Cough, Catnaps, Cuteness, Company, and Cozy

Wow! When I do not have time to blog but every week and a half, my thoughts compile and before I know it, I have too many things to write about. Those of you who are long time visitors of my blog, you know that I love to choose a theme - well, today's theme - the 5 C's: cough, catnaps, cuteness, company, and cozy. Why the 5 C's? So u can "C" the latest Luke updates...:)

Cough:
I'll start with the not so fun one - the cough. :( Last Thursday, Luke, Landis, and I took our first unplanned trip to the doctor because of a cough that Luke had for several days. Last Monday, I noticed congestion in Luke's head - you could hear it when he was breathing and especially when he ate. The congestion and drainage was causing this pitiful little cough that sounded terrible coming from such a tiny person. Luke didn't have a fever and was eating well - my concern was - is the congestion in his chest? So, I called my Aunt Sonya, who was a pediatric nurse for years and just happens to live one block from me. We are loving that!! :) On Wednesday morning, Aunt Sonya arrived with her stethoscope and listened to his chest. She heard nothing and said this - his chest is clear - he doesn't need to go to the doctor unless he has a fever or will not eat. "Okay" I thought and was satisifed with that response until Thursday morning when his cough became so bad that he threw up when eating. After his second throw up episode, the helpless mommy called the doctor - I couldn't help it - I wanted to fix his little cough and couldn't so I wanted someone to tell me how to help him so off to the doctor we went. The doctor listened to his chest and checked his ears AND what did he say? He is clear in his chest and in his ears - there is nothing we can do but let the cold run its course - you do not need to be concerned unless he has a fever or quits eating. Wow! Have I heard that before? Oh yeah - way to go Aunt Nonner!!! You were right on target!! You know what that means? We will be calling for your advice again. :) So...we left the doctor still feeling helpless but feeling a little better knowing that the congestion was not too serious. I did ask the doctor if there was anything that I could have done to prevent the congestion and he said that it was a cold caused by a germ and that germs were going to happen - he said that we couldn't keep him in a bubble - colds would happen and with each one, his immunity would build. Alrighty then! That answered my question. I am happy to say that Luke is doing much better. His congestion gets better everyday, his cough is not as bad, and he is no longer throwing up when eating. Thank the Lord for the healing and for protecting his little chest and ears. :) Now..on to happier topics...

Oh yeah...at the doctor, Luke weighed 9 pounds, 14 ounces - I am sure that by now he has reached the 10 pound mark - oh my goodness - he's in the double digits!! :)

Catnaps:
My 10 pounds of cuteness has become the "King of Catnaps." He has his night time schedule figured out and it is a good one for mommy. At night, he eats around 11:00 and will sleep until 6:00am - that is awesome! That means that I get to bed around 11:30 and get to sleep until 6:00 (sometimes 6:30) - did you calculate that? That's over 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Now, of course, I wake up a few times to check the monitor, but, I don't have to physically get out of the bed thanks to the video monitor RIGHT BESIDE MY HEAD (he, he). Why is little man so tired? Because he never has a full nap during the day. He eats, plays for a little while, and then falls asleep for 30 to 45 minutes at a time. It will appear that he is going to take a real nap and then all of a sudden - the eyes pop open and he is ready to join the awake world again. Thank goodness during this awake time he is getting better at playing by himself. I can put him in his playpen with his toys beside, above, and around him and he will play (a.k.a - look and sort of reach) for 30 minutes. I'm fascinated at his attention span. He is also the sweetest thing ever when I spend time talking with him and reading to him. He smiles very easily now and is trying very hard to make noises. Every now and then, a planned coo will happen - I mean what a way to melt your heart - it's the sweetest thing I have ever seen watching him move his lips every which way only to get one little squeak out! :)

Oh - on the sleeping subject - one more tidbit to share - I am continually amazed at his night time routine - after his last feeding, I rock him for about 5 minutes and then swaddle him. He then watches his mobile (which he loves) and falls asleep all on his own. The other night he stayed up watching his mobile and grunting and trying to make noises for an hour before finally falling asleep. I am amazed that he can entertain and soothe himself for that amount of time and then falls asleep without one whimper or get this...NO PACI!! He only wants his paci during the day time when he is trying to catnap. He never has it at night anymore. I am telling you...he is a good baby... :) I am blessed! No night time crying sessions to listen to....YET...(he, he).......

Cuteness:
The next few pictures will explain this one...take a look

This picture is baby Luke in the BIG CHAIR! I sat him down for a second in the chair that I usually play with him in and Landis and I had to take a picture - look how cute he is!! :) He looks so tiny in that big chair.

The next few pictures were taken in his bouncy seat. Each morning, he sits in his bouncy seat on the bar as I eat my breakfast while talking with him. He listens, makes his tiny noises, and attempts to hit at his hanging toys. Check out this cuteness...

Oh my...did you see that smile? :)

He is thinking..."Oh my goodness I really want to grab that snail! Why can't I get my hands to work like I want to?"

Company:

This weekend was a busy one for us. On Saturday night, we ate dinner with "The Gang" which includes our regular hangout buddies, The Leslie's, The Ray's, the Trogdon's, and The Prevette's. This was Luke's first time hanging out with the whole group and he was so precious - he went through dinner and then hung out at Heather and Greg's house afterwards until almost 1 am. We fed him and then passed him around to all of the ladies. He has never received so many kisses. All the ladies enjoyed holding him and he enjoyed being held. He did his usual catnaps throughout the night and then came home and slept until 7am - he was tired! :)

Then, on Sunday, Landis and I took him to a Superbowl party. Once again, we were away from home around a bunch of people for several hours. We arrived at the party around 5:00 and left at 11:00. He did so well! He only cried one time and that was when he was getting sleepy. I took my baby Bjorn and he hung out with me as we watched the game - well, sort of watched the game, there were about 10 kids under the age of 5 running around the entire time. I think Luke was fascinated at all of the action - there were kids everywhere!!! :) Below are some pictures of Luke's superbowl outfit...he was the cutest "Football Champ" at the party... :)

Do you see those socks? They have football laces on them...isn't that adorable?

Look...catnapping before the party!! :)

Cozy:

One of my favorite times of the day has become the early morning hours because Luke, Landis, and I get to be "cozy". After Luke eats at 6:00 each morning, I take him back to the bedroom where Landis is starting to stir and Landis and I play and talk with him until he falls back asleep. And, then, when he does fall asleep, I sometimes fall back asleep with him. This is a joy that I will have to give up in about 5 weeks when I return to work and I sure will miss it - not just the extra sleep, but the play time with him. He is always sweet, but super sweet in the mornings when he is rested and full. :) Here are a few pictures of Luke in Mommy and Daddy's big bed getting cozy. :) (Side note - Lupe, I bet you, Layla, and Neil love this part of the blog - it probably reminds you of your family getting "cozy"-tell Layla and Neil that I stole their word.)

It's difficult to read in those pictures - but, his sleeper says "Snugglesaurus" - it's mine and Landis' favorite sleeper because it has claws on the footie part of the sleeper and of course, Luke is our "Snugglesaurus". :)

Well, that's the end of the latest Luke NOVEL...oh my goodness...I just go on and on...forgive me....

Until the next chapter....have a terrific Thursday!

The long winded blogger signing off,

Toddy