Friday, July 04, 2008

So Much Going On!

There is SO MUCH going on in our lives right now! Things are good, but they've got me running around like "a one-legged man in a butt-kickin' contest" to quote Dolly Parton in a movie that I can't remember the name of right now... Let me see if I can just give a quick rundown:

MOVING!
We are moving and now!!! Justin went to Missouri this week to find us a place to live, and he found it right away! So we'll be renting a house that I've never seen, but it sounds awesome and it has so much space for our price range! (I'll post pictures once we get there!) And the big news is that we're moving in on the 15th!! Yes, that is less than 2 weeks away. However, we're actually moving sooner than that because we're moving in 2 stages. First, we're moving everything we have here in Tennessee to Justin's parents' house in Kentucky where all the rest of our belongings are stored. We'll spend a few days there, and then load everything up in a U-Haul and move to Missouri. The Tennessee-to-Kentucky phase of our moving actually begins tomorrow when Justin's parents load up their pickup truck with most of our stuff and take it to Kentucky! We plan to stay in Tennessee for a couple more days with just the bare-bones of the stuff that we need, but then we'll follow them there. So I'm running around like crazy trying to get all our stuff packed up and ready for them to take tomorrow, and trying to decide what we need to keep here with us for those couple of days! The tricky part is that whatever we keep here has to be able to fit in the Camry with the three of us! I think we're in good shape, though, and I'm thrilled that the process is actually started.

CRADLE CAP
Elias has had baby acne for several weeks now, and it just seemed to be getting worse and worse. Then he developed a red rash on his ears that then turned scaly. (GROSS!) So the doctor finally said that it might be cradle cap, not baby acne, so we could treat it by rubbing baby oil on it and washing it with baby shampoo every day. So that did help the ears, but not before it showed up on his head and his whole face. So my poor baby has a flaky scalp, scaly ears, and a red rash on his face!!! It was looking so bad that I took him back to the doctor yesterday just to make sure it wasn't something else. The doctor said that it was definitely cradle cap and not an allergic reaction or something. But he did recommend we get a little more aggressive with it and start washing it with dandruff shampoo. So we started yesterday using Head and Shoulders to wash his scalp and ears! We don't use it on his face just in case it might get in his eyes, so we're still doing the baby oil/shampoo thing on his face. But we can already see a difference just since we started using the Head & Shoulders yesterday, so we're hopeful that he's on the mend. The bad thing about cradle cap is that there really isn't anything that causes it, and there's no way to prevent it or cure it. So we can treat the symptoms and help them to clear up quicker, but he could keep having recurrences for several months or even years.

SHOTS
While we were at the doctor yesterday, I mentioned to him that we're going to have about a one month window that we are without insurance, and I asked him if it would be a problem to delay Elias' 2-month shots. He said "Well, we can actually give them as early as 6 weeks. Do you want to go ahead and get them today?" So my poor baby, besides his flaky scalp, scaly ears, and red rash on his face, also got three shots and an oral vaccine yesterday! So he is definitely a little worse for the wear and requiring some extra lovin' today. I sure am glad that Daddy is back in town!

GROWING
At the doctor yesterday, Elias clocked in at 11 lbs, 7 oz and 23 1/4 inches tall. That's 11 ounces and 1 inch larger than he was last WEEK! He sure is our growing boy!!!! The doc said it's a good sign, though, that his appetite is good and he's healthy and vigorous. We hope, though, that he'll slow down soon on the eating and the weight gain! Take it easy, kid! I think you've made up for all the lost time!

GRANDMA
My mom came down for a couple of the days that Justin was out of town this week, and it was so good to see her and have her help! Thanks for coming, Mom! Here are a few pictures from her visit:He sure did like getting a bottle from Grandma!
He always sleeps with his hands up by his face - sometimes he even puts them way over his head! He's done that since he was born and would never stand to have his arms swaddled. I actually asked the doctor yesterday about him getting too hot when he sleeps, and he said it might be time to ditch the swaddle. He has been kicking out of it recently and it hasn't seemed to interrupt his sleep. So yesterday we stopped swaddling him to sleep! Now he just sleeps in a t-shirt, diaper, and socks with a light blanket overtop. He did great last night, and I'm so relieved he's already willing to sleep without being swaddled. I think the closeness of the sleep positioner helps with that...

Grandma also managed to capture a video of him having such fun on his playmat. He's such a charmer!

So I think that's about all at the moment. My computer will be moving to Kentucky tomorrow, so you may not hear much from me for the next week or two. I'll at least try to get on and post brief updates to let you know how it's going!

2 comments:

Jessica said...

I am so excited for you and your move! These next few weeks might be crazy, but I think you'll be so happy when you're settled.

We dealt with cradle cap, too, and used Selson Blue on it. Seemed to work OK and we didn't have a recurring problem.

It's so good that he's growing! It may be tough, but you're doing it, Momma!

Katie said...

We have that same playmat. Carina loves it!