Nine Months

Last Thursday you were 9 months old. Today we went to the doctor for your 9 month well visit and here are your new stats: Weight- 21 lbs 1 oz (50th percentile), Height- 29 inches (75th percentile) You are growing well!

The drops that Dr. Byars gave us last week haven't gotten rid of the infection so we are back on antibiotics and more drops. We have the next three months to wean you from the bottle and we need to start giving you more table food. Overall the visit was good. You didn't get any shots today because you had a fever last night so we will go back in a couple of weeks.

Developmentally you are right on track (except of course for babbling). On Sunday you discovered the stairs for the first time and you had no trouble figuring out how to climb up them. I guess we need to put a gate up now, but it's fun to watch you do new things.

You are in transition from 9 month clothes to 12 month clothes. And with the weather changing we've pulled out some of your new spring clothes. Your clothes no longer look like baby clothes. With T-shirts and shorts and sandals you look like a toddler and not at all like a baby. I can't believe that in 3 short months you will be 1 year old!
Jackson and Mommy in matching clothes!

Mommy Called the Doctor and the Doctor Said...

I am sad to say that you are sick again. Yesterday afternoon you became very irritable and I noticed some draining from your right ear. You had a hard time sleeping and then this morning when you woke up your eyes were red and puffy and gunky. I called the doctor as soon as they opened and they were able to see you at 8:00 this morning. I am very thankful for how easy it is to make appointments with Dr. Byars. By the time we got to the doctor I noticed that your left ear was draining as well. So the verdict is...a nasty infection that has gone to both ears as well as causing you to have pink eye in both eyes. So now we have ear drops and eye drops and you absolutely hate both! Jackson, I am so sorry that you keep getting sick. The doctor assured me that I am not doing anything wrong but you just seem to be more prone to sickness. I was thankful for this assurance because I do start to wonder. It breaks my heart to see you feeling so miserable. I am praying again for a quick recovery and asking God to show me what he wants to teach me through all of this. He reminds me that all things work for good and I know that He will be glorified through this time in your life.

So yesterday, before everything went downhill, you were walking around the room with your walker and you stopped in front of me and started waving and "talking" to me. It wasn't just a wave of the hand but more like a whole arm wave. You did this a few times and then we had so much fun waving back and forth at each other. You would take a few steps and then look back at me, and I would wave at you and then you would wave at me. It was so fun. I am pretty sure that these were meaningful waves and not just "I'm throwing my arms up" waves, which is pretty exciting. So all day long Daddy and I went around saying "hi" and waving our arms at you!

This picture was taken a couple of days ago. This is Daddy's idea of helping me with the laundry...throw the baby in the basket and take some pictures. But aren't you cute!!!

SNOW!

Yea!!! Snow!!! It snowed today more than it has snowed in a really long time. Each year there is always that one time where the weatherman calls for snow and it either never shows up or doesn't stick. But this time was different. It snowed starting in the very early hours this morning and lasted until about 11:30. You aren't old enough to really enjoy it but Daddy and I had a lot of fun taking pictures and Daddy even made a tiny snowman for you. We did sneak you outside for a couple of quick pictures but went quickly back into the house...snow is cold!

New Toy

You got this new toy that let's you walk around the room and you love it! You are not one to sit on the floor and play with your toys for any extended amount of time. You prefer to be on the move! Our house is on the small side but you don't seem to mind going from the kitchen to the living room and back to the kitchen again. As long as you are walking you are smiling! Here is a picture of you with your new toy...

"That's A No-No"

You are such a smart boy! It is fun to watch you learn about your world and you are starting to show an understanding that language and words have meaning. We have entered into the world of discipline. Now life gets interesting! Now that you are so mobile you are into anything and everything that you can get your hands on. We have baby-proofed the house but there are still some things that you try to get into that you shouldn't. Daddy and I have decided to use the phrase, "that's a no-no", and you are catching on quick. We could say "no-no" all day long but we try to only use this phrase if you attempt something that is dangerous or harmful or very important. For example: You are not satisfied to pull up or cruise around the same things day after day. You want something new! So when you attempted to pull up on the brick fire place we told you "that's a no-no". At first we had to tell you several times and redirect you to play with something appropriate. But like I said you have caught on fast and now most of the time all I have to say is, "Jackson" in my serious tone and you stop and move on to something else. We are trying to be consistent and pick the most important things to correct. We also praise you when you make a good choice (like obeying "no") and you really like that.
This is a picture we took to celebrate PawPaw's birthday (Kevin's dad). You pulled up on your big basket and are standing up and balancing with only one hand. A couple of different times you have found your balance and stood up without holding on to anything, but it was only for half a second.

Also, a few days ago your two top teeth cut through the gums. It definitely wasn't as bad as when the bottom two cut through but you had some discomfort. The two on the top seemed to cut through at the same time while the two on the bottom cut through one at a time. Anyway, now you have four teeth!

Tubes

Your bilateral tubes are officially in place. Yesterday I wasn't so sure that it was going to happen because you started running a fever and you can't have surgery with a fever. Yesterday morning you had a temp of 100.2 and by the afternoon it had gone down some and by the evening it was back to normal. I talked to a nurse who told me that we would still go along as planned for the surgery but if you had a temperature this morning that we could not do the surgery. I prayed all night and all morning that your temp would be normal so that we could go ahead with the surgery. We arrived at Children's Hospital at 6:15 this morning. You were called back after waiting less than 5 minutes. All of your vitals were taken including your temp which was 99.3. The nurse told me that 99.3 was not considered a fever and we could go ahead as planned. Thank you Lord for that answer to prayer! By 6:50 we were all prepped and you were taken back by the nurse. By 7:00 Dr. Woolley was in our room to inform us that the surgery was over and that you had done great! By 7:10 you were back in my arms. WOW! It was definitely quick and easy. You did so great. You didn't cry when you were taken back and you weren't crying when you were brought back. You were a little fussy and cranky and tired but you did great and I was so proud of you! We were home by 7:45 and you were back asleep by 8:00. You are still asleep and I am guessing that you will sleep most of the day. We are not expecting instant results as you currently have your 5th ear infection. But as the antibiotics and ear drops start to take affect I am hoping to have a happier, healthier boy with lots of babbling! :)

New Trick

You have learned a new trick! Yesterday you were pulling up all over the place just like you always do, but this time you gradually lowered yourself back down and sat down on the floor. You did this over and over again like you were showing off your new trick. Before now you have either just been stuck standing up or you fall over and land on your back, but now you can get up and down very easily! Every day you get better and better at crawling and at pulling up and cruising.

Update: Your surgery to get tubes has been moved up to this coming Wednesday, February 18. We are praying everything goes smoothly and you will not have any more pain caused by your ears.

The ENT

This morning we saw the ENT. Dr. Woolley is very highly recommended and from what I am told he is the "best of the best." I was told that I should trust whatever he recommends because he knows ears better than anyone. I actually already knew this about him because I spent a little bit of time with him during my internship at Children's Hospital. I heard others at the hospital speak highly of him and I was actually able to observe one of his surgeries during my time there. I feel fairly familiar with him and very confident in him. He did recommend that you get tubes and you are scheduled for March 4.

Without going into detail, I did not enjoy my internship at Children's Hospital. During the 5 months that I was there I often wondered why God had put me there and why it had turned out to be so miserable. I know that God always has a plan and since my internship God has shown me two different reasons why he had me there. And now, three years later, I am still seeing God work through that internship as he is showing me reason number three. Once again I find myself thankful for the experience and the time that I spent there. I know for a fact that without having the Children's Hospital background, without seeing the behind the scenes, and without knowing a little more about Dr. Woolley than the average person I would be much more anxious about this surgery. God has faithfully given me a peace and a reminder that once again you are in his hands...and who knew that three years ago God was preparing me for this moment. God is good.

Eight Months

Last Thursday you were officially eight months old. You are such a big boy! You are crawling everywhere and your new favorite thing to do is walk. No you aren't walking on your own but you love to hold on to daddy's or my hands and walk around the house. You are also getting good at cruising around by yourself using the furniture for support. Daddy is predicting that you will be an early walker. I guess we will have to wait and see...

This past weekend you started babbling again. It's been almost a month since I have heard any real babble from you. It is so sweet! You mostly just say 'dadada' but this weekend we heard a few m's, n's, d's, and g's. You really haven't babbled in the past month because of all your ear infections. I am taking you to an ENT tomorrow and hopefully we can get some answers and some help!

Below is a picture of you at eight months....standing up like a pro!

Number 4

You currently have ear infection #4. I have been told by your pediatrician that it's time to set up an appointment with an ENT to see what we need to do next. I have a feeling that you will be getting tubes sometime soon. I can't believe that you have had 4 ear infections in less than three months.

On a happier note, you are officially crawling. This evening you got up on your hands and knees and you took 3-4 "crawls" before flopping on your tummy. Maybe tomorrow you will crawl even further...