san diego

March 17-21

Colby and I took our first vacation together since Miller was born. We had an AMAZING time! We definitely enjoyed sleeping all night and spending time with each other, but we really missed Miller! We talked about him a lot and we were both ready to come home on Monday and see him! While we were gone, my mom came to Tulsa and watched Miller. We know he was in GREAT hands!

We had some credit with Southwest airlines, so we decided to take the opportunity to go to San Diego for our 4th anniversary. We flew from Tulsa to LAX and then drove to San Diego. On the way to San Diego we stopped at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. It was beautiful and we got to see lots of baby animals. After that, we headed to our hotel in Little Italy, which is just 5 blocks from Seaport Village. Here are some pictures from our trip:

We saw some incredible naval ships.

We took a ferry from Seaport Village to Coronado Island. We rented bikes and rode around the island. We also met Alfred, Janet, and Chris for lunch on the island and headed to their house that evening for dinner. We are so glad we got to see them!

Colby on the beach with the famous hotel del in the background. It was gorgeous!

The view from Point Loma.

Point Loma lighthouse.

Tidepools at Point Loma.

Children's Beach in La Jolla. The beach was covered with seals and their pups. We also went to gliderport in La Jolla and saw hang gliders and paragliders over the ocean.

We went to an organ concert in Balboa Park.

The concert stage.

Botanical gardens in Balboa Park.

More Balboa Park.

youtube

See more videos of Miller right here on youtube.

update

Miller immediately felt much better after our trip to the urgent care on Saturday! He was more playful and his fever was gone. However, he still had a runny nose, cough, and congestion. So, yesterday we decided to take him to Dr. Knippers to have his ear re-checked and to find out if he could take anything for his congestion. His left ear, which was the ear with the infection, had a little bit of fluid in it. His right ear, which the PA at urgent care said was not infected, was pretty red and had formed a blister due to infection. Dr. Knippers switched Miller to a different antibiotic, Zithromax. The antibiotic they prescribed him at urgent care (Augmentin) is pretty harsh and was causing Miller to have watery stools and a diaper rash. Dr. Knippers also prescribed Quartuss to help with his cough, congestion, and runny nose. Hopefully he will continue to feel better!

On a side note-I cannot begin to tell you how much we love Kathy and Dr. Knippers. They never seem like they are rushed; they take time to visit with us and answer our questions. They distract Miller during their assessment by playing with him and making him laugh.

Yesterday, I woke up with a sore throat and by lunchtime I had a fever. My mom watched Miller while Colby and I went to urgent care. They did a strep test and flu test. Both were negative, but the doctor gave me a prescription for Zithromax. I think I also have a sinus infection. I am feeling so much better today! Colby has been incredibly helpful! He stayed home from work today and has been helping take care of Miller so that I can rest. I am so lucky to have such wonderful support!

month seven

February 8-March 7

Milestones this month:

-scooting backwards (Feb. 9-just over 6 mo.)
-eating lots of new foods-apples, bananas, pears, sweet potatoes, carrots
-blowing lots of raspberries, especially when eating!
-babbling, loves to say adadadada
-banging toys and banging toys together
-notices strangers (Feb. 24-6 ½ mo)
-laughing (March 4-almost 7 mo)


Such a happy boy!

Miller playing with his hippo in his crib. A few weeks ago, I walked into Miller's room after his nap and found him up on his hands and knees. So, we decided it was time to lower his crib mattress. (Feb. 24-6 ½ mo)

We removed the divider from Miller's tub so he can sit up to take his baths. (Feb 26-6 ½ mo)

Miller reading in the tub.

One of Miller's new favorite games! He loves to sit and pull all of his toys out of the basket. He stops briefly to chew on each toy as he pulls it out. It is so funny to watch him!

Smiles!

Loves to chew on everything!

Seven months old! I can't believe it! He is growing up so fast!

Miller playing with daddy and laughing.

food, food, food

Before we started feeding Miller solid foods, we made the decision to make our own baby food using fresh fruits and vegetables. It has been a lot of fun!

Some fruits and vegetables that I picked up today from Whole Foods. Avocados, bell peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, yellow squash, mangoes.

The Healthy Baby Meal Planner by Annabel Karmel. This is a great book with lots of great baby food recipes and information on when and how to introduce foods.

Pears, plums, and parsnips chopped up and ready to be steamed.

Butternut squash steaming. Miller tried butternut squash for the first time this evening. He wouldn't eat very much of it, but he is getting over an ear infection and sinus infection so he hasn't been eating as much as normal. Also, it usually takes a couple of tries for him to get used to a new food.

My mini food processor and some pureed zucchini squash. I bought these baby food storage containers for freezing baby food and I LOVE them! They have screw top lids so the lids don't pop off. Also, I can separate his food into individual portions and I don't have to mess with ice cube trays (which is a common way to freeze homemade baby food).

My new label maker for labeling baby food. I LOVE it!!

Labeled homemade baby food ready to go in the freezer.

I made all of this baby food today except for the apples and sweet potatoes. It should be fun to see what Miller likes!

For about a month, he didn't really want to eat anything that we tried to feed him. He would close his mouth and turn his head away from the spoon. Then, all of a sudden, he decided that he was ready to eat solid foods. He opened his mouth wide and leaned forward in his highchair and ate 2 ounces of pureed apples. Ever since then he has been a pretty good eater. His favorite foods so far are apples and pears. He still cringes at the taste of bananas!

what a day!

Saturday, March 5

It started out as a pretty normal Saturday. We got dressed and headed to Ponca City for Jamie Trout's wedding. (Which, by the way, was gorgeous! My mom helped Janet make centerpieces and decorate for the reception. It was absolutely beautiful...they did an AMAZING job! Congratulations, Jamie and Adam!)

We had a few minor mishaps on the way, but no big deal. Miller's jeans were dirty, so we threw them in the washing machine and forgot to grab them before we left. We realized about halfway to Ponca City that we forgot Miller's jeans, so my parents went to JCPenny and bought Miller a new pair of jeans for the wedding. (Thanks, mom and dad!) Then, we got pulled over on the way to Ponca for speeding. At least we just got a warning.

Miller was great during the wedding. He was a little talkative, so he and Colby went to the narthex and played with some of his toys. But, about halfway through the reception, he started acting very lethargic. He began to look flushed and felt really hot, although he never acted fussy like he was in pain. He has had a runny nose for the past couple of days, but he has always had clear secretions and no fever. During the reception, his nasal secretions turned thick and yellow and he started acting like he was having trouble breathing. So, I gave him a little Tylenol and we decided to leave the reception and take him to urgent care.

At urgent care, his fever was 101.2° and he was tachypneic (breathing fast) and retracting (having difficulty breathing). They tested him for RSV and the flu, but thankfully both were negative! The PA listened to his lungs and said they sounded clear. But, his left ear and throat were both red. So, they tested him for strep throat. That was also negative. She said she thought he had an ear infection and a sinus infection and gave us a prescription for an antibiotic.

This suction is one of our best baby purchases! It even plays music while you suction...HA! I wish we had bought one sooner....the bulb syringes are pretty worthless.



We also picked up some Motrin and this battery-powered nasal suction at Walgreens. He seems to have perked up a little bit after the medicine. Hopefully, the antibiotic will work and he will continue to feel better! It is absolutely shocking to me how fast he went from being well to being sick! He went the first six months of his life without being sick one time. And now he was been sick three times in the past month! Let's hope this is not becoming a trend!

six month appointment

March 1

After rescheduling twice, I finally took Miller for his six-month check-up today. His appointment was originally scheduled for February 9, during Tulsa's big snowstorm. So, I rescheduled his appointment for February 15. Then, he was diagnosed with RSV on Valentine's Day, so we had to reschedule again!

He is a happy, healthy baby! He is in the 43rd percentile for weight and the 84th percentile for height. He is meeting all of his developmental milestones and showed Kathy how well he sits up! He had his shots and only cried for a minute. He does have an umbilical hernia, but Kathy says that it is completely normal and should close on its own.

We can continue adding more foods to his diet and he will naturally decrease his formula intake. Kathy suggested that we try feeding him yogurt as well as applesauce and prunes for constipation. Around nine months, when he develops a pincer grasp, we can start feeding him foods like cheerios.

We also need to start encouraging Miller to sleep through the night. At this age, he should be able to sleep for 10-12 hours without waking up to eat. Kathy suggested letting him cry, but I plan on doing a little bit more research before making any decisions about sleep training.