Strong Lungs and A New Shade of Purple!

It's wonderful to know that our son's lungs are growing strong. Unfortunately, the way he lets us know is by screaming his bloody head off. The past couple of nights have been rough. Brady has been happy and playful during the day but come evening, his patience is kaput. For a good 45 minutes, Brady's face and fists turn a new shade of purple while he throws his head back and wails. To make things worse, he only wants Mom to calm him down and the evenings are usually Dad-time. A variety of things have set him off. For instance, he had a kick-ass time in his bath on Tuesday but once we took him out the fit began. And let me tell you, once he's off to psychotown all I can recommend is a stiff drink. Fortunately, the screaming fits are coupled with a good night's sleep. Tim gave him a bottle last night at 11pm and we didn't hear a peep from the boy until the alarm clock went off this morning. Wow.

A change of pace today: the fit came early. It started after Brady decided to end tummy-time by flipping over. I made the mistake of putting him back on his tummy. Again, the good thing is that he passed out, thereby giving me time to blog.

To update you on Brady's Crib for the past week or so, here's a quick summary:

THANKSGIVING:
Brady took his second road trip. This time we went to visit Grams and Bubs in Hilton Head. Brady was a champ again in the car. He slept most of the time and chewed on his hand while watching his big brother fill the car with fish-breath from the back seat. The length of the drive required a bottle and a diaper change each way. I highly recommend changing a diaper in the car. Not only are the fold-out changing stations filthy, but it's really dang noisy in those bathrooms!

TIME AT HOME:
Brady's kickin' a wicked awful milk rash on his neck and chin area. The bibs make it worse by holding the moisture in the same position. So we've axed the all-day bib. It seems to be helping a little bit...along with a regimen of Aquaphor and Johnson's pure cornstarch.

We're also decorating the house for Christmas. The effort progresses surprisingly slow and I've had to pick a couple pieces of glitter off the poor boy. But we're having fun.

Brady is getting better and better at tummy-time. His back muscles are getting strong and he can hold his head and chest up off the floor now. He has also started grabbing his toys in addition to batting at them. He has also started holding on to his bottles, etc. It's all sporatic, but occurring more frequently.

We're still working toward our goal of napping in the crib. He's getting better at putting himself to sleep. But he still wakes up when he drops his paci. Thereafter, he starts playing and talking to his pinwheel mobile or his Emma & Billy painting. Baby steps. He did nap in yoga class allowing me to actually participate! Awesome.

Now, I know we usually end each blog by saying "Yippee! Dad is home", but honestly, I don't know how we're going to feel about that today. Sorry Daddy! We're hoping for the best!