Nine Month Checkup

Mason went to see Dr. Seawell for his nine month checkup on the 11th, and that was probably the last time he will see her (unless something unexpected comes up--knock on wood) since he is not due for another checkup until 12 months. Everything was great, even though he lost about a pound in the previous weeks because of the cold and the stomach bug. He weighed 16 pounds and 13 ounces, which put him in the 4th percentile (sigh), but he was 29 inches long, so he's in the 78th percentile on height, which is really encouraging. Of course, Mason can't make anything easy, so when I showed Dr. Seawell a rash he had developed on his bum, she tested it and decided it was a bacterial infection and needed a cream. High maintenance baby.

Aunt Mary had suggested that we start mixing his dry formula with Pediasure and ice cream to add some serious calories to his diet. I was leery of the ice cream because of his heart condition, but I ran right out to Kroger and loaded up on Pediasure as well as any table food I thought Mason could handle. He had totally stopped eating baby food but would still eat Puffs, so I wondered if he had just decided he was a big boy and wanted to eat like one. Sure enough, Mason ate everything I put in front of him that night (Gerber chicken and carrot sticks and diced peaches) and LOVED the Pediasure. It's like a baby milkshake, so I'm not what's not to like. I give him one in the morning and one before bed, so he's getting a few hundred extra calories each day. Maybe we'll graduate out of the single digit percentiles soon!

The Hospital...Again

Chris took Mason to the pediatrician about a month ago because he had a runny nose and sounded terribly congested again. The doctor told us to use saline and a humidifier, which we've done for months with no great improvement. Then a couple of weeks later I had to call again because he still wasn't better and was throwing up. The doctor still wasn't too concerned and said that it was actually a good thing that he was throwing up because it got all the mucus out. Of course, I'm freaking out because I always obsess over his weight, and he can't gain weight if he's chucking all the time.

So last Saturday night I had gone to the concert with the girls and got in bed around 1:30. Mason awoke at 4:30, and by 5:30 we were on our way to the ER because he had already thrown up 3 times and still had diarrhea. The next couple of hours were understandably unpleasant. They had to take blood and put in an IV, and finding a vein now is difficult because 1) his veins are tiny and 2)he has a lot of scarring that complicates the whole process. While we were waiting on the doctor, Mason developed a rash, and his fever was elevated (apparently, those things go together sometimes). The ER doc thought he had a stomach virus, and his bloodwork showed a low white cell count and CO2 levels, although his potassium was good (which is always the biggie for Mason because of his heart medications). They admitted us so that they could run fluids through him overnight, so Mason and I spent Sunday night at Gateway. Mom left church when I called her that morning, so she was with us by early afternoon.

Of course, Chris had to leave for Maryville again, so this made it even more difficult for him. I can't imagine how he felt leaving his son hooked up to an IV pump again. Debbie and Mom came back Monday morning and stayed with us until we were discharged about 1 that afternoon. Mason did great and had all the nurses charmed. They kept coming in to see his big blue eyes, and he never failed to put on a show.

Road Trip With the Girls

Thanks to Nick, Miriam had four free tickets to the Martina McBride/Trace Adkins concert in Evansville last Saturday night, so she and I headed up to Indiana with Tanicia and Kendra for a girls' night. Granted, none of us are particularly enamored of either of the headliners' music, but we are fond of road trips, and this one was no disappointment.

Although it was really difficult for me to leave Mason for so long (I think this was the first time I've ever not been around when he went to bed for the night), we had a blast! The concert was surprisingly good, and Tanicia provided much entertainment with her booty-shakin' during "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" (okay, how DO you spell that?!). We had no trouble staying awake on the drive back, but we did about pee our pants laughing a few times. We rolled into my house after 1 a.m.; it was the first time I'd been up that late for anything but a crying baby in as long as I could remember. I'm going to miss them!

Reminiscing...

I was just backing up the documents on my work laptop in preparation for the big move to whatever school I'll be teaching in next year, and I came across some pictures of Mirm and Jen at the first Jazz on the Lawn last year. I thought I would post a few for old time's sake. I was uber-pregnant, but the pictures are cute, and I love that they're typical of how we always hung out: playing games and relaxing outside.

Life is going to be so different when Chris and I move back home this summer and Jen and Tommy head for the base in Heidelberg. The Collinses and the Shasserres were the first couples we became friends with as a couple, and we have done something with them at least once a week since shortly after we moved here. It's going to be a shock to our social lives not to have ready-made plans every weekend...we might actually have to work to fill up our social calendar! I can't express how much I'm going to miss Miriam and Jen. I'm going to pull a Scarlett O'Hara and not think about it today because it makes me cry (just ask the guys, who were horrified when all three of us boo-hooed in Blackhorse Brewery last weekend! Haha!).

Single Parenthood...Temporarily

Today is day three of being a single parent during the week while Chris is back in East Tennessee. He left Sunday afternoon for Knoxville, where he stayed with the Oehlmanns so he could be at Regions headquarters bright and early Monday morning for his first day of training. For a few weeks he'll be moving around doing a bunch of different training exercises before he gets to settle into his new job as branch manager of the Regions in Clinton. It sounds like he has settled into life as a boarder at Tom and Pattie's house in Maryville, where he'll live through the work week until Mason and I finish the school year and find a house back home.

Besides not having Chris around to help out with Mason, everyday life is much tougher these days, as I'm having to keep the house immaculate in case potential buyers stop in for a showing...not an easy task now that Mason has decided he wants to be in EVERYTHING! Last night he figured out he can crawl all the way around the polka-dot chair in the living room if he keeps turning it with one arm as he goes between it and the wall. Quite clever, actually.

Every night we send Daddy a picture to help him not feel so homesick (although I doubt it works all that well!). Last night we sent him this video of bathtime because Mason would pretty much LIVE in the water if we would let him, and I know Chris misses these little nighttime routines.