Vaccinated

Poor Eli got his 2-month shots today! I had no idea when I took him to his appointment that that's why we were going- I just thought it was a check-up! He did so great the whole time we were there- not a single moment of fussiness. And then as a reward he got 4 shots! I couldn't look- it brought tears to my eyes. He SCREAMED, but the moment I picked him up he was fine. I like that about being a mom. :) But this afternoon he has been super fussy- I guess he's just hurting, and he's running a low-grade fever, which is a typical side-effect of vaccines. Hopefully it all resolves tomorrow. I feel so bad for him. And for me, because I'm the one who has to listen to him. :)

Eli is up to 6 pounds, 6.5 ounces, and he's 19 inches long. He's the size of a normal newborn! His stomach issues are resolving, too, which I'm so thankful for. We tried so many different things and he was miserable for a few days, but finally we got him to take this specialty formula that is hypoallergenic. We have to mix a little Karo syrup in it to make it taste good enough to drink (the stuff is AWFUL- we tasted it.), but at least he'll drink it. The other specialty formula he flat-out refused. So his stomach is getting better, and the doctor is really pleased. As are we! Now we just have to finance this formula- it's so expensive! But the doctor gave us "samples" today- 5 whole cans of it! It's almost $30 a can, so she just saved us $150. We'll take it! We see the GI specialist on Monday, and hopefully he tells us that Eli is all better.

The doctor's appointment today was the first time that Eli and I have been out all by ourselves. All the other outings we've made have been with Eric, too. I felt like a real mom today- lugging a diaper bag, my purse, and the car seat. Those things are HEAVY! I'll have buff arms before I know it. My admiration for mothers of more than one child grows daily. I have enough trouble with one!

I am so, so thankful for my sisters. Heather has two kids- Jacey, who is 2, and Cooper, who was born on June 16. She's a wealth of good mom advice, but she's so kind and non-condescending in giving it. She helps me so much. Kelly is pregnant with a boy also and is due any day now. She and Phil live two houses down from us, and she has been a LIFESAVER to me. She comes and visits and brings meals and watches Eli and just lifts my spirits by being around. I am so, so blessed to have such wonderful sisters!!! I hope I can help them as much as they help me.

I was watching these two boys play in the street tonight. Our street is intersected by another street that is a really steep hill. They make a "T" with each other. The kids were walking to the top of the hill street, sitting down on a skateboard, one behind the other, and FLYING down the hill into our street and then into the neighbor's driveway. So dangerous. My heart was beating so fast just watching them- I was sure that at any moment they were going to tip over and scrape all the skin off their legs. Then I thought, "That will be Eli in a few years!" Yipes!

I was also reminded of the time that Kelly and I decided to ride our bikes as fast as we could down that hill. We walked them to the top, gazed down at the sharp right-angle turn we would have to make onto our street as the hill ended, and we went for it. I rode down first, as fast as I could. I miraculously was able to make the right-angle turn at top speed. Kelly wasn't so lucky. As I slowed down and turned around I watched her fly down the hill, gain too much speed to make any turn at all, and plunge head-first into a bush and telephone pole. :) It was quite the accident, poor thing! How fitting that now Kelly owns that bush and telephone pole as the owner of that house. :)