem with doctors is an understatement.  I am absolutely, positively the most high maintenance patient in the world.  And now that my son is involved, forget about it.

Moral of this post is that I'm on a mission.  A mission to plump up my baby.  He was 17 lbs 9.5 ounces at the last appointment (8 months). So lets see what sort of progress we can make during this next month.  Regardless, I've made an appointment with a GI Specialist which is scheduled for Nov. 3rd. Here's to hoping and praying that little Lou does not have EE and that we can get him back on track with eating solids and gaining weight!!

Look at those pearly whites!!  (stinks it's so blurry)

SO SPECIAL

I know we are 110% biased but I swear, Lucas is the most special little boy on the planet. :) He just fascinates us with how much he seems to study and understand the world.  We don't know any different but people are always commenting on the way he is. The best was at 3 months when an ER nurse who was checking his vitals went on and on about how tuned in he was for such a young baby and how it was so rare to see ones whose wheels were turning like that at that age. I actually think she said "you got a good one." LOL. I remember this incident because she proceeded to tell us how of her 7 or so kids she could tell right away which ones didn't have much going on upstairs.. LOL and how her favorite one was the smart one. It was funny I swear. :)  Anyway, people make comments like that about Lucas all the time. Regardless of what others perceive, there is just something soooo incredibly special about him.  Now I'm sure this is just how every mother/father feels about their baby but nevertheless I'm convinced he is the most special little boy on the planet. :) No one can melt our hearts quite like him.  He is just so incredibly sweet and funny and loveable. I mean the kid just got over a month of the worst sleep schedule known to man (I'm talking waking up every 1-2 hours) due to his teething.. and now he's alseep and I MISS HIM SO MUCH I want to go wake him up! LOL.  Anyway, that's all.. just wanted to share the specialness of my little love bug.

BTW he is CRAWLING! Look out world. He also sits up from laying down and pulls himself up to his knees.  We lowered his crib tonight (so he can't jump out!) and it made me soooooooooooo sad.  He is just growing up way too fast. :(

8 MONTHS

FIRST DIAMONDBACKS GAME

We took Lou Bear to his first Diamondback game on Saturday. Despite his sensitivity to loud noise we thought he would have a great time and enjoy all the people watching.. well he enjoyed (actually loved) all the people watching.. on the way to the field.  Once we got to our seats and the crowd started roaring (which was every couple minutes).. Lou would crawl up me like a cat up a tree... he didn't cry but you could tell he was terrified from the noise. :( my poor baby.  So we left our seats and hung out on the concourse for a bit.. after we shoveled down some coldstone we decided to snap a few pics and take our little man home. :) Even though we were there for a whole 30 minutes we still had a great time. :)  and Lucas did too.. aside from the minutes actually spent in our seats!