Nap Issues

So, the first few days in her toddler bed, Alex napped like a champ! The last 2 days, not so much. She spends about an hour (or longer) playing in her room before she finally falls asleep. If I pop my head in she runs back to her bed. She usually whispers,"hi mommy" because she knows she is supposed to be quiet. Once she finally does fall asleep, it's not in her bed.

Last night was our first bedtime issue. We made the mistake of letting her watch Ratatouille before bed. For some reason at the end of the movie she always starts crying, bye bye mouse and is just sad from then on out. She was crying off and on while we were getting her ready for bed. We went through our normal routine and she was just not happy about it. We left her to fuss a little. After about 10 minutes, I went back in, she was still in bed crying. I sat and had a little talk with her, she calmed down, I left and she went to sleep. She was up at midnight screaming so I went in to check on her. I didn't want to get her out of bed, I wanted her to go back to sleep. I snuggled her for a few minutes then I sat beside her bed. After a few minutes, I grabbed a blanket and crashed on her floor. She sat up a few times and I reassured her I was still there and she seemed ok. I ended up falling asleep. At some point, I woke up and was about to leave her room. My hip popped when I stood up (because I am old and old people shouldn't sleep on the hard floor!) and she cried, Mommy no! So I stayed. At 3, I woke up again and snuck out and went back to my bed. She was ok after that. I am hoping this is a one time thing!

Here is where Alex napped the last 2 afternoons. (grainy because I used my iphone)

Breakfast in Bed

Today Alex was running back and forth from her kitchen to her bedroom. I peeked in to see what she was doing and I found her in bed with piggy. She had a plate with a cookie on it and was feeding piggy with a spoon! She was carrying on a full conversation with her piggy!

I love that little girl!

here is a not so great pic of her new bed setup...

Beach Baby

We headed to Galveston Saturday morning. We had sooo much fun! We stayed much longer than we normally do because we bought a canopy so we'd have a little shade. Alex is such a water baby! The tide was high so we had a great shallow area to play in. We had a picnic lunch, played in the water, relaxed in the water while the waves came over us, then flew a kite! We can't wait to go back.

When we left Galveston we headed to our friends house to clean up. Alex adores Steve and Tricia and they adore her! We went out for burgers before we headed to an event in their neighborhood. While we were at dinner silly Alex made onion ring glasses! Alex got to stay up way past her bedtime while we walked around. We had a great time catching up, eating yummy burgers and drinking even yummier drinks!

Today the James crew came over for dinner. Alex has been so excited about seeing Abby. We've been counting down the days. All the kiddos played so well together! I can't believe I didn't take any pictures.

On another note, Alex has continued to amaze us with her ability to transition to a toddler bed without any issues! We are keeping our fingers crossed that it keeps going good. Next challenge...potty training!

Transition to a Toddler Bed

Night #1 (Wednesday)
Wednesday evening we traded out the front of Alex's crib for a toddler rail. She was soo excited watching us take the front of her crib off and even more excited when we brought in the box that held the toddler rail. We told her it was a present so she was even more excited! She climbed in and out of her bed a million times. When it was time to put her down, we went through our normal bedtime routine and walked out of the room. She actually stayed...ALL NIGHT LONG!!! In the morning when we heard her talking, Josh went in there and she was still in bed. She pointed to her new rail and told me it was a present from Daddy! Soo cute!

Nap #1 (Thursday)
I was a little concerned with her naps since she was used to sleeping in our bed while she was sick. Today at nap time we snuggled while she drank some milk then I let her pick out jammies to wear. I put her down and covered her with a blanket she picked. She was very quiet for about 10 minutes, then I heard her playing. After another 10 minutes or so, I went in told her we needed to put all of her babies back in bed (she sleeps with a whole posse of stuffed animals) and the puzzle she took out of her closet needed to be put away. She helped me with everything then I put her back down and she napped for about 2.5 hours!

Night #2 (Thursday)

Alex was super wound up most of the evening so I was worried bed time would be a nightmare. To our surprise it wasn't! We did all of our bedtime stuff and put her down like normal. I popped my head in and she lifted her head, looked at me then went back down. She ended up sleeping the entire night.

So far, when she wakes up, she has been staying in her bed until we go in there. We'll see how tomorrow morning goes since Josh doesn't have to get up for work. I'm a little scared to say it because I know it can all change in an instant, but transitioning her to a bed she can get in and out of has been super easy so far!

Scary Sick

From earlier in the week...

Alex woke up this morning with a 104.3 temp. This was less than 24 hours from her first fever of 103.2. We immediately gave her Motrin and within 45 minutes, it was down to 102.4. We called our doctor back because he wanted to see her if she still had a fever today. Her temp was back in a normal range by the time we got there. He checked her throat and swabbed it to check for strep. It came back negative. So they took blood. He came back a a few minutes later and said her counts were low, so they wanted to test again. The nurse came back and took blood again. My big girl didn't make a sound. She intently watched them prick her finger and squeeze it so they could fill the little vial. He came back and said the counts were still low. Normal white blood count is 9, she was at a 6. Her platelets and red blood count was down as well. He said it wasn't dangerously low, but it was low. He said he gets about 4-5 similar issues a year and 99.9% of the time, it's just a viral infection. He said since she was acting completely normal and the only symptom we have is a fever, he is pretty sure that's what it is. Unless she wakes up with a super high fever or starts acting abnormal, we will go back Thursday for another round of blood work to check her counts

Then he hit me...IF she starts acting different, her fever stays high or her blood work comes back with lower counts later in the week, then we will discuss what to do next. Next would be admitting her to Children's in Houston for further more in depth testing. He said with her counts barely low he isn't concerned with a more serious blood problem. (Then he went into more about the more serious blood problems and I don't even want to discuss.) I understand, he was just talking possibilities, but still. My heart dropped, a huge lump started in my throat and I just held my baby. I called Josh when we got in the car and tried to explain what the doctor told me without getting to emotional but I lost it and started crying as I was talking to him. I knew immediately he was worried about Alex and me. I finally calmed down because Alex was looking at me like I was crazy. Then Alex started asking for a hotdog. Yesterday, she ate about 10 bites of food all day so I was excited she was asking for something. We went straight to the store and picked up everything she was asking for...hotdogs, blueberries, strawberries and lemonade. We came home and she ate 2 huge strawberries, a handful of blueberries, a few pickle chips, a hotdog, a slice of ham then asked for another hotdog! My child's appetite is back!

Josh and I were both sick with worry about our baby. We barely got any sleep that night because we were just waiting for morning to come so we could take her temp. It was 98 the next morning and she was her usual bubbly self! We were sooooo excited!

Today...we went back to the doc for follow up blood work. He just wanted to error on the side of caution and check her numbers again. Her red and platelet counts were back within a normal range, but her white is still at a 6. He said this is completely normal and is no cause for concern. Since she has had a low grade fever the last few days it is taking a while for her white blood count to come back up. We go back in a week for a 4th test to see if they are increasing and we will continue to do som weekly until they are back in a normal range.

My angel baby was so strong and tough this week. She had blood taken 3 times (twice in 20 minutes) and never shed a tear. I tried distracting her with my phone or books and she was only interested in watching them take blood. Josh and I have so many friends that have been soo sweet calling or texting every day to check on Alex. I am so glad to be through with this. Josh and I have been so stressed and worried all week.

Cute Words

Alex is pretty good at pronouncing her words. There are a few that she doesn't pronounce right and it is just so cute! I wanted to remember...

remote: meemote
coffee: caasee
Nomi: omee
Cooper: coocoo
silly: siieee
balloon: baanoon
lemonade: memade
stickers: stickewws

AND...tonight is Alex's first night in her toddler bed. We have the toddler rail that replaces the front of her crib. She didn't nap today so we knew she was super tired and she hopefully wouldn't be up too much!

Weekend

Friday afternoon I loaded up the car with Alex's stuff and met my Mom in Buffalo to switch cars. She was taking Alex for the weekend and Josh and I were going to just hang out and relax!

Alex and her supplies!

Balloon? Check!

Stickers? Check!

Computer? Check!

She was out within 20 minutes still holding on to her stuff!

We had dinner plans in Houston that evening but since I was without my munchkin I decided to make a detour on the way home. I went to the mall. It is soo hard to shop when Alex is with me because she gets so antsy in her stroller. I took my time and picked up a few new things! It was soooo relaxing!

Saturday we woke up at 7:30!!! I was mad! Really, kid free and I was up. I called my mom and we talked for a bit, played Words With Friends, then went back to sleep...until 10:30!!!! Woo hoo!!! It was great to sleep in with Josh and Cooper! We we pretty much bummed around the entire day. I'm pretty sure anytime Josh was looking for me, he always found me in bed snuggling with Cooper! Poor Cooper and Alex needed a break from each other. Alex is not very nice to him sometimes and Cooper has been really bad about snatching food away from her which causes her to get hysterical. We stayed up late and decided to be spontaneous so at 1:30 am we went to IHOP!

Sunday we went to The Woodlands for brunch and walked around the mall and outdoor shopping areas. From there we met my parents and got Alex back! We were both soooo ready to see our baby girl. My mom sent me pics and videos throughout the weekend and I talked to her several times, but I still missed her sooo much!

I'm soo glad we ended up picking her up Sunday instead of Monday because she woke up this morning with a 103.2 temp! She was burning up and only wanted to snuggle with me. Motrin brought her fever down, but it ended up going right back up before she went to bed tonight. She was soo sweet and lovey today because she wasn't feeling well. She refused to nap in her room so we snuggled in our bed and she finally fell asleep on me. I hate that she wasn't feeling well, but I sure did love my little bunny snuggles!

my little tinks asleep in our bed