2 month checkup

Ruston had his 2 month check up and shots today (poor guy!).  He is now 13 pounds (75th percentile), 23.25 inches long (around the 60th percentile), and has a head circumference of 16 inches (also around the 60th percentile).  He's definitely a little chunker, but he's cute, so it's ok. :)  The doctor was also impressed with how well he could lift himself up while on his stomach... she's predicting he'll be an early roller, so we'll see.  As for the shots, well, let's just say he was ANGRY after he got them.  No tears, just screaming... so he was more mad then actually in pain, but really, he took them like a champ for a 2 month old.  That little lip came back out afterward... I love that face.  :)  Now hopefully we won't be seeing any doctors until his 4 month check up!!

I'll post some pictures later this week since they're still on my camera...

Hospital Stay

Well, as per my catching up on my blog, I have yet to post the excitement that was Ruston's 8th week of life.  Monday the 16th was my first day back at work after maternity leave... it went fine, and Ruston stayed at Cindy's.  Monday night, Jason and I noticed Ruston was not himself and he felt VERY hot, so I took his temp to find out it was 101.9... way higher than the 100.4 that the doctor always stated we needed to head to the hospital if it got above.  So off to the ER we went since it was after hours for the doctor's office.  

We took him to the Carthage ER (which is small) because it was the closest; that was a mistake.  They can't do much beyond triage and don't know ANYTHING about pediatrics!  The doctor was cold and rude.  Anyway, eventually he called the on call pediatrician for recommendations, and since his temp was soo high at such a young age, they wanted to start him on an IV as soon as possible and transfer him to University Medical Center in Lebanon (where he was born).  After three hours in Carthage, we finally got transferred.  Of course since he had the IV, we had to take an ambulance.  Luckily, I got to go with him... actually, they strapped me on the stretcher and let me hold Ruston, who slept the whole way.  

In Lebanon, Ruston's pediatrician happened to be the on-call one, so she was there waiting for us, and ready to do a spinal tap in order to rule out meningitis.  After getting to the hospital and getting settled in and whatnot, it was 330am... I think I got about 3 hours of sleep Monday night!!

Each day in the hospital created more boredom and frustration at times... especially with no answers.  All the tests came back negative for tons of things they tested for, including meningitis, so it was ruled he had a viral infection, which explained why his fever didn't go down with the antibiotics in the IV.  We would have been able to go home sooner except that Ruston's temp would spike at night, getting as high as 102.8.  

Eventually, Ruston's little immune system kicked the virus' butt... and before having ANY immunizations, since he gets those on the 30th!  8 need sticks, 4 nights, 3.5 days, and taking his temp too many times to count, we finally got to go home around noon on Friday... I guess Ruston wanted one more week with me before I went back to work. :)

Here are some pictures of the poor little man and his IV and hospital gown.  Sorry if the pictures aren't the greatest... I only had my phone to use.

As you can see, Ruston spent most of his time in my arms sleeping.  Poor guy didn't have enough energy to cry or even smile.

Below is a picture of Ruston on about day 3 in the hospital... when he was actually awake a bit.
The last two pictures were after he got his IV out.  Just chillin' on the bed looking VERY tired... you just can't get good rest in the hospital!!
I know this last picture is a bit far away, but I wanted the full effect of where we were.  I slept in this bed with Ruston all week, but Ruston was enjoying a cozy moment with his blanket.

Ugh... alright.  That was our hospital stay.  Ruston was the favorite (and youngest) in the ward and all the nurses enjoyed showing him off.  Hopefully that filled our hospital stay quota for a LONG time!!

Bear Picture

Ruston is 2 months old now... it's going by WAY too fast.  Every month, I'm taking pictures of him next to this bear... this was last month:

And these next pictures are the ones from this month, on the 25th.  He's definitely grown... and has a lot better facial expressions.

Ruston now enjoys "talking" to us and is great at smiling.  He has ALMOST giggled, but not yet... we're getting there.  He can hold his head up like a champ, and definitely knows who mommy and daddy are.  He eats every two hours, and keeps me up at night too. ;)  He has his 2 month check up and shots on Monday, so I'll be able to give more stats, but I know he's good at growing.  :)