Home again

I am sure it was only a matter of time, but the bear finally had a meltdown on the airplane. We were flying back from Dallas, TX this morning (in first class no less) and Claire lost it for about 5 minutes. Lynn had to hold Claire as she paced around the galley. However, when you consider her sleep schedule was all out of wack, it is understandable.

We had another whirlwind weekend with the Riches in Dallas. Benjamin turned one and the twins Andrew and Caroline turned 5. We had 2 parties, with the twins' party being a pirate/mermaid theme. Our neighbor Ann sewed Claire a mermaid costume which was awesome. The bear had such a good time at the bounce house were the party was. A special thank you to Andrew and Caroline for taking good care of baby Claire.

So, we are home for the next while. You may have heard there is no gasoline in Atlanta. It's like 1973 all over again (for those of you old enough to remember). Lynn and I each have about half a tank left and we are staying put. We are supposed to get gas by mid October. The VP for Academic Affairs at our university said running out of gas is an acceptable excuse for students missing classes and faculty are to be accommodating.

The lack of gas does not mean Claire is not going places (good English, Mark). She continues to make strides (no pun intended) on the road to crawling. She has not quite figured out that she also has to move her arms - so we are safe for a while. But she has started sleeping with her bum in the air (legs tucked under). She is soooo cute.

Anyway, there are new photos posted here of our weekend in Dallas and Claire's crawling adventures in case you are interested.

Until the next posting, make sure the needle doesn't read empty.

Crawling Countdown

Our friend Nancy was over today working with Lynn on our foundation (http://www.mangotreefoundation.org/) and was teaching the bear how to crawl. The last thing we need is for Claire to be mobile. Our house is so not ready for a mobile baby. So this evening we go into Claire's room to get her up and we find this...

She's figuring out the hands and knees part (still a little unsteady) and once she figures out forward and reverse, we are in trouble.

Goodness me...

It's been over a week since the last posting! Apologies for not writing sooner. We took Claire in for her 6 month tune-up. 15 pounds 6 oz., and 26.5 inches and 4 immunizations - good for another 5,000 miles. Doesn't seem like much, but she is getting big for her car seat. We've upped the number of feedings of solid food to 2 (yes mom, she gets vegetables) and we are starting to pay the price in terms of the number of code browns (kabooms). Today alone 4 of them... and I got to change 3 of those.

Notwithstanding the stinky diapers, it has been an absolute joy to stay home with the bear. She is such a happy baby. And happy babies make their parents happy. On Thursday we are heading to Dallas, TX to visit the Riches and of course Benjamin (30 lbs at 1 year), the bear's future husband.

Other than that, not too much is new.

Until the next posting, "what can brown do for you?" takes on a whole new meaning.

Loose ends

Ok, first a couple of shout outs. To the ladies at Realty USA in CNY where uncle Larry works (sorry we didn't get there)  and to the folks at West Side Physcial Therapy where Suzanne, the world's best PT and fellow beer drinker, works. Thanks for your comments. The world's most beautiful baby (we are admittedly unbiased) will appreciate them when she is older.

The bear no longer has a fever, but is still quite congested. She threw up in the car on the way to the airport yesterday. We were worried about the flight home. Claire slept for the first half of the flight and then was awake for the remainder of the flight. We tried to feed her on the start of the decent into Atlanta, but she forcefully pushed the bottle away. About 10 minutes later she grabbed the bottle tried putting in her mouth. Lynn and I had a good laugh. She didn't cry at all on the flight and again several passengers commented on what a good baby she is. On the drive home, the bear threw up again, this time on Lynn's chest. I turned around in time to see it running down Lynn's shirt. 

Last night she slept ok, but you could hear the congestion. Her appetite is also down a little. Tomorrow is supposed to be her 6 month photo shoot, but we postponed it. So if you are wating for the photos, we may have to wait another week. Tuesday is the 6 month doctor's visit and we'll (ok Lynn will) be sure to ask the doctor lots of questions to get Claire better, because the bear is flying to Dallas to see Andrew and Caroline, and Claire's future husband, Benjamin "the bruiser" Rich  in a couple of weeks. It's a big birthday party weekend and Uncle Todd is coming from Alaska with crab legs - right Todd?

And being 6 months old means Claire only has 29.5 years to go until her first date. Hang in there Benjamin. Also, assuming she is potty trained by 3 years, i only have 2.5 more years of diaper changing.

Finally, the countdown to crawling has commenced. Once on her stomach, the bear can tuck her legs under and push up. The arms are still too weak to support her. I'm giving for 2 weeks until she starts crawling and baby gates go up around the house. 

I am still in awe over this child and ever so in love with her.  

Quick update

We are heading home today. Claire is getting better - about 60% back to normal. I'll let you know how the flight goes, as well as update you on our last couple of days in CNY sunshine capital. I posted some new photos too.

Sick baby

Claire's fever continued into day 4 and her congestion worsened. We called our pediatrician, who told us to go to an urgent care in Syracuse and have them do a CBC and urine analysis. We called our insurance company, who gave us the name of a couple of urgent care places near Grammy and Grampy's house. I called them to confirm they could help us and they said the could not run those tests on a baby, and that we would need to go to the pediatric emergency room at a local hospital. So we went to the hospital and i called our insurance company to tell them what we were doing. They said, unless the doctors atthe emergency room considered Claire's condition to be serious, that we would be on the hook for the full cost of the visit - even though we were following the directions of the urgent care recommended to us by our insurance company.

Note to the next president: FIX HEALTH CARE!!!

Anyway, we spent 6 hours in emergency for a blood test, urine test and x-rays. While the staff were kind, there was clearly no communication among the nurses, aids and doctors. "What do you mean no one told you the test results? They were completed 90 minutes ago." "You can be discharged as soon as the aid takes Claire's vitals. Oh, I didn't realize she [the aid] was just here to take her vitals". Here is a picture of the bear and I in the emergency room. She has a splint to keep an IV line in her arm. She was a champion.

Anyway, after 6 hours in the ER, the total bill was $81 - $75 copay and $6 for parking.

Claire was still congested last night and again this morning, but she did sleep finally. And she no longer has a temperature. I am hoping her congestion will disappear completely by Saturday, when we fly home.

Until the next posting, keep some tissues handy.

Leaving on a jet plane...

Saturday afternoon we headed for the airport, with three carry-ons and 2 suitcases! We are getting the hang of flying with the bear. We got on to the plane and Claire starts crying and crying. The tears are flowing. Boarding passengers are thinking, great, a crying baby. I am thinking this is pay back for the 4 previous flights with Claire that went so smoothly. But, Lynn worked her magic and before the boarding door was shut, the bear was hibernating. She slept for an hour and was awake for the last 30 minutes of the flight. Oh yeah, we were flying to Rochester, NY, on our way to Syracuse.

We had dinner on Saturday evening with our friends Mo and Tim and their son Jack. Mo and Lynn grew up together. Here are Jack and Claire posing.

We were going to Syracuse to celebrate Lynn's mom's 65th b-day. it was going to be a surprise. Lilllian however, decided to host a "debut" party for Claire at the same time and day as her surprised b-day party. They were about 20 of Lillian's friends over. We took a ton of photos with everyone and Claire, and needless to say, the bear was the hit of Lillian's party.

This morning, Claire work up early at 4:30am crying. She felt warm. we took her temperature and it was 101 F. We gave her some tylenol and fed her. She slept until 6am and then we took her temperature again it was 100.5 F. Her temperature almost returned to normal over the course of the day and she eagerly resumed eating "solid" food, or at least smearing it over her face. Anyway, it is now evening and the bear is back to her normal self. Hopefully she will sleep for 11-12 hours tonight.

Until the next posting, make sure you know if you are using a rectal or oral thermometer.

Mom's first night away

For the past 27 hours, it's been just the bear and me. Mom was organizing a one day workshop at Georgia Tech today and stayed downtown last night. I did n't have much luck feeding Claire solid food last night, but she did sleep for 12 hours last night. Today she has been an absolute angel, other than the poopie diaper. She has been rolling over (full 360) like crazy and she is starting to try to get herself on all fours. I guess crawling is only a matter of time.