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Update: I forgot to let everyone know about Jeffrey's reflux medications. They are history!!Yup, at the last pediatrician appointment, we let her know that we didn't think he needed them anymore and she agreed. Our son is no longer a druggie!
Song Link: Bad Medicine by Bon Jovi
Well it's been a messy week at the Meehan house. We knew that there was a GI bug going around, but I was hoping it would miss Jeffrey. He wasn't feeling 100% on Friday and then on Saturday, he threw up on his Move and Groove Table. It was so disgusting. Brian had to take it apart and clean out all the little plastic pieces. If he hadn't gotten it clean I think we would have thrown it out. It smelled so bad, it could gag a maggot. (All thanks to my mother for that lovely saying). He seemed to be a little better on Sunday and Monday. He wasn't eating like he normally does but I thought, maybe he's just slowing down.
On Tuesday he went to daycare and fell apart. Poor little guy, he had diarrhea and a fever of 102. He was refusing food and didn't want any milk. Brian brought him home and tried to get him to take some plain pasta and unflavored Pedialyte. After spitting Pedialyte everywhere, I drove to Big M and got him some flavored ones. Luckily, he liked the fruit flavor and polished off five ounces.
Brian took him to the pediatrician on Wednesday and they said we were doing all the right stuff. They said keep him hydrated, let him rest and give him Motrin every six hours and then three hours later start Tylenol every six hours. That way when the Motrin wears off, the Tylenol will be there to keep the fever down. Bri dropped him with me at work so he could go to school and then I took a half day. Little boy and I snuggled on the couch and watched movies. I finally got him to eat some oatmeal in the afternoon and fell asleep in the high chair. I took pictures (of course)!
Thursday his fever was down to 99 and his stomach seemed more settled but we kept him home from school just to be sure. He spent the day with dad and Uncle Kevin, playing at home. His fever was gone completely in the evening and we decided to put him to bed without meds.
Today we sent him to daycare and (so far) I haven't heard from them. Hopefully he's recovered. We're going to visit Brian's family this weekend to celebrate Christmas and Jeffrey's birthday.
Hope everyone else is healthy and hale. Love to you all!
Song Link: Sickness on the Wind by Tor Lundvall & Tony Wakeford
Jeffrey is officially on the charts! He had his one year visit to the pediatrician yesterday and all was well. For the first time his measurements were on the growth chart and not below it. He is 18 lbs 6 oz. (5th percentile for 1 year olds), 28 1/2 inches tall (10th percentile), and has a head circumference of 27 1/2 (15 percentile). Our little guy is growing up!!
In addition to his amazing growth, Jeffrey needed two vaccinations. He received the combination measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox as well as the first of the hepatitis A series. Otherwise Dr. Smith-Burke pronounced Jeffrey healthy and hale.
Later on in the evening Monica dropped by for Jeffrey's physical therapy session. Unfortunately he was in a fussy (and hungry) mood making him quite uncooperative. We are going to continue to work with him on cruising the furniture, drinking from a sippy or a regular cup and working on release skills (releasing toys out of his hands). Monica decided that we are finally ready for the occupational therapist appointment. We got approval for it in September but we waiting for Monica to feel that he was ready.
Link for Song: Growing Up by Peter Gabriel
In case you’ve ever wondered if 30+ people could fit into our humble abode, the answer is an astounding yes! Brian borrowed some chairs from the ambulance, I cleaned up the house, Jeffrey took a two hour nap; we were ready.At two o’clock everyone started showing up and it was a little bit disorganized until everyone settled in. 
We broke out the wine and started serving drinks and food. Everyone mingled for awhile and I must say we have really fabulous friends. Everyone got along well, the kids played together, and Jeffrey was a spectacular little guy. He was in a wonderful mood, crawling through the crowd, smiling and laughing. We are truly blessed with a pleasant little guy.
After everyone settled in and we finished eating, we decided to open gifts. WOW! Our friends are really generous! Jeffrey received a number of sorting toys, a rocking horse, his first fire truck(!), some beautiful clothing , books, his first xylophone, and … a vibrating rocket ship! It seems that once a child reaches 1, they should definitely be into sorting shapes. Thanks to our guests, he is now very well equipped. He has a new dinosaur to play with and of course some new stuffed animals and handsome clothes. He's even ready to play his first video game... er, Interactive Video Learning System. Everything was a big hit and we’ve been playing with all of our new toys in the days since the party. It was amazing to watch all of the older kids play with toys designed for a one year old.
Once the gifts were opened, it was time for cake. For Jeffrey, instead of a cupcake, I bought a “perfect” cake from Wegmans. It’s a cake designed for one person, and it's about 4" x 6" x 1.5". I figured that Jeffrey would smear some on his face and eat a bit and we would save the rest for later. I completely underestimated my child. He ate the entire cake and did not drop a single crumb. He was all about the sugar! All the other parents in attendance were amazed, to say the least, at Jeffrey’s appetite. Not to mention that he was hungry two hours later and eating stew. As an aside, he did not get sick, did not get fussy, or suffer any ill effects from the cake eating. He simply has a hollow leg.
Thank you everyone that was in attendance for Jeffrey’s one year celebration. As usual the generosity of our friends simply amazes us. We are lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives and we’re proud to have their help and advice as we raise Jeffrey.
Pictures will be forthcoming. Brian is extremely busy with school and knows that you are all anxiously awaiting. For those that couldn't make it, hopefully these pictures will suffice until we get a chance to get together.
We spent Christmas 2006 at the Sheppard household. It was quite a sight to behold. Brian and I almost drove past my parents house. It had… lights in the windows. Those of you that do not know my parents have no idea how unheard of this is. Normally there is one green light and one red light on either side of the front door. That’s as Christmassy as they get. But this year was different, this year little boy was coming and Mom celebrated by lighting the windows, buying a beautiful new tree and baking cookies.
It was a short holiday, we drove down Friday night and stayed until Tuesday afternoon. Jeffrey is doing better and better in the van. We try to leave at about five in the evening, that way he plays and talks to us for a few hours and then settles down to sleep. As usual with my family, it was a relaxed fare. Dad had to work on Saturday so we just hung around the house and visited with the various relatives that wandered by. Sunday we drove down to visit Uncle Stu. We do our best to stop by and see him whenever we are down. It was Jeffrey’s second meeting and he was quite the sight crawling down the hall of the nursing home. We finished visiting and were off to pick up Aunt Ann from her home and bring her back with us for Christmas. We spent the evening reading to Jeffrey and arguing about when to open gifts. Finally agreeing on opening the gifts to and from my parents on Christmas Eve (after the boy was in bed) and opening the Meehan gifts in the morning. Brian wouldn’t budge about opening his gifts the night before, he didn’t care if it was our tradition or not. The big hit of the night was when my father received his GPS. We’re all hoping he’ll know where he’s going from now on.
Christmas day dawned bright and early the following day and we commenced the opening of Jeffrey’s gifts. He got a ton of books and several CD’s of children’s songs from my parents. Brian and I got Jeffrey a LeapFrog Moove and Groove Table. It plays music and he just loves it! Mom also got him a mat that makes farm animal noises for the back of the seat in the car. When he kicks it, it makes the noise of whatever particular animal. When we drive now, it sounds like we’re being chased by a crazed barnyard. Jeffrey thinks it is hysterical. We like it because it has an off switch. J
Hope everyone else had a fantastic Christmas. Saturday is Jeffrey’s birthday party and I’ll posting news as soon as I can.
Cheers!
Jeffrey is one! Yeah!! We all finally made it J Jeffrey's birthday passed with little fanfare. We sang happy birthday to him about fifteen times and I danced like a moron for him, luckily he found it humorous. We gave him his first birthday gift, a Ride to Stride Learning Walker. Jeffrey's physical therapist thinks that it will help him on the road to walking upright. After a relaxing morning at home we went to visit friends Angela and Marc. Brian gave them a demo on the Rainbow and we hung out for a bit. Their kids, Luke and Zoe were a great source of entertainment for Jeffrey. After we visited, Brian and Jeffrey cheered the Red Dog volleyball team to victory as I played my weekly volleyball match. It was a good day, not too much fuss. Lots of friends called to wish our little guy a happy day. The real fun will come next Saturday at his birthday party. We're having people over, cake and Dibella's subs (yum). Kurt and Steph are coming out from Albany (and hopefully Nichole and Tiff too!) Jeffrey will be surrounded by friends and they can help us celebrate our little miracle.
Speaking of miracles, Jeffrey got another birthday buddy yesterday. Victoria Brugger was welcomed into the world by her proud parents yesterday. Check them out at their blog, and see how their doing. It was a little crazy for them as well, but all three appear to be doing well. We especially want to thank them for having her on Jeffrey's birthday, so that we never forget the date! Congrats guys, can't wait to meet your beautiful girl. Jeffrey's getting his flirty smiles all ready for her.
As a side note, I know I've been slacking but I'll post something about Christmas later this week.
