In May, Eli started to get a stuffy nose, and rather than rush into the ER like the crazy-first-time-Mom whose kid just has a cold, I decided to keep my eye on him. For days, he seemed fine--nothing but a stuffy nose. One night, though, he took a sudden turn for the worse. I took him to the ER when he spiked a fever and was breathing heavily, as if it was a struggle. His temperature was 104.8 and his oxygen saturation was only 73% when we arrived. Our local hospital determined that he had pneumonia and we traveled by ambulance to Columbus and Eli was once again admitted to Children's Hospital. It was a relief to feel that we were in good hands, and for a second time, the Ronald McDonald House became my home away from home.
Eli was stable within 24 hours, and he was feeling better after a few days. He ended up being treated for a viral infection and not pneumonia. He was put on oxygen and inhaled steroids. It took a while to get him weaned off his oxygen, so we were in Columbus for almost 2 weeks. In the mean-time...
...he began to try to crawl!
...he began to try to crawl!Once we were home, Eli was feeling as good as new. It seemed like it was just a few days before he was a pro crawler. After only 2 weeks of being home, however, poor Eli started to show some of the same symptoms he had been showing before I brought him to Children's. This time I was able to spot what was happening earlier, and I brought him to the ER before he got as bad. This time, we were admitted to our local hospital and only had to spend 5 days there.
Unfortunately, he was discharged the day before his big birthday party, so we decided it would be best for him if we cancelled it, which was a dissappointment to me but honestly somewhat of a relief. Who knew how much work it was to play a first birthday party?! Instead, we had a smaller get-together with some family at his grandparents house.
June and July were busy for Mommy and Daddy. Seth was in the hospital for a month, during which we only got to see him twice because he was 3 hours away. Now that he's home he's feeling better than ever, and it really shows. I put in my two-weeks notice at Walmart back in June when I got a job working at a nursing home. I was put through a 2-week course to become a Certified Nurse's Aide, and have since become state-tested. I worked full-time as an aide for the rest of the summer on the 6 a.m.-2 p.m. shift. It's a tough job, but all-in-all I like it, and I love having my evenings free to spend with my family. Today I started taking classes at a nearby community college. I plan to apply for the nursing program next fall to be an RN. It feels good to be back in school! Now that I'm a full-time student and Mommy, I'll be dropping down to 3-4 days per week at work.
My family reunion was at the end of July for a full week at Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia. Seth, Eli and I went for the final weekend and Eli spent his first night in a tent. He loved it of course, because he loves being outside. When it rained the next night, Eli stayed in the cabin with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins while Mom and Dad got wet in the tent. All of the family loved visiting with Eli, and he adored the attention. I have some great pictures, but they are on my sister's camera, so maybe I'll post them later.
Eli had his 1-year well-child visit in July, but was sent home because he had a low-grade fever. Last week was his resheduled appointment and he weighed in at 21.6 pounds, a pound and a half heavier than he was at his July appointment. He is on the charts for both height and weight for his real age. He is just below the 25th percentile for weight, and at 29 inches, he's just below the 5th percentile for height. He also had his vaccinations for MMR, Hepatitis A, and chickenpox. He didn't like that too well, but he only cried for a minute. In September, he'll go for his developmental assessment at Children's Hospital. He'll be 13 months corrected age, so they will make sure he is on track for that.
Today, Eli is 14 1/2 months old. This past Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of his homecoming, and in 3 days, he'll be 12 months corrected. We plan to have a cake to celebrate, so hopefully I'll update again after that. He is walking around furniture, but has yet to take his first steps. He sometimes lets go of whatever he's using to balance, and had stood alone for maybe 10 seconds. It won't be long. He has no trouble getting around, or getting into everything, though. He loves to climb. He loves the outside, and I swear sometimes he gets cabin fever. He will fuss and carry on, and the only words of comfort are "do you want to go outside?" or "wanna go for a walk?" His favorite toys are blocks, balls and cars. He drives his cars around and says "brmmmmmmmm." He also likes to ride (we push him, he can't reach the pedals!) on his Harley Davidson trike he got for his birthday. He says a handful of words, including Mama, Dada, PapPap, ball, truck, stuck, dog, and uh-oh. He's finally getting some hair. It seemed to be growing quickly for a while, but now it's just kind of stuck. It's still very blond, and in the sun it looks white. He has six teeth now, and he eats pretty much anything. He's not very picky. I still don't allow him nuts, too much sweets or "junk," or drinks other than milk, water or the occasional juice. He's a big fan of food! His favorite thing is definitely popcorn! He drinks from a sippy cup most of the time, but can drink from a straw, a water bottle, and still has a bottle of 2% milk before bed, but I'm trying to get away from that.
Oh yeah, he can play cards, too. Here's a video fI took tonight on my phone.
Here is a link to the slideshow I made him for his first birthday: Small-fry turns one. It turned out really nice, so check it out!
And here are some random pictures:
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