Happy 1st Birthday, Blaise!

Today Blaise is 1 year old! The year has flown by, and it's amazing to see the little accomplishments he makes every day. To read where it all began with his birth story, click here.

Blaise is starting to learn to stand on his own and has tried to take a couple steps without holding on to anything. I think it will be only a matter of days before he figures out how

to walk. Blaise is very good at making gestures with his hands: he can wave, do "so big", clap, and sometimes he can even hold his pointer finger up to indicate that he is 1 year old.

Blaise loves eating! I think it's safe to say his favorite food is probably graham crackers, but he also loves mashed carrots and potatoes, bananas, and chicken nuggets. Tonight, for his birthday dessert, Blaise will try his first ever piece of cake. Poor little Blaise can't eat too much yet because he only has 1 tooth on the bottom!

Here are some photos of the 1 year old!

Happy 1 Year Old

Playing with Anna, Marian, and Damien

Birthday Boo Boo :(

Things Are Looking Up!

Thankfully, Blaise's second antibiotic seems to be doing the trick. He still has two days of it left to go, but he hasn't had a fever for a week, and he's been back to his normal, trouble-making self. It is clear that Blaise has been taking notes from his big brother.

We can hardly believe that Blaise will be turning 1 in only 5 days. The year has flown by, and it's amazing to see how much Blaise has grown in a year. Damien and Mama have been practicing singing 'Happy Birthday', so we'll see what Blaise thinks of it next week!

Update

Well, we had to go back to the doctor with Blaise today. He finished his course of antibiotics last night, and this morning he woke up with a 101.7 fever. The poor little guy has been very clingy and just wants to be held all the time. In the clinic, we were able to see the same person that saw him on Monday, and she said not only does his ear look worse, but now his other ear is infected too. They are also concerned that Blaise may become dehydrated because he hasn't been drinking as much as usual and has very few wet diapers (he's not eating solid food at all). So, today he will be starting a 10-day course of a new antibiotic. We are trying our best to push fluids for him. We are praying this antibiotic will work! We hate having him on so many medications at such a young age.

In addition, I now have an eye infection that they're guessing is all related to whatever else has been going around the house. I was also prescribed an eye antibiotic. The worst part of that is that I have to wear my glasses instead of my contacts... :/ Oh well, I can't complain when I see what my poor boys are going through.

A Rough Month

All year we look forward to the summer, and this year was no exception. We had a great (although cool) June, filled with many trips to the zoo, park, and walks around our neighborhood. We had a good start to July as well and enjoyed celebrating Andy's 29th birthday on July 12th. The night of the 12th unfortunately took a turn for the worse, when Damien woke up sick (throwing up). Ever since that night, our family has been struggling through a series of illnesses. It started out with the stomach flu (all four of us got it), followed by what appeared to be a viral eye infection accompanied by fevers for the boys, followed by some type of cold (coughing, sneezing, runny nose, etc). During this time, both boys seems to be having intermittent fevers, but would appear normal in between. This all seemed to peak last Monday (7/25) when Damien got a fever up to 104.3, a rash, and wasn't eating. I immediately called the doctor and was told to keep treating with tylenol/ibuprofen, and if he had the fever for three consecutive days, we should bring him in. Well, on Wednesday morning when I brought him in, Damien was diagnosed with a double ear infection and tonsillitis. He immediately got started on a 10-day course of amoxicillin. On Friday, he didn't seem much better, so we went back to the doctor and his amoxicillin dose was increased. Saturday was the first day Damien woke up without a fever.

Meanwhile, we had hoped that Blaise had made it through without getting sick, as we were told Damien was probably only contagious for 24-48 hrs after his antibiotics were started. However, Saturday night, Blaise started getting lethargic, and he woke up with a fever on Sunday and refused to eat anything except his bottle (he had been eating table foods and drinking from a sippy cup). So, first thing Monday morning (yesterday), I called the doctor and got Blaise in for an appointment. Blaise was diagnosed with a right ear infection and started on a three day course of azithromycin. Blaise's fever also went up to 104 yesterday afternoon, and he was one sad baby. Today Blaise seems a little better--he woke up with a fever of 101, but his temperament seems a little better and he tried some yogurt and applesauce.

We are hoping and praying that once these antibiotics take effect, our family will be able to get out of the house and enjoy the rest of summer! Maybe Mommy and Daddy can even get a break! :)