Knock Wood

I think we may finally be past the initial sickness.

Kieran had another bout of stomach virus (the other end this time) and got taken off formula and put on the BRAT diet (that's Bananas, Rice, Apples and Toast) with pedialyte to keep him hydrated. He's almost back to normal - finally slept for a good long while last night, though not completely through the night as he had been - and I can't be happier.

I caught his other stomach bug and was sick all weekend long. Ken was very kind to me and didn't ask for much help. Just took care of Kieran and the house and the dog and any request I made. So, I owe him a weekend day to go off and be on his own - that's what he asks in repayment.

Anyway, not much else is new. Concentrating on getting the house back in shape. After weekend before last (we went away) and this past weekend (me being sick) everything's been piling up. OK, I better get back to work, earn a quick buck and get outta here on time so I can go see my little man!

Percentiles

Its hard not to get fixated on the percentiles they give you with each well-baby visit. Kieran's in the 10th percentile for head circumference and the 65th percentile for length (height). They wouldn't give me his body weight percentile since he's been sick and actually lost weight since his doctor's visit on the 19th.

Overall he's in great health. He'll start talking more in the coming months but no finger foods yet, which annoys me since he's DYING to feed himself. He was not happy about the shots but we both survived (I didn't faint or anything!). I'll get a full report on his mood after daycare today. He was so fast asleep that when I left him at daycare he didn't wake up. We decided to let him nap in his car seat and not wake him by taking him out.

That's all. Nothing terribly exciting about this visit. Next visit is at 9 months (I haven't made the appointment yet) sometime in October.

More Family News
Something I've been meaning to blog about but haven't. Ken's youngest brother, Ben, has joined the Marines. He's currently in training/boot camp in North Carolina and will graduate in late September. Ken will go down for the graduation but since we're still on the mend financially, I'm going to stay home with Kieran. For those who want to find out more about the Marines, I suggest a support site - www.marineparents.com. It's a great resource for information about what may be happening with your Marine as well as being able to connect with other Marine parents and loved ones. Ben - we're all thinking of you and we know you can do it (don't sweat those 18 year-olds).

Still Sick

Ken and I have decided that if Kieran is sick again, we're grounding him. He's just not allowed. This is too much worrying.

We had a nice time in Salisbury this weekend with Stacy and Matt, went to the boardwalk, etc. Unfortunately we also had very little sleep this weekend. Kieran had never slept away from home until now. He woke up on Saturday night (also known as Sunday morning) at 12 am, 2 am, 4 am and finally up at 6 am. Since the three of us were sharing a room, this was a lot of waking up for Ken and I too.

I also do not take direction very well. The doctor told Ken that we should wait for a couple of days before starting Kieran back on formula. I had a very hard time with this since I know that Kieran gets most of his nutrition/calories from formula. So I pushed it and started him back on the sauce Saturday night (he'd been off of it since Thursday evening). He did ok with his first two feedings but the third one (at 4am) came back at us (at 6 am). He's been fine since (we put him back on 100% pedialyte - with solid foods) and I spoke with the doctor today. He said we had three options: 1 - feed Kieran only 2 oz of formula at a time (uh, not with this kid's appetite), 2 - dilute the formula or 3 - offer him soy formula. Because his stomach is still a little rumbly we need to take care not to over-do on the formula but it is important that he get back to it.

We have a well child visit for his 6 month checkup on Wednesday. If all is not 100% well at that point they'll help us out.

Finally a quick note on family tree/info. I completely spaced when I made the Mabel post. For those who are interested Mabel is the daughter of my cousin Ben and his wife Katie. This is their first child. Ben is the son of my father's twin brother, Gary. I hope this clears things up.

Love to all. Will blog again soon (and now that I've got my copy of the final Harry Potter I hereby swear I will NOT provide any spoilers).

Happy Birthday Dad & Uncle Gary!

The dazzling duo turns [age deleted] today. For their birthday, Kieran has brought you....

a stomach virus.

Yep, that's right. From a cold to a stomach virus in just a few weeks. The entertaining portion of this? Kieran projectile vomited all over one of his caregivers yesterday. (sorry Miss Rebecca!)

He had done the same thing a few nights before but we didn't think anything of it since he appeared fine, appetite was fine. Well, our mistake. Now he's off of formula (which is driving me CRAZY) for the next two days. We've got to increase his solid foods and he's on Pedialyte instead of formula.

He's in a fine mood. Slept just fine. We'll see how he does for the next few days. This should pass by Sunday. We'll have to figure out if we're still going to go visit our friends in Salisbury tomorrow or postpone till he's feeling 100%.

Love to all, blog again soon.

Welcome Mabel Claire

We've got another new cousin! Mabel Claire Lipshultz was born yesterday and weighed in at 6 lbs 8 oz. I think she's just adorable. I hear the new mom and dad are doing well. Congrats!

All's Quiet at 7 pm

Kieran refuses to let me move his bedtime. I was trying to keep him up until 8pm so Ken and I had some time with him each night. Nope. There's just no keeping this kid awake (and so help you if you try). Last night we went to a concert at Riverside Park (that's a city park near our house). He loved being outside and seeing all the people. The concert started at 6:30. About 3 songs into it he was getting drowsy. As we were walking home he fell asleep. It's only a block and a half from our house!

Ah well, there are much worse things.

He's LOVING the solid foods. He's decreasing his liquids on his own in hopes that we'll increase the amount of solid foods we're feeding him. He just had his first fruit on Saturday - Bananas. He's eaten everything we've fed him so far, though the jury is still out on squash. I'm hoping he takes after Ken and is not a picky eater like myself. Seems to be headed that way now.

Had a good time on Saturday celebrating my dad's birthday early (July is our second biggest birthday month with Ken's brother Matt, his dad, my dad, my Uncle Gary, and our niece Morgan - I hope I'm not forgetting anyone here) with Andy, Wendy, Zack, Becca, Pete, Darleen and Dad. Everyone had fun and the burgers were great. Kieran loved watching Zack quack like a duck and then fall down. He thought this was very funny and kept laughing, no matter how many times Zack had done it before.

That's about it. Nothing new yet. Kieran is definitely done with us holding him. He's dying to be able to move around. He's figured out that pushing with his arms will move him backwards but doesn't seem to grasp that pushing with his feet will move him forward though he did get up and rock back and forth at the park yesterday. We'll see. I guess we have to finish kid-proofing ASAP. Love to all, blog again soon.

Clear Ears

Daycare did call me on Monday - only to tell me they thought Kieran might have an ear infection. This is one of Ken's biggest fears since he had such a bad experience with his ears as a child. Apparently there had been a rash of ear infections at daycare and they noticed Kieran pulling at his left ear when he was drinking his bottle.

I made an emergency appointment with the pediatrician that night. I left work early, got to the doctors office with about 20 minutes to spare before the appointment and waited an extra 15 before I was able to go back and see the doctor.

Just a cold.

That's it, no big worries. His fever had already broken and he's still stuffy, but it's just a cold. So, back to daycare he goes (yes, they actually take him back with a nice, contagious cold) and we're back to our normal routine...except, of course, that Ken has now caught said cold. I'm sure I'm next.

Oh well, at least he doesn't have an ear infection.

Sickness

Having a sick kid is no fun at all. Poor Kieran caught his first daycare cold. Stuffy nose, fever (which has thankfully broken) and a bad attitude. Of course, for him this means that he basically doesn't smile 100% of the time - only about 50% of the time.

He's doing better today - though Ken and I have likely caught this too. I'm feeling like I've been hit by a truck, though that could be from the lack of sleep. Kieran got up at 2 am due to stuffiness and I didn't get back to sleep until 3:30. Ken blessedly took over when Kieran decided he wanted to play at 3 am. I had been up since quarter of two since I heard him over the monitor snorting and coughing.

Like I said, he's doing much better today and is in a better mood. We'll see if daycare calls me to pick him up.

And in Immigration News...
Ken just started his own blog. His is very business-focused on immigration and legal issues surrounding it as well as some information regarding employment and labor law. Check out his blog by clicking on the Ken's Immigration Blog link under Friendly Links. It has some very interesting information on it. If you're vaguely interested in what it is that Ken does, check it out.

Fourteen Years is Not Long Enough

We made the hard decision Tuesday evening to put Milo to sleep. It was hard as he seemed to be doing fine at the time, but the vet said that what Milo had been experiencing (which I had mistaken for neuropathy) were seizures. He had torn open his leg and would have needed anesthesia to get it stitched up, not recommended with his heart murmur.

Ken and I are doing OK. I feel awful because I didn't want Kieran in the room when it happened, so I left Ken in there alone with Milo. We both loved that cat fiercely, but we knew that this was coming. He hasn't been well for a while now. Everything we've done has been to stave off the inevitable. We'll pick up his remains on Tuesday.

Milo was a very good cat - the best that we've had. He will meet up with some other good furry friends of ours - Boo, Beaners, Neci, Mandy and a few others. I have a picture in my mind of Milo and Neci stretched out on their backs in front of a roaring fire with silver bowls of food and water nearby. We miss him, but I really think he's a happier cat now, no pain, no worries and all the food he can eat.

A Wonderful Friend

Milo may be leaving us soon. Last night at quarter of 4 in the morning, Ken heard something downstairs that woke him. He went downstairs only to find Milo flopping around seemingly unable to move. He calmed him, picked up after him, then fed him. He seemed to recover OK but this is not the first time this has happened. He seems to be doing this more and more often.

We'll be talking with the vet today, but with his diabetes, heart murmur, etc I'm not sure there will be much they can do for him. I'm worried about leaving him alone all day because he may end up with a heart attack, freaking out because he can't move. Or he may drown, if he can't move when he's by the water dish. Anyway - I'm upset but resigned as I knew this was coming. He's 14 years old, has had a very good life and has been a wonderful friend.

I'll keep everyone updated once we know something for certain.