Some Welcome Relief

Hi everyone --

Well, the hives are finally gone (I'm hoping)!! After several doctor visits and medication changes, I think that I'm finally on the road to recovery. I went from thinking that my reaction was from contact I had to something that may have had cat hair on it to absolutely freaking out that I was allergic to eggs. Anyways, I saw an allergy specialist yesterday and he made my day by telling me that the cold virus I started last week triggered my hives. Who knew?!! He said that about 20 percent of the patients he sees with hives get them from a virus that sets their immune system into shock-mode. After restricting myself from food with eggs in it for six days, I was ecstatic to learn that it wouldn't be a lifetime of watching what I eat. I have so much more respect for anyone now who has a food allergy or who has diet restrictions :(

All I can say about going through this experience is that I NEVER want to get hives again - I wouldn't even wish them on my worst enemy. I had them on the majority of my body at several points and I don't think that I have ever been driven to that point of insanity in my life. On Saturday I was wanting Dan to take me to the hospital to admit and sedate me so I could get through it. Nothing would ease the itching, not even special lotions (you can't scratch them because it makes them rapidly multiply and intensify in feeling). I finally learned that relieving stress is one of the best ways, but it is easier said than done, especially when you feel like crap, are trying to breastfeed (and my milk supply was very low due to the medicine and my stress), and deal with working full-time again.

The good news is that I think the hives are finally in remission, although they could come back at any point in the next few weeks. Breastfeeding is also going much better now that my stress levels are down, thank goodness!! These last couple of days of better health have definitely given me a renewed since of happiness again :)

Sorry for those of you who were looking for an update on Jacob on this post, but I needed to vent!!

Hope everyone is staying warm - it was in the mid 50's yesterday afternoon and dropped to single digits here in mere hours. I think it was something like 3 degrees when I walked into work this morning, with a -16 windchill! Gotta love Central Illinois weather :)

Angela

Jacob's First Movie

Hi everyone --

Jacob just enjoyed his first movie experience, courtesy of Little Einstein's Baby Mozart! I've been wanting to try it for a couple of weeks now and finally got the opportunity. He made it through the majority of the movie before giving up, but I was pretty impressed with his attention span. He really seemed interested in it. This is the first time I have ever seen one of these movies and they are brilliantly constructed, this company is genious (of course it is in association with Disney). We will be doing this more often, especially as soon as he is able to sit safely in his bumbo seat.

Jacob did end up with a cold, although I don't think it is very bad at all. He never developed a fever and really slept a lot the first couple of days. He still coughs from time-to-time and has some nasal congestion, but I think that we lucked out with his first cold.

I got a touch of his cold starting Wednesday night and felt pretty bad. As if that wasn't enough, I woke up at 2:00 in the morning that night with hives all over. The only cause I can come up with is that I touched a toy we got as a gift for Jacob that day and the giver owns a cat (which I discovered later). I am very allergic to cats, but my reactions are typically respitory. I went to the doctor and got put on several medications. I was taking anti-histamines, but found out this morning that they reduce milk output, so I am now off of those. I started steroids this morning and should know tomorrow if they are working, if not then I have to get an allergy shot. I have had these darn hives for about 48 hours now and I am miserable!! They come and go, but mostly come. My doctor said that sometimes they can last for weeks. Yikes!!!!

Dan took yesterday and today off from work, which was nice. We kept Jacob home from daycare and Dan took care of both of us yesterday. Dan spent the whole day with Jacob today while I worked. Jacob starts daycare full-time on Monday and our normal routine begins. I think that we are all ready for some normalcy. We have a quiet weekend planned and will probably watch a lot DVDs, maybe even some Little Einsteins :)

Angela

Eventful Week

Hi everyone --

It's been an eventful week here at the Engel house. Going back to work and starting Jacob in daycare went very well!! Jacob's teachers at his daycare said that he did great and he didn't cry much at all. Dropping him off for the first day was hard on me, especially after seeing one of the teachers pull him out of his car seat and hold him as I was getting ready to leave. Seeing someone else take care of him was difficult to watch and it finally hit me that I won't be his caregiver during the day anymore. I did cry, but not as much as I thought I would. On the otherhand, I LOVED going back to work. I think everyone expected that I would have a hard time with it, but it was great to be back in my office and work on adult things :) I took Jacob's picture before his first day at daycare and he decided to pose and smile for me. This picture is the first picture that I have gotten with him smiling. It turned out that his smile was not actually for me, but because he was leaving me a present in his diaper!!

One thing that I forgot to mention in my last post is that Dan started a new job inside Growmark on Wednesday. He is no longer working in accounting and has taken a job as a merchandising analyst. So far, he likes his job and feels like it is a great move for his career. I'm going to try and take Jacob there this week so his coworkers can finally meet him.

Jacob's two-month check-up with his pediatrician went smoothly. Jacob weighed 13 pounds 12 ounces and was 24 inches long. which puts him in the 88th percentile in weight and 53rd percentile in length. Who knew that we would have a big baby?!! He is healthy otherwise and doesn't need medicine for his acid reflux, although I am going to check back with the doctor tomorrow because he had a rough night last night. We think that he is potentially starting his first cold. It started last night as he was lying flat in his crib for half the night. Lots of coughing and choking. He's either draining from his cold or suffering from major acid reflux. His crib mattress is somewhat elevated to help his reflux, but it must not be enough. I put him back in his car seat halfway through the night and his coughing stopped. He is snorting now a little but his coughing is not bad at all. No temperature or anything, but his skin feels colder to me today for some reason and he is very sleepy. To help keep him warm, we put him in a thick sleeper which was a gift (thanks Amanda!) and we had to take a picutre because he looked too cute in it :)


We went to Decatur yesterday to celebrate a few family birthdays from this past week. I share a birthday with my grandma and my aunt from Indianapolis had her birthday two days before ours. I turned 30 on Monday and my office decided to give me a welcome-back present in the form of black balloons and decorations all over my office. I have been dreading this birthday for years, but it didn't phase me at all (thank goodness)!! Anyways, it was nice to see my family and spend time with them. Today, our church threw us a baby shower in between services and we got lots of diapers, clothes, and books. The church does this for first-time parents after the baby is born, which is a nice way to welcome the baby into the church. Since Jacob had such a rocky night, he slept through it all which made it nice for us. I was so worried that it would be too long of a morning for him.

This coming week is going to be fairly uneventful. No big plans or anything. I am hoping that Jacob's cold (if that's what it is) gets better and doesn't turn into something more serious. I know that I need to get over the fact that he'll get sick, but I think that the first time is somewhat scary because I don't know what to do for him and how to make him feel better. I can hear all of you other moms laughing at me because it is just a cold and life goes on :)

Hope everyone has a great week!!

Angela

Changes are Coming

Hi everyone --

It's hard to believe that Jacob is eight weeks old today! He has really changed since we brought him home from the hospital and is still growing steadily. He has his two-month check-up with his pediatrician on Thursday and I am anxious to see where he falls on the growth charts. I've been warned about the shots and how hard it will be to watch him get them :(

Jacob is still doing well and has been watching things more intently lately. His favorite activity these days is sitting on the couch with me during the day and looking outside (see attached picture). He surprised me the other day when I held him up so he could stand and he supported his own weight and stood on his own for a few seconds while leaning against me. He may have fat legs, but there are some developing muscles in there!


I spent the week redoing all of the pictures in the house and updating our photo albums (it's been two years!). It was fun to go through all of the pictures and change how the house is decorated a little bit. I've also been working on cleaning the house so I don't have to worry about it once I go back to work. It's amazing how long it takes to get thing done these days!

I return to work part-time on Tuesday and will work afternoons this week and mornings the next week before working full-time in two weeks. I'm nervous about starting Jacob in daycare but I'm sure he will do better than me in adjusting to it. One thing that I am looking forward to is getting a routine established with him and getting back to work. I have felt like a shut-in since September and I think that returning to work will give me something to focus on other than baby things. I can't hold a conversation these days without talking about baby this or baby that!

We had some great unseasonable weather last weekend and it was in the mid-60's, which was so nice! I got out for a run and actually made my whole four-mile loop that I used to do before I was pregnant. I didn't run as fast, but I was surprised that I was able to make it. Before then I had only been running two miles on our treadmill. Any chance I have to run outside I take advantage of it so I ran again today since Dan could watch Jacob. It was much colder than last weekend, but there is just something about exercising outside that is liberating to me. Jacob is going to see a lot miles in his jogging stroller as soon as the weather gets warmer here in a couple of months!

I have attached a few pictures of his nursery since I promised doing this months ago. I still want to add a toy storage area to the nursery but that can wait a little while longer until he has more toys and is actually playing with them!

I'll post again in a week or so and talk about his doctor's appointment and how he did in daycare. Hope that everyone has a good week!!


Angela