Hurts me more than it hurts you

I now know why parents say "This hurts me more than it hurts you."

I am transitioning Aiden from Mom's bed to the crib during naptimes.  I wouldn't do this, except he is crawling all over the bed and traversing the pillow maze to keep him from pitching off the sides of the bed.  He is getting better at it.

Aiden hates his crib.  The first nap was 2 hours of crying and 15 minutes of nap.  The second nap was 1 hour of crying and 1 hour of sleep.  Hopefully, it will be better tomorrow.  It is so frustrating.  I finally put in my ear buds and listened to an audio book.

*Sigh*  Smedleys came over for tacos and pineapple upside down cake.  With whipped cream.  From a squirting can....

Aiden loves when his cousins visit.

200th Post

Can you believe it?  Since my little man went into the hospital for hernia and appendix issues, I have aired my dirty laundry 200 times.  I never thought I would enjoy blogging, but I should have realized that I love journaling. I love taking pictures.  Why not blogging?

My baby is 10 months old today as well.  How did the time fly so quickly?  My heart aches for the time gone by, but it is overjoyed for the little life that I have had the privilege to share.  He learns everyday.  

Today he will crawl.

He was so close yesterday.  On hands and knees, rocking back and forth.  But today is the day.  I can feel it.  This means that our prolonged bubble of non-mobility will end.  You see, a very many different factors have combined to possibly make Mister so he didn't want to crawl:  scar tissue in abdomen from two surgeries (hernia repair and appendectomy), tight neck muscles from tortuculus, boo-boos on his....well, let's just say....scar tissue from his latest surgery, and - I think he just plain didn't want to crawl.  He could have a long time ago.  He had the skills.  We just had to do things on his schedule. 

I see the foreboding of things to come (doing things on his terms and his schedule) - walking later, potty training at 4, and on... and on.  

The thing is... it doesn't bother me.  I am totally okay with him growing and learning at his own pace.  I will do my part.  I will teach and I will guide, but I would prefer not to force when he is not ready.

Someone (okay, my pediatrician) disagrees with me co-sleeping with Mister.  I am of the opinion that he will not need me forever.  He will not want me around forever.  I am going to take advantage of waking up in the night, looking down at my sometimes sleeping baby who only falls asleep when I am cuddling him with his hand on my face, and enjoy every moment.  

Even the tough ones.

Tubeless!

Aiden is now "tubeless"!!!  Yay!  We went to see the doctor yesterday.  Primary Children's Medical Center is one of my favorite places in the world.  I don't necessarily like going there, but if I have to have a child who is in need of the services, I am happy that it is such a wonderful place filled with wonderful people.  I love that everything, even the insides of the elevators, is geared toward children.  Every time we go, it seems we get the Elephant elevator and Mister LOVES it.    

(I wish that the Pediatric Urology waiting room was a little bigger, but I think that is splitting hairs.)  

I must set the scene - Aiden has been on many narcotics which makes him... backed up.  So, we have been supplementing his diet with prune/apple juice... which he loves.  Unfortunately, about 15 minutes before our appointment with the urologist, Aiden had an epic blowout.  So, after changing the diaper, the onesie, the clothes, and - yes- the socks, we went to our appointment only to find that there was another epic blowout surprise 10 minutes later.  

And the antibiotics make everything stink so much worse.  

Dr. Cartwright looked over everything that was impacted by his surgery.  He said the hypospadius repair looks really good, but the stitches not holding things together was not normal or common.  He guesses that the skin had to be moved so far that the edges lost blood supply and simply could not stay alive enough to hold the stitches.  He gave us the same advice as the other day - bathe twice a day, keep moist and clean, vaseline regularly, and wait.  Then he took out Aiden's stent.  Aiden was not happy, but it is done!  It is out!  And it looks... GREAT!!!  

I realized, however, that with the hole moved to where it should be, it means that it is pointed directly at me for diaper changes now.  

Random shots from Sunday!

An ugly beanie hat that came with his giraffe jammies.  The eyes are creepy looking and slightly disturbing.

Helping Mom with laundry.

Reading stories.  This shot was followed by him dropping the book on his face.

love this little man

Great American Pasttime

My favorite sport is Baseball.  Baseball, softball, it doesn't matter.  Aiden wasn't feeling great, but we couldn't resist the tantalizing siren song of the sun.  Breanna and Kelle had a Swing for the Cure softball tournament in Salt Lake City and since we had to be there anyway, we dropped by for part of a game.   With everyone in sunglasses, he was a little freaked out, but had a great time.

Aiden loved being outside (we haven't been able to do that much since his surgery) and I loved the game!  (They won, by the way...)

Could not be more proud...

I am so proud of my nephew Mikey.  He graduated today from Weber State with honors.  What a stud nuffin... I am proud that he could do it while married, working, with a daughter to care for.  We were so lucky to be able to go to the graduation party and eat yummy food and see fun people.  Aiden was not happy, but peaches and "Unk Mike" helped a lot.

Today, Aiden saw the doctor and, yes, his hypospadius repair is considered successful, but the scrotoplasty failed.  The stitches that hold stuff together dissolved before he was healed properly so he now has a large open wound around the base of his Winkey.  It looks awful and smells worse.  But the doctor this morning said that he will just have to heal on his own and it may take several months to get fully healed.  There is nothing he can do.  Because Aiden is in the crawling, wiggling stage, the stitches would just be torn open over and over again.  *sigh*  Poor bug.

When he is on pain meds, though, he is a bundle of FUN!  He is funny.  Lately, he has started pointing at people he wants to go to, toys he wants to hold, and things he wants to see.  HE IS COMMUNICATING!!  YAY!!

Complications

Sorry about the delay in posting.  We have had only a few complications from Aiden's surgery, but they are time consuming.  Aiden has been mostly a sunny, funny typical 9 month old boy.  But when the pain meds wear off, beware!!  He should not be needing this much medication one week after surgery, but the nurse has said several times to keep giving it.

Well tonight we found what may be the problem.  One side of his surgery did not close with the stitches.  It seems that the stitches dissolved before the skin was closed and now there is a 1 1/2 inch open wound in his private area.  Poor bug.  We see the doctor early in the morning.

Tomorrow, we take Chris to the airport for his vacation to Virginia.  We will miss him.

I don't think he will miss the crying.

Disturbing

I had a dream last night about Joan Crawford.  Don't know why, but this woman has always given me nightmares.  She was scary - in looks and in her personal life.  I thought that today I would blog about some actors who scare me.  Joan Crawford is one of them.

YIKES!!  Joan Crawford is one of the creepiest human beings!

Same thing - Betty Davis

Watch the two of them about "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?".  Creepy movie.

Michael York.  Yikes!  I think it is more his voice that is disturbing than his looks.  Sounds like he had mashed potatoes stuck in the back of his throat.  

Mark Hammill.   What happened, man?  You were sexy as Luke Skywalker.

Elijah Wood has always kinda freaked me out with his stalker eyes.

Crispin Glover.  What a nutcase!!

Helena Bonham Carter.  I think she is allowed to look this way just because she is married to Tim Burton.  She really is a pretty lady, but soooo creepy.  

Nicole Kidman.  Ok, I think she is pretty and I think she is a great actress.  But there is just something about her that kinda is off.  She looks like one of those computer generated human beings that is a little too pretty.  Creeps me out.

Well, thanks.  Another 3 minutes of your time I have wasted.  Sorry about that.  More about real life tomorrow.  Promise.