Baby Growth Chart Completed!

When I went to plug in Nathan's height and weight stats from his checkup earlier this summer, I noticed that he's done with the baby growth chart. (From now on he just gets measured once a year at his checkups each summer.)

One more affirmation that he's really, truly, a big boy now.

He ended his babyhood in the 56th percentile for height (34 1/2 inches) and 55th percentile for weight (28 lbs, 5 oz). Pretty darned average.

Especially considering the path he took to get there! I thought the charts were worth sharing, since they're almost comical at times. That huge dip in the weight chart, the occasional skyrocket in height.... oh, Nathan, the adventures you put us through in your growth patterns.


Weird to be done with the baby chart, but I guess I get to start a new one in just a few weeks!

Deja Vu: Coming Home to Spring

Almost exactly one year ago, I wrote a post called Coming Home to Spring. Nathan had just been discharged from the hospital (for rapid and significant weight loss) - we went in during winter, and came out during summer.

This week, I had a similar weather experience. When I parked my car at the Charlotte airport last Wednesday morning, I had to drive over a fairly large mound of snow to get in the spot. When I came back on Sunday afternoon, it was like 80. Not even kidding. Gotta love the springtime in the Carolinas.

But besides the sudden and bewildering weather switch, and the lovely (not) smell of Bradford Pear blossoms in the air... I can't help but notice that our family is in such a different place now than we were a year ago today. (I get points for writing a Carrie Bradshaw sentence right there, did you like it?)

Last year Nathan was sick (or something), and we were scared and didn't know what was wrong. He was lying in a hospital bed (crib), trying to be a good sport but upset nonetheless. He had a catheter in his poor little boy parts. He had an IV in his head. He had been denied the boob so that doctors could get all scientific (I use that word with not even one ounce of respect) with breastmilk measuring. He was seven months old and didn't roll, sit up, bear any weight on his legs (ever), and was a skinny little thing weighing about what he had at three months.... had totally fallen off the weight chart. The process of fattening him up was emotionally exhausting for me -- the extent of which I wasn't fully aware of in that moment.

Nathan - March 2008

But now....

Oh man. He is walking, and running, and rolling, and crawling, and weighs more than the average kid his age. Besides the small amount of breastmilk he still gets, he asks for noodles and yogurt and oranges and cereal bars (cookies) and oatmeal, and occasionally even can be coaxed into eating meat and veggies.

Nathan - March 2009

I find myself feeling grateful to God that our calorie-counting days are over, that Nathan's delays are an ever-fading memory, and that a new season of healthiness is upon us.. this time, we're really coming home to spring. We're growing. And that's a good thing.

18 Month Update

It's been a while since I've done an update on Nathan, and since he's 18 months today, I thought now would be a good time.

Walking Boy - After taking his first steps in mid-December, Nathan spent about a month only walking when we explicitly asked him to. (Nathan, stand up. Take some steps.) And that only worked sometimes. But a couple of weeks ago (has it only been a couple of weeks? wow it's been crazy around here) he started walking to actually get somewhere. And now there's no stopping him.

Handsome Boy - I like this picture because it captures him so well. His natural smile (open-mouthed, of course... for two earlier versions click here and here), and you can actually tell he's taking a step. I'm glad that his 18-month portrait captures him so well as he is... now. Plus, again with the cute. :)
Talking Boy - I think I mentioned a few month ago that we have long stopped counting words Nathan knows. When people ask me this question, they are met with a blank stare. It's probably a hundred or more. It's way too many to keep track of, that's for sure. Of all the words he knows, his favorites are what's that? (yes, still), applesauce, outside, big truck, help please, Bowdy (Bowden) and Sy-eeee (Simon). Before you start thinking what great parents we are to have taught Nathan good manners, you should know that he says help please for almost everything (which is not helpful, we usually need to ask "help with what?" to get more clarification on what he wants), and says "thank you" only rarely. And only when prompted. We're working on it.

Playful Boy - Nathan's favorite toys right now are his blocks, his fish book, his instruments (still loves noise), and recently he has formed an odd attachment to the stuffed hippo his Uncle Sean got him for Christmas. I say odd not because there's anything wrong with the hippo, but because as of yet Nathan has not been terribly attached to any comfort object. He has been known on occasion to ask for his stuffed cow at bedtime, and we can tell it's the most-loved of all his animals, since it's missing a nostril. (That's true toy love, people.) But even that pales in comparison to his recent fascination with the hippo. We'll see how it plays out.

Growing Boy - He weighs 26 lbs (53rd percentile) and is 33.5 inches tall (82nd percentile). Which is a far cry from losing weight, and falling off the charts like he was this time last year. He's bounced back like it's no one's business. Amazing. And now that we're on this side of the situation, his growth chart is almost humorous. Almost. Plus, he's about to be in size 4 diapers. Some kids never get out of 4's before they're potty-trained. Also, the child on the size 4 packaging is a kid, not a baby. When I look at Nathan, I can hardly believe it's time for the diapers that the kid on that packaging wears. Sure sign of growing up.

Nursing Boy - yes, I am still breastfeeding Nathan. I was talking to a friend a week or so ago, and made mention of the nursing, and she was really surprised to hear that. She jokingly called me a closet nurser. Now, I have jokingly said that, too - Nathan doesn't want it every day, and when he does, it's almost always right after he wakes up -- so we're at home. Which means it's just me and him. Which is private by default, not by intention. Her comment bothered me not because she was surprised I was still nursing, but because she thought I was trying to hide it. As if it was something to be ashamed of. As if I were going out of my way to avoid the judgement of other people. Me. Yeah.... not so much. I'm not trying to flaunt it or make a big deal about it (it's not a big deal), but I am certainly not trying to hide it either! So let the record show that I am still nursing Nathan, and my current plan is to continue to do so until he is ready to completely wean. (In my mind, the weaning has already begun, since the nursing sessions are so infrequent at this point.) And that it's still good for him. And that I have no shame in it. And that I reserve the right to revise the plan without notice, of course. :)

Hungry Boy - While I wish he would eat a bigger variety of food, Nathan actually does ok. He likes applesauce best (he'll eat it on anything), and he also likes baked beans, mandarin oranges, sunflower seed butter (we use it instead of pb since we can't send nut products with him to church), french toast, and pasta. Or anything Daddy has on his plate. Or anything we tell him is applesauce. [Side note - Mark feels bad lying to him, so he tells Nathan the food is like applesauce. "Sure, this is like applesauce, it's chicken but it fits on the spoon like applesauce," and other such nonsense. But as long as Nathan hears the word applesauce a couple of times, he's pretty likely to eat it. I just lie. Don't judge me, you've lied to your kid about trivial stuff too.] Nathan has also started feeding himself with a spoon. So cute. And oh-so messy. We got him some curvy spoons to help get the food into his mouth, but they're only made for righties. And he usually prefers to hold the spoon in his left hand. Though I'm not sure if that's because Mark taught him how using his right hand, facing Nathan, so he just learned in his left, or if it's because he's actually a lefty. Time will tell.

Loving Boy - The best thing (to me) that Nathan has picked up on recently is hugging and kissing. I've mentioned before that he's not much of a snuggler, so when he actually wants to hug, Mark and I know to freeze and let it happen. Now he also thinks it's great fun to kiss me. He has no idea what it means, and I know that, but I still love it and it makes me absolutely giddy with happy-mommy endorphins.

So, Nathan... don't listen to Daddy, this is your half birthday! It's worth celebrating because you're our big boy, growing up so fast, and we love you more every day!

2008: Year in Review

At this time last year, I was sitting at my computer, reliving 2007, smiling to myself, and tearing up a little since I was sort of bummed to say good-bye to such a good year. This year... um... not so much. It's true that 2008 brought some great moments (most noticeably awesome trips to St. Croix and New York City... I'm sure you're all shocked that my highlights this year were vacations), but it's also very true that 2008 was a difficult year for our family. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm not terribly sad to see it go.

I don't want to be all negative and re-stress over things that have already caused me stress, so as I look back over the year I have to remember that each of the things that went "wrong" has already started going back "right" for us. Also, that in hindsight, some of this stuff is kind of funny. Kind of. Here's how 2008 will go down in the Goettsch family history.

The year of the hive. Bad news: the urticaria that started as hives in May grew worse and worse through the summer and eventually became angioedema (speaking of ways to make me look hot... lips and eyes all swollen up), which I battled almost once a week through the fall. The results of being itchy for six months, and gaining lots of weight due to steroid overexposure and edema, and being exhausted due to a constant stream of antihistamine in my blood have caused no shortage of stress in our lives. Good news: I finally stopped doing the same steroid taper over and over again as directed by the allergist, did what made sense to me, and I am now completely off the prednisone, with nary a hive in sight. Now to address that whole weight gain issue...

The year of marriage counseling. Bad news: Mark and I work really, really hard to make our marriage work. Good news: I have no shame in the fact that Mark and I work really, really hard to make our marriage work. Most good things in life require hard work. And in this case, the hard work is totally worth it. My husband rocks.

The year of FTT. Bad news: Nathan was diagnosed with failure to thrive in February and was hospitalized shortly thereafter due to rapid weight loss. Afterwards, we spent months calorie-counting to make sure he was taking in enough. It was all a bit asinine since you can't count calories or measure ounces of milk coming from a boob. And while Nathan was busy surviving (instead of developing normally), his body set himself up for a fairly significant gross motor delay. Good news: the ftt was fixable with more fat and protein, Nathan is back on the chart and growing well, and although he's still "behind" on motor skills, he has taken his first steps and is on a steady course of improvement. And the verbal/cognitive/social skills are right on track, if not a little ahead. Which brings me to...

The year of what's that. Bad news: Nathan thinks it's fun to ask what's that? approximately a million times a day, and is showing no signs of outgrowing the trend. It's exhausting, and mildly annoying (don't judge me, I still love him). Good news: He can talk, and I love to have conversations with him, and at least he's not asking why? yet.

The year of the pay cut. Bad news: I have taken a series of pay cuts at work (like everyone else in America), which means I can either do the same amount of work for less money, or do more work for the same amount of money. Neither of which is ideal. Good news: I still have a job. I like my job. They let me do it part-time, and they let me do it from home. Considering the economic climate in our country right now, this is actually one of the better parts of 2008. Which says something about 2008. When a pay cut is something to see the "glad" side of.... it's not been a super year.

I can mostly laugh about these things now, since we really did enjoy many parts of this past year, and in hindsight it's pretty easy to focus on the positive. Also, I have full confidence that 2009 will be healthier and more prosperous for our family, and for our country. Things might get worse before they get better, but they will get better. I hope that 2009 will be the year of reading good books, and the year of triathlons, and the year of laughing with my son, and the year of sex, and the year of camping, and the year of snuggling with my pups, and the year of no hives.

Yep, mostly that no hive thing.

Happy New Year!

Not So Much Sick

I had such a relaxing weekend! Here are some random updates:

1.) We had very few trick-or-treaters this year. We built a fire in the fire pit with Amy and Drew (our neighbors) at the end of the driveway and had some pizza and (ahem) beverages while we handed out candy, but there just weren't too many takers. Which is sort of surprising, considering it was a Friday night and the weather was gorgeous.

2.) Since my mom's hip is injured again, she opted to only (only!) do the swim and bike portions of her ironman in Wilmington this weekend. So while I had planned to spend the weekend at the beach with her, instead I was at home. Which might sound boring but it was actually rockin' awesome since I got to spend my birthday with Mark and Nathan, and I still got to see my mom when she came through Raleigh on her way home from the event.

3.) I had Pei Wei takeout on Saturday night for my birthday (extra spicy, Justin if you're reading this you should be proud) and then we had a restaurant dinner with my mom last night at Bonefish, complete with bang-bang shrimp for an appetizer and the nice fish dinner I had been hankering for for so long. When you add in the Halloween candy, this was a very culinarily appealing weekend for me!

4.) Nathan is feeling much better from the sniffles he had last week. I made the mistake of mentioning to Jenny when I was visiting her with the pumpkins a few weeks ago that Nathan had never really been sick (besides the whole hospitalized-due-to-weight-loss thing, but who's counting that? not me), and I think that was just tempting fate. Sure enough, Nathan has a little fever and runny nose and chest cough for much of last week. I was feeling really bad for him, he seemed so puny and was having trouble sleeping. But both the MMO director at church and his doctor (when he went for his 15-month checkup, he wasn't sick enough to take in for a sick visit or anything), after taking one look at him chattering and laughing away, sort of laughed at me and told me I didn't know what sick was. So. Here's hoping I never have to learn firsthand the frustrations of a miserable sick baby. And in the meantime, I'm glad the cough has cleared up and he's in a better mood.

5.) After an infuriating hive and allergy month in October, this month is off to a better start. I have successfully tapered off the steroid without a big flareup for the first time since this summer. I'm cautiously optimistic that this means I won't have to be on a steroid (or completely drugged with antihistamine or covered in hives with a swollen face, neither of which are better) for the rest of my life after all!

I'm almost scared to write that, though. Don't want to tempt fate like with Nathan's "sickness" last week. But I'm not really superstitious so... there it is.

Birthday Injuries

Amidst the happiness this weekend as we celebrated Nathan's birthday, the day was marked by a couple of humorous-but-still-sort-of-painful moments as well.

The first injury was to anyone in earshot when Mark (who is an incredibly talented musician) sang Happy Birthday To You in a monotone that would rival (no, not rival... trump) even this scene from Office Space. It's ok for me to make fun of him about this for two reasons... first, because it was Ashley, not me, who noticed the Office Space-ness of the whole thing, and second because he really is an exceptional musician... the exception part being his voice box, of course.

The second injury came when Nathan grabbed for the flame on the candle atop his birthday cake. Why it didn't occur to me that a baby who has never seen fire will have the deadly combination of curiosity about it and ignorance about the heat, I cannot explain. I don't think his finger was in the flame long enough for it to really burn, though.

But immediately after I blew the candle out for him, we witnessed our third injury as he grabbed the candle and hot, melted blue wax covered his tiny little finger (and somehow even got under his nail). That time it really burned (or so I inferred from his cries).

You can experience injuries 1 through 3 in the video below (along with seeing Nathan's first bite of candle itself... I thought licking the icing off the candle would distract him from the burn, but of course he had no concept of licking icing off a candle, he just chomped the end off).

[You should mute Saturday's slide show -- if you haven't already -- by clicking on the speaker in the top left corner of the slideshow box, or just clicking the title of this post so it's the only one on the page.]


But the fourth and most substantial injury of the day (with Mark's singing being a close second, of course) came when the suction cup on Nathan's new bathtime bubble machine (pretty much the best gift ever for a one-year-old, in theory) failed to hold said machine onto the bath wall, and it crashed down into his head. It actually knocked him over, and he banged the other side of his head on the tub wall before face-planting in the water. You have never seen a more upset bubble-covered infant in your life, let me assure you. He did eventually calm down, and it ended up being nothing serious, but he does have a good looking shiner to show for his trouble.

And now I will always remember Nathan's first birthday as the day the bubble machine gave my baby a black eye.

To see how messy Nathan really got with his cake, click on the birthday hat, below.

by mgoetts

12-Month Portraits

I know Nathan isn't quite one yet. So while we are hanging around for the rest of this awkward week of being a gestational one-year-old but not actually one, I had Nathan's 12-month checkup and took him to have some one-year-old portraits made. (You know how I love a portrait deal. This was a bajillion pictures for $10 at Portrait Innovations. Click that link if you want the same special.) So here are some updates:

Portraits - as you can see, he is as cute as ever.

Talking - this child is incredibly verbal. (I reiterate: I have no idea where he gets it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) Whatever he is lacking in size and gross motor development, his brain has more than made up for in social skills. Everywhere we go, Nathan is the loudest child there. I am starting to get an idea of what my parents must have felt when they took my sister Ashley in public. That girl has some lungs, and I think Nathan's might start to rival hers. He loves anything that makes noise, and his own voice is right at the top of that list. Besides the constant squealing and shrieking, he can say Mama, Daddy, hey, go, puppy, baby (his favorite word this week, actually), bite, hi and maybe bubble (not sure if he knows what he's saying there). He also says lalalala, which we're pretty sure doesn't mean anything, but it's really cute when he imitates us doing it, so I pretend that it means I love you, too Mama.

Size - after his rapid weight loss (and subsequent hospitalization) in February and March, and many months of counting calories after that, Nathan has finally established a growth curve for himself. And he's even (sort of) staying on it. He now weighs 19 pounds, which is about the 5th percentile, but we'll take it. And at 31 inches tall, he's in the 85th percentile for height! His long arms and legs on his skinny body (not to mention the dexterity of his feet!) have pretty much solidified the nickname "Monkey" around here.

Biting - thanks for all the suggestions you emailed and commented with when Nathan decided that my body made a good chew toy. Things are substantially better on the biting front. He still gets a little chompy now and then, but I've learned to predict it and intervene before I am actually injured. He's not happy with my intervention (which usually involves sitting him on the floor to scream for a couple of minutes) but it works. And for what it's worth, I think we're both glad he didn't have to wean before he was really ready. That would have been painful for both of us.

Mobility - no, he still isn't crawling, but he is oh-so-close. He is also walking holding onto our fingers, but not really balanced enough to cruise on the furniture by himself yet. I have decided to make peace with a physical therapy routine, which for now just involves special practice exercises at home and a follow-up once a month. I will not pressure him to move before he is ready, but if the doctors (and my mom) think this is important for his brain to develop motor skills, then I respect them and I'm on board.

The trademark open-mouth grin - he's still got it. So here's one more picture, just to show it off. I hope he doesn't grow out of that smile anytime soon. For a really cute earlier manifestation of said grin, click here.

Has it really been almost a year?

How to Register Your Baby for Rehab

No, not that kind of rehab. I'm talking about pediatric physical therapy. Remember how everyone seems to think Nathan is pretty behind on his musculoskeletal development, and how it doesn't really bother me? Well, because his doctor wanted the opinion of a specialist in order to better determine if he really will need a regular therapy regimen, we took Nathan to the rehab hospital at WakeMed (our favorite place) for an assessment today. If you think this should have been a straightforward and simple process, then I assure you you haven't spent enough time at hospitals. It went something like this:

calling to make the appointment
me: Hi, I'm calling to make an appointment for my son to have an assessment done on his motor skill development.
man-on-the-phone-who-sounds-like-Jacquese-from-TheRealWorld: Ok, do you have the diagnosis code?
me: Um, no...?
Jacquese: Do you know his diagnosis?
me: His doctor thinks he's just a little late on hitting some motor skills milestones. he told me to tell you he needs information on how his lower extremities are developing.
Jacquese: Um... I don't have the diagnosis code for that.
me: Yeah, me neither. [duh.]
Jacquese: Well, I need the code to make the appointment.
me: Maybe it's on the referral that his doctor faxed over to you.
Jacquese: Oh, yeah you're right. ok, here it is.
me: [sigh]

filling out forms at patient registration
Jacquese: We have your son in our system here, but it says his name is Baby Boy, not Nathan.
me: Yes, well... he was born here. That's the name they give new babies who are boys.
Jacquese: Maybe I can change that.
me: Yes, maybe. I thought they had changed it when he was admitted in March, but I guess not.
Jacquese: Oh, yes, here he is. It's already been changed.
me: (silently) Then how did you think his name was still Baby Boy? [sigh]
Jacquese: Ok, what grade is he in? You left that blank on this form.
me: He's a baby. He's not in a grade.
Jacquese: Ok, I guess I'll just put "infant" so it will let me go to the next screen. All right, what's his teacher's name?
me: [sigh] He's at home with me all day, so he doesn't have a teacher.
Jacquese: We just need to know so that we can follow up with his other caregivers on his progress.
me: Well, I am his caregiver. So if you need a teacher's name you can put Mommy.
Jacquese: Haha, yeah, I guess this form isn't very good for babies, huh?
me: You think?
Jacquese: Ok, what are his interests and hobbies?
me: Seriously?
Jacquese: Yeah, I mean, I have to enter something or it won't let me go to the next screen.
me: He's a baby. he doesn't have hobbies. His interests are loud noises, and finger food. If you need to enter something for hobbies, put pooping and sleeping and peekaboo.

The conversation got even more complicated when his computer showed that we had met our deductible, so he didn't want me to pay (we haven't, but I didn't, so I guess they will send me a bill). Then we had a fun (but slightly stressful for me... I am so over the stigma of something being "wrong" with Nathan) play session with the pediatric PT, who said that she thought he was delayed enough that he needs a regular therapy routine (big surprise), so he can learn to use those parts of his brain before he loses the chance to do it effectively. I'm not thrilled about it, but Dr. Marmie concurs that he has to "use it or lose it" and it's better to acquire those movements as instinctual than have to learn them cognitively, later. Or we'll have a klutzy kid. (We probably will anyway... I mean, he's my kid, right?) She also said that he's going to be several months behind due to the weight loss at 6-7 months (you know, when other babies can focus on motor skill development instead of survival), and we should just forgive him that. She also said that since he's so tall, his center of gravity is relatively high (with his big baby head and all), which could make him a more timid walker, and that's fine.

Anyway, we left armed with some exercises to try at home to encourage crawling, and an appointment for a follow-up in a month. (Which is as often as I'm comfortable pressuring Nathan to be better! faster! stronger! or whatever. Apparently progress isn't enough... they want faster progress.)

And you know what? In the entire course of our session, no one needed to refer to a hobby list or a diagnosis code to asses his skills. I mean, who would have thought we could function at all without the beloved little diagnosis code?

[sigh.]

Coming Home to Spring

When we left for the hospital on Monday, Nathan had on long pants, shoes, and his hooded winter coat. When he was discharged, we went outside, and suddenly it's spring.

The sun is out, the air is (almost) balmy, and the ever-present southern smell of new Bradford pear blooms is on the breeze. (Not that it's the loveliest smell in the world... those of you in the south know what I mean... but it is most definitely the smell of spring.)

So I fgured I'd better post this picture of Nathan (taken last weekend in Washington) bundled up adorably in his winter gear before it's too late.

Nathan - 7 months

It's so nice to be out of the hospital. Nathan has been sleeping almost constantly since we got home... he must have been exhausted. We were discharged with instructions on keeping a strict high-calorie, high-protein, high-fat diet and closely monitoring intake for the next few weeks. Assuming his weight is still up (today he is 14 lbs 13 oz, seven oz up from last week but still a full pound behind his 6-month checkup at the end of January), we will totally dismiss this whole thing as a feeding problem that has been corrected... and at that point we will be able to assume we're free of further hospitalizations, and feeding tubes, and no-fun blood tests. I never thought I would ask for such a thing, but y'all... pray for fat!

WakeMed (Take 2)

This week we have journeyed a few miles down the road to the place of Nathan's birth... the hospital [insert "ick" here]. It's been rough on him - he doesn't sleep well away from home under the best of circumstances, and being poked and prodded and tested and woken up every three hours (inevitably right after he falls asleep) are certainly not the best of circumstances!

When he was admitted yesterday, he was down an additional 6 ounces since last week. And then this morning, he was down another 4 ounces (total loss is slightly over 2 pounds in the last month). But he remains in good spirits, except when he's missed more than one nap in a row.

All of the blood work from the lab has come back (fairly) normal, ruling out the most likely culprits for not absorbing calories... which leads everyone to assume that it's an intake issue. Since there's no way to tell exactly how much Nathan is taking in when he nurses, they had me stop breastfeeding yesterday so that I could spend the next 24 hours pumping and feeding him bottles, so they could get an idea of how much milk I normally produce in one day. ("Normally..." assuming that every day is just like a day in the hospital... and that the pump is just like Nathan.... and that Nathan would only nurse at meals, just like on the bottle... never for comfort or when stressed, which certainly wouldn't happen in the hospital.... right.... normal.) Since Nathan and I were both struggling with the no-nursing thing, Daddy took the reigns and stayed at the hospital all night to feed him the pumped milk.

Which means we both survived the first night without each other (Nathan and I)... even if it wasn't on good terms.

And after counting calories and intake for the last 24 hours, we know... [dramatic pause]...

...that no one knows the clear answer. People have differing opinions on how much he should be eating. The lactation people seem certain he just needs to eat more calories. The nutritionist - based on number crunching along - seems to think he's getting plenty each day... for his current (under)weight, anyway. The physician seems to think he's getting the right amount of calories for his current size, and maybe even enough to get him back on the growth chart (he fell completely off of it last week)... but he still needs more to "catch up" to his normal growth curve. That makes the most sense to me (although it still doesn't explain the continued weight loss since we've been in the hospital). And all of these hypotheses, mind you, are based on data collected during the last 24 hours - you know, the most "normal" day of Nathan's life, where his intake was exactly what you'd call typical. HA.
So for now the plan is just to eat more, and work on keeping him focused at mealtime. Unless some follow-up labs come back with odd results tomorrow, we're hoping to be discharged with instructions to stop the on-demand nursing (having a normal meal schedule for him will teach him to eat until he's full, getting the calorie-rich hindmilk, instead of just snacking all day since he knows he can always come back for more) and increase the solids to three meals per day.

So all these tears, and all this stress of being in a hospital, to find out that he likely just needs to stay focused when he's eating... you know, care more about the food than the world around him. (The fact that he doesn't already is just weird. I assure you he did not get that from me. )

I was worried that Nathan would be attached to a bunch of tubes and machines, and that Mark and I would have access to him (I don't like peering at my son through a glass wall), but he's in his own room and has mommy or daddy with him all the time. He's Mr. Personality here in the pediatric wing, and our close proximity to the nurses' station means there is always someone to grin at (and Nathan usually obliges). You can see that he is coping as well as can be expected (if not better!)... and that he loves his new favorite toy (hospital bracelet! yay!)...

We hope to be out of here tomorrow (they originally said Thursday, so we'll see). I'll be glad when WakeMed (take 2) is done!

For all the pictures of hospitalized Nathan, click on his ankle bracelet below.

by mgoetts

Washington DC

Nathan and I had a great weekend together visiting Betsy (and seeing Merritt for the first time since her wedding in 2004) in Washington DC. We found out on Friday that Nathan will have to be hospitalized due to his weight loss, but his doctor was kind (and rational) enough to recognize that there was no emergency before Monday, so we had a nice, sane, hospital-free weekend on the road visiting with friends.

I am pleased to report that we did not get through the weekend without saying "a bag? like, a plastic bag?" which means it was truly a weekend with Betsy. I am a little bummed that no one, at any point, said "Dang, Gina!"

I am also pleased to report that Nathan slept through the whole night. After the disasterous non-sleep at my mom's house a few weeks ago, I was kind of worried. But we put him in his pack & play the night before we left for DC, and he fussed but eventually settled down... so I think it was a little more familiar by the time he had to sleep in it in Betsy's room. I felt sort of bad that he took her rooom while we camped in the den, but I figured at least we slept that way. Better than being awake all night, even with a real bed. And you know Betsy can ball up and sleep anywhere (I don't mean that as sleazy as it sounded).

I really needed a weekend of connection, and Furman memories, and good dialogue with someone who really, really gets me. We talked so much I lost my voice (imagine how much *I* would have to talk to strain it!) but it was worth it!

For more pictures of Nathan and me in The District, click here.

The Great Poop Adventure of 2008

Every day, I seem to get closer and closer to being That Mom, who revels in the run-of-the-mill adventures of mommying. I didn't think I would be like this. I really didn't. But one day, before I knew it, I'm stressing about shoes that don't stay on. And which gymboree class to put him in. And the next, I'm in the middle of a full-flung poop adventure. What has happened to me???

Remember how we gave Nathan some cereal for the first time last week? That was Monday night. As of last night (that's right -- 8 days later) he still hadn't pooped out said cereal. I wasn't terribly worried about it at first... even 6 or 7 days in, it was more of the amusing anecdote for the weekend than truly concerning. But Sunday night, when his mood got worse and he started waking up at night with his straining and groaning, I realized that I had passed on to Nathan the one thing (ok, fine... one of several things) that I didn't want to... Poo Issues.

I asked about it at handbells and at the office the other day, and everyone said to give him prunes (it must be like mommy rule #14b -- prunes fix Poo Issues), but I was hesitant since his poor tummy was clearly stopped up from trying to digest new foods... more new foods didn't seem like the way to fix that, even a new food that, in theory, would run right through him. Still the advice of my fellow tintinnabulators has been noted, and prunes will be the next food for sure. I should also mention that my choir director, when I joked (ok, pleaded) to pray for poop, sent me the following: “Dear God, From time to time we all need to let things go. Please help little Nathan to do just that. Amen.”

So, after a day and a half of hemming and hawing, and after several calls to dr. marmie, I finally called Nathan's doc and he said the best answer was a suppository laxative. (Which my mom had also told me, but somehow I gave him the wrong kind the first time. Poor kid. I don't think he quite needed me to treat any 'roid pain.)

So I popped that sucker up there (Nathan thought it was hilarious, in case you were wondering) and we promptly have a yucky orange mess on our hands. I made the mistake of trying to change him after about ten minutes. Oops. Finally I just slapped a diaper on him, dirty and all, and laid him in the crib and let him go to it.

Mark was the first one to get to him this morning and let me tell you, he was thrilled.

After several loads of laundry and half a box of wipes, Nathan seems in much better spirits. He ate oatmeal today like a champ. Tomorrow: prunes. He's going to become a regular prune eater, I hope - I am determined to head off as much of these Poo Issues as I can before he reaches adulthood.

I'm not gonna lie; my beautiful angelic child suddenly seems very.... human. I guess finding out your kid's poop really does stink will do that. ;-)

(This is an older picture, but it seemed appropriate.)

What.... A Day?

Today was one of those days. It really was. It reminds me of my Grandpa, who was in a play once and he had one line: "What a day!" But when it came time to deliver it, he said "what... a day?" Come to think of it, I can't remember if that actually happened to him or if it's some joke he used to tell. All the time. Anyway... what a day, indeed.

I'm sure today wasn't as bad as Ryan's June 20th, 2007, also known as the Worst Summer Day Ever (keyboard tray almost-injury, keys locked in the car, stuck in an elevator... all before 2pm). But it wasn't great.

First, I woke up this morning to discover [men stop reading here if you can't handle Girl Talk] that I get to spend the next few days in the company of a certain monthly visitor who hasn't exactly been "monthly" over the last year or so. Last time, I remember being relieved that the visit would not coincide with my swim in St Croix (yay for no shark attraction)... and somehow that seems like a lifetime ago. Oh wait... it was. Nathan's lifetime. So this week has already started a trend of cramps, pimples, and moodiness (yes, more than usual). I feel like I'm 16. At least I know I'm not knocked up again.

Then Nathan fell out of his stroller when I left him in my boss's office (she's out of town, don't worry) for a nap this morning. There is no more sickening sound than a loud slam followed by your baby crying. Except maybe a loud slam followed by silence [shudders]. He's fine. I think I'm more traumatized than he is. My coworkers said when you have a son, you have to get used to head bumps. But I officially felt like I deserved the Queen Crappy Mom award.

Then the printer crashed at work in the middle of ticketing a group. After I had sent all the ticketing information to the print queue. Sounds small, but it's incredibly frustrating when nothing works the way it's supposed to. The group was a pain enough to deal with once, but to have to do it once, then void everything (without the printed documents for auditing, of course), and then do it again - that's enough to just make you cry, when it happens on an already bad day.

Then I accidentally wired some of my company's money to India - about $1300 more than I was supposed to. Turns out when you overpay a wire, there's no way to cancel the transaction and start over. Let's hope the people are nice and send it back, or I am going to have a lot of explaining to do. No one knows yet except my accounting person, and we're both hoping it will get resolved before my manager is back in town, so it will already be fixed when we tell her about it. Say a prayer for Indian kindness, ok?

If anyone has one of those "5 things to be happy about" calendars, or just any personal ideas about something to be happy about this evening, I'd really go for it.