Sick bears

We all got sick.

I had the easiest time of it and Jack I guess had the worst, but Max's is lasting the longest, or at least some of the effects are.

Today is Monday- his first BM that I would call diarrhea happened on Tuesday. His stools aren't liquid-y anymore but they are still extra stinky.

Both Saturday and Sunday mornings, going in to fetch Max from his crib in the early morning Jack and I have been hit by this wall of poo-smell upon entering the nursery. Leakage hasn't been too bad, we've only had to change his sheets once but Max has gone through SO many pairs of pants and jammies this week.

So, presented with a very unhappy, mama-wanting baby covered in poo both mornings I have just stripped us both down and held him in the shower with me for a little while before nursing him skin to skin in my bed. It's actually been really sweet and nice bonding time- he gets very clingy and just wants to hold onto me and lay there in my arms with the water running over him.

I avoided having a repeat of this this morning because I took an extra trip in to his nursery last night to check on him and could smell that he'd dirtied his diaper with still HOURS left of sleep. So, we had to wake him and clean him up- he was not a happy camper. I ended up nursing him back to calm before putting him down, which I don't normally do, but I felt bad because we'd woken him up twice that night (once to bring him home- we hung out with friends late).

In the midst of all this he has really bad diaper rash from the extra acidity that was/is going on and apparently you're not supposed to use wipes, which we didn't remember until it was too late- don't know if I made his rash worse or not. Anywho- there are all kinds of home remedies for diaper rash and I've been trying a few things and also trying to let him have some good naked time too. So far it's still pretty bad. He actually bled just a tiny bit in one spot last night :(

I tried breastmilk on his rash, because that's supposed to be good- so far I've not noticed any change- I only did it twice though. Right now I'm trying egg whites- if I don't get results by his next diaper change I think I need to go and purchase some bigger guns. Part of me feels like putting thick ointment on raw skin isn't a good idea- like it won't be able to "breathe" and heal, but at this point I just want his little butt to feel better.

Also, trying to gear up for his two birthday parties that are coming up. I tried to buy stamps this weekend and was thwarted. Did you know that the powers that be have eradicated all the stamp machines from P.O. lobbies? This sucks. It was Saturday afternoon and I couldn't buy small increment stamps ANYWHERE.

I need a cheap little vacuum, and I wish we had an end table. Blah.

Favorite things

As a pretty sentimental creature, one of my favorite things to do as a mom is to quietly go in once Max is asleep and look at him/check on him. I'm a worrier and there's a niggling little part of me that would never forgive myself if checking on him would have prevented something bad from happening. Maybe I've been watching too much Law & Order SVU.....

But I digress- the point of this entry is to showcase how cute Max is when he sleeps. He cracks us up sometimes- that's right, Jack has joined me now in our nightly little check-up of sleeping Max. It started pretty organically, one of us would have to go in to fix his baby monitor receiver or something and we gradually discovered that he wouldn't wake up or be disturbed. The pre-sleep check on my part began on a bit of a whim, I have to walk past his door to get to my bedroom at night and he goes to sleep at 7 while I generally stay up until 10 or later (usually later). So I miss him a little and just couldn't resist going in to see him one last time before bed. I never intended to do it every night but I do now- I know I won't do it forever. This is just my little way of squeezing every bit of enjoyment out of his oh-so-temporary-smallness.

I assure you dear reader that Max has never woken up from either a night-time visit or having his picture taken. As of yet, he is quite a heavy sleeper, I might have Thor to thank for that.

This was taken back at our old duplex and I think it was actually a nap. Too cute with his little teddy. :)

I was really surprised to find him sound asleep folded in half like this. This was the trial tiny blanket that I tested out to see if he was ready to sleep with blankets. I had gotten the clue from him that he wanted to by him pulling things like towels or t-shirts into his crib if we accidentally left them within reach. Also, I found once that in the car on the way home he had pulled my sweater hoodie up into his carseat and was all snuggled with it.

These were my favorite jammies for a little while, they're so fitted on his cute little chubby body- they were the first sort of thermal style ones that he ever wore.

A variation on the folded-in-half position. I wonder when it is that we stop being so bendable foldable?

I had to call Jack in to see this one- so funny to see his little feet sticking out. Also, pretty solid evidence of how big he'd gotten. It's hard to realize how much they're growing when you see them constantly, but every now and then you gain a little perspective.

The one foot out variation- I just had to pet that sweet soft little foot. It's adorable all on it's own and kind of like a little hamster or something in it's doughy firmness.

He has since graduated to proper blankets and Jack and I will usually go in and cover him up once he's asleep. I have no idea how much he moves in a typical night, so our efforts may be a drop in the bucket, but it makes us feel better to have him "tucked in" before we leave.

He crosses his ankles pretty often, when he's eating, apparently when he's sleeping, etc. It makes me feel like he's my son especially in that little moment because I cross my ankles without realizing it quite a bit (they're crossed right now, actually). This was another night when foot-petting was required.

Sometimes I have to gently ease the blanket out from under his face because I worry that he's not getting enough air, but I realize that it's mostly just to make me feel better. He really does seem to enjoy sleeping with blankets so I'm glad that he can be trusted with them.

Sometimes Jack and I get so tickled by his position that we'll end up snorting and having to leave so we don't wake him.