Ian's Book

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The Croup Monster

I really wish I knew, as a mommy, all the ailments my little boy might face.  Sure, we've mastered the sniffles and gassy tummy. However, I was not prepared to be woken in the middle of the night to my baby boy sounding like an old man suffering from emphysema.  This is for those new mommies who have never yet fought the croup monster off.  Take heart, you can make it through!

I woke up to Ian coughing around 1:30 a.m.  It wasn't a typical cough though; it was dry sounding and had almost no power behind it.  I went in to pick him up and I was terrified at the way he was breathing. It sounded so horrible, like he was congested, but about 10x worse.  It also didn't help any that it seemed he was fighting for every breath.  And his cry...oh that sad little cry...he knew something wasn't right with his body.  But his cry sounded so weak, I was sure there was something very wrong with my son.
Ryan tried to calm me, but just listening to Ian breath...I had to take him to the E.R. if for no other reason than my peace of mind.  Fortunately, the ER doc couldn't tell us what was ailing Ian. He did tell us that he was getting plenty of oxygen though, so we left with that and scheduled an appointment with Dr. Julie in the morning. 

Oh Dr. Julie.  I love this woman. You can really tell when someone likes their job. If you are in the Janesville area, I highly recommend her. Anyway...I digress.
She looks at Ian for about 30 seconds (no kidding) and says, "Sounds like he's got croup."  Well, there you have it. Problem is identified, which means a solution is near at hand.  Ian is given some steriods and a breathing treatment from this cool dinosaur breathing mask.

Granted, Ian did not much enjoy the cold vapor coming through the said mask, but it was awfully cute even in a distressing time.  

Now the assignment is to get a filter for our humidifier, as I am told that helps a lot.  Also steamy rooms, or taking the child out in chilly air.  Again, I just want to be helpful for any of you new mamas who might stumble across this monster.  

So thankfully, with the help of a cool pediatrician, a little dinosaur mask, and some helpful tips and tricks to try at home, I expect The Croup Monster to be defeated.  Whew...

2 Videos

Just thought I would post a couple videos for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

                                          

7/22/2010 - Ian on his first trip on an airplane. Headed for Family Camp in Wisconsin!

7/22/2010 - Ian giving his update after his two month check-up.

2 Month Update

Can you believe it?  Ian will be 2 months old tomorrow!  I would save this post for then, but we will be leaving for Texarkana tomorrow for the weekend, and I didn't want to forget to get all this great info up here.

So yes; 2 months!  We went in for Ian's well visit today.  The little guy did great. There was the typical measurements of weight and length. You won't believe this!

This is Ian's growth chart for his weight. I don't know if you can see the bold, red line, but that's where he is at for 2 months.  He shot up from about the 50th percentile at his 2 week visit to about the 95th percentile today!  So help me, if one more person makes a comment about me having a starving baby...well, I'll just show them his chart!

                                                                         

These next two are his charts for his head circumference (he's a tad over 50%) and for his length (he's pretty much right at 50%).

What all that breaks down to for those of you who don't understand the percentile thing (don't feel bad, I don't totally get it either) is that Ian now weighs 14 lbs, 4.5 oz.; he is 22 inches long, and his head circumference is now 40 cm (I think it was 40 anyway...).  Basically, he's a big boy.  It's funny hearing everyones comments about his rolls. He certainly has plenty of them.  Good pinch-able cheeks too. :D

This has been a big month for Ian though. Ian experienced his first major holiday (July 4th).  We went to a family friend's house and shot of fireworks.  Ian was quite intrigued.  Here is a picture of him though beating the heat at the July 4th church picnic.

                                          

The biggest thing probably is that we went on our first family vacation to Sky Lodge Christian Camp in Montello, WI.  That's a long way from Albuquerque, so we got to fly.  Yes, Ian has his wings.

                                              

He did so well! From Albuquerque to Wisconsin, he pretty much slept through both flights. On the way back, he was awake for most of the trip, but he just looked around like the curious little guy he is. Mommy and Daddy were proud of their little man.

Family Camp was a ton of fun, and Ian got to meet (and be held by) lots of great people; friends we love and miss dearly.  He got to see Grandpa Doug and Uncle Kevin again too. We think he enjoyed the whole experience.

If you want to see our pictures from that week, you can check out Ryan's facebook page.

                                     

First family photo taken at Sky Lodge Christian Camp. We hope to have more taken in the future!

I think that's about all for my update right now.  I do try to post more pictures on my facebook page, so if you're getting antsy to see pictures, or if you want to see the wider collection of them, please check in there often.  

As always, thanks for checking in with us.  'Til next time!

Growin' On Up

Ian is 5 weeks and 1 day old now. I can't believe it!  Time certainly flies.

Here's a picture of our little guy at 1 month.

At 1 month old, Ian was 11.8 pounds and 22 inches long.  He's definitely getting bigger, and giving me a workout whenever I hold him. :)  He's getting stronger though too.  He's holding up his head so well. You can see it in the picture.  

He's starting to grasp things too.  The other day, Ryan was changing his diaper, and Ian reached out and picked up the bottle of hand sanitizer that was on the changing table.  He usually gets a pretty good grasp on our shirt collars too when we're trying to put him in bed.  It's like he doesn't want to go to sleep or something...

Speaking of sleep, things are going pretty well most nights.  He's gotten to the point when he will sleep for about 4 hours at a time.  On Father's Day, we started putting him in the nursery for the night instead of in our room.  It was kind of a rough adjustment for me at first, but I'm getting used to it.  I think it helps both him and Ryan & I sleep better.  And I now know that I can definitely trust our monitor.  Actually, I have learned that I can trust Ryan to hear Ian on the monitor, go to the nursery to get him and bring him in to our room so I can feed him. :)  It's a pretty good system.

We're having lots of fun as he grows up though.  He sat in his Bumbo chair for the first time today. He did so well!  See for yourself...

Hopefully I will be better about posting on here. With family here and just getting adjusted to having a baby, I haven't wanted to spend a whole lot of time on the computer, so I haven't.  But now with a new video camera (thanks again, Dad) hopefully we'll have some fun videos to post. And of course there will be lots of pictures.

We created a site on Shutterfly that I can upload all my pictures and videos of Ian to. If you want the website, please leave a comment or contact me and I will give you the site and the password.

Oh, and the nursery is done now. Dad helped get Ian's name on the wall. (I had them painted a few weeks ago, just never hung them up.)  I will do my best to get pictures of that up soon.

So there you have it.  Our boy is growing away.  I keep telling him to slow down, but he doesn't listen. :)  It's ok, we still love him.  And actually, we are really enjoying watching him grow, but it really is going by fast.