Bear Hug

Fair warning:  I will likely be too engrossed in the Olympics to do much posting in the next few days.  I LOVE the Olympics.  Can you blame me?  [Side note: does anyone else find this clip of the Today Show hosts competing in a race walking competition as utterly hilarious as I do?  Ryan Seacrest and Matt Lauer get me every. single. time (yes, I've watched it more than once).]


Anyway, I digress.  Dan was in Lake Tahoe two weeks ago for the wedding of our friends Ryan and Erin.  I hate that I missed the festivities, but heard that a fun time was had by all - and judging from the pictures, it was absolutely beautiful.  Congrats, you two!  Dan brought THE CUTEST present home for Lilly:

I got a magnet, which is also cute, but I'm too lazy to go back downstairs to snap a picture of it for your viewing pleasure.  Have you ever seen a cuter onesie?!  The bear is hugging it, hence the paws on the back. Get it?!  Bear hug?!?!?! It was a tad too big (saggy in the butt - I'm afraid she gets her lack of rear end from her Mother!), but I just couldn't resist letting Daddy's girl model her new threads:

SO cute, yes?!  I'll leave you with one more.  I know Lilly looks less than thrilled in this one, but she'd just finished laughing hysterically at Layla:

Happy gymnastics and swimming (and everything else) watching!  Oh yeah, and... YAY TEAM USA! 


Sarah

Poor Layla

Although I obviously didn't birth her, I consider Layla to be my "first born."  She was my baby for three years before Lillian's arrival, and she, too, is one of the best things that ever happened to us.  Layla hurt her paw over the weekend, and it has caused a lot of stress in the Baum household.

We took her to the beach with us for the holiday weekend.  Due to the nasty weather, we didn't take her onto the actual beach like we normally do.  Instead, she got several walks when it wasn't raining (on the pavement - we avoided mud puddles like the plague), and Dan took her to play on the tennis courts one day to keep her from getting nasty in the wet grass and mud.  Around Saturday night, we noticed that she was limping.  Her paw has been hurt before from walking on the pavement instead of in the grass, so we assumed that's what it was.  She was pitiful enough that Grandma Susie and Papa allowed her on the couch, though, as I mentioned before.  On Sunday, the limp was much worse.  When we got back home and settled, Dan examined her paw.  We were pretty sure it wasn't sprained or broken, because she didn't whimper or cry when we tried to touch it.  He noticed that she broke the nail that's on the side of her paw, and we assumed she was just experiencing some tenderness in her paw as a result.

When we woke up on Monday morning, not only was her limp even worse, but her paw was swollen to at least two times its normal size.  We were still thinking it had to do with the broken nail, and decided to wait and see if it would get better on its own.  We didn't want to take her to the vet and pay an exorbitant amount of money for them to tell us that it was her broken nail and it would get better on its own eventually.  However, as the day went on, her behavior worried me more and more.  She wasn't really eating, and she just wasn't herself.  She had no energy and was very lethargic - if you know Layla, you know that this is NOT normal.  I knew something was really wrong when she wasn't even interested in people food.  Her limp was so bad that Dan was carrying her up and down the stairs when she needed to go.  He did some internet research, cleaned her nail really well, and even iced her leg, which seemed to help with the swelling but not for long.

This morning when she wasn't better, we still couldn't decide whether to call the vet.  I wanted to take her in and have her checked out if for nothing else than peace of mind, but again, I didn't want to get charged an arm and a leg for it to turn out to be nothing.  It was when I was talking to my Mom about the situation that we made a decision.  She said, "You wouldn't hesitate to take Lilly to the doctor if something was wrong.  Layla is your child, too."  And I knew she was right (I know it's hard to believe that I was never a dog person before we got her!).  So, I sucked it up called the vet.  I described what was going on, and they said to bring her in as soon as we could.

Side note: my bff is awesome, because she is a mind reader and knew as soon as I told her we had to go to the vet that I was already worrying about how to get both the dog and the baby there and back, so she and Hadley came to play with Lilly.  THANK YOU, BESTIE!

When we arrived at the vet, I noticed that Layla's paw had started bleeding pretty badly.  No matter what the cost, I was immediately glad I'd taken her in.  They took her from me to examine her, and all I heard was her wailing.  It seriously broke my heart, and I almost cried.  They came in to tell me that she wouldn't let them near her paw, so they were going to have to sedate her so that they could shave it and take a closer look.  All I could see was dollar signs, but of course I agreed. 

Long story short, there was some sort of small puncture in her paw - the doctor said it could have been a thorn, or even a bug, or anything really - which created an abscess (Seriously?  I am about to have to spend $1281239128737 over a bug bite?!?!).  The abscess was severely infected.  The doctor said that the abscess had ruptured, which was why it started bleeding, and that she'd probably been in a lot more pain prior to the rupture.  I think he was right, because I noticed that once we got to the vet, while her limp was still there, it wasn't as bad as it had been at home.  He told me that he wanted to do an x-ray just to make sure there was no fracture or break; her paw was so swollen that they couldn't tell.  My poor baby!

Luckily, the abscess was the only problem - no fractures or breaks.  She has to take three pills - an anti-inflammatory and an antibiotic - twice per day for two weeks.  The vet told us that she will not be back to 100% until probably next week - he said there was a lot of swelling and that she was in a good amount of pain.  She is to try to rest and we are not to take her on walks until she stops limping and her foot looks a lot better.  Great, try telling that to the most energetic dog ever.  She was a real trooper, and I am so thankful that she is okay - and also I was pleasantly surprised because the vet bill was a lot less than we'd anticipated.  Score!  Isn't she pitiful? 

Layla, we are so glad you're okay.  We can't imagine life without you.  It was worth every penny we spent at the vet to make sure everything was fine. We hope you have a speedy recovery...and also that you will put your jealousy aside and start to love your little sister soon, because she sure does love watching you and giggling!

Sarah

Mama Bear

The inner mama bear was out in full force yesterday.  Well every day, really, but yesterday I truly wanted to hurt someone.  Why, you ask?  Because we had a "first," but NOT the good kind.  Yesterday, I had to take my baby to the doctor for her first sick visit, at a mere 6 weeks old.

This fact in itself thoroughly annoys me, because we have worked SO hard to follow doctor's orders.  The pediatrician told us not to take her in public (germs!) for 2-3 months, and by gosh we have not left this house.  Which has been even worse for me, considering I really have not left this house since Week 30 of pregnancy (stupid bed rest).  You can ask anyone that's come to visit, I am a hand washing nazi - and don't you dare get near my child unless I've physically seen you wash your hands.  So the fact that she's sick makes me feel like a terrible parent.  Obviously I know I couldn't have done anything to prevent this aside from not let anyone in the house until she was 2 months old, and it would have happened sooner or later anyway, but 6 weeks is just so early to already be sick, and my little baby is so pitiful that it breaks my heart.

Lilly woke up yesterday morning congested.  Normally I would not think anything of this - I guess her room must be a little dry or something because most mornings she wakes up a little congested.  In fact, I even specifically asked the pediatrician about this at her one-month check up, whether I needed to have her humidifier on full time or not, and she said no, that it was normal.  Yesterday, however, L was much more congested than normal.  I still may not have thought anything of it except the poor baby had this gunk running from her eyes, and that definitely hasn't happened before.  I called and left a message for the nurse just asking what I should do, if I needed to bring her in, etc.  We had our first experience with the rectal thermometer, which went better than expected, and thankfully Lilly didn't have a fever.  The pediatrician asked that we go ahead and come in anyway since Lilly is so young - they didn't want to chance it (this is where I feel like the worst parent in the world again).

The visit itself was pretty harmless.  I will say that they weighed her - with her clothes on, after a feeding, and with a full diaper - and she weighed 11 pounds!  My little chunkster!  The doctor came in and examined her and said the poor thing has her first cold.  Unfortunately there's not much we can do for it other than let it run its course, so she told us to make sure to use the humidifier in Lilly's room until the cold is gone, and to use a saline spray in her nose and then suction out her little boogies every 3-4 hours until she's better.  Thankfully, I had some Little Noses that was sent to us recently by a good friend, and it seems to be helping, at least a little.

I have worried sick about the child all night, I think I have been in her room at least 5 times to make sure she's still breathing.  The doctor said that at this stage, babies can't yet breathe out of their mouths unless they're crying, so if she's crying that may be why.  Lilly has been a really trooper throughout all of it, she really has not cried at all.  She slept from 9:30p - 2:30a and probably would have slept a little longer but we went in and got her as soon as she started making noise so we could suction her nose since it had been a while.  She was SO happy - she let Dan suction her without making a sound, and didn't even cry at the diaper change.  In fact, she was smiley and perfect.  Why was Dan up with us, you ask?  Typically, I don't ask him to get up with me except on the weekends when he doesn't have to work (he feeds, I pump), but I made an exception this time because I, too, have this nasty cold.  The pediatrician says that's actually probably a good thing because I'm producing antibodies to fight it which Lilly is getting through my breast milk, but honestly last night I did not think I was going to make it.  I went to bed when she did, in case it was going to be a long night - I anticipated lots of waking up and tears from her not being able to breathe - and I had the chills and couldn't get rid of them, and my throat hurt so bad every time I swallowed that I wanted to cry.  Anyway so I was still feeling a little unsteady at the 2:30 feeding and Dan was nice enough to help me out, sweet man.

So, we're going to spend today trying to nurse my little one back to health.  I foresee lots of snuggling on the couch in our future.  If she is as happy all day as she was at her overnight feeding, I think we will do just fine.  Until then, whoever brought this sickness into my house and infected my baby better be thanking your lucky stars that I don't know who you are, because Mama Bear is NOT HAPPY that you got her precious angel baby bear sick.

I can't end the post without saying Happy 4th Birthday to my first-born, Layla.  You have brought us so much joy, and we love you so much, sweet girl!  I wonder if she's looking forward to her annual dog birthday cake and new toys?  :-)

Sarah

Got me on my knees, Layla

I can't believe it is already Sunday evening.  Seriously, where do the weekends go?  Ours has been busy yet also relaxing, but it doesn't make me any more ready for another week!  I'm glad to have a little vacation on the books this week for some R&R with my family.

Speaking of family, I cannot believe I've been blogging for a month and have not yet introduced you to my dog-child.  Meet Layla:

Photo credit: the ALWAYS amazing Kristin Vining Photography

Is she the prettiest little girl you've ever seen, or what?!  We certainly think so - and so does she, as she uses her looks to get her way - a lot!  Sometimes I wish she would talk, because I bet she'd be hilarious.  I often wonder what kind of accent she'd have.  I am convinced she would talk like Aunt Jemima.  Dan thinks she'd talk like an Australian - Nicole Kidman, maybe.  Obviously, we'll never know...but it's fun to speculate.

Layla came to us a little over three years ago from Paint Creek Horse Farm in Wingate, NC.  She was a member of a broken home for a little while until I finally talked Dan into proposing.  And now here we are, 3.5 years later and she's going to be a big sister!  I am not yet sure whether she is excited or not.  I'll report back on that in about 6ish months.  For your viewing pleasure, here are some pictures of how cute, fat and furry she was as a puppy:

I have been wondering how she is going to react to Baby Baum when we bring him/her home from the hospital.  She is, after all, an only "child" who is treated like a human and rules the Baum roost.  Of course we've been reading up on this, and seeking advice from friends who have already gone through it.  The most common piece of advice we've gotten is to bring something - a blanket or onesie, etc. - home from the hospital that has the baby's scent on it, and introduce Layla to it before we bring the baby home so that she'll be used to it.  I think she is going to be a GREAT "big sister" and can't wait to see how she reacts.  She's gotten lots of practice with my nephews and niece, and has done remarkably well...we've only had to scold her a few times for growling when her eye was poked or her ear was pulled one too many times for her liking.  ;-)  I hope she and Baby Geronimo will be total besties!

All of this discussion about the dog child brings me to my next question: can she tell that I am pregnant?  I know, you are all going to think I am one of those total weirdo animal people, but just hear me out.  Layla has never been particularly cuddly, unless it is on her terms.  That does not mean that we do not cuddle - sometimes we engage in what Dan likes to call "forced cuddling," where I raise my voice and pretend I'm mad so she'll snuggle up to me for a little while.  Other than that, she'll cuddle when she wants to, but normally she's happy doing her own thing.  Until I got pregnant.  Y'all, believe me when I tell you that now this dog wants to be laying on me - particularly head on my stomach - ALL THE TIME.  I am not complaining, I like the attention, but it really makes me think that she knows!  Case in point:

The above photo was taken today, while I was lounging on the couch catching up on some TV.  This is her normal position these days...laying on top of me with her head on my stomach.  She has NEVER done this before.  She has also been a lot more protective of me than usual.  Just this morning, when we were sitting on the front porch waiting for Dan to go on our walk, someone was running by the house and she went into full-on ferocious mode, growling at them.  Any of you that know her know that this is NOT normal - she loves people more than she loves other dogs and is typically always looking for someone new to play with!  Her behavior was so strange, and also really sweet.  Not to worry, I did fuss at her about having bad manners.

I did some googling, and while there is no scientific proof that animals can tell, there is TONS of stuff out there from pet owners swearing that their animal knows.  I am a believer that Layla at least knows there is SOMETHING different, for sure.

Photo Credit Kristin Vining

That's all I've got in terms of my random thoughts today!  We finally got to meet our friend Grant & Emily's new addition, Olivia, this weekend.  She is GORGEOUS, with a head full of dark hair that stands straight up.  Emily is staying in town for the week, so I hope I get to snuggle Olivia some more before she leaves!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  While I'm not ready for it to be Monday, yet, I am excited about drooling over Vampire Eric on Trueblood tonight.  Yummy!

Sarah