9 Month pediatrician appointment

Wren had his 9 month well-baby checkup this week. He did not need any shots but did have a toe prick to check his iron. The good news is that he is no longer borderline anemic. His iron levels went up from 10 to 10.6 last time to 11.6 this week. I think it is all the lamb and vegetables he has been eating.

Overall, Wren continues to grow well. He is:

Height: 90th percentile
Weight: 75th percentile
Head: 70th percentile

His head has continued to increase slowly relative to his other measurements. It started off at 25th percentile so the pediatrician said we will watch that and if it continues to increase she may order a CAT scan to rule out any reason other than a big head. Frost's head behaved in the same way during his first year and he just has a big head so I am hopeful it will be all okay.

Other than that, Wren was meeting all the milestones she asked about. He babbles vowels and consonants, feeds himself with pincer grasp, crawls confidently and eats a variety of foods.

She was surprised to see that he can stand!

He only renegade behavior was not sleeping through the night and of course I was told that he doesn't need to eat at night for nutritional purposes. Hrmmm. She should tr telling him that at 2am.

Wren will get a flu shot this season but we don't know whether he will qualify for the Synagis shots. I need to call our insurance and check up on that.

The Fabulous Queen Mary Tea Shop, Heavy Fighting and He Stands

We have had a very happy Sunday. It started early, as usual, with a 5.05am screamer. I waited 10 minutes but he didn't return to sleep so I went to nurse him and he fell asleep for 20 minutes afterwards which was very civilized.

As soon as there was light (7am) we went for a walk around the neighborhood. My goal was to explore a new toyshop, , I had read about When we reached Happy Planet I didn't even look at it because, joy or joy, rapture oh rapture, I discovered the Queen Mary Teahouse right next door. It is a British Styled Teahouse serving English food, splendid teas including many teas made from rooibos, high tea and most glorious pastries. That there could be a new toyshop AND an English Teashop within walking distance of my house completely unknown to me fills me with a sense of wonder.

I am going to go and drink tea real soon - at least if they serve tea and scones alone rather than being part of a banquet as the menu indicates.

He Stands
In other news WREN STANDS UP. He doesn't do it all the time but he has balanced without holding on for about 10 seconds and for shorter periods fairly often. I think it will be a matter of time before he discovers a new mode of locomotion. Although I don't have a photo of him standing without holding on, I have this new one of Wren solving the problem of how to crawl with a toy. This time its in his mouth.

He speaks, sorta
Wren has said his first word. Its more a sound, really. When he sees the fish mobile (which I call the Fishies) he says "sh-ss" it sounds like part of fishes. He has done it many times and a women who we were interviewing for babysitting also heard and commented on it.



Pancake Puffs
While watching TV Frost noticed a commercial for "Pancake Puffs". He is always calling me to "see this" or that wonderful contraption available only through TV. If it were up to him we would be fitted out with all the weird and wonderful "as seen on TV" gadgets. AS it happens the pancake puff pan is actually a Danish Ebelskiver pan remarketed as an invention for the US market. AND remarkably, I bought on on an estate sale a few weeks ago. So, I whipped up a breakfast of "pancake puffs" for Frost and he used a big hospital syringe to squirt maple syrup into the middle of a few of them. He was extremely gratified as I usually dismiss the ads as nonsense. Each time he ate one he said "So, THIS ad wasn't a lie! So, THIS ad was TRUE!". Uh oh.

Here are pictures of some treasures I bought at the estate sale, including the ebelskriver:




This afternoon we went to an SCA heavy tournament. The SCA members were all dressed in their regalia and fighting wearing helms and armor. Some were performing on horses with wooden lances. Frost was quite interested although a large pile of gravel was equally compelling. I bought two silver hair spirals which I am enjoying wearing. We live in the Barony of Madrone according to SCA lore and we are considering going to some events because it was fun and I like the crafts.

My TB test incident and Wren update

Wren is feeling great. He is crawling and exploring again without whimpering all the time and wanting to be carried. His bottom left outer teeth are cutting through the gums and are visible. His lower molars continue to swell and look as if they must emerge soon.

Among Wren's favorite things is the night light. When he wakes in the morning and finishes nursing he crawls to the edge of the bed and tries to get down to chew it. I have to get up and hide it under the bed before he gets hold of it.

These are the things that Wren understands:

- Where are the fishies? (looks up)
- Kitty? (looks around attentively)
- No (shakes his head from side to side and smiles)
- Ball (looks for ball)
- Throw it! (throws the ball)
- Do you want to eat? (whimpers, falls over and tries to claw at me)

Now, about me. I went to have my TB test at the doctor. I had a sub-cutaneous injection and unlike prior TB tests it was excruciatingly painful. The syringe seemed to have a lot of stuff in it and I asked the Dr whether she was really going to inject all that into me!

When I got home hours later there were a string of calls from the doctors office asking me to call her. I found out later (amidst many apologies) that they had injected me with a Tetanus shot not a TB test. I went in today for the correct shot in the other arm. Unfortunately, the tetanus shot site is extremely painful and swollen. I can't carry Wren on that side any more (and its the only side I carry him) and I can't really sleep on that side because it is very red, burning and ultra-sensitive. The Doc said that it may take another few days for the drug to disperse and the swelling subside. OUCH.

We also went to infant coop for the first time. Wren had a great time and crawled around and groped the other babies and the balls. He especially likes balls. At the doctors office he liked the string instruments - the bass and a banjo - and stayed there a long time scratching the strings to make noise. The only thing that could compete was eating the soil in the potted plants (yes, I stopped him quickly).

Dr Yesterday Dr Today

I took Wren for a checkup at the Ped yesterday. She saw nothing wrong other than his crankiness. We were told to stop Tylenol for 24 hours to see whether he had a feve.r A fever could indicated endocarditis. We did. He did not have a fever.

Dr Today
But this morning I noticed Wren had a rash on his lower belly. By 11am it was all over his belly. I was near the doctors' office since I was buying a new cable for the garage door. I dropped in and Wren was seen. Apparently it looks like a Roseola rash but his fever was not high enough for Roseola so it was probably some virus. The rash comes on as the virus is broken down.

He is better. He is not contagious. He has a rash.

Oh, and one of his two bottom teeth is cutting through the gum (at last). There are 2 molars and one more bottom tooth poised to follow.

If you're crawling you don't wear overalls

I wish someone would take the Carters designers who make all these 6-12 mo overalls and make them crawl around in them all day. They would be stripping before breakfast. Honestly, crawling babies shouldn't wear overalls.

I have 4 sets of gorgeous overalls in the 6-12 month size. I came to the cupboard this morning and there they were. They are the newest cleanest clothes Wren has because he hasn't worn them. I thought I might try again and took out the largest once and rolled up the legs. Off he went.

As soon as he was horizontal I saw it wouldn't work. They tug at his shoulders and pull between his legs. Still, I pulled him up and released the tension. He looked great. Off he went again - as soon as he crawled the overalls we tight again. Argh.
Meanwhile, in the leg department he was sliding all over the place because even though they were the right length when he stood up, when he crawled his legs retreated into the pants and he slipped and hit his face on the floor.

No more overalls until he can walk.

Wren on Sunday

Wren was generally happier today and between the two bouts of Tylenol he has enjoyed he has not had a fever. That is the good news. The bad news is that he is still obviously happier after Tylenol and extremely irritable, cries easily and wants to be carried most of the time. It is a rare moment right now that he is happy and unmedicated - he is playing with some musical shakers and is entertained enough to be okay.

From this I think he is in pain. It could be his teeth - the molars continue to swell but are not through anywhere. It could be something else I can't see. I really don't know. We will be taking him to the doctor to talk about it.

My nerves are shot because, without Joshua doing baby-care too (which he has been) Wren is very high maintenance and I can barely do anything unless I carry him.

Today, we went to the Pharmacy to get some more anti-fungal (Wren still has oral thrush which is a candida infection in his cheeks which is not supposed to bother them) and the pharmacist commented that his dosage is 1/2 of what is usually recommended. Since Wren is not having rapid improvement with the 1ml X 4 she suggested we walk to the doctor about it. We also bought some gauze so I can swab the inside of his cheeks to make the preparation more effective.

We also went to the library and found a huge pile of good books for Frost. Wren was very helpful. When he saw me removing books from the shelf he started pulling down piles of books and dumping them on the floor. I thanked him for his contribution and put them back. A little girl (age 3) was concerned and kept telling him "No, no!" and saying "I can't understand what he is saying" (he was babbling back to her).

Wren is overtired because he is taking such short naps so I am going to take him for a walk while the chicken roasts. Unfortunately, the babysitter we had organized to watch Wren Friday mornings while I do my school shift has decided she is over committed so we are once again looking for someone.

Fever Update

I have spoken with our pediatrician twice since the earlier post. Apparently, the concern with chronic fever of unknown origin in heart babies is that they are vulnerable to infectious endocarditis. I checked Wren's temperature this afternoon and it was only 100.4 after the Tylenol wore off as a result the Ped did not order blood cultures.

If it is 103 or above overnight we are to take Wren to the Children's Outpatient clinic tomorrow.

She felt that unless the fever was higher it was unlikely to be "very concerning".

I am not really reassured. I am still concerned.

Fever goes on

I called the Heart Center Nurses Line to ask whether I could give Wren Motrin. I think it is better for inflammation like his huge erupting molar. Nurse Jennifer was a bit concerned when she heard he had had a fever of unknown origin for 3 days. She said she better "run it by Dr Lewin" to see what he thinks. She says the molar may, or may not, be causing it. I could have said that.

I feel quite frustrated because I have such a shoddy thermometer that I have no idea what his real temp is. They are more concerned if it is over 101.5. Well, I get about 100 underarm which is usually 1 degree more at the doctors using the in-the-ear one. I think we need a thermometer upgrade.

But wait, I don't have the car today. This always happens.

Idle Moments

Wren likes to:

- Unpack the cutlery from the dishwasher. He stands at the open door and pulls out spoons and knives and forks and sucks them and throws them on the floor with a shout.

- Suck on old hospital syringes (left over from the days he had lots of meds. No needles)

- Watch mobiles and fans going around.

- Grab fistfuls of cat fur attached to a cat.

- Eat what I am eating.

- Play what Frost is playing.

- Play the dropping things game while we go for walks in the stroller.

- Not have an intermittent fever of 101 for the third day.

Here is Wren playing xylophone yesterday.

Happy 9 Monthday to Wren

Wren is 9 months old today. For his baby book I am going to try and describe what he does and what he likes.

Wren's Personality
Wren is a fairly solemn little guy who smiles and laughs with people he knows but takes a while to warm up to strangers. When he meets a new person he simply stares unabashedly for A-G-E-S without expression. Once he knows you he likes to play games and gets excited when you talk to him.

Wren has a strong sense of what he wants: if you take away a toy he shouts and cries and screws up his face. At Mom and Tot yoga he clung to his toy despite attempts by toddlers to pull it away from him.

Wren and Frost
He loves Frost and will crane and stare and smile and become animated when Frost returns home. When we return from our morning walk he stares still and intent at the door at the top of the stairs because Frost often opens it and says "Good Morning" if he has woken while we were out.

Frost loves Wren but tends to overwhelm Wren with hugs and tries to carry him around. to save him from perceived danger. Frost is very anxious about Wren putting things in his mouth and choking so he spends a lot of time shrieking warnings and carrying Wren or toys to keep them apart. Today he asked me "how big the pipe" was that Wren breathes through. He was worried he might choke on fennel flowers.

He plays with Wren, rolling the ball to him, and does "shows" for Wren in which he leaps and rolls and jumps on the bed while Wren hoots appreciation and is nearly flattened by crooked jumps.

For all his love, Frost finds Wren a bit of a bother at times - he now has to keep his bedroom door closed and misses the long uninterrupted games we used to play.

Moving
Wren can crawl very well. Although he seldom goes up stairs he can do it. He can slide off a bed backwards but has not learned to go "feet first" off high things. Instead he does head first plunges if he is not caught and rotated. I manage to catch him most of the time.

Wren likes to stand up. Whenever he comes to a vertical surface, even a smooth one, he leans his hands against it and stands up. Once up he thumps it with his hand. He likes to stand at the gates and look through, especially when the cats are visible in the back yard or are eating at their food bowls.

While crawling, he ducks his head down to crawl down under things. When the ground is rough - like cement or twigs, he lifts up his knees and does an army crawl across the uncomfortable terrain.

Wren is quite self reliant for a baby. He does not make a lot of noise unless he is sad or needs something. Usually he moves around the living room and kitchen touching things on the floor, picking them up and biting them. He likes to hold large things in his mouth while he crawls. Alternatively, he carries them around in one hand while he crawls.

He does not stand independently, yet, but has started to "hover" without holding on after he lets go something he pulled up on. He can do this for 3 or more seconds before sitting down. I am not encouraging him. When he has pulled up on something low, he "cruises" sideways along it until he reaches something else of interest.

Communicating
Wren does not say any words but he likes to copy noises and movements. One of his favorite games is shaking his head side to side. I do the same and say "no no no" and then nod and say "yes yes yes". He shakes his head back with a huge toothy smile of pleasure.

We also have click conversations. He starts clicking his tongue then stops and looks at me. I click my tongue. He clicks and watches me. I watch him and click. We are both smiling.

The closest he comes to a word is saying a rough SHHHSHSH when I say "fishies". He has done this a few times and I think he gets the idea of saying the word but can't annunciate it fully.

Although he doesn't speak he understands some words clearly. If I say "where are the fishies?" he looks at the fish mobile. If I ask "Where is the ball?" he looks for the ball. If I ask "kitty?" he looks around for kitty. He also knows about Crows and birdies when we are going walking. When I say birdies he looks up. He is fascinated by crows and kitties on our morning walks.

.... to be continued along with a video of Wren playing the Glockenspiel.