Category: Cole

“Mommy, I’m a Swimmer!”

We are going to my grandmother’s beach house for vacation in August, and we decided to enroll Ryan in swim lessons. He enjoys himself when we go swimming as a family, and I really want him to be comfortable in the water, and learn how to swim, since we will probably be taking our vacation at my grandmother’s every year.

So on Monday, Ryan started his first ever swim lessons. After a rough start the first day, he proclaimed the above statement to me today, as he finished his class.

The pool where the lessons are held, is an indoor one- I figured that would be better for the first time, than having Ryan get cold if the weather was cool at an outdoor one. We started on Monday, and he was really tired, from having spent Sunday night with his cousins.

The pool has bleachers upstairs, enclosed in glass for the parents to sit, and then the instructors come in, gather their students, and walk them down to the pool. On Monday, Ryan would have none of that. He INSISTED that I hold his hand, and walk him down to the pool. This really was his first time doing an activity where I was not to be right there, so of course I did this.

Once we got down to the pool, he started to cry and did not want to go near the water. His instructor,a girl about 17, was really nice and sweet, and tried to get him to go in the water, but he already had his mind made up. I managed to get him to at least sit on the side of the pool with his legs in the water, watching his class, but if I backed away to the wall, he started to cry again, and stand up. I’d be lying if I said, he did not throw a fit. He did.

So, I thought this was going to be a fun two-weeks. I figured he was tired, but was wondering if he was scared to go in. After the class was over on Monday, I took him home, and told him he had to go in the water on Tuesday, and he needed to listen to his teacher. I told him we would go get a smoothie (his favorite treat) if he did. Hey, bribing always works with this kid. Joe also talked to him before bed, and reassured him, his swimming lessons would be fun.

So on Tuesday, he still wanted me to walk down with him, and wait by wall, poolside. He went in the water, but still looked a little nervous, but he started participating in the activities, and when he was done that day, he was so proud of himself and said, “I didn’t cry!” We couldn’t get to the smoothie shop fast enough.

On Wednesday, I told him he could walk down with his teacher, Emily, and I would walk behind them. So he held Emily’s hand all the way down. I followed him, and of course, he looked back every two seconds to make sure I was there. I stopped following him, once he reached the pool, and sat on some steps, farther away from the pool. Ryan would look up every now and then from the pool and wave at me, but he clearly was becoming more comfortable.

On Thursday, I stayed in the bleachers, and he held Emily’s hand as he walked to the pool. He looked up at me once, while he was in class and waved.

Today, he just grabbed on to Emily’s hand, and had no problem what-so-ever. When it was time for them to go in the pool, Ryan led the ‘pack’ of kids, down the ramp into the water.

All week he has been learning to jump around in the water, put his chin, and the side of his face in the water, jumping in, and Emily will hold each child on their back, and let them feel what floating is like. He has done all of that since Tuesday, and I think he really has fun.

Today, as he walked back into the room after class, he saw me sitting and ran up to me and said, “Mommy, I’m a swimmer,” his little face bursting with pride.

I was so happy for him to- it is really neat to see him be proud of something he is learning, and realizing he can do things away from me and have fun.

I also am so grateful to Joe’s parents…they watched Cole every day this week, even with him not feeling well. It helped so much, that I could be there for Ryan, and not have to spit my attention between him and Cole. They may come one day next week, and watch Ryan swim. Cole also bonded very well with Grandma- when we pulled up to their house everyday, he just started smiling, and flapping his hands.

We may go swimming on Sunday, so he can show Joe everything he has learned. We have four classes next week, and then we take a break for two weeks, and then he will start another nine classes at the next level in July, ending right before our trip.

He has been so excited to go to Great Grandma Mimi’s house, and I know he will have more fun in the water, being “a swimmer”.

Breastfeeding Cole Health Mothering Parenting

First ER Visit

As your baby grows, you can’t help but mark events by the “firsts.” First smile, first tooth, first time they sleep through the night, etc.

I count myself lucky that in the 3.5 years, since having children, I have not had to have that “First-visit-to-the- emergency-room,”- until last night.

Cole had a fever all day on Wednesday, and he felt unusually warm. He was drooling up a storm, and his gums were swollen, so I figured he was teething- maybe getting in a molar. At 8:30, before bed, I gave him the suggested dose of infant Motrin for his age / weight (1.875 ml).

He went to bed, and I was wondering why he felt so warm- even when he is teething, he never felt that warm before. I could hear him on the monitor, kind of calling out in his sleep, but he didn’t wake up until 10:30, and when I picked him up to nurse, I was alarmed. He felt extremely hot. I took his temperature, and it was 103.

I remember from once when Ryan had a fever, we called in after hours to the Children’s Hospital, and the nurse said until he had a fever for 72 hours, or it reached 105, there really was no need for him to be seen by a doctor, so I figured I would watch Cole, and just keep monitoring him. Sometimes it is good to let the fever work itself out on its own- it is the body’s way of building up the immune system, and fighting whatever it is.

I went to bed around midnight, and slept for an hour. At 1, Cole woke up, moaning, and he was still burning up. I nursed him again, and placed a cool washcloth on his head (what my mom did for me, when I had a fever, but he didn’t like it) and he drifted back to sleep, but I was wide-awake.

Something just didn’t seem right. He was way to hot, to just have a fever from teething. As I lay there, listening to him moan, and roll around, kind of delirious, I wondered if something could have bitten him. He has been playing outside a lot lately with Ryan, and maybe a spider could have bitten him.

I hadn’t noticed anything unusual when I gave him a bath, earlier that evening, but I hadn’t been looking either. I turned on the light, and started checking every inch of his body. I didn’t see anything. I woke up Joe, and told him Cole had a fever. We talked about what it could be, and then I took his temperature again- under the arm- and it had dropped to 102.5.

I felt better, like it was dropping a bit, and there were no spider bites bulging out on his body, so I went back to sleep.

Cole woke up at 3, wanting to nurse again, and when I picked him up, he felt very hot again. I nursed him for about 10 minutes, and he started to gag, and then he vomited. I stood up, to try to get him to the bathroom, and he vomited again, and again. He was crying, his cheeks were flushed, and his eyes looked glassy. Poor little guy!

I placed him on the cool bathroom floor, and took off his PJ bottoms, (earlier, I had taken off his top to keep him cool), and took his temperature, rectally. It was 105.2. He was shaking too. I cleaned up the vomit off my arms, and Cole, and then brought him into Joe. He was crying, and I told Joe, I was going to take him to the ER, since his temperature was so high, and he had vomited. I quickly got dressed, and put a romper on Cole.

We live less than five minutes from the hospital, and at 4am, there was no traffic, so we got there quickly. There were no other patients in the ER, so we didn’t have to wait at all.

The triage nurse took his temperature again, and it was 104.7, and she said the dose of infant Motrin that I had given to Cole before bed, was hardly any at all. (funny since that is what the box said to give). Anyway, they brought him a dose of Motrin and Children’s Tylenol, and said that would help bring the fever down.

Cole was awake, and did NOT like to have the nurse touch him. He screamed the entire time she was checking him. She took us to a room, and said, the Dr. would be in, shortly. He calmed down after a few minutes, and everyone left. Since he had just gotten the medicine, and he had been vomiting, I didn’t want to nurse him in case his tummy was full.

The doctor came in after about fifteen minutes, and asked lots of questions, and checked Cole’s ears, throat, and diaper area.

He said he probably had a virus or a viral infection. He said they wanted us to stay until his fever went down a bit, and to see if he could keep some liquids down. I told him I wanted to nurse him, and surprisingly, he said, “That would be really good for him.” So the doctor shut the door for us, on his way out, so we had privacy, and Cole nursed for about 5 minutes and then fell asleep, for about an hour, while we waited.

A nurse came and took his temperature and it had dropped to 102. Cole nursed again, and a few minutes later the doctor came back, and said he said he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary and since he didn’t have a lot of secondary symptoms (like coughing, diarrhea, etc.) and since Cole was up-to-date-on his immunizations, he wasn’t going to torture him, and order blood work.

He said it was good I brought him in, and he said when babies his age get high fevers, they can have seizures. The nurse also added that if you try to bring down the fever too quickly, a seizure could also occur. The doctor said to watch him for the next few days, and if Motrin & Tylenol didn’t control the fever, or if he starts having any secondary symptoms, to go to our regular doctor for a follow-up.

He asked me if he had nursed him, and I told him yes, and obviously he had kept it down. Then the doctor stunned me and asked if he had been breastfed since birth. I told him yes, and he said, “That is great. That is so good for him, and you should keep doing it as long as you want. He looks like an extremely healthy baby.”

I thanked the doctor and nurse for their help, and the nurse went over the doses of medicine to give Cole, and we got to go home. We got home at 6:30, to Ryan awake, and Joe getting ready for work.

I was stressed out, realizing Joe was going to work, having had virtually NO sleep, and the prospect of the day ahead, which included taking Cole over to Joe’s parents house, while Ryan and I went to his swim lesson. I also had to clean up the bedding, and Joe said he would clean up the carpet when he got home. I turned on PBS, and while Ryan ate breakfast and watched Clifford, Cole and I caught a 45-minute nap.

We got going and made it to Grandma’s and our swimming lesson. When we were done, we went and got Cole’s medicine, and went back to get Cole. He had done great, and had taken a nap. He still felt cool as well.

Later in the afternoon, after his nap, his fever was back, at 103.5. I gave him the Motrin and Tylenol before bed, and he has been sleeping soundly since. I am so glad he seems like he is doing better.

It is so scary when something like that happens to your baby, and they can’t talk to you and tell you what is wrong. I am glad that we did take him in, just to know that there isn’t a bigger problem looming. It also was wonderful to hear from a doctor (that was around my age) that breastfeeding is good, and to keep doing it. It kind of gave me hope, that the medical profession is realizing and knows that breastfeeding is so important for a baby.

I hope Cole’s temperature will stay down tonight and he’ll feel better tomorrow. He is such a sweet little guy- I hate it when he isn’t feeling good.

So that concludes my story of my first trip to the ER as a mother. I hope it will be a long time before I have to go again, or better yet- I hope I won’t have to ever go again. But with two active little boys, I have a feeling I’ll be there again. 🙂

Activities Cole Family & Friends Ryan

The Cousins

Last week, we went to my sister-in-law’s town, about 50 miles away for a visit. She has three children (ages 10, 8, & 6), who obviously are Ryan and Cole’s cousins.

Ryan adores his older cousins. He was so excited to go see “the cousins,” as he calls them. We had plans to go make tie-die shirts, at a small craft shop, a few miles away from my SIL’s house.

It was really fun- I actually learned how to make three different patterns. I helped Ryan with his shirt, and made one for Cole too. He sat in his stroller the entire time, looking out the door, eating crackers, and watching the cars go by. It only took about half an hour for us to make 5 shirts,(with no mess to clean up-benefit of doing a project like this at a craft studio), and they turned out great, if I do say so myself.

On Saturday, “the cousins,” came up to Joe’s parents house for the weekend, and Ryan played his little heart out. He had so much fun, he is completely and utterly exhausted, but I think he had the best few days ever.

His 8-year-old-cousin (a boy), had an air powered rocket blaster, that you could pump up with air, and then a rocket would shoot up in the air. Ryan played with that constantly. He begged us to go to the grocery store and get one for him. He calls it the “rocket ship.” If only our yard was bigger, I would have something that would occupy him for probably 6 hours at a time. But the rocket shoots so high up, it would be on the roof, or about 3 yards over, with the first launch. We are considering getting him one though, to keep at his grandparents house, that he can play with when he is over there. Talk about a 3-year old boy heaven!

Cole was even interested in the rocket, and would try to pump the pump. As soon as Ryan saw him doing that, he said, “No Cole, this is the big boy toy.” He was so proud of himself that he could operate this rocket, like his older cousin!

Sunday, they went swimming with Joe, and their uncle, and Ryan’s aunt (the cousins mom) bought Ryan his first squirt gun, so he could join in the water gun fights. I think Dad had more fun playing with it though- 🙂 Ryan got to spend the night last night with everyone at Grandma’s.

Finally tonight, before “the cousins” left, we got some pictures of everyone in their tie-dye shirts. It didn’t occur to me to get one of Cole and Ryan together, and Cole would barely stay still longer than a second, so I feel fortunate to have gotten two shots, with everyone in them. Here are some pictures- (you can double click on them to see them bigger)

Ryan getting ready to dye his shirt

Cole goofing around w/ a funny pair of glasses at his cousins’ house

As we got ready to go, it started pouring rain. Ryan’s cousin had just given him this raincoat, boots, and umbrella. Perfect timing- they had to go out and play in the rain

Cole in his tie-dye shirt

A group shot of Ryan with his cousins (I wasn’t sure how their mother would feel about having their pictures on the blog, so I blacked out their faces, but at least you can see the colorful shirts.)

The cousins return back up to Grandma’s in mid-July for another weekend. I am sure Ryan will be counting down the weeks.

Cole Mothering Ryan

Cole Walks!

It is official- my little sweet baby boy, is now a toddler! He has been flirting with walking, for about a month now, and was getting really good at doing a ‘Spiderman’ scale of the walls. He would hold on to every wall and walk sideways.

Today I was sitting on the living room floor, folding diapers, and he was playing on a toy about six steps away from me, when he got off the toy, and just started walking to me, totally unassisted and unprompted! He was 1 year and 20 days.

I hugged him, and he looked so pleased with himself. We tried a few more times, and he did it every time. Then Ryan wanted to get into the act, so I had Ryan stand about 5 steps away, and hold out his arms. He kept saying to Cole, “Come to brother, come to brother.” It was sweet. He was excited as Cole was to see him do something new.

I videotaped it, and took a few pictures, but as soon as Cole saw the camera, he just dropped down and started crawling over to me- he *has* to check out the electronic equipment.

So my baby is really growing up. Surprisingly, I didn’t even get sad or sentimental. I am just excited he is learning this next milestone. Of course, as I think about it, I do get a little sad- this could be the last time I ever have a child take their first steps, and my baby days could be over. I enjoy my children in every stage they are in, but I also love the baby stage.

I was very thankful and grateful that I was there to see *both* my boys take their first steps. It is kind of magical to see them put all those skills and coordination together, and take those first steps. Plus, the look of joy and accomplishment in their little faces- I will remember those looks for the rest of my life- even if I didn’t get a picture- it is etched in my mind and my heart.

Here are two pictures I did manage to get, when Cole decided to walk with his toy hammer. The second shot, I caught as he was taking a step, but he decided he had enough, and was going to sit down.

Activities Cole Ryan

Fun Day

The boys and I had a fun day today. The weather was very nice, so I packed a picnic lunch and we went on a 3 mile walk by a park and a lake.

Ryan was SO excited to go- picnics are one of his favorite things right now. He helped me make peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, and made sure I cut the crusts off his. 🙂 He reminded me to bring some bunny crackers (Annie’s white cheddar crackers), and to bring lots of apples.

Yesterday I found a really neat popsicle mold at Bed Bath & Beyond. It holds 4 popsicles, but there is a little built in straw in each one, so when the popsicle starts to melt- as it always does with a three-year old, instead of it dripping down his arms, and legs, he can suck the juice out of the popsicle holder with the straw. Before we left for the picnic / walk, we made a batch of popsicles with strawberry-lemonade.

After we got done eating, we walked over to a pond, and Ryan had a blast throwing rocks in, and Cole did great, standing up, holding the stroller, and watching his big brother. When it was time to go, I put Cole back in the stroller, and we chased Ryan. Cole *loved* it. He was laughing and shrieking with delight. As we were walking back, Ryan started singing a song from a book we have, “The Train They Call the City of New Orleans,” at the top of his lungs. Everyone we passed by on the trail back, smiled at him.

When we got home, Cole had crashed out, and I was able to move him from his car seat to the floor in the living room, and he stayed asleep. First time that has ever happened. I cleaned up our stuff, and then moved Cole to his crib, and got Ryan down for a nap.

I had a massage therapy appointment this afternoon, so I went to that, as soon as Joe got home. Then he had one, so I made the boys dinner, and then Joe got home.

I am dismayed to discover that I have a very stubborn milk blister that seemed to get worse this afternoon. I have had it for two weeks now, and can’t get it to go away. It hurt a lot and was starting to swell, so after dinner, I soaked it with some Epsom salt, and pumped.

Cole saw me pumping and got ‘jealous’ of the breast pump. He kept trying to pull it away, and then he started crying-little monkey! I ended up just nursing him more- baby is usually more effective than a pump anyway- and he seemed happy to get some extra nursing time in. I am going to have to be more diligent on soaking and pumping / nursing this blister, and will probably go see the doctor next week if it doesn’t clear up. I had a BAD case of mastitis in January, and don’t want to another case.

Ryan came in from outside, and we broke open a popsicle. He looked like he had never had anything quite so good before. He started licking his lips, and he savored every lick. He really wanted to use the straw, but kept running off to play. Finally, before bed, enough of the juice melted and he got to use the straw. He said, “that is really neat, mommy.”

Tomorrow morning, I am off to a free skin cancer check, a local dermatologist is having. I haven’t been to a dermatologitst in about 2 years, and have a few freckles that have been changing, and need to get them looked at. I hope I like a doctor there, and can find a new dermatologist I can see more regularly.

Then we are going to look at a few houses, and see if they look as nice inside as they do from the outside…:-)

We don’t have anything planned so far, for Sunday, so hopefully we will just be able to get a few things done around the house, play, and relax.