Rule #29: Appearance isn't everything

So I haven't taken any pictures of Evan for about a month. I know, what kind of first-time mother am I? It's for a really silly reason too. I HATE having to slick his hair down because of his eczema!! It just makes his beautiful hair look greasy and then it looks like I'm trying hard to "do" his hair, with out actually doing it. With boys, especially when they are babies, giving their hair a style...it's just too much for me. But because I have to lotion his head twice a day....I am forced to style it.

I do realize this is not a big deal, he's still healthy and I should be documenting his growing body, I know. I just hate lotion in his hair. For a while I tried to only put it in at night, but then his eczema got worse...so now we're back to twice a day.

So today I decided to take some before and after pictures of Evan. Alex doesn't like Evan's hair to be matted to his scalp either, so if we don't have anywhere to go, he sticks it straight up. (Which just looks silly....but look at how long his hair is getting!)



And here is Evan post bath, lotion free. Isn't his little head so cute!?!? I'm sure eventually he will grow out of the extreme lotion need (At least I pray!) but until then, I'll just have to look past it and take pictures anyway.


Since I hadn't taken any pictures in a month I couldn't stop myself once I got started, so here are a few more that I thought were particularly adorable.
I love watching him play with his feet. He is so fascinated by them...super cute!

Rule# 28 Addendum

I should clarify something. I know that swaddling has no effect on Evan's verbal skills. It was late in the morning when I wrote my post, so I don't think I was able to express myself clearly. (Also there were many spelling errors) :) Anyway, I have heard that if a baby is really verbal then they are less likely to be really physical. So what I meant to point out was that Evan seems to be neither. he moves, but doesn't roll over, and he talks but he doesn't babble. Not that I don't think he's smart, I know he is...

And he actually really likes to be on his tummy now...so I guess he no longer sees any need to roll over...

Alex tried to put Evan down for a nap without swaddling, and it took 10-15 mintues, but he did fall asleep....but then woke up 25 mintues later with is finger in his eye. So I've decided to keep on swaddling...Thanks for all of the input. I'll let you know when he finally grows out of it!

By the way Chrissy, I'm with you in throwing out the milestone book. I say that now, but we'll see how I am come 9 months, or a year! :)

Rule # 28:Always get a second opinion

I have a dilemma...I'm not sure if I should try and "wean" Evan from swaddling or not. He does still sleep well swaddled, and he occasionally breaks free, only to promptly poke himself in the eye and wake up before he is ready. (I'd also like to note that when he does poke himself awake....he is very irritated that he is awake and seems to have no understanding that it is his hand stabbing himself in the eye). I feel bad because I think one of the reasons he can't stop poking his eyes is because of his eczema. The steroid cream works wonders, but I can't put it that close to his eyes, so they still suffer unfortunately.

From what I've just said it seems obvious that I should continue swaddling him, to help him sleep and spare his eyes a midnight attack. Here's where my dilemma comes in. I'm concerned that keeping him swaddled may by slowing down his physical progression. I know that every child develops at their own pace, but what if by prohibiting movement at night I'm unintentionally slowing his development?

I intend to call his pediatrician to ask him his opinion, but I just wanted to throw this out there to see what friends, family, and blog-stalkers think. I perused the internet for a while, starting to feel better about my decision to keep swaddling my 6 month old son, because everyone out there said to keep doing it. Until I came across a few posts that said "as long as they are meeting their milestones it should be fine." Well, Evan's not...not really. He doesn't roll over, not from front or back. He has rolled over in the past, but he doesn't do it very often. He talks and makes noises, but doesn't babble the way I'm told 6 month old babies should. Again...I'm not sure if I'm just crazy mom paranoid, or if this is even legitimately related to swaddling...I just don't want to find out that I held him back because I was lazy and didn't want to deal with a few rough nights trying to teach him to sleep without it.

So, to anyone with thoughts, feel free to share your opinion. But do it knowing that I may or may not listen to it. In the end I think I will do what feels best for my family...but I'd like to get as many opinions as possible.

*On a side note, anyone that tells you not to compare your child to other children or lists of milestones must not realize how impossible that is! Of course I'm not comparing in the sense that I think other children are better than Evan, but it's hard not to think...hmm, That baby can do such and such....Evan can't do such and such....or even vice versa. Thinking that Evan can do more than another baby. There's just no way around it, comparing is just part of parenthood I've decided.

Rule #27: It's easier to go up than to go down

Here is my living room. With my beautiful Christmas tree in front of the window. I love having a tree in the front window. Alex and I were discussing where we thought the tree should go this year, and I just wanted it up, and I wanted it up yesterday. So I had told Alex that I was fine with the tree being in the corner by the dining room. My sweet husband knows me better than that. He knew how happy it would make me to see the tree in our front window. So he moved the big plant table to make room, and then arranged the furniture accordingly. And I have loved it! I can see our tree from just about anywhere upstairs. Walking up the stairs into the kitchen and seeing the tree lit in the distance warms my heart in a way that I can't describe. And when I drive past our new home, seeing the tree glimmer through the drapes is an outward expression of the love I feel for my home and those in it. Our front room is pretty sparse as far as furniture is concerned and so I have loved having our Christmas tree up, because it makes the room feel more complete, and our two chairs are directed toward the tree. It is the best part of the room. But now it has to come down, and I'm so sad. The room will feel so empty.

I love the feeling that the holidays bring, but I don't think I've ever felt so strongly the contrast when the season is over. We haven't taken the tree down yet, part of it is lack of time, but I'm also in no hurry to take away such an uplifting sight. Now I'm not saying that I'm not happy unless it's Christmas. All I'm saying is it's easier to get excited for the spirit and feelings of the holidays, and harder to take down the mementos of the season.

Rule #26: Pick your ancestors wisely...*updated with picture*

So at about 6am on new year's eve morning (Wednesday the 31st) I woke up to some pain in my lower right back. At first I thought I must've slept funny and given myself a muscle cramp. I asked Meghan to massage that part of my back, but it had no effect. That's when fear of my imminent death began to set in. I told meghan where it was, but as the pain increased I was becoming fairly convinced it was a kidney stone. *cheer*

So I told Meghan we needed to go the ER, we called my dad who was good enough to come watch Evan. The pain was quickly intensifying, and just getting up to put clothes on and walk out the door was an ominous task.

We arrived at the lakeview hospital ER and fortunately there was no line, but the attendant had gone to the restroom, at which I was not amused. So I laid down on the floor moaning trying to make a scene (I did NOT do this because I am a wuss and couldn't handle the pain). After a very long 30 seconds or so she got back from the restroom and another nurse took my blood pressure and started asking questions I felt could've been asked later. After an hour or so (two minutes tops) of her questions they took me to a room and asked a few more questions and finally started an IV.

I had heard great things about morphine from others, and was hopeful that it would provide immediate and complete relief. While it did act quickly, I was moaning without regard to being in public for quite some time before the morphine got the pain down. I remember asking Meghan why I was still in pain if I was on a morphine drip. She explained that I was just on IV fluid and not a drip. This did not seem acceptable to me, but after several doses of morphine the pain subsided and so did I for about 4 hours. It only felt like about 30 minutes to me, but when I found out what time it was it explained why Meghan had been aimlessly perusing the pictures and videos on our camera. The wonderful girl didn't leave in search of entertainment or sustenance the entire time for fear I'd awake dissoriented without her there. Which I would've been, so I was very grateful in retrospect.

They sent me home with Lortab and put me on FLOMAX (hello 40's here I come). I was suspicious about the effectiveness of Lortab in comparison to morphine, but apparently you dont go home with a morphine drip.

After several hours of drinking constantly I passed the little calcium oxatate b****** that afternoon. And I mean little, there should be a biblical parable about it.



I was very fortunate, and even though the initial pain was excruciating, I feel like I got off easy after talking to relatives. Which brings me to the title, as I read up on kidney stones, there seems to be little direct causes of kidney stones besides genetics. And after asking around, I don't think I stood a chance. My grandfather davis has had no less than 5 kidney stones, 4 of which were impassable, my father has had 2, my mother has had 1, both of my uncles on my dad's side have had them, at least 5 cousins, 3 on one side and 2 on the other have had them. Most of those mentioned got their first stone in their 20's (statistically they are most common in men 40+), and I'm sure the list goes on. The point is, while drinking lots of water probably helps, having a good family history helps more, imho.

Pictures coming soon...