Thursday, June 18, 2009

25 Months

Henry has been pooping in the potty these last few days, although I shouldn't claim such success b/c he has diarrhea and the frequency is so much that it's not too hard to get lucky. He gets this miserable look on his face and I say, "Do you want to sit on the potty?" and he says yes and then...relief. Poor little guy. Today is day 7. He hasn't gone to nursery school, we didn't go to co-op, we haven't been anywhere but the yard and the house and a few places where there are no children (yesterday we had a lunch date at Thundercloud subs). I'm going slightly crazy and hoping we're at the end of this. The main reason we don't go anywhere is b/c he needs several diaper changes/potty sittings a day and it would be a nightmare to try and go out. He instantly says, "Change" after he goes in his diaper.

To top it off, 2 nights ago he got croup. I don't know how or where since we haven't been anywhere for a week, but somehow he got it. He coughed about every 20 min. in the night and Justin woke up with each cough--I finally went in the other room and turned off the monitor. I got 3 hours of cough-free sleep and then rejoined Justin to share in mutual cough-wake ups. I told Justin to go in the other room for my shift but he's insane and wouldn't. Luckily his coughing only got bad enough once that he needed parental intervention in the night. I assumed last night it would be much of the same but he slept 11 hours without a single cough or wake-up. I think it's because I moved the humidifier across the room so it was next to the crib. When he woke this morning he was coughing but it was no longer that barking-seal cough.

Henry is handing all this pretty well. He's got to be bored being cooped up with just parents to play with all week but he hasn't complained too much. He's definitely more easily upset at things but he is also his same silly self and having fun. You really wouldn't know he was sick. Also, naps have been awesome lately. Two to three hours long! It's heaven and I have been sleeping with him on the futon in his room. We snuggle up and pass out and hours go by before either of us wake. I've got the humidifier blowing on high, the curtains drawn (they are these special sound and light proof genius's) and when we wake up we're both starving and we have a big lunch.

Speaking of food. This week's menu has been sooooo boring because of the diarrhea diet we're on. The first 2 days were just rice, crackers, bread, apple sauce, bananas, corn...blah blah blah. It definitively made things...less messy in the diaper, but did nothing for frequency. So now he can eat most fruit, yogurt (with probiotics in it, meat, etc. But he seems really not interested in vegetables, which is new for us. I'm wondering if the break from veggies and flavor has now made him picky and he's going to want some boring toddler diet of tater tots and grilled cheese. I hope not.

The other major major thing to report is that as of last week, Henry has been weaned from mama's milk. My goal was always 2 years (as per AAFP and WHO recommendation, as well as our pediatrician's b/c of Henry's milk allergy which the doc said he would outgrow by 2--which he did). So I focused on going 2 years and once that came I really didn't feel compelled to stop since it was only 2x's a day. But due to pregnancy and changes in the body that occur, it became quite painful and I couldn't take the torture anymore and had to wean. He hadn't been sick in 5 months, then I weaned and like...within minutes (it feels like) of weaning, he got sick. I would be lying if I didn't say I feel horrible for weaning. The main thing with diarrhea is staying hydrated and you can't really drink cow's milk when you have diarrhea so he drank mostly water and pedialite--no nutrition really in either of those things. Also, the number 1 most comforting thing for him is nursing especially when he's sick....so to not have had that to fall back on--it's been hard...for both of us.

Language development has been fun. Words he says that make him seem so grown up are, "sometimes, probably, tomorrow, hurry up" and he'll say funny things like, "Move mama, you're in my way". He uses "I", as in, "I want that" or "I pet the kitty". He'll say, "I don't like that" and he loves to nod--as in "yes or no" nodding. Yesterday he shrugged his shoulders, as in "I don't know". He calls me mama and Justin daddy but if he wants us he has stuck with shouting, "Mom! or Dad"!

Henry has gotten really good at kicking and loves to kick the soccer ball up and down the yard or the intramural fields. He looks so grown up and in control when he does this. He likes doing somersaults and wresting with daddy. The rough-play has dramatically increased. He used to hate it but now it's a fun thing he does with his daddy. He can even stand to be upside down now.

Reading books is still a major activity and part of our day. He would like to be read to for hours if we had that kind of patience. We do more than enough. Probably at least an hour a day if you add it up...and sometimes more.

Henry is still using a pacifier for naps and bedtime and for car rides. My goal is to have him weaned by Aug 1. I didn't want to take it from him before weaning from milk b/c I thought that would be too much. Now that milk is behind us, we're gonna wait till after our trip to IL next month. Henry doesn't travel well (I mean, he's 2) and that will be some comfort, for all of us.

No comments:

Post a Comment