Well, turns out I spoke too soon. Not long after writing my post on Thursday, I got a page from Freyja's daycare. Yes, we still use pagers! I gave them my pager number because it's the fastest way to reach me since I am often in and out of clinic and my cell phone doesn't work (I'm in the basement....no windows at work :( but that's a story for another day).
So, when I noticed the page from KinderCare, my heart sunk. "Crap, she has a fever" was my first thought. A handful of kids have been sick, as I mentioned in my last post, and I was hopeful that Freyja wouldn't become one of them. I called, and they confirmed my thoughts. She had a fever of 101.6. I wrapped things up at work and left at 3pm to go pick her up. At home, I checked her temperature and it went up to 101.9. I talked to the nurse at the pediatrician's office and she wanted Freyja to come in for an appointment the next day.
Since I recently retunred from maternity leave and don't have much vacation time available, we decided that Nick should stay home with her Friday. We both went with to the appointment, because I was doubtful that she would drink cold milk from a bottle if she got hungry, and feared Nick and Freyja would both be miserable. It is very convenient that her pediatrician's office is a mile from my work--so Nick and Freyja picked me up and we all went to see the doctor. The good news:
1. Freyja weighed 12 lbs 7 oz and is officially on the growth curve for her weight! (previously she has been in the 0 percentile...)
2. Her ears looked good--no sign of an ear infection. I got tons of ear infections as a child.
3. No fever on Friday and it just seems to be a cold (but to watch if her symptoms worsened, fever returned, etc).
She was more irritable this weekend and didn't eat as well, but it makes sense because a cold is no fun! The doctor suggested giving tylenol to keep her more comfortable, so we gave her a few doses over the weekend and at bedtime. It's hard to keep from getting sick when you're breastfeeding, but Nick let me rest a lot this weekend to fight it off and so I am only a tad congested. He has been a big help in the past few weeks. Work has been very tiring and Nick has really picked up my slack, from cooking to cleaning to changing diapers. Thanks honey!
Last night we gave Freyja a bath. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but Nick and I both help with her bathtime routine. Something about a wet, slippery baby...I don't want to bathe her alone. Last night was the first time Freyja stood up in the tub (with me holding onto her of course). In the past, she would always cross her legs in the seated position and not try to stand or even sit. Funny girl! She is finally getting more comfortable. It's been so cold and dry so we only give her a bath about once a week, and just use a washcloth or wipes to clean her as needed.
She woke up a number of times last night (I lose count), but each time she fell asleep in my arms and I put her back in her bassinet.
This morning, she woke up babbling and smiling and I had a hard time feeding her before daycare because she just wanted to talk to me! I am thinking that I need to keep the lights out when I feed her first thing in the morning to keep her from thinking it's playtime! :)
Last night before bed, Freyja and I read a few books in bed including "Guess How Much I Love You." I then sang her a song, rocked her in my arms for a minute, then put her in her bassinet next to our bed. She tries to play with the rungs on the side of the bassinet, so I tucked her arm in her sleep sack and she fell right asleep. We have a humidifier in our room and we turned up the thermostat so I was nice and toasty last night despite the cold weather outside.
No matter how many times she wakes me up in the middle of the night, I give her a kiss each time and enjoy holding her in my arms. I love her to the moon--and back. :)
Monday, January 21, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
An Update
I am currently on a break at work and just wanted to write a quick update!
Freyja just turned 5 months old. She wakes up to eat once or twice to eat in the middle of the night, but other than that she has been sleeping fairly well. We leave for work around 7 am and I have been getting home around 6:30pm, so it doesn't give much time to see her when she is awake! When we get home, she usually just wants to eat and then sleep.
Work has been stressful, but I am getting more used to my new position and it will continue to improve as we just got another nephrology nurse care coordinator (I can go into more about my job another time!).
Nick has been a fabulous cook! Since I keep busy with feeding Freyja at home, he has taken over in the kitchen and cooks dinner and makes our lunches. I try not to wake him up in the middle of the night, and he puts in more work in the evenings. Good teamwork :) The past few evenings, we change Freyja's diaper, feed her, and then I rock her while watching tv, drinking a half glass of red wine, and eating frozen yogurt/ice cream. It's a good end to my day. If I'm lucky, sometimes Nick even gives me a head massage!
Freyja is putting everything in her mouth, but no teeth yet. She is growing--last we checked, she weighed 12.4 lbs at 5 months old. She was 10.7 lbs at 4 months, so we had a great month for weight gain. She can't sit up on her own yet, but she is getting stronger. She is making new babbling noises and can play "independently" for a longer period of time (like on the activity mat).
Five kids and one daycare worker at her center were diagnosed with influenza last week, but thankfully she has been pretty healthy. It was a concern because she is too young to get the flu vaccine (she has to wait till next month). The glasses have really been helping! She is more interactive at daycare, seems happier, even sleeps less (they said she probably slept out of boredom...not sure if that's true but I thought it was funny!).
On the weekends I have been taking a long (2-3 hour) nap in the afternoon...I wish I didn't need this but by the weekend, I am exhausted! It helps recharge my battery for the week. The bedroom and nursery are cluttered with clothes--but it's not the end of the world I tell myself.
I miss not seeing friends and family as much...it really has been tiring starting a new job (full-time) and caring for an infant. Most days are: eat, work, eat, sleep, repeat. I have to get all the sleep I can so I stay healthy :)
Time to get back to work!
Freyja just turned 5 months old. She wakes up to eat once or twice to eat in the middle of the night, but other than that she has been sleeping fairly well. We leave for work around 7 am and I have been getting home around 6:30pm, so it doesn't give much time to see her when she is awake! When we get home, she usually just wants to eat and then sleep.
Work has been stressful, but I am getting more used to my new position and it will continue to improve as we just got another nephrology nurse care coordinator (I can go into more about my job another time!).
Nick has been a fabulous cook! Since I keep busy with feeding Freyja at home, he has taken over in the kitchen and cooks dinner and makes our lunches. I try not to wake him up in the middle of the night, and he puts in more work in the evenings. Good teamwork :) The past few evenings, we change Freyja's diaper, feed her, and then I rock her while watching tv, drinking a half glass of red wine, and eating frozen yogurt/ice cream. It's a good end to my day. If I'm lucky, sometimes Nick even gives me a head massage!
Freyja is putting everything in her mouth, but no teeth yet. She is growing--last we checked, she weighed 12.4 lbs at 5 months old. She was 10.7 lbs at 4 months, so we had a great month for weight gain. She can't sit up on her own yet, but she is getting stronger. She is making new babbling noises and can play "independently" for a longer period of time (like on the activity mat).
Five kids and one daycare worker at her center were diagnosed with influenza last week, but thankfully she has been pretty healthy. It was a concern because she is too young to get the flu vaccine (she has to wait till next month). The glasses have really been helping! She is more interactive at daycare, seems happier, even sleeps less (they said she probably slept out of boredom...not sure if that's true but I thought it was funny!).
On the weekends I have been taking a long (2-3 hour) nap in the afternoon...I wish I didn't need this but by the weekend, I am exhausted! It helps recharge my battery for the week. The bedroom and nursery are cluttered with clothes--but it's not the end of the world I tell myself.
I miss not seeing friends and family as much...it really has been tiring starting a new job (full-time) and caring for an infant. Most days are: eat, work, eat, sleep, repeat. I have to get all the sleep I can so I stay healthy :)
Time to get back to work!
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