Steph's Visit

Over the weekend my sister came to visit! It was so great to have her here. It was good to catch up and she was so helpful! Visiting our house is always good birth control for her.:)

Caleb had some funny comments this week. Steph mentioned the movie "Sex and the City." Caleb overheard her and said, "I love sex!" Steph and I were good and didn't overreact. I just changed the subject. We laughed so hard after he left the room though!

The other comment happened when I was nursing Isaac. Caleb walked up to me and asked, "Is he chewing on your chest? Why is he chewing on your chest?" I couldn't help but laugh. How did we go 10 months of breastfeeding without this coming up?! I just explained that God made mommies special and they can feed babies milk from their chest. He was happy with that and went off to play. These questions definitely catch you off-guard!

How about some positive news!

Cardale chilling in his stroller
Grandpa keeping Isaac happy with food

Diaper changes wait for no one!

Earlier this year Nate and I made reservations at Yankee Springs Campground to go camping with the boys. Our plans had to change once Cardale came along. No way we could sleep in a tent with two babies!:) So Nate and Caleb went camping while I took the babies to my parent's house. My parents live about 20 minutes from the campground, so we could stop by for an afternoon. Caleb loves camping just as much as Nate. They had a really fun time together. I enjoyed being at my parents and getting some extra help. It would have been hard camping with Isaac. He is crawling, but not walking and puts everything in his mouth. It would have been difficult to keep him happy at the campsite b/c it was kind of muddy. At one point we put Isaac and Caleb in the tent to play. Isaac did not like that and was pressing his face against the screen and screaming. Caleb was yelling at us, "I don't want to be in here with him!" The adults found it quite funny.

Cardale is a completely different baby! Now that he is feeling better he is more content and happy. His appetite is better and he's not as clingy. Thank you for all your prayers! I definitely have the tough moments, but not as bad as last week!

Latest Developments

So can you tell I decompress in the evening by blogging?:) Cardale (and us) had another stressful couple of days. On Monday evening we noticed that he was getting a rash and thought maybe it was an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin. He slept horribly that night, the rash spread, he was irritable and noticeably itchy. Most of Tuesday was spent trying to see a doctor (that story would take too long). Eventually we saw a PA who told us it was just heat rash and to keep giving him the antibiotic. I didn't agree with that diagnosis and neither did my Mom, so we disregarded it. (By the way, Deb and Renee, I'm not bashing PA's, just this particular one!) Cardale saw the Dr. today and he agreed it was an allergic reaction to amoxicillin.

It has been a rough 10 days for Cardale and our family. We knew foster care would be hard, but you never know what "hard" means until you're in it. I felt like today we are starting to see some sun through the clouds. Cardale is starting to make eye contact with us and he actually laughed a couple times. I wish I had a picture of myself yesterday. I did my first outing with all 3 kids. I had the diaper bag over my shoulder, carried Cardale in the infant carseat, had Isaac on my hip, and Caleb holding onto the diaper bag. I felt like a pack mule!:) I don't think I'll be doing many trips on my own with the kids.:)

Oh, and I forgot to mention last week that we got the results from Isaac's allergy test. He does have a milk allergy. He isn't allergic to any other foods, so that is a blessing. The Dr. said he may outgrow it in 6-12 months, we'll have to see. Now I need to learn how to cook dairy-free!

Improvements

This picture of Isaac cracks me up. His legs are so chubby. Isaac has learned to stand by himself. He has also learned how to walk behind his push toy. He is so proud of himself! He will be 10 months old tomorrow. Isaac is also learning the "limp body" trick. You know, when you try to remove him from something he shouldn't mess with and he goes limp so it's harder to pick him up. He can also be very dramatic when he's upset. He'll bend at the waist and lay his face on the ground and do a fake cry. I think he gets the drama from his Aunt Steph. Just kidding, Steph! You know we love you. He will try to share toys with Cardale but, pulls them away as soon as Cardale grabs for them. He also likes to grab Cardale's hair and pull himself up by it.

Cardale is doing alright. He's had a rough couple of days. He got a really bad cold and was spitting up alot of formula. I thought he had thrush, so I took him to the doctor. Turns out he has a double ear infection! I had no idea. He was sleeping thru the night while my kids always screamed all night. So Cardale is now on antibiotics and hopefully he feels better soon. I am also learning how to care for black hair. I called a neighbor to get some tips. It takes a really long time to pick his hair. His hair needs to be washed once a week and I put coconut oil in it daily. Caleb really likes touching Cardale's hair now because it smells like coconuts.:)

We also experience "The Perfect Storm" sometimes in our house-when all three kids are crying at the same time. That isn't at all stressful.:) Of course, then we have really great moments with the kids. We all went down to the waterfront and had supper while the kids behaved and had a great time. So the good and bad go hand in hand.

Thank You

I want to say, "Thank you!" I truly appreciate all of your comments. Your encouragement and support as we provide foster care is so helpful. These first couple of days have been stressful and I definitely have times when I wonder why we agreed to this in the first place. God has been encouraging us through you and verses I've been coming across.

My Mom was here helping the past two days, she was a huge help! Cardale was making progress and not crying everytime we put him down. However, he came down with a cold last night and was up every two hours and very cranky today.

I had a new experience today. I went to the county WIC office to get Cardale signed up for his benefits. Being a social worker, I always had clients who used WIC, but I had no personal experience with it. It is nice because Cardale's formula and baby cereal is covered by WIC. It is hard being a foster parent because you don't know much information about the child's medical background. So I answer alot of questions with, "I don't know."

We're thinking about hiring a junior high girl to help me out a couple times a week for a couple of hours. Hopefully that works out.

First Day on My Own

I thought I would post what my day was like. Writing down what I did today helps me get some perspective as well. Sorry if you don't find it interesting!

So Cardale was up at 1 am last night and Nate and I took turns comforting him til he fell asleep at 2:30. He then slept til 6:15 am! We were excited because we're trying to get him thru the night with no feedings.
6:30-fed Cardale bottle
7:00-gave Cardale to Nate and nursed Isaac
7:30-Nate went to work, got Caleb up
7:30-8:45-fed Cardale cereal, switched Isaac to highchair (we need another highchair soon!), fed Isaac food, got Caleb breakfast, (listened to Caleb constantly say, "Mommy your bowl is empty, you need to eat), inhale a bowl of cereal
8:45-9:15- got kids dressed, babies in bed for nap
9:15-10:15- relative peace! Got myself dressed, started laundry, cleaned up breakfast, Caleb washed all of the baby toys in the sink-he thought it was great!
10:15-Babies wake up, Cardale cries every time I put him down
10:45-fed Cardale bottle, nursed Isaac while Cardale screamed
11:30-gave Cardale cereal, got lunch ready
12:00-fed Isaac, lunch for Caleb and myself while holding Cardale on my lap
1:00- got kids in bed for naps
1:30-just laid down for nap and social worker called, grr!
2:00-off the phone and Isaac wakes up early from nap, got him settled down again
2:30-Cardale wakes up, and I let Caleb get up from his "nap"
3:00-fed Cardale bottle (thankfully Isaac was still asleep!)
3:30-nursed Isaac (while Cardale cries), my Mom calls and asks if she can come tomorrow to help out- of course!
3:45-Nate comes home from work early!! My husband is the greatest!
4:00-8:00-tag team with Nate until boys are in bed

Looking back over this post, I apologize for the schedule-it's not that interesting. It did help me realize that God is faithful and He got me thru the day, I prayed for that all day. There was only one time when I felt overwhelmed and wanted to cry. Caleb was so great today! He didn't have any tantrums and he tries really hard to make Cardale happy. The hardest part is Cardale's clinginess. I know we need to be patient and that he is overwhelmed with changes right now. I feel so bad when he's screaming and I can't pick him up because I'm nursing Isaac or something.

I have a question for you all. How many ounces of formula should a 6 month old be eating? We are giving Cardale 6 ounces, four times a day. Is that enough? Also, is it normal for babies who drink formula to spit up alot? He spits up after every feeding and when we put him down to sleep. It doesn't help that he likes to sleep on his stomach.

And Baby Makes 5

We have another baby in the house! Today we picked up baby Cardale. He is a foster child who will be staying with us for we don't know how long. He is 6 months old and a lightweight compared to our boys! So far he is a happy baby. He has been smiling at us and likes watching the boys. We've been prepping Caleb about another baby in the house and he is really excited today. He couldn't wait to meet Cardale and he has been very helpful. Isaac's reaction was adorable. He had just gotten up from his nap and Nate brought him downstairs to me. I was holding Cardale and Isaac just stared at him. Slowly Isaac's face went from one of interest to teary eyes and trembling lips to crying. Basically he was saying, "what is that baby doing on my Mom's lap?!" Isaac has since warmed up to him.

So life is going to be interesting around here. I love the last picture. I have that, "what did I get myself into?" look on my face. But, we feel God is calling us to this and we're trying to remember to not worry about tomorrow and know that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. We would appreciate all of your prayers!

Fun with Family

Grandma DeMaster and Caleb
Grandpa DeMaster and Isaac

This information is a little late, but oh well. For Mother's Day weekend the boys and I went to visit my grandparents. We drove out there with my parents. Nate stayed home for church stuff and homework. The trip was fun except for the car ride. The boys and I rode in the backseat of my parent's car. It was tight with carseats! My Grandma loves babies (they had 8 kids!) so she is always excited to see the boys.

This past weekend, Nate's parents came to visit. We hadn't seen them since Christmas so we were so thankful they made the long trip! The boys loved all the attention and we were able to play outside in the nice weather. We are so grateful for our family!