Children's Hospital Visit

I was able to get an appointment for Jackson's bump with a cranial facial plastic surgeon at Children's today, so Corey and I took him in this morning.  It was our second trip there -- his first back in June for his hip ultrasound to ensure he didn't have a dislocated hip. 

Our appointment was right around naptime, and J didn't sleep in the car on the way there, so it was great that both Corey and I were there so that we could both try to keep him happy, play with him and feed him snacks.  We were taken into the exam room right at 9:15, our scheduled appointment time; however, our doctor got pulled into a 'complex clinical issue' and was delayed in coming to see us.  So, in the hour we waited for him, we continued to keep J entertained and then he finally took a quick catnap in my arms.

The good news is that the doctor confirmed that the bump on his head was a dermoid cyst and said that its location is the most common.  This typically makes for a quick and easy outpatient surgery (they always remove them, otherwise they will continue to grow).  The first thing they need to do is a CT scan, which we'll be scheduling soon, to better understand the size of the cyst and how deep it is --- his is a little higher than they typically are, which could mean it goes down a little deeper.  The scan will require a fast acting/short lasting anesthesia.  After his CT scan, we'll meet with the doctor to review the scans and then schedule an appointment for the surgery, which will require general anesthesia, though we should be able to take him home that day.

All of this should be done by or around his first birthday.  And the doc thinks that with how regenerative the skin and tissue around the eye is, J shouldn't even have much of a scar a year or so down the road.

So, while we're bummed that he'll need surgery and anesthesia, we are so glad that it's simply a cyst and we hope that he'll be good as new before we know it!

Sleepy Heads

Prior to this week, we were a family of sleepy heads.  In a recent post, I mentioned the sleep issues Jackson began experiencing the day he started really crawling (December 23) and this left us all exhausted.  The first week was likely due to him trying to get rid of the flu bug (think lots and lots of blowouts that went through his pj's, sleep sack and sheets - fun!).  But by the time he went back to daycare after the New Year, there was no sign of the flu bug, but the sleep issues were still in full effect.

From everything I read online, it sounds like when babies hit large developmental milestones (i.e. sitting, crawling, walking), they can start waking up and night working on their new skill.  We were finding that unless we rocked Jackson a few minutes longer than normal, until he nearly asleep, he would immediately sit or stand up in his crib and wouldn't lay back down on his own to go to sleep.  And this would happen again during the night, between sleep cycles that he previously was able to sleep right through. 

When he'd wake up sitting/standing in the middle of the night, we'd try to run into his room right away to avoid him waking up too much; however, he'd already be wide awake and rocking or bouncing him for 1-2 hours became the norm as we tried whatever we could to get him back to sleep, only to have him wake up ready to start the day well before 6 a.m.  It made for some long nights and led to me spending portions of several nights sleeping in the glider with him in my arms (those nights were nights that only I would do and if Corey tried to rock or bounce him, screaming ensued).

Last week, we decided we'd all had enough and could not continue to sleep (or not sleep) like this any longer and resorted to The Sleepeasy Solution, which we'd used a few nights in the past when we'd encountered rough sleep patches.  In a nutshell, it's a method of crying it out, where you do periodic brief check-ins at 5, then 10, then 15 minute intervals when they're crying, until they finally fall asleep.  While the crying is heartbreaking to hear, we knew that having a few rough nights would eventually lead to him learning to lay himself down and put himself back to sleep when waking up at night, meaning him getting the rest he needs.

The first night was rough --- though it only took him 30 minutes to fall asleep after we put him in his crib completely awake, he woke up around 3 a.m. and we did check-ins for over two hours during him crying on and off while sitting in his crib.  It was a long two hours, but he finally flopped over and fell back asleep about 30 minutes before our alarm went off.  That was last Thursday.  Friday and Saturday nights were much better and he went right to sleep without a peep when we put him down.  He woke up once each night but after fussing/crying for a few minutes when waking up and sitting up in the middle of the night, but after a single check-in from us, he put himself back to sleep.  Sunday night was another rough night - he went down completely fine but woke up and was up crying off and on while we did check-ins for a few hours right before we tried to go to bed. 

They say that babies can have a relapse right before they officially kick the sleep issues, so I don't know if it was that, or if his runny nose that he'd had over the weekend was proof that maybe he wasn't feeling 100%.  Since then though, we haven't had to do any check-is and he's gone to sleep with no problem (knock on wood!).  He's woken up each night around 8:30 p.m. and fussed while sitting up for a few minutes but then has laid himself back down and gone back to sleep until between 6 and 6:30 a.m. or later most days.

So, fingers crossed that he continues on this good sleep stretch for a long time, so that we can all catch up on our ZZZs.

Piggly Wiggly

Well, the stats are in and we've got a bit of a piggly wiggly on our hands.  I took Jackson to his 9 month check-up today and he continues to tip the scales on all fronts:

• Height: 31" (99th percentile)
• Weight: 23 lbs, 4.5 oz (95th percentile)
• Head: 46.5 cm (90th percentile)

I failed to bring anything but puffs and Mum Mums to entertain Jackson, so waiting for the doc to come into our room was a bit a challenge.  But once J got busy stuffing his face, all was good.

The doc was pleased with his growth and impressed with where J is developmentally.  We got some tips on brushing his teeth, eating solids, helping keep his skin irritation to a minimum around his mouth (it's often red), and were able to have a small bump on his forehead looked at.  (Late last month, J bumped his head and when I was checking his head out, I noticed a bump on the outside of his left eyebrow.  I wasn't sure if that's where he hit his head or if I was just noticing the bump for the first time since I was inspecting that area, but regardless it's still there.)  The doctor wasn't too concerned but is referring us to a facial cranial expert at Children's for further evaluation.  He thinks it's simply a dermoid cyst and that the facial cranial doc will be able to determine if that's what it is for sure and whether anything needs to be done with it.  So, we'll get our appointment at Children's scheduled and provide an update soon.

The best part of the appointment was no shots!  So all in all a great appointment and I'm already looking forward to his next check-up --- the big 1 year check-up! 

A Day in the Life of Baby J - Part 3

Holy cow!  I don't think I've posted a schedule for Jackson since July!  Given that he's six months older now, it seemed like as good a time as any to post his current schedule.

6:30/7 a.m. - Jackson wakes up

7 a.m. - Bottle #1 (9 oz)

8 a.m. - Solid meal #1 (oatmeal w/ fruit or cinnamon)

9/9:30 a.m. - Nap #1 (~1.5 hours)

10:30/11 a.m. - Bottle #2 (9 oz)

12 p.m. - Solid meal #2 (usually a full banana & Cheerios)

2 p.m. - Nap #2 (~1.5 hours)

3:30 p.m. - Bottle #3 (9 oz)

5:30/6 p.m. - Solid meal #3 (veggie or fruit, puffs)

7 p.m. - Bath

7:15 p.m. - Bottle #4 (11 oz), book

7:30 p.m. - Bed

As you can see, his naps are finally consistently longer (sometimes 2+ hours!) which is heaven for us --- we can catch up on chores, or in many cases, sleep!

We're also sort of in the middle of transitioning from five bottles to four, so sometimes, depending on nap length and the time he needs to go down for his next nap, we may do a bottle before his second nap and then one after.  Also - when he's at daycare, he's on a slightly different schedule (bottles typically come before his naps, naps tend to begin a little later and he typically doesn't have solids in the a.m. here as we don't have much time before we all have to leave the house, but he does eat solids twice there).

I'll try to remember to post another schedule in a few months!

I realize this has absolutely nothing to do with his schedule; however, I love this photo as is captures J's great interest in the washing machine. Any time I do laundry, he has to check it out for himself. Perhaps laundy will be one of his first chores?!

9 Months

Jackson is 9 months old today and just wrapped up yet another exciting month.  I swear, every month truly does get more fun as we get to see him learn more and more new things every week.

This month, he:

• Perfected really crawling.  He's so quick, he gives us a run for our money - we're constantly running to block him from things we don't want him to play with (Roxy's toys, Roxy's water dish, hot heater vents, lamp cords, and the list goes on).  He loves to play with anything we don't want him to have.
• Dances (i.e bounces) and sometimes claps along to music.  Doesn't matter if it's coming from a toy or if we're singing, he loves to dance.
• Started clapping when we say 'yay!'. 
• Doesn't wave much but will more often clap when you exit or enter a room if you say 'hi!' or 'bye!' and wave.  Very cute.
• His second tooth popped up right around Christmas, so he has his two middle, bottom chompers now.
• Now pulls himself up on furniture, in his crib and on our legs.
• Started walking along furniture.
• Got his first haircut and looks quite the big boy now.
• Experienced snow for the first time.
• Is easily entertained for fairly long periods of time with stand up toys like his activity walker; however, he screams when we put it in walk mode (vs. stationary mode), even though he loves to walk when holding our hands.
• Loves when I fake cough or sneeze.  And sometimes, when I fake cough, he'll fake cough back.
• Is still not a huge solid food fan, expect for his LOVE of puffs, Mum Mums, Cheerios and bananas.  He tried cheese, tofo and chicken this month, but doesn't seem to like any of these new foods.  He'll eat some veggies, but often it's only if we're sneaking bites in when he's cramming the above mentioned foods in his mouth.  He does like many fruits just not as much as he loves his daily banana.  And oddly enough, he only likes to pick up puffs, Mum Mums and Cheerios.  We have to feed him all other foods.  Must be a texture thing.
• Hit a rough overnight sleep patch.  The day he turned 8 months was the day he started really crawling and since that day, we've gotten a lot less sleep.  While he was sick for one week in there, I think developmental issues caused the  majority of the sleep issues, which have been known to keep him up for several hour blocks in the middle of the night.  We've started some sleep training to try to nip these episodes in the bud since we're both exhausted.  More to come soon.

I can't believe there are only three more months before he's a year old!

No, you're not mistaken - he definitely looks a bit pissed off this month.  It's because he was going on five hours of being awake (3-4 hours is much more his style) since he woke up from his afternoon nap early, and because we wouldn't let him grab everything on the table next to the glider and kept making him sit still instead, which is not nearly as fun.

First Haircut

Today was a big day for baby J - his first haircut!  His bangs have been in his eyes, he had wings over his ears, and people had been mistaking him for a girl more and more (even when wearing all boy colors) - it was time.

Joan told us about the Salon at Kids Club, which is at the U Village inside a kid's clothing store and, not knowing of many other places to go given that this was our first time, that seemed like a great place to try out.  Included with the first haircut is a photo the stylist takes showing off the new 'do.

We got there today for his appointment and it was packed - obviously it's a popular place.  Jackson tried out one of the car chairs but didn't seem like he'd last the whole haircut, so we ended up putting him on my lap and his stylist, Kimberly, gave him all kinds of toys and books to keep him occupied. 

He did great and only got squirmy and a little fussy when she tried to use the neck trimmer (to be fair, she warned us ahead of time, saying that many babies didn't like it), so she stopped and finished with her scissors and before we knew it, he was all done and looked so much older than when we walked in.  (So old, in fact, that our waiter at The Ram afterwards brought J carrot sticks and ranch dressing...)

What do you think?

Before...

After!

Snow Day

It never ceases to amaze me how the weather can be so drastically different from one neighborhood to the next.  Yesterday, several of my co-workers and I went to lunch in downtown Bellevue and when we arrived, it wasn't snowing and there was no snow on the ground.  When we left less than 90 minutes later, it was snowing super hard, the ground was completely covered, the roads were pure slush and compact snow, and traffic was piling up fast.  It took us nearly a half hour to drive from Lincoln Square to the 405 on-ramp!  Once we got out of downtown, roads cleared up and by the time we arrived back at work in Factoria, just 2-3 miles away, it was not snowing and there was NO snow on the ground.  Crazy.

All weather reports were warning against massive snowfall overnight last night through today, so Corey ended up staying at a hotel downtown since he had a client in town from Hawaii that he had to be in the office with today. If the reports turned out to be true, he'd risk not being able to make it into the office if he didn't stay downtown. 

There was no sign of snow when I went to bed, but it started up sometime between 3-4 a.m. (I only know because I was up with J, who's been having some horrible sleep issues the last few weeks and likes to be up for 1-2 hours in the middle of the night). While the reports were right in that it snowed, it didn't snow nearly as much as they promised --- in Ballard, we only received a total of two inches by this afternoon; however, we all know that even a dusting of snow can shut down the city.  Day care was closed so I worked from home and J and I enjoyed a cozy day at home together, after taking Roxy out this a.m. (J didn't even really seem to notice or care about the snow he experienced on the walk). 

J was GREAT all day - he kept himself entertained for a majority of the day with all this toys, crawling all around the house, napping, eating, clapping, dancing, and trying to get all of Roxy's toys in his mouth.  It was so fun to have an unexpected day at home with him and be able watch him have so much fun.

Corey made it home safe and sound early this evening and when he walked in the door, J got the biggest smile on his face and speed crawled over to him --- it was the absolute cutest thing.  I think he really realized that he hadn't seen Corey in awhile since he doesn't normally get this excited about seeing either us at the end of a normal day.  Melted my heart.

Hopefully that was the last of the snow we'll see this year - I love how it looks, but hate the craziness it causes around here!

Here are a few photos of our snow day at home.

Time to play!

"Oh. My. GOD....What is all that fluffy, white stuff?!?"

The kiddos.

"Man, this snow stuff is interesting."

"I am really good at 'working from home' with mommy!"

"Gotta get just ONE more toy outta this bin!" (As if there aren't enough toys to play with already.)

Jackson in Action

I've been thoroughly enjoying my Flip video camera and while I won't win any awards for my camera skills, I've been able to capture some cute Jackson in action moments on video.  Here's our man dancing, running, clapping, and waving.

Showing off his fancy footwork to songs from his stuffed doggie that Great Grandma Helen gave him for Christmas. 

The kid loves to run and he's quick like his daddy. For some reason, I find him running hilarious and it makes me laugh so hard every time he does it.

In addition to dancing to music, he's into clapping to the beat again, which I LOVE. (In this case, it actually looks a little more like he's playing a tambourine, but whatevs.)

Love love love that it looks like he's doing a real wave, instead of just flapping his hand up and down. 

New Tricks

Learning to army crawl was the gateway to freedom for Jackson, and ever since learning that last month, he hasn't looked back.  He's constantly learning new ways to get around and be more independent, and he amazes us with the speed at which he moves. Need proof?

How about this photo of him standing in his crib?  (He started sitting up in his crib about three weeks ago, and just yesterday figured this trick out.  Good thing we lowered his mattress a few weeks ago.)

Or how about this video of him cruising along our couch?  (Last weekend, we laid toys along the coffee table and couch and watched him move along both pieces of furniture to play with his toys.  In just a week, his balance is so much better and he's much quicker.)

2011 Recap + Happy 2012

2011 was a big year for the Moran fam, to say the least.  Obviously the best and most memorable experience was Jackson's arrival back in April and watching him quickly grow and become a highly mobile 8-month old.  He's the best thing that's happened to us and we can't wait to watch him grow and develop more in the new year.

A few other 2011 notables include:

• Our final pre-Jackson weekend getaway - our babymoon in Portland
• Hosting the semi-annual Chili Fest
• Introducing Jackson to our friends and family, including his Great Aunt Karen all the way from Holland.
• Corey and I celebrating five years together and three years of marriage.
• Jackson's first few trips to Yakima and his first swim while there during one of our trips there over the summer.
• Roxy turning three (and us forgetting her birthday...oops).
• Our first night away from Jackson.
• Our trip to Seabrook with the Shawvers.
• My 10-year high school reunion and the conclusion of the year-long planning  that was required.
• My return to work and Jackson's time with Corey, my dad and Corey's mom before beginning daycare
• Jackson's first day at Young Child Academy.
• Corey's 35th birthday
• Jackson's first (time): laughing, eating solid food, rolling over, sitting, (army) crawling, crawling, tooth
• Our first Apple Cup game together
• Jackson's first Christmas, including meeting Santa.

We wrapped up a wonderful and eventful 2011 with a delicious dinner at the Met with the Reeders and Gossetts last night, which concluded with a champagne toast and view of the fireworks over the Space Needle, as seen from the middle of 2nd Avenue, right outside the restaurant. 

And with 2011 now behind us, we can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us.  A few things we're already eagerly anticipating are our trip to Hawaii with my parents next month, Jackson's first birthday, a Vegas trip in June to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday, and a trip to Napa for my 30th birthday.

Happy New Year!