Update on Eddie's toe 3/24/2011

Here is Eddie making sure he fits in his daily run. He is not going to let this injury stop him :)

He's doing better.

His injured big toe is still wrapped to the toe next to it. He doesn't walk with much of a limp or crooked foot. He is now allowing us to put socks and sandals on him, where as before he would panick if you got near his foot. Glad to see him improving every day.

This is him running at grandma's house.

I will schedule his follow up visit soon.

Thanks for checking on us.

Nursing/Sleeping update

I think I can safely say that Eddie has weaned himself from nursing. He has been nursing about 1-3 times a week for the past 2 months (or so.)

This last week, he never asked for it. I nursed him when he was screaming about his toe and that really helped calm him down. After that, he has not nursed AT ALL! Nor has he even asked for it.

He is also sleeping through the night about 11 hours and up to 13 hours!

However, he does toss and turn A LOT and even has tantrum nightmares. That means dad and I get stomped on, slapped or kicked. But overall, he doesn't wake up during his nightmares.

The trade off? No more consistent naps. That's right, some days he will go an entire day without napping. That means up by 7 am, asleep by 8-9 pm

Anyway, I am glad that we did it this way: allowing him to wean himself. It was a beautiful thing that only a nursing mother can understand. I am going to miss holding my little baby and having our own quiet time. If he is my last baby, it makes me even more sad to see this stage go.

I don't want to cry, so I will end this blog here. :)

Update on Eddie's toe

He is playing outside now and even trying to put his regular shoes on.

On the way home from picking him up today, I stopped by Target and bought him these sandals that strap in the front for open toe.

As you can see from the video, he still walks with a limp and even tilts his foot, as not to put pressure on that toe. 


Just a little while ago, I saw him running outside. Every day he seems to be getting better.

He even says (per Grandpa's wording) "Cuidado con Mr. Toe" translated to "Be careful with Mr. Toe"[referring to his injured toe]  How cute.


Dad and I agreed to skip date night yesterday because we both felt guilty for his little injury. Instead we had dinner at my in-laws, where we were able to stay close to Eddie.


Thanks for checking on us.

Limping boy

Eddie is now walking with a limp, in order to protect his toe. He walks on the side of his foot. He is so little but yet knows exactly how to protect his cute little hurt foot. My poor little guy.

He was at grandma and grandpa's all day yesterday and they said he did exceptionally well. He did take a bath and also finally put on a sock. The day before he would not even allow for a sock to be put on his foot.
Grandma and grandpa were able to change the gauze and buddy tape after bath time yesterday too. I am glad they did because the nurse who put it on him did it in a hurry to avoid making him cry even more. I think she may have applied it too tight.

He continues to panick if anyone gets close to or tries to touch his injured toe or even just that foot.

I am happy to see him sleeping comfortably though the night and not complaining about his toe or any pain. As long as it's left alone, he is fine.

Yesterday he did not get to run as he normally does. I would guess he runs at least a mile a day when he is well! He also was more willing to lay down and rest. Grandpa says he lay down with them for about an hour! That's a record for Eddie the active boy.


The doctor said we should see some improvement after a week or maybe two. I will take him back for a follow up in about 2 weeks and even get some xrays done.

I smashed my toe once (around the year 2007) really bad and I am able to empathize with Eddie. The worst part is smashing your toe. After that, the recovery is the easy part. I even lost a toe nail that time. I know Eddie is going to lose his toenail, but I hope that he is able to run again soon. My poor little runner.

That's all of the update for now. Thanks for checking on us.

Eddie (slightly) fractured his toe

For those who read about Eddie only through here, I want you to know he is ok now; That's the short of it.

The long of it is:
We had such a wonderful weekend with Eddie. It seems like lately every weekend he gets hurt, sick, or something else goes wrong. Is this normal for kids? It just doesn't stop.

I know people are under the impression that Dad and I overprotect Eddie. I think we do protect him a lot because he is our only son and it is our responsibility to watch him and make sure he stays out of trouble.

For example, in my last post, I mentioned dad and I taking turns watching Eddie at the party. I saw other kids Eddie's age (younger and older) there on the dance floor with no parents in sight. They were just hanging out alone. Eddie was the only one that had mom or dad with him at all times. But he was also the only kid willing to run outside to the parking lot or into the back industrial sized kitchen. He loves to do more than other kids around him do, sometimes.

Our "safe place" is at home. This is when dad and I can relax and not have to watch him as much, but lately it seems to be the place he is the most hurt. It has been 4 weekends in a row that he has been hurt (He fell off the bed, while trying to fall asleep, he got cut with a flying toy while playing, he tipped over while sitting in a car in his room and now this.)Dad and I have been looking at each other wondering, should we watch him even closer at home too? Our house is very much child proof and still Eddie finds ways to get hurt.

Last night, we were all in the living room. I was on the laptop, uploading photos, dad was on the recliner taking a cat nap (he had a long weekend of hosting, driving us ladies around-My cousin and her daughter slept over for a party the next day, watching Eddie more than usual so that I could mingle for a bit at the party etc..) Eddie was playing in his room and coming over to our area and playing in front of me.

I see Eddie playing near the fire place, walking up and down touching the bricks when suddenly he stops and knocks over an 8 lb weight onto his big toe, I saw it happen. It happened too fast for me to even scream or jump to save him. All I could do is hug him after the fact, while he cried and screamed for mercy. Gerardo shot up and asked what happened. I couldn't even answer him; I was just holding Eddie.

I immediately thought Eddie had broken his toe. The weights are not usually on top of the fireplace, but I moved them this weekend to make room. They were supposed to be there temporarily, but I completely forgot to put them back in their place.

Gerardo started preparing to take him to the emergency room and without even questioning him, I followed his lead. On the way there, we were all crying.

This sucks. Why is our baby getting hurt so often? What are we doing wrong? We are on him all of the time. We back off to have him learn on his own and still bad things happen to him. He is only a toddler. It's not his fault.

At the hospital, they examined his toe and did X-rays. The doctor came in and told us that it was a very slight fracture on the top bone of his big toe. She said that it really isn't that bad and that we don't really need to do much but to make sure it doesn't get infected. They did a buddy wrap on his big toe to the toe next to that.

Most of all, Eddie was very very scared. He didn't want anyone to touch his foot and that's all the nurse and doctor needed to do. He also thought that I was going to leave him at the X-rays. I had to hold him during becuase he was freaking out so much. He was so scared of even taking ibuprofen, that I felt in my heart he was on the verge of either fainting or having a convulsion. I asked the nurse to stop and just let us give it to him at home when he was more calm.

They sent us home and told us to keep an eye on the blood under the toe to prevent him from getting an infection. On our way out, I had to turn back to the examination room to make sure I didn't forget something when Eddie screamed. He didn't even want to be there anymore. If it seemed I was going back into the building, he freaked out. By the time we got to the car, we realized the Doctor didn't give us the ibuprofen.We looked for a 24 hour pharmacy in the area at nearly 2 am, with none in sight. Meanwhile, Eddie is crying now because he knows we are near grandma and grandpa's and starts asking for them as well as for his great grandma. 

Dad and I had to stop there to ask for ibuprofen (we have Tylenol, but the Dr. suggested we use ibuprofen, which we left at Grandma's a while back) When we parked, Eddie stopped crying and was just glad to be there. Grandma held him and great grandma came out to kiss his hurt foot, which by the way he did allow her to.

Last night he slept through the whole night, he did complain a little but mostly I was happy to see that he wasn't sensitive to touch. He tossed and turned as he normally does.

Overall, we are so sad about this, not just because of the pain Eddie has to endure, but because we have been protecting Eddie so much...Below is a video of him a few hours before the incident, singing with us. He had asked to be put in his stroller so that he could strap himself in. After that, the candle in our living room, compelled Eddie to sing Happy Birthday... A few hours before that, all 3 of us were in Eddie's room tickling each other.

"Mr. Suit"

This Saturday we went to a Sweet 16 that has been in planning for over a year! My mom's youngest sister's daughter turned 16. I knew it would be a pretty big deal to see all of the family, some who have never had a a chance to meet Eddie because they live so far away and since we don't post images of him anywhere else but here....

I wanted to see Eddie in a suit. My cousin recommended going to Burlington Coat Factory to pick one up and I found the one I wanted to see him in, there.

The last thing I did before we were out the door was get Eddie into his suit. I didn't want him to mess it up.

Here are pictures of Eddie in his suit:

Getting ready Eddie is laughing at mom struggling to put shoes on his feet.

Eddie getting his hair combed and not really liking it.

Taking a moment to pose for a photo

"Ok can I go playoutside now?"

Crying because he wanted to go outside and play after all of my work, getting him spiffed up!

Eddie and his new BFF for the day, Jazzy :)

Later that evening, he was still wearing his suit, even after his afternoon nap.....

Drinking diluted sparkling apple cider (only during a celebration)


Then, he wanted to drink from the cups everyone else was drinking from during the toast / speech.

Enjoyed his veggies too

Couln't be a party without bread!

Cousins and our respective "babies"

Eddie was a good boy on Saturday. There was a 3 hour gap between mass and the reception. A bunch of us went to grab a small bite to eat at California Pizza Kitchen. When we were at the restaurant table, he just sat in his high chair and ate his food-Of course he did do what most 2 year olds do at a table, but he was quickly calmed by some of our distractions. My cousin, Monica (pictured carrying the largest child ;) even said so. He is usually way more hyper and unruly at the table, which is why I mention it.

At the party, he sat down for a while and then he was OFF! He ran up and down the dance floor. He ran most of the night. He just loves to run! Dad and I alternated chasing after him while the other ate or mingled with family.

By the end of the night, I was so sweaty from chasing him. Also, we went to the dance floor and just danced with Eddie on my hip. That boy is so heavy!

I am surprised that Eddie wore this suit as long as he did. I had even carried with me an extra set of comfortable clothes, just in case.

He looked so handsome in his suit.

Thanks for checking on us.

Eddie pedaling a big wheel

Last night, dad and his buddy were using heavy equipment to work on the broken door in Eddie's room.

It was time for Eddie to go to sleep, but the noise and equipment was attracting Eddie so much that we kept having to keep him away from being "one of the guys."

 I decided to take him out for a walk (one of his favorite things to do) to keep him out of harm's way and to fit in a nice walk before bed.

We decided to take his "push" big wheel with us.

I was pushing him, when I noticed he was pedaling on his own.

 I let go, took out my cell phone camera and started to record him.

Well, he decided that he didn't like pedaling by himself and stoppped when he noticed I wasn't pushing anymore. (sorry the video is sideways-No time to edit)

Mind you, it was about 8:30 pm when we were out here.

This is Eddie's 150 decibel scream after he sees that I'm no longer pushing him. I had to get out of there quick to avoid nasty peeking out of the window from our neighbors.

Later that night, right before Eddie and I fell asleep, I showed him the second video (of him screaming) and for some reason, it made him CRACK UP so LOUD! I looked at him, like "You really find this amusing?"

Ha!

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I want to go to Zero's house! :(

Every time I pick up Eddie from Grandma's, he doesn't want to leave. To try to convince him, I tell him: "Come on, let's go home with Zero [our dog.]"

One day, we are driving home and just at the turn to go home, I keep going straight because I am at about 1/4 tank of gas and want to quickly refill at the gas station down the street.

As I skip the turn, Eddie starts to cry. When I finally pull over a few blocks down, I get a chance to turn around and record his reason for crying: He wants to go home with Zero, like I promised.

You can't see it in the video, but he literally had tears rolling down his face. He was very much devastated :)

Thanks for checking on us

Early morning trip to the park

On Saturday, Eddie and I pulled dad out of bed. We all drove to McDonald's grabbed some breakfast and went to our favorite park, which ended up being CLOSED!

We drove some more to find another park and found this one.

Dad and I took turns eating our breakfast, while the other went to play with Eddie.

Here are some images of dad and Eddie playing together. I took these photos with my phone camera, while I ate my oatmeal and drank my hot tea.

At the park with dad



Teeter totter with dad

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A knitting challenge for tia Marilu

Can she make this dinosaur, rooster, mohawk hat?

I bought this one online at Etsy.com.

We shall see!

Thanks for checking on us!

A sad/happy weekend without dad

Gerardo caught a stomach bug this week. I had it on Monday and so did Eddie. This stomach bug really knocks you down. You are not hungry all day and all you want to do is sleep because you feel so nauseated. It kicks you and then the next day you are ok. Such a weird bug.

Anyway, when I had it on Monday, all I wanted to do was lay down and rest. Noise, smells and having to move quickly just bothered me.  Gerardo got it much worse than I did-His symptoms were a lot stronger. I knew that he needed to rest and just have peace and quiet.

On Saturday, I had pre-scheduled a paying photo shoot at the beach. We had a photographer driving from San Diego to the shoot location (Santa Monica) and 2 models arriving.  This plan had been in motion for a month. I almost wanted to cancel due to Gerardo waking up sick, but after thinking about how we all are when we are home, I thought it would be better if we left Gerardo alone to rest. You see, when Eddie and I are home, we make a lot of noise. Eddie screams and cries, or he wants to go to where Gerardo is sleeping and just talk to him, or he will slam doors, or knock toys over or play outside with his push cart...all things that I know are bothersome when you are trying to just close your eyes and rest.


Isai had asked to come over the day before. I told him Gerardo and I had plans to go to the beach, and that he could come along. Now, that Gerardo wasn't feeling well, I told Isai, we should just leave and make sure we leave water, crackers for Gerardo. I turned all of the lights out and we were gone.
It was a nice day at the beach, a nice change from the cold weather we have been having for the past month.

I was working but had 2 things on my mind: Gerardo at home and Isai having to watch Eddie.

I kept asking Isai if he was ok and he told me he and Eddie were fine. I stepped away for a few minutes and when I came back Eddie was exactly in the same spot as where I left him, sitting next to tio Isai and just talking to him. I couldn't believe it; Eddie was SO good with tio Isai. He didn't cry, he didn't throw any tantrums; he just sat there with him like this:

When we arrived home from the beach, Gerardo got out of bed and opened the door for us. I tried to keep the house quiet, but that was almost impossible. A few minutes later, Gerardo joined us in the living room, his skin looked yellow and you can see the illness in his eyes. I asked him if he was feeling better, he said he was not as nauseated, but still ached a bit.

The next morning, Eddie woke up at 7 am. We played outside, we played in his room. I made breakfast for him. We played tag, we stacked blocks. Meanwhile, Gerardo is trying to rest up some more.

Suddenly, Eddie wants to lay down on the floor in his room and look up at the ceiling. I go next to him, we are talking about the things we see when suddenly, he lets out a frustrated cry. I ask him what's wrong and he gets up to try to nurse. I can tell he is bored. So, I ask him if he wants to go bye bye? He runs excitingly to the door. I knew I wanted to take him somewhere, just not sure where. I went to ask Gerardo if he was up. I was going to check if he wanted to come with us, but he was still not feeling energetic. So, I got ready in about 15 minutes, got Eddie ready in about 10 minutes and off we went.

Before I grabbed my keys, I looked at my Disneyland Pass hanging there and  decided spontaneously...."I am going to take Eddie to Small World and then come home." We got on the monorail AND on Small World. It took us about 2-3 hours to complete this short trip.

Eddie was a good boy while we waited.

It was a bit of a struggle getting on the monorail. Eddie was a little freaked out to get in. I had to tell him it was ok. Here is a picture of me and Eddie after that mini-battle.

I was also a little tired from carrying the stroller in one arm and Eddie in the other arm.
This part was a lot of hard, sweaty work. But we got a nice window seat.

Here we are before getting on Small World. At this point, I had put a hat on Eddie.
The sun was very bright, but he kept taking it off. We were having fun at this time and the work just seemed to get a little easier.

We missed dad so much. While we were at the park, Eddie asked "Donde esta good night dad?" [Where is sleeping dad?]

I hope dad can go with us next time. Glad to report he is feeling much better today.

Thanks for checking on us!

Eddie's photoshoot

Eddie was asked to be part of this photo shoot. His pictures may be chosen for a toy package. Here are the actual photos of the event (unedited.) There were many more, but I had to choose a few. Here are the ones I thought were good. I have a few more saved I won't post here because it's too many pictures!

It was a last minute thing and I thought that since Eddie had a bruise on his face, it wouldn't be a good idea. But they convinced me after reminding me that (duh) there is photo shop!

Gerardo and I usually don't post images of Eddie online, but since this will be a picture of him alone, not associated with my image, we thought it should be ok. (If you don't know, I make videos on you tube and you just never know who is watching with bad intentions.) Also, it will more than likely be for a package only (not used online.)

It is a lot of work trying to get kids to be still and pose. I ended up putting my hair up and taking my jacket off, even though that room was freezing cold when we walked in.

Some of the designers jumped in to help. Some of them were just in the background watching, smiling and laughing sometimes.

It was a lot of fun. Eddie thought it was just another moment of "play time" fun with mom. I really like that it never  seemed to feel like work for him. He was being extra silly and even knocked the, taped-to-the-ground, product over on purpose several times. We were all laughing, except the photographer :)

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Look what Eddie made!

Eddie made this out of cheese slices. He called it a cat. I added the cheerio eyes for effect. He ran up to dad and I to have us come over and look at his creation, a cat!

Thanks for checking on us!