Danielle, Eric, Max, Echo and Riley: 37 Weeks Old

Last weekend was AWESOME! We just stayed at home and relaxed. It was so nice not to have to be anywhere and to get all of the chores around the house done so we could start the week of right! This week has been another crazy week. It started out okay on Monday. We all got up and went off to school and work and put in a full day. I did the grocery shopping and picked up Max in the afternoon and we came home and just hung out until Daddy got home. Later that evening, I started to feel kinda sick to my stomach. I was up most of the night not feeling well and when I got up on Tuesday and took a shower, thinking it would make me feel better (because that's what mom always said), I felt worse. I got Eric and Max out the door, called into work and went back to bed. I don't think I got out of bed until noon. That night, when the boys got home, I still wasn't feeling well and wasn't able to keep anything down all day, so Eric took me to the after hours clinic. She said it was just a virus and I would be out of commission for a few days. So, Wednesday was another day at home and another day of not being able to eat anything. Thursday, I woke up still puking. It was not pretty. Max had an allergist appointment that day and when I called to see if we could reschedule, they said it would be late September before they could get him in. So, we kept the appointment and I mustered up the energy to get there. It was a good appointment. They did some tests and he had a reaction to egg and peanut. The doc said that doesn't necessarily means that he is going to be allergic to those things, but we will go back in January and they will do a food challenge to see where we are. For now, we will avoid those things. I got in to see my doctor that afternoon. I was down 6 pounds from when I had been there on Tuesday. Basically, she said that I wasn't going to get any better until I could get some food in me. She gave me some medicine to help me not feel sick so that I could eat something. She wanted to give me a shot in the office, but I had driven myself and I had taken this medicine before and it knocked me out pretty quickly. So, they called it in and I picked it up from the pharmacy on my way home. I got home and got Eric all settled and only took half a pill. I fell asleep and my mom called and woke me up. Then I was awake, so I came downstairs and spent some time with Max and Eric. I told Eric that if he gave Max a bath, I would give him his bottle on the couch. It was so funny how that medicine started to make me feel. It was like I was so drunk. Max kept getting heavier and I felt like we were sinking through the couch. I can't remember what we were watching, but I just kept laughing at everything. Eric put Max to bed and I soon followed. I was able to get 2 small bowls of rice down that night. Friday morning was still pretty rough...I was having a really hard time getting up and down these damned stairs, so I stayed put and decided to get some rest. I think that is what I needed. I tried to clean up in the kitchen some in the middle of the day and I couldn't do much before I was exhausted. But, today I finally feel that I have returned to the land of the living human beings. Max woke up around 6 this morning and I got up with him, thinking he was gonna go back to sleep after a bottle. Nope, he wanted to play, so we came downstairs for about an hour and a half and then he started fading. After another little bottle, he was out and we went back to bed. Eric got up around 9 to mow the lawn and when he was done, Max and I were still sleeping. That boy slept until almost 11:00 this morning. I think it did me good to sleep in as well. I didn't feel that great when I first got up but after a shower I started to feel better. We even went over to some friends' house today. Eric helped move some furniture around and we just visited for awhile. Eric leaves for Chicago tomorrow and won't be back until Thursday. So, thankfully, I'm feeling better and I hope that I continue on the wellness track so that I can take care of Max by myself this week!

Our little man is getting so big! He is over 18 pounds now. Every day he is trying more and more to balance on his own, letting go of our hands or his table, whatever he has a hold on. He got a big box of toys in the mail from Aunt Mary this week and his eyes just lit up when he got home. He wasted no time in dragging them all out across the living room floor. The most exciting news this week is that the thrush is FINALLY gone!!!! Max will be able to get all of his toys back. I still need to figure out how to clean his soft toys, but he has two ice cream buckets full of toys that I know he will be happy to see again. It has been a long fight with it and I hope we don't ever get it back again! Our next challenge is going to be getting him to drink from a sippy cup. He does alright with it, depending on his mood, but I think he just has to get used to the flow of it. We'll see. Enjoy the pictures!