Dress Up and Dressed Down

Here are a few pictures from Sunday. (I forgot they were on my camera.)

Mason gets all dressed up for church, but when we get home it's back into play clothes.

This outfit use to be Cayden's. Thanks again Cassie for the hand me down. We got so many compliments on it.


Mowing with Daddy. For a one year old, life probably couldn't get any better than this.

Starting last Friday evening, Mason has felt better than he has in a long time. His sinus have cleared up, he's been sleeping really well again, and he's been into everything. He's always put on a good front even when he didn't feel his best, but this week he has been quite the character. Actually, he's on antibiotics again. We took him to the doctor a week ago last Thursday, because of a really bad cough. Come to find out, he had a slight ear infection in one ear. Don't know how that happened. I thought that's what the tubes were for. He'll go back on his 15 month checkup, so he can get his shots, plus they can check his ears. On another note, like I say all the time, Mason is really trying to say everything we say. He said "flower" today,(almost). Fish or as he says it, "ish" is one of his favorite things to say right now.

Have a good weekend!

The Doctor Ordered TUBES!

We saw an ear, nose, and throat doctor today and they scheduled Mason to have tubes put in, on Friday morning, Feb. 27. We have to be there at 6:30 and the surgery at 7:30. I'm more worried about making it there at 6:30. I can't even make it to work on time at 8:00. I'm so glad he's finally getting this done, so that maybe he can get some relief from being sick 2 or 3 times a month. The part where he has to be put to sleep scares me a little, but I know they're not giving him enough that would actually hurt him. Just remember to add Mason to your prayers.



Mason also had his one year check-up today. He weighed in at 24lbs and 12oz, 30 in. long. He's still above average! We told the doctor he can say, "dog, hot, hat." He has tried to say, "eyes." The doctor was well pleased that Mason had been off the bottle for a month and drinking whole milk. He had to get his finger pricked and have two shots. He took it like a champ. When the nurse pricked his finger, he never flinched, instead he watched every move she made while squeezing blood out of his finger. The nurse said he put the big kids to shame.

All in all, we got a good report.

We go back when he's 15 months old, to get more shots.

On a different note:
Now that Mason is walking, we are having a tough time keeping up with him. Now, he likes to race us to the toilet. Yes, the toilet. He wants to open the lid and put whatever is in his hand in the bowl. Needless to say, he's gotten his hand smacked a few times this week. It must be part of turning one.

Ear Infection Will Not Go Away!

I took Mason to the doctor yesterday, because he was so congested. He's been going along so good for the past few weeks, of course he was on antibiotics for about 4 weeks straight in Jan. I was afraid when his birthday party approached, he would get sick. Well, the doctor said his ears are still red and one is way worse than the other. I had hoped, the ear infection was clearing up from extending the antibiotics a few weeks ago, but no such luck. She said he met all the criteria for getting tubes put in. She made us an appointment with an ear, nose, and throat doctor, on Wednesday, Feb. 25, to have a consultation and go from there. That same day is also when we're suppose to have his one year check-up and get all those dreaded shots. However, until then, he's on more antibiotics to clear up all the congestion. I just pray he feels good for his party so that he can enjoy everybody and everybody can enjoy him.

I've heard a lot of people say, once a child gets tubes put in, it makes a world of difference. Hopefully we'll get to see that.

Good News From the Doctor

Mason had a doctor appointment yesterday for a follow-up on his ear infection. Much to mine and Phil's surprise, the doctor said there was no redness in his ears, but they checked for fluid and he did have a little. He extended Mason's antibiotics, SurPax, for another 2 weeks, hoping that this will take care of the remaining fluid. This was good news, considering the last three times we've been to the doctor they would say, "his ears are a mess." We'll be praying for this to finally clear up.

We've Been Sick Again

Let me start with Thursday. I went to the doctor and found out I had a sinus infection. It was a first for me. They gave me a steroid shot and antibiotics. I also was told to buy some Mucinex for nasal/sinus congestion. Oh, how I felt so much better the next day.

The picture below was taken of Mason on Thursday evening, after Nana and I made it safely home in the snow. If you look closely you can see that his eyes were pretty swollen. It was heartbreaking to look at him. Phil kept him Friday, with Nana watching him for a couple hours of the day. We thought if we kept him at home and didn't get him out in the cold, he would get better. Well, I should've went with my instinct and had Phil bring him to the pediatric clinic. But I didn't do that until 8:30 Saturday morning. His eyes looked better then, but there was a lot of gooey stuff coming out of them. The doctor said his ears were a "mess", so that's what was causing his eyes to swell. She prescribed antibiotics for the infection in both ears and some eye drops for the conjunctivitis (pink eye). To go along with that, he ran a fever most of Saturday and developed a croup like cough.
Around 2:30 on Saturday, Mason's breathing changed, it's like it was an effort for him to breath. Phil was at work so I called Nana to come over and see what she thought. She also felt the same way. We loaded Mason up and took him to the ACC to be checked out. They bumped him ahead of a couple of people. Nurse checked his temp. and it was 100.3, (not bad) she checked his oxygen and it was fine. Then the doctor came in and watched Mason's ribs as he breathed. He listened to his chest and back, said everything sounded fine. He felt like because Mason was congested in his nose that was causing him to breath like he was. We left feeling much better knowing he was okay as far as his breathing goes. Needless to say Mason and I slept in the recliner all night long. He actually slept pretty good.
Sunday you could tell Mason felt a little better. We didn't to church since pink eye can be very contagious. He seemed to get even better throughout the day, except for the cough.
Today, I was dressed and ready to go to work, but really didn't want to get Mason out in the weather. I just want him to get 100% better. Finally, I made up my mind I would stay home and give him one more day. Also, Phil was off today, but laid on the couch all day, because he was not feeling good at all. He had aching muscles and a headache. Mason and I played most of the morning, then we all took a nap, then played some more. (Being home today, has really made me want to stay home permanently, but we want a house someday, so I guess I'll have to keep contributing to our house fund.)


This picture really doesn't show how bad his eyes were, but you can see they were puffy.


I took a few of him Sunday playing with the humidifier. He would stand up beside, smack it with his wooden spoon, and bounce beside it.

He saw me with the camera.

By the way, Phil is feeling much better tonight. I think Mason will be okay enough to go to the babysitter tomorrow. Maybe we're all on our way to being 100% for Christmas.

Have a great week.

P.S. Mason can now walk down the length of the couch and back, while holding on of course. He can actually stand for a 3 or 4 seconds by himself when you let go of his hands, then he sits down. So, I think it might be another month before he might take some steps without holding onto anything.

The Doctor Said...

Mason had his 9 month checkup yesterday. The doctor said he has an ear infection. (This is his first ear infection.) He was prescribed stronger antibiotics than when he had the croup on Halloween. We are to go back in about 3-4 weeks for his ear to be looked at again, unless we can tell he's all better.

Even though he was sick, but not running a fever, the doctor decided to go ahead and give him a flu shot. He was taking a bottle when the nurse gave him the shot and he never flinched. I was waiting on his screaming cry. I guess the bottle out weighed the pain, or maybe he's just one tough cookie.

Last night he did better sleeping than he has in the past 3 nights. He only woke up once with his stuffy nose. It didn't take but 30 minutes and he was back out. Then he slept till 6:20 this morning.

His little nose doesn't seem to be running as much this morning. He's already playing in the kitchen floor with one of my stainless steel pots, that he got off the shelf himself.

I just pray this is a good sign he's getting better.

Have a great Saturday. I don't know about you, but we are staying indoors today. It is too coooold outside!!

Not Feeling So Well...

The past few days have been a little rough for Mason. I guess it started Sunday night. It's the usual runny/stuffy nose, and fever that comes and goes. This has caused some sleepless nights due to the fact, he CAN'T BREATH. His little nose is just terrible. Phil and I wish there was something more we could do for him, but all we have is the humidifier and a steam vaporizer. I've also used saline spray for infants, but I really can't tell if that's helping or not. Last night has been the worst. He only slept in his bed for about an hour before waking up. He and I slept in the recliner, while he tossed and turned trying to get comfortable. He would doze off for about 20 minutes at a time, then start all over again with the tossing and turning. At one point I had to get up to visit the restroom and I knew he was not going to like me sitting him down. But you got to go you got to go, right? I sat him down on the living room floor and dashed to the bathroom, he cried and cried, then I heard silence. When I came back he was asleep on the floor. I let him be and slept on the couch. He stayed there for 2 1/2 hours before waking up this morning at 5:00. It's nights like this that really make me feel like a mother, to care for my child when he's sick. Although I have to admit, I still get a little frustrated when I'm so sleepy, but I have to remind myself, "Brandie, he's not doing this on purpose."

He still plays and acts like he feels good for the most part, but you can look at his eyes and tell he's not 100%.

He has a 9 month checkup on Friday at 3:30. (He turned 9 mths on Wednesday.)
I know he has to get a flu shot on this visit, but I don't think he has to get any other shots. If he still has this sinus stuff going on, the doctor may give us Amoxicyllin again. (Spelling ?)

Surprisingly, I have not taken any pictures this week. (I don't know what's wrong with me.) I do plan on trying to set up something to do some Christmas pictures of Mason. I have to do a make- shift studio, with a white bed sheet and duct tape or pins to hang the sheet up for a backdrop. You'd be surprised how the final result comes out.

I would like to request prayers for Mason, so that he may get back to his normal self.

Hopefully, I will pick up my camera this weekend and take some pictures of our little guy.

I guess everybody is busy making plans for Thanksgiving next week. I still can't believe the holiday season is already upon us. Have a fun and safe weekend.