The "Emergency" Sniffle

Well, never in a million years did I imagine I'd be sitting in the ER with my own baby on the opening night of the Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children (the BRAND new Children's Hospital of Alabama). I've been anticipating the opening of this state of the art hospital for the past 3 years because that's ALL people have talked about at work. William came down with a little cold on Friday but didn't seem phased by it at all. By Saturday afternoon/evening he was a little more congested, had a little bit of wheezing and had a strong odor coming from his right ear. We started his bedtime routine around 7pm and at 11pm he was still awake and pretty fussy. This is not the norm for William. Around 10pm we decided to go ahead and call the pediatrician. After answering about 15 questions, the nurse said because he's just over 3 months and having some wheezing take him to the ER to be evaluated.

We debated whether to follow the nurse's order because we knew he was fine, but I knew I wouldn't sleep a wink if we didn't get him checked out. We arrived at the brand new ER at 11pm. By this point William was sleeping soundly in his carseat and dreaming of milkshakes, so we felt really crazy for having a sleeping, happy baby in an ER. Since we were already there, we decided we may as well see a doctor and get them to check his ear. I was convinced he had an ear infection. While we were waiting in the ER waiting room, one of my cancer patients arrived, which was an instant reminder of how thankful I am for a healthy happy baby. Anyway...we finally got to a room at midnight and the doctor showed up about 45 minutes later. She checked his ears (full of wax, no infection), listened to his chest, and diagnosed him with mild bronchiolitis, which is a big medical term for a cold. There is nothing you can do but ride it out, and the virus usually lasts 3-5 days. We got back home at 2am and left William sleeping in his car seat in our room. We are all pretty exhausted but thankful that it is nothing serious. I guess William wanted to be one of the first children to ever step foot in the new hospital, and his mommy and daddy will always remember this!!

 Cooing up a storm in the ER

In the ER room

3 Month Check-Up

William had his THREE month check-up with his pediatrician on Thursday. He weighed 16 lbs. 11 oz. (97th %ile), 26 inches long (97th %ile) and I don't remember his head circumference, but it was in the 90th %ile. We have a BIG baby boy! Other news this week - sweet William ROLLED over on Tuesday night. Grant and I were watching him on the monitor around 8 that night and watched him roll over to his tummy. He quickly started grunting and flailing around so I went in and flipped him back over. Not even 5 minutes later he was back on his tummy grunting, so I went back in again and flipped him back to his back. He did this 3 or 4 times before he fell back asleep. Also, this morning he was sleeping soundly on his tummy when I went to peek on him. He's also really been sucking on his thumb this week. It might be the most precious thing I've ever seen.

 He loves wiggling around on the paper at the doctor. 

 He will have to get his next round of shots at his 4 month check-up. Already dreading that. 

 He's also discovered his tongue.

 "Mommy, get that phone out of my face!"

First Week Back

Well, I survived my first week back at work. I'll be honest, Monday was rough and I cried every time someone asked me about William. Wednesday was MUCH better. I was extremely busy, so time flew by, and by Friday I felt like I was finally getting back into the swing of things. William has gotten excellent reports from daycare. His teachers say he is so sweet, never cries, and stares at other babies like they are crazy when they start crying. Pretty funny! He's always happy when I pick him up which makes me feel a ton better.

The most "traumatic" thing about my first day back was the lactation room. I imagined there would be little cubicles so I'd have plenty of privacy while I pumped - WRONG! The lactation room is literally a room full of little tray tables displayed in a circle with industrial size pumps. I actually sit there and TALK to complete strangers while I pump. For those of you who know me well, you know how modest I am. No, giving birth didn't take away my modesty. I was in a state of shock the first day, but I've gotten over it and don't care anymore! I refuse to stop pumping because of a less than ideal setting.

Another thing that has been difficult is having to actually think again. After 3 months of being in only baby mode, it's hard to shift and think about other children besides my own. My boss asked me to type up an educational summary from a child I saw right before I left for maternity leave, and I about choked. Thankfully one of my co-workers helped me write it. I was worried my boss would think I'd completely lost every brain cell if I did it on my own :)

I'm enjoying my time with William SO much when I get home from work and on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I'm at home with him all day. He seems to be adjusting well to our new schedule, and really doesn't seem phased at all by all of the transitions.

We may have a thumb sucker! I secretly hope so :) He's bound to have bad teeth regardless because his mommy and daddy spent a lot of their childhood in braces.

In other news, Grant and I are a few steps closer to becoming homeowners!  It's not final yet, but we are well on our way. We are ecstatic! We close on August 30th and hope to move mid-September. It's been a VERY eventful couple of weeks for the Davis family of three.

All of the pictures above were taken of William while he was watching the Olympics. He's seriously OBSESSED with TV. We may have a couch potato on our hands ;)

Oops

I just realized I've been miscalculating William's age for the past 2 months. In my head, I counted him a week older every Wednesday because he was born on a Wednesday. I didn't take into account that some months have more days than others. However, he will be 3 months old in 4 days. Wow...where is my brain?!?

Three Months Old

Tomorrow, William will be three months old. I fall more in love with this baby by the second. There's not too much new to report since the 2 month post, but he is sleeping for 7-8 hour stretches at night, which is huge news in the Davis household! Hopefully this trend will continue as I transition back to work. We usually put him down between 8 and 9, and he wakes up for a bottle between 4-5 and then goes right back down until 8am. After I feed him at 8, we "play" for 1-1.5 hours before he goes down for a morning nap for 1-2 hours. He usually naps in the early afternoon as well but the time and length of the that nap varies day to day. Then he'll take another nap from 4:30-6ish most days. I try to keep him pretty stimulated and make him have "tummy time" at least once a day, which he isn't a huge fan of. However, if I get down on the floor with him during tummy time, it makes it more bearable for him :) He is still cooing up a storm and we babble back and forth with him. He's very alert and seems to always take in new environments by scanning the room and checking everything out. I can't imagine another age being more fun, but with each age comes different developmental milestones, so I know all stages must be fun!

He's still mesmerized by his hands and usually keeps them close to his face. He will also grasp your fingers and hold onto small objects for brief periods.

"Mommy, are you serious...I'm naked!"

He loves to stretch and kick his wipes off the changing table.

Look at those ROLLS! I could eat him up!

His little neck is so strong and he enjoys sitting like a big boy on the couch and in his glider. The picture above actually looks like a picture of my Dad's father (Daddy Joe) when he was a baby. 

 His squirminess is making it much more difficult for us to take pictures. Here he is ripping off his 3 month sticker. 

 He was totally over the photo shoot by this point. 

Sunday night we had dinner at one of my co-worker's houses. I snapped a couple of pictures before we headed out the door. William did great for the first 2 hours we were there and then got pretty fussy so we boogied home.

Notice the spit-up...happens every single time we dress him.

Something about my camera makes this little boy have the most serious expressions. I'm determined to catch some smiles soon!

One Week

One week from today I will be sitting at my desk at the hospital while William is in the arms of one of his daycare teachers, or more likely in a bouncer or kicking away on an activity mat on the floor. I've had many up and down feelings about returning to work, but deep down I know this is the best decision for our family. Grant and I have spent hours discussing all of the pros and cons about whether or not I'd return, and I am so thankful for a husband that always supports my decisions no matter what. I'll only be returning to work part-time, and I feel so incredibly blessed that I was given this opportunity. In a way I feel like I'm getting the best of both worlds, time at home with my baby and some adult stimulation. As much as I've struggled with job related stress in the past, I'm really going to work on my perspective and attitude about work. Ultimately, William is now my main priority and he comes first no matter what.

Yesterday I "practiced" dropping William off at daycare while I went up to the hospital for a quick meeting with my boss. Tears were shed and it was definitely not easy, but as I drove away I thanked God that we are able to send William to the daycare of our choice and that I'm able to continue to focus on my career and personal goals for myself. By no means am I saying the transition back to work is going to be easy or even pleasant but I'm praying that God will give me the peace I so desperately need as I leave William in the care of someone else. The meeting with my boss went really well and she was very supportive and acknowledged how difficult it is going to be for me to leave him after spending everyday all day with him for 12 weeks. It also helped that everyone was so excited to see me and my phone was being passed from one person to the next so they could look at pictures of William. That's what honestly made me feel the most comfortable and excited to go back to work. This sounds cheesy but our Hematology/Oncology team at Children's Hospital is very close.

I only left him for 3 hours, but his teachers gave me an excellent report. They said he is a very "chill" baby and he didn't seem phased at all by the new environment. One of the perks of the daycare we have chosen is that there are cameras in the rooms, so we are able to log on anytime during the day and see what little William is up to. Grant watched William on the camera from his office the entire time he was there. I was in a meeting so didn't get to watch him yesterday but I know I'll be logged on next Friday. The best moment of my day was when I picked him up from daycare. He was happy when I walked in the room (Praise be to God) and he smiled the biggest I've ever seen when I bent down to pick him up. The waterworks were turned on again by this sweet moment when we were reunited. I realize I sound absolutely ridiculous but it was a BIG day for me. I'll update more next week after my first real day back at work.

Happiness

I've probably watched this video 18 times since this afternoon when Aunt Ragan made William giggle. Warning: If baby spit-up bothers you, don't watch.