Tummy stuff, the Coast, etc.

Yesterday, Gabe had a little constipation. Babies usually grunt when they go, but he seemed to be grunting more than usual. I got some prune juice (mixed with water) and that really did the trick by the end of the day.

We are preparing for a three day beach trip to Yachats, OR; leaving on Sunday and coming back Wed. It's about 3 hours away so this will be Gabe's first long car trip. Lately, he's been excellent in the car seat; even looking forward to going out! We've never been to Yachats, so are looking forward to seeing how different it is from Cannon Beach, OR. And we'll take lots of pics!

This weekend, we're also preparing to have some friends over for brunch on Sat. This was our rescheduled brunch from last month when we all started getting sick.

Some photos of Gabe above playing in the laundry hamper.

Now mom is sick!

After Craig and Gabe caught and got over colds, I thought the bug might bypass me. I should have known. Viruses are persistent little suckers.

Last Friday, my throat started feeling funny. By Monday, I felt horrible! Stuffy nose, cough, head aching. After getting up and preparing breakfast for Gabe and myself I was wasted. Just dealing with the fatigue was a challenge because while trying to take it easy, I had to keep up with a newly crawling 10 month old. Which means, haha, I pretty much did not take it easy.

However, the clouds are lifting. Today, I am still stuffy, but only slightly. I still have a little cough, but the last of the cold is easing its way out of my lungs. And I would say 95 percent of my energy is back.

Fortunately, Gabe never got too sick. The extent of his symptoms were a runny nose, a cough and one day of changed behavior. I worried about him getting sick again since I, the person he spends the most time with daily, is hacking all over the place. But antibodies from my cold gets into the milk so if he gets sick again at all, it will mostly likely be mild. Then I remembered that by the time cold symptoms appear, you've already passed them on. And Gabe did seem like his runny nose increased again just a day or two before I got sick. So, hopefully the worst is over.

The Neverending Runny Nose

Man, I hate illness!

About two weeks ago, we had to cancel a visit with a fellow childbirth class couple because Gabe was getting a runny nose and their baby was just getting over one. It seemed to clear up, but then started again yesterday and is now accompanied with a cough. In the process, Craig got sick too but seems to getting better.

Gabe also has two new teeth coming in: one the top and one on the bottom which will make a total of 7 teeth. I've been taking his temp, which has remained normal. He is also acting normally, too, so I am not too concerned, but will keep a look out to make sure he improves and does not get worse. I am giving him plenty of saline drops and suctioning afterwards.

But I just hate hearing him cough. Primarily because that means mucus has drained into his chest. But on the bright side, that also means he is coughing it up, which he needs to do.

In the midst of all this, he's beginning to master the art of crawling. It's mind boggling how quickly these babies get good at a particular ability. Just one day they can sit up, crawl, walk, etc.

So what are people's plans for holiday? Like I mentioned in a previous post, we're celebrating Passover, but not in the right way (i.e., having a Seder, Feast of Unleavened Bread, etc.). I think we will progress to that in coming the coming years. However, we're having a dinner and will focus on the Exodus and how that relates to Christ, etc.

I need to send a shout out to my aunt Bea, who sent a lovely e-card to us, thanks much!!

Oops, forgot pics!

Sorry, here they are!

Drinking water, chunky foods, Passover, etc.

Once or twice a day, I let Gabe drink a few ounces of water a day. Here are two photos. He holds the cup very well himself and seems to get the idea that he has to tilt it up for the liquid to come down. He likes doing this very much; when I get the cup out to pour water in it, he sits forward to opens his mouth; it's really cute.

A few days ago, I tried giving him a few pieces of banana to eat himself and he just played with it! :) He eats thicker foods consistently now, though the only chunkier foods he will eat are chunky apple sauce. About a week or two ago, we tried giving him some chunky chicken with little pasta stars and he gagged himself to much that he threw up. That was surprising, but he was totally fine afterward.

The easter holiday is coming up fast. It seems March came and went really fast. This year we are going to focus more on Passover than easter; I've been reading about the pagan origins of easter and it disturbed me quite a bit. Sometimes I think I read too much for my own good.

Runny nose

Today, we were supposed have some friends with their little one, but we rescheduled because Gabe has a bit of a runny nose. Ironically, our friends' boy was just recovering from a few days of a runny nose and thought they may have to cancel too if it didn't completely clear up. Since we didn't want to reinfect their baby, and tire Gabe out with company if he didn't feel well, we decided it was best overall to reschedule our brunch date for April.

G seems to be okay at the moment. Last night and the night before, he seemed congested when he nursed. Yesterday and this morning, I used some saline drops and that always works like a charm to get that mucus running out. He doesn't have a fever, so it may be just a cold. I think another tooth is coming in too, because he is drooling a lot. Most doctors adamantly deny teething causes congestion, but I think it can. All the tissues in the mouth and nose are connected, so it's not totally out of the realm of possibility that if the gums are puffy, it may cause sinus passages to become irritated and congested.

Anyway, we're taking it easy today.

Ten Months old today!

I forgot to mention this in the last entry. In two months, Gabriel will be a year old! Amazing how time flies, although I know I have said this many, many, many times, :) But it's true!