Mav allergy update

So on the topic of allergies I am pleased to say that Mav apparently does not have any.

Any IgE allergies that is; now knowing what I know about FPIES I am certain Mav's past reactions to banana's were FPIES reactions. But that will be something we explore on a different day.

As for the reactions he has been having since last summer, apparently he is not allergic to anything. He has recently been tested for seasonal environmental allergens and passed all those, he also passed two rounds of skin prick testing to check for common allergens as well as check some of the things we felt he was reacting to.

They all came back clear.

Now I should be jumping for joy with news like that, and believe me I am happy but that epi pen will not be leaving his bag any time soon. He has been participating in an allergy study since birth and one of the researchers commented on his reactions basically thinking that he may not be actually reacting but instead may just be overly sensitive. So for instance when I give him food that has ketchup on it, or ketchup to dip into his lips will start to look a little funny after a few bites. Same thing happened with chips he was given, and olives, and hotdogs.... It is the only pattern that seems to make sense. We were thinking his was having allergic reactions when that may not have been the case after all. Actually we know he's not allergic to those foods because of the testing.

So it makes it a little easier to go ahead and let him eat things, but I would be lieing if I said I wasn't nervous each time it happens. I try to limit those foods just in case.

The allergy study recently contacted us to actually do some blood work and use him as the non allergic control half of the next portion of the study. So we will be signing up for that. I really wish I had of signed Ty up for all of this, he would have made for a more interesting subject.

Two

My first baby turned two a few weeks ago. All grown up. When we brought Ty home Mav seemed so much bigger right away, now that he's two he's practically an adult!

That may be extreme but he's growing so fast these days! We're talking do everything yourself, speaking mini sentences fast.



My dear sweet Mav,

Your still Momma's boy at heart and we still have plenty of snuggles but you now adore your daddy just as much. You try to be just like him including copying his body language, keeping your hat with his and "helping" him with things around the house. On the weekends mommy gets a sleep in day and daddy gets up with you. I'm usually wide awake and listening to you and your daddy, it just melts my heart.


You look just like him. You smile like mommy, with your squinty eyes and you have my forehead but that's pretty much all that's left of me these days. Sorry about that by the way.

This year has been a big one for you.


You started daycare and you love it. You ask to go there almost daily. You love to play with all the other kids and have your very first best friend Noah (not counting Nate because he's family). I'm sure part of why you are so smart is because of all the great things you do and learn there. You know your colours, can almost count to 10 (you usually skip 5 and 7) and you know some of the alphabet already. 

You became a big brother a few months ago. I never knew a 20 month old toddler could have so much pride and natural nurturing instinct like you immediately did. Sure you were jealous but you've loved your brother from the moment you met him, you share your toys and try to help him when he needs anything. You are very rarely jealous these day and have taken a very protective role when we are around other people.

During your first year you had stitches, and during your second you fractured your first bone. You collar bone to be exact. And ya I said "first" because as much as I hate the idea I'm sure it's not the last. You are such a wild man, you have no fear when it comes to doing things. You scaled a six foot ladder right to the top, you climb and jump and run everywhere. We have been seeing an allergist for your mysterious reactions you have been having. So far it is looking like you have some sort of sensitivity with no specific trigger. Hopefully whatever it is you grow out of it fast.

You are speaking fairly, you have quite a large vocabulary and use it appropriately as well as in mini sentences, but you do still have trouble expressing your emotions. You tend to be a bit emotional. There are days where you cry and whine so much that mommy wants everyone to just go back to bed. Terrible twos are in full swing. But Mommy loves you anyways.

You are stubborn and independent; loving and protective; free spirited and hot tempered. You love animals, your friends and your family fiercely. Your favourite shows include Dora, and Diego. Favourite foods are any types of fruit. You could eat berries all day.

If the last few months are any indication I think this year will be full of all sorts of new challenges, you will probably be testing mommy and daddy's wits to the breaking point but we will be sure to have lots of fun in the process.

Mommy and Daddy love you more than the world itself.
xox

 

"My Baby"

Mav to hubby "my baby!" As he protectively stands between them. 

Hubby " no. He's my baby, he's your brother" 

Mav "no. My baby" "mine" 

Hubby "no. He's mine. I'm the daddy" 

This continues back an forth a bit 

Hubby "he's mine I made him with my penis!" 

Mav "me! My penis! My baby!" 

Great just great my kid said penis. 

Things to remember

Mav's current obsession with the doctor. 

Everything needs to be fixed by the doctor, every little fall, bump, bruise. He probably suggests we go to the doctor at least twice a day. Today I even pretended to call the doctor who of course gave advice over the phone on how to treat the bump on Mav's head lol meanwhile he was sitting there wide eyed watching me waiting for me to tell him what the doctor said. 

Kid turns 2 next week (crazy!) I really hope grandma finds him a toy doctor kit. :)

Things to remember

Watching Mav breastfeed a stuffed puppy and bear, then burp them both and lay them down to sleep. Making sure to tell me "shhh" so I don't wake them ;)

Sidenote* we are going thru an anti clothing stage. Shirt with the diaper was a compromise lol 

Things to remember

Mav tasting hot chocolate for the first time "milk! Hot milk!" - he now asks for hot milk 

Mav dropping something on the floor "ahhh mahnn!" 

This obsession with lining things up:

Remember when.... My dog bit my baby (1 year update)

** WARNING THIS POST INCLUDES GRAPHIC IMAGES**

Last Thursday marks the one year milestone of Mav's encounter with our old family dog.
It was a day that honestly changed my life forever, I will never be able to look at a dog the way I used to, trust a dog the way that I used to. And maybe that is a good thing.

I find it hard to believe it has been a year already, in some ways it feels like the time has flown by and in others it seems like it has been so much longer. Our year has been an emotional one, dealing with the grief of the loss of our dog and the demons in our heads of what happened. For myself it has included panic attacks, nightmares and flashbacks of the horrible event I witnessed. For hubby it has involved a lot of "what if's" grief about how we as parents were careless which allowed it to happen. I wrote about the incident briefly right after it happened, you can find that post here, I did not include any pictures at first. It was all too hard to deal with back then, but today I will be sharing with you (hence my warning at the beginning of this post). This is a full disclosure post, I needed to share it fully. I need to get past this. 

To start, here is what Mav looks like today. 

A year later his scars are barely noticeable and we are one follow up away from being discharged from plastics. If he gets really cold, for instance after swim lessons they do turn a light purple and become more obvious. Thankfully there will be no need for corrective surgery as he has healed quite nicely.

In addition to barely having any physical scars emotionally he is doing quite well also. There is a dog at his daycare that he interacts with on a regular basis, he shows no fear or hesitation which is good. He was "lucky"  that he was so young in the sense of not developing any debilitating fears. He still loves dogs, his little face lights up whenever he sees one walking down the street. He calls out to the neighbors dogs and tries to pet them through the fence. We are reinforcing the point of no kissing dogs still, my little lover child will try to get face to face with a dog to kiss it (which makes my heart speed to what I assume is unhealthy rates). There has been a couple occasions where for some reason he has shown hesitation towards to strange dog, this is good. I want him to love dogs but to learn to be careful.

I don't recall if I ever shared this but it happened twice...

On December 5th, 2012 I drove hubby to work bright and early in the morning. When Mav and I returned home I found that our dog had eaten a large amount (2-3 dozen) of the chocolate brownies I had baked for the Christmas cookie exchange I was going to that day. Daisy was a beagle, a medium size dog at most 25lbs. I knew it was a matter of time before that much cocoa killed her so we jumped back into the car and rushed to the vets. Once there they gave her an injection of something that caused her to vomit multiple times and empty her stomach, in addition to that it she was also in a drugged state barely able to lift her own head. She spent the rest of her day locked in our kitchen for easy clean up as well as to keep her separate from human interaction at the vets suggestion. The vet made it clear that she may be in an altered state of mind because of the injection. Mav and I went to the cookie exchange and by evening Daisy appeared to slowly be coming around. This is where the first slip up happened. Following dinner hubby let Daisy out of the kitchen out of habit so that she could lick up any crumbs, then the next slip up occurred. I put Mav on the floor to play. Both are things that we did on a daily basis, no second thought about it. As I sat at the dinning table I had Daisy at my feet and Mav crawling around to my left. Both of them were literally in an arms reach from me as I read through the newspaper. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mav climb to his knees and start to reach for the dog who had her back end towards him. Daisy had bad hips, they occasionally caused her visible pain, most likely they were painful on a daily basis and so we were always cautious with respect to them. It was not unlike Mav to reach out and touch the dog, she normally would lick him as he did so but on that night in her drugged state that is not what happened. I can still picture it, it goes in slow motion just as it did while it was happening. Mav climbed to his knees and reached his hand out to the dog, my hand started to extend in a cautionary gesture to tell him to be gentle but before I could do that Daisy turned around and locked her teeth onto his little cherub cheek knocking him to the ground. It was a matter of seconds. Slow motion but so fast that a blink could almost have caused me to miss seeing it. I screamed (so I am told) described as a blood curling witness to a murder scream. My screaming alerted hubby who was downstairs, and our neighbors who immediately started calling and texting also. My hand already in the process of extending immediately changed paths and went straight for the dog's scruff as I dropped to the floor on my knees. She was not letting go. She had his little cheek locked in her jaw and there was an aggressive growl coming from her. I can not even describe in full accuracy the behaviour she was showing, I remember grabbing her with one hand and hitting her with another trying to lift her from my baby. Once separated I had her in one hand and scooped up Mav with another. I tossed her aside and immediately jumped to my feet scared to look closer, at first glace it looked like a huge part of his cheek was missing, there was blood everywhere. I was starting to go into shock but something in the back of my head switched from frantic mother into what I call "nurse mode". At this point hubby was beside me screaming also, he was in full blown panic mode and one of us needed to pull it together, it was obvious at that moment it needed to be me. I ordered hubby into the car cradling Mav in my arms and trying to shield his face from hubby. At this point I still thought there was a piece of his face on our dinning room floor and thought that if Hubby saw him it would push him over the edge. I needed him to regain some composure. We ran every red light and stop sign on our way to the hospital and made it there in record time. abiding by traffic rules we live approx 10-20 min drive from the hospital depending on time of day and traffic.  As we ran into the triage area we were quickly whisked into the back where Mav was cleaned up and stitched up. He had a small insertion wound above his left eye brow that was glued shut, another small insertion wound and a larger gaping tear on his left cheek. Nothing was missing, the larger wound had been split open by the dog's tooth. It was unclear what caused that to happen, My memory even at the hospital was too foggy to identify if the skin tore when I grabbed the dog or if the dog bite itself did it. Mav ended up with 5 or 6 stiches and we were sent home. 

City bi law states that after a dog bite the affected dog must be kept in quarantine for 10 days before action can be taken. Even if it is your dog who you know is fully vaccinated. The penalty is over $1500 if the dog is terminated or "goes missing" before being cleared by the health inspector. And so for the next 10 days Daisy stayed with us locked in a separate area so she had minimal contact with myself and hubby, and no new visitors were allowed in the home. Being so close to Christmas, and being given the time to allow our emotions to calm the decision was made that Daisy would continue to live with us but would be treated more like a dog and not allowed to interact with Mav or any young children. Our house is set up in a way that did allow this to happen, it meant closing gates so that Daisy was in one area while Mav was in another. I was terrified of my dog, I hated her.  Hubby was convinced it was the injection and her drugged state. He blamed us for it the attack happening, I blamed the dog. This caused extra stress but we lived like this for the next 2-3 months. Shortly after the bite Mav got an infection and was admitted to the hospital for IV antibiotics, once the infection was out his incision was able to heal properly. Just as things were getting back to normal and every one was feeling like our new life had settled she bit him again.

The second bite happened on Mav's birthday, almost 3 months after the first.  I suppose the change in how the dog was treated and how she was now living caused some jealousy. The second bite was completely unprovoked, it was not an aggressive attack like before but more of a warning. A friend was visiting and holding Mav in his arms. The dog was in the kitchen separate from Mav, that is until our friend entered the kitchen with Mav in his arms. Hubby was there too seeing that said friend had entered the kitchen with Mav hubby warned that he was to be separate from the dog and out of the kitchen. Said friend assured hubby nothing would happen he had it under control, then for some reason he put Mav down. Mav stood there at said friends feet for only a few short moments before the dog came over and bit him once again on the left cheek. This time the bite was a direct in and out, like a warning nip. It broke the skin and once again Mav was rushed to the hospital. This time no stitches were needed just closed shut with some surgical glue. Once we returned from the hospital we put Daisy in the car and we took her directly to the vet's office. They were just getting ready to close and were waiting for us to arrive. We said our goodbye's and left her there. She was euthanized the following morning. The combination of her age, health and now inability to interact with other dogs or children meant she was not a candidate for adoption.

At some point when our children are older we will get another dog, but it will be a few more years before we are ready to even start planning that. And there will be a lot of planning involved to find us the right dog for our family. 

This past week has been an emotionally tough one for me but we are all still healing and in a much better place. 

Co Parenting

Webster's defines co parenting as the "shared duties of bringing up a child". It is often made in reference to a divorced couple raising their children while living separately. When really co parenting also describes two parents who are still living under the same roof. It is something my husband and I are failing at miserably. 

And because we are failing so miserably everyone's lives (hubby, Mav and mine) are in turn miserable. No one is happy here these days, no matter how promising the day starts. 

No this is not a post looking for encouragement and people to say we are doing great. This is the truth, the ugly truth and I am being honest. 

So why is this happening? Why is everyone so miserable? What could we possibly be doing that's so wrong. I will start by stating the obvious differences in our upbringings. 

Hubby grew up with parents who attempted to be married while making each other miserable. Discipline was forced and coincided with raised voices and negative exchanges of words. 

I grew up with a mother who had multiple failed relationships and pushed strongly for independence and feelings of self worth in her children. Discipline was more positive and involved talking about cause and effect of our behaviours. No force, no raised voices. Never were we ever made to feel bad about ourselves when being disciplined. 

Flash forward to these two people dealing with a toddler prematurely entering the "terrible two" phase. We disagree on how to deal with temper tantrums and everything else. If voices are raised Mav's behaviours get worse. And I am not innocent with this one, my voice raises. I do my best to balance it with positive reinforcement and take the time to explain to him why he can not behave in certain ways. 

A typical day looks like this. Mav pushes the boundaries and gets himself worked up which in turn increases the stress level of said parents. One of the parents then takes it upon themselves to manage the situation in a way opposite of what the other feels is right. Said parents then start fighting. Fighting parents then trigger Mav to increase behaviours to the next level. Parents fight more, one gives up while saying relationship damaging words to the other. Remaining parent gets Mav under control and finishes parenting duties. Parents continue to fight after Mav is in bed, go to bed with issues unresolved. The threat of divorce is thrown out there, sometimes a productive conversation occurs attempting to find resolution. However nothing ever changes and it all repeats the next day.

Now I realize I am much more shall we say hormonal this pregnancy, but I sadly do not think this is the cause of these issues. I search the Internet wide and far looking for insight on how to better manage these things. But things will only get better if everyone involved actually tries. One person can simply not sit back nod wait for the other to change before they try, it has to happen together. And you can't make someone change, or want to change. Especially when that someone blames the other as the main cause of everything wrong in their life.

I have suggested counseling, everything imaginable but only one person going does not work. 

I feel like I am standing in a small dark room and I am very worried about the upbringing of my children. I love my husband more than anything in the world, we have always been slightly dis functional when it came to how we deal with things. But now with children involved I worry about what our relationship will do to them. I do not want my children to grow up feeling the way my husband has expressed being made felt by his parents. But I have no clue how to make sure this does not happen. I can't control or change the way my husband parents, and let me say that from what I know despite the similarities he is not as harsh a parent as his. 

At this point I don't see a resolution. And that worries me, makes me scared for my marriage. 

Ortho update

Mav had his first appointment with the Orthopedic doctor Friday.

I don't think I wrote why he was going in my last post so I will start with that.

So Mav has been walking since he was 10 months old, that is lots (and lots) of practice time, by this point he really should be quite stable on his feet but he is a total clutz. At first I didn't think anything of it but I had a few people point out to me that he is bow legged. That also was not a big concern of mine, better bow legged than knock kneed in my opinion. Plus I had heard from other moms of bow legged kids that it has been suggested it is better for athletes to have a bit of a bow. Not that I am pushing for Mav to be an athlete but lets face it he is a very busy boy, and he has a natural love for sports so far. Obviously we will embrace that as much as our future bank accounts will allow lol.

So early walker becomes bow legged, and then a couple months back, somewhere between the 15-16 month mark I noticed he was becoming more clumsy and tripping more on his feet. After a few weeks of this I mentioned it to my doctor and she agreed with what we had noticed. Mav's legs were starting to turn inwards from the knees down throwing off his balance and causing him to trip. Some days his legs seem almost perfectly in line, but others (seemingly when he is over tired or too excited) its like his legs get lazy and start to turn. Sometime its a little turn others its much more noticeable. 

So now we will follow up yearly for potentially up to the next 7 years with the Ortho specialist.
That's all they want us to do, the examine concluded that Mav does in fact have a slight inward bend in his leg bones. Basically they said that it is not a concern at this point, and that as his leg muscles develop his legs should straighten. He doesn't even need physio, we are just to continue letting him be the overactive toddler he is which the Dr said was in his favor.

Ive searched for a picture to show what his legs do but all I can find is pronation of feet, and the curve is not in Mav's feet its in his calf bones...

So instead a cutie picture will have to do <3

18 Months!

Holy Moly Mav hits the 18 month mark at the end of this week.
That's a year and a half. Which is almost two! My little man is growing up so fast!

I know I haven't been doing monthly posts lately, to be honest I just haven't had much time for anything and I feel like after the twelve month mark milestones spread out so I would be sharing the same thing month after month. Snooze fest ( no offense to mama's who do monthly posts still I'm not saying yours are boring I just mean mine would be!)

So what is there to say about my soon to be 18 month old?

Mav truly is a toddler, I am not sure exactly when they officially become one but he is there. He still has his moments where he very much likes to be coddled and treated like a baby but they are far and few between. He is so independent and stubborn, and into everything. He wants to do everything he sees myself or his daddy do, as well as things he sees the bigger kids do at daycare which often will result in a tantrum if its not something appropriate or safe. Strong willed and stubborn describe him well. We try to let him explore and try new things regardless of his age, I do not want to discourage him, I want him to continue to be inquisitive and eager to learn and try things. Listening skills vary by the day, this is where we see a lot of his stubbornness. I know he hears me, and I know he understands but sometimes if its something he wants bad enough  than its pretty much in one ear and out the other. For the most part he does very well at following commands. He will put things in the garbage, pick up toys, and bring me items as asked; I tend to ask him to do a lot of things to test him.

He loves to climb up onto things which I thought he had outgrown but it seems as tho round two has started in the last couple weeks. Since he did start walking so young we have already been through a climber stage and it was great when I could untie the chair legs ( I used a scarf and tied them together under the table to discourage him from climbing) and relax without worrying he was going to fall off something and break his neck.

He is very athletic, he loves to play any sport and if I may add is fairly good at them. He received two mini hockey sticks for his birthday and like a true Canadian boy intuition just knew how to use them. Since then he has been introduced to basket ball, soccer, t ball, football and golf. All of which he loves and is able to differentiate between them. He throws and kicks very well, often straight and a good distance most people are impressed when they play with him. It makes his daddy (who happens to be one of those athletes that could play any sport well) very proud.

His language skills are improving as of lately which I really am happy about. For some time now he has been fairly non verbal, able to get his needs known and point across by pointing at things and making whiney sounds. He has a fair list of words that he can say I know I am leaving some out but his list includes: mama, mommy, daddy, sorry, ball, doggie, kitty, hi, bye, hello, baby, ba (bottle), grandma, nanna, Jill, blueberries, me, meow, keys as well as thank you, ready set go and lets go. He doesn't ever say no or yes but he will nod and shake his head appropriately. He has a few other words that I have heard him say once or twice but those seem to be the ones he will say most often. According to our day care lady she has heard him say please, no and stop. He also knows and says her name. Despite knowing how to say words it still can be a challenge to get him to say things and I really am trying to work on that with him. Not because I'm worried or that I feel he needs to for any reason other than it really is much easier for me when he will tell me what he needs.

As for his personality Mav still is very loving and gentle natured, but he also now will stand up for himself and should someone else get too rough or take something from him that he really wants he will fight back... this is another perk to language skills. Specifically the word "me" is used a lot when someone has something that he was playing with or something he wants and since learning it he does not hit nearly as often, where as before if you took something from him he would start swinging. When he does something bad or needs to say sorry it is always accompanied with a hug which is really sweet.

He is a very scrawny little boy, I think at his last appointment they said he was down under the 50th percentile but I cant remember exactly where he fit in. Most the children in my family start off very thin and petite and then develop into giant monsters. He has a very good appetite and will eat most foods so I am not at all worried. He just happens to burn off so much energy he stays really thin. Currently he only weighs 22lbs. I am not too sure what his favourite foods are these days it is hard to narrow it down, he loves most fruits, we still avoid bananas since he had the reaction and will re introduce it when he is a bit older. Cucumbers are also a big hit, I don't even cut it up, I just cut a portion off and hand it to him and he chops away happily eating it all. Carrots and potatoes are a fairly safe bet, I don't think Ive ever seen him turn them down. While all other vegetables seem to depend on his mood as to whether he will eat them on a particular day. Meat also depends on his mood, for a long time he refused to eat it but lately he has been actually eating it in small portions. 

His favourite toys right now are his toy balls, cars and trucks, dinosaurs and mega blocks. Those all come out on a daily basis. He also loves tools. Any change he can he will grab one of daddy's tools and "get to work" on something. Its really cute. He has a favourite bunny stuffy (bunny head attached to a little blanket) that he sleeps with and the once beloved (by me)  now dreaded soother is also a main source of comfort.  He also has a preference for one particular blanket but can go days without it if its not needed. We spend a lot of time outside, he absolutely loves to be outdoors and playing. 

Lets see.. some other miscellaneous things worth mentioning..

He has a full set of teeth on the left side of his mouth and the remaining molars and fangs on the right side are all in the process of coming in as we speak. I think at this point they have all broken the  gums to some degree and are all taking their turns at tormenting him.

Coming up we have his orthopedic assessment, his legs turn inward slightly which has been affecting his balance lately. They were not always like that so I mentioned it to the dr and she put the referral to have him assessed. I had this at a much younger age and it had to be corrected, I'm pretty sure I had tiny little baby casts on my legs and feet.

He had his pre summer follow up with the plastic surgeon to monitor the scars on his face, she was very pleased with how it has healed and we will see her probably for the last time in September or October to make sure the scars continue to fade and are not damaged by the sun. I will post more of an update on that in general at a later time.

He has become very interested in the toilet and sitting on his potty. There have been some kids at day care potty training recently so that seems to have caught his interest. I have been trying to be as vocal as possible about the potty and what its for. If I notice he is pooping I will ask him "are you pooping?" and immediately change his diaper afterwards, I was reading somewhere that making him aware of what he is doing is sort of a pre step for training later. He now will walk up to you and pat his diaper when it needs to be changed, not always but especially after a nap when it is a little more full.

He understands there is a baby in my belly and is very affectionate and wanting to feel the baby move which is really sweet. He loves babies so hopefully he will love this one even when he realizes they are staying with us permanently lol.

He loves music and loves to dance. He really enjoys when his daddy plays guitar, Mav has his own little guitar that looks like daddy's and they will sit together and play.

My little man <3 growing up so fast. Soon he will be moving to his big big room and becoming a big brother! 

11 Months

On Saturday MV turned 11 months!
Only one month left :( until my baby is turning one!

Weight
20 pounds... Still no gain and officially dropped down a curve. Hopefully he gains before his one year check.

Length
74 cm

Hair and Eyes
Apparently the official colour of his hair is "Ash blonde" according to a random lady in the mall ;) It's getting very long but still thin.

Clothing Size
12-18 months.

Diapers
Size 4 during the day and size 5 at night.

Sleep
We are co sleeping half the night, he still is obviously having stomach cramps/pains that are making it harder for him to settle. The doctor gave us a prescription for reflux so we'll see if that's it. He sleeps anywhere from 2-4hours at a time. It still sucks but not as bad as the past months where he woke every 60 minutes

Eating
We have introduced homo milk last week and have officially started weaning! I'm sad but also more excited than expected for this :) We do a combination of solid finger foods and purée types like applesauce for meals.
We are still waiting to retry the bananas.

New Developments
~ his 7th tooth has come in
~ he WALKS! This started days after he turned 10 months, he's practically running now
~ he loves clapping and when people clap for him
~ he is a little less (hoping I'm not jinxing it) mischievous, perhaps learning boundaries
~ he tries to correctly use a spoon
~ still having separation issues
~ loves, loves, LOVES babies and animals, this is not new but his love is growing. It's so sweet.
~ he is very good with sharing but also starting to resist when his cousin tries to take things from him.
~ loves playing with phones pretending to talk on them, and loves pushing trucks and cars while making "pffbbbbbbb" noises
~ personality ~ a little less mischievous, and very loving.

Update

Let me start by saying thank you for the kind words and support on my last post. It really means a lot. This has been an extremely tough week for us.

I wanted to give a quick update and then I probably will disappear for a few days again. I am not in the mood to go ahead with my originally planned posts so for now they will just have to wait.

So last Thursday morning I went ahead and called the vets to make arrangements for the dog. It turns out there's some law (or bi law?) that you have to wait 10 days to monitor for rabies after a dog bites someone. So our dog is still here, and now there's a chance she may stay. As MV has stabilized and the emotions calm down hubby has decided he wants to keep the dog because he feels the situation was preventable and will not happen again. It's an extremely conflicting issue that I think if it's going to be explained will warrant its own post so I'll leave it for now. The lady comes Friday morning to check the dog and give us the go ahead should we decide to take any action.

Last Friday morning MV woke and was burning up, I gave him some Advil and eventually we ended up down in emerg. The doctor on staff decided he must be fighting off a cold and decided the wounds looked good so home we went.
Saturday MV was extra fussy and generally not himself all day, around dinner puss started draining from one of the wouds so we got in the car and back to emerg again. This time we were admitted and after 6 rounds of intravenous antibiotics we were sent home mid day Monday. He had been prescribed oral antibiotics after the bite happened but apparently they taste horrible and he was spitting, gagging and puking it up. We are now back on those gross meds and I pretty much have to sit on him and pin him down to get them in him. I feel awful doing it but I don't want to end up back in the hospital. Tomorrow is his follow up and most likely they will be removing the stitches. I'm so nervous but excited to be another step closer to being healed.

As for myself I am doing alright depending on the moment. I've had mini panic attacks, and nightmares. I feel afraid that something is going to happen. Most of the time I am fine tho.

MV is unphased by it all. He doesn't even realize the dog bit him. He gets upset that I keep them separated. My defiant child will run/crawl over to the gate that separates him from the dog every chance he gets.

At least he's not scared.

I will be back, again thank you for the support. I hope to get back to reading all the blog posts I've missed and will keep you posted oxo

Warning long :'(

I want to start by apologizing for my absence, MV has been sick and barely sleeping. As a result hubby and I have been sick and barely sleeping.

Despite my sleep deprivation I felt I needed to write this morning. I'm not sure if I will find the right words to express how I am feeling but I needed to try. My brain is overwhelmed, and confused; struggling between blocking out yesterday and trying to clearly remember. I'm angry and sad, and scared, really scared. My heart feels like its ripping in half while its lodged in my throat. Tears have been pouring down my face for hours.
This should be easy, no doubt or hesitation, if you've never been in this situation you would think the decision was obvious. I know I felt that way before.
But now in the moment of it all my heart is breaking, the guilt inside is unbearable and I can't help but think of all the ways this could have been prevented. Can't help but feel responsible, like its my fault.

My dog, my amazing loving loyal dog is laying by my feet as I sit rocking in MV's room. She assumes this position almost every time I sit here. She loves him do much, I know that. She has since he was born. Always so attentive to him whenever he cries, she has become my back up when he is inconsolable I just call her near and MVs face will light up, he stops crying.

MV love her too. So much this hurts even more, and makes me feel I've let him down. I keep picturing them playing together, him giggling away as he "sneaks" her treats and shares his good. Or how he smiles real big and leans into her when he wants her to lick his face. I feel like he is losing his best friend, I really truly believe that. At only 9 months old I'm sure he will move on quickly, forget her even. Dear god I hope he does because the sight of him looking for her, or the sound he makes when he is calling to her will kill me every time.

I rescued Daisy from the shelter, at just over a year old I was her third owner. Her hound instinct had brought her there, as she kept running away and previous owners had enough. The bond I felt with her was instant, she was my dog, meant for me to find her. Those first few years I had her were tough years for me. I had flunked out of my first year of college, living in a new city away from family and friends. My anxiety was out of control, on the verge of depression and she helped me thru it all. She made me feel safe, she gave me a purpose and without her I don't even want to think of where I would have ended up. And when I started having concerns with my epilepsy, she amazed me again. Her intuition and responsiveness to me before I even could realize what was happening to my body was comforting. She made me feel safe.

She has never been good with other dogs, I'm not sure if anything happened before I found her but I know afterwards I witnessed her get attacked more than once. This as inconvenient as it was, it was ok we managed. I did whatever I could to protect her.

I keep looking at the clock. It's almost 7:00am, in an hour our vets office will open and I will be calling them. Making arrangements to say goodbye to my dog. It hurts so much to think about it, to hit the keys as I type those words. Goodbye.
I have no choice. As much as I love her, as much as I need her, I have to say goodbye to my "first baby". She's like a child to me, she's only a dog but it hurts so much.

She's ten years old now, her hips are bad and she's uncomfortable and in pain every day. So much pain that she has become much more fragile than her petite 26 pound frame already was. She is not strong enough to withstand the physical impact of a 22 pound baby's love. MV has hurt her before, on two previous occasions he has put too much weight onto her fragile hips. She's warned him. Nips at the air in front of his face, and even a low growl. Because of this we are careful, we try to make sure MV does not hurt her and don't let him touch her back side. But last night I wasn't as careful, I wasn't paying attention as the two played at my feet. I'll regret it forever, the memory will be burned into my mind. It happened all too fast but slow motion all at the same time as I watched MV raise to his knees and with both hands reach for the dogs back end. I never thought she would ever hurt him. She loves him so much. In a second it was over, my hands reached out to stop MV but it was too late.

We rushed to the hospital, everyone crying hysterically. There were three open areas on the right side of MV's face. A small slice above his eye brow, a puncture mark near his cheekbone and a gaping open gash on his chubby cheek.

He has 4 or 5 stitches on his cheek between those two spots and is going to be fine. He starts antibiotics today to hopefully prevent any infection.

Daisy knows she hurt him, I feel like she's been trying to say sorry all night. But it's too late, It happened and I can't risk I happening again.

I feel like there's so much else I need to write but my brain has shut off. I can't even proof read this.

MV's Stache

Wordless Wednesday ;)

Lefty?

I'm not sure at what age babies/children show hand dominance but I've been thinking for a while that MV might be a lefty.

We're sitting here enjoying some post dinner Cheerios and he's eaten all but one with his left hand. Now that he's doing finger foods I'm noticing more and more how frequent he uses his left. When he does use his right he is not nearly a coordinated.

Hubby and I are both right handed so we shall see :)

Oh and on a side note yesterday MV figured out how to master the 90 degree turn in our stair case and climbed all the way to the top!

I'm seriously in trouble now

8 Months

Weight
19lbs 7oz

Length

Hair and Eyes
Hair - its getting thicker, with the exception of the patches above his ears lol. I think it's more dirty blonde at this point too.
Eyes- no changes they are blue :)

Clothing Size
Footed sleepers - 12 months
Shirts - long sleeve are 9 months but he still fits in 6m short sleeve
Pants - 9 months

Diapers
Size 3 still

Sleep
f***ing horrible.
Things started fine with MV sleeping in his bed waking twice maybe three times a night. Then for some reason still unknown he now wakes every 30-60 minutes screaming. To say I am exhausted is an understatement.

Eating
Some more new solids have been introduced, plums seem to be a favourite.
Breast feeding continues every 2-3 hours, MV is having some issues here and won't stay latched longer than 4 minutes.

New Developments
- MV learned how to roll across the room so this became his way of getting around for a week before he full out started crawling. Now he's into everything!
- MV went to his first pumpkin patch :)
- MV stayed with a sitter (hubby's aunt) twice this month. First was just 2 hours while I went for a pedicure but the second time was for 6 long hours. The longest 6 hours ever. I had a few anxiety attacks and apparently he wasn't the happiest either.
- tooth #5 poked through. Top left fang.
- he started waving at people. Sometimes he'll do it when we say to, other times it's just random.
- favourite things this month include staring out the windows, and playing in the dog's water bowel.
- personality is wild and crazy. He never stops, and is into everything. I foresee a cast or two in our future!when you catch him doing something or about to do something he's not supposed to he let's out the funniest sounding giggle.

7 Months

The problem with taking pictures with my good camera and not my phone is I have to upload them onto the computer to see and use them... so not that I'm making excuses but this post is pretty late because of that ;)

On September 26th MV turned 7 Months!!

Weight
17.5 lbs

Length
28.5 inches

Hair and Eyes
Hair - it's getting thicker! Still fairly light, sometimes it looks a little strawberry blonde, other times its a more dirty blonde.
Eyes - Big and blue. Old ladies (and everyone else) love his eyes. lol

Clothing Size
onesies and shirts - if they are short sleeve then he can still fit in most 3-6 shirts
sleepers - 9 months
pants - 6-9 months, but the waists are too lose

Diapers
size 3 still :)
Oh and we finally had to buy diapers. 7 Months worth from a baby shower is pretty good :)

Sleep
Sleep... I wish I could say great things but really its hit and miss. Just when I think he's sleeping well something happens and its back to waking every 2 hours.
Sleeping arrangements have been changing, MV has been sleeping the first half of the night in his room in his crib. At around 2am when he wakes for his feeding he falls back asleep in our bed and stays there until morning.

Eating
Still breast feeding every 3 hours approximately. Foods are being introduced around every 5 days. He is not much for pureed foods so we've been doing a combo of purees and regular foods. So far he has eaten banana (which he may be allergic too), avocado, green beans, sweet potato, squash, and peaches. Peaches were a big hit mixed with his cereal.

New Developments
- 4 teeth this month!! two top and two bottom chompers! three of them all came in less than 7 days... that was... fun... torture.
- favourite toys include his taggie blanket, and our cell phones
- he finally rolled from front to back!
- he now reaches up with his arms when he wants to be held
- pulls up onto his knees, so we dropped the crib down to avoid any issues.
- finally after lots of encouragement will finally take a soother. this has made life soo much easier! when he does wake I just pop that soother in his mouth and he usually falls back asleep.
- loves being tickled, thighs are extra fun

Another Tooth! ... and a free printable ;)

MV has another tooth!

Last night was bad/ very very horrendously bad.
MV woke repeatedly, to be more exact each time I would put him down.
So I barely slept. And was an irritable zombie today. And of course MV catnaps so I couldn't even get a decent nap in today.

Fingers crossed tonight is better.

Now that he has another tooth (the top incisor directly above his bottom tooth) I decided I needed to find a cute way to track them for his baby book.

I came across this one here , I saw it pinned on Pinterest. Super cute.
She has another version of this in green, its slightly different but same idea. I had a really hard time deciding which I liked. 
And its a free printable so I thought I would share :)

6 Months

My lil baby is half a year old :'( :)
MV turned 6 months on August 26th, Here are his six month stats.

Weight
17.5lbs

Length
28inches

Hair and Eyes
His hair is getting longer, it was windy the other day and some pieces of hair were flowing in the wind lol

Clothing Size
9 month full length sleepers, 3 month shorts, 3-6 month onesies and shirts, and 6-9 month pants. Seriously could he be more all over the place? Seriously dreading when people ask what size he's in right now!

Diapers
Size 3 :)

Sleep
We had a bit of a sleep regression, and a few more great nights with 6-8 hour stretches but the norm seems to be 1 sometimes 2 feeds overnight.

Eating
Breastfeeding every 2-3 hours, and one meal of cereal a day. MV is not a fan of the rice cereal so we have been trying oatmeal as well.

New Developments

We made the switch to his big boy car seat. The little carrier seat was getting too heavy so now it's used as a secondary seat for when we go out in someone else's car.

Lots of thumb sucking happening.

Loves to slap everything with his hands.

Sitting independently.

Lots of swim like motions during tummy time lol little man wants to move so bad! He has figured out how to do push ups but doesn't know to lift his little butt lol

MV went to his first petting zoo (didn't touch the animals) and had his first pony ride.

Experienced painting for the first time.

5 Months (really really late post)

Wow I was really lazy with blogging last month :s before I can post MV's 6month stats I had better post his 5months!

MV turned 5 months on July 26th.

Weight
15.5lbs as per the doctors scales.


Length
27.5 inches. That's a 2 inch difference from his 4 month post.


Hair and Eyes
Aside from having a bit more hair nothing else has changed. Hair is still fairly light on top and slightly darker on the sides. Eyes still are light blue in the middle with an dark outer ring.


Clothing Size
He's still able to fit into 3 month shorts, but everything else is 3-6 or 6 months. It's so frustrating how sizes are not consistent with each store.


Diapers
Size 3's! officially made the switch in size.


Sleep
We've had a few more long stretches but just when I think it's the new norm MV starts waking more frequently again. He spends the first half of the night in his playpen and I switch him back to our bed for feeds usually leaving him with us when he's done.


Eating
No bottles but the sippy cup has been introduced and going well. He prefers water from his sippy cup but will take breast milk occasionally. We really need to encourage this. Rice cereal was introduced a couple days before his 5 month bday.


New Developments

Still no teeth despite obvious teething.

Everything continues to be throughly inspected and then tasted.

Rolling from back to front like a champ, it is getting difficult to change diapers or any other tasks that involve laying on his back. Still can't roll front to back yet.

More hearty laughter :) love that sound.

Exersaucer = poop. Not sure why but does the job every time.

MV had his first swim in a big pool and loved it.

MV is now sitting in the shopping carts like a big boy.

Lots of love for the jolly jumper.