Sick!

We have been sick, sick, sick! Fair warning: If reading about gross stuff makes you sick, you may want to skip this post. On the other hand, if you're a parent, then you probably know what it's like (or will), and if you're a parent-to-be, then be prepared.

First the rundown, so to speak. It seems to have started Saturday, when Emmerson had a diarrhea diaper. I thought it was an isolated incident, but apparently I was mistaken, as the situation quite literally blew up on Sunday. Poor Emmerson. Everything that went in came right back out, seemingly in triplicate. Every single diaper was a massive blowout. Every one. Requiring full outfit changes and usually a bath, sometimes also with changes of my own clothing, laundering of numerous towels and bleaching of the tub. Twice on Sunday, Emmerson vomited like a geyser, once while in her booster chair in the morning and once while sitting on my lap that evening. Fortunately, for the second episode, we were sitting on my leather recliner, which made cleanup a bit easier. But still, we were both drenched.

The diarrhea continued Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. On Monday afternoon, despite my best efforts at safe hygiene, I got very sick and was up sick all night. I'm starting to feel better today, thankfully. It certainly was one of the more trying times of single parenthood.

Throughout her ordeal, Emmerson has pretty much remained her happy self, although she's definitely been more tired. My main concern was dehydration. I made a couple phone calls to the doctor's office to make sure I was following the right home care strategies for infant diarrhea. They told me that infant diarrhea can take as long as two weeks to resolve. Talk about demoralizing!

Fortunately, Emmerson has had no signs of dehydration. The current recommendations for infant diarrhea from the American Academy of Pediatrics say to continue feeding a mainly normal diet, with a focus on bland foods (rice, bananas, potatoes, applesauce), which supposedly restores normal GI functioning faster. Emmerson hasn't been interested in eating so she's been getting formula mixed with an electrolyte replacement solution. I've also mixed rice cereal and pureed bananas into her formula.

Another big concern with infant diarrhea is diaper rash, which can be a serious problem. But since I was aware of that, I immediately slathered on liberal amounts of diaper cream, and we've had no problem with that (other than the awful smell of Desitin, which Emmerson somehow manages to smear all over herself and me as I fight to get her diaper on).

There were also logistical concerns. I had to be careful where I put Emmerson because of potential leakage. She did have a big blowout while in her Jumperoo, for example. When she was on the floor, I put down a couple layers of blankets for her to play on.

I have to say that throughout all of this, I've been pretty immune to the proliferation of poop. It hasn't grossed me out like I thought it might. What's been hard is, of course, seeing Emmerson sick, and also just the exhausting ordeal of cleaning up one massive mess after another.

Also, I wasn't fully prepared for an illness like this. For instance, I didn't have any electrolyte replacement in stock, as I probably should have. Big thanks to Miles' parents for coming to the rescue late Sunday evening! I didn't have any plain crackers, either, which might have helped me. Nor did I have any jarred bananas on hand. I also used up my last jug of laundry bleach - before the laundry was all done. Thankfully, I had plenty of wipes, diapers and towels on hand.

Those of you who aren't ready, either, take heed.

Emmerson likely picked up her bug at daycare. Many babies have been out sick. Daycare promises me that they have taken extra steps to clean everything and now are sending home babies who show any sign of illness (apparently they normally allow babies to stay until they have three diarrhea diapers). Emmerson won't be going back to her daycare until I'm sure she isn't contagious and goes at least 24 hours without diarrhea. I hope other parents do the same. We're lucky that my employer offers a free back-up child care for sick babies (although they have room for only three infants). Emmerson went there Tuesday and is there again today. The workers there are RNs, which gives me extra assurance that Emmerson is in good hands and being closely monitored for any problems.

I'm not sure what today will bring for Emmerson. I hope it's the day she turns the corner toward wellness. It's hard to see your baby sick and not be able to do much to help speed recovery!

Favorite Photo Friday: Looking Back

8 Months!

Emmerson is eight months old today -- Veterans Day here in the United States. It's getting harder to get Emmerson to sit still for her monthly picture with Sophie Dog. It's also getting hard to see the difference in size each month, I think, because Miss E's growth isn't as rapid and dramatic anymore.

Emmerson continues to do well. She isn't crawling yet, mainly because she still just despises being on her tummy, even though we work on that every day. She manages to move around quite a bit by scooting in circles on her bottom, though. She squeals with delight when I take her hands to "walk" with her. I was a little concerned about her lack of crawling, but realized it's just not her thing, not yet anyway, and that's OK. She'll do it when she wants to and she's not behind developmentally. And to be sure, life is much easier without a crawler! She also loves to stand by leaning against objects, like my ottoman.

Miss E. has been in a clingy stage in recent weeks. I don't think she has separation anxiety. Rather, she just wants a full-time playmate! She doesn't want to play alone if someone can play with her. It's a good thing that Sophie can provide a friendly and convenient distraction when necessary, along with Rudy the Cat, and to a much lesser extent, Pixel the Cat (who generally avoids being in the same room as the baby).

Emmerson has grown Velcro on her hands. If she can reach it, it's suddenly stuck firmly to her little hands, especially if it's something she's not supposed to have.

She's a great eater, as long as it's formula. Miss E. might be eating formula until she's 12. It's easier and more comforting than eating "real" food, I guess. She does enjoy sampling other food, but just as often may simply clamp her vise-like lips together. Oh, she did leave teeth marks on my finger the other day!

Emmerson goes down for bed and naps really well. She just doesn't sleep well after that. She continues to be a crib thumper in the wee hours of the night. And we are still trying to recover from the disruption of that one tiny little hour when we ended Daylight Savings Time. It's amazing how much impact an hour can have on a baby's schedule.

So, 'til next month:

Nine days:


Four weeks:


Eight weeks:


12 weeks:


Four months:


Five months:


Six months:


7 months (and a few extra days to grow on):


8 months:

Little Miss Innocent

Could this happy little kiddo be the same baby who when I picked her up at day care this evening spit up all over me -- in my face, my hair, and down the front and back of my jacket? After I spent the afternoon throwing up myself because of some sort of bug or something? I know it's hard to tell because of the camo. But yep, it's Little Miss Innocent. (And by the way, for those of you who noticed, that is a little baby toothbrush Emmerson is playing with.)

Favorite (Video) Photo Friday

Emmerson is clapping quite a bit now. You can see a glimpse of it in this video. I think Emmerson is doing a few impersonations in this video. Can you see any? (Excuse the camera shake - I was trying not to laugh.)



By the way, the clothes that Emmerson is wearing in this video are not the clothes I sent her to day care with on Thursday. Her other clothes came home in a plastic bag. That's never a good sign. Apparently Miss E. had a rather significant diaper blowout at day care. All I can say is -- better there than at home!

************** Victory **************

Rockin' The Vote (Goodbye, McPain)

Swingin' Sunday

We took a long walk to a local park this afternoon, since temperatures actually topped 70. Despite the great weather, we had the whole park to ourselves. Emmerson really enjoyed swinging. We had to cut our visit short, though, because it started sprinkling, and the skies looked threatening -- and we were a 1.5-plus mile walk from home. Emmerson cried when I took her out of the swing. And of course, a few minutes after leaving, it stopped raining.

All Creatures Great And Small

Just hanging out on a Sunday morning.



I figured that Emmerson would get up at her normal time today. What does she know about setting the clock back? Of course, on the only day that there's even a slight potential to catch a few extra zzzzs, Emmerson decided to get up at 4 a.m., which now is 3 a.m. Fortunately, she's usually a pretty happy camper in her crib, so I let her play in there for a while and she went back to sleep eventually. Too bad I couldn't! She woke up again around 6:30 (5:30?), so happy and playful and ready for a fun day. And then she was ready for a nap by 8 (er, 7).

I used to love British veterinarian James Herriot and his books, including "All Creatures Great and Small." He inspired me to want to be a vet myself. That never happened, once I understood the messier side of veterinary care, including dealing with too much poop! Hahah. Look at me today -- up to my elbows in poop, snot, spit-up and various unrecognizable substances!

Speaking of that, last night, I decided that today I would make barbecue pork in the crockpot, with some onions, peppers and potatoes. So I took the pork tenderloin out of the freezer to thaw a bit before bed. When I got up this morning, the tenderloin was still sitting on the counter -- very well thawed, to say the least. There goes $10 in the trash!

On The Menu

Emmerson has really been enjoying sampling some "real" food lately. In addition to the typical smorgasbord of baby food (stage 2 and some 3s), here's what she's tried recently:

Rice

Mashed potatoes

Turkey

Ham

Cheese (Havarti, asiago, mozarella)

Crackers (various)

Yobaby Yogurt

Avacado

Pasta

I still get paranoid about Emmerson choking, so food is usually in tiny pieces. She could probably have pieces that are a bit bigger -- maybe when I'm less paranoid.

I'm also conscious of food allergies but not overly worried -- maybe I should be more worried about that and less worried about food sizes! I'm not quite sure why it's OK to give babies cheese, yogurt and other dairy products. Maybe it's not! Or maybe only infants who show signs of an early dairy allergy should avoid dairy products before 12 months. I'm not quite sure. But I know that Emmerson really enjoys cheese and Yobaby Yogurt. And it seems like it's impossible to avoid wheat entirely, too. Hopefully our menu isn't doing any permanent damage to the little tyke!

Happy Halloween!

Wordless Wednesday: 3 Amazing Babies

Ready For Winter!

Well, not really, we're not.

But to celebrate our first snowfall, I broke out Emmerson's snowman jammies (which she wears under a footed fleece sleeper).



Excuse the poor lighting. I had the lights down low to get Emmerson ready for bed, and she was sitting on my leather ottoman, which she loves to do. (I think she likes the feel of it.)

First Snow!

Let the record show that we are having our first snow flurries of the season today. Let the record also show that I rate it as a big, fat ugh.

Outdoor Fun

Emmerson, Sophie Dog and I spent some time outdoors this afternoon since it was bright and sunny, if a bit chilly thanks to a sharp wind. First I mowed the lawn (while Emmerson napped) and then raked for a while.

I'll have a lot of raking to do in the coming weeks, since my towering tree is a locust tree. Don't believe those tree and garden sites that claim the leaves of a locust tree don't need raking. I may just have a supersize locust, but it leaves behind (no pun intended) a thick carpet of leaves and stems that would kill my grass if not raked. And unfortunately, the tiny little leaves are so hard to rake up, they clog my gutters and they drop and drop and drop for weeks on end.

Anyway, I digress.

Emmerson had woken up too early from her nap, and after a special morning with friends Sophia and Miles, she was especially tired. So she wasn't too thrilled to sit outside while I raked, even though she looked pretty darn cute in her little pink puppy hat.



So off we went for an hour walk. Emmerson napped, Sophie ran and I got in a workout, and we all had a great time! Emmerson must have been busy figuring some things out in her mind, because several different times tonight she brought her hands together to clap for the first time. Also today for the first time, she started clapping her hand over her mouth and making that "wah wah wah" noise -- something Grandma had been working with her on for a while.