Thomas Cash, Drama Queen

What can I say? The kid will put me in an early grave! I went to work on Wednesday and was planning to come home at 2:30 to watch Thomas. Eugene and I had a slight disagreement that morning. I was planning on coming home, and he had called his mom to babysit. I am not real keen on that, but I will explain more about that in a second. So I went to work, expecting to come home to a house with just T and me home.

I get a text message at noon saying his mom and niece are at the house. SIGH!!! I go home about 2:15 and Thomas wakes up. He was talking and babbling in his crib. Eugene's 6 year old neice goes into the bedroom and is real quiet. I go and check on her and she had gotten Thomas out of his crib (How? I don't know....) I told her she was too little and she said that Grandma lets her carry Thomas around (YIKES!!!) To expand on that...his mom does not pick Thomas up, or talk to him, or interact with him at all. Mostly, she watches TV and drinks soda. And eat the center block of brownies I had just made.

I was home all of 5 minutes and all of a sudden Thomas spits/pukes up. But it's not white it is reddish brown. And rusty smelling. It looks like blood and I am kind of freaking out. What happened when I was gone? Did Thomas get dropped? THIS IS WHY I DON"T WANT HER WATCHING HIM!!!!!!

Eugene's mom comments "It's not anything I would worry about". HUH???? (What if I had come home at 5? Would she have even said anything?) He spit up twice, the first time, his bib had about 6 spots the size of quarters on it. I got the bib off, and he spit up again and the entire front of his shirt was bloody (about baby fist sized.) I immediately called the Dr. and he told me to take Thomas to Urgent Care. I get there and they are asking questions and telling me it's probably not blood. Then they test the bib I brought along and sure enough, it's blood.

In about 2 minutes there were 10 people in the room trying to get an IV in and arrangements were being made to transport both of us to St. Joeseph's in Marshfield. Let me tell you an IV in a baby is very bad. The arm vein blew, the foot vein blew, and they finally got in in the right foot. There was lots of screaming and crying (although, surprisingly, not from me). Then we were in the ambulance going to Marshfield. I got to stay in the back. The crew told me they usually put the parent up front because they are basketcases...but I seemed pretty calm. {My basketcaseness is usually confined to my head. I was thinking...."this kid is going to die..."} Throughout this whole drama, Eugene is stuck at work.

We get to Marshfield and a whole bunch of Drs. are waiting for us. The are concerned that he is bleeding internally, but they comment that overall, he is still smiley. T is just smiley...it has no bearing on how he is feeling.

The pediatric gastroenterologist comes in and asks me how I knew it was blood. {It smelled rusty/copper pennyish) Then he asked what I was most concerned about. I told him "Something rupturing at home at 2am and we live 20 minutes from the nearest hospital which is not equipped to deal with babies. Or he has bowel intussusception. (When intussusception occurs, part of the intestine collapses into itself. It folds into itself like a collapsible tube--like an antenna folding up--with one part slipping inside another part. This makes the intestines not work properly. Intussusception occurs most commonly in babies between 5 and 12 months of age. Boy babies are affected twice as often as girl babies. )

He then asked if I was a nurse. I looked at him and said, "No, it's much worse. I am a librarian. I have free time, and I watch the Discovery Health Channel. I realize I am paranoid, but there is something not right with my baby." He laughed and told me that Thomas fit the profile, but he didn't think that was it. He was worried that if he was bleeding and something happened at home, we were too far away for anything to be done if it were serious. So we decided that the best way to make sure nothing was wrong was to scope and ultrasound him. Both tests came back fine. So we still have no idea why he spit up the blood. I am more at ease knowing nothing major is wrong.

Anyways, T wants to give a shout out and a happy birthday to his lactose intolerant homie, Lily. Woo Hoo Lily! Happy 2nd birthday! Present is in da mail....

Here are some newer pictures of Mr. Mischief... The first three he is playing hide and seek...
The bottom one? The kid literally devours books....

New and Improved! 3x bigger than the average baby...

So, for those of you that remembered Thomas as a little sickly baby (early January) I am pleased to announce our new and improved baby. Stronger! Happier! 3 x larger!

Yes. Thomas is what is now being referred to within the family circle as "the monster baby". He wears 12 month shirts and 6-9 month pants. He has a melon head so I call him sputnik. The kid is growing by leaps and bounds! I just bought 9 month ones for him about 2 weeks ago, and they are so last week.

We even broke down and bought the next car seat...the Britax marathon. It is supposed to last until he reached 4 ft. or 65 pounds. Which, at this rate, might take him to the age of two.

He was been rolling over, but isn't "on a roll" yet. He hates tummy time (he whimpers and sucks his hand).

At his 3 month pictures in early Feb he was 15 pounds. So I am guesstimating his weight is now between 16 and 17 pounds. He is 27 1/2 inches long.

He is not yet 4 months old.

I am all for another baby as Thomas already looks like a toddler to me. Eugene wants to hold off as he is fearful we might have another boy and then when they are teenagers, we will have to declare bankruptcy just to feed them.

Thomas kicked of a trend in our family (well, extended family, some of whom I prefer not to be around) There was Thomas (10/29) Joseph (12/29), a cousin's little girl (1/29) my cousin Tommy's little boy (1-30) another cousin had a girl (2-19) and her younger sister who is still in high school is due in July. 6 babies 9 months....

Here are some pictures of Thomas playing undercover detective...

Uncle Adam! Look! I got a fatcap just like you! You know....Gene Hackman was in a movie called "The Package..."

And then, I kid you not, I found the burnt monkey right next to the fire extinguisher.... OR "So you saw the dead deer on the side of the road and felt it needed loving? Is that correct sir? What led you to make that assumption?

I find it out that neither of my parents look like Adam, yet I do...perhaps they really aren't my parents....I need to conceal my identity.

Thomas likes to suck his thumb and wave...he's a multitakser....

Time for another drink! Hey Lily, how can you resist this face? (he does have my "eyebrow" thing still) What say, me, you and a bottle of milk-free formula? Know what I'm sayin?

New Job

So, things are going SOOO MUCH better! I am excited to go to work again, and I haven't felt that way in oh, about 4 years. My last day at the old job was...whats the word... "ehh". I had to get up super early so we could go to breakfast at 8am (did anyone remember I had a baby?) My $4 breakfast was generously paid for, and then i was given a gift of office supplies (and when I say that, I mean they went to the storeroom and got extra office supplies.) Paperclips, rubberbands, a ruler, some liefsavers (PEPPERMINT!!!), a pack of post-its. It was a "Director's Bag".

I did not get an exit interview as I wanted, but I still have to fill out my "exit interview questions. So I will be answering thoroughly.

Anyways, the new job. There is lots to be done, but I'm loving it. I have been cleaning and organizing, getting a feel for things, and meeting the patrons. Which is actually quite easy as about 75% were at the family reunion this summer :)

I find it odd that Nekoosa has 2500 people, yet they have a library director, who is paid decently (not as well as my job at the other place, but still pretty well). We also have a new library. The other place had 5 times the population, a library about 1/3 the size, and less staff. Go figure.

The Library Board director is just an amazing wonderful woman. She's been so a joy to work with. In fact the whole library Board is younger people who want to get things done. It's just so much fun to go into work!

Stretch Armstrong, Superhero

Thomas is the stretchiest baby I have even seen. I knew when I was pregnant that he was stretchy, but no one believed me. Finally, I have proof!

Sinners! I absolve you!

We tried to get a picture of him smiling. As soon as he sees the camera, he stops. Just like his father....
See? The stretching? I swear, he was doing this the entire last month of the pregnancy!!!
His beefcake photo

Here is is again, eating the hand sandwich....

Thomas with his 2nd cousin Nathaniel. Nathaniel weighs 9 pound 1 oz in the picture and is 21 inches long, so he is the exact size Thomas was at birth, jsut for a reference point...

Nathaniel is crying and Thomas is going to his happy place. Thomas almost never cries now. He's one of the happiest babies I know. When Meredith and I went to Madison, Joseph would cry, but Thomas is a mellow little fellow...

Bad Bad Bad

All right, I know already! Yes, I haven't blogged in a long while (I'm sorry Syren).

At year's end, Thomas was sick. He got down to 9 pounds 4 oz, but then I started to give him some formula and he started to do better weight wise. But he still couldn't breathe well. Long story short, he was put in the hospital for two days in isolation becasue he had Influenza A. Which is the normal flu, which is not a big deal unless you are a baby. Then it's a very big deal.

I went back to work on the 7th of Jan and Thomas was put in the hospital that evening. I called my boss and asked if it was necessary that I come in as the baby was in the hospital. Of course, it was extremely important that I be there. So important that he didn't even bother to come out or email me or anything. Note my sarcasm.

Anywho, on Jan 23, I put in my two weeks notice and now have a new job. I am the Nekoosa Library Director. I have more staff, a huge new building and free rein. The Library Board president is about my age and has two kids, so she has been fantastic. Thomas gets to come first (which is how it should be) and then the job. I cna leave to take him to appointments, I can go home for lunch, I don't have to work nights or weekends. I get vision, dental, and health insurance. Eugene gets all of those and life insurance too. My other job only gave me health insurance.

Here are the reasons you all read this thing anyways....here are pictures from the time Thomas went into the hospital up to this weekend. Since the last posting, Thomas has a new cousin, Joseph, born on 12-29, and second cousin, Nathaniel Thomas, born on 1-29. So there are three boys who are only three months apart in age!

My mom was talking to Thomas, and he was hanging on every word...

Here is Thomas acting like a goon. He gets that from me....poor kid

Thomas and his favorite pal, Albert. He has just discovered (2-11-08) that he can pick Albert up and chew on his ear.

Yes, I know what this looks like " 'ere"....but really, he just likes eating his hand.

But then he looks all happy and mellow. I call this the "Adam" smile....

He likes him his hand sandwich....

This was the day the packers lost to the Giants. We were rooting for Eli...he won it for younger siblings everywhere!!!

He can hold his rattle and shake it. But he always freaks himself out.

Me and Silas at Joseph's baptism. Silas is my brother's fourth kid, 3rd boy.

More pictures to come....

My New Cousin!

Here's a picture of me in the waiting room at the hospital. We were gonna go see my new cousin, but I had to stop at urgent care because I was a sick baby.
Here I am, looking all sad. I had been up for two nights! I can't breathe, my nose is all stuffy, and mom and dad are TERRIBLE at sucking the snot out of my nose. I sound terrible. Plus, because I'm all stuffy, I can't nurse well. So mom freaked out (again....I'm detecting a theme here) and took me into the walk in clinic. There were 6 other little babies there, so apparently we have the same bug.
She how fast mom turns on me? There she is holding Joseph Daniel while Ivy holds me. I'm not happy about mom going after the new baby! He was 8lbs 5oz and 18" long. I have decided to nickname him "Ball" because that's what he looks like. Uncle David said Meredith had a hard time, and that Joseph was 8 pounds and a big baby. Mom said "Try 9 pounds..."
Who's missing in this picture? That's right....Me...Thomas! Mom made me stay away from the baby because of my sniffles....but the other boys got to go by him. Oh well, that's ok....maybe his baldness is contagious :)
Here's a picture of daddy holding Joseph. Mom and dad kept saying how little he was. I can't wait to get better so I can hang out with him and teach him how to smile and fart loud.
Even though mom was hoping for Joseph to be born on December 28th, he ended up coming at 12:15 am on December 29th! So we are exactly 2 months apart!

In even better news, Mom has got a new job! YAYYYY! She is now going to be the director at the Nekoosa Library and will be working only 2 blocks away form home. No more long drive to work, no more 11 hour days on Saturdays, no more working on Sundays! She is so happy! And I'm happy too because that means I get to see mom during the day even. I don't have to go to daycare, and mom can come home to feed me!

Christmas!

This is me with three of my cousins: Ivy, Owen and Cedric. They pet my head alot. They are expecting a new brother any day now! My aunt Meredith was having contractions on Christmas. I got some toys and things were good. I got passed around a lot and cooed over. It was nice being the new baby at christmas!
Uncle Dave is holding me. I was so tired after being passed around like a flu virus. What no one knew at the time was that I was getting sick! Also, my cousins Andrew and Ben kept teasing me and saying I looked like Waldo from Where's Waldo. I told mom to tell them they were dating themselves....Waldo is so 90's...

Here's a picture of mom with my cousin Silas. He has a mouthful of soda. And he was really helpful in helping me open my presents. Grandpa said next christmas will be lots of fun with all the boys. Mom says she worries I might be torn limb from limb becasue the older boys get so excited, they're like a pack of wild coyotes.
Here's a picture of daddy, me and mom. I'm still really tired.
Hmmm....my plan to take over the universe....# 1. Look cute and vulnerable

Here's a picture of me with Grandma and Grandpa Engwall on christmas. Notice how well we color coordinate? We didn't even plan it!