Deciding on Whether to Bank Your Newborn's Cord Blood Stem Cells

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Dad Central for the Cord Blood Registry. I received promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Offer has been extended to March 24, 2014!

Hey there.  Soon to be mom or dad?  If so, congrats on your addition to the family!  Having a baby is an awesome and exciting time, but it's also one that makes us anxious and worrysome.  Will I be a good parent?  What do I do if the baby gets sick?  Should I start saving money for college?  What if something goes wrong?  Is the house really baby proof?  Do I have enough health coverage?  It's scary, I know.  I've been there.  We are a family of 6 so I know the anxieties that come with being a dad.  The wife and I tried to be as best prepared to welcome our baby into our lives.  We read the books, we read websites, we questioned our doctors... but the one thing that we were not aware of is the option to save our baby's cord blood.  Now, I know it can be touchy subject.  Some are for stem cell research, others are not.  I'm not here to push you in either direction.  I'm here to provide you information... information that I wasn't aware of during the time of our little ones' births and it's information that you should consider before making a decision on whether or not you would like to bank your baby's cord blood.

The Loss of a Baby Cousin

Hey there.  I've been kind of missing this past week.  I found out this Monday that my baby cousin (2nd gen cousin) passed away recently.  It devastated me.  Especially since my little baby cousin's dad (1st gen cousin) and I grew up together and I've always felt close to him.  It's tough to have to bury a child.  It is the most devastating thing that a parent would ever have to endure.  While at the viewing, I couldn't but to get choked up.  A small angel... lying there motionless is not what a baby should be.  A child is the epitome of life, the essence of joy, and the very definition of a growing family.  To have a young one be taken away from you before he had a chance to experience the outside world, shattered those thoughts for my cousin, his wife, and the whole family.

Babies, Babies Everywhere! Time to Stock up on Awesome Baby Gear!

Rockin' the skulls and the mummy

Hey there.  You know, when the wife and I found out that we were having a little one a few years back, one of the first things we decided to do is look for awesome baby hats and baby beanies.  You need to keep your baby warm and we didn't want to settle on a blah looking hat for our son.  Why mention this?  Well, because a few of our friends recently had babies and I'm hoping that they managed to grab some awesome cool baby hats!  For our son, we manage to find a black and red stripped hat and a black one with a skull on it.  They were definitely out of the norm but the hats were an extension of my wife's and I's personality and if you had great hats like that, it would definitely make your baby look cool!  Just take a look at my boy and I dare you to tell me he doesn't look awesome.  lol

Xbox 360 Repair Tech in Training

Just like my dad!

Hey there. I wanted to post this picture because I think it's awesome. lol  I haven't really had the chance to work on some Xboxes that need some repair.  They all have the 3 Red Rings and considering that I've had some moderate success in repairing them, I told my cuz I'd give it a go.  While I was cleaning the CPU and GPU chips on one of the machines, I got out of the chair to get a drink.  That's when I see my youngest boy on the chair, ready and eager to get to it.  lol  That's when I snapped the pic above.  My wife told me last night that our son grabbed his tools (toys) and placed them on top of the computer as if he was gearing up ready to work on it, just like his pops.  lol  That young one sure is something else. 

As for the Xboxes, I managed to get 1 of the 3 working.  I played some games on it and watched a DVD to make sure that it wouldn't over heat and it worked just fine.  I pieced it back together and it's ready to go back to the owner.  When I was about to work on Xbox #2, I decided to check the error code before digging in.  I find that it has error 0003, from what I've been told, may not be repairable due to a bad GPU or bad solder connections around the GPU.  I don't have the tools or the know how to even comprehend the problem, but I decided to remove the X-clamps and readjust the heat sinks.  Still no dice.  It has the same error code and considering that I'm not 100% what's wrong with it, I won't mess with it any more without the consent of the owner.  Xbox #3 will have to wait til tonight.  I haven't checked the code on it or anything but I'm confident that I'll be able to get it working.

I also picked up the Kinect for the Xbox not too long ago and I must say that it's pretty awesome.  We picked it up with Kinect Adventures and even though the games are simple enough, doing the "Adventure" really makes you move and gets you sweating.  Speaking of moves, we also picked up Zumba Fitness and even though I'm a terrible dancer, it's fun to try and do the dance moves.  lmao  I guess I'll need to do the tutorials on that one because trust me, I have no rhythm.  I'm surprised that the wife has not leaked the footage of me trying on youtube.  lol  Using the Kinect is definitely a work out on it's own and if you guys haven't had a chance to try it, you definitely should.  Until then, later!

Using ActivityTree.com to Get Kids Active

Hey there.  You know, I've been on a mission to better myself and as I browse the internet to find ways to be more active, I realized that I should get the kids to be a little more active too.  My wife and I have noticed that the kids are not playing outside as much as they should be.  The oldest is sitting in front of the XBOX, the girls are too busy looking at themselves in the mirror, and the baby... well... he's a toddler now, but you know they're like a walking tornado at times so they get their exercise.  lmao

Anyways, I looking to see if maybe I could find some kind of classes and camps where the kids can be more productive with their time.  Whether it be a sport, music lessons, or overall confidence boosting experiences.  That's when I stumbled across ActivityTree.com.  They have a huge listing of activity providers, camps, or preschools to get young ones more involved in better themselves.  You simply enter your zip code and the site will search your area for nearby activity providers such as a YMCA.  It's perfect to get the kids up and learning a new sport or skill.

Another awesome aspect of ActivityTree.com is their Kids Scholarship program.  Every 3 months, they provide $100 to a lucky winner to keep their kids active.  You can earn an entry to win by filling out a small and simple form and stating how you would use the money to keep your kids active.  Piano lessons, swimming lessons, basketball fees... you can use the money for whatever it takes to keep kids active.

Check out the site, friends.  It's good to know where you can stop by for some fun activities with the kids.  Especially if you're a stay at home mom or dad.  Once the kids are off from school (or don't attend school yet), you can check out the website and schedule a fun day.  You can also be a part of the Get Kids Active!  Facebook Campaign and get tips on how to get kids active via their facebook page.  It's an awesome site and one that you should definitely bookmark.  Have fun!  Later!

Teen Mom: Some Thoughts

Hey there.  I was watching Teen Mom last night with the wife and I noticed the disclaimer right before the show stating something along the lines of teen pregnancy being 100% preventable.  There is this one couple on the show that smoke pot.  Now, I'm thinking to myself, they're underage, smoking pot is illegal (it wasn't for medicinal purposes, that's for sure) and they're filming and talking about it and broadcasting it on TV.  Am I missing something here?  The girl has a child and she's smoking pot to "get away".  Now, I understand that it's nowhere near the level of teen cocaine addiction, but don't you think that someone at MTV should be telling this girl that she may need help?  Her mother has custody of the girl's child, the girl has nowhere to stay, and it turns out that both her and her boyfriend smoke pot on a regular basis.  It's safe to say that the girl's family life is in shambles.

At the end of the season, Dr. Drew has a reunion type show with all the mothers and follows up on how their lives have changed since the show.  Dr. Drew is awesome.  He has his own show on MTV, Celebrity rehab with Dr. Drew.  Some of the testimonials that come out of that show are amazing.  These are spoiled celebrities who can be stubborn and if they make it through the show, express nothing but sincere gratitude to Dr. Drew.  But he doesn't just deal with adult treatments, he also specializes in teen addictions and helps with all sort of treatments such as teen cocaine treatment.  Anyways, I like how he gives them guidance on how to move forward depending on their situation.  What I don't like about the show is that there even is a show about it. 

I understand that teen pregnancies happen.  Hell, I was a father in my teens.  But MTV and other networks shouldn't be glamorizing it.  I think I read somewhere that one of the mom's on this show said she was a role model.  No she's not.  It's difficult as it is to be a parent, let alone do it while still in high school, without a job, and without family support.  It's tough and I think it sucks that shows like this potentially add to the notion that if you do get pregnant at an early age, they can be on TV.  In my opinion, if you're about to have a baby and you don't have the slightest clue on what you're going to do, the last thing that should be crossing your mind is to be on TV.  

I understand that some TV is meant for entertainment purposes.  I get the extreme stuff, the fashion stuff, the crazy stuff, but I don't get the teen pregnancy one.  Tell me again why people would care to watch a child raise another?  If it's a documentary or a movie, I can see the appeal, but this is a TV show that is meant to entertain the young demographic that MTV caters too.  And let's be real, here.  This is NOT a reality show.  The pregnancy is real, but when you're getting paid a 6 figure salary, see previous teen mom train wreck Amber, there is no way that MTV is not staging some of the stuff on the show.  If you want to watch for entertainment purposes, by all means go for it, but don't believe that the "stories" and "drama" behind it are real.  Later!

The Immaculate Conception

A woman takes her 16 year old daughter to the doctor to get her checked out.

"Ok, Mrs. Smith.  What seems to be the problem.", the doctor asks.

"It's my daughter, Morgan!  We don't know what's wrong with her.  She keeps getting these weird cravings, she's beginning to put on weight and she's been feeling extremely nauseous most mornings.  Please help doctor."

The doctor walks over to Morgan and begins to examine her.  After a few minutes of poking and prodding, the doctor turns to the mother and says, "Mrs. Smith.  Your daughter is about 4 months pregnant."

The mother, astounded says, "Pregnant!  How can that be?  She's never been left alone with a man!  Isn't that right, dear?"

Morgan looks at her mother and responds, "That's right mom!  I've never even kissed a man before!"

Upon hearing this, the doctor walked over to the window and began to stare out.  After about 5 minutes of silence, the mother asks the doctor, "Is something the matter, doctor?"

To which the doctor replied, "No, not really.  But, the last time anything like this happened, a star appeared in the east and three wise men came over the hill.  I'll be damned if I'm going to miss it this time!"

Dealing with "Funny Daddy"

Hey there.  You know, I like to mess around, I like to have a good time, and if I can bring somewhat of a smile to someone, I'll do try my best to make it happen.  Considering that I'm usually with my family, they're my audience.  Whether I'm in the kitchen slicing tomatoes with a samurai sword, doing the robot at the most inconvenient of places, or just making a funny comment about stuff, I'm always rewarded with smiles, a "you're funny, daddy", and some eye rolling from the wife.  lol  It's all in good nature and in good fun so I don't mind.  But recently, I've come to think if it's a little too much now that the kids are a little older.

This week, yesterday, actually, I walked my oldest daughter (9 yrs) across the street to her school.  In the middle of the street, I yell out, "Let's robot!" and I start doing the robot while crossing the street.  Mind you there were no cars around so it was safe... not like I stopped traffic or anything of that sort.  Anyways, my young one yelled out, "Daddy, NOOOOOOOO!", clearly embarrassed by the episode.  I stopped and once we crossed the street she scurried off with her friend.  lol

It's funny because a few years ago, I would get an "Oh my god, daddy... really?", and the kids would join in or just laugh but yesterday I got a "NOOOOOOOO".  lol  Just last month, she said, "Daddy, not at the store.  Do the robot at home."  lmao!!!  Maybe I'm embarrassing the young one a little too much.  My youngest daughter (5) loves it.  She's do the robot with me if I bust the moves.  I guess a little bit of the quirkiness in me was transferred to her.

*sigh*  The young ones are getting older and I'm not so sure that that quirkiness will keep em smiling.  My oldest boy (11) is hitting the moody stage.  He'll mess around and have fun but only when he feels like it.  My oldest daughter seems to be growing up a little too fast... (some JR High punk was trying to pick up on my baby.  Looks like I'll need make sure my sword is on full display in the living room), my youngest daughter is still loving the goofy side of me, and the baby, well...  he's still a baby and doesn't know how funny I am just yet.  lol  Damn you father time!  You best better not take away my funny dad title and make it into boring dad, or lame dad, or something of the like.  Until I figure out how to keep it forever, I'll just robot the night away.  Later!

Little Metal Head in Training

Hey there. I just received a few pictures of my boy messing with the amp that I have at home. It's a small amp that I borrowed from my compa, since my 2x12 amp is out of commission. I don't want to pay a couple hundred dollars to get it fixed... but I also don't want to throw it out either... sigh. Anyways, it's been some time since I've had more than a few minutes to play. I was trying to get back into the groove of things a few months back, feeling inspired and what not, but that came crashing down in a hurry. Hopefully, my boys will pick it up too.

I gave my very first guitar to my older son for Christmas last year and I've heard him strum it a few times here and there. Reminds me of when I first got it. Not really playing anything, but messing around with the strings. Now, it seems, that they youngest is showing an interest as well. Check out some of the pics I got of him playing around the amp.

It's called bed head.

Oh yeah!  Daddy will never know I play with his toys

Now... how do I turn this thing on...

I got a fever... and the only prescription is more OVERDRIVE

Pretty awesome, no?  We also got a call from the his doctor today telling us that he tested positive for some high white blood cell count.  The first thing he asked was whether or not he was sick when we took him in for his blood work.  He was just getting over a sickness so the doc said that the sickness may be the reason for the high count.  He'd like to recheck him this Friday so I'm hoping that all turns out well.  He doesn't like the sting of the needle.  Who does, right?  Until then, later!

Feeling Like Death

Hey there.  I've been sick these past couple of days.  Not just, feeling like crap sick, but sick in the way where it hurt.  I take pride in the fact that I don't get sick very often.  I can go years before I'm actually feeling any kind of sickness coming... and if I do feel something, it's usually gone by the end of the day.  This wasn't the case on Sunday night.

As I was lying down, I had a strong pain in my stomach.  To the point where I'm lying down in a fetal position.  On top of that, chest pain was beginning to settle in.  Once the chest pain came in full swing, it settled in on the left side of my body near the rib cage.  Quite frankly, it sucked.  I took some meds and went to bed, hoping that my body will do what it does best and I'll be back to normal come morning.

Once I got up and started to get dressed, my body felt like it was pummeled as if I've been in some boxing match.  I was extremely sore and it hurt to move.  I fought through it and went to work anyways.  While I'm sitting on my desk, trying to get through the day, my stomach rumbles...  Whoa...  I didn't think much of it cause to be honest with you, it's been rumbling all weekend long.  I'll be sitting in bed or on the couch and the rumble would be soooo loud that the wife and kids could hear it even though they weren't that close to me.  It wasn't hunger, and it didn't hurt, so I brushed it off.  Then, it happened...  I felt the stuff coming up my throat.  I rushed to the bathroom and let it all out in the bathroom.  It sucked...  I guess I was pretty loud cause when I got out of the bathroom, more than a few coworkers were staring at me and a few asked if I'm ok.  I said no and I went to turn the computer off.  I wasn't planning on staying.  That's when the manager sent me home.

I spent most of the day on the couch... It felt weird to lie down so I sat up.  I watched Gunslinger Girl and the movie Gamer.  I also got some Bioshock 2 game time.  Come night time...  I was feeling a lot better.  Not 100% better, but well enough where the pain is gone and all I'm dealing with now is a slight headache.

I did make a huge mistake yesterday though...  I was drinking a powerade, to replenish some of the fluids that I lost, and absentmindedly gave some to my baby boy.  That evening, he started spitting some up.  Oh man... I'm hoping that I didn't pass on whatever I had to him.  I didn't realize at the time that I shouldn't be sharing anything to anyone that I am drinking out of...  Hope that doesn't cause him to get sick.  I'll just have to keep eye on him to make sure.  I'll let you know what happens.  Until then, later!

Lagging It

Hey there.  I've been lagging behind on posts.  I haven't had a ranking post in 2 weeks, I'm letting Funny Friday come and go today.  I'm just dropping a quick post to say that I've been busy... AS IN BUSY!!!  I've been up past midnight working on Mario Bros. decorations for the past month and half and the part is tomorrow and I'm still finishing them up.  I can't wait for Sunday... when there will be no need for cutting, measuring, coloring, pasting, painting, or any of that good stuff.  But you know what... It will be all worth it when it's set up.  If I'm not caught up in the moment, I'll take pics of it all and post them here.  Until then.  Later!

A Restless 3 Day Weekend

Hey there.  Happy Labor Day to all!  Our labor day weekend has been a restless one.  Our baby stated showing signs on sickness Friday evening and he had a stuffy nose through out the night.  That didn't let him sleep much so we were up most of the night trying to make him comfortable.  Come Saturday, he's in full blown sickness...  coughing, slight fever, and runny nose.  Needless to say, sleep wasn't meant to be for Saturday night.  Sunday... he seemed a little better, but now our daughter and son start with a sore throat and some coughing here and there.  Oh man...  The baby has gotten some of the older kids sick.  Come Sunday night, our son woke up close to midnight and refused to go to sleep.  Before I knew it, it was close to 4 am and we were still up trying to comfort him.

We had plans to go to the LA County Fair but most of the kids are sick, the baby is being fussy, and now I'm beginning to feel a sore throat.  Oh man... so much for an activity filled weekend.  My bro did come over on Saturday and I managed to win a game against him in Madden 11.  Believe it or not, I've never really played much of the Madden series so I'm awful at it... but we made it somewhat exciting and interesting!  lol 

Ugh...  Now I'm sneezing... greaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat...  Hope we start feeling better soon.  Until then, later.

Vote for my Little Cousins at Parents Photo Faves

Hey there.  Just look at them!  Adorable, no?  My twin cousins are trying to earn $25,000 for a college fund using their stunningly handsome good looks at Parent Photo Faves.  Help them out by voting for their picture here.  They're currently sitting in the #32 spot and reached as high as #22.  Let's break through the top #10, friends.  Many thanks and we greatly appreciate all the votes we can get!  Later!

Finally!!! An Intruction Book on Babies!!! With Pictures!

I Said Pa!

Hey there.  This week marks the first week that my wife is now a stay at home mom.  We have the resources where she can now stay at home and spend more time with the kids and not worry much of finances.  One of the first things we noticed is that our baby was all smiles and very animated.  Almost as if he knows he'll be spending more time with her.  Today, however, he was clearly in daddy mode.  Check out the video of my wife trying to get our son to say "ma" when he clearly has "pa" on his mind.  lol  Later!

Headaches with Medical Billing

Hey there.  You know what... I really hate dealing with medical bills.  If it's not one thing, it's another.  We've been in a constant battle with medical bills ever since our son was born.  We've already spent countless hours on the phone with our insurance companies to assure ourselves that we know what is covered and what was not.

First, it turns out our son was not covered... How the hell can that be when we are insured and our son should be automatically added for a month or so, to our insurance.  After a lengthy battle there, turns out he was covered and we got it taken care of.  Then we had to deal with the ear doctors since our son needs to get his hearing screened (turns our he has fluid in his ear so they couldn't do it in the hospital).  After that nightmare, we finally got "authorization", we got the appointment done and we took care of business.  Now we get a call from those same people saying we never showed up for the testing.  What the....  My wife was there... I yelled at some people there because the docs "lost the chart".  My wife took a pic of the girls near some giant ear because it would be a cool pic.  Yet... these people say were missed our appointment?!?!?!  Now we gotta call them back and set them straight... Not to mention to call back the hospital where our son was born because it turns out we owe them money for stuffs we thought was taken care of by our insurance!!!  UGH!!!!

I was pretty upset this morning when they called saying what they had to say.  I'm allowing myself some "calm down" time because I don't want to yell at these people while I'm at work.  I plan on calling after lunch and taking care of this because we were clearly under the impression that all was taken care of and we were good to go.  Now, almost 7 months after our son is born we get this call out of the blue saying we owes money.  Hell with that...  We didn't receive any bills and it's extremely upsetting that these kind of calls just spring out of no where.

Oh... and we just got a call from the school...   Turns out our daughter got whacked by a kickball.  What a way to start the week....  Later!

A Family Sickness and A Family Lost

Hey there.  The Metallman household has come down with something.  There's a lot of coughing, a lot of sneezing, and tissue all over the place.  With those of you with kids, you should know that once one of them gets sick, others follow.  Our youngest daughter started to feel the effects of sickness on Friday and before we knew what hit us, the baby started to sniffle and cough...  It's bad enough when a baby gets sick but it sucks when there simply isn't much in meds that you can give them.  I went looking for some Little Colds medicine for him and didn't find any.  When I asked the pharmacist where it is, he told me that the majority of the medicine for kids under 2 years old have been pulled from the market.  Mainly because parents don't know how to follow directions causing them to overdose their kids.  I was disappointed but we had the infant saline drops and a humidifier at home so we decided to go with that.

Our young one has had trouble sleeping due to his stuffy nose.  He's a little better today, but we're hoping that will be gone sometime within the next few days.  The horrible thing about all this is that now my wife and I starting to feel some of the symptoms...  Sore throat... itchy eyes, slight runny nose...  Oh man... If one of us gets sick...  it's going to be hell at home.

I also wanted to mention dreams in this post.  I'm sure we all can agree that children have some vivid imaginations.  They soak things up like a sponge and they say the funniest things when you least expect them.  Well, I don't really know which bucket to put this episode...

The other night, our daughter dropped in on us in bed exclaiming that she had a nightmare.  Fair enough, she's had a few that involved her pillow missing or her eating a giant marshmallow.  No biggie, right?  Well, the next morning she decides to tell me what her nightmare was about.  It turns our that she had a dream where she had no family.  I assured her that she will always have a family and that we'll always love her.  Her voice cracked, just a little, and then told me about how scary it was.

Now, the young one is 4 years old.  I'm not sure if it's normal to have these kind of dreams.  Shouldnt she be dreaming of butterflies and rainbows?  I was taken aback by this.  But then later in day, she got more specific and said that in her dream, her family was dead.  Death is a strong subject and for a little one to start thinking of death seems a little off to me.  Maybe she picked it up on TV?  Should I blame Disney for all the movies they churn out where parents are either dead or missing?  Or should I chalk it up to an over active imagination that got the best of her on this night?  I really don't know what I should think about it.  I'm leaning towards it being a one time incident... but she's a smart cookie and she seems pretty mature for her age.

Then again... maybe kids just grow up too damn fast now a days...  I'll let you know once I figure it out.  Until then.  Later!

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Alvin and the Chipmunks. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends. As a child, it was impossible to NOT watch Alvin and the Chipmunks on TV. My brother and I would sit in front of the TV whenever it came on and we owned many of the videos that featured the Chipmunks. My brother even owned their Christmas CD! That's hardcore, right there. Now, I'm older and the Chipmunks no longer run on TV, yet, with the recent success of their latest feature films, they have been reintroduced to another generation.

When the first of the recent films came out, we checked it out that opening weekend.  The kids saw dancing and singing chipmunks, my wife and I saw a piece of our childhood.  Now, with the second film now in stores, we immediately jumped on it.  Even though Ms. Miller made an extremely brief on screen introduction, the Chipettes, the female counterparts of the Chipmunks, took the stage.  Our son may be at the age where he may be growing out of the Chipmunks but our daughters (4 and 8) are very much enjoying the singing and dancing.  This is where the Double DVD Pack that includes "The Squeak Along" Bonus Disc comes in handy.

They're already into music so to have more of their favorite songs readily available for sing a longs the better.  You can check out the double disc edition and  buy it now at specialty retailers such as Walmart and Amazon.  This is definitely a family friendly movie that you will want to add to your collection.  Especially since it brings back a piece of our childhood.  They may not be the 2D chipmunks that we may know and love, but the 3D ones sure are a welcomed site.  For More Munk Mayhem and other great family friendly flicks, check out http://www.foxfamilyflicks.com

As you can see, our next generation is ready to crack open the DVD case and get to the movie.  lol  He was too little when we took the kids to the theaters to get their munk on.  My guess is that he wants to know what all the fuss is about.  I think I'll go and watch the film with the kids now.  I'll catch you guys later.  Later!

Our Son is Getting His Hearing Tested

Hey there.  Today, our young one is off to get his hearing tested.  It's usually done at the hospital within the first 2 days of the baby being born.  When the technician came in to test our baby, it turns out that one of his ears produced a result of "inconclusive".  Now... that may be nothing, since she stated that it could be that there is still some fluid in his ear so the machine couldn't get a proper read.  Nevertheless, because of that inconclusive result, we've had to go through all sorts of calls, authorizations, and what not just to get our boy scheduled for a hearing test. 

We're hoping that everything will be fine and it was just some build up in his ear.  But the fact that this hearing test is hours long is a little scary.  Our baby will also have to be sedated and he can't eat hours before the test, which must be hell cause, well... he's my son.  lol  My wife has been texting me how he's struggling to stay awake and he's fussy cause he's hungry.  The test is scheduled for 1 PM, which is approx. 3 hours away from the time of this post. 

I'm trying to occupy my mind with work.  It's helping... but not entirely.  Guess I should go back to reviewing these files... Later.

My Little Guy Has Pneumonia

Hey there.  Our youngest is sick.  Last night, he started showing some signs of fussyness and a slight fever.  We chalked it up to him teething.  He's been drooling like a lil monster and can't keep his hand out of his mouth.  We expect some teeth to pop out soon.  Anyways, last night got tough.  He started getting a little flushed and started to feel warmer.  We gave him some Tylenol with hopes that the fever would diminish.  It did... but very slightly.  We ended up staying up most of the night to keep an eye on our little one.  We checked his temperature throughout the night and kept an eye on his breathing.  Come close to 3 am or so, we finally got a few hours of sleep in.

At about 6:15 am, I got up and checked his temperature.  100.6...  Not too bad, considering that at one point is sitting high at 102+.  We got ready and headed off to work.  My mother in law then called us to let us know that the baby seemed sick.  We asked her to take him to a doc to check him out and before long, we receive a voicemail that the doc said the baby has pneumonia.  Our hearts sank.  In my eyes, it's nothing but a glorified cold, but I know that that the elderly and the very young, can have some pretty serious complications from contracting it.

Luckily, we were able to get away from work and check on our son.  My mother in law lives minutes from where we work so we were able to get to our baby right away.  When we got there, our baby was asleep, but flushed.  He still had a temperature and after he got up and ate, he went back to sleep.

Poor little guy.  I want my baby to be happy, not sluggish and sickly.  It sucks because him being so young, there really isn't mcuh you can do in meds and because he can't speak, you can't really pinpoint where he's uncomfortable.  Does he feel too hot?  Does his head hurt?  Does his chest hurt?  Is he uncomfortable?  I don't know.  We do our best to make him as comfortable as possible but in the end, you're really just guessing that you took care of his needs.

Being a little one, I'm sure that the kids probably passed it on to him in some sort of way.  They're not sick or anything, but when you have a house of 3 school kids and a baby, it's bound to happen where one of the four will get sick.  My mother in law is beating herself up thinking that she may have not cared well for him.  She's the one that looks after the kids while we work.  We assured her that it's not her fault.  She can't wipe every kid in the school with germ killing wipes.  Germs are everywhere, it's just that the lil ones are more likely to get sick with older kids around.

Right now, the little guy is still sporting a fever, but we're sure it's because the doc gave him some antibiotics.  He didn't see the need to send our boy to the hospital.  We don't want to make a trip there, but we are eyeing our boy like a hawk to make sure he's not displaying any of those symptoms that would require emergency care. 

Earlier in the day, my wife told me that he was looking better and managed some smiles and laughs.  We have a check up with the doc tomorrow morning.  I'm hoping that after a good night's sleep, he'll be feeling a whole lot better.  Later.