We started the weekend off great with Nina arriving for a visit and to babysit while I had a root canal.
Sunday we got up, went to mass, had lunch outside, and Matt and I decided that we would go on a spur of the moment date to a new restaurant down the road for dinner. Sam wasn't hungry when we left so I opted for just leaving a little soy formula for him instead of pumping and just pumping when we got home from dinner. He had only had soy formula once before as a supplement to a breast milk feeding and he did spit up after but I didn't think much of it. He has reflux so spitting up isn't that out of the norm. We got home from a delightful date and heard about how well both boys did in our absence and then the projectile vomit started almost on cue. We thought he threw up because he had a good bit to eat, but then the vomiting continued for hours and turned into the scariest night in recent history. Thank the Lord that Matt is a doctor and was able to walk us through that night because we would have been in the hospital otherwise. I was a scared mess. He just kept throwing up stomach bile and was so lethargic and pale. I've never had a little one that sick before. So Matt set up a lamp in our room right over his bed once the constant vomiting stopped around 12:30-1 am and I sat up watching him for almost the rest of the night. I dosed off a few times but jolted awake every time because I was so scared for poor sweet Sam. He continued to not be able to keep anything down for the next day so we took him to see his doctor and he checked out fine. Said to just give it time and tiny feedings and he would bounce back in no time. Luckily by that night he seemed to be feeling a lot better and went back to keeping things down for the most part. So now we know...no soy for Sam. That also means no soy for mom to the best of my abilities. I'm going to try to see if I can cut the soy completely for a week or two to see what it will do with his reflux. It will take some paying attention because I totally ate soy sauce the other night and was puzzled about why Sam was so up so much during the night. We live and learn I guess.
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My keeping watch station.
Sending pics to Matt of him looking pink again! Never loved those rosy lips more than this moment.
Tuesday we decided to go walk through the Tomoka State Park near our house to get John some fresh air. It was a scary couple of days for all of us and John was clearly picking up our nervous energy. The Tomoka State Park was great for anyone who is interested in going! Great nature trail. We also got a call that Nonny, Poppy, and Callynn were coming to visit a day early so we headed home to catch a nap (and a shower...some of us had been through it).
Digging for honey.
Sweet little turtle we came across.
Poppy, Nonny, and Callynn arrived bearing lots of treasures from their trip to Ron Jon Surf Shop! They were spring breaking it across the state and we were lucky enough to get to be one of their stops.
John was more than excited about his "real" surfer dude gear from Ron Jon's.
Wednesday I had to go have the much awaited root canal. I had been dreading this moment for a long time. Several times I had tried to will my tooth pain away, but it always returned with a vengeance so I had to suck it up and handle it. So I nervously drove myself to the appointment while John took off for Ponce Inlet with P, N, & C and Sam stayed behind with Nina (with plenty of breast milk). The root canal was actually easier than the filling was in that tooth. It didn't hurt at all and I was so relieved to have it behind me. I had to leave the endodontist and head straight for my dentist to have the temporary crown placed (dentists in Fl don't do root canals? Who knew?), but I got a call from Nina that Sam was refusing to take a bottle. I couldn't believe that the one experience from Sunday night had turned him off from a bottle, but everyone had tried and no one could get the hungry baby to take it. I've decided to count that as a strength that this little guy learns quickly. So I ran by home and nursed him and prayed that I could get through this next appointment in time to for his next feeding. Prepping the tooth for the crown was worse than the root canal but it still wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I think I was so worried about Sam that I didn't even pay close attention to what was happening to me. Perhaps a blessing in disguise? Maybe.
So Wednesday night we were all joined again and had a lovely dinner. Thursday we took off for the Alligator Farm and it was time to put the stress of the early week behind and enjoy watching John try to climb into the alligator enclosures for fun! (Just kidding...but it was a little scary at times).
The Sam stroller pic. ;)
I think he was smiling at me and imagining me on his dinner plate. Ah!
Some big boys I tell you.
John was completely mesmerized.
Poppy forced us all to take pictures with these creatures. Please note who's not in the pictures.
This is where our genes differ.
I think I deserve a trip to the bunny zoo next. Sheesh!
And a thank you to Nonny for letting me stumble across this picture she took while I was handling the alligator! Had a stroke before I realized it was fake!
Meet Maximo. 15 feet of crocodile goodness. He has been the talk of our house since!
When my anxiety levels returned full force. John feeding the alligators while Poppy held him. Too much for this mama to witness her baby that close to the edge. But like all fears, they were unfounded. We left the Alligator Farm with John!
Unfortunately Poppy got sick Thursday night so they headed off Friday morning. Saturday was spent seeing Muppets Most Wanted while it rained like crazy and Sunday was spent back at our ole stomping grounds.
The beach.
It felt good to spend a little time on the beach. Apparently we all had different ideas about how cold it was, but I'm not quite convinced it's swimsuit weather yet.
Nina left us today and things are settling back in at their normal pace. Loved having company and thoroughly enjoyed the week despite having a root canal and a soy intolerance.