What it is Like to Have a Real Baby

Oh, man. Last night was rough. Sandlin will remember the night when we were playing Dominion with some friends and Tyler hit a rough patch. We spent an hour trying to get him to calm down, and eventually he went back to sleep, but the whole time he was yelling like his arms were broken, heartbreaking.

Last night it was like that for the entire night. I really wish I knew what was wrong with him. We put him down and he slept for maybe a half an hour before waking up screaming. We could calm him down by holding him, but he was still kinda fussy. And whenever we put him down, he'd start shrieking again. And not in a 'I want my mom to come hold me', way. In a 'I hurt' way, which is horrible to hear. Eventually Jess and I got him go go back to sleep, after some Baby Tylenol and a lot of carrying (I did get him to sleep on my shoulder, just not laying down) we got him to go to sleep in his crib. That lasted for maybe an hour before he woke up crying again, and the pattern repeated all night. Jess insisted on taking care of him, saying she wouldn't be able to sleep if he was crying anyway, and eventually she took him downstairs and just slept with him on her chest on the couch. I think sleeping upright helps. I took over in the morning and Jess took a nap.

Tyler was a little better this morning, but still not quite his usual, ebullient self. We passed ideas back and forth: constipation, ear infection, the gout, but we weren't sure, and after a night like last night, we decided it would be a really good idea to get him checked out. We found a doctor's office, got an appointment, and had him checked out. Turns out it's a Yes on the ear infection, though only in one ear. I'm going to go out and get the antibiotics pretty soon. Though with one other wrinkle. We saw a notice on Friday at the day care that one of the babies came down with Chicken Pox. Considering how infectious it is, there's every likelihood that Tyler may have picked that up as well. He didn't have a fever last night, but he did have one at the doctor's office. It'll be a bummer if he has it: they actually have a vaccine now, but you can't get it until you're 1 year old. But nothing scary or bad, just a fever and a complainy baby for a few days. We'll get some oatmeal bath for him.


One week! I think I've managed to get all my Christmas stuff in order, though doing it all remotely has clearly led to some beans getting spilled. I do try my best, though. With any luck Tyler's ears will have cleared up by the time we need to mix him up with altitude.

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Tyler is helping me blog.

Also, Sandlin visiting was fantastic, Algae seems really interesting, and she totally forgot her algae sample in my fridge. I'll try to bring it up to Alaska so she can forget it there, too. Lots of eating of food and lots of Baby squishing. Tyler had to get used to the loud laughter of so many Preecs Children and friends in a room together, but he had to get used to the same sound when he was born and Daddy started laughing.

-N