Eddie's Therapy: Session 1

As promised, I want to give an update on Eddie's physical therapy. We met with Eddie's therapist, Julie, for the first time this week. She will be coming over twice a month to work with Eddie. Here are a few of the exercises she gave us to do with Eddie:

For this one, I sit Eddie on the edge of my knee, then pull his feet back a little bit behind his knees. There should be something he wants on the floor in front of him, so that he'll lean forward on his pelvis to get it. The theory here is that he'll learn to sit forward on his pelvis and not lean back and straighten his legs. Unfortunately, Eddie doesn't like any of his toys enough to do this one right, so it usually just ends up with him sitting on my knee. If nothing else, I guess it makes him sit up straight!

For this one, I sit Eddie on my knees, then brace his knees with my hands so that he will stand on his feet. The first time I watched the therapist do this, I had to laugh because Eddie looked so much bigger standing up! His knees are kind of like jelly, so this one takes a bit of effort for me to hold him up like that and we don't last too long. I guess the goal here is to strengthen his legs.

This one is supposed to help Eddie learn to get onto his knees. He is pretty good at swiveling to the side and reaching for things, but usually he'll either back off or fall flat on his face. We are supposed to give him a hand by tucking his leg under and lifting his bottom, so he can see that he can get on his knees and not always end up on his face. He has actually gotten onto his hands and knees a couple of times this week, but doesn't know what to do and ends up sliding down onto his belly.

There are a few others we are also supposed to do, including one to help him learn to get into a sitting position from lying down. That one is a lot harder and I've only been able to get him to do it once for me. Julie seems to think that Eddie will be mobile pretty soon, and even joked that we might regret signing him up for therapy. If nothing else, Julie's visit inspired me to start baby-proofing our house -- starting with bumper pads on our metal tables.

A Piece of Cake

As a possibly crazy first-time mommy, I tend to worry about things much more than necessary. The latest obsession has been deciding on a birthday cake for Eddie. I realize I've got two more months, but for a person like me who (1) has lost track of several months of her life, and (2) has to have ample time to mentally prepare for something like making a cute cake, the more time, the better.

In light of the aforementioned reasons, Dave and I decided to put the question out there for all of you faithful readers to answer. What kind of cake should I attempt to make for Eddie's first birthday? The polls are open, so please cast your vote. Feel free to leave additional thoughts and suggestions in the comments. We have narrowed the choices down to the following:


Disclaimer: All cakes subject to availability and may differ from photos. Dave & Kristen reserve right to override final poll results and choose any cake they want.

Cool Baby Products

I've been getting Parents magazine for free for the past year (I'm not sure how or why, but I won't argue). I really enjoy reading a lot of the articles and they always have a page dedicated to cool kid products. That is what has prompted me to compile a list of cool baby products that I either plan to get soon or hope to get the next time around. I've linked them all for your viewing pleasure. If anyone has any others, feel free to leave details in the comments. I'm always open for ideas.

Note: I got most of these ideas from a mommy blog I found called CoolBabyKid.com. Check it out.

Nap Nanny

This product was featured in the most recent Parents magazine. Since I have recently been compelled to get a part-time job, I have been lamenting Eddie's bad napping habits. Most days he is a really good napper when we're at home, following our normal routine. But trying to get him to sleep anywhere other than his crib is a chore. So the next time I have a kid, I want to get a Nap Nanny and put the kid in there for naps from the very start. It's portable, it's comfortable, and it's safe for them. The down side: it retails for $129.99.

Slurp & Burp Nursing Wrap

Sure, the name sounds disgusting, but after trying to deal with nursing a wiggly, sweaty baby in various public places (including church, the park, the dinosaur museum, and the zoo), I would be willing to give this a try. It may not be as discreet as some people prefer, but it makes it so you don't have to have a blanket over the baby's head while they nurse. By the time the kid is 6 months old, they can pull the blanket off anyways.

The Baby Keeper

I became aware of this product because Dave Barry featured it in his 2008 Holiday Gift Guide. Yes, it is a funny concept and I laughed about the great photo included in the guide. However, about a week after seeing this, I had to use the restroom at the grocery store and had nowhere to put Eddie. Let's just say that is a complicated situation... especially for a germ-a-phobe like me. So while it may seem strange to want to be able to hang your baby from the bathroom stall, I would much rather do that than set him on the bathroom floor. So, bring on the Baby Keeper!

Dapple Cleaners

I've always thought there ought to be a safe way to clean things that go into a baby's mouth (besides just normal old dish soap). When I clean toys, I have to separate them, sanitize them with my Clorox wipes, then keep them separate until they are very dry because I know as soon as Ed gets them, they'll go straight in his mouth. I might just have to make a trip to Babies R Us to pick up some Dapple wipes.

Squirt Spoon

Trying to feed a baby is a messy task. If they're really hungry, they don't want to wait for you to turn and get another scoop. Or if you're not paying good enough attention, they'll just grab the food container from you and make a huge mess. Believe me... I know. So it make sense to have a spoon that contains the food within itself. That way, you've got your other hand for deflecting little hands reaching for said spoon. I'd like to give this one a try and see if it is as good as it sounds.

Begin Smart Books

I'm all about giving my kids every possible advantage when it comes to their development. I love reading to Eddie and really believe that I'm helping develop his language skills... and hopefully his attention span. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with also trying to "encourage the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual growth of babies and toddlers" like these books claim to. I plan to search the county library to see if they have any of these ones and give them a try.

BumpyName Orbit Labels

I saw these in pretty much every issue of Parents magazine and think they look pretty neat. It's a personalized, microwaveable, dishwasher-safe, reusable label for all sorts of containers. I imagine these would really come in handy for a kid who was in daycare. They come in all sorts of fun colors and you can even get a braille version. The down side: they only use Comic Sans font. Ugh.

An Eventful Four Days

We spent this past weekend in Cedar City with the Andrews fam. Friday was Riley-bug's first birthday and we were there to celebrate. At the moment, Jeremy, Natalie, Dax, and Riley are living with my parents (until the end of the month anyway), so we got to spend a lot of time with them. Dax was so excited to see Eddie and didn't want to leave him alone all weekend. I think he even got a few slobbery kisses from Ed.

Here are the sleepy babies, Riley and Eddie, having story time with Grammy. Riley then took a nap. Eddie did not. I think he only took a one hour nap all weekend.


On Saturday night, we had Riley's birthday party—complete with a pony cake. Natalie's sister, McCall, gave Riley some balloons, which were a big hit. What is it about kids and balloons?


McCall also gave Riley a cute stuffed frog. Dave and I found it funny that the frog has the same bad posture that Ed does.


Hopefully there won't be bad posture for long, though. Monday morning, Eddie and I met with Shaun from the Jordan Child Development Center for an evaluation. Shaun has a really cool job. He came and played with Eddie for an hour and got him to do things that I didn't know were possible. He confirmed that Eddie is a little behind in his gross motor skills, but not really far behind. He seemed confident that once Eddie starts moving around, he'll catch up quite quickly. So now we just need to get him moving. He showed me several exercises to do with Eddie to help his muscle tone and strength -- including in his pelvis, which will help that posture.

In less positive news, yesterday we found out that Eddie has an ear infection, which is causing him to throw up a lot. The nurses at the Insta-Care tried giving him an IV to restore his fluids and give him some antibiotics, but his arms are so chubby that they couldn't find a vein. They tried giving him one on his ankle, but he moved at just the wrong moment. So they got the doctor to help them hold Ed down and tried his other ankle and couldn't get it. Eventually they decided to just give him a shot of antibiotics since he wasn't terribly dehydrated. After all that, we came home at 10:00 last night and put Eddie in bed. He actually slept really good, so I thought he was doing better.

This morning, we had our appointment with the neurologist at Primary Children's. So I got up and got us all ready to go and as I picked Eddie up to walk out the door, he threw up again. So, I called and rescheduled our appointment. Now I'm just working on getting him to take sips of Pedialyte and hoping that he'll keep it down so that they don't have to stick him with more needles. So now we don't get to see the neurologist until the beginning of March, but hopefully by then we will have gotten through every possible winter illness and will be healthy for once. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Nine Months Old

That's right, folks... our boy is nine months old today! Time really flies when you're having fun, I guess. I took him in to the pediatrician this morning for his appointment and it sure was more than I bargained for. Lucky for Ed, he's all caught up on his immunizations, so he didn't have to have any shots today. He was in a pretty good mood at first and flirted with the nurse and stole her papers and snorted at her. He is turning into a huge flirt with the ladies.

Eddie now weighs 19 lbs 13 oz. He is 28.94 inches long... which means that he has to get a new car seat before he grows another .6 inches. He's in the 39th percentile for weight and the 74th for height. His head is catching up to the rest of him and is in the 57th percentile.

As I've said before on the blog, Eddie just likes to sit and doesn't roll over much. We haven't been too concerned about this, thinking he is just taking his sweet time and that he was just content doing things at his own pace. This morning, however, I learned that he is taking too much sweet time and may have some developmental problems. Apparently he has "low tone" in his arms and legs. The doctor thinks that because of this, he is unable to support his weight as he should. This explains why he won't ever stand up. She also said that his gross motor skills are delayed, which explains why he doesn't roll or get himself into a sitting position. Any of you who have seen Ed in action know that he doesn't have low tone in his abdomen, though. I guess that is something to be thankful for.

So, we have been referred to a pediatric neurologist (which sounds so scary). We have our first appointment next week, so we'll be sure to keep everyone updated. We will also be meeting with therapists from an "early intervention program" to see if he qualifies for therapy to help develop his gross motor skills.

On a happier note, Eddie's social skills are developing just as they should, along with his fine motor skills. He has recently gotten a little cuddlier than he used to be and sometimes will even lay his head on my chest when I hold him. He is very ticklish and has a great sense of humor. He loves exploring his little world as much as he can and wants to grab (and taste) everything that comes within his reach.

Ed's Eccentricities

Eddie is a little weirdo sometimes. He makes us laugh a lot. I recently set up a not-so-hidden camera to capture some of his quirky behavior. Unfortunately, he won't do this stuff when he sees me taping, so I had to set up the camera where he was in the frame, turn it on, then just leave it there for a while. After a few minutes, he forgot about the camera and acted naturally. The following clip was the result. Be sure to have your speakers on so you can hear him "doodling." You can hear it most clearly when he leans toward the camera about halfway through. He does this all the time now and it cracks us up. You may also notice that he doesn't bother using his hands to play with toys... apparently his feet work just as well. Enjoy!

What a Big Boy!

I was recently accused of slacking off on Eddie's blog. Apparently I have not been providing new photos as often as a certain Grammy Andrews would like. I'll try to do a little better.

On Sundays, we generally just dress Eddie in whatever, since nobody really cares if babies are appropriately dressed for church or not. It's not like Eddie stays in class anyways. This past Sunday, however, I decided to finally try out one of the button-down shirts that Eddie had handed down from his cousins. I thought he looked so cute and grown up that I had to take some photos. Of course, by the time I got around to it, he had already spit up all over himself... hence the wet spots. Just imagine those aren't there. Also, I tried to pose him on our first stair, but after a couple of photos, he got so excited that he launched himself off onto his feet, scaring me to death. Luckily, I caught him before he face-planted and we got some photos on the floor by the stairs.

So without further ado, here is our boy dressed in his man clothes.

Pre-launch:

Post-launch:

Our Little Trooper

Eddie is finally getting over his recent bout of croup. The past week and a half, he's been a real trooper... but I can't say the same of myself. (Be sure to zoom in on this photo to see how bad our sick baby looks. He had dark circles under his eyes for days.)


Sick babies are no fun, especially at night. After one particularly bad night, where Dave and I began to liken Eddie to the "shrieking eels" from The Princess Bride, I decided I was impervious to his cries and that it was high time he learned to roll. So I put him on his tummy and let him stay there until he found his own solution. He ended up rolling over 4 times that day -- more than he had rolled in his entire life up to that point. Here's a photo of him mid-roll.


He has a problem coordinating both ends of his body -- so either the top half gets twisted around and his legs are stuck, or his legs are doing the right stuff, but his arms are in the wrong positions. It generally ends up with him writhing around on his face until I give in and sit him up.

I was very pleased that he rolled, and Dave was happy that he finally got to see the roll in person. Eddie was happy with himself as well, but has since decided that rolling is not for him and refuses to do it again. I guess we'll have to wait for another day when I have been desensitized by a night of screaming. Hopefully he learns to crawl before that happens again.

What the Croup?!

For the past couple of weeks, I've been a little bit sick. I was pleased when more than a week went by and Eddie had not caught it. Then, at 12:30 AM on Saturday morning, I heard a strange noise. You mothers out there will appreciate my super-sonic hearing when it comes to Eddie noises in the night. The slightest noise from him wakes me up, even though he's in his own room. Upon investigating the noise, I found that Eddie had a bit of a cough. I didn't think too much of it and we all went back to sleep. When we woke up that morning, the cough was much worse. He sounded horrible!

Of course this all had to happen on a Saturday, when we couldn't simply call the pediatrician for advice. I looked online to find that KidsCare at our clinic doesn't open until noon on Saturdays. I was a little concerned about taking him to the Instacare since I thought I was being a paranoid first-time mom. But, as Dave and I discussed our options and Ed attempted to hack up a lung, we decided to just take him in.

To the Instacare we went.

The doctor came in and asked a few questions. He seemed to be ruling things out until he heard Ed's cough. He immediately said, "yep, he has croup." I had no idea what that meant, but it sure sounds serious. The doctor explained that croup is just a viral infection (like influenza) that settles in the throat, which causes problems for people with very small throats. So it inflames the windpipe and the vocal chords, leading to a very characteristic, barking cough. So they gave him some steroids and had me hold the nebulizer in front of his face for ten minutes, then sent us home.

Since then, he's been slowly improving. Lucky for us, his nasty cough is now accompanied by an incredibly runny nose and a low fever. I guess that means his body is fighting off the infection. I hope it hurries. I also hope Eddie hurries and learns to blow his nose. It would save us both a lot of trauma wrestling with the bulb syringe.

More Cute Pics

We spent last Friday night and most of Saturday in Logan, visiting Dave's parents. We also made a quick visit to Eddie's great-grandma Jones who lives in an assisted living center there. For Christmas, Dave's uncle Chuck made a wooden toy train for Grandma Jones so that all the kids who come to visit her would have something to play with. Thanks to our good timing, Eddie was the first kid to play with (and suck on) the new toy train. Here are a couple of fun photos of the occasion:



This next photo is one I took this week because I thought it was so precious that Ed was snuggling with his daddy. He won't do that kind of stuff with me.


And finally, Eddie has discovered a new fun toy in our house -- the door stops. They're the kind that are like springs, so they make great noises when you bump them. My nephew Dax used to love them, so I figured that Eddie would discover them sooner or later. I'm sure as soon as he's mobile, he'll play with them all over the house. For now, the one in his room is the only one he knows about.