RSV

It is going around in Montessori. One kid in my classroom was sent home yesterday. It is contagious. It stands for Respiratory Syncitial Virus. I have most of the symptoms: cough, low fever, loss of appetite, stuffy nose. The only thing I don't have is difficulty in breathing.

Mom made an appointment this morning so that Dad can take me to Dr. C. They did some test on me and found that I had a little ear infection. Dr. C gave dad a prescription so that dad can pick up the drug after work. She said that I was becoming better and better. The most serious hit was the initial five days, which I survived already.

I lost some weight though. I am only 14 lbs and 13 ozs now. That's a loss of 6% of my gross weight! Mom would be thrilled if she can lose this much in a week. She eats healthy, works out and sleeps well, yet she wants to look like a reel and she can never be too skinny.

Her IS people fixed the problem dad created on her laptop, but they think the WIFI card was the cause of the issue. Isn't that amusing? Now she gets a different error message every time she boots up her PC, which says some application failed to launch. She doesn't even get annoyed any more.

Feverish Weekend

Both mom and I had a fever on Friday night. It was rainy, snowy and icy. Dad had to run to King Soopers to get a thermometer because we were out of the battery on all the ones we had in the house. The lesson we learned: never trust electronic stuff even when it comes down to measuring your temperature.

I was 99.4 degrees - way below the boundary that needs to be sent to emergency room (104 degrees). I kept coughing with Mucous. It was really uncomfortable. Every time I tried to eat, my throat itched and I had to cough. After a few times, I just got mad and started crying and screaming. I slept in my parents' bed for the whole week already, which was probably why mom was sick. She wasn't able to sleep at all because of me.

On Saturday morning, we both felt better. Dad played with mom's brand new Dell laptop, the cute D420. And in less than half an hour, he successfully crashed the computer. It wouldn't boot up because it was missing MSVCP60.dll file. Dad accomplished that by trying to install IE 7 on it. Poor mom had to log in a service desk ticket and got rebuked by IS people on Monday.

Mom forced some pear soup down my throat, which was supposed to help with my cough and mucous. It actually doesn't taste bad at all since she told dad to put in crystal sugar when he boiled it. They have a lot of secret Chinese herbal recipes because mom's mom's grandpa was a famous Chinese herbal doctor.

Take Me Hiking

The pictures you saw above were actually taken last weekend. Mom and dad took me to Harper Lake in Louisville for a hike. The elevation was only 67 feet. I'm already too heavy for dad now. I bet I still won't know how to walk by the time I turn 20 lbs. Poor mom has had a backache ever since I was born. I don't think she'll ever using the Baby Sling.

I've been coughing for 3 days so far. Two babies in my room were sent home yesterday because of fever. There is one child in the Toddler's Room who's got Pneumonia. It's a very bad time of the year. I still try to hold out. I know it's very hard for my parents to take days off work so I try not to be too sick these days. I still laugh at every stranger or familiar person I see, but it's been rough for me. I couldn't eat yesterday because my nose was stuffed up. When I tried to nurse on mom or feed from a bottle, I couldn't breathe any more.

Fortunately, dad came home from his business trip. He is such a cheerful person. I can't help laughing whenever I see his face. I slept in my parents' bed last night and mom fed me twice. I bet she is exhausted today because she hasn't been able to sleep for 3 nights in a row.

It's going to snow/rain again tomorrow. Mom still secretly hopes I can get better and go hiking with them. I don't think I'll vote for that. She'll have to go to the gym to burn off that humungus piece of chocolate cake she had this afternoon. Her department hosts a birthday cake gathering every month for everyone who was born in that month. She has been taking advantage of it every time.

Dad will pick me up after work today. I cannot wait to see him. He is a great tease and will lighten up my day.

Cough

Arnold was coughing on his way back home last night. I got so concerned. We had the first snow this year. The temperature was around 30. Biajee was so lazy - he never dresses Arnold up with jackets and layered up clothes when he picks him up. I bundled him up this morning, hopefully it helps.

Arnold slept with me again and I tried to nurse him through the night. He doesn't want to eat that much at all and he kicks the quilt away constantly. Finally he fell asleep at 5 am, but I had to get up and get everything ready. I didn't have time to feed him this morning so he was fussy all the way till he got to school. I heated up his milk bottle there and laid him on the play gym there. He knows the difference between home and school now and immediately stopped crying.

I hope he'll eat well. I found that I had forgotten to put his milk bottles into the dishwasher last night. I had to hand wash everything this morning. I don't function well on snowy days because I've slid on icy snow twice before. Driving on snow is a tremendous challenge. Biajee, on the other hand, is super at this. How I wish he was here to drive.

All I can wish for now is that Arnold doesn't get a fever. He seems fine except for the coughing. A cold or fever can lead easily to pneumonia for a baby and we don't want that to happen.

Allergy

Arnold is allergic to shrimp. Yesterday was the 2nd time since he was born that he had whole body skin rash. The only abnormal thing I ate was some deep fried shrimps on Saturday. I felt so guilty. Biajee and I seldom cook shrimps these days. But when we go to other people's house, I tend to forget what I'm supposed not to eat. Pathetically, I love shrimps a lot.

Arnold must have inherited the allergy genes from Biajee. I couldn't remember being allergic to anything but vitamins. Biajee, on the other hand, will have serious reactions to peaches, bean sprouts and bunches of other food.

I found the refrigerator loaded up with fresh vegetables last night. Biajee did some grocery shopping on Sunday after he was called out to go to the office. It almost forces me to cook. He knows I'd starve myself if there is no food in the house because I'm too lazy to go shopping and I don't like to eat outside with Arnold. Now I have enough supplies to last till Thursday night till Biajee comes back home. He even marinated the baby back ribs. I guess I'm baking the ribs tonight.

Monitor

I am depressed. A new 20 inch monitor had been ordered for me two weeks ago. It was supposed to be a 16:9 flat screen HD. However, a regular 20 inch flat screen monitor was installed at my desk just now. I just couldn't compare it to my peer worker although it's bigger than my previous 19 inch one. My boss will take my old monitor. Life is so not fair.

I went to a 15 minute parent conference for Arnold this morning. It was just an excuse for me to see him during the day. He seemed to be happier at school than at home. Biajee left for Dallas this morning. I suddenly was left with a baby on my own again. I was 15 minutes to work than usual and walked into the building right after my boss did.

There is no way to justify all the good deeds Biajee accomplishes when he is home. I had to defreeze all the frozen milk and bottle them every morning. And I don't get time to cook breakfast at all. No chance to go to the gym at all after work. Suddenly I was realizing all the benefit to have a husband. He can clean, cook, feed the baby, babysit while I go to the gym and most importantly, he loves us dearly...

Four Month Checkup

Mom took me to the doctor's yesterday. It was cold and rainy outside. Jennifer (the nurse) weighed me on an electric scale. I'm 15 lbs and 4 ozs now, that's 55% percentile of babies my age. My height is really promising: I'm 26-1/4 inches now, 72% on the chart. My head is still small: 16 inches in circumference, ranking 15% among my age group.

Dad was paranoid a bit. I don't know where he got that sick idea that I had to be in 90% range of everything. Doesn't he understand that 70% of Americans are over weight? I love my body shape. I'm a chubby baby in a cute way. I don't want to be a flubby mid-aged man yet. And who said smart people had to have large heads? Dad never gets it. I think I should be more concerned about my height since I'm a boy. Although Napoleon once said: A lot of men are not tall in sight, yet they're great in women's eyes.

I got three needle punches though, same things as I got 2 months ago. I cried when the needles poked through my thighs. But it wasn't really that bad at all. I resumed sucking my thumb immediately after these shots.

Dr. Cavanaugh checked my heart rate, lung and legs. I was a bit shy in front of women doctors. I kept laughing, screaming and tearing the paper under my body to draw her attention so that Dr. C didn't pay attention to my nudity. Well, I was wearing a piece of diaper, but that was everything. She told mom I could start on rice cereals mixed with breast milk once a day because I always had that lusting expression when my parents eat in front of me.

I wasn't in the mood to try any spoon fed food at dinner time though. I was dizzy and drowsy after the immunization shots. I wanted nothing but sleep...

Race for Cure

Mom woke up at 5:40 am yesterday, nursed me and dragged dad and me out for the 14th Race for Cure in downtown Denver. It was only 8:05 am by the time we stood at the starting line. The weather was cold and gloomy, but they bundled me up pretty well. There were over 63,000 people there, very active crowd.

My parents learned how to imitate my cry during the weekend. They would wrinkle up their faces together like walnuts and open their mouths big and wide and start to make a piercing AAAHHHHHHHHHHH sound. I think they're both funny and silly when they do it in front of my face so I started laughing and screaming at them. This seems to encourage them to do it more often though.

They are very sportive people for sure. They pushed my stroller and ran with other people for the 5K race. It felt really comfortable when the strollers waddled around on the street so I fell asleep all through the race. There was nothing wrong to be sleeping in for the cure. At least I participated as well.

We finished the 5K run in 35 minutes. Mom and dad pigged out on free steaks passed out by Safeway. They drank a lot of Propel Calcium Fitness Water, ate a lot of Yoplait Yogurt and Sun Chips as well. Mom even breast fed me while she was growling down all the Rancher's Reserve Steaks. She is such a piece of work.

Dad was tired all way through because he carried me for nearly 3 hours on Saturday for the Mount Sanitas Trail. We went to the peak of Mount Sanitas and had a bird view of downtown Boulder. The leaves were still colorful. The sky was blue decorated with white clouds here and there. Lakes were like mirrors. Mom said that was the last good weather of this season. It'd chill off pretty soon.

I am going to see my pediatrician this afternoon for my four-month checkup. I'll get weighed and measured again. I have been eating so much for this big event. Mommy and Daddy both agreed that I was a lot chubbier and bigger in the past week. I don't want to grow out of Size Two diapers too quick though because we still have hundreds of them at home.

Moon Festival

It is The Moon Festival today. Daddy will come back from New Mexico tonight, which means I can't sleep with mom any more. Mom has been feeding me every night during my sleep while dad was gone. I think I've gained some weight. We'll know on Monday at my pediatrician's office during the 4 month checkup.

Mom said we were supposed to eat moon cakes today. She'll even bake some fresh meat moon cakes for dad. Pity that I can only eat her milk. I can't wait to grow up so that I could share all these wonderful dishes mom and dad cook all the time. They smell yummy.

Mom signed up for Race for Cure again this year. She does that every year. There will be over 60,000 people in downtown Denver on Sunday. My crazy mom likes all the crowds, free food and drinks they pass out after the race. However, they'll have to walk with me in the stroller this year. She and dad were talking about driving to a little Chinese restaurant for pan-fried dumplings and appetizers afterwards. I just hope she'll let me take my nap...

More Leakage

I am having a bad day already. It's only 8:41 am.

Arnold still had some diarrhea last night. He pooped at midnight and 4 am today. One bag leaked when I was preparing his milk bottles this morning. Then I found I forgot to freeze some milk last night. I packed him five 6 oz bottles today. Hopefully they'll be enough. I'm planning on picking him up around 5:30 pm. There is no parking spot in Montessori between 5 and 5:30 pm.

I didn't have time to put the clothes in dryer either. I couldn't log into the data warehouse when I arrived at the company. It's one of those days I couldn't put my minds together. Well, I haven't slept well for two nights in a row because I had to watch and nurse Arnold every 3 hours. It wears me out finally. Being a single parent is not that easy. Now I wish Biajee is here so that I could shoulder off some repsonsibilities to him.

Never have I been so looking forward to the weekend. I need some time alone to recoup.

Diarrhea

Arnold got infected with his first disease at day care yesterday. He got diarrhea. The policy of Montessori is that if the kid poops for four times or above within an hour, he/she need to be dismissed immediately. Fortunately, Arnold only pooped twice in the last 30 minutes.

I was somewhat nervous. Biajee was leaving for Alberquerque and I was left alone with a sick baby. The deadly side effect of diarrhea is dehydration. I had Arnold slept with me last night so that I could nurse him from time to time to make sure he didn't lose too much water. He only pooped once at midnight and he didn't cry too much at all except when we were sitting in rush hour traffic on the way back home.

Biajee mobbed the hard wood floor and made me a nice dinner before he set off to the airport. I was so touched. I miss them both now. One is in New Mexico, the other is five minutes away from me. Yet I cannot see them at this very moment. Such is life.

I found myself more efficient when Biajee is not home though. I was able to finish everything and come to work by 7:15 this morning. A little accident was that the breast milk storage bag leaked when I was preparing Arnold's bottles today. We tried two brands so far: Lansinoh and Gerber. Lansinoh was made in Thailand with a completely different type of plastic. It starts leaking when you try to fill it with milk. Gerber is made in USA, yet it leaks when you defreeze the bag. The only conclusion we could reach to is that Americans are getting cheap every day, mostly due to the brilliant ideas from us MBA people on costing cutting.

Flagstaff Trail

We went to hike a 3 hour four star strenuous trail on Sunday. Now that Arnold is outside my belly, it became Biajee's job to carry him in the baby sling. He finally had a true feel of what I had gone through during the 9 month pregnancy. We hiked a 6,800 ft mountain when I was 7 months pregnant. It was just hard for me to balance at that time because all the weight was at my belly.

Biajee suffered the same thing. He took on a backpack as well, thinking it'd even out the weight at the front. Well, it is not that simple. When we had to use both hands and feet for 75 degree boulders, it was a challenging job for him. We stopped at half way to take a rest. I had Biajee release everything and put Arnold in my arms so that he could dry up his sweat-soaked T-shirt a bit.

The scenery was spectacular. We could see a bird view of Boulder and CU among green, yellow, orange and red leaves. There were lakes dotting here and there under the blue sky and white clouds. The only thing we didn't bring enough was water. I had thought of bringing more, but was afraid it would be too heavy for Biajee. He told me the weight of 2 more bottles of water would be nothing compared to Arnold or his own weight. Unfortunately I had been drinking a lot of water lately because of nursing. I could finish 64 oz bottles in one sip. Arnold started to drink 6 oz bottles last week. I think it's hereditary.

Arnold slept for most of the trail. During the time he was not asleep, he was fussy and uncomfortable. I hope he at least got the sense that mom and dad took the opportunity of taking him out to exercise and be absorbed in nature. After he grows up, he needs to appreciate nature so that whenever he is in a low mood, he could always have somewhere to turn to and to obtain positive energy from. I have so much love, expectations and hope for Arnold that it almost sounds stupid.