Ear Infection

Well, Burke has his first ear infection. Last Thursday I felt it was time to get Burke to the doctor because he just wasn't doing well. Nothing was making him happy and he was pulling at his left ear. Turned out he had an ear infection in his right ear and we're almost done with his first go round with antibiotics. Thank goodness for the bright pink liquid. He was a different boy within 6 hours and within 24 he was eating tons of food and playing with his Grammie & Papa and Ouise & Grumpy (Justin's aunt and uncle).

So hopefully from now on I'll be able to figure out when he has an ear infection versus teething. He still could be teething, but there are no signs of little white mountains peaks poking through his gums.

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Life Around the World

Good Morning Dance from Kara DeArmond on Vimeo.

Vietnam Traffic from Kara DeArmond on Vimeo.

Is it safe? from Kara DeArmond on Vimeo.

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Evil Teeth

This past Monday I thought everything was finally getting better with Burke's sleep routine. Back in mid-April Justin and I started Ferberizing Burke in order to teach him to self soothe and put himself back to sleep. With coaching from my good friend, Mae, we went through some rough nights but sleep for all of us improved immensely. I kept up with the new routine while Justin was in SE Asia. The night before he returned home everything went to heck.

Burke woke up multiple times through the night screaming and he was sometimes inconsolable. My heart was breaking because I couldn't help him. My assumption was teething and we still assume he's teething. Needless to say, Burke's been a BEAR this past week. The Evil Teeth have yet to rear their ugly head(s). We hope they rupture soon!

We're trying lots of different ways to help Burke with teething. Thanks to advice from family, friends and posts on Facebook we're using teething tablets, teething gel, frozen peaches, biter biscuits, wet washcloths, acetaminophen, ibuprofen (both required a trip to a store with generic OTC pain killers due to the J&J recall), and giving him pretty much anything he wants.

Here's to wishful thinking that it will get better sooner rather than later. I know we have many more teeth to worry about, but right now I just want one, and if I'm lucky, two teeth, to appear over night. Justin and I need some good sleep!

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My First Mother's Day

Today was my first official Mother's Day. It was a good day. I was with Mr. Burke. It would have been even better if Justin were here, but at least he'll be home in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Mother Nature really cooperated today - she hit it out of the park. Sunny blue skies and 60+ degree temps. I think I even have a touch of sun on my cheeks.

My first treat of the day was a quick call from Justin who's currently in Hanoi, Vietnam. He thought ahead and left my Mother's Day card here so I finally opened that up. Right now as I'm typing he's at the Dong Xuan market shopping for gifts. One will probably be my MD gift. Hopefully he gets his shopping done quickly and on to the airport in time for his really LONG flight home. Can't wait to see him. My second treat was waking up to my beautiful baby boy who joined me in bed around 6 this morning for breakfast in bed - he was the one who had breakfast. Thankfully he went back to sleep. Around 8:30 he started waking up and talking his cute little baby talk. He then popped his eyes opened and smiled at me. I love being a mother!

I spent the morning with a friend of mine and her daughter Allison. In addition I got to meet a new friend and her two daughters. We went for a nice long walk around Cheney Lake and a picnic in the park. I was the bad mother...very unprepared. Thankfully the other two were and I was able to borrow their sunblock and hat for Burke. I didn't expect it to be that nice.

Later on I called my mother to wish her a happy Mother's Day. We chatted for awhile. We talked about her weekend and her upcoming nuptials. So very happy for her and Dale! Have fun, Mom!

Now it's almost 11pm and really time for me to be asleep. I haven't been to bed before midnight this past week and I'm very tired.

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6 months...already???

On Tuesday, April 6th, Burke turned 1/2 a year old. Wow, time is flying. Looking back I remember thinking when he was just a few days old - "how am I going to make it to 6 months?" Some how I did and Burke is still alive, well and for the most part a happy baby. We've had our ups and downs but mostly ups. And I've loved every minute of it. Burke is growing but his pace has slowed a bit. I think he's working on his brain matter and creating millions of neurons to be a smart little cookie.

His stats:

• 18 lbs - 50th percentile
• 27.5 inches - 75th percentile
• 17.25 inch head circumference 50-75th percentile
  
• He is meeting all developmental standards for 6 month old babies

No teeth yet but I'm pretty sure he's teething. He's always chewing on my chin. His sleeping patterns leave much to be desired. Burke is more clingy. I'm trying to do what I can to make him feel better.

The biggest accomplishment of late is sitting all by his lonesome. I look forward to when he learns how to get into the sitting position all by himself because he can get pretty demanding when he falls over and can't sit up. But most of the time when he's horizontal he's rolling all over the place.

I don' think he'll be crawling in the next few weeks but he sure is working on the prerequisite skills. It's awesome to watch him turn circles on his belly. He's scooting backwards when he does attempt any crawl. So funny because he can get a little angry because he's moving away from what he wants.

Justin and I are so blessed to have such a fabulous little guy. We find ourselves truly amazed that he's ours. So lucky, so blessed.

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New Worlds for Justin

Justin is off to new places. We never expected the travel opportunities Justin would find when he transitioned into the Acquisition Corps and was assigned to the Corps of Engineers - Alaska District. Right now he's on the first leg of his journey to Cambodia and Vietnam. It's just a quick trip. I'm thinking most of his time will be spent on a plane...but wow, what an opportunity.

Burke and I wish we were with him but after hearing about his flight itinerary I'm thankful we're all warm, snuggled up in our house, free to move about wherever and not on a plane for FOREVER! His trip to Sri Lanka next month is even crazier.

I can't wait to see Justin's pictures from his explorations. Keeping my fingers crossed that the camera makes it home. Justin is notorious for losing/damaging our cameras. Thank goodness this one is waterproof-shockproof. I'll definitely post pics on here when he gets back next week.

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For Anyone Out There

For anyone out there actually reading this blog, I promise I will update the blog soon. Promise, Promise, Promise. Have a great day!

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