Sippy cup success??

Maybe, just maybe! Daycare said today that they gave Zachary his formula in a Nuby sippy cup and he drank it. The spout on those sippy cups is very similar to a bottle. I had already bought the "toss and take" brand of sippy cups (Thanks for the suggestion Krista!) and tried it tonight at dinner. Initially he just played with it and chewed on it. But all of a sudden, I heard slurping! He figured it out. My baby is getting to be a big boy! Just in time too because daycare wants to move him to the toddler room!

Toddler room you ask? He's not yet one and he is being moved with the 'big kids.' Scares the pants off of me! In this room, he will sit at a big table with the other kids to eat (and they feed themselves!). I've seen the results of this after a meal, what a mess! And they sleep on a cot, not in a crib! The director in the daycare promises me he will be able to do it! She also promises me a picture, just to prove it! We'll see. Hard to think of my baby doing all those big boy things!

My son the scientist!!

We volunteered to participate in a research study at a local university. They basically sat him in a seat and gave him objects/toys to see what he would do with them. Then the researcher (with absolutely no expression on her face) would show him something to do with them and see if he would respond. Basically the study was to see if babies react better when expression and animation are used. Zachary was stubborn and wouldn't do anything she asked him to. He kept smiling and laughing at her trying to get her to respond to him. She commented how hard it was not to laugh at him.

Anyway, he made it through the entire study without crying, which the researcher said is quite unusual. She said normally the babies get frustrated and refuse to participate. Zachary would throw the toys back at her or onto the floor, but never cried. Will be interesting to get the results of the entire study once it's done. They video taped the entire thing and said they may show it to other students or researchers. Kinda cool. Plus he got a Infant Scientist Degree. Will put that one in his baby book!

Sippy cup frustrations!!

I have been trying to get Zachary to drink from a sippy cup for several months now. He can't seem to figure out how to suck on the sippy cup. I have tried multiple different styles of cups and even tried cups with straws. I really wanted to be done with the bottle by the age of 1, but it's not looking like it's going to happen. All you experienced mommys out there, any suggestions??

Updates on the boys!

Zachary saw the ENT yesterday because at the end of his 7 day course of antibiotic ear drops, his ear was still draining. He has continued to act like he did not feel well, has not been eating well and pulls at his ear. The ENT said that the drainage has stopped, but his ear is still very red and inflammed. He wants us to stop the drops, says the drops might be causing some of the redness. Watch him for the next couple of weeks and bring him back for a recheck in 2 weeks. If his symptoms get worse or drainage starts again, we are to call.

Joshua just got home from the dentist after having his tooth pulled. I spoke to the dentist before they pulled it to ask about the other baby teeth on the bottom. He informed me that if they pull more than one at a time, the adult teeth will not come into the right spot because there will be too much space for them to choose from. So they pull one at a time as it is needed to ensure that the teeth at least begin to come into the right spot. Again he reinforced that Joshua is looking at extensive orthodontics because of his jaw size. Joshua did great with the tooth pulling and replied, "You're done already?" as everyone started leaving his room. He said, "Mom, can I lose all my teeth that way? It was easy." Um, no, not unless you're going to pay for it!

That's it, hopefully no more dramatics for my boys for a little while!

Reflux update

Zachary saw Dr. Bax today for a recheck on his reflux. Initially the plan was to decrease his prevacid at this appointment. Unfortunately, he is still having too many reflux symptoms to do that. So we are going to stay on it for another 6 months and go back then for a recheck. Funny thing was that Dr. Bax said, "Most kids outgrow reflux by 18 months." At our very first appointment when Zachary was about 8 weeks, Dr. Bax said, "Most kids outgrow reflux by 8 months." I reminded him of that and he just laughed and said, "well, Zachary isn't by the book, is he?" And he's just figuring this out? ;o)

So we are status quo for the next 6 months.

One thing after another

The other night while I was helping to brush Joshua's teeth, I noticed that he has an adult tooth on the bottom that is coming through the back of his gum because the baby tooth is still there. When I called the dentist to see if this was ok, she quickly replied, "Um, no!" Joshua has an appointment next Tuesday to get that tooth pulled. I wonder though when we get there if they will end up pulling a few more of his baby teeth. They just don't seem to be falling out and there is no room in his mouth for his adult teeth that are already trying to come in. I'll be curious to talk to the dentist and see what he thinks. We already know that we are in for braces, very soon, to widen his jaw. Hopefully later rather than sooner!

5 months!

That's how long we have gone without an ear infection after getting tubes in Zachary's ears, UNTIL today! I went home on Saturday morning to a very tired husband who told me about how Zachary had been awake almost all night. Not quite knowing why, I went to bed because Zachary was still sleeping. When I woke up Saturday afternoon, Zachary was also waking up from a nap. When I entered his room, I found yucky drainage on his sheet, his right ear all red and crusted shut from drainage. He also had a temp of 101. Lucky for us, we still have the antibiotic drops from after his surgery and the instructions on how to use them if/when he got an infection. So a little Tylenol, a few ear drops, and some loving from Mommy and hopefully he will be feeling better soon. Gotta love dads, but sometimes they are just clueless!

Messages, anyone?

Ok everyone! I'm tired of hearing, "I read your blog all the time" but never knowing that you do. Please post me a note, let me know you stopped by! You can sign it anonymous, but put your name at the end of your note, so you don't have to get a password!

We have a walker!

Seems like just a few short days ago I was posting about how lazy Zachary is and how he won't walk. Well, he showed me! He is so active at this time, I can't keep him out of things! Our kitchen cabinets are the newest things he has found! I was trying to drill holes into my entirely too hard of wood cabinets last night when my drill quit working. So, again tonight we will continue to fight to keep him out of everything! Gotta love the bouncer, as that's where he goes when he won't stay out of trouble!

Joshua also has been having his own issues, of a much different kind. How do you convince a busy 8 year old to take the time to look over his assignments, read the questions, and ensure he is doing it all? We seem to be having serious issues with this. We have started imposing penalties at home (no tv/videogames) when he comes home with assignments that are obviously done quickly and instructions are not followed. I understand that all kids miss questions on papers, etc. But he is forgetting his name/date (loses points for that), not following instructions and doing things incorrectly, or just missing an entire back page of an assignment. I'm so frustrated because his grades are suffering because of his hurrying. Hopefully the penalties at home will help with that! Anyone has any suggestions, please let me know! He tells me, "I want to be the first one done." I try to tell him, doesn't matter how fast you are done if your questions are wrong!

Ahh, the joys of parenting!