Ear Infection

The past two nights, Cale has woken himself up coughing and he clearly feels just awful. And when Cale can't sleep, I can't sleep so I rushed through breakfast to take him to pediatric walk-in this morning. Cale weighs 21 pounds 5.6 ounces, and he has another ear infection. So that's what it means when Cale can't sleep at night but he's not teething, on a growth spurt, or suffering from his allergies. Poor guy! At least he's very agreeable about taking medicine. Cale will take any medicine, even if it's nasty-tasting, if you offer it to him. He might need a juice chaser and small dribbles, but he'll take it. On the other hand Karston just won't take medicine, no matter how sweet-tasting, no matter how many chocolate bribes I offer.

As it turns out,

milk allergies are often the underlying cause of repeated colds and ear infections (ref),

so sneaky milk could explain the ear infections.

Nutrition

We signed Karston up for a research study on nutrition. To kick off the study, Karston was measured this afternoon: 26.8 pounds and 37 inches tall. I hope Karston won't skew the study too far into the weeds of poor eating habits! I do hope we learn something effective for better eating: how to encourage him to eat more food, and to eat healthier.

When It Rains ...

As if Cale fussing, coughing, and waking all night weren't enough fun, Karston had a fever with heartburn (seems like an odd combination to me) yesterday. He didn't want Motrin either. This afternoon I left work early because Karston said he would only take Motrin if I gave it to him. So after I gave him some medicine, I drove right back where I had been to take him to the pediatrician.

At the doctor's office, Karston weighed 27 pounds (even, no ounces!). Dr. Starnes said Tylenol should be easier on his tummy than Motrin. I never would have guessed that since Tylenol (acetaminophen) often gives me stomach cramps while Motrin (ibuprofen) never does; however if it works that way for most people, it's worth trying. She says he looks fairly healthy, so just see if this clears up within two days.

Unfortunately, Karston wouldn't take anything at all this evening, from anyone. I tried for a while after a long time of coaxing Cale to sleep. Now that Karston's asleep anyway, Cale has coughed himself awake and now he's sad. I'm the revolving door of mommy comfort! If I can have that with a side of sleep for myself, I will feel better tomorrow.

Cale Walks!

This morning we rode the carousel at Northgate! The kids love it!

Cale decided not to take a nap this afternoon. About 3pm, Cale was still hesitant about walking. Around 4pm when we encouraged him to walk, he took off! Two Fridays ago, he took his first two steps for Amy, fell down, and wouldn't try it again. But three days later, on Monday, he was enjoying going down the slide and taking two to four steps to Mommy before jumping in my arms and asking to slide again. He did that four times, so it wasn't a fluke! We've had two weeks of Cale taking a few steps unassisted before reaching for one of us and falling into our arms. Later this afternoon, he walked six feet unassisted with a huge proud grin. I can't believe a young child who spiked a fever Friday afternoon that didn't break until last night (and I'm sure he still feels awful although he's been remarkably agreeable considering) is mastering a complex new skill less than a day after his fever dropped.

Poor little guy just woke up to tell us he feels awful; he wasn't as recovered yesterday as I hoped. His sound is somewhere between a cry and a groan. Yet he was determined to learn to walk instead of taking an afternoon nap!

So one month after his first assisted steps, Cale is well on his way to unassisted walking!

Stairs

About three weeks ago, Cale told me that his favorite activity was to climb up and down our carpeted stairs. He did this for 45 minutes, with me right behind him to prevent falls, while Karston napped until I was bored. This evening Karston and Cale were playing very happily downstairs, so we rushed upstairs to wash up before the bedtime routine. I finished first, and as I was headed down the hall to go back downstairs to the boys when who did I see crawling down the hall towards me but Cale! He had a very proud look on his face too! He went up the stairs all by himself, and then had to find someone to see his boast in action! Independent little fellow.

Cale bounces quickly: two days ago, I was unusually tired and Cale was running a fever. Today he's not running a fever and he feels better, except for a slight cough, so he's already tackling new skills like stairs.

Egg Math

Karston really enjoyed hunting for Easter eggs this year. He keeps staging egg hunts throughout the house with the plastic eggs. This afternoon he also had an empty egg carton as part of the game. First he put his plastic eggs in the egg carton, and then he announced Mommy, I'm going to boil these for five minutes as he went around the door. He came back a second later, and I said I prefer hard-boiled eggs, but those take ten minutes. Karston came back with a quick answer, OK, I will boil these for five more minutes.

I assume having five fingers on each hand for ten total makes this easier, but he knows 5 + 5 = 10 already!

Fearless

For Mother's Day, I learned that Karston is fearless. In fact, I almost wish he weren't so brave because if he had a sense of self-preservation then I wouldn't have to worry about him every second. Daddy has been reading some Scholastic books to Karston, and one was about being afraid. Not only was Karston not afraid of the examples, he said I want to go on a roller coaster! when he saw that one.

When Daddy asked me what I wanted to do in the evening for my Mother's Day, Karston said I wanted to go swimming. So of course that was what I wanted to do, and we all suited up for the hot tub. Both kids were in their floats bobbing around when Karston said he wanted to swim. I thought he meant Jeni's game where he leaps from her arms to my arms and back again, so I showed Daddy how to play. That was a good start, but he really meant that he wanted to learn to swim. The hot tub is shallower and smaller than most pools, we were both there, and Cale was happy in his float. So we showed him how to float on his back, but he said he wanted to learn dog paddle. (I don't know where he picked that up, but he remembers everything interesting.) Cale didn't like the splashing (when he wasn't the one splashing), so we hopped out and I hovered after Cale and I were dry. Karston learned that bobbing up really high also causes him to sink low, and that came with a big gulp of water. Ick! He coughed that out, and threw up ... and insisted to swim some more. Many times he went under for a second before Daddy lifted him up, but he kept going. He even threw up again, but didn't want to stop. Finally when he was clearly worn out, I scooped him out with his favorite towel. Karston was sure he should keep going, but he could barely stand. He's not afraid of the water, not discouraged by swallowing water or by throwing up, and not willing to slow down when he's exhausted. I could wish for more caution, but Karston is one brave child!

Sand Bar

Late last week, Daddy's cousin Mike and three of his friends came to visit us. Friday, everyone (except me and Cale) went to Wilmington to ride to Swansboro on Joe's boat. Karston loves riding on Joe's boat, and talks about it for months afterwards. (They did this same trip last year too.) Since this low tide was exceptionally low, Joe's boat got stuck on a sand bar, and they had to wait (and wait) for a tow.

Daddy and Karston came home last night. Karston had a great time playing in the bath, and when we checked on him, he was bunching up the washcloth, stranding his boat on it, and calling Help! I'm stuck on a sand bar! I need a tow! Karston thought this was the greatest bath-time game ever! I'm sure we'll hear many more variations on this theme. Guess what event stuck in his mind?

First Assisted Steps!

This afternoon when Karston went potty, Cale had a moment of wishful thinking, and thought it was bath time! After all, we did tell him he was getting a bath in the evening, and bathtime starts with Karston going potty. I was helping Cale stand up after a diaper change, and he started to charge, so I held his hands and we ran to the bathtub! Although he had assistance from me the whole way, Cale took his first steps today. And these weren't hesitant steps, either! He was running!

I helped him walk after dinner and that beloved bath, and Cale was already much steadier at assisted walking this evening. I don't think he intended to run to the tub this afternoon, but this evening he enjoyed a few short, purposeful strolls. I know I've been saying it for a while, but I think Cale's just about ready to walk!

Chasing

Cale gets some strenuous exercise (and then sleeps well at night) when he and Karston play at Mimi's house on pretty days. When we dropped Karston off at preschool this morning, Ms Jan was telling us that they were a sight to see, with peals of beautiful laughter echoing through the neighborhood. The game is Chase: Karston drives his Big Wheels up the ramp and Cale chases after him in his walker. Yes, Cale hauls himself and a walker that weighs almost as much as he does up that ramp! Then Karston turns around and free-wheels down the ramp (easy) while Cale turns around and chases him some more (hard). Yesterday afternoon when we picked them up, we watched a few rounds of Chase. Karston lifts his feet and zooms down the ramp; Cale powers into it, little legs pumping fast, and chases him. Cale has very strong legs after a number of weeks of this! Cale eats well, sleeps well, and is surprisingly strong.

An Easter to Celebrate

Easter on its own is always reason to celebrate, but the last two have been especially special. Last year, of course, Cale was less than a week old when we celebrated Easter. This year it's a completely different reason, but we're still thrilled: Karston pooped on the potty! He knew when, he ran, and he didn't sit for long. His reward is a small football, and he loves it.

In more traditional Easter activities, Karston was adorable in his preschool Easter parade on Wednesday and he will still sing his "In My Easter Tie" song for you. He was not, ahh, just not very competitive at his preschool's egg hunt that day, though. The Easter bunny stopped by to hide two eggs for Karston to find that also happened to lead him to breakfast. This afternoon we joined Nadia and Tasha for a church Easter egg hunt, and he was much more intent on collecting many plastic eggs this time. In fact, his basket was overflowing! He enjoyed most of games there too.

Down

Cale just gave me a huge grin, as if to say Watch this Mommy!, crawled to the one-step edge between the living room and the sunroom with kids' toys, turned around at the edge, extended one leg, and confidently slid down into the sunroom. I've never seen him enter the sunroom on his own! He used to go forward until he crawled over the edge, did a face plant, and started to cry. Or he would crawl there, and cry with outstretched arms until someone helped him down. But now he goes by himself!

He's very proud of himself, and he laughed when he saw the surprised look on my face.

Lunch with Pictures

This afternoon we met Larry and Jen for lunch, like the old days, except Jen brought Nadia and Tasha because it's not the old days anymore! We all have kids now. Tasha jumped into my arms when she saw me, and said Beach? She really enjoyed the beach, even though we didn't expect it to "click" for a newly-two year old child. She gave me a picture that she and Nadia worked on this morning of us playing at the beach. I think we need to go back!

Uh-hunh

Cale seems to use the same baby words that Karston used, so Ha-da means play and Ah-da means again (so if you're playing with Cale and some aspect is really great, he says ah-da and we do that again; ha-da is to get you to start playing).

This morning before lunch, we went to the beach. (We thought about going to the Azalea Festival in Wilmington, but the kids didn't seem like they were ready for it. So we went to Emerald Isle instead.) Mostly I kept Cale in the shade since he can't run in the surf but watching the older kids would tempt him to try as hard as he could. However, when Nadia, Tasha, and Karston switched from chilly surf to sand castles, Daddy brought Cale over to join the fun. Daddy asked Cale, Ha-da? Ha-da? Cale gave him a wondering look, said Uh-hunh quite distinctly, and with a big grin, started playing with his daddy. First step from declarations to conversations!

We had lunch at The Bogue House (very tasty food, although Karston announced he doesn't like sweetened applesauce which is good news in my book) and met Rusty the town manager. He's a very happy person, good lunch company.

Measles Vaccine Rash

Measles Vaccine Questions and Answers says

Transmission of the measles vaccine virus does not occur from a vaccinated person, including those who develop a rash. No special precautions (e.g., exclusion from school or work) need be taken.

Nice to know Cale isn't contagious even to those who aren't MMR-vaccinated!

Doctor Update

Cale and I went to pediatric walk-ins this morning because he's got a rash.

On Friday, March 20th he had vaccinations for MMR (measles mumps rubella) and varicella (chicken pox). Cale is allergic to eggs, but just the uncomfortable kind of allergy, not worse. I would rather skip the anxiety of childhood diseases and take the vaccines! Cale also started a 10-day regimen of amoxiciliin for his ear infection. Cale is so agreeable, even when sick, that we were surprised he had an ear infection!

Starting Thursday, March 26th, Cale's morning diapers have not been as full as I would expect and nor does he need as many changes during the day, but he's also not eating and drinking as much as usual either, so it probably balances out. Daddy had his electric blanket on and Cale needed extra cuddles, so I don't know when Cale got hot, but he didn't cool down when I did when I got out of bed. However, Cale's palpable fever went down 10 minutes after we gave him a dose of Motrin, so it wasn't too worrisome. His diaper rash started looking bad today, and he rarely has diaper rash. However, rates of diaper rash double while on baby'mox, so I'm not surprised.

By Friday, March 27th, Cale didn't have a fever, but his diaper rash continued to get worse. He's still not eating well (only one 4 oz jar of pears total for Saturday and Sunday! he's been known to eat 18 to 20 oz per day before!), and he started to refuse to take his amoxicillin Saturday evening.

Sunday, March 29th, Cale had his last dose of amoxicillin in the morning. Sunday evening, my friend Jeni let me know that her kids' amoxicillin usually goes bad before the 10 days are up, and she's had bad results from continuing to give it to them anyway. So we made it to a strict 10 days, and Cale's not going to finish the bottle as I had originally planned. For the first time ever, Cale didn't want me to put cream on his diaper rash, so it must really hurt him now. He started getting mild red bumps on his trunk this afternoon. Another unusual symptom for him was that he was tugging on and scratching at his ears today, so I was concerned about his ear infection.

This morning the bumps had spread all over his body, and were an angry red instead of mildly red!

So we went to the doctor, and she said his bumps look more like measles. (The other choices would be chicken pox or amoxicillin rash. We're all hoping he's not penicillin-allergic, so we're hoping it's not amoxicillin rash.) I will give his a dose of Benadryl this morning to see if the bumps subside then resurge when the Benadryl wears off, and then we'll know. His ears are better, just some fluid on one side, so he's fine to stop the amoxicillin. His diaper rash looks like typical candida albicans, so I'll continue to treat it like that. If his rash gets worse and gets crusty then it's probably a bacterial infection (skin staph) so we'll treat it as such right away if it gets worse. I'm happy to know what to look for, for the worst case. And I'm happy to know this rash is probably just a mild reaction that won't bother him as much as it does me.

UPDATE: gave Cale Benadryl (roughly 1 mg per kg of body weight so 3/4 tsp) at 9:45 AM.
UPDATE 2: no reduction in redness or bumpiness at 11:30 AM. Measles, not amoxicillin rash! Whew.

Walker

No, Cale isn't walking yet! But this weekend, he came up with a new use for an ordinary household item. We have bar stools at the kitchen counter that are taller than Cale. Cale grabs a stool at about his shoulder height, moves it across the kitchen floor, and then follows it. He isn't walking unaided, but, with a bar stool, he is moving upright in the direction of his choice now! Since he can stand for 30 seconds without support, I expect him to start walking soon!

Cale has been practicing for his Toddler Tryouts this weekend ... I think his Terrible Twos could be a challenge! He's just been determined to get into as many things as possible, the more dangerous the more interesting. He's also been practicing his "mountain climbing" on me this weekend. However, he mellows out when we go for a walk outside, so he could just be stir crazy from all of this rain keeping us inside. However, with Karston and Daddy in Florida, he's also been sleeping better at night. I think evening bedtime with Karston is very exciting for Cale, but I can bore him.

Cruising

Oh yes, Cale is finally cruising. He has figured out that if the furniture is long, he can cruise from one end to the other before crawling to the next piece of furniture. Cale is unbelievably fast at crawling! His hips go side to side, and he really speeds past! When he's exhausted, his arms will go faster than his legs so he'll do a stretched-out belly flop on the floor, and then cry because he knows he can crawl better than that. Watching Cale crawl really accentuates what Karston missed from his bad tummy stopping him from crawling until he could already walk (Karston was never a speedy crawler, and rarely did it). He thinks cruising is pretty fun, and will stop to slap on the coffee table just to let us all know how delighted he is to move around, upright, on his own.

While brushing Cale's teeth this evening, I noticed he has two more! Yes, the poor child had two teeth punch through at the same, and to make matters worse, they're molars. I can't believe he's been fairly agreeable lately! Cale's so mild-mannered, he's sweet-tempered when he's in pain and has every right to be fussy.

Cale 1 Year Checkup

At his checkup this afternoon, Cale weighed 20.5 pounds for 29 inches tall with 18.5 inch head circumference. Those percentiles are 20th, 25th, and 70th. The rule of thumb, or so I have heard, is to double the birth weight at four months, then triple the birth weight at one year of age. Both Karston and Cale were about doubled in weight at four months, but neither tripled at one year. Karston was about 18 months when he reached the 3x mark, so we'll see how Cale does on that time scale. Cale's pretty healthy and normal. He has ten teeth, and is working on #11, which is a bit ahead of schedule. Maybe we'll get this teething over with sooner; rapid teething might explain why Cale chews on everything. I thought teething explained why Cale hasn't been sleeping well lately. However, he did have an ear infection, a better reason not to sleep well, so the doctor sent out his first prescription for amoxicillin. This was my first experience with electronic prescriptions. The prescription went to the pharmacy electronically, and I picked it up at the grocery store around the corner from the doctor (after they saw my insurance paperwork since this is Cale's first prescription). But he's a happy, healthy one year old boy!

ONE YEAR

I can't believe my sweet baby Cale is one year old now! He's a very fast crawler, and he can crawl up stairs (but not down, although he will take the face plant if that's how he gets down to get closer to Karston). He pulls up to stand, and he can stand unaided when he forgets to hold on (if he's holding a cookie, important work for his hands). Cale really tucks in to his food, easily out-eating Karston most days. He makes lots of sounds, but doesn't really talk yet. He laughs at so many things! He loves to play games and take baths, and does his most-est to keep up with Karston. Cale's a great little guy!