Christmas spirit

For whatever reason, I just couldn't get into the holiday spirit at all this year.  Well, actually I assume the reason is Q.  I know he is certainly why we were too tired to carve out space and take the time or expend the energy to decorate......at all.  We literally put up nary a piece of tinsel.

Still, it was a pleasant enough day (by Portland winter standards that is, which is to say no more awful than any other winter day here), and I didn't have to work, but I guess I am used to the holiday being somewhat relaxing.  We generally go over to Tia's folks and slowly open gifts, eat, and talk.  But, now with a baby, almost all of the time is spent trying to keep Q occupied and happy.  Going up to the store is sometimes difficult, but putting together a string of hours (because he does not sleep well at home, but sleeps FAR worse away from it) is exhausting.  This weekend we really pushed it too.

Saturday night, we went out to a gathering with some of Tia's workmates.  Her boss (who hosted) has two preteen sons who could not have been better with Q, but even with their help, he had a somewhat hard time being up and out past his usual 6pm slumber time.  Then, we had pics taken on Sunday afternoon, for which he was pretty good, though required an incredible amount of cajoling.  Sunday night he was in mostly meltdown mode at a family Xmas party.

I don't mean to frame it as a complaint.  I know that it isn't like he is willfully being a difficult baby.  He just is.  You might as well blame gravity for the rain falling down.  It is just, well, tiresome.  It makes me feel worn and every minute of my 35+ years.  Seeing his very portable and easygoing cousin today just further emphasizes exactly how much more difficult Q is.

On the positive side, he has clearly been really maturing.  He is definitely starting to chatter more and more, play more actively, and interact somewhat.  He has yet to get to a point where he can entertain himself for more than a few minutes though.  Hopefully soonish.

Have been training the new gal at work.  She seems really nice, though not terribly confident about the clinic as yet.  It still remains unclear how long they will keep me with her, but I hope until she feels comfortable.  Of course, at some point they will take off the training wheels.

Have put in some apps elsewhere with the faint hope that maybe one of them will turn up something.  I know it is always 'the grass is greener' but one of the positions would be a return to an area of real interest, asthma and allergy.  Of course, it is with KP, so I assume I have the same odds of running across Obama at the local Whole Foods.  But, we shall see if I manage to keep up my .000 batting average there.  At least I know it isn't personal, with a number of nurses (including the gal I am training) getting not so much as a call back with many more years of nursing under their belts than I.

Tia is sick....again.  Poor thing has been healthy about 7 days in the past 60.  Not enough sleep, too much stress, and of course no real downtime to rest.  An ideal combination for poor health.  Hopefully her current issues resolved quickly.....for her sake and my own.

I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday.  I am overdue for bed time.....or else tomorrow will be very very difficult.  

Gypsy Curse?

I am 99.9% certain that gypsy curses are not, in point of fact, real.  However, just to cover all my bases, I am going to go ahead and apologize to any and all gypsies that I may have given cause to curse myself, my wife, or my child.  Please let us know what, if any, animal sacrifices, ancient blood rites, and or formal letters of apologies are warranted.

You see, I have spent the past week beginning with a sore throat, GI upset, and malaise and culminating in nausea and vomiting (mostly the former which precludes the latter by limiting intake) and of course a overriding fatigue from a diet of not much more than thin soups and white breads.

Tia has been sick for better than a month and never seems to fully recover.  She has had a long term sore throat, hacking cough, and associated fatigue (exacerbated by never getting a full night of sleep).

As for Q, well I have tried to document his struggles as best I can (along with his successes).  Unfortunately, after we thought we turned a corner, it appears we have just run into another corner.  He has seemingly been experiencing even more GI problems.  He is eating less, spitting up more, and seems to be having a lot of discomfort.  Tia has a call in for him to have some perhaps more invasive GI tests to see if there is something physically wrong.  He fortunately has a little room to backslide, but not terribly much.  I certainly fear he will end up returning to the hospital at this rate.

I hope better posts follow.  Right now there isn't much positive to report.

Fat Baby (or at least back on the growth curve)

Though Q is fighting some kind of gastrointestinal distress (as is the entirety of our household, thankfully save the feline members since I would no doubt be charged with clean up), he has made remarkable gains with the new formula regime.  On the 29th of November, he was 10lbs flat.  Now, less than 2 weeks later, he is 11lbs 14oz.  He put on nearly 3 ounces a day!  He is back on the growth curve (granted, at 5%, but still).  The picture above was taken just 2 days ago after 9 days on the new formula.  Seeing is believing.

Have another appointment in a month.  Hope things keep moving in the right direction.  Only downside to the formula thus far is that it REEKS (going in and coming out).  But, we will take it as a fair trade off.

Nothing else to report other than I was watching many hours of a tattooing reality show today while lying supine in a state of near unconsciousness and I learned that people can (and do) get their tongues tattooed.  Just thought I needed something non baby-related in here.

More to come as always.  

Talkin' shit (literally)

As we are officially off breast milk and on formula now and it is making a WORLD of difference thus far.  Things aren't perfect, but they are incredibly improved.  Less screaming.  More smiles.  Less grousing and grumping.  More play.  Nice.  

As part of this switch to formula, the gastroenterologist wanted a bunch of blood work, a urine sample and multiple stool samples.  For the urine samples they at least gave us a bag that adheres to his skin so there is literally nowhere else the urine could go.  But, for the stool samples, they provided us with 4 plastic 'dixie' cups with lids and asked that we get 'approximately 1 gram in each.'  If a baby eats no solids, they poop no solids.  So, we (and the lab techs we asked) were mystified as to how one might collect such a thing.

Cut to Friday morning.  As I get out of the shower I hear Tia asking for help.  I walk in the nursery to see her holding up what can only be described as a shit covered baby who also has a shit covered baggy attached to his front and she is wanting me to grab a piece of plastic cutlery so that I might scrape off enough for a few samples.  And that is how I ended up spending my Friday morning: using a plastic spoon to scrape poop off my son into a Dixie cup while he was being held aloft over his changing pad.  If that is not the definition of love, what is?

Then, tonight, while I was bathing him for the second time (it was a messy day) he was laughing ang playing until I heard him fart, followed by a few bubbles, and then it looked like an octopus squirting ink while fleeing from a shark.  I couldn't really do anything but laugh until tears came out of my eyes (and then hose him off with the shower sprayer).  

Other than lots of pooping, we got to meet a bunch of our fellow neighborhood gentrifiers at a  gathering for all the new (or relatively new) parents.  There were minimally 8 babies/toddlers there from not more than 10 square blocks around.  It was quite amazing.  Perhaps equally amazing were how many pretty rancid stories there were about each house's history.  Lots of drug dealers, crazies, and even a guy who evidently used to shoot target practice in his basement.  Lets just say the neighborhood is definitely (at least by my definition) changing for the better.  Good to see so many young families in the neighborhood.  Up with families, new businesses, and improved houses.  Down with the whole indoor shooting thing.  

More to come as always.