Beautiful fall day for the park

We have had a really nice few days recently. Matthew has settled into a really nice routine and is going down for naps easily and sleeping well. He is happy when he is up and sticking to this new schedule has helped us get a lot of things done around the house. Alex had today off and it was an absolutely beautiful day outside, a slight cool front and about 65 degrees and sunny and breezy. We didn't want to do too much or go too far from home with Matthew sleeping so well with his naps these days so we went to a park in our neighborhood that never has anyone there. It's on a lake, really beautiful, and has a wide open area to throw the frisbee and Maggie can run around off leash and no one will bother us. Matthew sat in his stroller while we threw, and then we put him on the grass on his mat for some tummy time. Later we went to the swings and Maggie was laughing it up on the slide. It's been a while since she has been to the park and she really loved it. While we took some pictures on the dock, she went in the lake up to her elbows. We all had a nice time and I think we should make it a weekly outing as long as the weather is this nice.

Here are some pictures of our fun day outside.

Halloween

After Alex worked four 24-hour shifts in a row we were really excited for him to come home so we could enjoy our first Halloween with Matthew. We got out of town for a day and a night and went trick-or-treating with our Gainesville family. We don't usually have the time in our work schedules to get up there to see Jen and Jaime's kids for Halloween but since I am still on leave and Alex had the day off it worked out perfectly. Jaime invited about 10 families and their kids over to the house for some dinner and then the kids got dressed and hit the neighborhood.

Since Alex already has the gear we decided he could dress as a firefighter and Matthew would be his Dalmatian. His costume came with ears, paws for the hands and feet, and a cape. I made part of it, buying a white onesie and cutting out felt dots I attached to it as the undershirt. Maggie was a fire dog too- I made her a badge.

We walked with the kids, and I pushed Matthew in his stroller while Alex walked Maggie. I didn't really think through how silly it is to trick-or-treat with a baby that can't walk or grab candy as it's passed out, but there was too much candy on the line and Alex forced me to bite the bullet and get candy for us... so I pushed Matthew up to each door along with Brooklyn, Zac, and Joshua. We had a great time with everyone. It was a bit of a late night for Matthew. He slept in the stroller for about half of the night, and was not in bed until almost 10:00, but was in good spirits and slept decently for much of the next day. He has been a tired boy today.

Look how much faster the kids moved than I did. You can

see me trick-or-treating in the background!

Sleep, baby, sleep

Right when Matthew has a stretch of a few good night's sleep I start to get excited for the nights to come and even better and better sleep... then for some reason or another his sleep regresses. Some time late last week he did his usual nightly routine of bath, dinner, and bed before 8:00. Then like clockwork he woke at 1:00, which is really early. I jiggled his belly and he fell back asleep with a little work and then slept until 6:15- a new record. Then the next night he did the same thing, up at 1:00, then back to sleep until 7:00, another personal best. I wondered if the cool weather was letting him sleep in and if he felt comfy in extra layers and a blanket (yeah, I guess I'm a bad mom for giving him a blanket).

Then on Saturday when Matthew's grandparents came to town he was really full of energy and was awake a lot of the day. He only had one real nap that day and I knew we were in for it that night. He was up again at 1:00, then again at 2:30, only this night he didn't go back to sleep so peacefully. He screamed and woke everyone up, except for Alex who can inexplicably sleep through his howling. I forced Alex to take care of the 2:30 rage, but eventually decided to nurse him to sleep because he had been upset for the better part of 2 hours and was inconsolable, except for mama's works-every-time boobie. He woke up at 6:00 and then 8:00- not a great night.

I was worried about catching him up on sleep the next day and he was exhausted so he slept way too much on Sunday, with a nap about 4 hours long in the late afternoon. Obviously I was worried about how he would sleep especially since he napped so long. He was up again at 1:00 and was not super upset, but was ready to party. He became upset at my attempts to put him back to bed. After trying to get him to sleep for about an hour and a half I threw in the towel, and cried for the first time in desperation as a mommy. I was so exhausted from the previous few nights and was seeing no end in sight for this current "up all night" moment. I woke Alex up, which I rarely do on nights before he goes to work for a 24 hour shift, and told him Matthew wasn't going back to sleep. Alex decided to try to work him out a bit to see if he would tire. About 3:15 I was awakened by lights coming from downstairs. I can laugh at this now that I've caught up on my sleep, but imagine the scene when I went downstairs to see every light in the house on, Matthew bouncing around in his jumperoo, and Alex watching a zombie movie. I said, "What are you doing?", and Alex said Matthew's not tired. I looked down at my jumping baby, who was wide-eyed and laughing it up. I went back to bed and came down 30 minutes later at nearly 4:00, now concerned that Alex would be getting up for work soon. There was Matthew sitting on his daddy's lap watching zombie movies at 4:00 in the morning. I took Matthew with me and fed him and he slept until 8:00 when...

...the street repaving crew woke us up with their jack-hammering and beeping trucks. Now with company and Alex gone I figured Monday would be our day to get back on schedule but the noise outside his bedroom made it nearly impossible to sleep. I darkened the living room, which is farthest from the street and we cuddle-napped on the couch. By the afternoon they were just painting lines on the street, so Matthew got a nap in his crib. We took a nice afternoon walk and he had a good evening, and I prayed like crazy for a good night for us both. I hoped he had forgotten about his all-night party the night before because tonight was all about sleep. I looked a WRECK and think this is the most exhausted I've been since he was three weeks old. We both went to bed early, me by 9:00. He slept, thank the Lord, woke a few times but back to bed within minutes and fed at 5:00 and woke at 8:00. Had a great morning, was a great boy for some errand running while daddy caught up on his sleep after a late night as a paramedic, and he took two nice naps for which he went down very easily.

I tried to get a picture of my happily sleeping baby this afternoon but it was too dark. Just imagine-- it was a precious sight! Rolling the dice for tonight...

A visit from the Grands

Alex's parents came to town this weekend to see Matthew. They were really excited to see our big boy and how much he is changing from month to month. On Saturday we went to Mimi's for brunch and Matthew was an angel. He sat on MamaAdina's lap the whole time and was a happy, talkative charmer. In the afternoon he went for a walk with his grandparents and the dogs and was happy to lay out back in the grass and enjoy our cooler and sunny weather while the dogs chased balls. Sunday was another nice day and he was pretty good when we went to a Peruvian restaurant for lunch before Grandpa Neno and MamaAdina headed home. With all the excitement of people in town Matthew was off his schedule and slept terribly for a few nights. He sure enjoys his grandparents when he is awake though.

Here he is enjoying the Halloween books his grandparents brought for him.

New trick

Matthew sat up a few times by stabilizing himself with his hands on the ground. This was the only time the camera was close enough to where we were to get a picture. He's got the balance down, now we're just working on the posture. It is so cute to see him concentrating so hard when he is trying a new physical tasks.

This is the only picture I have so far... more to come hopefully, one with his sweet cheeks and adorable grin.

Bonnie's Wedding Weekend

Matthew has had a great few days. He has finally gone back to sleeping through the night over the last 3 nights, which has made for some super fun days. On Friday night we went to Bonnie and Gary's rehearsal dinner and Matthew came along. He did really well for being out past his bedtime. He was mostly happy and was content to sit on my lap while I ate. He even had a yummy dinner of his own when he sipped a bottle from his daddy. We sat with the Duffs, who brought Shepherd, who was an equally good boy. We were entertained by the ever inquisitive Drew Carter with a math problem we created to determine the number of doctors in Tampa and a Vodka taste test, in which about 10 people sampled Ketle One and the house well brand to see if they could tell the difference- or preferred the higher quality liquor. Matthew and I just laughed at all the silliness. Here is Matthew with our good friend, and wedding Officiant, Drew Carter.

On Saturday I headed downtown to get dressed with Bonnie and her best girls for the wedding. The bride and groom chose the clubhouse of his downtown high rise condo for the location for their party- and brief exchange of wedding vows. It was a really fun and relaxed atmosphere with some indoor/outdoor options, really nice views of downtown and the sunset, good food and drink, and TVs with the evermore unimpressive Gator game playing. There were lots of our friends there and although we were excited to see Bonnie and Gary get married, we spent most of the night with the Duffs, Fentons, Kings, and Drew and Jocilyn. As far as weddings go, we had the most fun we've had at one in a long time.

This was a big night for me. For one thing, one of my best girls got married, but personally this was the first time we've left Matthew for more than an hour or so and the first time we've left him at night with someone other than Alex or me responsible for dinner and bed time.... who better to call on than Granna. She says they had a great time. They went for walks, read books, sang TOGETHER, had a bottle, took a bath, he blew out his Bumbo... again, then went to sleep like a peaceful angel. What a blessing to have my mom here and so willing and available to bond with Matthew while Alex and I got a much needed night out together.

After Matthew slept through the night for the third night in a row-- fingers crossed for an established pattern-- Alex and I made it out to frisbee. There was a slight cool in the air and Matthew really enjoyed being outside. He even sat up for the first time, supporting his upper body with his hands on the ground. He held it for quite a while, maybe a minute. He was such a well behaved boy, even taking a nap for me so I could play for a bit. We made it home before he screamed for food (first time), which was a good thing because rookie mommy brought milk, but no bottle. I guess sweaty boob would have been on the menu. Here are my adorable Under Armour twins.

Tough Cookie

My poor Matthew has been stuck too many times for such a young baby. It all started with his first blood counts when he was a newborn. His platelet count was low because my platelets were low during my pregnancy and his pediatrician had us in the lab several times to monitor the level. They used to stick his heel but after they did it to both feet and couldn't get enough blood they moved to a needle in the arm.

Fast forward a month and his platelet count was normal but his hemoglobin levels were now low. So we started him on an iron vitamin supplement until it made his tummy uncomfortable and interrupted his sleep. Then the hemoglobin came up but the white cell count was low. So back to the lab, but the numbers were not much improved. A pathologist studied his smear and found "nonremarkable cells". I think my Matthew is certainly remarkable, but I guess in medical terms that means normal.

Our pediatrician, who I am still deciding if she is the right one for Matthew (and me), wanted us to see a hematologist. I was hesitant because I felt he was a healthy, thriving, eating, sleeping, happy baby and I figured the counts were a little off due to my blood from pregnancy and Alex and I have always had weird counts. Taking my baby into an office that has hematology/oncology on the door is not what I thought I'd be doing 4 months into his life, and especially since I was cleared by my own hematologist/oncologist just a month or so ago and thought I was done with that medical practice. Also the pediatrician has been concerned about a number of things that did not pan out to be anything. As a new mother, and just part of who I am, my mind races into worst case scenarios and I didn't want to make a stressful issue out of something that in my heart I knew was a non issue. She asked me what my hesitation was to go see a hematologist and rather than tell her I don't think you are right, she followed with, "Are you worried they will find something?" YES!

So I prayed and prayed, asking God to wrap my boy up in his arms and be with him. I knew this was just fear creeping in and I asked for faith that He would take care of the boy that I was so blessed to be given just months before. I prayed that my fears for what might be would not get in the way of seeking and getting Matthew the medical treatment he might need. I also finally decided that since I thought the pediatrician didn't know what she was talking about that seeing a hematologist would be a second and more expert opinion.

Last night and all morning I prayed that when we went to the office today that we would not see any sweet babies and their poor parents there for chemo~ that would really make me sad. And I didn't see one baby in there. We were all alone. But there were far too many files in their cabinets for my liking. I said a prayer for all of them. I needed Alex there with us today, and he came even though he was up all night running paramedic calls. He gave me strength.

So Matthew was seen by an awesome hematologist who gave clarity and perspective to the previous blood work. He said that his best guess, and he said it is detective work, is that when Matthew's platelets were so low at birth his body compensated by making nothing but platelets, so the other cells, red and white, went to the back burner. Now that the platelets are normal, the other two systems are catching up. He wanted to draw blood one more time and was going to have results then and even was going to look at the blood under a microscope. He said the counts were all pretty normal, the white cells right back where they should be, and that under the scope the cells looked "immature" meaning they were new cells recently formed. He suggested doing another count in a couple months, but said there was no cause for concern-- just that Matthew has "his daddy's blood and his mommy's looks". Alex has always had low counts and is never sick. I think his body has all the cells he needs, and Matthew is just like him.

So the only low point of the day was when I told the nurse that his heel was not a good place to get blood. She assured me that she could do it, pricked his foot, he screamed and gave no more than a drop of blood, despite her squeezing his foot for several minutes. So then it was to the finger. Pricked and bled like a pig, and screamed again. She commented how strong he was and how impressive his lungs were as he was flailing his blood all around, somehow on everything except his and my white shirts (what was I thinking?).

Here is our little trooper. He was watching her with much suspicion, especially after he was already shot up three times this week for his 4-month shots.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for Matthew for so many things, but especially for this issue, and to my cousin, Debbie, whom I constantly bother with emails during the work hours with new mommy questions.