How do I know if Will has a fever?

Just one of the questions that I ask every "mom" friend. The answer is always the same..."You'll Know!!!" Will has felt a little warm before but nothing like anyone has ever described (being hot from head to toe).

Yesterday Will had his 6 month shots plus a flu shot. He was running a low-grade fever of 100.5 in the evening (which is expected from shots), and I could tell just by touching his head. I was proud of my mommy instinct! I gave him some Tylenol and he played like normal until bedtime. At 11:30 he was SCREAMING! I went to get him and I when I picked him up I instantly realized what everyone had been talking about - I kissed his head and he didn't feel warm, he was HOT! Sure enough his temperature was 102.5. He was screaming as I was trying to get him dressed and this woke JT up. We were both panicked so we decided to be the classic example of a new parent and called the doctor in the middle of the night. To our surprise, the doctor answered the phone...no leaving a message and waiting for someone to call me back, no nurse triage, the actual doctor on call! I told her I couldn't remember what the temperature was that I should be concerned about and she said 104 or his temp now if Tylenol couldn't get it down. I had just given him the medicine so we had to wait and see. Just like old times, we paced the house and sang to him. After about 45 minutes he was cool and calm so we put him back in his crib and he slept the rest of the night.

What a helpless feeling! I know this is the first of many fevers. I know it will be worse when he is actually sick. He woke up happy and with some crazy hair! Apparently he sweat that fever out through his head - it was to cute to try to brush it out.

So glad that you are feeling better Will! Mommy and Daddy will always wish that we could transfer your pain to ourselves.

Adventures in the Kitchen

Well, I think we all know how this is going to turn out...disaster!

Bill and Rita gave me the Baby Bullet for a shower gift. I can make my own baby food with it. It is really just a glorified food processor, but it comes with great little storage cups, menus, and recipes. I decided that I was going to use store bought baby food first to see which types of things Will actually enjoys eating before I slave away in the kitchen. He loves sweet potatoes, so that has been my first attempt.

I picked out a sweet potato and boiled it.

While that was boiling, I cleaned all of my equpiment and set it all out.

It turned out perfect! Time to put it into little storage cups now, but the blender seems to bulky so I think I'll remove the base to make it easier.

Really?!?!?! Did I not just wash this and know that there was no bottom?!?!?! So my final product resulted in 3 Baby Bullet storage cups instead of 10. At least the little storage cups are still smiling.

Oh well! Lesson learned. Better luck next time...

By the way, Will loved my sweet potatoes! He didn't care that I made a mess.

Will - 6 Months

Happy 6 Months Old Will!

Weight - 17 lb 9 0z
Height - 27 inches

This month has been full of smiles! His smile seems to get bigger everyday. His is a happy baby most of the time. He really doesn't get too worked up unless he is hungry or tired (which is most of the day now that I think about it).

Food - We finally moved on from rice cereal despite his refusal to eat with a spoon. He would close his lips as tight as possible whenever he saw the spoon coming. He is ALWAYS reaching for our plates though, so I decided to try feeding him while we were eating. Worked like a charm! I gave him some sweet potatoes and he couldn't get enough! Now he has no problem taking a spoon. Thank goodness!

MAO came to visit and got to spend some quality time with Will. They watched some UT football together, played with Maggie, and did what they do best - rock in Cracker Barrell's rocking chairs. We found one just Will's size!




His first tooth has broken through. I knew it was coming because he has been chewing on anything and everything. He has been rubbing his ear which I read was a sign. I feel very lucky and am glad to say that teething isn't a big issue for him. It didn't wake him up in the middle of the night or any of the other things I've heard that come along with it. I know I may be speaking too soon, but hopefully the rest will go as smoothly as this one. It's a sharp little tooth!

Will isn't crawling yet, but he is very mobile with his scooting and rolling. I am NOT ready for him to crawl, because I am really NOT ready to chase him around the house. Maggie is going to be in for a shock when this happens too! Maggie is usually what he scoots towards. When he sees something he wants, he is going to get it. Determination!

He is big into elctronics now - cell phones, remote controls, cords, etc. Basically if we are using it, he wants it! I gave him one of JT's toy cell phones to play with. He knew it wasn't the real thing; he won't have anything to do with it!

Will turned 6 months old while we were at the beach. This was his first big vacation and plane ride. (I am writing another post about that, so I won't go in to all the details now.)

What a wonderful 6 months! Happy Half-Birthday Will!!!!!

Maggie and Will

Will has a puppy dog, puppy dog, puppy dog.
Will has a puppy dog; her name is Maggie.

And everywhere that Will goes, Will goes, Will goes;
Everywhere that Will goes, Maggie goes too.

They're gonna be best friends, best friends, best friends.
They're gonna be best friends, Maggie and Will.

I have been wanting to post about Maggie and Will for a while now, and just never seemed to get around to it. I can not express how pleased I am with Maggie's affection for Will. She LOVES him, and he LOVES her even more.

I'm not sure at what point during my new-mommy delirium that I made up this song posted above, but I can almost guarantee it was within the first few days we were home. When Will would cry, I would pace the house and Maggie would follow my every move. JT says he is surprised that I haven't worn tracks in the floor from circling through the living room, kitchen, and dining room. I started singing this song (the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb") and it would always calm Will down or put him to sleep. He was probably falling asleep just so he didn't have to hear me sing - hahaha!

The first few days we were home, Maggie didn't really pay attention to Will. The crying didn't seem to bother her. She went through a major depression because I was not allowed to play ball with her and people were always coming over and not paying attention to her. Luckily she never associated this with Will; her anger was directed more towards me and I was pretty sure that she hated me since I was the obvious reason for her no longer being the center of attention. We made it a rule that anyone coming to visit had to play with Maggie first, then they could see Will. This seemed to help a lot, and Maggie and I were able to bond again.

Maggie's protective instincts kicked in right away. She was next to Will at all times. If someone was holding him, she was standing beside them. If someone was walking around with Will, she was walking with them. Nobody was going to make it out the front door with Will without Maggie letting us know about it.

Will and I rarely moved from this spot. Maggie stayed right beside us.

I always fed Will in his room, especially in the middle of the night. Maggie was no longer forced to stay in her kennel, so she would come in there with me. It is not surprising now to find her sleeping his room sometimes. She is good at checking for monsters underneath the crib.

The first thing that Will squealed and laughed at was Maggie. He thinks she is hilarious! He loves watching her catch the ball, and when she brings the ball back to us, he squeals with delight. No doubt they are going to spend millions of hours playing together.

One of the first things Will does in the mornings is look around for Maggie. He smiles and squeals when he sees her. I usually sit in the floor with him in my lap so she can come up to him and he will pet her. So sweet!

They play together on the playmat. Will can scoot across the floor, and Maggie is always the target. Maggie used to get up and move when he got close, but she is more tolerable to it now and usually lets him touch her.

Maggie's favorite toy is "Bruiser". Will is interested...

Got it! Maggie will not be happy this, because she isn't allowed to play with Will's toys. Maggie will not tolerate this double-standard.

And after all that playtime, they nap together.

Maggie was not feeling well last week. She didn't want to play and you could tell that Will was missing her. I know that sounds crazy, but he seriously looked for her when he was playing. She finally came around and Will put his hand on her paw to comfort her. She put her other paw on top of his. My heart melted...
I am so glad that this relationship has started off so well for them. They really are going to be best friends. We are proud of you Maggie! You are a great big sister!