Doctor Visit Update

Weight: 26 pounds 8 ounces Length: 32 inches

As always Dr Hirsh checked Aiden's heart beat but this time she heard something to be concerned about.... a heart murmur. She referred AJ to Pediatrics Cardiology at Children's Hospital for a second opinion so I made the soonest appointment available on January 12th.

I had never heard of a heart murmur so I researched it online as soon as we got home. I learned that murmurs may be caused by a number of factors or diseases, including the following:

◦defective heart valves

◦holes in the interior heart walls (atrial septal defect or ventricular septal defect)

◦surgical repair of congenital (present at birth) heart defects

Right away I freaked out and I wondered if all murmurs signify heart disease? I kept reading and found out that this is not always the case. Sometimes, a murmur may be heard in a normal child who has a fever or who is anemic; these murmurs often go away when the underlying problem is treated. Some children have what is known as an innocent murmur. These murmurs are not related to congenital heart defects, and usually resolve by the time a child reaches adulthood.
I am praying for the best!!!!



Cut & paste this link to find out more about Heart Murmurs: (//www.childrensdmc.org/healthlibrary/gettreebysubtopic.aspx?ContentTypeID=90&ContentID=P01806&request=heartdetail )

No... But Not Really

AJ saying the word NO is getting ridiculous. I understand him deliberatley saying it to trick me out of diaper changes but now he says no to everything I say. I could ask him if he wants to meet Mickey Mouse, play with Elmo, and get all the ice cream and candy he wants and his answer would still be no.

3 Brouzins and a Brouzinita

The cousins travel in a pack.
Picture Arianna laying on my lap after I take a seat on the couch. 10 seconds later Nathan cruises next to us and reaches for Arianna's hair. 15 seconds later Aiden climbs on the couch beside me, leans over Arianna, and grins in her face. 20 seconds after that Justin walks up to my knees and hands me a book to read.

Like Mama Like Son

Aiden likes to poke his fingers inside his belly button. It began with intrigue and recently it turned into obsession. He won't let me cover it up. He screams, "NO" when I try to snap his onsie closed or pull up his pants up.



Is this normal exploration of body parts or does he take after his mom? Throughout my childhood, I can't remember a time when I didn't play with my belly button. ( I still do it while driving or in times of stress) Other kids suck their thumb, twiddle fingers, or twirl hair but AJ & I play with our navel.


It is neat to finally say that Aiden takes after his mom for a change.

Imagine A Day In the Life

1 day with 3 brouzins and 1 brouzinitta consists of the following constant and repetitive vocabulary: share, take turns, one at a time, get down, no, stop, don't....touch, push, hit, snatch, bite.

Sharing Kisses

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am uncomfortable showing affection. That changed when AJ was born. I can't get enough of kissing him and telling him that I love him. Two great moments were when he gave me a kiss when I asked for it and when he kissed me without me asking.

I've noticed lately that he kisses his youngest brouzin and brouzinita and sometimes his Aunt G. He positions himself on their level, looks them in the eye, calls them baby and gently kisses them on their lips. Cute right? He obviously learned this from me. I am embarrassed to admit that I get a little jealous. Why don't I want to share my kisses?

Beautiful Liar

Aiden learned the word NO. It goes without saying that learning new words is improving our channel of communication. Unfortunately he is not always truthful. My beautiful liar tells me NO when I ask him if he pooped or if he has a wet diaper. He fibbs because he dislikes diaper changes. He refuses to do anything that interrupts his play. When will he learn that he can not trick his mother?

3 Brouzins and a Brouzinita

Arianna joined the team of cousins a week ago. I call her BROUZINITTA.

The thought of 4 babies under 1 roof was scary. After 6 days I'm relieved to report that I can handle it. We had a rough start because Arianna refused to drink from a bottle. It took her less than a week to adjust. Now that the feeding challenge is behind us, I am glad to say, Arianna will fit in quite nicely.

The brouzins love to have her around and show it in different ways. AJ kisses her and calls her baby. Justin has to be near her by climbing in her swing or bassinet and straddling her. Nathan taps her head.

Stay tuned for more episodes of 3 Brouzins and a Brouzinitta

Weaning... Mission Complete

He is officially weaned.

Golf

AJ likes to play golf.

The Names Changed But the Story Remains The Same

Once upon a time there was a sit to stand music player.

On January 6, 2010, as Aiden was playing with it, Justin scooted and squirmed his way in front of him so that he could play instead.

On November 12, 2010, 11 months later, Nathan played with the same music player but Aiden scooted and squirmed his way in front of him so that he could play instead.

Notice the similarities in each photo: (I promise this was not staged)

• the youngest brouzin is wearing footed pajamas but the oldest is dressed to play
• the boys are facing the same direction
• the youngest brouzin is facing the camera as if he is asking for help getting his toy back
• the oldest brouzin could care less because he got what he wanted

Mommy - Sleep + 3 boys =

After a restless night...
a long day with the brouzins...
after taking all 3 boys clothes off...
and putting them in the tub...
3 minutes later...







I realized that I forgot to take AJ's socks off.

Jibberish

Aiden tries so hard to speak. He can hold an entire conversation of jibber jabber. All I know so far is that he ends every conversation with a question. I can tell by the pitch and tone of his voice. He is probably asking, "Mom do you know what I am saying". I wish I did. His speech is full of facial expressions, gestures ,and eye contact. Whatever he is saying must be important.

Pretzels

Pretzels are Aiden's new favorite treat or shall I say meal. It took me a while to figure this out. He refused his 1st cup of milk, breakfast, and lunch. He only wants pretzels. I am not complaining because it keeps him happy while I wean him.

DancyDance

Check out Aiden's version of the YoGabbaGabba's dancey dance called Peanut Butter Stomp.

SplishSplash

All three brouzins joined in the fun of splashing in the tub but we only caugt AJ in action on video.

Fall 2010

Picture collage personalized with Smilebox

Looking Sundays Best

1st Official Weekend

My divorce is final and a new parenting schedule is in effect. Weekends are now being shared.
Having my son all weekend was great! We did everything together.
No more back seat clothing changes in the car before going inside the Kingdom Hall. No more being late to the meeting every Sunday. No more rushing around picking up and dropping off AJ in 2 hours.

Weaning,continued

Day 2 & 3: Aiden spent the next two nights with his dad so I have no updates to report.

Day 4: The distraction method did not work as well as Day 1 because he missed me so much while he was gone. I gave in and nursed him but I put vinegar on my nipples to discourage him but he didn't mind the awful taste.

Day5 & 6: Progress is being made. The distraction method worked during the day and I only nursed him once right before bed.

Weaning - Night 1

The distraction method does not work at night. AJ woke up at 2am demanding to be nursed. He has not woken up in the middle of the night in a long time so Im not sure what is going on. I hope I can stick this out.

Weaning - Day 1

I have no more excuses. There are two reasons why I should wean AJ from breastfeeding. The stressful process of my divorce is finally over and his cousin Arianna will be joining TYC's day care soon. I have 30 days to get the job done.
Im trying the distraction method. When he tries to nurse, Iv'e been distracting him with unlimited TV, juice, and lots of attention. So far it is working. Normally I only allow 2-3 hours of TV and 4 ounces of juice but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Yo Gabba Gabba

I didn't know if AJ enjoyed the live show of YoGabbaGabba until he turned around and gave me a kiss in the middle of the show. That was the best way to say, "thanks mom".

Bro. Aiden

AJ no longer wants to sit in his stroller while out in the ministry. He would rather walk to each door, climb up the steps, knock on each door, and ring the door bell. We all know that people rarely answer the doors when a Jehovah's Witness comes to visit but they make an exception for Aiden.....Brother Aiden that is.

Hold the Presses

Aiden Ray went down for his nap today......for the first time without nursing or screaming. Is it a miracle? Not hardly. It took over a month of consistant training.
Now I must get his brouzin Nathan on the same routine so I can get a nap too.

Thank You Aiden

Aiden was so patient with me today as we ran errands all day. We took a 60 minute lunch break at McDonalds. He ate his 1st happy meal and played in the play zone.

Sleeping Beauty

He is so precious while sleeping but a wild man when awake.

Rear View Mirror

I can't stop looking at my baby. Why? Sometimes I cant believe he is mine, other times I am full of pride to be his mom, and most of the time I get a kick out of how cute he is. I better be carefull not to get in a car accident while stealing looks at him in the car. Thankgoodness for Eddie Bauer selling a mirror that attaches to my car's rear view mirror. I bought it last week. Now I don't miss any of his expressions.



Check out my handsome little man in his car seat. Wonder what he is thinking about?

Random Pix

Sweet Tea

I make sure AJ's bag is packed with his sippy cup, juice, water, and food but he would rather drink my supersized cup of sweet tea from McDonalds. He kept reaching for it while sitting in a shopping cart at Meijer. At first I would not give it to him. I didn't think he could drink out of a straw or hold a large cup without spiling it. After more persistent reaching and squeeling I handed it to him. I should not have underestimated him. Check him out below. He drank it all without a spill. Guess who ended up drinking his juice out of his sippy cup? I was thirsty.

E.R......Update

Good News - AJ is feeling much better.

The story of my frustration doesn't end there: I found out the next day that AJ was not taken to the emergency room (like I was told). My woman's intuition told me that something fishy was going on. I got the truth after persistence and prodding.
I called his doctor and she said that his symptoms sounded like the stomach flu. His vomiting ended in 24 hours and his fever broke after 48 hours but he still has diarrhea. Dr Hirsch says diarrhea could last up to two weeks. Diapers are not designed to keep this in. Friday, I changed and rinsed clothes all day, including mine. Gross! My sister in law gave me a pair of plastic underwear Friday evening. What a life saver!

Clingy

Until recently Aiden has been outgoing and friendly. He did not inherit that from me. I am more reserved.
Now he clings to me while out in public. He throws a fit when anyone else wants to hold him. Is this a phase or is his personality changing?

E.R.

AJ woke up around 2 am vomiting and had a fever. By 6 am his fever broke and he seemed to back to his normal self. Around 9 he refused to eat his breakfast and his fever returned. I gave him Tylenol to reduce his fever and did my best to make him comfortable.

His dad picked him up at 12pm, like normal. It was not easy to hand my sick child over. I kept calling and texting his dad to check on him with no response until finally he called me back to say that he might take AJ to the emergency room. I am glad that he took action but once again frustrated that he shut me out. Later on he says that the doctor said to keep giving him Tylenol and start PediaLyte. I would like to have come along or at the least known which hospital he went to and other details concerning the doctor visit. I got no answers when I asked questions. Why is everything a secret? I am so frustrated. I know we are getting a divorce but that does not change the fact that I am still Aiden's mother. I keep his father notified and involved in Aiden's well fare but I don't get the same consideration.
Anyway, I hope Aiden is feeling better. I can't wait to see him when he comes home.

To Wean or Not To Wean

My son is still hooked on "The Ninny". I set cut off deadlines each month with no success. It is easier said than done. Am I to blame? I feel guilt from the separation effects of my (pending) divorce. Aiden misses me while he spends time away with his father. He wants to nurse as soon as he comes home. Who am I to deny him the attention and connection he deserves? I too miss him and the bonding time that nursing provides.
I am determined to become emotionally stronger but listening to my baby cry after refusing to nurse him takes its toll on me. Hopefully he will make this easy on me and simply loose interest.

Goodbye diaperbag ...Hello purse

Aiden's diaper bag is falling apart, just in time for a downgrade. He no longer needs frequent diaper changes and baby food so I don't have to carry a big bag for his things. Instead of squeezing my wallet, keys, and cell phone in his bag, I can resume carrying a purse. It feels good to feel like a women again......not just a mom.

Doctor Visit Update

23.8 pounds 33 inches

Aiden's blood count was rechecked (at his 15 mo check up) and is back to normal. Dr. Hirsch instructed me to discontinue his daily iron drops.

The doctor complemented my son's good behavior during his exam. According to her, 15 month olds don't cooperate in a doctors office. I will admit that AJ is on his best behavior while on quick outings and errands however sitting through the meetings at the kingdom hall is a work in progress.

1st Hair Cut

AJ came home (from spending the night with his father) with his first hair cut. It looked great! However I was dissapointed that his father did not invite me to come along....or tell me that he was taking AJ to the barber shop. He also won't tell me how AJ reacted to the barber or the cut. I hate to miss out on "1st" experiences with my son. I can't wait until AJ can speak and tell me what happens when he is gone.

On The Move

Convention 2010

Aiden discovered how to run this weekend at out annual JW convention in Toledo. He stayed still long enough to pose for this picture near this colorful frog statue in the hallway. I am still trying to recover from running all weekend.

Brouzinly Love

Doctor Visit Update

Good news, Aiden is healthy. He was re-checked by the doctor last night and his liver is back in its proper place. As predicted, his cold must have been the cause of temporary liver displacement.

Floating AJ

Free slideshow created with Smilebox

AJ's Ocean

Create a free photo collage

Corn On The Cob

AJ has become a picky eater and no longer eats all his fruits and veggies. Imagine how surprised I was to see him take a chunk out of his corn on the cob.

Family Vacation in Florida

A relaxing vacation was just what the doctor ordered.

Doctor Visit Update

22 pounds 4 oz 30 inches long
Dr. Hirsh noticed during Aidens physical examination that his liver is lower than it should be. This can mean a number of things. At the least, it can be a sign of a viral infection. She requested that he be reexamined in 30 days. She hopes that the problem corrects itself. I hope she is right.

A few days later, Aiden began to show symptoms of a cold. Perhaps the doctor saw it coming before symptoms manifest? Keep your fingers crossed.

Break@theMall