Teething?

Nate is back to feverishly putting things into his mouth to chew on. He has a favorite teether and stuffed animal to chew on. I think I've mentioned Al E Gator before. He has become Nate's "security blanket" in addition to being a good teether. Nate also loves chewing on fingers, his own, mine, and Dan's. Today we were playing and he quickly moved towards my face. I ended up with a slobbery nose. He was either trying to suck or chew on it; I couldn't quite tell because he backed off quickly. He did the same thing with my chin a few minutes later. Tonight at bedtime he was putting Goodnight Moon in his mouth but first he crumpled the pages of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

The best part of my day today was playing with Nate on the couch. He loves getting kisses, especially on his neck, and was laughing hysterically when I kept attacking his neck. I can't think of a better sound!

The poor kiddo has been sick since Thursday evening. From what I can tell, he's just really congested and runny. He fell asleep fine that night but was up and having a little difficulty breathing around 10:30 pm. I called the doctor's nurse line while Dan tried to get him to sleep propped up on some pillows in our bed. The nurse said that unless he's really struggling to breath or has a temp of 105, he should be okay just fighting it off at home. He slept well propped up that night. We always have the humidifier going but put it out in the living room during the day while my Mom watched him.

Thanks to facebook, I got a couple other suggestions on how to help him sleep. I put some pillows under one side of his crib mattress so that he can sleep propped up there. He slept there last night and woke up twice to be rocked to sleep and once to eat. Today I got him Baby Vicks Vapo Rub. Dan and I had been wondering about Vapo Rub but weren't sure if we could use it on him, then one of Dan's friends suggested using Baby Rub on facebook. Technology these days! It seems like that's really going to help. I could feel it clearing my sinuses after I put it on his chest.

Oh, speaking of my sinuses. I finally broke down and went to the doctor on Tuesday. I had been sick for a week and was sick at the end of October for several days, too. I thought it was just lack of sleep but Shelley said my symptoms sounded like a sinus infection, thanks again to facebook. I had to go during the school day because the only other appointment that was available was 4:15 pm and I couldn't bring myself to leave Nate at daycare that late (we all know how timely doctors are with their appointments). Not only that but he hasn't adjusted to the time change and I need to get his cereal going around 4 pm. Anyway, so I get to the doctor and find out I do, in fact, have a sinus infection. I was somewhat relieved that it was something treatable. I was worried that he was going to tell me to get some rest. I walk out to my car thinking I was going to have enough time to get back to school for the girl who wanted to make up a test at lunch, turn the key, car starts, then stalls. I'm out of gas. I thought "Where's the closest gas station... about a mile away?!" I walked out to the street and saw a gas station at the end of the block. As I got closer I noticed that there wasn't a mini mart, just a tiny booth, but fortunately they sold a little gallon gas tank. After struggling with the tank and the pump and getting help from the lady in the booth, I walked back and started to fill the tank but I needed two hands so I threw my phone into the car at an angle. I ended up searching for the phone on my hands and knees: front seat, back seat, other side of the car, under the car... nowhere to be found. I almost left, thinking I would find it in the car later, but I'm glad I didn't give up. It was underneath the car behind me! By this point, I wasn't making it back in time for the girl so I decided to stop for some food. I was frustrated but decided to think positively. First, I was glad I made it to my doctor's appointment and the car didn't die while I was driving. Next, I was very glad that I didn't run out of gas with Nate in the car!!! I've been pushing it with filling up because I don't like stopping with him in the car but now I'm determined to start thinking about filling up when I have half a tank.

Anyway, back to Nate. I've noticed that he knows his bedtime song and book and is relaxed by them. I stumbled upon singing to him at bed on accident. Quite a while ago he was in the habit of crying after his bath while I was lotioning him up, diapering him, and getting his pjs on. One night I decided to sing and the first song that came to mind was Soul Sister by Train. I have been singing that song to him while lotioning, diapering, and changing for several months now. Sometimes I don't start singing it right away and he'll start struggling to reach his toes or roll over. The second I start singing, he's entranced and stops what he's doing to look and listen. Also, I've read him Goodnight Moon every night for several months but recently I have been reading him two books, ending with Goodnight Moon. While I'm reading the first book he often rocks back and forth and reaches for the pages of the book, trying to flip them and fold them. Once Goodnight Moon starts, he leans back into my chest and listens intently. I tell ya, the people who said to start a bedtime routine early really knew what they were talking about!

I can't remember where we left off with food so I'll summarize quickly here: he didn't like the green beans and peas that I made but likes jarred peas so I'm assuming he didn't like the texture of mine because of the skins. He loves the sweet potatoes I made and has had butternut squash once; my Mom introduced it to him on Thursday but he hasn't been eating much yesterday or today. Tomorrow I'm going to make him some peas and I also got a can of pumpkin that I'm excited to have him try. This morning he tried oatmeal baby cereal in place of the rice that he's been eating for three weeks. He seemed to like it just fine. I'm looking forward to trying parsnips and rutabaga then moving on to fruits. I'd like to try giving him avocado but I'm slightly allergic to them when they are very ripe (just like bananas) and I'm nervous that he will be, too.

Alright, this is long enough. I'm sure you've had enough and I need to get to some things! I probably won't be back on for a few days so Happy Thanksgiving!!!