Baby's first surgery

Little Nathan had his 1st surgery today. The surgery was quick as promised by his Dr. I went back with him to watch/comfort him when he went under anesthesia. Wow, that was hard. He was a champ as always, but I wish I could say the same for me! I tried to hold it together, but tears were flowing as his sweet eyes closed and he went "under." He was very brave, and very cute even as they put the mask on him. He pointed to his blood pressure cuff and said "owie" (what a faker!). The docs and nurses got a kick out of him for sure. I looked back at him on the bed in the OR as I walked out - yeah, shouldn't have done that! He looked so very little in that big OR with the large lights and long bed. Phew.

They came to get us in just 10 minutes or so. His Dr talked to us before he went in about potentially taking out his adenoids along with the ear tubes. We gave permission for him to check them and "make the call" if they needed to come out. That would have added about 20 minutes to the surgery, and he opted not to take them out as they were not large and seem fine for now. He had just woken up and was crying when we went back. I guess that babies get very confused and are often inconsolable when coming out of anesthesia as they don't understand the groggy feeling. He was also starving (no food/drink all morning). He drank some water and sucked down an applesauce pack. Thanks to the post-op nurse, he even had some chocolate pudding.

Dr. Dickey (ENT) came into recovery to see us. He said the surgery went great and that there was A LOT of fluid in his ears. Some that looked like it had been there for months. The ear tubes will allow us to get antibiotic drops right to the source and hopefully get him cleared up for good. The Dr hopes for lots of drainage of the nasty fluid over the next two weeks. Yuck, but we'll be happy to see that stuff get out of his little head! Although he was pretty much inconsolable throughout the time in the recovery room, he did pause for a sniffly bye-bye to the nurses. So cute.

Our brave boy took a snooze in the car, so Chuck and I drove around for awhile to give him a good nap. He woke up pretty happy and very hungry! He ate a huge banana, some cereal, and a bowl of oatmeal. He was feeling great, so I took him to lunch with Kari and Anderson - where he ate abour 1/4 of a corn dog and a bunch of cantaloupe. He is taking a good nap now, so I think we are already back to normal around here. Amazing.

18 month appointment

It is so hard to believe that our little baby has turned into this little person. He charms everyone at his pediatrician's office, especially Dr. Sunit. :) He had a great checkup and is doing all the right things. He is ahead a bit on many milestones.

His stats:
Height: 33" - 75%ile
Head: 48.7 cm - 75%ile
Weight: 29 lb 9.6 oz - > 90%ile (he's been toggling around 30, sometimes above, for the past month)

We are keeping him rear facing in the car until he is 2, per the revised AAP guidelines. We can legally flip him now, but we're sticking to the guidelines for now. The best news is that he is really done with shots for awhile outside of his flu shot this Fall (and annually) and his last Hep. Yeah!

Nate hearts DIRT

Nathan had a great time camping. He loves rocks. He LOVES dirt...

He had a wonderful time getting very, very dirty. We washed him down in the sink of the camper nightly to get the top layers off. Small sink. Big baby.

Our campsite was in Moraine Park in the Rocky Mountain National Park, with an unobstructed view of Longs Peak. Pretty awesome. Minus a microburst that nearly resulted in the awning coming off the camper (thank you to our neighbors at the campsite!), the weather was perfect. It was warm during the day and cool at night.

Nathan also went for a hike with the Spencers and me. Matt carried him about 2 miles on a hike up to Alberta Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park. Talon (their 2.5 year old boy) made the whole hike on his own (since N was in his backpack!).


Taking a rambunctious 18 month old camping without Daddy made for some exhaustion for me, but luckily I had a lot of help from Mimi, Popi, Natanee, and Matt. Chuck was off with Uncle Kirby doing fireworks in Mammoth. We missed him (and Nathan asked for him several times...even a very cute "Out. Please. Up. Dada. Dada" first thing in the morning from the Pack-n-play.

Discipline is continuing to be a challange for us. Speaking stearnly and putting Nate in the Naughty spot (time out) is not effective. In fact, Nathan smiles at the stern tone and laughs on the way to the spot. Hmmm. So, we're trying other methods. Right now I'm working to show no reaction to the negative behaviors (primarily throwing and hitting) and giving positive feedback to the desired behavior. When he hits, I go into another room and tell him I don't want to play when he hits. This has already backfired a bit as he then threw his water bottle (mom: no reaction) and then picked it up and placed it down nicely (mom: Yahoo! [clapping and smiles]). Repeat. Kind of like the hit mommy and then putting himself into the naughty spot. This kid really understands cause and affect. I keep telling myself that all of this is a phase and is totally normal. Slow, calming breaths....

Nate has his 18 month appointment tomorrow. Stats to follow.