I'm a big boy now

It's amazing how much Gray is changing.  It seems like there's something new almost everyday. For the past few weeks he's been "scooting" backwards. Not exactly what he's trying to do and he tends to get a little frustrated when he's trying to get to something in front of him and his body takes him backwards, but he's definitely making progress. 

For awhile now he's also been able to put his pacifier back in his mouth when he wants it...sometimes he still has some difficulties when he's got it backwards and can't figure out quite why it's not working right, but he can usually figure it out.

Oh, Pacifier... 29 May 2010

He's also on the verge of sitting up on his own and can often sit on his own for several moments before the inevitable sideways topple over.  We've been practicing with him, hoping that that will help him.

Sitting up 29 May 2010

Another big step is that for the first time Grayson drank diluted apple juice AND he drank it from a sippy cup. I'm not sure what he liked more the apple juice or the sippy cup, but they were both a big hit with him.

Gray's first apple juice and his first use of the sippy cup 30 May 2010

We have also graduated from having to take the carseat into stores whenever we run errands.  Gray can now sit in the cart like a big boy. It's hard to believe, but he's really enjoying all his new accomplishments and I'm really enjoying watching him achieve them as well.

Shopping with Mama 30 May 2010

Change I can believe in...

That's what I've been needing...and now, hopefully I've got it...no, not in a Presidential candidate, but in Grayson's pediatrician.  Gray has been sick for 5 weeks and has been getting progressively worse with new symptoms appearing each week. We've taken him back to his pediatrician 5 or 6 times and like with the reflux, she always says, "There's nothing we can do...we've just got to wait it out."

For anyone who knows me, they should know that this isn't a satisfactory option for me. In terms of Grayson's reflux, I wasn't about to just let him be in pain for the 6 to 9 months it would take for him to "grow out of it" which is why I made the appointment with the Pediatric GI Specialist who has been wonderful and very helpful and had Gray feeling better in a few days.

Well, after 5 weeks of being sick and in and out of the doctor's office and out of daycare for extended periods due to his fevers I was getting more than a little frusrtated with the doctor's refusal to do anything.  The newest symptom was a terrible cough that many times resulted in him choking on the phlegm in his throat.  We took him back to the Pediatrician on Monday the 24th at which time we were told his ears were clear, his chest was clear, and his throat was clear.  It's just a cold and we'll have to wait it out.

On Tuesday I picked Gray up from daycare after work and we drove home.  By the time we got home, Gray had a red swollen spot under his eye and his forearm looked as though he had some terrible spider bite with several smaller bites around it.  His entire forearm was swollen and red and he was breathing really fast.  I talked to Wil and we decided to take him to the Urgent Care near our house.  As we waited at Urgent Care (which isn't very "urgent" by the way), these "bites" started spreading across both arms, his legs, his back, chest, head, and face.

The pictures really don't do it justice to see what it looked like, but these are the first "hives" to show up.

The doctor at Urgent Care looked at Gray and after some tests determined that he had strep throat, an ear infection, bronchitis, and either Scarlet Fever or an allergic reaction to something (possibly the amoxicillin that the Pediatrician had given him 2 weeks prior). Needless to say, I was more than angry at this point and couldn't help but wonder if Gray wouldn't have gotten as sick as he did, if the Pediatrician had done something early on. 

I had already decided on Monday after his appointment that I no longer had confidence in the Pediatrician and we would need to change doctors, but after this experience and turn of events, this became an urgent change to make. Wil stayed home with Gray Wednesday to Friday and took him back to the Pediatrician for a follow-up appointment on that Wednesday.  I found the "CYA" attitude of her's to be a little annoying.  She apparently made comments to Wil that she wouldn't have put Gray on the meds that the Urgent Care doctor did or she would've used a different dose.  It was probably a good thing I wasn't there because I would've pointed out that no she wouldn't...she had an opportunity for 5 weeks and she did nothing. 

I requested a copy of Gray's file (to which they gave me grief about...not smart) and a referral to a Pediatric Allergist.  If he is allergic to something, I want to know what, so that we can avoid it.

Fortunately, I was able to walk his file over to another Pediatrician and we have a follow-up appointment and his 6 month check-up and vaccines (if he's well) with that new doctor on Wednesday.  Which ultimately means that on Tuesday, I need to change his primary care physician with the insurance and cancel his appointment with his old pediatrician. 

I am hopeful that this will be a much better option for us and that this will be change (and a doctor) that we can believe in!

Grayson 6 Month Photos

If it's possible, I think Grayson may get cuter each month...or at least a lot more animated...and he is smiling and giggling like crazy now. He's also almost sitting up on his own and he's crawling (really scooting) backwards...not forwards, much to his frustration, but backwards. It's been quite entertaining to watch.

This month has also been his first long term illness and we still don't know what it is. In February, he got a little cold...but he's been sick on and off for over 4 weeks now. He's been to the doctor 4 or more times during that time and we have yet to figure out what's wrong or cure him. He gets better and then all of a sudden something new pops up.  Now, it's a cough...so it looks as though we'll be trying to find a time to go back to the dr on Monday or Tuesday.

During this period of illness, Gray has also had his first real fevers.  He had a minor one in February, but this time we ended up keeping him out of daycare for over a week...Ok...a week of it was our choice and then the following week, daycare called for us to pick him up and he was out for another 2 days. As most are probably not surprised to hear, this illness has also interrupted his sleep.  That lasted for about 2 weeks, but he's now sleeping pretty well despite the nasty cough he seems to have.  But even with this illness, Gray has remained his happy-go-lucky self, as you can see from his 6 month pictures that we had taken on May 22nd.

It's a Monkey Fish

Ok, so not really...but we did sign Gray up for his first swim class. Unfortuately, he's been ill so much lately that we had to end up dropping out of the class for now, but will definitely sign back up for the next class once he's feeling better.  It was a cold day and he was sick, but he was a trooper.

Gray can't wait to get into that big bathtub and play...

"Dad, this is colder than the bathtub at home."

When we knew he wasn't feeling up to it...

Mother's Day 2010

Mother's Day was definitely different this year.  This year I had this adorable little guy to spend it with and that made it so wonderful.  Of course, there is also pain associated with such holidays.  On Saturday, Gray and I went up to visit Bailey and we sat there and played in the grass for probably an hour or so until it started to sprinkle.  Then I took Gray home and I went shopping at the Outlet Mall.

On Sunday, Wil took me to a new restaurant that we hadn't been to called Firebirds. It was lovely. And as always, spending time with my 2 favorite guys makes it a great day!

Lovin' Spoonful

It's hard to believe that Gray is ready to start introducing food, but we got the go ahead from the Pediatric GI Specialist when Gray had his 2nd appt. How can it be? My little monkey is trying to crawl, he talks up a storm (although we can't quite understand him), and now he's eating food!?! How does this all happen so fast?

The doctor gave instructions that we were supposed to start him on orange vegetables and then move to green vegetables, etc. And we're supposed to give a few days between trying anything new to ensure that there are no issues with anything. We started with carrots and thought that he might be allergic as he started to get a little sick at daycare on Monday.  We took him to the doctor on Tuesday and they agreed that it wasn't a food allergy, but a cold (not sure I'm buying the cold thing...I actually think it might be an allergic reaction to the increased pollen that we've had recently, but the doctor doesn't believe that infants can have allergic reactions until they're 18 months or something).

Once we ruled out the allergies, we put him back on the carrots twice a day and as the week progressed, he got better about eating more.  Over this weekend, we added in sweet potatoes.  I think he may like the sweet potatoes better than the carrots...actually, I think he likes the spoon better than either of the foods.  The next food we'll try in a couple of days is squash and then I guess we'll move on to the green veggies. So, exciting and sad...all at the same time.  My little baby is growing up.