croup scares, poop cheers

Baby Harry is officially 2 months old today but there's hardly energy for celebration. we had a scary friday with jude and illness. now mom and dad are battling a bit of it. we pray harry avoids it all together.

in healthier times

First the good stuff: Harry is 10 pounds and 23 1/4 inches long. That puts him in the 15th percentile for weight and the 50th percentile for length. As Dr. Claus says 'he definitely has a different genetic make up then his brother.' He is sleeping longer combined stretches during the afternoon and at night, which is great for mom.

peekaboo

Last night was not so great for sleep, probably because I was worried about everything from the weekend. On Thursday after bedtime Jude got up to say he didn't feel good. Sure enough he had a fever with a runny nose. Late Friday afternoon he developed a congested cough and a horse voice. We sent him to bed with his special penguin humidifier blowing away.
About 9pm things got scary. We had just put harry to bed when jude made panicked calls from his bedroom. He couldn't catch his breath. He begged for water but couldn't drink it. Relying on trusty Toddler 411 Book, we rushed him in the bathroom for steam, suspecting the barking cough was croup. We called the doctor after 10 panicked minutes of him screaming and little improvement other than his nose draining. She sent us to the ER. The cold night air helped but jude could no longer speak his airway was so tight. Thank goodness a drink of steroids brought a tiny bit of his voice and his happier spirits back within minutes. But it took a few hours for things to improve enough to go home. On the way home at 12pm, jude says 'daddy, I can answer you now!'.
Happily jude is better today. the doctors asked us to be careful with harry. croup in an 8 week old is more serious. thanks friends for praying the baby stays well.

now for the poop cheers, as promised in the blog title. we started a sticker reward chart to earn thomas trains because our little boy still has not mastered number two in the loo. after lunch jude had a shocked face as he sat down to pee and wow he pooped too. just had to share his quote: "mom. i peed 7, 4 poop caterpillars out of my body." definitely future blackmail here. he also wanted me to cheer each poop that emerged. surprisingly cute memories for bathroom functions.

thanks for checking in with the millers at month two.

life's a circus

a mom with years of practice tells me she felt she was drowning each time she added a new child to her family. but as the weeks went by, she began to realize there was some air up there and slowly she found it. i am still underwater with my family but i am catching a few more gulps of air. harry has teased us with a few nights of 8-10 hours of consolidated sleep. but the next night he's back to nursing every 3 hours. here's a recent moment of air for mommy. i took both boys to the circus!

harry at the big top

I enjoy taking adventures with jude. although i was tired i knew he would love it and i really wanted to go see the circus as well. the kelly miller circus provides fundraising shows for local groups. this big top set up in berwyn, an easy 15 minutes south of our house.

ladies and gentleman...for your entertainment pleasure, our first circus wonder is...the world's smallest double stroller!

thanks bugaboo

jude and mom loved the hokey fun performance. there were jumping tigers...

our view from the bleachers

some surprisingly talented dancing camels, acrobats, high wire acts and the big finale of elephants.

jude sat in his seat or stood still the for the entire hour and a half. harry slept through the first act and enjoyed his dinner during intermission. jude did well with that too. he enjoyed his first caramel apple and stood quietly with a hand on harry's carrier while mom was busy. thank you circus! my favorite part of the outing, besides simply being out, was that the entire adventure cost me about $30 including concessions and a pony ride.

jude's signature move when he's uncertain or nervous

here's a shot of our pint-sized pony rider. what a cute pair they made.

brothers

jude and harry 9-8-11

preschool! how the weeks fly by

first of all i should tell you i am one of those mothers who is excited for preschool to begin. please don't judge me too much. i love my sons and have nostalgia moments about where the time went between birth and three. but i am glad jude gets to interact, engage, and learn with other kids while i get to interact with quieter moments, exercise, and time with just baby harry. i fought the mental battle all morning to not simply fill the school break with "to do's".

leaving the house

jude is a handsome energetic member of his preschool class. i am thrilled to see so many little boys at concordia university's preschool.

1st day at concordia preschool

jude is most excited about his backpack. go thomas go!

it rolls! just like thomas

speaking of thomas we took the whole family to Day Out With Thomas in August. The Illinois Railway Museum is a lovely spot in union, illinois. the collection includes lots of old CTA trains and steam locomotives. we enjoyed the streetcars that take you around the complex. but on this day it was all about the #1 engine.

its thomas!

jude and daddy took a 20 minute train ride aboard thomas's coaches. Harry came along but slept through the adventure as he does during most of our outings. Here's lifeguard harry sleeping on the job at the splash pad or pool.

little lifeguard

Harry made a visit to doctor dave today for what turned out to be a cold. we learned the seven week old chunkster is 9lbs 7 ounces. i think harry dropped about half that amount in his baby swing this morning in a diaper blowout, timed right before i carted him to the appointment. later jude managed to pee in his pants as i fed harry in the other room. coaching my 3 year old through that cleanup by himself was not successful. i think parents should be able to put waste management on their future resumes.

the other child in our house, george the medical patient dog, is in week 2 of his six weeks of crate restriction. here's a quick shot of him with the don't-lick-your-leg-staples cone.

dog in recovery

georgie heads to the vet on friday to get the staples out and hopefully lose the cone. here's hoping i don't lose it the rest of the day.