This time he is for real sick.

So I have not blogged for a while, but since my last post where we discovered Riley was likely teething, we have been to the big city of Dallas for girls weekend, and we have started to celebrate Father's Day. I will post about both of these later. But first I will tell you that the last 24 hours has been horrifically long. The only bright spot, other than Riley, is that my parents are here. If y'all read recently you have heard me go on about how I do not make a decision without them and need there continual guidance, so this weekend I really needed them and I tried not to ask, and they were super smart and came without my desperate pleas.

So why would I have had desperate pleas you might ask? Because my precious little bundle of joy was admitted to the hospital last night. For those of you getting worried, please know he is doing really well. But on Friday at 4:15 or so ECDC called Michael (the only parent they really know bc he drops him off and picks him up) and said Riley has stopped taking the paci and he is not acting like himself, and he has a fever. Michael went straight to daycare and called me to see what to do next. I called my Dad and paged the doctor since it was after the office had closed. My Dad said we needed to take him to the doctor or the ER and have him checked out and then Dr. Morrison said the same thing. Both of them were concerned it could be pneumonia. Michael to Riley to Baptist South, the ER suggested by Dr. Morrison and I (without a car went to ask Angela to take me to the hospital. I of course was a mess, though I was sure he would be fine the idea of going to a hospital is scary.


When I got to the ER Michael was in the back with him doing a check in process, after that screening he brought Riley to me and I held him in the waiting room. He was so lethargic and hot, he just laid on my chest and panted. It was totally out of character for him, normally at this hour he just plays and plays, talking and squealing. A few minutes later he was taken into the ER and Michael and I were swarmed by at least 6 different PA's and nurses. (shout out SK, our PA, Benny, was very nice and now I have a better idea of what you do everyday) First they took blood, that took two sticks, then they tried to get a line in for an IV and that took four more sticks over the course of several hours. All while he was being stuck repeatedly they were putting a tube in his face and were doing breathing treatments. They did a chest x-ray, and then came back for a neck x-ray of the soft tissue. After the x-rays came back and after being in the ER for two hours they told us he had "a little bit of pneumonia" and that he would be admitted. I had been a bit teary eyed as my baby screamed while they pricked him, but you can imagine that I could not hold the tears back when they said we would be staying in the hospital. I got Riley to take a nap, though it was a goof hour past his bedtime and we settled into our ER room waiting on the last try at an IV.


**Note: The floor of an ER, where they are constantly pushing people through and doing a quick clean in between, is SERIOUSLY nasty. I had at least 3 different nurses say they would not hand their child something that had been on the floor.


So after the nurses came back in and got his IV in and he had thrown his paci a on the floor for the last time. One rattle and two paci's were in the garbage and Michael was on his way to the store for more.

By that time it was 9:00 pm and Chappy's at the hospital had closed, so then Michael went to grab dinner. He was out and Riley was sleeping on the hospital bed. I watched TLC in the ER while I watched his every move until we got moved upstairs into the Pediatric unit. That was about 10:00 and shortly there after Dr Morrison came in to check on him. He got all hooked up and he was wide awake from his nap until Grandcoy and Gie Gie arrived, and my Mom got him back to bed around 12:30. I made my bed on the roll away cot, and Michael brought me my pillows and my luggage (we were on our way to Brewton) and I got settled in.

He did not sleep real well , he was back up at 2:30, and 4:30 and then 6:30, and I slept even worse, getting to bed at 2:00 and watching him every time I put him back to sleep. Today he was really happy and Dr. Morrison came in and said he seemed to be doing well and is likely to get out tomorrow. His temp was lower this afternoon and Dr Morrison listed and timed his breathing. He was taking about 40 breaths per minute and it should have been at least half of that. So hopefully his progress will continue.

Or not sick...

So I thought he was sick, but last night he decided to stay up too late, he would not sleep in his crib and cried until 12:45 am. (Loved that since we were getting up at 5:15 am) Anyway in the midst of all his crying last night I discovered as he gnawed on my fingers that his fussiness is all about TEETHING. The fact that he threw up the other night made me think that he was sick. But remove the throwing up from the equation and the rest of his symptoms (lack of appetite, fever, runny nose, riduculous sleep habits)equal teething. Duh! I have not felt a tooth, but he gnaws more on the right side of his mouth so I am suspecting there will be a tooth soon.

Sick Baby

Last night for the first time in his six months of life I would say Riley had a bit of a bug. He was really fussy when I got home from work and Michael thought he was tired. I agreed but thought he was probably not feeling well since he had a runny nose. So I tried to feed him at 5:30 like always and he wasn't interested...even when I put bananas on his lips. He started to cry at the very top of his lungs, which he just doesn't do. I picked him up and tried to soothe him...and splat, he threw up all over me and the floor! And I mean threw up, this was not spit up. He seemed to feel a little bit better after that but he wouldn't eat, he had a slight temp, and he wouldn't sleep. The only way to keep him from doing his pitiful half cry was for Michael to lay him with his head resting on his shoulder. We tried to put him in the crib twice thinking he was asleep only to find out we were wrong. Finally around seven I was able to get him down in the crib. He woke up twice before 9 and the second time I checked his fever. It had gone up a degree and he felt so hot. He was so lethargic, but after talking to my Dad (so nice to have a doctor to call) I was able to get about 5 ounces in him and some tylenol. He was wide awake now, but I think he is feeling better.

He woke up again at midnight and was up for 45 minutes, then at 3:30 he got up and stayed awake until 5:45. This morning he was feeling better, but we just did not want to chance him getting sicker or passing this little bug on to his classmates. Lucky for us Etta came to the rescue. His temp has been elevated for him since yesterday, but well under the temp that daycare worries about. He is fine, but it is so sad to hear him really cry because he doesn't feel well.

Baby Food

So now that Riley is eating solid foods (this is a misnomer...there is nothing solid about his foods) I have been making it. I am not sure I should really even claim to make it, the hard work is done by the farmers, all I do is steam it and puree it. It is the easiest thing ever!!

First I steam the green beans, these were frozen organic green beans.

Then I put it in the food processor with a little bit of milk, and you get this.

Then it goes into the ice cube trays. And then I take them out and stick them in a freezer bag. Each cube is about an ounce and it stays good in the freezer for about 3 months. And aside from being super easy. It costs about 1/3 the price of baby food..trust me I have done the math. Below is frozen sweet peas and frozen acorn squash. Riley loves the acorn squash the best so far. He has also had the jarred stuff and he is quite content with it too. I believe them to be equally as healthy, and I really like both of the organic brands that we have tried.

Riley's Friends

Last week Riley had friends come to play. Here he is with Jake and then later on down the page with Avery.

Give me that DUCK!

Sorry these pictures are kind of blury...but I had to share. Bathtime has changed dramatically. Riley used to just lay there while I bathed him. Now I cannot keep him still. I think we may not be able to bathe with the duck anymore. I finally just let him lay on his chest on the seat and shove the duck in his mouth. He was happy.

6 Months Old!!

Can you believe it?? Where on earth does the time go? I feel like I was just pregnant yesterday (quite possibly bc I am still carrying around half of the weight), but no I have a 6 month old...a six month old!!! He is no longer a tiny baby that you can cradle and soothe. In the last two weeks he has learned to sit up and he is not interested in lying on his back unless he is sleeping. He is always on the verge of moving and going. It is really kind of sad, but at the same time wonderful!! I guess that is what the future holds, excitement over new stages and nostalgia over the past. It is still so surreal to be a parent! I am the Mom and I really can't get over that.

When I was little I relied on my parents for everything, like all kids do, but I really do not think that has changed all that much. What I cannot get over is the fact that my parents have always been, in my eyes, adults. They have always been the ones with all the knowledge and life experience and the ones I look to for guidance on EVERYTHING...I mean I call to find out what to do about car stuff, house stuff, recipes, finances, and of course Riley. Will I ever feel like a grown up? And how on earth would I get along with out such great parents, both mine and Michael's? We are so lucky!!

Back to being 6 months old...Riley now weighs 15 lbs and 3 oz, putting him in the 20th percentile for weight. He is 26 1/4 inches long, putting him in the 45th percentile for height. So he went up in weight and down in height but he is still right on track adn his pediatrician is pleased.

Here are some pictures from his 6 month photo shoot!