Happy Halloween

Brandon had a great time trick or treating this afternoon. He was all smiles the whole time and loved getting treats to put into his pumpkin. We went to our neighbors' houses and then we went to Stu's parents' house and a few of their neighbors who Stu has known his whole life. We also went to a few of our friend's houses on the way back to our house. Brandon kept the head to his monkey costume on the whole time. I wasn't sure if he would since everytime he had the costume on prior to today he would throw it off. My parents and brother came trick or treating with us and then hung out and ate dinner at our house with us and watched some of the World Series game. It was a nice Halloween.

Swine Flu Shot and Halloween Parade

Stu brought Brandon to get his swine flu shot this morning. Brandon did really well with the shot and didn't even realize he had it since he was so busy looking at everything on the nurse's desk that gave him the shot. He has to go back in 21-28 days for the second shot. I am just hoping he has enough in him to stay healthy until he gets the second shot. There are some kids that have the swine flu in the school where I teach and I know a few people who have had the swine flu. It is scary how it is affecting so many people.

This afternoon Stu brought Brandon to the Halloween parade at my school. He was dressed in his monkey costume but would not leave the head to the costume on. I thought he might cry when he saw me but he was so into watching everyone in their costumes walking by that he hardly noticed me.

Playing and Reading

Brandon was up early this morning so he played for awhile before we had to leave for the babysitter. His favorite thing to do is hold onto the gate door when it is open and walk back and forth between rooms that the gate is in. He also enjoyed reading his books. Over the past few weeks he started pulling his books off his bookshelf and wanting us to read them to him. He definitely has his favorites. One of his favorites is "I Love You Through and Through". He just smiles when he hears it.

Brandon's new favorite way to get around our entire house is by holding onto things and walking. He will hold onto the wall from one end of the house to the other. A few times today he let go and stood for a few seconds and took one step in between things to hold onto.

This week he has decided to only take one nap instead of his usual two but he is napping for 2 1/2 hours which is nice. It makes a long afternoon but he has been really good about staying up until he goes to sleep between 7:15 and 7:30.

A Visit From Brandon's Cousin, Aunt, and Uncle

Brandon's Aunt Debbie, Uncle Rich, and cousins, Zack and Ben, came to visit today. They were in New York for a family function so they stopped to see us on their way home. We had brunch with them and grandma and grandpa Newman at our house and then they stayed to watch the Steelers game with us. Brandon had a lot of fun playing with everyone and was all smiles.

Brandon took 4 steps by himself tonight. He pulled up on Stu when I was in the kitchen getting his bottle ready and when I came into the living room I put my arms out for him to come to me and he took 4 steps. We then stood him up several more times and he took anywhere from 2-4 steps a few more times. Maybe walking without holding onto anything is in the near future since he proved he can do it.

Jen's 1st Birthday Party

Brandon and I went to Jen's 1st birthday party this afternoon. I went to middle school and high school with Jen's mom, Heather, and thanks to facebook we have reconnected. She lives a few towns over from us and we have been trying to get together with them for awhile since Jen's birthday is only a few weeks after Brandon was due. I was happy that we finally got to meet her today. Brandon had a good time at the party. There was another one year old, Jen, and two four year olds at the party. Brandon enjoyed playing with Jen's stacking cup toy and in the ball pit. He also ate a slice of pizza and shared a cupcake with me.

Brandon is feeling so much better and his appetite is finally back. I can't believe how much he has been eating the last few days. I guess he is making up for a week of almost no eating. He is still on his antibiotic and most of the time takes it easily. I think it is messing with his stomach because he has pooped five or six times today which is not like him.

Ear Infection

Brandon had his follow up appointment with the pediatrician today from last Wednesday. The good news is Brandon's lungs sound clear now so we don't need to continue the nebulizer treatments. The bad news is he has an ear infection in his left ear. This is the first ear infection he has ever had. The pediatrician was amazed that he has never been on an antibiotic before. We gave Brandon his first dose of amoxycillin last night and he liked it. I think it is the bubble gum flavored medicine that we had growing up when we got sick. The pediatrician also said to give Brandon tylenol before bed for the next three nights to help with the pain while sleeping.

The pediatrician also brought up the H1N1 vaccine. Three pediatricians from the group have now told us that they want him to have it. They won't be getting it at the office so we will have to bring him to someplace where it is offered.

Out Cold

Brandon's nap schedule has been off since he got sick. He wouldn't really go down for a morning nap yesterday. He took a 15 minute nap and then a 5 minute nap so after his doctor's appointment he was exhausted. He fell asleep in the carseat within seconds of leaving the doctor so I was able to transfer him into his crib. I had to wake him after 2 hours and 15 minutes because it was already 4:45 and I was afraid he wouldn't go to sleep until really late.

Getting a Nebulizer Treatment

Still Sick But Getting a Little Better

Brandon is still not feeling all the way better. His energy level is coming back to normal. He has been crawling and cruising and playing with his toys all morning. He has had a fever on and off since Thursday afternoon. This morning it was 102.2 when he woke up so we brought him back to the pediatrician. He also doesn't really have an appetite. I have been getting him to drink some milk but not the amount he normally does. All he has wanted to eat today is some cheerios and puffs. The pediatrician listened to his lungs and said they sound great so the nebulizer is working. Brandon is so good about letting me do his treatments. He sits in my lap and watches The Wonder Pets when I hold the mask on his face for 15-20 minutes. Other than one of his treatments he has just sat and let me do what needs to be done. The pediatrician said his throat looks a little gunky. She is not concerned about him not eating. She said to try to get 20 ounces of fluid into him a day. While we were waiting to see the pediatrician I looked in Brandon's mouth and noticed that he has another tooth on the bottom cutting through. So he is teething on top of not feeling well. The pediatrician said he has bronchiolitis and the fever is either from that or from his MMR/ Chicken pox vaccine last week.

In other news Brandon was approved for the RSV shots this year. Out health insurance company called me yesterday and told me he was covered in full for the shots. We are so excited that he will be getting the shots again this season.

Hide and Seek

Brandon loves to play hide and seek. He hides behind the reclining chair or the wall that is in the foyer. It is really cute because you can see his hand but he doesn't realize. He really thinks he is hiding. Then he walks out from where he is hiding and gives me a huge smile.

Nebulizer Treatments

Brandon made it 15 months without ever needing a nebulizer treatment. He had his first one yesterday afternoon. His cold that he has had for almost 2 weeks was not going away and was actually starting to get worse. On Monday night he started coughing a croup like cough and continued all day Tuesday and Wednesday at the babysitters so I called the pediatrician yesterday when I picked him up to see if I could bring him in again. I called at 3:58 and the phones shut off at 4:00 so I didn't expect to get an appointment for yesterday but they told me they had a 4:30 appointment if I wanted to bring him in. I am really glad I did. We waited for almost 1 1/2 hours before we even saw a pediatrician but once she saw him she wanted to do an RSV test and listened to his lungs and heard he was wheezing. She had me do a nebulizer treatment in the office which Brandon was not at all happy about. He flipped out when we put the mask on him so finally after about 5 minutes the nurse showed me that I can just hold the tube under his nose and give him the treatment like that. He was much happier with it being done that way and actually fell asleep in the middle of it. Brandon's RSV test came back negative (thank goodness!) and his lungs sounded a lot better after one treatment. She did send us home with a nebulizer and wants him to have 3-4 treatments a day for a week. He is on xopenex. I did a treatment last night once he fell asleep in my arms and then this morning when he watched Sesame Street. He actually let me put the mask on this morning without fighting it. Last night I just held the tube under his nose. I will do whichever works the best for him. Even not feeling well Brandon is playing and cruising around and all smiles.

Peek a Boo

Brandon loves playing peek a boo. He recently started covering his own eyes when he wants to play. Sometimes he covers his mouth instead of his eyes. It is too cute. He also has started to give high fives. He is at such a fun age.