Sunday 26 May 2013

Nathaniel's Tick

 Bugs that bite seem to like Nathaniel more than the rest of us. It is a rare sight to see him bite free, regardless of the season.
The spring and summer months are torture for him. Well, torture for his skin.
Well at some point, my best guess would be last Sunday as we were in the country, a tick decided that Nathaniel would make a great host.
I checked him for ticks a bunch of times when we got back home. He had been playing around water and in long grass. I checked, and re checked and re checked.
On Thursday morning, when I was checking a bunch of old bites that had gotten infected and blistered I noticed the beast.

           
The Tick


I immediately called Adam at work and he came home. We sent Alex to school and went straight to the COPC. The amount of flack I took for "over reacting" astounds me. Last time I checked, tick bites can be fatal (assuming the tick is a Lyme carrier)
We got right in, almost no wait time (less than 5 minutes) and the Dr removed the tick. She let him hold it in a plastic cup. He kept shaking the cup and we totally encouraged it. They cleaned the bite and made sure all the bits were removed.
They told us that they do not do blood testing for a tick bite but they will send the tick to the health unit and have it tested there. The Dr wrote us a script for a super heavy dose of amoxicillin that he is to take three times a day for the next 14 days.
Nathaniel was given a popcycle (green of course!) and we were sent on our way.
Nathaniel is fine, no fever or headaches or other signs of Lyme Disease. He says the bite feels fine. All is great news.




One dose

(I have since learned that the normal treatment for tick bites is a heavy dose of antibiotics for 30 days, not 14. I will be seeing if I can get a follow up appointment for this week with our family doctor. Aimed with more information. Hopefully we can get another script)






Wednesday 22 May 2013

Super Baby

Someone decided to take a step yesterday... a step without holing on to anything.
I think we are doomed.
Hopefully he chooses to wait a few months before taking any more steps.

Monday 20 May 2013

9 Months!

Mr Zed is 9 months old! (Okay, he was 9 months on the 9th, but I have been lazy and have been trying to do a family update/rant blog and kinda felt obligated to finish that before starting this one. Naturally that one is only 1/2 way done... )
Zacharey is changing so much day to day, he so clever- too clever. He crawls, walks around furniture, can stand without support. He climbs and can crawl up stairs. He looks for hidden objects, he eats EVERYTHING he can get his hands on (and stuff in his gob before I catch him). He also has three teeth! His third popped through the day after his first two!
Although we were avoiding grains, he is now getting them. I figured after he had already helped himself to some spilled floor cheerios, the damage was done. No sense avoiding something he has already had.
 He has two different laughs, a mocking/amused 'heh heh heh' and his Klingon belly laughs, you really have to work for.
He loves his stroller rides but definitely prefers his Ergo (I would honestly die without the Ergo).
We have started a parent and tot swimming lesson and he LOVES it. It is so great to have an activity *just* for him. Yes, we do other things, but let's be honest. Mother Circle? For me. Friday playgroup? For me. Friday Walking Group? Also for me!
It makes for a busy weekly schedule, but getting out of the house (and forcing other moms to coffee-yes, I am using the word coffee as a verb, instead of a noun. Coffee should always be a verb, to coffee is an action. A beautiful, beautiful action.) is good for everyone.
Unfortunately because Zacharey is so active and mobile, our days at Mother Circle are seriously numbered. This is both happy and sad. Mostly sad.  It is great that Zacharey is growing and learning, but it sucks that we will be given the boot in one of my most favourite activities. I will really miss my social time and the coffee dates after. Zacharey has met a lot of friends, and so have I.
He had his 9th month well baby with the Pediatrician. At 9 months old, Zacharey is 17lbs 6oz exactly one whole pound up form his 8th month weigh in. He has jumped up to *just* under the 15th percentile!  His head had no growth and he lost more height, which is impossible so I am going on his previous measurements.
Weight 17lbs 6oz
Length 72cm (28.35 inches)
Head 45cm  (17.72 inches)
We are still  breastfeeding and have zero plans to stop any time soon. He is starting to irritate me when he nurses though. Pinching, slapping and his nursing gymnastics get really old fast. We are working on introducing nursing manners.
As for sleep, some nights are better than others, but he is still a lousy sleeper. I frequently need to remind myself that this is normal behaviour and that it wont last forever. We are letting him figure out his own schedule. He is usually 'down for the night' at 8pm and will wake between 11pm and 1am (1am being super rare) for a feeding. After that initial stretch it is not uncommon for him to wake once an hour to eat. He usually goes back to sleep right away which is nice. We try for two naps a day, again going on his schedule. He is usually up around 7am and is ready for his first nap around 10am. If I am lucky he will sleep for an hour. He usually takes his second nap around 1:30pm and sometimes needs waking at 3pm so we can leave to pick up his brothers. Once he figures out this whole sleep thing and realizes he really doesn't need to nurse like a newborn all night I will be less grumpy and will probably be able to survive on less coffee.
Getting him to hold still long enough to get a decent picture is proving to be quite the challenge

Eating yogurt baby lead weaning style- pre loaded spoons!
Zacharey really loves oatmeal- almost as much as cheerios

Going for a walk (swimming I think)




Thursday 2 May 2013

7 Days

7 days shy of 9 months and Zacharey has TWO teeth!
I thought for sure he would end up with a top one in first as it is so close to breaking through his gums.
Let the biting begin! (Because my nipples clearly don't take enough abuse haha)

<3