Blake - Week 23

This week was a little challenging since I came down with a headcold. I was worried that my milk production would go down but luckily (or unluckily) my throat hurt so bad that I felt compelled to drink close to 3 times the amount of water that I normally drink which kept a good amount of milk coming in. I went to the doctor on Wednesday and they ruled out bacterial strep which is good, since my throat was hurting so badly I could hardly talk. Things are moving in the right direction now that I've started (baby friendly) antibiotics. I stayed home from work one day and quarantined myself as much as possible to make sure Blake didn't get sick. I don't think he got it, but he's been extremely congested this week (and I have too - that didn't seem to go away with the antibiotics).

Also, Friday was my birthday and since I was still sick we didn't do much. I'm not having much luck with birthdays lately. Last year I stayed home from work with morning sickness since I felt so bad, haha. I didn't think I'd have a hard time with this birthday even though it's the big 3-0, but it had me a little down at first. After a bunch of older and wiser family and friends acted as my cheerleaders, I got used to the idea and now I'm looking forward to my 30s and I'm sure they'll be filled with fun, new adventures!


This week, Blake:

• has been chatting away like crazy. He mostly talks in a high pitched baby talk voice that is so adorable, and adds in some raspberries/bubbles every now and again. He loves to hear his voice (and so do we!). 
• got even more crazy in his jumperoo. He's weighing the seat down more so he can get a really good push off the ground with each bounce. I think it has helped a lot with his upper body control since he's forced to make sure his head doesn't bobble around when he's acting like a maniac. =)
• got to see his Grand-daddy and Nana again when they flew down from Tennessee to visit and Blake had a great time playing with them.
• started blowing lots of spit bubbles. When he gets excited on his jumperoo the spit just flies in between squeals of joy. =)
• has been drooling even more than last week... we didn't think it was possible. He saturates a few burp cloths every day just from drool and sucking on them. He seems to like them more than any of his other teething toys... well the burp cloths and his fingers.
• acted like he's been teething since he chews on his fingers so much. When he wants to chew on our fingers he really bites down with some pressure and it seems like he wants the pressure near his molars. It'll be interesting to see how soon his teeth start coming in and which ones appear first.
• had the worst congestion... poor baby boy. =( He wakes from most of his naps crying and snorting as he tries to breathe. I know how he feels this week since I've been having difficulty falling asleep since my nose is too blocked up to breathe.
• really started laughing with certain things. He enjoys looking in the mirror now and will laugh at your funny faces or games. 
• was still suffering from bad Eczema on his little feet. We kept with the hydrocortizone and tried to add in the CeraVe creme on top to lock in the moisture but the combination seemed to make it worse. We're going to try and get a higher strength cortizone to see if we can knock out this flare up for good and then try and keep him moisturized with CeraVe for a while. I really hope some of these ailments start slowing down... we feel so horrible for this little boy and just want him to be happy.

Week 23 Pics:

Trying to get him mid-jump.

So fun!

Wheeeeeee!

Hanging with Grand-daddy.

Snuggling with Nana.

Trying to figure out all the buttons on his new toy.

Getting ready to throw spit... a crowd favorite.

The many faces of Blake.

On a stroll down at Safety Harbor.

Hanging out on the pier with all the fisherman. (you can see the red area on the top of his foot. It really bothers him a lot when not actively distracted)

Blake with his new football toy.

He really loves that football!

I can't believe he fell asleep on his gymini... he must've gotten sick. If you would've asked me beforehand I would've said this was impossible.

My birthday poster from my coworks.

So much for the deer resistant plants... looks like someone took a weed-eater to them.

Sleepy Blake with his football in hand.

Either this kid has big feet or you're supposed to wear super tight socks as a baby. That's right folks, 12-24 month socks.

Videos: