Return of the Ear Infection :(

Poor Brayden has another ear infection. Okay I know it's only his second one but he JUST finished his antibiotics on Thursday. Over night from Sunday to Monday he had a really rough night. Waking up screaming multiple times. He usually only wakes up once and his temperament was really "off" so I was hoping it just a coincidence.

He woke up with a low grade fever. It was steady around 101 degrees. I'm noticing that for him EI(ear infections) come with the low grade fever vs the crazy high fevers he tends to run when he has something else going on.  All morning he was ripping at his ears and hitting his head with open hands so I KNEW something was definitely wrong. He didn't want to eat or really drink.  I waited till he was down for his nap to call the pedes. I knew that if he wasn't feeling good, getting a good rest in was more important than getting him in to the dr a few hours earlier.

We had our appt later that night, and the dr confirmed that he definitely had another EI. This time it was his right ear instead of his left. The right was only red but not puss filled the last time. He said that there was a good chance that he already had some fluid in it and since he had just had a cold and EI that it shows up fast the second time around. So this time are doing different antibiotics(Cefdinir), so he doesn't become desensitized to the amoxacillin.  Here's hoping it helps and he's feeling 100% soon. I'm just hoping and praying that these EI's don't become habitual.  Poor kid, this winter has been SO rough on him!!

Fun on a warm January day?!

Since today was so nice, 60 degrees in January, we decided to make sure we took advantage and got out side. Brayden had a lot of fun and it was great to get some fresh air!  We tried out some sidewalk chalk, drove his Lightening Mcqueen power wheel, chased some neighborhood cats b/c he wanted to pet them(lol), waved at EVERYONE that walked by and took a walk around the block. Brayden actually held my hand the whole way around the block. He loved the freedom of stopping and looking at things for a change instead of riding in his stroller.  He's such a big kid! Or atleast he thinks he is!  He did make a few attempts for the street. Thank god we live on a slow road, but people drive like jerks down the street so I'm TRYING to get him to learn about the street being bad now while he's little.  Of course I took plenty of pics!

Staring at people.. as usual! lol

 And there he goes! 

 Pushing his car b/c he's tool cool to ride it!~ 

 He was driving saying "GO GO GO"

 Oh mommy I see the neighbors cat! 

The 30 seconds he SAT and did chalk! lol 

 He makes the most insane faces. he kills me! 

15 month appointment and 1st ear infection :(

Brayden started again with another fever Monday night.  Poor kid can't seem to catch a break this winter. I feel like he is a germ magnet, every time we turn around it's something else.  I hate when we gets a fever and he seems to run a fever for everything.  I was hoping this time it wasn't going to be a repeat of Decembers sickness.  He was screaming and inconsolable for the last 2 hrs before it was time for bed on monday, he wouldn't eat or anything and i felt AWFUL not knowing how to make it better for him.

Saddest face :( 

We had his 15 months appt on Tuesday so it worked out perfect for the dr to see him.  I called in the morning and told them about his fever since it was over 102 i told them we would have to wait on the shots. He was due for his MMR vaccine and since it's a live virus they were on board with waiting till he is healthy.

Not that i'm happy there is something actually wrong with my child but I was relieved to know that there was an actual source this time for his fever. He officially has his 1st ear infection.  Poor baby. We had a later appointment so I was glad we were able to get his prescription for his antibiotics called in and were able to start his meds that night.  I had asked the pedes about ear drops at the appt and she seemed confident advil would do the trick for the pain. HAHAHAHHA.  It was a hellish night to say the least. he was up literally every 30-60 minutes screaming and crying. It was awful, I felt terrible that I couldn't make it better. Needless to say none of us got any sleep and it was looking like it was going to be a rough day. he fever kept spiking despite alternating tylenol/advil every three hours. In the morning I called the pedes and told them the HAD to call in an RX for the benzocane ear drops. Fortunately we got them but he still wouldn't eat or drink anything from a sippy cup. We got desperate and let him have milk in the bottle as often as he wanted.  All i cared about was getting fluids in to him. Normally he only likes milk and water and he won't drink anything but milk out of the bottle so I didn't really have much of a choice.

In the meantime, things have gotten better.  He's still not close to being 100% but his fever finally did break this morning.  I'm hoping it stays away!! He is eating a little bit but not much so i'm trying to push the fluids and keep him hydrated. Hoping he feels better soon and starts sleeping better. He doesn't sleep through the night as it is so anything has to be better than getting up a few times a night to an inconsolable boy.

As far as the rest of his 15 month appt goes he is doing really well! He weights 22lb 2oz (18%) and is 33" tall(95%).  I was concerned that he has barely gained a 1lb over the last 4 months but the pedes was okay with it since he is staying on the same growth curve (percentage).  his overall height to weight is only in the 10th percentile which just means he's tall and skinny! Lucky for him he got that "Nolte" metabolism that skipped me.  lol

His language and motor skill development is really great!  I am so proud of him. He now says 18 words, and 5 two word sentences. Which the pedes said is at a 18-24 month level.  Of course he doesn't use all the words every day but that's still great. He seriously blows my mind with how smart he is. He knows how to do so many things and can follow all kinds of directions. He is really getting to big too fast!

Like I was saying we are still working on his sleep. He is a horrible sleeper! He has never been a good sleeper but i had a long talk with the pedes about things.  She feels like we have tried and are doing everything right so it's really no fault of our own.  He is a restless sleeper, fusses in his sleep wakes up min 1-2 times a night inconsolable and even had night terrors on occasion. His lack of quality sleep definitely affects how he naps so it's a vicious cycle.  For now we are going to keep trying and see how things look at 18 months. She said sleep studies are out b/c he wakes too much and that won't really help at this point.

I feel like time is going WAY too fast and I'm sure it'll go even faster when we have two kids.  Brayden is definitely my "dramatic" child and can be moody but he is so much fun. His laughter and excitement really make even the worst days better.  I can't wait to see what he has in store for us next!

Now some fun pics! 

What mom, i'm eating a cupcake! 

 Oh coloring! 

 What happens when he gets bored! 

Discovery Museum!

Last Wednesday Jill and I took the kids to the Discovery Museum in Cherry Hill! The kids had so much fun! Brayden is definitely at the perfect age to go to places like this and be able to enjoy it! Brayden's favorite had to be the giant "Light Bright" and Abby LOVED dressing up as a princess in the castle!  It was definitely worth the $20 to play the day away!

Future Flyers player?! Grammy would be so proud! 

 Picking from the garden!

 Shopping!

 Light Bright!! 

 I love this pic!! 

 Princess Abby Dancing!

 Princess Abby and her Knight in shining armor.  Well he took it off but...

 Digging for dinosaur Bones! 

 Ball PIT!

 Yup that's my kid! lol 

 Of COURSE he had to play in the kitchen set...even though he does it all day at home lol 

 Getting his hockey on!