Monday, August 27, 2012

2 month check up and more



Happy Monday!

Ramey had his 2 month check up this morning.  He is doing great.  He weighs 10 lbs 4 ounces (25%) is 22 inches long (10-25%- I don't know why there is a range) and his head is 38 cm (10%).  So he has a small head, which is funny because big heads run in my family.  We even measured everyones head about a month ago when my Uncle Steve and Aunt Karen, Katherine and Ryan, Mom and Dad and Harry and I were all together because we wanted to determine who has the biggest head.  I won't embarrass the person and post the results here, lol.  Anyways, I asked Dr. Adair if that was okay that his head was smaller and she said yes he is just a little guy.
Then it was time for shots.  He had to drink one of the "shots" and he didn't like that and kind of choked on it even though I gave it to him pretty slow, so he started mad.  Then I thought he felt a little warm so I had the nurse check and she thought so too, so she took his temp... in his booty.  He was 98.4 so he could get his shots, but that just made him even more mad.  Then he got 3 shots, 2 in one leg and 1 in the other.  He did the 'scream so hard nothing comes out and you aren't breathing' scream.  He has done it a handful of times in his short life but this was definitely the worst.  Katherine use to do it when she was a baby so it doesn't scare me like it might someone else but I still don't like it.  Then he calmed down and I put him in his carrier with 2 big bandaids on and we left.  He was asleep by the time we were outside and is still sleeping (in his carrier in my bedroom) right now.

The last couple of weeks.  Harry still loves his job and Ramey is growing like a weed!  He can hold his head up so well now and can push up really well with his arms when he is laying on my chest.  He still doesn't like tummy time on the floor but likes doing it on my chest.  He is also getting strong little leg muscles.  He loves to stand up on my legs and put weight on his.  Sometimes he looks a little like Elvis with the hip swaying but he is getting pretty good at it!

Had my first horrible Mom experience on Friday. I was clipping Ramey's nails for the first time and when I got to his precious little thumb, I accidentally got a little bit of his finger.  He screamed immediately so I stopped clipping so I didn't cut it all the way, but good enough for there to be bleeding and crying from both of us.  Harry was here (thank goodness) so I said, "Take him!" and gave him to Harry while Ramey and I both cried.  It looks so much better today, but I just knew the top part of his thumb was gone forever.  Stupid nail clippers and teeny tiny nails.
I had Dr. Adair look at it and she said he is fine.  She has had some parents cut every single finger and not know it because the baby was already upset when they started so they didn't realize they were cutting them!  So at least mine wasn't that bad!!!  She said to use little Revlon blunt scissors next time.  So I said that to mom and she said "Oh yeah!  That is how I did it. I was thinking, How did you cut his finger when you were using scissors"  Thanks alot, Mom!  She even bought me the clippers when I was on bed rest! lol.

We did deal with thrush last week.  I was having some horrible shooting stabbing pains while breastfeeding and for hours after all day long for a few days.  It was getting really bad and not looking too good either.  I checked Ramey's mouth and he had some white areas in his mouth but I couldn't tell if it was regular mouth color or thrush.  I called the doctor and they prescribed some nystatin for Ramey and then I called my OB and got some for myself.  If one of you has thrush you both have to be treated otherwise you will just keep giving it back and forth.  I also had some All Purpose Nipple Cream, that Harry's work compounded for me, and had already been using that for a week.  Well let me tell you, giving a 7 week old 2ml of medicine 4 times a day is not fun!  Some would come back out of his mouth and it was so sticky and sweet.  He didn't like it but got better at it and I got better at giving it, but occasionally he wouldn't swallow or something and he would choke on it.  The first time he choked, it was so horrible!  He turned a little purple and wasn't coughing for anything.  I thought I was going to have to do CPR.  I sat him up completely, he was already partially up, and started patting him on the back and he finally started coughing.  It was so bad that I cried after it was over and called Mom.  After that I gave it to him much much slower and made sure he swallowed it all before I gave him any more, but he still managed to choke a little bit a couple more times.  Once he finished that last dose I was pretty happy.   I also made an appointment to go to the lactation consultant again to make sure his latch was good and to check me out to see if she thought we needed another week of the medicine.  But she thought we were good to go.  We also did a weigh check and he weighed 9.15 at 8 weeks and 1 day.  He gained 20 ounces in 21 days!  I was worried he wasn't gaining that well anymore because he has been sleeping longer stretches at night, wakes up twice (around 2 and 5) then gets up between 7-7:30 and eats for 15 minutes or so, alot faster than he was before, but he is just getting better and more efficient at eating.  But he is also still such a sleepy little guy.  I normally have to wake him up every 3 hours during the day to eat still, but I guess he is doing good!

Ramey has gotten so long and likes to sleep stretched out, so he no longer fits in his bassinet but we don't want to put him in his own room yet.  Our pediatrician recommends he stay in our room until he is 6 months.  SIDS is at its peak between 3-6 months.  So we got a mini crib for our bedroom.  Here is a pic of our long little guy in his too small bassinet.

Ramey LOVES to smile!  He is normally a very happy boy!  Here are some of my favorite smile shots!



2 Month Picture

Our Family


Ramey turned 2 months old on Saturday and we doing a list each month of his likes and dislikes and what is going on with our little man at that time.  So here it is:


2 Months Old- August 25, 2012

Stats as of 8-27-2012
-Weight: 10 lbs 4 ounces
- Height: 22 inches
- Head Circumference: 38 centimeters

Called Bubba, Monkey, Chicken, Ramis, Rame

Loves to pee on Daddy in the middle of the night when he is changing his diaper

Smiles after he is done eating

Smiles big when Mommy kisses his cheeks and Daddy kisses his tummy

Loves to sleep in his swing or on Mommy and Daddy’s chest

Has some crazy farting sessions

Enjoys his bath now and even smiles sometimes when he is getting his bath

Falls right to sleep at bedtime.  Eats at 7, goes to sleep around 8:30-9:00 has a dreamfeed at 10:30 and sleeps until 2.

Enjoys swatting at his animals on his play mat and pack and play

LOVES the monkey that hangs from his carrier

Normally naps for 1 ½ hours to 2 hours

Will stare at the birds and mirror on his swing for an hour

Gets angry at Mommy when he doesn't get milk fast enough

Holds on to my shirt or throws his arm over his face when he is nursing, or throws his arm behind him in a completely relaxed manner.

Smiles while getting his diaper changed if he has already eaten.  If he has not eaten he screams at us!

He cries when he has a dirty diaper... before he could careless

Shakes his leg in the bath

Likes to get his massage, especially the eyebrow rub and head massage

Is getting really good at holding his head up.

Still doesn’t like tummy time on the floor, but loves to do tummy time on Mommy’s chest.

Spits up 30% of the time.

Been listening to French, Edith Piaf is his favorite French singer.  Especially the song Padam Padam.

Likes to look around when Mommy is holding him.  His head is still wobbly and we call it "chicken" when he does it because his head bobs a little and he looks like a little chicken.

Has started babbling and cooing more especially when he is doing tummy time on Mommy or chicken time.

Won’t fall asleep on Mommy’s chest unless he has a paci because he won’t stop looking for food.

Is unhappy if he can’t look around

Has started to bare weight on his legs and likes to stand with Mommy’s help.

Hates getting his finger nails clipped = (   and shots!!!



And I am chopping off my blonde hair on Thursday and going shorter and brunette!  So excited!


Here are some nursery pictures!






Thursday, August 9, 2012

Early August

End of a real smile at Mommy

Thought it was time for a new post.

Everything is going pretty good at the Harrison house.  Ramey is still a pretty good baby.  He still hates having his diaper changed most of the time and cries when we change it, but last night when we gave him a bath he didn't cry at all! That was the first time.  He goes to sleep at night very easily.
We give him a bath (every other night), a little massage, Harry and I read him his bedtime story, I sing him a song, and he is out.  He normally sleeps 4 hours then wants up to eat, then goes right back to sleep, occasionally he needs to be rocked about 5 minutes, then sleeps another 3 or so hours.  He normally wakes up between 6:30-7:30.  He LOVES his swing but normally falls asleep after watching his mobile for a few minutes.  Anytime he is upset and we are having a hard time calming him down, the swing always does the trick.  He also loves to grab at his toys that hang down from his pack and play and his activity center.  At first I thought it was an accident and just jerky arm movements until I realized he was holding his hair with his other hand and only swatting at the toys with the arm closest to the toys.  And this morning I got my first real smile!!! Not a gas smile, lol.  I went to get him out of his pack and play and he just smiled and smiled and smiled.  It was definitely no mistake.

But at the same time I get teary every time I think about how fast he is growing up... alright, sometimes I actually cry.  I was singing to him one night and Harry came in and said, "What is going on in here?" I just love him so much and everyone says to enjoy him being a newborn because they grow up so fast so I really am trying to enjoy it but it makes me sad because I know it will go super fast because it already has so far, he is already 6 weeks old!

Last week I called and wanted an extra weight check just to make sure he is still gaining weight how he should and at five weeks he was 8 lbs 11 ounces!  That is still 1 ounce a day.  He is getting to be a little chunky monkey!
Speaking of monkey, I am debating what he should be for halloween.  Opinions please... monkey, giraffe, lion, or scarecrow (I found a super cute handmade scarecrow on Etsy), or something else.  I just love when they are animals when they are little!

Now for Harry.  Harry is LOVING his job so much!  And I love the hours.  It is so nice for him to work from 9-6 Monday-Friday.  He even comes home and eats lunch with us some days!
He wakes up and leaves at the same time every day and gets home at the same night.  Since he gets home at a decent hour he gets to hangout with Ramey and we tag team bath time and putting him to bed.  Harry loves all the people he works with and actually gets to talk to patients and isn't stressed out every day.  He already had high blood pressure and his old job just made it so much worse.  I can just tell by his demeanor and attitude when he goes to work and comes home that his blood pressure and mental state is so much better.  It makes me so happy.  It was pretty stressful the first week of Ramey's life trying to get Harry a new job but it is already so much better and definitely worth it.

Harry has also been so great with Ramey.  I always knew he would be a great dad, but he has far exceeded my expectations.  He talks to him all the time and wants to hold him and just be with him.  He changes his diapers all the time and will take him as soon as he gets home from work so I can get a little break.  And here is the best part... he wakes up and changes him and gives him to me for his first night feeding.  He also will rock, hold, or calm him down if it is from 10-2.  (Thats his shift, lol).  Then after Ramey's first night feeding Harry goes and sleeps in the guest room so he can get a full 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep.  Most nights it is more because Ramey will wake up between 12:45-1:30 so Harry will give him to me and then go to sleep.  And I like it because on the 2nd night feeding I don't feel bad about having the lamp on or bothering Harry because we are up and Ramey is eating.  I know how important it is for Harry to get a good nights sleep with his job.

Now me.  These last 2 weeks have been really weird for me.  Normally I would be up at school getting my room ready for school to start.  Today the teachers go back for their big district meeting.  I know this sounds really stupid, but it is weird to think that it is going on and I'm not there.  I'm sure I'm going to get emotional when I see all of my former parents posting pictures of my kiddos on facebook for the first day of school!  I feel very blessed to be staying home with my angel, but I REALLY love teaching.  I love getting to teach kids how to read, about famous pieces of art, and how to be great little people.  The plan is to stay home as long as I can, but I just don't know at this point.  I may want to go back sooner rather than later.  We will just have to see.

Family... last Sunday night I got a text and call from my sister at 1:00am.  I saw it when I was up with Ramey.  My mom was going to have an emergency appendectomy in the morning.  My dad was in NYC for a meeting, of course, (remember he was on a plane when my water broke).  So luckily Katherine took my mom to the after hours clinic.  Well she had a uti, but her side was also killing her.  The doctor said if the pain got any worse to go to the ER.  She left the room to write the prescription and when she did Katherine and Mom talked and decided they should just go to the ER anyways because Mom would just worry about it all night anyways.  Then the doctor came back and said, "On second thought, why don't you go to the ER now to get it checked out."  Well they went and yep, appendicitis.  So she was scheduled for the next day but didn't know when.  So Kat called dad and he worked on getting a flight home.  This time it was easier and he got home around 1pm.  The surgery was scheduled for 3pm.  It took about an hour and she did great.  The doctor said that he thinks it would have ruptured in 48 hours and it was somehow attached to her pelvis so it was a little harder to get out.  She was suppose to stay in the hospital until Tuesday morning but it ended up being until Thursday because she was in a lot of pain and the stupid uti on top of it.

Well a different doctor was on call on Thursday so she didn't get seen until around 6 that night, so she had to wait around ALL day.  Dad took off work and Katherine was done with school the day before all of this happened, so they both took great care of Mom.  I felt horrible that I couldn't do much or be at the hospital as much as everyone else.  Mom took such amazing care of me when I was on bed rest and I couldn't even go hangout at the hospital.  I was nervous to take Ramey up there because hospitals are suppose to be the germiest places and with him not having his shots yet and scary pertussis going on, I was just too freaked out.  So I told Mom I would come and take care of her once she was home.  Well that didn't work out too well, lol.  I went over the day after and thank goodness Katherine was there too!  I was no help at all.  Ramey was having one of those days and wouldn't let me put him down and his swing was here at home, so it wasn't gonna happen!  But now Mom is doing much better.  She ran an errand yesterday and her and Dad came over to watch Big Brother last night.

I think that is about it!  I didn't think I had much to write about and then I wrote a novel!  Here are some pictures since you powered through and read everything.

First time out to eat as a family of 3!

What a cool little boy!

Smiles

Bright eyed while shopping

Tough Guy

Grabbing at the monkey

Happy Boy

Silly Boy