1st Shots (Oct 15th)

So, Mommy wasn't the smartest woman in the world, planning John's two month shots for the Monday we returned from Montana. Unfortunately as John's 2 month b-day was on a Saturday, and we left the following Monday the soonest we could get in for his 2 month shots was the 15th. Mommy was also not very smart, in that she scheduled the shots for the morning, so he would have the whole day to think about them and hurt (instead of being able to sleep most of it off). Everything started out ok. The girl giving the shots was really quick, which was nice. He did scream the minute he got the first (of four) shot, and didn't stop til she was done, and I had fed him. The pediatrician encouraged me not to give Tylenol, unless I could see that he was in pain, or unless he had a fever.
He received the shots at 10, and did fine until 1:20, when he started getting a little fussy. I gave him some Tylenol, and he took an hour nap. When he woke up, he screamed and screamed. Nothing could console him. I tried giving him a bath, mainly because I thought his band-aid was irritating him, as I noticed his left leg was red around the band-aid. I also knew that he usually gets calm in baths. He did good for about 20 minutes, then started screaming again. I wrapped him in a towel and just held him. I remembered that the pediatrician said to also try applying heat to the area, so I heated up my rice bag, and hung it over my shoulder opposite from his body, so that I wouldn't burn him. All this time, I cried and cried, telling him how sorry I was, wishing that I could help him understand. He eventually wore himself out screaming and fell asleep. I didn't want to move. Finally after about an hour, I laid him on our bed, still wrapped in the towel. I checked his leg, and it seemed swollen, but the redness had gone down. Here is a picture of him "peacefully" resting.



Well, shortly thereafter he awoke and immediately commenced to screaming. Also, in all of this he wasn't eating, and he hadn't peed. I noticed his legs were red from the knee to the hip, and both were swollen, the left greater than the right. I knew that his whole leg wasn't supposed to be swollen, and the internet said to call the doctor if the redness is greater than an inch (which it was about 4 inches). So, I did, and the lovely person who answered the phone (who I could barely hear even though I put John down, went into the bathroom and closed the door) said it was normal and I could go to the ER if I was worried about it. Good grief!!! My kid is screaming, his legs are swollen and red, and the best news you can tell me is "It's normal and it will go away within 48 hours." Really makes me want to give him his next shots! I knew going to the ER would be useless, since he was breathing fine, and he had good capillary refill in his toes, so I called my friend Norma over to check him. She had been an EMT at one point in her life. Yes, I know I'm a nurse, but 1.)I've never worked Pedi & 2.) I've never been a mom before.
Well, the minute she gets there, he calms down, smiles & coos for her, and shortly thereafter proceeds to eat. I was trying to keep myself calm as I know that he gets worse when I'm tense, but apparently I wasn't doing the best job! Or maybe he just needed a new face to look at. He was able to get his second dose of Tylenol, and even though he was extra fussy & crying for the rest of the night, he didn't scream and scream like he did earlier that afternoon. Thankfully for Chris, as he had a hard day in training.
So, lessons learned. 1.) Always, always, no matter what the pediatrician says, give your child Tylenol before they receive their shots. 2.) Get the shots later in the afternoon 3.) See if you can break down the shots into two different visit, so both legs won't be hurting (may make changing a diaper & holding him easier!) We will try these things at the next appointment!

The return trip

Well, the return trip didn't go quite as good as the trip to Montana. We left Bozeman at 10 am and John slept all the way to Billings. Not a good sign, I thought. He probably will be awake most of the rest of the afternoon. Yep! We stopped to eat lunch where he got fussy, so I fed him. Well, he decided to burp it up all over the table and the floor, TWICE! He was ok, until I got in line to go through security. I put him in the sling, and he started screaming. It didn't help that I had 20 (or at least it seemed) things in my hand. He screamed all the way through security, and unfortunately there were no kind couples to help me get my things together, and help me put my shoes on. I felt very alone. I also realized that Southerners are a bit more friendly than those from the North. I didn't have to go through extra screening, so that was nice. I was really proud of mom, she didn't start crying until after I left. I think I would have lost it, seeing her cry, as John was screaming.
Well, we get to the gate, and I sit down to feed him again. He calmed down for a few minutes, and then when he needed to burp he started crying again. Everyone (or so it seemed) was glaring at me. I'm sure they were thinking, I hope I don't have to sit by her on the plane. We got to preboard, since I was "traveling with small children." I kept him out of the sling to board the plane, and he did fine. I got situated in my seat, and he started getting fussy. I hummed to him, and bounced him as we sat, praying that he wouldn't be fussy the whole trip, and praying that we would take off soon, knowing that he usually calms down when we are in the air. Thankfully we were in a plane that had three seats across, and a grandmotherly woman sat in the aisle seat, leaving the middle open. He did great, and actually stared at me the whole time. He couldn't take his eyes off me. I had to turn away every now and then to rest my neck. Apparently there is something about the altitude you reach when you are in an airplane, or maybe it's the cabin pressure, that does something to a little one's insides. John decided about 20 minutes from landing to fill his shorts. Thankfully we had an open seat, so I slid over into the middle, and put him on mine and quickly changed him, right in time for some turbulence.



(Pictures of him staring at me on the flight.)

So, he does fine, until we get to the gate, and then decides to cry again. The lady in front of me commented, "Wow, he did really good until we landed." I said, "He usually does good when we are moving, he just doesn't like to be stopped." We were the last off the plane, and thankfully our next gate was one terminal over, instead of completely across the airport. The gate was off in a quiet area, so John fell asleep. Only to be awakened as we boarded the plane. Unfortunately no preboarding on this one. I did make it to my seat, prior to the person next to me, and John proceeded to start screaming. One thing that I've always feared, was my child annoying or offending someone b/c they wouldn't stop crying. Well, the guy who sat next to me, endured the crying for about 2 minutes, and then proceeded to find another seat on the plane. It actually wasn't as bad as I imagined it to be. I didn't feel any worse of a mom. It actually turned out rather well, as, like I said in previous paragraph, altitudes do something on the old pooper. Yes, John decided to unload, twice this time. It was VERY handy to have that open seat. He did manage to sleep for about an hour on that flight. I on the other hand could not. I was nearly giddy about seeing Chris. We arrived at the Austin airport 15 minutes early, coasted into what was supposed to be our gate, only to not be able to park there, b/c a ground vehicle had stalled. We waited 10 minutes, and then decided to pull over to the side and park, while they backed out an empty plane from the gate so that we could pull in. That was pretty interesting to watch. So, we finally pull into our gate (Gate 1-of course it would have to be the furthest gate away from baggage claim) and unload. I was able to get John into the sling (with the help of a, I can't think of any other way to describe her, "hippy" lady-she was doing yoga before and after the plane ride. I was amazed at her lack of care of what others thought. Someday I want to get to that point.) and we ended up not being the last off the plane. I waited to use the restroom 1.) so John wouldn't be disturbed, and 2.) so I could see Chris sooner. Well, he turned out arriving about 3 minutes after we went to the baggage claim. Apparently he was late getting out of the house. He was so excited to see how John grew and changed, and surprised at the increase of luggage!
We managed to make it home by midnight, after hitting every light on the way to I-35, and stopping for a snack, since I didn't eat dinner. I must say it was an interesting feeling to walk back into my house, that I haven't occupied for 2 weeks. It felt surreal, like there were familiar things that made it seem like mine, but it was unfamiliar in that I had gotten used to the room we had in Montana and things I had come to expect weren't there. Didn't think that could happen in only 2 weeks. Wonder how strange it is when it's even longer than that.

Montana week 2

So, really the rest of the time in Montana was spent showing John off at my parents' work & Bible Studies, shopping, finishing projects, and hanging out. We did take a day and go visit one of my best friend's from elementary school's mom. My friend is doing her residency in Washington, and we were just going to miss each other. She was arriving in Bozeman the Friday that I left. Mrs. Skinner loved seeing John. She hadn't changed much at all. It felt like old times to be visiting her place, except for the housing developments that were going in all the way up to her farm, or almost all the way. She had been "laid up" for the last 6 weeks with a pulmonary embolism, and hadn't had any energy, so a friend of hers from church got together a group of ladies from various churches, and showed up at her doorstop and surprised her by cleaning her whole house. What a neat way for Christians to come together in unity and shower love on someone. Not a bad idea to think about instituting amongst those I know down here. It was truly an example of how the body of Christ functions, and loves others. What a neat ministry. I really wish I had taken a picture of the "Merry Maids." They were so adorable. All of them had on aprons, hair nets, and gloves. Too cute!

Visiting the Heumiers (Oct7th)

On Sunday afternoon, we took a drive out to Belgrade to visit some long time friends of the family, Corey & Patti Heumeier and their family. Earlier that week, mom had gotten out a picture of how I remember the family. Quinn was around 3 years old, and Elliot was just a baby. Yes, Adam & Dawnya came along before we moved to Texas, but we spent most of our time with them when the oldest two were younger. Now, both Quinn & Elliot are graduated from high school, and working. Elliot is attending Bible College. They were so much fun to watch with John, especially Corey. He got giddy when holding him! It was fun to catch up. They were all really bummed that Chris didn't come. They really wanted to meet him. Hopefully over Christmas we will have an opportunity.

Four Generations

While we were up in Montana we had to take some "four generations" pictures. Here are some of those. We also had to get some pictures with Great Grandma! She was so much fun to watch. I even told her, "Grandma, it's so much fun to watch you with John. I've never seen you with little ones before." Too which she replied, "I was there with you." Thanks Grams!! :o)
We also happened to capture some pictures of him "talking" and moving his hands. Isn't he cute in his Pooh Bear outfit! Thanks Mrs. Salisbury!

1st Snow (October 6th/7th)

So after the party Thursday night, the weather got mighty cold, and in the morning we woke up to snow. It had already snowed some as there was a good inch on the ground, and it was still snowing. Murphy's Law! 1.) It was Montana State University's homecoming and 2.) We were traveling that day. Since all my family from Helena decided to go out of town for the weekend, except for my Aunt Anna Marie, we decided to meet her and her kids in Townsend (halfway-thankfully we had no mountain passes to traverse!) We were to meet her at 12, so of course, my dad decided we needed to be out the door to eat breakfast at 8. Mom & I had to get some pictures of John in his first snow before we went. He didn't like it. Not sure if it was the wind blowing in his face, causing him to lose his breath, or the cold drops falling on his face! Unfortunately the pictures turned out a bit blurry. Probably cuz we took them when snow was actually falling!! :o)
The time visiting with my aunt and her two boys was great, albeit too short. It has been since my junior year in High School since I've seen her. Ian was only a few months old, (now he's 12) and I had never met Michael their second son. They were such sweet boys, and both were excited to hold John & to give him their gift. John loved the giggling turtle, and cried at the Precious Moment Bear that prayed. My aunt told him he had to learn to like prayer!!
The next day after church we had to get some pictures "sitting" in the snow.
Here are a few pictures from that weekend:

Come Meet John Party (Oct 4)

The first couple of days after we arrived in Montana, we spent mostly resting. We did make it up to MSU to check out the bookstore and did a little shopping around town on Wednesday. I think John needed to acclamate to the Montana altitude, b/c he spent the majority of the first 3 days sleeping. Thankfully, by day four he was back to normal. It was a good thing, b/c the ladies of the church threw a get together, so friends who knew me, could come meet John, and catch up with me. It was so precious. We were very blessed. Here are some pictures of that night. The ladies loved getting their hands on him, and John stayed awake and was fairly unfussy the whole two hours!!! The best part of the night, was watching my former elementary school teacher, Mrs. Kauffman with him. She happened to get him when he had a bubble, so she laid him over her lap, and patted him on his bottom. He promptly began sucking on her hand.














I also had to include some pictures from the first three days. John enjoyed helping his grandma sew his diapers, playing on great-grandma's lap, and talking to grandma & grandpa!!
Sorry about the out of order posting. I really wanted to get the autumn pictures up today (October 10), but still have some pictures needing to be posted, so the next few posts will have happened before the Autumn Fun post.

Some Autumn Fun

So, today we decided to dress John up, and go out and take pictures in the leaves. Also included are some other pictures of him, all dressed up.