First Wedding!!

Well, Logan attended his very first weekend this past weekend. Zack and I took him to Kate Sewell's wedding in Athens, Georgia. We went a little early so we could walk around town, and of course, we had to get a picture in front of the Bulldawg's stadium! During the actual wedding ceremony, Logan was almost asleep, since it was his afternoon nap time, so Zack took him outside in the hall and rocked him to sleep. He slept for about 45 minutes, and then he woke up right at the start of the reception in a great mood! He was truly the life of the party! I've never quite seen him laugh for so much and for so long. Zack and I had a blast just being with him and seeing him so happy. He was such a delight to be with, and we were both so proud of him! For about two hours, he smiled and laughed at anyone who so much as looked at him, and he was definitely flirting with all the ladies! LOL Somehow, during the course of the evening, he learned to stick his tongue out. We had never seen him do this before, but suddenly, our little boy was sticking his tongue out at everyone! And of course, because everyone started immediately dying laughing at him, he learned that it was an excellent way to get attention, so he did it the entire night! Now, unfortunately, it seems to be his favorite thing to do. :)

A Very Happy Half Birthday!! :) :)

Logan is officially 6 months old today!!

Typical schedule:
8:15-9:15 Mommy wakes Logan up to nurse for an hour before work
9:15-10:30 Plays with Daddy or watches a Baby Einstein video in his swing
10:30-12:00 Morning nap
12:00-12:30 Jumps around in his Exersaucer, or plays with his toys
12:30-1:45 Comes to Mommy’s office to nurse
1:45-3:45 Plays with toys or daddy
3:45-6:00 Afternoon nap
6:00-7:00 Nurses
7:00-7:30 Tummy time with Mommy, or a walk around the neighborhood
7:30-8:00 Few teaspoons of either rice cereal or as of last week, sweet potatoes (which he loves), or as of yesterday, zucchini (which he really seemed to dislike)
8:00-9:00 Practices “standing” with Mommy and Grandmommie, jumps in the Exersaucer, more tummy time and playing with toys
9:00-9:15 Bath time every third night
9:15-10:15 Nurses
10:15 Bedtime

On the weekends Logan typically goes on an hour-long walk with Mommy and Maddy.

He usually sleeps all through the night, but the past 10 days or so, he’s been waking up around 4:00 am to nurse for about 30 minutes.

Mobility: Logan easily turns over from both his back and his tummy. When lying down, he can turn around in a circle. He can easily support his body weight with his legs. If we help him grasp an object, such as my pants legs, he can stand by himself for a minute or two. Just recently, he can sit up by himself for a short while, but his back is not straight when he sits up, and he’s really just leaning forward on his arms. This past week, he’s really made significant progress during tummy time. He used to absolutely despise tummy time, but now he can play on his tummy for about twenty minutes before getting agitated. We always put him on his back to sleep, but in the morning, he always inevitably winds up on his tummy. His favorite thing in the whole wide world is to stand on his mommy or daddy’s legs while he holds onto their hands, so that he gets to wobble around standing up. Even if he’s crying, he will usually start to smile and laugh if you let him stand on you. Logan loves to stretch, and he always makes a big production of stretching whenever he wakes up. It is absolutely precious and adorable to watch!

Funny facts: As of two das ago, he gets a big kick out of blowing hard on my arm and consequently making a loud sound. I think he got this idea, because Zack and I always blow hard on his belly, making him laugh. He’s so proud of the fact that he can now make that same noise. Last night, we made a game out of it. I would blow loudly on his tummy, and then he would do it on my arm. We went back and forth like that for a while, with us both laughing the whole time! Now he has started doing it on his own arm. Also, while nursing this morning, he latched off my nipple and started making those blowing noises on my breast! Logan also loves to give kisses, where he tries to latch onto your nose, cheeks and face. My glasses, a main attraction for him, are permanently crooked from Logan constantly grabbing them. And if I am wearing any jewelry, especially a necklace, he will grab on and pull fast before I have a chance to stop him.

Toys: Logan’s favorite toy is a doggie that has all kinds of loops and balls attached to it. It can hang on his car seat. He also loves anything that makes a crinkling noise. His favorite stuffed animals are his Peter Rabbit and his Mickey Mouse that we got him a few weeks ago in Orlando. He also really likes his big open rubber ball that he can easily grasp. Baby Einstein videos are very popular with my son, and they capture his attention for the entire video (about 30 minutes). He especially likes it and laughs when the puppets stick their tongue out at him. Whatever Logan sees winds up in his mouth. He loves to explore by sticking anything and everything in his mouth. Last night, I used a wet paper towel to wipe away the food all over his head (not just face). It was even inside his ear and noise! I turned away for just a second, and when I looked back, he had stuffed the dirty paper towel into his mouth and somehow already managed to shred it to pieces. Thankfully, he hadn’t swallowed any of it yet. He likes to cuddle and listen to me read him books, but his attention span for books doesn’t last much past five minutes at this time. He loves to stick his fingers and hands in his food bowl, and he is determined to toss his bowl and spoon on the ground.

Songs: When he needs soothing, he really enjoys when I sing to him “Oh dear, what can the matter be”. He also likes “Puff the Magic Dragon”, “Dog named Blue”, “Old Man River”, “Hush Little Baby” and “Bushel and a Peck”. And he loves his car mirror that has toys dangling from it and plays music. One of his favorite songs that the mirror plays is “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”. Finally, he really likes a song I made up when he is in the bath, called “Little Logan’s in the tub, Little Logan’s gettin’ a bath”.

Eating Habits: He tried rice cereal about three times right when he turned four months old, but everything I started reading said that the healthiest path is for a baby to be nursed exclusively for the first six months. Thus, I stopped giving him anything but breast milk until two weeks ago, at which point we started back on rice cereal. On Wednesday, June 9th, 2010, we introduced sweet potatoes. He loves them and immediately put his fingers into his mouth to feel and explore what was inside. Two days ago, on June 16th, 2010, we gave him zucchini. He ate his whole serving, but yesterday, he made a terrible sour face with each spoonful, and he refused most of it. Again today, he made a scrunched up sour face when he tried the zucchini. Thus, since it was his half birthday, we ditched the rest of it and gave him the sweet potatoes. We were eating together as a family, and whenever I was eating myself and he was ready for another bite, he made sure to let us all know. I think he needs to learn patience! And I think he doesn’t care too much for zucchini!

I am making all of Logan’s food with a Baby Cook from Williams Sonoma that Grandma Pat gave me. I love knowing exactly what ingredients I am feeding my son, and I am able to make it in bulk and freeze individual, baby-sized quantities. My books say to introduce vegetables before fruits, so that the baby doesn’t develop a sweet tooth and refuse to eat other foods. We have basically completely given up on the idea of Logan ever taking to a bottle. He took a few sips from the bottle for about four days, and then he has flat outright refused it ever since. Luckily, he is able to come to my office everyday during lunch to nurse, but when we move to Douglasville in a few short weeks, this will no longer be an option. Thus, we have started giving him some water in a Sippy cup. He spills a good deal of it, but he sure tries hard to drink out of it, and he is definitely much more receptive to that than to the bottle. He sees a bottle and starts crying. Also, once he finishes his rice cereal, if we pour a little breast milk into the bowl, he will actually drink the remaining milk right out of the bowl, just like a big boy!

Vocalization and Personality: Logan loves to makes different noises and sounds, including grunting, ALL the time. He is a very vocal baby. He is also a very happy baby who loves to laugh. But when something upsets him, he has no issue letting us know. He can scream and cry and be beat red in the face within seconds. Just like his mommy, he can go from zero to pissy in .2 seconds! Haha! The past few weeks he has figured out how to determinedly reach for an object. So whenever he takes a break from nursing, he will stick out his hand and put it in my mouth, and he squeals with delight every time I “bite” down on his hand and make funny chomping noises. We do this same game over and over again about twelve times before he goes back to nursing. He also enjoys “flying” through the air above us. Recently, he has become very fascinated with our golden retriever, Maddy. He will just stop and stare at her for several minutes, and he has so much fun grabbing onto her fur. Unfortunately for Maddy, more times than not Logan ends up grabbing her ear or eyelid, but she is a trooper and just patiently and sweetly stands there letting him doing whatever he wants to her. He loves his paci, but he only really needs it during his “quiet alert” times. He is certainly not dependant upon it. He loves to suck his thumb, but we are trying to only let him do this at night or when he is sleeping. He also enjoys looking at himself in the mirror. Almost without fail, if we take him outside, he stops crying immediately. He is definitely an outdoor baby, and he loves when we go on walks outside with Maddy Girl, when he is in the Bob stroller. He also loves to be held, and he is very happy in his Baby Bjorn carrier, just as long as he doesn’t get too hot.

Looks: He is truly the most handsome baby in the whole entire world! He still has beautiful, deep, dark blue eyes. His dark hair is finally coming in again, but there are several blond hairs mixed in. His daddy was blond as a toddler, so maybe he will take after him. He had grown very long and therefore doesn’t look as chubby as he used to. He has beautiful olive skin and a very clear complexion. His little dimples are the cutest things ever! The following are the results of his 6-month checkup today:

Weight: 17 pounds, 11 ounces, which is in the 50th percentile
Height: 27 ¾ inches, which is in the 90th percentile. (He is very long and thus he is quickly outgrowing outfits, because they will no longer snap at the crotch).
Head Circumference: 43 cm, which is in the 30th percentile

Nicknames: By far his most frequent nickname is “Little Dude”. We also call him “Little Man”, “The Loganator”, “Mr. Logan” and “Baby Boy”.

Swimming!!!!!!!!

On Friday, June 4th, 2010, we drove down to Orlando for the weekend. Zack's dad rented a house with a private pool. Logan really had a blast hanging out with his Aunt Mac and Uncle E. We went outlet mall shopping, ate at the Rainforest Cafe, and even went swimming. At first, we put Logan in his very own raft, but the sun shade didn't really cover him very well, so he only stayed in for a short while.
But each evening once the sun went down, we took Logan into the pool and let him explore the water. He loved kicking his feet and splashing around, but he kept getting angry when water was splashed into his eyes. Of course he didn't realize that he was splashing himself! He really liked when I put him up on my shoulders in the water, and he was fascinated with watching his aunt and uncle play. Except for Zack having a terrible ear infection and having to go to a MedFirst center, we had a wonderful, albeit short, family vacation.

Emergency Room Déjà Vu

After Logan's first trip to the emergency room, I commented to Zack that hopefully we would never have to take Logan there again. Zack replied that we probably would have to at some point. But what we both didn't realize is just how soon that trip would be. On Saturday, May 29, 2010, I met my good friend Jessie Myers at Perimeter Mall. Spontaneously, I decided to get my hair cut at the salon there while Jessie watched Logan. The cut was only supposed to take about 30 minutes; however, it ended up taking almost an hour and 30 minutes. Just as I knew he would, Logan started to act hungry after about 20 minutes. The longer the haircut took and the longer I wasn't able to soothe him, the angrier he became. Previously, he had never cried for more than a minute or two before I came to his rescue, and I know he was hurt and frustrated and just plain mad that I was only a few feet away from him yet not holding him and feeding him. He simply couldn't understand it.

I felt terrible and kept asking the girl to please hurry up. At one point, I asked her if I could hold Logan while she worked, but she said that unfortunately it would cause her to mess up my hair. I was getting really anxious, because poor Logan was crying harder and harder. Jessie tried taking him outside, and it did work to calm him down for a few minutes, but then he started wailing again. The next thing I knew Jessie was frantically approaching my chair, saying that she thought something was wrong with Logan. I immediately sprung up from the chair and went to grab him, at which point he started to go limb, and I noticed his eyes start to roll back slightly into his head. It scared me to death. I grabbed him and held him above me, anxiously saying his name louder and louder and asking if he was ok. His head just kind of flopped to the side and downward, and his legs would not support his body. Normally then, his favorite thing ever was to hold onto my hands and "stand" up with his legs completely supporting him. But this time all of his muscles seemed to go limp.

I ran into the smock changing room and tried to nurse him, and although he did latch on, he was not very responsive. The whole time his breathing was very shallow and slow, although steady. I was scared beyond belief. I thought maybe he was having an allergic reaction to all the chemicals in the hair salon, even though Jessie did keep taking him outside. I called his pediatrician, Dr. Verras, who said to take him to the nearest emergency room immediately. I kept telling myself to think positively and to remain calm for Logan's sake, when my natural reaction was to cry and panic, but I knew Logan needed me. We sprinted through the mall to the Nordstrom parking deck, where my car was parked. Thankfully, Jess had done an internship at Scottish Rite Hospital, and so she knew how to get there. Zack met us at the check-in area. I made Jess ride in the back with Logan, because honestly, I was petrified that he would lose consciousness and/or stop breathing. Halfway to the hospital, Jess reported that he seemed almost fine and that he was even smiling at her. I was just praying that he would be alright, and that we would get to the hospital on time.

Once there, we had to wait longer than I felt was necessary. Although the people were nice, Zack and I both feel that Egleston is overall much nicer. They had to perform heart and lung x-rays. I felt so badly for Logan, because I knew he was very uncomfortable. They had to bundle him up tightly, and the nurse made me squeeze his arms together over his head. I kept not squeezing hard enough, because I could tell it was hurting him, and the nurse was, in my opinion, rude and not at all understanding. She kept reprimanding me that I wasn't doing it right, and when I finally blurted out that it was very difficult for me, because I knew I was causing my son pain, she did act a little nicer. Then they had to draw blood. Always before, they pricked Logan in the foot, but for some reason, they had to stick a needle in his arm. We think it was a nurse in training, because she kept messing up and moving the needle all around in his arm, cause Logan to wail with pain until he was red in the face. We were about to demand someone else when she finally figured it out.

While I waited with Logan for the test results, Zack brought Jess back to the mall to get her car. They said the results would only be about 40 minutes, so since we had to pay for hospital parking, Zack decided that by the time he dropped her off and came back, we would be done, so he just waited for me nearby. Unfortunately, the results took two hours, so I had to wait by myself all that time. I passed the time by rocking and singing to Logan, and when given the ok, nursing him. Finally, the doctor came in with some good news. His heart and lungs looked perfectly normal, and his blood sugar level was also perfect. The doctor said that one of two things had happened to my son. One is that he had a seizure. Apparently, there are two types of seizures: the kind where the person shakes, and another type where the person goes limp, the heart rate drops and hence the breathing slows down and in both cases the eyes roll in the back of the head. Logan's eyes never went completely back and up, but they did roll backwards. The other option was something that actually happens to babies somewhat frequently. A baby can get so upset and cry so hard, that he or she forgets to breathe and actually causes himself or herself to pass out and faint. Since Logan's brain cat scan from a few weeks before came back clear, the doctor knew that Logan did not have any missing parts of his brain, and thus he thought that he had simply forgotten to breath. However, only an EKG would positively tell us if he had a seizure or not, but they won't do that unless it happens again, which hopefully, it never will.

The day was such a traumatic nightmare that I felt as if I had been run over by a truck. My parents were in Europe so I wasn't even able to call them. I felt so helpless, and once I knew he was ok, relief flooded all over me. I just kept praying to God that my baby boy would be alright. He is such a sweet and loving baby, and it fills me with such great pain to see him go through something like that. I wish I could take all the pain away from him and experience it myself, if I had to. Logan, for his part, seemed exhausted but happy and all smiles as we left the hospital. The doctor did say that in 70% of seizure cases, if it was indeed a seizure, the baby never again in his whole life experiences another seizure. That was pretty good odds, but not good enough for me. I didn't really sleep at all that night. I just kept watching over him sleeping in his crib, making sure he was breathing ok. I held it together pretty well until my parents came home the next day in the evening, and then I broke down and lost it.

A few weeks later, on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010, I was nursing Logan when his head (just his head and not his entire body), started to tremor for about 6-7 seconds. I immediately called the doctor, who said that it was probably nothing, but in light of his recent episode, to call if it happened again. He also asked me to try to video tape it. Unfortunately, it happened again the next day, but only for about 3-4 seconds, which was too quickly for me to get the video application on my Iphone working. When I called Dr. Verras, he said to bring Logan in for testing that afternoon. It's important to note that Logan's breathing seemed perfectly normal during his head tremors, and he continued nursing both times, and it always happened with his eyes closed as he was drifting off the sleep. Dr. Verras performed all kinds of reflex tests and looked at some other things, and thank God he concluded that Logan was perfectly normal and perfectly healthy. He said that he is almost positive that Logan never had a seizure, and that he had simply caused himself to pass out. He said that babies with a seizure history do not perform nearly as well as Logan performed on all the tests. As far as his head shaking, the doctor said that some babies, although it is rare, do shake their heads or do something similar, like twitch their eyes, for no apparent reason, but that it is nothing to be concerned about. I was also worried about a possible connection between Logan getting dropped on his head and the head tremors, but Dr. Verras seems to think there is no link. He said that the brain cat scan would have detected if there was any damage.

So, after a very frightening few weeks, we truly believe we have a very strong, healthy trooper of a little boy. He is so young to have already been to the emergency room twice, but we consider ourselves so fortunate, especially when we consider all the things that could have gone wrong and all the terrible tragedies that happen to other babies. I truly believe that Logan has a guardian angel watching out for him, perhaps even my Grandmommie.