Half a year!

Oz turned half a year last Saturday! He's almost totally sitting up by himself. He just needs a little help when he topples over. He's also getting one leg under himself and into crawl position! Looks like baby gates on the stairs are soon to be in order!

Aww man!

I'm sick again! I went to the doc this morning, I don't think I have an infection and neither did the doc. Although I do have fluid in both my ears, because I'm not running a fever and my mucus is clear I would agree with her on the no infection. I am right on the edge though that if I don't get this cleared up it will become one.

That's the poopy part - I took all the drugs she gave me and I still can't breath through my nose. Also the Afrin she just gave me a horrid headache instead of clearing my passages. Hopefully the Afrin will work eventually, at least this is better than when I lived with my parents - they both smoked at the time and I would get sinusitus each and every time. If it turns into an infection we will take care of it, it just sucks right now....

And I feel poopy!

The anal retentive unprepared?

Sadly, after a long discussion the other night the answer to that is yes. We are moving forward planning, arranging and doing what we need to for the upcoming deployment. We've always, always had plans A-D and maybe one or two more. Its totally anal of us and Cole loves to rib me on it but that's how we get things done.

So for the previous deployment we set up wills, living wills, insurance, IRAs all that to go where it should. Everything else was set up and ready to go and I went about my business Patiently Waiting. We updated the wills now that Oz is here and asked my brother to become his guardian should we both not be here and he needs a parent. We truly thought we were prepared. But what we didn't think about is what happens if he's deployed and something happens to me - that was a rude awakening.

Without a few power of attorneys Oz would end up in foster care. Yeah in foster care. There's a POA called a Springing POA that would all Oz to stay with a trusted neighbor of our choice until his guardian can come and get him if I become incapacitated. Without it, the boy goes into foster care. Who knows how in the hell that will work with trying to get him out of it and into the care of my brother. I truly think that if Oz was at Barb's she'd call my neighbor who's on my list as a local emergency anyways first and not just hand him off to social services - but still I don't want him in foster care.

The second thing we need is a Guardian POA. Again we had that covered should be both be gone but not during a deployment. Without it Oz can't go with anyone else short of his father and again would be placed in foster care until my or his family could petition the court.

Lastly we need the Medical POA. This will allow Crazy Uncle to seek out medical care and have Tricare pay for it instead of him shelling it out himself.

We also realized that we needed to move all of the insurance documents into the fire proof box and get a bigger one. The fire proof box key needs to go to Crazy Uncle as well as its location so he can find it. We also put in the box the card to our current Financial Advisor so they can call him in the event that they need to clear things up for the estate. I would hate for crap to sit in probate or limbo because Crazy Uncle doesn't know where our stuff is that is supposed to be going to Oz.

So we weren't totally prepared and the thought of foster care made me nearly pee my pants. We have a small list of things that we need to fix to include those POAs before the hubby goes. I don't want to leave Oz in a bad place meaning stuck somewhere because we didn't think of filling out paperwork.

Definately not Californian

My house that is. We love our home, the layout, the location and the neighborhood. We saw some really weird assed layouts while looking. In fact the oddest one was where you walk into the pantry and to your right was a toilet. Yep, a toilet open in the pantry with the shelves of food to the left. What was worse was that there was a window above the toilet. So whomever was walking in the backyard could look in while a guy stood to pee. Oh lets not forget that there's a toilet next to the open food shelves! BARF!

Anyways, one thing we noticed about this house is that it definitely wouldn't pass CA code. There are no low flow shower heads or toilets. There is a giant garden tub which requires an 80 gallon water heater and I think they used the minimum insulation required in this state. With winter here we just started to notice these things. Maybe we should have thought about the water heater when we were looking but we didn't. We just liked the layout so much and the fact that the neighborhood was complete so no more construction noise, dust and dirt.

I like my garden tub so to be more efficient we went looking for an 80 gallon WH blanket. Lowes & Home Depot only carry a 60, so we had to google until we found one. We also wrapped the pipes leading into the home for the least amount of heat loss.

I also noticed that any electrical outlet that is on an exterior wall has cold air coming in it. That's mostly because they went light on the insulation. That's a home repair that I will do when the man deploys. Its pretty easy, just go to Lowes and in the electrical section there are these little foamy, rubbery things that go under the face plate over the box to stop the draft from coming in. I think I have about 20 of them and a few light switches too.

Oh and there's nothing like having a hairy, fluffy dog to help you figure out where the drafts are in your home - the front door, the sliding glass door & the vent less fireplace. Since she's usually warm she sleeps in front of the drafts to keep cool. I am going to wait until summer when my parents come out for Oz's first birthday but my Dad's going to help me pull the front door off the hinges and replace the weather stripping at the base of the door. He's also going to help me pull the molding off of the sliding glass door, squirt in that foam insulation stuff and replace the molding. From feeling around, apparently we also need to do that for the garden tub. Its over the garage (our bathroom) so I assume with all that open space of the garage the garden tub seems to let a little draft in too. The only place I am not sure how to fix is the vent less fireplace. I wouldn't want to squirt the foam insulation and have the crap catch on fire later. Any suggestions on that fix would be good.

I am also going to paint, one room a month. Sounds silly but with a little one on the verge of being mobile that's about right. I need to paint this place with a washable paint. The kitchen and master bath I plan on painting a sage colour, our bedroom the pale blue we used in Leavenworth and the rest of the place the neutral sand colour. The bathrooms really need the paint soon to keep away the mold and mildew that can grow on a flat paint. So once I pick the paint, I will start the bathrooms first.

Here's a hint, when you buy upgrades in a new home, get better padding not carpet, upgrade to a washable paint and if they offer a heavier insulation go for it! Other than that, just enjoy the home, we love ours just need to make it a little more Californian. (And how many people thought CA was just weird? Their homes are much more efficient than TN.)

Thanks

Thank you all for the insight, comments and ideas. I know the spit up will be around for a while, but when Oz first started, not only did the pain go away (he quit arching his back and screaming about 10 minutes into feedings) but the projectile vomiting stopped too. It could just be a fluke that the projectile vomiting stop but I think the meds may have helped a bit too.

I've been told by a friend that for months 5-7 the spit ups get worse then improve (unless there's a long term issue). We are back on solids here a bit and that does seem to be helping with the spit up. Although the spit up now sometimes contains orage colouing thanks to the sweet potatoes, carrots & squash. *giggle*

Yes we are minions to the evil BLUE clinic. I tried to make Oz's 6 month well baby and since I refuse to use the well baby clinic after me wanting to nail the doc's foot to the floor so I could ask her my questions (she was running late or in a hurry or whatever) I am on the wait list for the blue clinic. I asked why I couldn't go to another clinic for it and was gentlely and teasingly told "oh the good old days." I don't think the appt clerk was thrilled either - no sense in beating her up since it wasn't her doing.

I'm working to get an off post doc. I found one, unfortunately she's not board certified though. She's been praciticing for 20 years and was recommended by the cmdr's wife (she takes her kids there). Her dad was an interist in the area for many years and he recommended this Peds Doc. Right now she's full, but I will keep checking in about twice a month. I will also do a quick interview and find out why she's not board certified. Again my friend (the puke gets worse then better one) mentioned that there could be various reasons for not being board certifiied that have nothing to do with the thought that she can't be certified for doing something seriously naughty.

Anyways, Oz's face is much better and his body spots are just about gone. I figured out that I can use Aquaphor, just not on his face. It seems to irritate his face. I just use the Aveeno on his face instead and the Aquaphor everywhere else. His is a little bumpy still, but his legs and arms are just about completely cleared up. Wooohoo!

Milestone & BLACKMAIL

He's been trying to sit up on his own since the 30th. We keep practicing and practicing! He just hasn't quite figured out that his arms are still holding him up so when he tries to grab something he falls over. *giggle*









Flying Nun anyone?

Just a little blackmail. And a little something to show ya'll that after a few days of extra, extra moisturizing his face is looking great! He still has it on the back of his leg and his elbows. I'll ask the Peds doc on Tuesday what to use.

Oh and we will probably go and get some cetaphil. Thanks for the advice!

Sigh

Here's my ICE complaint -

My 5 month old son had an appt with Dr M at the Blue Clinic on 4Jan08. I wanted to speak to someone about adjusting the dosage of my son’s Zantac because his spitup has increased significantly to include several instances of projectile vomiting. Apparently Dr M doesn’t believe in giving a child Zantac and told me to switch his formula to something like Neutraginamin. I attempted to explain that without the Zantac my child stops eating mid-feed, arches his back and cries out in pain. Dr M just continued telling me about changing the formula for my son. He had no intention of listening to anything I had to say. There are several books and articles that ALL state that if the child shows signs of pain while eating such as arching the back, stopping eating and crying out then medical treatment is necessary. It has also been mentioned that not all babies with reflux that need medical intervention fail to gain weight. Often they continue to feed and over feed because the formula acts as a buffer keeping the stomach acid away from the windpipe.

I calmly told him I wasn’t going to switch formulas, his formula is just fine. At that point he asked if I wanted to see someone else. I again tried to explain that he is in pain, cries, arches his back and stops eating without the meds and he told me I needed to make an appt with the Peds doctor for the Blue Clinic and started to walk out. He then called down the hall to the nurse and said “I can’t help them can you make an appointment with Dr K.” I still needed assistance even if we didn’t agree on how to treat reflux on the rash that’s covering 40% of my son’s body. My son wasn’t even seen for that and the man left me standing in the hall with my son in a diaper and a blanket. I felt his manner was very unprofessional. I may not agree with how my clients want to do things, but I don’t walk out on them and don’t even see if there’s something else that needs to be done that day. I’m also capable of listening to my clients and hearing what they have to say. I am insulted that he had no intention of even hearing me out. I did my research on reflux and my son has been doing quite well on his meds until recently which is why I came in asking for a review of his dosage. But apparently since I did not attend medical school I am incapable of being informed or having valid information about a medical condition.

Weather or Allergy?

Check out these photos (clickable links)


This was on the 30th, he looked normal with only a few speckles from him constantly rubbing his bib on his face. (he likes to do that, he's playing peekaboo I think)












He's a big ball of eczema - oh joy! Or something - suggestions are welcome

His clothes are washed in Dreft, no dryer sheets since birth.

Since he was a month old we used Aveeno Baby Creamy Wash for dry skin & eczema. As well as Aveeno Creamy lotion for dry skin & eczema.

For a month he's had rice cereal with no reaction.

For about two weeks he's had sweet potatoes with no reaction.

About 5-7 days ago we started squash with no apparent reaction.

About 3 days ago we started carrots.

Monday the spot behind his knee was red again and he had the spots on his arms.

Wednesday night he had spots on his face, forehead, arms, chest and behind both knees. Wednesday night we tried Aveeno Creamy on his chest, Aquaphor butt ointment on his arms & cheeks and the calendula on the backs of his knees. I skipped the Eucerin to try and start cutting out "new" things.

And the photos are from today. We keep his nails pretty trimmed, but I went ahead and clipped them as tight as I could tonight after dinner when he "passed" out. We also gave him an oatmeal bath in luke warm water, patted him dry and slathered him in the lotion we know doesn't cause a reaction - the Aveeno. We also did not feed him any solid food tonight either. He's been out of daycare since the 20th - he's just been with DH during the day. Oh and we dressed him in cotton pants and onsie today and changed him to a cotton sleeper tonight. We also are running a humidifier from 6pm until I go to bed at 9:30 (dont forget we shut his door mostly to keep noise down so we wont run it all night)

We hit the doc tomorrow, hopefully along with the bath and such we can get this fixed.

I will try solids again later, poor guy he wants a frickin' burrito the way he looks at the food we eat and the food in his bowl when we get ready to feed him. He's gonna be mad about not getting any for a week.