Poop Update

Colin is still really sick. I stopped counting acid poop filled diapers after I got to ten and there were more after that. His stomach is a complete mess, his naps were impossible, and he starts to cry every few minutes. I hate that he feels like this and there is nothing I can do about it!! He just went to bed and I pray that tomorrow will be the day that he feels better. He is still drinking his Pedialite and I am watching him like a hawk for signs of dehydration. He has been running a slight fever all day, but nothing to panic about. (I keep chanting that in my head) I had no idea that gastroenteritis could be this horrible. At least he is not vomiting. I am thankful for that!!!

So now I am seeking advice...Colin has been on clear liquids for more than 24 hours now and his diarrhea is no better at all. I was told by the pedi to totally avoid dairy while he has this bug, but he is sure missing his milk bottles!! Would any of you try soy milk instead? Colin loves soy milk, but I am wondering if I should avoid that, too. Do you think that it would also be rough on his tummy since it is still protein? I would love to let him have a bottle in the morning that is something other than Pedialite, but lord knows I don't want to make things worse. Have any of my mommy friends been through this one? What do you think?

Tummy Aches

Is there anything worse than your baby being sick? Well, of course there are technically worse things...but this is indeed horrible. Colin has a stomach virus and has had severe diarrhea for two solid days now. We went to the doctor today and sure enough, the virus is making it's rounds in our area. The pedi said she has seen it all week in her office. We think he caught it when I took him for a picnic in the park a couple of days ago. He was playing around lots and lots of little ones and probably touched something infected. Besides the horrible tummy ache, he has had no less than 10 horrible diapers today and this brought on a bleeding...yes, bleeding...diaper rash the likes of which I never thought possible. It takes my breath away. He screams so hard when I take him into his room to change his diaper that he made himself hoarse today. It is breaking me into a thousand pieces, I swear. The pedi told us that Colin can only have broth, rice, bananas, and Pedialite until we clear this up. We have a prescription for the rash, but it is not doing a damn bit of good since he has these acid filled diapers every five minutes. The only bit of good news is that Colin loves Pedialite. He has never had it before and he drank over 40 ounces (I kid you not!) since we got home from the doctor. That is really great news because I can at least stop worrying so much about dehydration. I hate how powerless I feel right now...to see Colin screaming in agony and writhing in pain is torturing me. I want to make it better and I just can't!! I really hope that tomorrow is better. He had rice and bananas for dinner and has not had any thing else in his system besides the Pediatlite since lunch. I am hoping that another full day of the special diet will help his tummy. It better!!!!

Two Words: TIGER CUBS

Jer was actually off work today (yea!!) and therefore we packed up and headed out for a trip to the zoo. Colin was around 8-9 months old the last time we took him and the animals were too far away for him to really see. Times have certainly changed...he had a wonderful time today! We spent a couple of hours walking around the park and he was checking everything out! He loved the petting zoo area and was very intrigued by the goats. I think he prefers Enzo. :-)



In this picture, he was checking out lots of birds and ducks. They were walking right up to us, which Colin loves.



I love how he was leaning forward to get a better look. It is amazing how much more engaged he was during this trip. I think he is going to be a fan of the zoo for a long time to come.




And last but not least, a picture that is not good quality, but was all I could accomplish since I was so excited that I was jumping up and down like a 10 year old. TIGER CUBS!! LOOK!! BABY TIGER GOODNESS!!! Oh my lord, I thought I was going to die. Colin was embarrassed for me, I am pretty sure. I love love love animals and most of all, I love big cats. Jer had forgotten that there were cubs at the Ft. Worth Zoo. The news had reported it, but I had no clue. They were playing and jumping around and yelping and putting on the best show. I want one. NOW. Seriously. Click on the picture and get your face right up to your computer screen and experience the baby tiger striped greatness. OH MY.

A Lovely Sunday

Today turned out to be a beautiful day. Hurricane Ike made it out of Texas last night and today dawned crystal clear and much cooler. The high today was only 85 and the rest of the week is supposed to be even nicer! We are going to have lows in the 50's this week, which sounds just wonderful. It is always around this time each year that I really start to long for some cooler weather after months of hundred degree heat. It feels great to know that we are looking at park weather again. I took the pictures today when we took Colin to the park in our neighborhood. It has a playground and then a huge open expanse of soccer field and small baseball diamond. I know that Colin will be spending a lot of his time playing here in the years to come. My thought process was that Colin would enjoy getting to run around the big field unencumbered and have a blast. Instead, he stood rooted to the ground in what can best be described as awe. I could not get him to take a single step. There were two teenage boys, probably around 14, throwing a football back and forth and Colin could not take his eyes off of them. In the shot below, I turned my camera angle so that I could catch one of the boys in the background. As you can see, Colin was just blown away.

The other shots do a good job of showing what a beautiful day it really was, especially when you click on them and see them in full size. Last year at this time, I had a tiny little two month old peanut. That first fall together was so special because everything was Colin's "first" and I was a new mama. This fall holds a much different kind of excitement for me...now Colin can play and experience and understand. My mind keeps running away from me with all the things I want to do with him this year. Every single day is like Christmas with my sweet boy.