Bad Hair Life

People are always commenting on Ben's hair. Since the day he was born, everyone who sees him tells me how cool his hair is. Without fail, it is the first thing people notice and comment on.

And while I do think Ben's hair is unique, I'm not sure "cool" is the right word. If we really dissect his hair, he is sporting pretty much every "hair don't" there is.

Exhibit A - a mullet on the bottom

Exhibit B - a bald spot on the side

Exhibit C - a comb over in front

Exhibit D - a mohawk (caused by a cowlick) on top

It's a good thing he is so cute that he can rock any look!

Hand, Foot and Mouth

Turns out all this spitting up and fussing is because Ben has a fairly common viral infection called Hand, Foot and Mouth. I took him to the doctor on Tuesday and they showed me the bright red sore throat and all the little sores at the back of his throat. Poor little guy. No wonder he didn't want to eat for 2 days.

He seems to be on the mend and in good spirits again. The doctor said he probably got over the worst of it this weekend, and now we just have to wait it out.

Unfortunately, the infection is highly contagious, so no school for Ben until Monday. Dad and I are taking turns staying home with him. But he is a charmer, so it is not too much of a hardship being home with him all day!

4 months old and already skipping school, the little scammer! :-)

By the way, ben is 4 months old today. Hard to believe; the time is flying by!

It's Been a Day

If you believe in karma, then I must have done something very wrong recently. Because today has been one of those days.


First, Ben has been sick, vomitting, fussing, screaming...


Next, while running errands, I had a few issues. If you have ever been to Costco at 1 p.m. on Sunday, you know that is enough to try anyone's patience. I am tired and stressed from a sick baby, so I am already at the end of my rope when I finish paying and head to the food court for a quick lunch. Only after waiting in a line 10 people deep am I informed that the food court is cash only.


Mike borrowed my last $4 for coffees this morning. I leave empty-handed and hungry.


I go to the ATM to get some cash. The ATM informs me that it cannot dispense cash at this time. Excellent. I finish my errands and return home, tired and cranky. Lucky Mike.



After dinner, I load the dishwasher and add the soap. Only in my frazzled state, I apparently accidentally used the dish liquid instead of the dishwasher gel.

Let me assure you that bad things happen when you use the wrong soap in the dishwasher.

One mop, one bucket, 3 towels and a lot of elbow-grease later, I try to look on the bright side. I am certain I now have the cleanest dishwasher in the neighborhood.

I decide to self-soothe with some Dove Promise chocolates. Each chocolate comes with its own "promise" written on the wrapper. I open the first one, looking for a little inspiration. No joke, it says "Think of every day as Sunday." If every day is like this Sunday, I'll pass. Hoping for better news, I open the second chocolate. It reads "Make the most of today." Hmmm.

With tidings like that, I think I will put the other two back.

Scooting

These days, Ben loves to scoot himself around. The Baby Einstein playmat just can't contain him anymore.

Apparently the bottom of the ottoman looked a lot more interesting than the toys, so he decided to scoot himself right under there to get a better look.

All I could think of when I saw him was when the house falls on the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, and only her legs are visible.

He seemed to like what he saw underneath the ottoman. Content with his inspection, he started to cry to let me know he needed a little help out.

Once he was back on the playmat, he decided to hide underneath his t-shirt instead.

Poor Baby

Saturday morning we woke up to a sick baby. He drank his bottle, and then proceeded to throw it up all over mom. Every so often this happens, so I didn't worry too much. With help from Dad, I gave him a bath to remove the formula from his "Danny Devito" hair and put him in his robe for a bit, just to make sure he wasn't planning his next vomit attack.

All seemed well, so we went about our day. But after a long nap, he threw up his next meal as well. He was crying, fussy, irritable and nothing would make him happy. This is not my baby. Ben is usually fuss-free and so easy-going, so clearly something was wrong. We got through the day and hoped he would be better in the morning. No such luck.





He woke up cranky and again threw up all his formula. With the worry of a first-time mom, I called and had the pediatrician on-call paged. Dr. Devidio called me back and informed me that a stomach bug has been going around and he was pretty sure that is all Ben was suffering. He recommended pedialyte and continuing the infant tylenol we'd administered before bed the night before (don't worry, it is generic, not the recalled version). Above is his first taste of grape-flavored pedialyte. He was confused by the taste at first, but decided he was a fan and sucked down 2 oz. We then gave him 1/2 strength formula after he kept down the pedialyte for an hour. He is now napping. Hopefully he is on the mend already and will be back to his normal, charming self soon.



Mom sure hopes so, for his sake and hers!