Wow! This summer is really just flying by! Meredith is already 10 months old - and is as busy as ever and so much fun. We've had some fun filled busy weekends and some relaxed low key weekends, just like I like.
Over the 4th of July weekend we decided to have a few friends over for a BBQ, really an excuse for Jon to use his Big Green Egg! Jon smoked some beef brisket, I made a few salads and dips, we set up our inflatable kiddie and all enjoyed cool beverages as we sat outside and watched the kids splash around. It was a very fun afternoon and Meredith seemed to have a lot of fun, too. The next day we headed over to a friend's house for a pool party. Meri had a great time playing with their twin 14 month olds and 2 year old daughter and also had fun splashing in the pool. She actually stayed up and happy for 6 hours straight (with 10 minute nap on the way there). I was quite suprised, but it worked perfectly. We decided not to push it with fireworks and Jon and I instead tried to get a view of the Powderhorn Park fireworks just 10 blocks North of us. We saw a few through the trees in the distance while we listened for Meri on the monitor and sipped wine.
The following Friday I got a night off to hang out with a bunch of college friends. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it because Jon was on call. But Jon graciously offered to watch Meri, as long as I'd be immediately available if he had to go. I had intended on being home by 11pm and ended up out until 2am. It was just so great seeing everyone and we had a great time dancing and catching up.
The rest of the weekend we just hung out at home and it proved to be the start of a very long week. Meredith was just a bit off, a bit more fussy and not eating her bottles very well. I attributed it to teething and gave her Tylenol intermittently. She hadn't had a fever so I brought her to daycare on Monday and she apparently was fine all day, but when I picked her up, I could tell she had a fever. I stopped by Walgreen's on my way home to get more Tylenol and gave it to her in the car. About an hour later when I finally took her temp, she was 102.8 F. She took a nap, at a bit and went to bed mostly like normal - so I was hoping it was just a fluke until Meri woke up basically screaming at 5am. I fed her, and she ate a descent amount, but was still inconsolable. We checked her temp again, it was 103 F. So, I stayed home with her that day. She was lethargic and slept a lot, but by 11am her fever was down to 101.5. I called the Doctor's office anyway and they said I could certainly come in, or I could wait to see if she still had a fever in 24 hours. I had Wednesday off anyway, so I decided to wait. That next day her fever was down to 99.5 before meds, so I thought she was over whatever it was (she always has a snotty nose and cough, so it's hard to know if it's that or something else). She still wasn't eating that great, but seemed less fussy and her fever was reasonable as far as daycare goes, so we brought her in on Thursday only to get a call by 10:30am that she had a fever. Thankfully Jon was able to pick her up and brought her to the Doctor's office - I just couldn't keep missing work. They found she had a mild ear infection - almost not worth treating with antibiotics - but we said we wanted to treat her. I stayed home with her Friday and actually ended up going home to Blue Earth with her - as we had planned for a long time.
On Saturday we had our Pfaffinger family reunion at Gomsrud Park in Fairmont, MN - a park between two lakes. Meri was relatively happy - but still wasn't drinking bottles well. Jon was able to come down that morning - but it turned out he was getting a fever, too - so ended up sleeping on the ground most of the day. It was nice to see everyone, but with a sick husband and daughter and sitting in 90+ degrees all day - we were all exhausted by 6pm when we headed back to my mom's house. We all showered, ate (Meredith actually took her whole bottle!) and went to bed by 9pm.
The next morning, I fed Meredith (another whole bottle) and got her changed and Jon took her back to Mpls while I slept for a few more hours at my mom's and then headed back in my car - by myself!!! (It was awesome!!). And Meredith has been a cutie pie ever since. She's back to finishing her bottles and being a happy, smiley, giggly girl when she's up. And she seems to be sleeping better (she had spent all last week waking up screaming at 5am, glad to be done with that). I think the antibiotics have cleared her ear infection, her snotty nose and her cough and her top right tooth finally cut through the surface. Hopefully we'll get a break of healthy and happy girl now for awhile!
Here are some 10 month happenings with Meredith.....
- She's down to 5 bottles a day - no "dream" feed. It was waking her up and I found she would eat more during the day without it, plus I could go to bed earlier - if I wanted. When she's happy and healthy she's eating 5 to 7 oz at a time!
- We're still in the same place with solid foods - no fruits or veggies, but we keep trying new things and she does eat small pieces of meat (chicken and lamb this weekend) and other things I was suprised at (mediterranean cous cous). And we keep trying with the sippy cup. I think we're slowly getting there
- She still on the same nap/bedtime schedule: 3 naps a day, bedtime around 9pm and up at 7 or 7:30am on non-work days.
-She's now standing on her own for several seconds at a time and getting more brave with cruising from place to place. She can even climb up steps - oh boy!
-She's starting to imitate a little bit, mostly sounds - grunts, etc. She also started "kissing" me the other day - coming at me with her open mouth, it's SO cute
- She now has three teeth - her two bottom ones and the top right just broke through
And just a quick update on Jon. He is now finished with residency and is in solo private practice - meaning he is self-employeed with no partners, etc. He takes trauma call at North Memorial and any plastics trauma that comes in becomes his patient, his case and this is really the only way he operating right now. He's been relatively busy, mostly with hand trauma. Plus some of the other busier surgeons are passing some of their consults and patients to Jon because they're too busy to fit them in. It's very different and I know it will pay off, but it is also hard - since if Jon has a patient in the hospital during the weekend, he has to see them - which means it will be hard to get out of town for awhile. It's been a bit harder on me than I thought, because Jon is never truly off call, so therefore I am really always on call for Mereidth. I also lost my way to sleep in the on the weekends (Jon watched Meri so I could catch some extra zzzz's. We're still ironing on the details, so that I can keep my sanity and get time away too. But I am so proud of him and am so happy that he's finally done. He's doing a great job!
4th of July BBQ at our house
Meri floating in the pool at our friends, Nissrine and Florin's house
Hanging out and having a bit to eat (Veggie straws, a new favorite)
Out with Jen and Mindy at Brit's
Everyone on the dance floor, what a fun night
One way to entertain Meredith in the hot sun outdoors, a swing!
