Moving Machine!

Wow what a week makes in the Chenery household! In just a week Matthew went from only crawling backwards to cruising forward and at good pace, climbing over myself and the two dogs, pulling himself up onto his knees at the coffee table and even his feet a few times! He has been babbling more than ever and is copying us all he can. We had a nice and relaxing weekend as well. Ryan and I went out Friday night for dinner with some friends and on Saturday Matthew got to spend some time with his Aunt Sarah! I did a bunch of errands today and Matthew had a much needed daddy day! My spring break is just one week away. I am really looking forward to my week with Matthew and the warmer weather. We are looking forward to getting Matthew's wagon out of the family room (it has been our toy bin) and actually using it for walks around the block!

Happy Easter!

We hope everyone had a nice and relaxing Easter! We had an early Spring snow storm and got hit with 14 inches of snow Friday night! On Sunday it was sunny and beautiful with a lot of snow. Matthew woke up around 7:30 Easter morning and had breakfast with Ryan and I. He had his first taste of pancakes and sausage. He really liked it! After a short morning nap and a bath, we packed up and went to Matthew's Great Grandparent's house to see some family. Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa Genisio's for Easter dinner. Matthew had ham, potatoes, strawberries, bread and water for his Easter dinner. It was a very nice and quiet Easter. Matthew really enjoyed sitting and eating grown up food in his high chair. He is doing a great job and chewing up his food and loves everything we give him.

Matthew also reversed his crawling this weekend and is now cruising forward. He likes to climb over things, like my legs, to get to his toys or a cheerio! Now if he could only catch up to Norm and Ojala he would be even more happier. I am not wishing for this day to come for a while! It is amazing how much he can do in just two days! He isn't far from pulling himself up on to tables and things. When he gets close to a table, he gets in the bridge position and tries to squat. He can balance with one hand touching the floor as he reaches for the table. He is almost there! Needless to say, we finished baby proofing the house the weekend as well!

Here are some photos from Matthew's first Easter. Have a wonderful week!

A Fun Weekend

On Saturday I took Matthew to see the Easter bunny! He was not scared, though I probably would have been. This bunny is not like the ones I remember as a child. While we were waiting for the bunny to come to work, Matthew took his first carousel ride. The mall has a Double Decker carousel that is really cool with all sorts of fun animals, colors, and mirrors. Matthew was smiling the whole ride and really enjoyed it.

He was in the best of moods all weekend. I added some new photos of Matthew's adventures in crawling. As you can see from the top photo, he would rather be on his hands and feet instead of hands and knees! He did, however, crawl a few steps forward this weekend. He still prefers to move backwards and move on his belly in circles. He is great at pivoting. Well anyway enjoy the newer photos and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

To see the photos, click here

Dr. Shapiro

I just returned from the Pediatric Ear, Nose & Throat doctor, Dr. Shapiro, and we are all set for Matthew's tubes. One of the "guidelines" that they follow is four ear infections in a four month time or six ear infections in a six month time. Matthew has had five ear infections in under four months! His hearing tests were within normal range, which was a sigh of relief. He is not hearing as well out of his "bad ear" (the left one), but still it is within the normal range, so that was great news. For the exam, the doctor looked at Matthew's eardrums. They want the eardrums to have a slight curve. Matthew's are flat as a pancake, which is causing the ear infections.

The actual procedure is very quick, about ten minutes per ear. Matthew will be given some gas that will make him go to sleep, so there are no I.Vs. The doctor will then cut a small hole in each eardrum and insert the small, plastic, flexible tube. The hole allows for the pressure behind the eardrum to become pressurized and get rid of the pain and the tube helps to keep the hole open and slow the closing (healing) process. The tubes will stay in for six to eighteen months and fall out on their own. This is a temporary fix for Matthew and he may need to have them redone after the first set falls out. It all depends on the maturity of his ear passages.

Overall, this was the best option for Matthew. When I spoke to the doctor about Matthew's reaction to his other antibiotic Omnicef (he was having very bad diarrhea...some days up to eight times), he said that was he was experiencing was a side effect, though not as serious as the hives (from the penicillin). We want to save the antibiotics for later in life when he gets sick. If we build up an immunity now, we will be in trouble down the road. So the option of constant antibiotics was not a wise one. We don't want him to be in pain, so this is the best answer for us. Luckily this procedure is VERY common and hundreds of thousands are done per year.

Matthew's surgery is set for Friday, April 18th. We are very fortunate that Matthew's doctor is a very well known and respected pediatric ENT (the only pediatric ENT our pediatrician refers to...the others are adult ENTs). Also, a good family friend, Kathy Alban, will be Matthew's nurse, so we are very relieved that he will be in the best hands all around.

9 months!

I took Matthew to the pediatrician yesterday for his 9 month check-up. He only received two shots this time, so it was much nicer on his little leg. Matthew's nickname of Munchkin fits him very well. He is a proportionate little munchkin! He weighs 17 pounds 11.5 ounces (5th percentile), he is 27 inches long (also the 5th percentile) and his head is 17 and 3/4 inches (25th percentile). He is little for his age if you look at the growth charts, but he is also proportionate so we are not worried one bit. Plus look at Ryan and I...we are not the tallest people on the block!

I take him on Thursday afternoon to the Ear, Nose & Throat doctor for our appointment for Matthew's tubes. After talking to his doctor yesterday we think this will be the best treatment for Matthew considering his medical history to antibiotics. There are a few other options that we can try, such as continuous antibiotics or the three-day antibiotic shot. Both of those are out of the questions because of Matthew's reaction to antibiotics. We don't want him to build up an immunity to the select few antibiotics he can take and tolerate. The three-day antibiotic shot is too risky, again with his antibiotic reactions and background. I will learn more Thursday.

Other than that he has been very happy. He is eating breakfast, lunch and dinner and a few snacks. We just took away his morning bottle and added breakfast. He still receives about 20 ounces of formula a day plus water. He still does not like sippy cups, but will take water from an "adult" cup with assistance of course. He loves cheerios and puffs...so do the dogs! I swear more end up on the floor than in his mouth, but he is learning and it is so much fun. That is all for now. I will keep you posted after our appointment on Thursday.

Tube Time

A quick update. We took Matthew to the pediatrician this morning and we were right, he has another ear infection. His fifth since Thanksgiving. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he will be okay on this antibiotic. So we will start the referral process to the Pediatric Ear, Nose and Throat doctor to see if Matthew qualifies for tubes. Since we have a limited selection of antibiotics that Matthew can use, we are hoping he will qualify and this will be all said and done. We will keep you posted!