It's been waaaaaay too long!

I have not made anytime to blog lately! Work, married life, taxes, renewing OT licensure/certification, weekend training courses, family weddings, trips to the beach, ear infections, and unexplained fevers......there....is that enough excuses? Really, I just haven't done it. I want to do better...But anyways, here is are of the things we've been up to (beginning with most recent)(P.S. I'm afraid this is going to be a REALLY long post!)

• I took Jackson to Pensacola this past weekend to visit my mom and to go to the beach (Vance had to work). Not only was it our first beach trip, but it was also our first extended car trip as well! Woooooaaah was that an experience! I am pretty notorious for doing things on a whim (which has become difficult with a child), so here is how the trip went: I was planning on leaving Friday morning to drive the 4 hour trek to Pensacola but when I woke up Thursday morning I decided that I should just leave after work. I thought I might get off around 2 but of course it ended up being around 4. When I got home, Jackson was asleep...dang it! I was hoping he'd be ready for a nap when we got IN the car! But, it did give me time to pack since I hadn't bothered to do that. So I packed all 12 bags for he and I go stay 3 days at my moms (and his stroller, tub, food, bottles, formula, spoons, bowls, body wash, towels, etc, etc, etc) while he was sleeping. Then it was 5 and he was still asleep...well now what do I do? I could hear my mother's voice in my head "Leeanne, I really don't like you driving by yourself with Jackson in the dark". So, we are already looking at getting there at 9 pm so I decided to wake him, feed him a bottle, change him and put him in the car seat, and crossing my fingers that he would fall back asleep....FAT CHANCE ! He played with the toys hanging from his carseat until we got to Florence then starting fussing on and off until Magee where he had a full out meltdown. So, I stopped at Cups, got some coffee, changed him, and played with him; then we got back in car. He was quiet again for about 15-20 minutes then I stopped at the Watermelon patch for another meltdown, then again in Hattisburg. Of course now it is starting to get dark because it has taken us 2.5 hours to get to Hattisburg and we are about to get on a long stretch of HWY 98 with no where to stop. So, I changed him again and tried to give him a bottle, hoping he would go to bed (it is his bedtime now too by the way!) But of course he didn't want the bottle. So, onto 98 we go! Long story short....he cried for 41 minutes straight on HWY 98! As I have mentioned before, I have never let him "cry it out", so this was complete TORTURE for me! But I kept thinking, I cannot stop on the side of this dark highway and let some scary person stop and get my baby!(Now I understand my mother's point....) So, I kept pressing the "points of interest" icon on my navigation system to find out where the nearest gas station, restaurant, or anything was. It would say like 14 miles then we we get there and it would be closed! I was singing, humming, laughing, praying, reaching back with pacifier, shaking toys, trying everything I could to soothe him but nothing was working! So finally I see lights in the glorious town of Lucedale, MS! Thank God for Lucedale, MS! We stopped at the gas station, used the microwave to warm his bottle, changed him, and just played in the backseat for about 20 minutes. After we got back on the road, he FINALLY went to sleep! Bless his little heart...I get tired of sitting in a car and I know he got uncomfortable in that carseat and just couldn't understand why I would not let him stay out of it! We finally made it to Pensacola at about 10:30....5.5 hours instead of 4...not too bad... Well what lesson did I learn? PLANNING AHEAD IS KEY! On the way back, I waited until right before his morning nap to leave and he slept for 3 out of the 4 hours! And was an angel when he woke up! The trip was so much more pleasant! But, hey.. we live and we learn!
  
• While we were in Pensacola, we went to the beach on Friday and Saturday. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the beach so I was so excited to show Jackson what it was all about! I think he really liked it as well. He liked kicking his feet in the sand and in the edge of the water (the water was still a little too cold to go swimming). He was absolutely fascinated by the waves and all the people on beach. I had a great time with him but I also discovered that going to beach with a baby is not nearly as relaxing as before! Ha! He didn't want to just lay around and relax! Next year I'm sure I will be chasing him all over the beach and in the water! I can't wait :)!

• Now about earaches and fevers...UGH! We have had a rough time with being sick for the past month! It all started one Friday night with a fever...I gave Jackson Tylenol before he went to bed because he was warm and I thought maybe he was teething or something. Well he woke up every hour that night and was burning up! The Tylenol was not touching his fever! So, the next morning, Vance and I took him to the after hours clinic. I was thinking that maybe he had an ear infection because I'm always hearing other mothers talk about them. Well the doctor checked his ears, his throat and swabbed him for the flu. All negative. So, she recommended a Complete Blood Count, CBC. This meant a nurse had to prick his toe then squeeze blood out of it for like 5 minutes to get enough to fill the tube up. Well, Jackson's White Blood Cell count was like 22,000 and she said normal was in between 5, 000 and 7, 000! So my heart dropped and I asked her if that meant he had cancer or something (I know, I am nuts, I don't deny it). She looked at me crazy and explained that NO he didn't have cancer, but it did mean that he had some kind infection that she wasn't seeing upon physical examination. So, then she said she wanted to do a urinalysis to rule out a urinary tract infection. How do you perform a urinalysis on a 5 month old you might ask... you attach a bag to his wee wee...and pray that he tee tees so that don't put a catheter in him! Vance and I started tickling him, running water, and putting his feet in warm water. Finally, he used the bag! No UTI...so who know what kind of infection he had! They gave him 2 shots and a prescription for a 10 day antibiotic. Well, the 10th day of taking the antibiotic he started running fever again! I took him to the doctor and he said he thought he was teething. So I was sent home with no medicine and a sick baby. The doctor said that as long as Tylenol could control his fever and it went away in 2-3 days then he would be ok...if not bring him back. (I think I may switch primary physician's after this). I hate when I am told that...it costs me $25 every time I walk in the door and I hate when I feel like I am being dismissed... Well the very next day Jackson starting running really high fever that did not go down with Tylenol, so I called the doctor. His nurse called me back and said the doctor said to wait until Friday and if he was still running fever to bring him back (this was Thursday by the way). Well I was really irritated by this point because I had to work Friday, we had a rehearsal dinner Friday night, I had to training seminars all day Saturday, a wedding Saturday night, and then I had more training all day Sunday. So, of course he was still running fever Friday but I had no time to take him to doctor because I have already been twice this week and I felt like the doctor would just dismiss me again. So, I took the advice of a co-worker and tried Motrin even though Jackson wasn't quite 6 months old yet (I figured he out weighed most 6 month olds so it would be ok). It worked and brought his fever down all weekend. On Monday, he was still running fever and had starting tugging at his ear so I took him back to the doctor. We saw a different doctor and she said he had an ear infection and a cough. So we got another 10 day antibiotic and cough medicine. We just finished the antibiotic and he seems to be feeling alot better and I he doesn't get sick ANYMORE! I still worry about what caused all that fever for so long but I just have to give my anxiety to the Lord and have faith that he will take care of my baby!
  
• Ok, now a little about Jackson and then I promise I will stop typing! He is 5 months and almost 3 weeks and is getting sooo big! He literally grew over this past weekend! Literally! He is wearing 9 month clothes, size 2 shoes and 12 month hats! He sits unassisted for a few seconds and grabs at everything! Loves to pull hair (on humans and animals) and smiles and laughs constantly! He has the funniest personality! He gets in these moods where he laughs so loud for an hour straight! He NEVER sits still anymore and has become such a wiggle worm. He likes to be thrown up in arm, flipped over, tickled, kissed and play peek-a-boo. He is eating three baby food meals a day and 4-5 bottles a day. He's hasn't been a very good sleeper but the last two nights he has been sleeping until 5 am! whooo hooo! He was waking up a 2 am for a bottle! He goes back to sleep at 5 until 7. He also has become a better napper this past week as well. He LOVES to be outside. He likes to watch us work in yard, go strolling, watch the dogs, etc. He is sooooo sweet and cuddly at bedtime and twirls my hair in his fingers as he is taking his last bottle. And he loves to gives kisses! He is such a happy baby (most of the time) and Vance and I are truly blessed! I love him with every piece of my being and cannot wait to see his face everyday!