Bilirubin down

Good news - bilirubin count is finally on the way down so we're finally done with the daily heel sticks. Part of the problem the last two days had been her lack of, er, output. Apparently bilirubin is removed from the body through poop and she wasn't pooping so we were instructed to get children's glycerin suppositories, cut one in half, insert (I know, ew) and wait. Bjorn kindly volunteered to do the dirty work and about 9 last night, he put her on the diaper table for the procedure that somehow, she slept through. Within about a minute, before the diaper even went back on, she had pooped and managed to have three more dirty diapers in the next hour. She hadn't been particularly fussy yesterday, but I imagine she felt much better afterwards.

Today Bjorn took her for her doctor's appointment where her bili count was down to 17.6 from 18.1 yesterday. Apparently once the counts start to go down, they rarely come back up so she should be home free from jaundice. Jaundice certainly isn't that big a deal, nothing like what's happening over here, but it was still a little scary and we're glad it's over. Our next appointment isn't for another week.

While Bjorn was at the doctor's, I took Andy to our regular Friday playgroup to try to get some one on one time with him. It was good for both of us to see our friends and check out some more Thomas books. This time as we looked at the books on the shelves, he kept saying, "We have that one," to just about every title. I do believe we have read every Thomas book in the entire Fairfax County Library selection at least half a dozen times so it's funny that he's just NOW catching on to that fact. I suggested we pick another type of book and he said no and opted for two Thomas books instead. You can't blame a guy for knowing what he likes.

I do it!

We have officially reached a stage where Andy wants to do just about everything himself. "No, I do it!" is a common mantra. Unfortunately, for a lot of things, he can't quite do it himself so I have to be standing close enough for when he's ready. Sometimes he gets quite revved up about it that it sparks tears when I have the nerve to do something, like put a straw into his yogurt drink or put the jam on his toast for him. It's cute. And annoying.

And after a few successes at potty training, we're back to him not wanting to go near the potty or even talk about it. Even my bribes of chocolate, cookies, Thomas underwear and crack cocaine aren't getting any interest. The other night, I conned him into sitting on the potty before his bath. He complained his "penis is empty" so after a bit, he got in the bath where he promptly told me he was peeing. Lovely. I am trying not to push, figuring he'll let me know when he's ready, but the other side of me is thinking he's three now and it's time to get moving on this.

As for the baby, she seems quite content where she is for the time being and is wreaking havoc on my system again. I've had some nausea off and on the past week (hello old friend vomiting, I haven't missed you) and I've now got heartburn with such force that I am trying to avoid just about everything except bananas and plain toast, which doesn't seem to be making a difference. In researching possible remedies, I picked up What to Expect When You're Expecting and their answer was that heartburn can be avoided by eating healthy and not gaining much weight early in the pregnancy. What good does advice like that do me? Nothing like kicking a 9 months pregnant woman when she's down.

The Patient

Andy is still sick today. He did sleep better last night, as did I since Bjorn got up with him twice while I slept through the whole thing. Poor guy still has fever, runny nose, goopy eyes and loose stools, but generally he's in pretty good spirits. Bjorn stayed home with him most of the day until I got home about 3 p.m. so Bjorn could head to the office. Fortunately, he has a few retail clients that are open until 9 p.m. so we both ended up having a mostly full workday despite Andy illness.

Meanwhile, if you're familiar with the Thomas the Tank Engine toys and shows, you will likely get a kick out of this. More proof that to me that wine and children do mix.

Welcome Tivo 2.0

Sure, with a new kid on a way we have lots of reasonable things to be spending money on, like baby clothes and supplies. Heck, maybe some bedding and decor. Perhaps a stroller than can accommodate two. But rather than do any of that, Bjorn so kindly bought me a new Tivo. He is clearly a sweet, kind man who will be honored now and in the afterlife. Sure, he bought it partly to make up for all the hours and hours he's spending reffing youth football. And sure, it turns out my love and forgiveness can be bought (although sad that the price tag is so low).

In any event, I wanted one that we could use upstairs. Andy loves watching Thomas and Friends that we have Tivoed downstairs since it comes on during the day. Letting him watch one Thomas before bed is easy since they're only five minutes, but afterwards, he pitches a fit about having to go to bed and I'm getting too big and he's getting too heavy to carry all the way upstairs. This also means I can record the programs that Bjorn would mock me for recording on our communal Tivo (namely anything on SoapNet).

The new system installed like a charm although my cheap Trutech TV from Target won't work with the Tivo remote so I have to use two remotes, one for Tivo and another for power and volume. I was also surprised to realize that we have to pay separately (on two bills, oddly) for each Tivo in the house. The new deal is only $6.95 a month, but still...it's irritating after already sending them $12 a month. I do love it though.

Operation Big Boy Bed

We're still gearing up for Operation Big Boy Bed. It's involving more moving parts only because his current room is too small to accommodate all his stuff and a twin sized bed so we're swapping the computer room with his room. The bad part is it turns out we have lots and lots of crap in both rooms (shocker) that needs to get sorted first. It feels good to shed a lot of stuff we don't need, but I'm getting some angry looks from the big boys in the house for disrupting their very busy schedules of sitting around. I'm also turning myself into a martyr about the whole thing. I'm sure they love that, too.

I did go out and get a bed rail for the twin bed (see left). The twin is actually one I inherited from Liz ages ago (she'd probably be shocked to realize I still have it). I would like to paint it from the wood color to white, I think. I'd also like to paint a wooden bookcase, but I think I'll do first things first and make the room switch and worry about decor later. I do want to get out with Andy this week and pick out some new sheets for the bed. Since he's not getting a racing bed or anything crazy like that, I might succumb to a Thomas and Friends pattern. It goes against my nature, but it just makes him so happy that it's hard to argue.

The weather here in Virginia is just dreadful. The drive to Annapolis for the baptism today involved pouring rain both ways and very limited visibility on the Beltway. If we didn't have to be there, it would have been a great day to hunker down, watch She's Having a Baby and Adventures in Babysitting that have been on TBS on loop all weekend.

More Thomas

Andy is fascinated with Thomas right now, and not necessarily in a good way. It all started when I checked out a book from the library with several Thomas the Tank Engine stories in it. He loved, loved, loved them. Once we realized he loved that, we figured why not Tivo a couple of the episodes and watch them later. Now it's like a mantra he chants over and over again, "More Thomas, More Thomas," hoping that we'll eventually give it. It's like he's joined a cult or something the way he says the name over and over again. He even woke up the middle of the night a couple of days ago and in his haze of sleep, he called out for Thomas. It's like Dylan on 90210 only without the weird guy in the wheelchair. Well, kind of.

My folks were here this weekend and I have some fun pictures to post once we get done cleaning out the basement in anticipation of the new floors tomorrow. It was great seeing them and Andy can now say "Grandmother" (although it tends to come out "Grand-mare" instead) and "Pop." It was really neat seeing him recognize them from the pictures and immediately warm up.

Edited to add the picture of my dad and Andy "jumping" off the basketball hoop base.