Milk Allergy!

We found out on Monday that Aaron has a milk allergy. I gave him some pear yogurt for lunch/snack. I specifically chose pear since he had eaten pears before without a problem. He started to fuss after a couple of bites. I figured he was getting tired, especially when he started rubbing his eyes.

At this point, he only had a couple of reddish splotches on his face. I didn't think much of it since this typically happens when he rubs his eyes. He continued to fuss and cry so I thought I'd nurse him for a few minutes. Aaron nursed for a minute or two and I thought it looked like his face was much more red than before. I picked him up and was quite shocked to see his little face was covered with hives and his eyes were very swollen.

At this point I knew he was having an allergic reaction to the yogurt. I knew there wasn't any time to call his pediatrician. Allergic reactions are very serious and require immediate attention. So I said, "Alright kiddo, we have to go to the hospital." By this time his whole face was swollen, his eyes were nearly swollen shut and he had mucus pouring out of his nose and mouth.

As I put him in the carseat, a terrible thought crossed my mind. What if his reaction continues to worsen? I would be driving and wouldn't be able to see him. What if he stopped breathing? Would I even know? It was then that I knew my only option was to call 911. The swelling was horrible and he was sneezing non-stop. There was so much mucus that I was having a hard time being able to tell if he was breathing ok. I dialed 911 which felt very surreal, but I was so relieved that help was on its way.

As the ambulance and fire truck pulled up to the house, Aaron smiled and squealed. Through his nearly swollen closed eyes he watched the new people come to the door. That was a big relief, I knew he was going to be ok if was trying to smile. The paramedics checked him out and said he was breathing alright. We all agreed that taking him to the hospital would be best, just to make sure the reaction was subsiding.

Shortly after arriving at the hospital John met us. I was very happy to have him there! After being checked out and observed for a little while we were released to go home. The doctor said no more milk of any kind until one year, I said "No problem." So, we will have to wait and see. Hopefully Aaron will outgrow this allergy. We are so thankful that the reaction wasn't worse! Praise God!

Here are some pictures from the hospital. You can see how puffy his face was. When I called 911 he looked about five times worse, much more swollen, with bright red splotches and hives. I still can't believe how quickly it happened!

Poor baby! We are so glad he is better!

Aaron Seven Months

Time continues to fly and I can't believe we already have a seven month old. Aaron is doing great and he is even sleeping a little bit better these days. He is now sleeping in his own room. Aaron loves his solid food and will eat almost anything! He is becoming more wary of people he doesn't know. Often times he will cry if there are too many new face surrounding him.

Milestones/accomplishments lately: He is REALLY close to crawling! He will half commando crawl half real crawl. Being able to move and get to things thrills him to no end. He can also sit unassisted. We give him bits of food and he uses his pincer grasp to pick them up. Aaron reaches for us when he wants to be picked up. He gives us slobbery kisses!

Favorite things: Standing while using our hands for balance. He loves to do this and never gets tired of it. Aaron loves to bang things and makes lots of noise. Other favorites are "playing" the piano, having us sing to him, playing with my hair, and his monkey toys. He loves his dog Adah. Aaron will now scoot to Adah and "pet" her.

We are really starting to see his little personality! He is such a blessing.

Aaron Six Months (a little late)

It's hard to believe that a half a year has already gone by since Aaron arrived. Babyhood truly does fly by! We are really starting to see some of Aaron's personality. He is very laid back and usually goes with the flow. He becomes easily frustrated when something isn't going his way. He is a very sweet boy who has a smile for anyone that will talk to him. Aaron had his six month appointment and he is right on track. He is still a long and lean boy at 16 lbs 5oz and 27 1/4 inches long. Aaron, you are such a happy kiddo and you bring us so much joy! We praise God for you! Happy half Birthday baby boy!

It has been a big month for our baby boy. He is now eating two solid meals a day. His favorite foods so far are bananas a carrots. Avocados did not go over well, he spits them out every time. He also has TWO teeth now! We a a rough few weeks while the teeth came through. He is now back to being a happy boy. In the past month Aaron has been on a couple of trips with us. One to Red Mountain Pass (see previous post) and one to Dillon Colorado. Aaron does very well with traveling. We have never had any screaming episodes in the car. Generally he will sleep or quietly play. He fits in with our family perfectly!

Milestones/accomplishments lately: Aaron rolls all over the place now. He army crawls a little bit. He pushes his chest up and gets on his knees but hasn't done them at the same time yet. He babbles and grabs everything in sight. Aaron is getting very close to sitting unassisted, he can last a minute or two without falling. Right now he is working on crawling and using his pincer grasp.

Favorite things: Aaron loves play with our hands and faces. He loves to stand and jump with our help and "fly". Eating and playing in his food is another favorite pass time. He enjoys diaper changes, getting tickled and kissed, bath time and going on walks. Aaron also LOVES to "pet", watch and get kisses from his dog Adah.

Red Mountain Pass

Last week we spent long weekend at a cabin on Red Mountain Pass. We went with my parents, our good friends Lee and Karen as well as Karen's parents. It works out great since since John and Lee are friends from college, Karen and I grew up together and our parents are great friends. We are so thankful for generous parents that treat us to such wonderful vacations! Caleb (Lee and Karen's three month old son) and Aaron did great with the altitude. The cabin was at 10,400 feet so there was some concern about how the babies would do. Aaron seemed to have a little trouble sleeping. Although, he also has his first tooth coming in so that may have had something to do with it as well.

We spent our days enjoying some amazing backcountry skiing! We had a perfect ski hill just across the street from the cabin. This made it easy to trade off watching the babies. The weather was beautiful the the entire time. There was some concern about the weather and avalanche danger before we arrived. The avalanche danger had been extreme the week before our trip. With the exception of one minor scare, the snow was just fine! Of course we all skiing with probes, shovels and avalanche beacons.

Since my Birthday was a few days after our trip, we celebrated at the cabin. This was a complete surprise to me. Everyone sang to me and my Mama made me a very delicious carrot cake! I loved being able to celebrate with family and friends in such a gorgeous location. Another highlight was enjoying an evening at the Ouray hot springs with Lee and Karen. The hot springs are beautiful! We are so blessed to have enjoyed such a fun and safe trip.

So excited to go here:

June 2010! I can't wait!

Aaron's first Christmas

Here are some pictures of Aaron from his first Christmas! Enjoy!

Aaron Five Months

We made it through the holidays! It was so much fun this year with Aaron, even though he is too young to understand. Christmas ended up being pretty crazy this year. John's sister came home from France on Christmas Eve so we didn't have our usual celebration with John's side. Then my brother ended up in the hospital. My parents drove back to Grand Junction on Christmas to be with him. The day after Christmas we headed west as well. We are glad Eric is doing much better now! With all of the craziness we are so thankful for the real reason for Christmas! For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

We did do some celebrating in the midst of everything. It was fun to open presents with/for Aaron. He of course loved the bright bows and crinkly paper. He got some very cute outfits and toys. My parents gave us a backpack carrier which we can not wait to use! As always it was wonderful to spend time with both sides of family.

Aaron continues to be a very happy kid who rarely cries. His easy temperament more than makes up for the fact that he is an atrocious sleeper. He will smile for just about anyone and laughs all the time. It seems like he figures out something new every few days. I think he is somewhere around 15 lbs and 28 in long. He is long and lean! We can't believe how fast he is growing!

Milestones/accomplishments lately: Aaron can now roll from back to tummy AND from tummy to back! He grabs his feet and sucks on his toes. He can sit and stand assisted. He is quite accurate when he grabs things now. The other day he army crawled for the first time.

Favorite things: His changing table, his hands and feet, my hands, hair and face, dad's beard, putting anything and everything in his mouth, standing and jumping (with our help) and being tickled!