March

Thought I'd back post a quick run-down of what we were up to in March. The month started off with a bang with a couple days of stormy weather. We got the first real rain we had had in about 3-4 months I think, and it came down hard! I remember we went for a drive in it (to pick up some donor milk) and we needed some things at Wal-mart. But it was just WAY too wet for the kids and I (in our shorts and flip flops) to get out in. We would have all been soaked. So we stayed in the car while Jeremy ran in. I don't know if we've had any good rain since then. Maybe one storm I can think of. We miss the rains in Iowa and in Virgina!

Chris & Isabelle Wilhelm were in town visiting (on their way to move to Virginia, I think) and we were able to all get together for dinner and an FHE lesson. It was so fun to see them! Especially Chris, who -I- hadn't seen for at least 5 years. It's crazy how time is flying. And crazy how many times these 10 kids of our switched seats around during one 20-minute lesson thing. (Except Shawn. He wasn't moving much)

That same week Jeremy and I got to go on an actual date (Shawn in tow). We had dinner at Jason's Deli (between his food sensitivities and Shawn's, we're fairly limited where it's safe to eat out) and then went to a free concert Eastern Arizona College was putting on a few blocks from our house on their spring tour. It's crazy how much life has changed in the last 10-12 years since we were students and met there. Shawn wasn't a huge fan, but we still mostly got to enjoy the music.

Shawn had a yucky cold early in the month, and at one point his breathing got a little scary and wheezy. Of course when I was suddenly really nervous about it was early on a Sunday morning, when not even urgent care was open. So we had our first "sick visit" since Katy was 15 months old at the Cardon's Children's E.R. We (Shawn and I) were there 4 hours just to find that he was probably okay, and to just keep a close eye on him. They did suck a bunch of fluid out, which probably helped, but it was a little traumatic for him. He also refused to nurse much during all that, with or without the SNS, and wouldn't even take any formula. They realized he just needed to get home and tried to get us out faster, but it was still a very long visit.

I got really tired of my long, super-thick hair, especially since it was starting to get warm, and started cutting one day after a shower. It was a little scary, but with how curly it is, it's hard to mess it up too badly, and I was happy with the results. I've done it once since then, and it's even shorter, but I should probably have someone who knows what they're doing give it some attention next time.

This little dude turned 3 months old. We did it! We survived the first 3 months! They're always such a mixed bag, and always difficult. Ironically, he and I were sleeping much better when he was 4-8 weeks than we were by 3 months, and it hasn't improved much...

One evening we visited the newly-opened Arizona-Gilbert temple on one of our drives, and the weather was nice enough to take a few pictures with the kids. It's such a huge temple!

Jeremy went to Nebraska for 4-5 days to help out another doctor who wanted to align some x-ray equipment towards the end of the month, so the kids and I got brave and headed down to Pima.The trip actually wasn't too bad, since we had just recently started Shawn on some Alimentum (the expensive kind for super sensitive tummies) formula, and I had a way to get his stomach full all at one time. He started out awake (having just nursed) and fell asleep after about an hour, and slept until Bylas, at which point we had to pull over for a bathroom break (always an adventure there) and to fill his tummy again. I was nervous, but we made it.
We had a nice visit full of lots of family. Emily had just moved to Joseph City, but she and her boys came down to spend some time with us too. It's always nice to go there and just let the kids run a little wild, outside and in. I don't really have to care what they're doing, as long as they don't go too far from the house and aren't making much of a mess. My mom is always such a good help, especially when Jeremy can't come. Shawn got lots of smiles in while we were there, and didn't sleep any worse than he did at home. (Ie. Half the time in his swing, half the time in bed with me)

This is also the month where you can see the most change in him. He dropped to the 2nd percentile by March 10th (on the WHO chart, not even the formula one) and I felt like I had less and less milk, so we started offering him a bottle with 1-2 oz after every single day feeding. After the first 8 days of the formula regimen he gained 23 oz. Is that even possible? Apparently, and he made up for lost time quickly, demanding more and more and growing like crazy. (At his 4-month check up 5 weeks later he had risen from the 2nd to the 38th percentile) You can see the difference in his face in these pics, one on the 8th, one on the 30th.