This morning I took Kellen to see the pediatric opthamologist. She was really nice and very good with him, and we had a good appointment. Based on what I have learned, blocked tear ducts occur in about 5% of newborns (some estimates are as high as 20%). Most of these cases will go away on their own as the baby develops. Many are already cleared up by the 3 month point, one of the reasons we went to see the specialist already. For those cases that aren't better as babies approach the year mark, a quick surgery is done.
Basically, when you have a blocked tear duct there is a membrane that connects the nasal passage to the eye (explaining why you get stuffy/a runny nose when you cry). This membrance generally is gone before birth, but in some cases needs longer to dissolve or needs to be scraped off. So if he needs surgery, they basically will go in and scrape it off. This takes about 5 minutes, and requires no IV's or blood work thankfully, but is done in a hospital under nitrous oxide anesthethic. Kellen will be seen again at the end of July if his eye is not better and we'll schedule the proceedure at that time if necessary. For now, I learned some eye massge techniques which will hopefully help get rid of the membrane way before then!
Monday, January 30, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Rolling, Rolling, Rolling at the Saxton's
Today was a wonderful ending to a tough week. Kellen's sleep habits really deteriorated during his cold, resulting in a few nights of sleep that occurred in only 45 minute stretches. By the time I got back to sleep, I was pretty much up with him again, meaning I was averaging about 2 hours of sleep total for several nights. Not great. Especially when you are working 10 hour days and then trying to enjoy your family for a bit before bed. With Kellen being a lot better and some adjustments to his bedtime routine, he is back to 3-4 hour stretches most of the night. Not amazing but it feels way better. I'm optimistic that things will continue to improve!
Despite being utterly exhausted all week, it was a great day with the little ones. We played with friends at the mall, walked Maddie to enjoy the 61 degree weather, and then while watching TV witnessed Kellen rolling over for the first time. Well actually I guess I witnessed his second roll. He was enjoying tummy time and I turned around for a minute to find him on his back. I flipped him back over and Ellie and I watched him flip himself again! This made my day. First, I was just so excited my little guy rolled as he has shown very little interest in even doing tummy time til about a week ago. Second, as a working mom, you miss a lot of firsts. Things are still exciting when you see them for your first time, but actually witnessing a real first is amazing! We were pretty lucky with Ellie and I hope Kellen will keep waiting for Fridays to impress with his new skills!
Despite being utterly exhausted all week, it was a great day with the little ones. We played with friends at the mall, walked Maddie to enjoy the 61 degree weather, and then while watching TV witnessed Kellen rolling over for the first time. Well actually I guess I witnessed his second roll. He was enjoying tummy time and I turned around for a minute to find him on his back. I flipped him back over and Ellie and I watched him flip himself again! This made my day. First, I was just so excited my little guy rolled as he has shown very little interest in even doing tummy time til about a week ago. Second, as a working mom, you miss a lot of firsts. Things are still exciting when you see them for your first time, but actually witnessing a real first is amazing! We were pretty lucky with Ellie and I hope Kellen will keep waiting for Fridays to impress with his new skills!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
We're Back!
Dr. Burke must love us. I think we keep her office afloat in these tough economic times. After a week of his cough and cold, and an off and on slight fever, we decided that Bryan would stay home with Kellen and take him to the doctor. Apparently there is a pretty nasty respiratory virus going around and since Kellen is so little they wanted to check him out. Thankfully he just has a bad cold and what we are doing (saline and humidifier) is all that can really be done. Hopefully last night was the worst of it as the poor little guy couldn't sleep longer than 45 minutes at a time. He also is having a hard time eating so is eating fewer ounces more often. This equaled 6 feedings between 7:40 pm and 5:40 am making for a very tired mommy at work training today. But he seems a bit better this evening so we are all hoping for better health and more sleep!
Kellen did get weighed today and was 13 pounds 4 ounces. A respectable weight for 14 weeks! We also learned Dr. Burke wants to share the Saxton love. While she wasn't very concerned about his cold, she was more upset that he still has his blocked tear duct. This is fairly common from the birth but usually goes away pretty quickly. Kellen and I will be going to see a pediatric ophthalmologist next Monday to see what needs to be done. Keep him in your prayers that it is an easy fix!
Kellen did get weighed today and was 13 pounds 4 ounces. A respectable weight for 14 weeks! We also learned Dr. Burke wants to share the Saxton love. While she wasn't very concerned about his cold, she was more upset that he still has his blocked tear duct. This is fairly common from the birth but usually goes away pretty quickly. Kellen and I will be going to see a pediatric ophthalmologist next Monday to see what needs to be done. Keep him in your prayers that it is an easy fix!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
January Round Up
The Saxton's have been busy as always! Over the past two weeks or so we have spent most of our time adjusting to me being back to work. Thankfully, Bryan has been able to be home at a reasonable time most nights. With one 3 month old, getting home at 6 was fine. Baby Noelle would fall asleep on the way home from daycare and snooze for about 45 minutes, pretty much the exact time I needed to clean and organize bottles for the next day, cook dinner, and make lunches. Two little ones doesn't work quite the same way. Kellen often falls asleep, but Noelle rarely leaves him alone long enough for him to get in a real snooze. I have tried the TV distraction and it just isn't as effective as I'd expect! So each evening is an adventure and I'm proud to say that we have only resorted to takeout once and that was planned in advance!
Thank goodness I am still doing freezer cooking to keep my act together. It takes a bit longer these days with baby feedings and Noelle helping, but it is a life saver. Here is Noelle having a great time putting brown sugar in bags for our balsamic flank steaks!
In the past week, we have also been battling Kellen's second cold. This has been a pretty bad one, and all of the congestion has been in his throat so we have actually been kind of grateful for the spit up situation since this actually gets some of the yuckiness out. Kellen has been sleeping in his bouncy chair to stay somewhat upright and is down to just 4 hour stretches again so we remain tired. Thankfully he is one of the happiest babies ever and is still pretty cheerful! Here he is today watching the Ravens (before they blew it in the last few minutes!)
And here's Noelle and Bryan watching the Ravens beat the Texans the week before!
Bryan and I also got out last night for a retirement dinner at a local country club for one of the partners in his firm. It was nice to get a free fancy dinner and have some adult conversation!
Noelle spent the time building towers with Ms. Beth. Love the babysitting coop!
So that's pretty much the January round up thus far! We got a little snow and ice but Noelle awaits a real storm to get out and use her snowman accessories to build a huge snowman with daddy! The next few weeks will be busy with work, Catherine's baby shower, and Kellen's baptism so we'll post again as soon as we can!
Thank goodness I am still doing freezer cooking to keep my act together. It takes a bit longer these days with baby feedings and Noelle helping, but it is a life saver. Here is Noelle having a great time putting brown sugar in bags for our balsamic flank steaks!
In the past week, we have also been battling Kellen's second cold. This has been a pretty bad one, and all of the congestion has been in his throat so we have actually been kind of grateful for the spit up situation since this actually gets some of the yuckiness out. Kellen has been sleeping in his bouncy chair to stay somewhat upright and is down to just 4 hour stretches again so we remain tired. Thankfully he is one of the happiest babies ever and is still pretty cheerful! Here he is today watching the Ravens (before they blew it in the last few minutes!)
And here's Noelle and Bryan watching the Ravens beat the Texans the week before!
Bryan and I also got out last night for a retirement dinner at a local country club for one of the partners in his firm. It was nice to get a free fancy dinner and have some adult conversation!
Noelle spent the time building towers with Ms. Beth. Love the babysitting coop!
So that's pretty much the January round up thus far! We got a little snow and ice but Noelle awaits a real storm to get out and use her snowman accessories to build a huge snowman with daddy! The next few weeks will be busy with work, Catherine's baby shower, and Kellen's baptism so we'll post again as soon as we can!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Three Months
Yesterday, Kellen turned three months old. It is crazy how quickly time seems to have passed. It seems like ages ago that I was pregnant!
Kellen doesn't go back to the doctor until 4 months, but our imprecise measurments put him at 13 pounds and 25 inches. That puts him in about the 75% for height and the 25% for weight which seems about right as he is long and thin. I spent part of the long weekend packing away the 0-3 month clothes as he is simply too long for most of them. The 3-6 month stuff is a bit baggy but he seems happy to have a new wardrobe to puke all over! So yes, the spit up problem remains with us. Every time I think it is getting a bit better he ruins both of our clothes!
Kellen seems to be more focused on verbalizing than moving. I like to think this is about self preseveration as he wants to be able to scream for mom and dad when he sees his big sister coming near! He says what sounds like hi about 4 billion times a day and happily talks to himself or whoever is around for hours. He still shows no interest in rolling over. He does do tummy time much more happily now, however it is still limited since he has to spend so much time upright to try to reduce the spitting incidents. He also has gotten a bit more interested in his toys over the past week or so and is starting to reach for them more and more.
Kellen slept for 7 hours last night before his feeding, his longest strecth to date. Unfortunately, he was asleep at 7:30, as he demands to go to bed around 7. So 7 hours took us to 2:30 in the morning. After a quick feeding he went right back to sleep until 5:30 when he was up for good. We are hoping to stretch this til 5:30 in the next few weeks so we have no night time feedings. Before last night, Kellen did have a few rougher nights. With his growth spurt last week he was eating every 3 hours again, and then Sunday night he had some digestive issues that kept him awake. I remain optimistic that we have turned a corner! I know teething and growth spurts will mean inconsistent wake-ups for the next year, but if we could sleep through the night at least most of the time sometime soon mommy and daddy would be very happy!
Kellen doesn't go back to the doctor until 4 months, but our imprecise measurments put him at 13 pounds and 25 inches. That puts him in about the 75% for height and the 25% for weight which seems about right as he is long and thin. I spent part of the long weekend packing away the 0-3 month clothes as he is simply too long for most of them. The 3-6 month stuff is a bit baggy but he seems happy to have a new wardrobe to puke all over! So yes, the spit up problem remains with us. Every time I think it is getting a bit better he ruins both of our clothes!
Kellen seems to be more focused on verbalizing than moving. I like to think this is about self preseveration as he wants to be able to scream for mom and dad when he sees his big sister coming near! He says what sounds like hi about 4 billion times a day and happily talks to himself or whoever is around for hours. He still shows no interest in rolling over. He does do tummy time much more happily now, however it is still limited since he has to spend so much time upright to try to reduce the spitting incidents. He also has gotten a bit more interested in his toys over the past week or so and is starting to reach for them more and more.
Kellen slept for 7 hours last night before his feeding, his longest strecth to date. Unfortunately, he was asleep at 7:30, as he demands to go to bed around 7. So 7 hours took us to 2:30 in the morning. After a quick feeding he went right back to sleep until 5:30 when he was up for good. We are hoping to stretch this til 5:30 in the next few weeks so we have no night time feedings. Before last night, Kellen did have a few rougher nights. With his growth spurt last week he was eating every 3 hours again, and then Sunday night he had some digestive issues that kept him awake. I remain optimistic that we have turned a corner! I know teething and growth spurts will mean inconsistent wake-ups for the next year, but if we could sleep through the night at least most of the time sometime soon mommy and daddy would be very happy!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Survival Mode
For some reason, despite having more going on during each day since Kellen was born, I have actually been less tired than I remember being when we brought Noelle home from the hospital. Perhaps it is because of the insomnia keeping me awake most of my pregnancy with Noelle, or just that I have pretty much not slept through the night in about 3 years now and am used to it, but during my maternity leave I was tired, but not exhausted. I never had nights where I couldn't remember if I had just fed Kellen or was about to, and most of the time I didn't need a nap during the day to make it to bedtime. Then came the return of work yesterday.
It is only day two, but I think our family has already moved in to survival mode. Kellen survived his first day of daycare. He was pretty wide-eyed about it all when I got there to pick him up. And his car seat was inside of the pack and play as he decided he wanted to sleep in it and Noelle wouldn't leave him alone otherwise. But he drank his bottles, threw up milk on both Ms. Rose and her niece who is helping for a few weeks, and generally did his happy little baby thing. Noelle had a tougher day. She wasn't the center of everyone's attention. And she didn't like that so much. She refused to use the potty and didn't take her nap. When she tried to take a snooze on the way home and her brother started crying she told him with frustration in her voice to stop crying. She still ate her veggies and rice at dinner and was somewhat pleasant at home, but it was a tough day for her.
Then came bedtime. Kellen went right down at 8, his chosen bedtime. At 12:30 he wanted to eat. Fine. And at 3:30 he decided he was done sleeping. Not ok. Kellen happily and not so happily squwaked (he sounds like a pteradyctal) for the next 45minutes until Bryan put him in our bathroom with the fan on to make him go back to sleep. And at 4:55 am, 5 minutes before the alarm went off, he was up again. This time for good. He laughed and smiled through my morning routine, and was still awake when I left at 6:25. I'm glad he loves me and his father and wanted to visit and play during the night and all, but 3:30 am wake up calls after 10 pm bedtimes and 12:30 feedings don't work for us. So tonight we begin phase one of operation our son has to sleep! I am determined not to go in to his room unless the squwaking becomes actual crying. I know Kellen can go to sleep on his on. He does it every night. And I'm sure he'll let me know through tears if he actually needs something. So it's time for me to be strong, let him make his noises, even when they are loud, and pray that we all get some sleep.
Not that I think that means we'll be out of survival mode. From what I hear that's where we'll be for the next 18+ years...
It is only day two, but I think our family has already moved in to survival mode. Kellen survived his first day of daycare. He was pretty wide-eyed about it all when I got there to pick him up. And his car seat was inside of the pack and play as he decided he wanted to sleep in it and Noelle wouldn't leave him alone otherwise. But he drank his bottles, threw up milk on both Ms. Rose and her niece who is helping for a few weeks, and generally did his happy little baby thing. Noelle had a tougher day. She wasn't the center of everyone's attention. And she didn't like that so much. She refused to use the potty and didn't take her nap. When she tried to take a snooze on the way home and her brother started crying she told him with frustration in her voice to stop crying. She still ate her veggies and rice at dinner and was somewhat pleasant at home, but it was a tough day for her.
Then came bedtime. Kellen went right down at 8, his chosen bedtime. At 12:30 he wanted to eat. Fine. And at 3:30 he decided he was done sleeping. Not ok. Kellen happily and not so happily squwaked (he sounds like a pteradyctal) for the next 45minutes until Bryan put him in our bathroom with the fan on to make him go back to sleep. And at 4:55 am, 5 minutes before the alarm went off, he was up again. This time for good. He laughed and smiled through my morning routine, and was still awake when I left at 6:25. I'm glad he loves me and his father and wanted to visit and play during the night and all, but 3:30 am wake up calls after 10 pm bedtimes and 12:30 feedings don't work for us. So tonight we begin phase one of operation our son has to sleep! I am determined not to go in to his room unless the squwaking becomes actual crying. I know Kellen can go to sleep on his on. He does it every night. And I'm sure he'll let me know through tears if he actually needs something. So it's time for me to be strong, let him make his noises, even when they are loud, and pray that we all get some sleep.
Not that I think that means we'll be out of survival mode. From what I hear that's where we'll be for the next 18+ years...
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Back to Reality
Kellen is 12 weeks old today. And with that comes my day of dread, the return to work, and reality. I am really thankful I have a good job, a job I even love some days, but that doesn't make it much easier to leave my babies tomorrow morning. And yes, it is great to have an identity outside of being a mom, and to have conversations occasionally that don't involve the eating, sleeping, and bathroom habits of my children. But sending your kids off to daycare, even when you trust the care and know that they love your children almost as much as you do, is hard. So tomorrow I hope to only burst in to tears a few times. And I'll take comfort in the knowledge that it gets easier each day. And I do know my job, as hard as it can be at times, is way easier than staying home with the kids. But that doesn't mean I don't wish I could stay home! So here's to hoping tomorrow goes well, and that Kellen rolls, crawls, walks, and talks for the first times over weekends!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
11 Weeks
On Tuesday, Kellen finally had his delayed two month appointment. So I bundled him up for the coldest day so far of his short life, and we headed back to our favorite place, the Pediatric Center! I'm pretty sure they are getting sick of us there between our regular appointments and extra ones for the reflux and Noelle's cold that never wants to go away, but it is always nice to see our super friendly pediatrician, Dr. Burke. Here are Kellen's two month stats (although not super accurate since he'll be three months on the 16th!)
Height: 24 1/8 inches (75 percentile)
Weight: 12 pounds 11 ounces (between 50 and 75 percentile)
Head Circumference: 40 3/4 cm (between 75 and 90 percentile)
At 11 weeks, Kellen remains only a decent sleeper. He sleeps about 5.5 hours, and then goes back down after eating for another 3 or so hours, and then another 1.5-2 hours. He usually gets up between 6 and 7 am, and likes to go to bed early, around 8, which we hope changes when I go back to work next week! Either that or he sleeps longer because I will be really sad to get up for a feeding at 4:30 when I have to get up for work at 5:15! Kellen does not yet have a nap schedule, and as of yet, has not napped in his crib. He highly prefers the swing, car seat, or best yet, mommy's arms. Thank goodness he goes in his crib no problem at night!
Kellen remains a piglet and still spits up a huge portion of his food after every meal. I am a little concerned I won't be able to keep up with his milk when I get back to work Monday, but we'll see how it goes! For now, he still has only had breast milk and is just as happy with me or a bottle.
Kellen loves to watch the world, and is in awe of his never still big sister! He is usually a pretty happy little guy. He gets pretty fussy as bedtime approaches, but once you take him upstairs to get ready for bed is super happy all over again! He has no interest in tummy time and I think will be a late roller. He does reach and grab at his little toys a bit, and is working on trying to sit up. He should be sitting on his own in the next month or so unless he continues to plump out at the rate he has the past week!
Here are two pictures of Kellen's favorite activity - football viewing!
Height: 24 1/8 inches (75 percentile)
Weight: 12 pounds 11 ounces (between 50 and 75 percentile)
Head Circumference: 40 3/4 cm (between 75 and 90 percentile)
At 11 weeks, Kellen remains only a decent sleeper. He sleeps about 5.5 hours, and then goes back down after eating for another 3 or so hours, and then another 1.5-2 hours. He usually gets up between 6 and 7 am, and likes to go to bed early, around 8, which we hope changes when I go back to work next week! Either that or he sleeps longer because I will be really sad to get up for a feeding at 4:30 when I have to get up for work at 5:15! Kellen does not yet have a nap schedule, and as of yet, has not napped in his crib. He highly prefers the swing, car seat, or best yet, mommy's arms. Thank goodness he goes in his crib no problem at night!
Kellen remains a piglet and still spits up a huge portion of his food after every meal. I am a little concerned I won't be able to keep up with his milk when I get back to work Monday, but we'll see how it goes! For now, he still has only had breast milk and is just as happy with me or a bottle.
Kellen loves to watch the world, and is in awe of his never still big sister! He is usually a pretty happy little guy. He gets pretty fussy as bedtime approaches, but once you take him upstairs to get ready for bed is super happy all over again! He has no interest in tummy time and I think will be a late roller. He does reach and grab at his little toys a bit, and is working on trying to sit up. He should be sitting on his own in the next month or so unless he continues to plump out at the rate he has the past week!
Here are two pictures of Kellen's favorite activity - football viewing!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Lucky Seven
It seems crazy, but on Friday Bryan and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. It feels like just yesterday that we met on the drive to our interviews at Miami in 2002 and then had our beach wedding in 2004, although we certainly have accomplished a lot in 7 years! 2 beautiful kids, our 2nd house, a law degree, the cutest dog ever, and 2 great jobs later - we definitely have been blessed! To celebrate, we headed to Frederick to enjoy dinner at the chef's table at Volt. We made reservations in summer of 2010 after seeing the chef on Top Chef (he placed second behind his brother) and being told that December 30th (and everything before the following October!) was not available. So this past Friday we sat down to the most interesting, and expensive meal of our lives!
21 courses later we were ready to head home! Some of our favorite courses from the tasting menu?
Sashimi of kampachi, blood orange, ginger, nasturtium, sea beans
Halibut, butternut squash risotto, laughing bird farm shrimp, sea spear
Lobster, cauliflower, smoked golden raisin, vadouvan
Pimeland farm beef strip loin, hedgehog mushrooms, kohlrabi, cheddar, curly kale
Delicata squash, pear, walnut
We tried some things we've never had before and almost everything was great (beets are never good in our books, even when you make them in to a macaroon)! It was a lot of fun and we were glad we did it, although our wallets were a little sad! After our 3 hour dinner we headed home. As much as we wanted to stay out for the night, I was pretty sure my parents didn't want to be up with Kellen 3 times. Nor did I think setting an alarm three times to pump would be super romantic or relaxing! But getting away for 5 hours was nice and we really appreciate my parents watching the little ones and getting them to bed! They even put up with my screaming son as they defrosted more milk since the 6.5 ounces of milk I left was apparently no where near enough for my little piglet!
Here's to the beginning of another great year together!
21 courses later we were ready to head home! Some of our favorite courses from the tasting menu?
Sashimi of kampachi, blood orange, ginger, nasturtium, sea beans
Halibut, butternut squash risotto, laughing bird farm shrimp, sea spear
Lobster, cauliflower, smoked golden raisin, vadouvan
Pimeland farm beef strip loin, hedgehog mushrooms, kohlrabi, cheddar, curly kale
Delicata squash, pear, walnut
We tried some things we've never had before and almost everything was great (beets are never good in our books, even when you make them in to a macaroon)! It was a lot of fun and we were glad we did it, although our wallets were a little sad! After our 3 hour dinner we headed home. As much as we wanted to stay out for the night, I was pretty sure my parents didn't want to be up with Kellen 3 times. Nor did I think setting an alarm three times to pump would be super romantic or relaxing! But getting away for 5 hours was nice and we really appreciate my parents watching the little ones and getting them to bed! They even put up with my screaming son as they defrosted more milk since the 6.5 ounces of milk I left was apparently no where near enough for my little piglet!
Here's to the beginning of another great year together!
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