Every day things...

In the crib there is a "sleep positioner" which helps Charles stay in a certain position. He usually likes to sleep on his side if he is flat. On this day, however, he was being a wiggle-worm, which is fine as long as he is sleeping. He likes to have a pacifier sometimes and his "Ookie" doll.

Charles sleeps in our room at night in the bassinet. This is the set-up we have for him because he still doesn't like to sleep flat on his back. He is in his bouncy seat. We have started strapping him in because he's been actively dreaming lately! He does really well sleeping at night except every now and then when he has too much gas.

Charles likes his swing. I remember when he actually did not like it very much. In this picture you can see what he usually does in the swing--hold Ookie and talk to Po the Kung-fu Panda. He's actually looking at the Christmas tree in this shot.

Look! It's a cloth diaper. Charles wears his cloth diapers mostly on the weekends but some evenings too. During the day he wears disposable at the daycare and at night as well. The diapers are not up to his heavy wetting in the night. We had two instances of leaks and that was it for me! Other than that, the diapers are great. They are so soft and he can usually wear them 2-3 hours before a change is needed. I put a paper (made for cloth diapers) in the diaper to help clean up poop messes. It works great. I just lift out the paper and the diaper is not messy. Then I just put the diapers in a bag and wash them the next day. In one day he uses about 8 diapers. If I was with him at home all day I would use these all the time.
Here he is with the pajamas closed up. See! You can't tell he's got a cloth diaper on! For more pics of our family click the link to the right that says "Brian's pictures." Brian has a page where he uploads pretty much all the pics we have.

Christmas 2008

We spent Christmas at the Henriksen's in Texas. This was Charles' first trip to Texas and his first long trip. This was the first time spent the night away from home. The first two nights he needed to adjust and he slept with me. But then he was right at home. He had a great time with Henry and Emma. Every time he saw Emma his face would light up. Emma said, "Look! He's making a happy face at me!" Henry and Emma also got to help with bath time. Emma was very interested in everything that Charles did--from sleeping to eating to diaper change. Henry just wanted to show him how to play with toys and get a kiss every now and then. We had a web-camera Christmas with the family in Washington. It was great! It was nice to talk to everyone and see them at the same time. Here's some Christmas pics...Enjoy! To see more, check out Jenny's blog for Henry and Emma.

Our Christmas tree. We bought it this year. It is tall and skinny which is what we needed. Charles loves looking at it so much that we are going to leave it up for a bit.

Christmas morning at the Henriksen's house before the kids woke up.

Hanging out on Christmas Eve. The kids are getting ready to go to bed and everyone is in their pajamas.

Christmas morning! Brian, Charles, and I were the first to get up. Brian and I ate breakfast which was hot chocolate and a large cookie that we split. Charles is modeling the "Baby's First Christmas" hat that Granny got him. It was actually way too small so we just set it on top of his head and took a picture quickly before it fell off.

After opening presents! Brian and Jason tackle the wooden kitchen set that Santa brought for Emma.

Look Santa, I love my links!

Line up all the dinosaurs!

Feeling much better

The medicine has been helping to clear up the rash. No more itching, etc. I still have redness in my face, arms, stomach and back. My legs and feet still look like they have some of the rash. I also still have the scaly patches but they are going away. Thanks for the calls and emails!

Skin update

My right elbow.

My right ankle.

My left arm and hand. My hands are worse since this afternoon. More redness and swelling.

My knees. Instead of just red blotches, my normal skin makes it look like I have white spots on red skin.

I did go back to the ER this morning. I saw a different doctor who gave me a different medicine which is stronger (Prednisone). It looks like the antibiotic I was on for the mastitis has caused this. I was taking Bactrin (a sulfonamide). Plus I was taking a double dose! These are pictures of the worse right now. By this afternoon, the medicine was helping. My face is still red around my nose but there is no more swelling. My neck, chest and upper arms seem lighter. The burning/pins and needles feeling has mostly gone away. The itchiness is more tolerable now. My legs, lower arms, hands and feet, however, are still bad. In fact my hands look worse. The doctor said that the antibiotic takes a while to build up in the system so it may take a while to get out. I have to take the Prednisone for 5 more days and I see my regular doctor on Monday. I took an oatmeal soak tonight per Mamaw's suggestion. It felt better afterwards, but it seems like I might have had the water too hot. It got a little more red for a while. Also, I washed the baby bottles with hot water and my hands didn't do well after that either.
Well, I'll let you know how I'm doing. Hopefully, it will be good news tomorrow!

What is this?

My arm.

My shoulder.

My arm.

My side.

My face.

What the heck is wrong with me? Is this really just an allergic reaction? I went to the emergency room yesterday morning about this same time and I got a steroid shot. Instead of getting better I have just been getting worse and worse. The pictures don't even really show how bad it looks. I took pictures of my face, arms and side. The red spots have turned into large red areas that look like a bad sunburn. I itch like crazy all over but at the same time there is this burning, stinging sensation similar to pins and needles. My lips hurt, my eyes hurt (which I tried to get a pic with them not bugging out but that is just how I look!) The spots have now turned up on the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet. Has anyone ever had anything like this or do you know anyone who has? Let me know if you have any suggestions on what I can do.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, even though I was having problems (see previous post), we went to Nana's and Papaw's house (Brian's parents) for Thanksgiving. Aunt Heather held Charles for his afternoon nap and he slept 2 1/2 hours. He woke up and had a good time with Nana and Papaw. This was his first time at their house and they have a room all set up for him. It is decorated with Winnie the Pooh. We had a fun time today!

Charles wore his Thanksgiving outfit that says "Baby's 1st Thanksgiving" and it has Pooh and Tigger on it. I took a picture of Brian and Charles standing next to Charles artwork that he made at daycare. Of course he had a little help with it. They dipped his hands in paint and helped him decorate a turkey picture and a scarecrow. They said he enjoyed it.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Chaney family!

Keep getting sick!

These were the only pics I could take of myself. I don't know why but I just keep getting sick! I had a cold, then the flu, then mastitis, then another cold, and now an allergic reaction to the antibiotic I was taking for the mastitis. Ugh! I started getting it yesterday with just a few bumps on my arms and legs that itched. The doctor is out until Monday so I called the Nurse Hotline at the hospital. I took Benadryl and Tylenol (100.4 fever) and went to bed. About 5:45 am I woke up and notice my ear was itching. When I touched it I noticed it was swollen. My ears were red and swollen along with my face and lips. I had red spots and blotches all over my body...I'm talking from my scalp to my toes and every place in between. Oh, and it itches! Not only that, but it feels like pins and needles all over and it's hot. I went to the emergency room and got a shot. I also got a steroid prescription that I take. The doc said this could last days or weeks because it will take that long for the antibiotic to get out of my system. But he said it should start to get better within a few days and get better every day. I have to go see my regular doctor next week to check me. So far since this morning my face and neck has gotten less red but other parts of me are worse, such as my back and arms. The red bumps turned into blotches and now large red patches. Some of the patches are scaly. And what's worse is that we were scheduled to have our family picture done this Saturday. Guess not! We're just going to get Charles' picture done and do a family one later. Well, I hope I can get better soon.

Smile

Look at that smile! Believe it or not, this is a sick baby! He has the flu right now, but not the fever and vomiting flu. He has a little bit of a runny nose and a rash all over his body. He was having "tummy time" and this was afterwards when he was on his back. He is almost laughing but he hasn't yet. He is making lots of other sounds now and he is learning to play the "copy cat" game where we copy each other's sounds.

Baby!

Brian caught us sleeping! Doesn't Charles look so sweet?! Sometimes this is how we sleep at night because Charles doesn't like being on his back. He has acid reflux and starts to gag, cough and wheeze when he's on his back. So this works for us when we need sleep.
Bath time in the bathroom sink! Brian is so considerate--the towel is blocking the view in just the right area! Charles likes to take a bath. He doesn't play yet, but he doesn't cry about it much any more either.
Charles' first Halloween! This is the only outfit we managed to get on. It says "Guess whoooo's first Halloween" and has an owl on it. He is also wearing pumpkin socks. He received 3 other Halloween outfits but has yet to wear them.
I figured out how to rock him to sleep finally! I have to cover him from head to toe (which his face is only showing for the picture). Then I hold his head so it doesn't flop around; I rock him pretty fast, and pat his bottom or back. All the while I sing him a song. It usually puts him to sleep right away. Then we both sleep in the chair or sometimes I can get him to sleep in the swing.
Aha! I caught Brian and Charles sleeping! I get up at 5:30am and Brian takes over so I can get ready for work. Sometimes they sleep together and sometimes they talk.

Charles has been doing well in daycare. The two ladies are Marsella (Mar-Mar) and Danielle. They take good care of him. I've been told that a lot of times he likes to just sit and watch the other babies playing. They are also amazed at how well he can hold his head up. I'm adjusting going back to work and having him at daycare. I won't lie, it's hard right now and I basically have to talk myself out of quitting my job every morning. I've been told it will get better...

Charles is gaining weight well. Last check up he was 8 1/2 pounds. I can tell he's growing every day. He's started smiling now when we talk or laugh or smile at him. He can sometimes roll over one way when he's on his tummy. Every week we get visits from Sunni, and she is a Family Support Worker. She tells us what to expect developmentally from Charles and how we can help him. Overall, she is helping us to be better parents. It is a free program for parents. That's what is new for now!

Hanging out with Daddy

After Charles eats and falls asleep, Brian gets to hold him while he sleeps. We found out he has a little case of reflux so he has to be upright for at least 15 minutes after eating. I know we can use the bouncy seat or swing, but he sleeps longer if we just hold him. So Brian and Charles get to hang out a lot at night before "bedtime." We worked out a system where Brian stays up with Charles until midnight (if he makes it until then) while I sleep a few hours. Then I take over for the rest of the night. Well, one of these days we'll be able to sleep more!

Brian Charles Chaney, II

Just after Charles was born I held him. I was so happy to finally see him.
Brian and I are so happy he's finally here. Of course, I was a little tired at the time of this picture.
Charles sleeps in a bassinet in our room. Mamaw let us pick out the bassinet. Thanks, Mamaw, for our bassinet! He really liked being swaddled for a while but he's starting to get annoyed by it now. He grunts and really tries to get out of the blanket.
Here's Granny with Charles. She got to stay with us for a couple of weeks to help take care of Charles and spend time with him.

Charles was born on September 27!!! I know it's been 2 1/2 weeks since then...I've been way too busy to update the blog until now. Charles weighed 7 lbs and he was 20 inches long. He's so cute and lovable! We are all doing fine and I'm getting to spend time with Charles at home right now. Brian is such a good Daddy. Charles recognizes our voices already and knows who we are. We love him so much already!

Baby Shower

Here are the hostesses for the shower with me and Brian. From the left is Nicole, Valerie, Brian, me, Kathy, Dana, Lawona, and Sharon. Brenda, Vicki, and Sherri couldn't make it to the shower. The baby got lots of great presents, and I put a few pictures below.

36 Weeks

Okay, here I am at 36 weeks....I feel like I am huge! I am going to see the doctor once a week now. At the last visit this week I have gained a total of 31 pounds. I don't think I can gain anymore or I might fall over! Brian and I started the childbirth classes this week. We will go one night a week until the 30th, so 4 classes all together. We got a tour of the childbirth floor at the hospital. It looks pretty nice. We also watched a video about an epidural, which scared me a little. But next week we watch a video on a vaginal birth and a cesarean section birth. Sounds like fun, huh?

Thanks Midge!

Thanks, Midge, for the seat/rocker! Brian was so excited when we got this in the mail. He had to point out to me that we had picked this out at the store (yes, I remember that!). He doesn't get excited about the clothes or things like that, but this was the first present we got that he just kept talking about....for a while. We can't wait to use it!

Nursery

We have the crib set up with all the bedding. It looks so cute. Brian put together the crib and the dresser. We also have shelves that we painted white, yellow, and blue. Heather and Jill painted the walls green. Brian painted the trim white. I love my new chair. It is a rocking recliner and it is so comfortable. In fact, I slept in it for part of last night because I couldn't get comfortable in bed. Everything looks so cute, I get excited thinking about the baby being here soon!