Dinner and a Movie

This weekend we went to a friend's place for dinner and a movie. This is what we brought, in addition to the baby:

baby food, baby food spoons, a bib, a washcloth, diapers, diaper wipes, diaper cream, baby pajamas, burp cloth, a onesie, a pair of socks, blankie, two stuffed animals for sleeping, a new toy, three old toys, a pack-n-play for sleeping, quilted sheet for pack-n-play, humidifier to drown out the noise from dinner so baby can sleep, jacket, hat, warm blanket for carrying sleeping baby to car at end of night.

This is what we needed:

baby food, baby food spoon, bib, diaper, pajamas, blankie, and the pack-n-play.

Jett fell asleep at our friend's place promptly at 8:00, and we had to wake him up to take him home. He smiled the whole way home in the car, fell asleep as soon as we laid him in his crib, and didn't wake up until 7:00 in the morning. It's just ironic that the one time Jett sleeps through the night is the night that we have to wake him up just to get him home - and Charlie and I don't get to bed until 1:00 in the morning.

Go figure.

Quick update

I've been meaning to recharge the camera batteries all week, and here it is almost Friday and they still aren't charged. So here is a picture of Jett from a couple of weeks ago.



His cold is all gone - yay! But Friday he gets his 9-month TB test and a blood test to make sure he doesn't have any extra lead in his system. Apparently in Chicago there are so many old condos with lead paint on their walls that the doctors don't take your word for it when you tell them that your condo was a gut-rehab and that you painted the walls yourself and you guarantee there was no extra lead in those paint cans.

So a couple of needles are coming Jett's way tomorrow. Poor Jett.

Feva Drama

It was a crazy weekend. Jett woke up at 3:00 am Thursday with a temperature of 100.9. All of the seasoned parents out there might not bat an eye at 100.9, but we did, and that was just the beginning. By Friday his little thermostat reached 103, and by Saturday it hit a high of 105. Of course by Saturday he was refusing the baby tylenol and motrin that would reduce the fever, so I spent a few hours Saturday afternoon holding Jett and wiping his head and neck with a wet washcloth. (His temperature actually went down two degrees at that point, which just goes to prove that I am indeed SuperMom).

Our last call to the doctor came on Saturday, when he spit up immediately after we tried to give him his motrin (do we give him more motrin right away? would that be an overdose? do we have to wait another 6 hours?). At that point the doctor said that if his temperture wasn't below 101 on Sunday, then we'd probably have to take him to urgent care. Jett apparently can understand everything we say now, and opted out of urgent care and any threat of an I.V., and woke up this morning almost a new person and back to his old self. Still pretty cuddly though. I'm hoping that part sticks around for a while.

In addition to the feva drama, Jett had his nine-month check-up (very efficient use of his doctor appointment, I know). He's still tall and skinny at 29 inches long and 17 pounds, 4 ounces.

In addition to the feva drama and the nine-month check-up, Charlie and I went out Friday night without Jett for the first time since last August. (Yes, we left Jett when he had a fever. But he was taking his medicine then. He was cheerful. The doctor said we could still go out)! Anyway, we went to dinner with friends and then went to the Riv to jump up and down by the stage while we listened to the Great Big Sea. Everyone else sang along, but Charlie and I are new to the Great Big Sea, so all we could do was jump. Still, it was an awesome show. I didn't call home once (and only texted twice).

In addition to the feva drama, the nine-month check-up, and the Great Big Sea, on Saturday night we had 12 friends over for dinner. (Thanks to Charlie's parents for cooking a delish dinner at his sister's and then bringing it over to our house). There is nothing at a party as sweet or pathetic as a baby who doesn't feel good. Thank goodness our friends didn't mind the crying, and thank goodness Jett slept through all of our carousing.

Now he's tucked away in his crib, sleeping like this was the most boring weekend in the world. But it wasn't. It was a weekend of damp baby skin, medicine droppers, ear thermometers, fake irish accents, corned beef and cabbage, celtic music, friends, and fun.

This week I could go for slightly less fun and whole lotta healthy. Fingers crossed.

Nine Months

Happy Birthday, Jett! Yesterday you turned nine months old. But I thought that today was the 12th, not yesterday, which is why I'm posting this tonight and not last night, and which just goes to show how an extra day off will mess with your mama.



So even though I technically missed your nine month birthday, you celebrated in style by doing a couple of new things. First, on Sunday, you crawled twice - one time with each knee. At least that is what Uncle Nathan said, since he was the only one to see you do it - I knew you two were in cahoots.



Then yesterday you pulled yourself up to standing in your crib. You pulled yourself up the way inexperienced climbers climb walls - by reaching up with your hands and puuuullllling yourself up with your arms, legs stretched out straight, getting pulled along, not really bending and stepping yet. It was a herculean effort. You were like The Little Engine That Could. When you finally got up there, standing up straight, oh the look of accomplishment on your sweet face. And then you turned around to reach for your mobile, completely forgetting that you don't know how to stand up unassisted yet, let alone balance. Woops.

What has most excited me since yesterday though is that I think you understand a new word: drink. Every time I feed you in your highchair I give you a sippy cup full of water to drink and play with. Every time you drink from it I say "drink" and I make the sign language motion for it. It has occurred to me that anyone who can see me through our windows must think I'm crazy, because making that sign over and over is a little weird. But yesterday every time I said "drink" you looked right at your sippy cup. Are we communicating with words now? Very exciting!



Finally, you keep growing, little by little. Yesterday I tried to put three different hats on your head and they were all too small. The feet in your pajamas are too short, and you keep growing out of your socks. Today you had on your jean overalls, and they looked like shorts.



Despite these accomplishments of the last four weeks, I think this next month is going to be even more exciting. I predict crawling, a bit more hair, maybe some teeth, and oh, probably some reading, you smarty pants.



Keep it up, kiddo. We love you.

Tornado

I could argue that in some ways, Jett got his start in Americus, Georgia.
It's where Charlie and I met and fell in love.

It was our home for a while, and it's still home to some of the hardest working people I know.

I just wish they didn't have to prove it.

(photo taken by Richard Burkhart, published in the online Savannah Morning News)