Cassidy's 1 year Photos

Here they are... the first professional pictures I had taken of Cassidy. She did great! I wasn't expecting to pick the photos out right then and there, so I was a bit unprepared. By the time we were done, we had a hungry baby (no bottle along) who had peed on my pants (diaper leaked), and an irritable, crabby mommy. Grandpa was a life saver though, helping to entertain Cassidy while I looked through the pictures and tried to convince the girl showing them to me that I really DIDN'T want a $100 collage.

This one's my favorite

I really like the ones with a black background, but in one, Cassidy looked plain goofy, and in the other, she looked like she was floating because of the way her feet were positioned. The girl taking the pictures was a little slow on the trigger, and there were several instances where I would have "clicked" but she didn't. Another guy there was GREAT at making Cassidy smile, and kept telling the other girl to "click" but she still didn't quite get it. Maybe she was new? Hopefully next time we'll get him, or someone more experienced, to take the pictures.

Kitchen Makeover Continues

With Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Skip here for 6 days to take care of Cassidy, Jeff and I continued on our kitchen transformation project. We painted all day on Sunday, and Monday I finished up the trim.

While we were busy in the kitchen, Grandma and Grandpa had their first outing with Cassidy on Saturday: breakfast at IHOP and Cassidy's first trip to the park to play on the playground. They said she was a little angel and had a blast on the swing, Merry-go-round, and slide. They repeated their outing on Monday, with lunch at Wendy's, a trip to the park, and then to Sam's club for groceries for dinner, while I enjoyed my blissful time at home ... alone... ahhhh (sigh of contentment).

We painted the backsplash so there isn't any rush for part three of the makeover - tiling; though we already have the tiles picked out.

I'm really happy with the way the kitchen turned out. It's the first time we've gone from a bold color to a more neutral one. It's taking a little getting used to, but it definitely has a more calming feeling than the yellow, which is nice. The white trim helps to tie in the white cooktop, hood, and dishwasher. Eventually it might be nice to replace them with stainless steel or black, but since they don't look awful with the way we've decorated, it can definitely wait.

I still have to touch up a few spots on the walls and the bifold doors, so that's on my agenda for this weekend ... when Grandpa Fred and Grandma Josie are visiting!

When Sleep Deprivation Meets Neurosis

Last night Cassidy slept. She woke up once around 1:45am, so I went in and rubbed her back. She laid back down again immediately, which is a GREAT sign... usually means she'll go back to sleep easily. So I settled into the rocking chair next to the crib with my arm extended into the crib for her to hold my hand ... our latest middle of the night comforting ritual. My mind wandered to work as I dozed and thought about what I had done that evening and what I would do tomorrow.

My eyes popped open as I remembered that I never put my transformation plates into the incubator. Okay, not the end of the world. I could put them in the incubator in the morning and they'd still be ready to use by late afternoon/evening. Then panic set in as I realized that I couldn't recall turning off the gas bunsen burner on my lab bench. I sat there trying my hardest to remember what I had done, in what order, and where I had walked when I left the lab because surely I would have noticed a bright blue flame when I turned off the lights... wouldn't I?

Crap.

So I snuck out of Cassidy's room after she had drifted back to sleep, woke Jeff up to tell him I had to go to work, and crept out of the house at 2:25am. Ridiculous, I know. But the entire drive (all of 10 minutes --- traffic is wonderful in the middle of the night, and actually so is radio.. much better than when I normally drive) I had visions of toxic smoke and flames billowing from the 7th floor of our building. Relief started to set in as I exited the highway to see our building still intact without any emergency lights flashing around it.

In the lab I found ... my lab bench as it should be with no bunsen burner lit and my plates in the proper incubator where they should be. I still have no recollection of doing either of these things.

I was back home in bed by 3:05 and able to sleep (which I know full well I wouldn't have if I hadn't gone into work to check.) Yes, I know... I'm completely neurotic. I've accepted it. You should too.

And a brief update on Cassidy: Running a low grade fever this morning again, not the least bit interested in eating anything, whining, and snotting all over. No daycare for her. I'm home again.

Our little trooper.

On Saturday morning, our girl started with a low grade fever again. With a little tylenol, she was back to her happy self so we decided to pass on the urgent saturday morning doctor's visit.... and by 5pm we (and by "we" I mean "I") were regretting our decision. By then, her eyes were red and tearing, her nose was snotting green like crazy, and her fever was up to 101.7. My prediction: secondary ear and sinus infection from the cold she's had the past two weeks.



With no Sunday office hours at the pediatrician, we had to stick it out until Monday. Saturday night Cassidy did pretty well, with only one wake up and long stretches of sleep. Sunday she was lethargic, wanting only to sleep in our laps or with us holding her.



She had trouble nursing starting Saturday night because of the congestion, and then on Sunday couldn't eat solids either because her mouth hurt. We regressed back to bottles (we were down to 2 bottles a day and using sippy cups) to get her to take fluids.

Sunday night was miserable. She woke up just about every hour, cried inconsolably while awake not wanting to be held, but cried harder when we put her down. Mommy cried hysterically right along with her as she flailed on the ground and in our arms. Daddy stepped up and took her to the opposite end of the house so I could compose myself. The only good thing about this was that the screaming seemed to loosen up her congestion enough that she could nurse a bit.

Her fever finally let up overnight on Sunday, though we continued giving her tylenol for the pain so the fever really didn't have much chance to show. On Monday, she seemed a little better, but I called the pediatrian first thing and got an appointment for 11am. When I walked in to the office, I nearly turned around and walked out. The "Sick Waiting Room" was full ... as in, only a chair or two left, with people coughing and kids laying down or resting their heads on their parents lap or shoulder.

Now I'll be the first to admit I'm a total germ-phobe, especially since the whole hospitalization from infection thing. A "well visit" in the healthy waiting room brings anxiety and massive amounts of hand sanitizing along with Cassidy staying in her stroller and touching as little as possible. I nearly choked when Jeff let her play with the toy table at the last visit, which she promptly licked. Aaacckkk! A visit involving the "sick room" makes me stressed and afraid to breath. I usually sit in a corner as far away from everyone as possible, trying to inhale as little as possible, and coating my hands in sanitizer after touching the doors or chairs. Monday's visit brought me close to a panic attack. I looked through the window into that room and decided right then that there was NO WAY I was walking in there, let alone sitting in there for what is usually at least an hour for a last minute appointment on a Monday. Nope. No way. Not a chance. So I paced the 20 foot area outside the reception window with Cassidy in her sling for 45 minutes, striking up the occasional conversation with the receptionist while alternately strategically positioning us at opposite ends of the hallway from the sick room whenever the door opened and opposite the exit door where the "sick ones" were leaving the office. (Yes, I know, Cassidy is sick. But I was 99 % sure it was bacterial and not contagious ... and NOT the flu).

We finally made it in to see the doc, who apologized for the wait (as usual -- at least she knows) and made the expected diagnosis ... secondary bacterial sinus and ear (both ears) infection, along with a bit of wheezing in her chest (big surpise there). So we got the prescription for antibiotics, instructions to increase breathing treatments to 3 or 4 times a day, and come back in a week if things aren't better.

I stayed home Monday and Jeff left work at 3 so I could go into the lab for a couple hours to get some experiments going. Same thing today. Cassidy's still not running a fever, and has had her second dose of antibiotics this evening. She's almost back to normal (aside from the congestion), just more irritable and clingy than usual. So the plan is for daycare tomorrow. And please, please sleep for tonight!

Cassidy's September

I'm a bit late here, but on the 16th, Cassidy had her 12 month well visit with our pediatrician. She got a flu shot (and goes back for the second dose after a month) and two of her other normal vaccinations.

Her stats:

Weight: 21lbs 8 ounces (55%)
Height: 28inches (20%)
Head: 44.5cm

Overall, she's looking good ... no wheezing. We are continuing the NEB treatments with pulmicort (freakin' expensive stuff, that is!) once a day and xopenex as needed (usually once a week).




We also saw the allergist/immunologist this month. He said Cassidy looks pretty healthy overall, and agreed with our pediatrician and pulmonologist that this is something she'll likely grow out of. He said it doesn't look like allergies or asthma; more likely that she's getting one virus after another. He decided to do some bloodwork to check her antibody levels for the vaccinations she's already gotten to be sure that her immune system is working properly (the blood draw was awful!). We go back again after 8 weeks.

Jeff went on a cruise last weekend with his coworkers and dad came down to keep me company .. well, actually I think that was just an excuse to come... he really came down to see Cassidy!



We had a nice weekend, just the 3 of us.

Meanwhile, our daycare has had the occasional h1n1 case. This week 2 cases have shown up in Cassidy's classroom of 10 babies, so we are keeping our fingers crossed that she doesn't get it. Realistically, though, we know it's only a matter of time.

The kitchen is functional

The plumber came back out last week, after 1 no show, and 45 minutes of phone calling and verbally assaulting various people over the phone. But the end result is that we have a funtional kitchen! Countertops, cooktop, sink, dishwasher... the works.

Up next: painting and tiling the backsplash!