Age of Lady Kaitlyn: 8 months and 2 weeks
Family,
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| K - quit checking Marshall out. He's too old for you... |
And a good Monday evening to you from the Queen City, where the Bull and Striker are FREEZING and the Munchkin is bundled up in her PJ's to stay warm. The temperature in this city has PLUMMETED in the last 24 hours - consistent with the rest of the US. And the worst news is that a major winter storm is apparently rolling straight for us and will be perched nicely on top of us whilst driving tomorrow. The words "wintery mix" typically don't bother me, but I'm not altogether thrilled about what's potentially in front of us tomorrow. But let's not focus on what's in front - let's focus on where we've been!
So last week was full of big milestones - the happy, the sad, and the ridiculous. The chaos started on Monday morning with an email from our daycare saying that, "Due to a robbery at the local Bank of America Branch" (which is literally 2 tenths of a mile away), the daycare was on LOCKDOWN." That's right - LOCKDOWN - until further notice. Now in and of itself, this wasn't so bad. However, the school's email program wasn't built for the number of emails on file, meaning that it didn't send this notification out to every parent. So imagine the confusion when some parents later received an email saying only, "the police have cleared the area and the school is no longer on lockdown" (which I never received, for the record). So long story short:
1. Armed gunmen robbed the banking center I visit (I saw the photos - they were wielding automatic weapons like a scene in Point Break)
2. The new email system now has no limit on the number of recipients (but let's hope they never have to test it again)
3. My daughter is safe
4. My mother will NEVER hear about this incident
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And so it ends...the last of the breast milk
(NOT a novel by James Fenimore Cooper). |
The next big milestone was Thursday night - a sad one for the Bull and Striker. After almost 8.5 months, Team Taylor went into the outside fridge for the last time to retrieve a bag of breast milk. That's right, sports fans - as of last Friday, Team Taylor is now 100% formula. And whilst a) we knew this day would always come and b) we made it 2.5 months longer than either of us had anticipated, it was definitely a little sad to see that last, lonely bag sitting on the counter, ready to be thawed out. In fact, all last week I found myself thinking of reasons to NOT use it and instead go with straight formula, keeping that last bag in reserve. Don't ask me why, but as that last bag heated up and was poured into K's bottles for daycare, I had the unmistakable feeling that a chapter in the Book of Kaitlyn had just closed, as that was a thread that connected us to those early days of her life (and to our first foray as parents). And please don't get me wrong - formula is SO MUCH easier to travel with, and it's certainly made our lives easier (just as it's made our wallets a little lighter). And also, I cannot brag enough on my wife for how AMAZING she was with feeding, pumping, and storing - especially when she went back to work! I knew this day would come, and I'm sure you're all thinking "if you get weepy over that, you're in for a long road." But hey - that's the Bull. Cast iron one minute - wet noodle the next. :-)
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| The ER ROCKS, daddy! |
The other item to report from Thursday and Friday involved the munchkin directly. On Thursday, we noticed that Kaitlyn was sitting up playing when suddenly she just dropped her head forward. She cried for a second, and truth be told we didn't think much of it. However, it then happened a few times in succession and was much more noticeable in the high chair feeding. We attributed it to being tired (she was exhausted that day), and so the next day we agreed to monitor it. Well, sure enough, it happened several more times in succession - enough so that we decided to call the Peds. We received the after hour nurse, who proceeded to ask us quite the series of questions. Now we'd dismissed any concern up until the point where she said, "is she sleeping more than normal and still irritable?" I answered yes, and they requested a temperature check. Jenny then took the phone (the thermometer requires more skill than I have), and the nurse asked "has she fallen lately?", and we flash back to her falling backwards in Pittsburgh. Well, the next thing the nurse says is "You need to go to Urgent Care now." INSERT IMAGE OF FATHER FREAKING OUT RIGHT HERE.
So we make the drive to Urgent Care (at 5:45 PM), all the while the Bull beating himself up for not realizing there could have been an issue and fearing he's giving his daughter a concussion. This feeling is not helped when Urgent Care stops us at the door and says "You need to go to the ER right now." INSERT IMAGE OF FATHER WELL PAST PANIC HERE.
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Buuuuuuut since we're here, we're going to go ahead and
work on Tummy Time - those gold medals don't win themselves! |
And so we make the journey to University hospital (at 6 PM), where by a miracle from God there was no wait in the ER. K got straight in, and she was even lucky enough to get a doctor with a 6 month old. He listens to the story, checks her pupil dilation (normal), checks her ears (no blood), checks her skull (no depressions), and then says that there's no way that fall could have anything to do with her dropping her head. He said that it was most likely a combination of neck weakness (which we already knew about) and being sick (she was draining more yellow snot than usual). My relief was palpable, and when he said, "she doesn't need a CT scan - the risk isn't worth exposing her to that much radiation," I felt even better. Then add in the fact that K LOVED the ER and wanted to do tummy time on the bed, and all was instantly well. I feel much better now, and K has improved SHARPLY since then. However, it is something we'll continue to watch over the coming weeks in the run-up to her 9 month appointment on 12/13.
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The snitch bonding with Elijah - they did hold hands a few
times whilst sharing the playmat. Guess I better start
polishing my rifle and buy a Cracker Barrel rocker... |
The last item of note for the week was K crossing off state #8 - the Commonwealth of Virginia! On Saturday, we loaded the Elantra and drop up to Floyd, where Cuz Michelle and her 2 rug rats were visiting from Colorado. Cuz Megan made the trip up as well, and so we had a GREAT day of bonding with all the tiddlywinks and the fam. Their parents have this GREAT place along the Blue Ridge Parkway (cell phone reception = ZEEEEEEEEROOOOOOO), and it was terrific to just hang out, eat some good food, and relax with family. K got a chance to play with Michelle's 2 boys (Marshall and Elijah), and she was SUPER active! She had her best round of tummy time EVER on Saturday night - she even (FINALLY) rolled to the other side with her head lifted correctly! It's all about the "foot" that Michelle gave us - this little plastic toy that has kept K in RAPT FASCINATION for the past 72 hours. Hilarious!
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JT and K with Aunt Joyce during a rare
moment of levity amidst such palpable grief. |
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The Munch with uncle Arthur - quite possibly the source of
those beautiful blue eyes. |
There was 1 tough part of the weekend, and that was the visit with Aunt Joyce. Her mother had just passed away (2 weeks ago), and our time with her was tough because you could see the physical pain her emotions were causing her. She was a trooper for us, but there was no missing the emotion swimming just under the surface. I had tears myself as she pulled out "the box" of items that had been passed down through the generations which were now Jenny's to keep for Kaitlyn. And as I stood there, watching Jenny look at the lace that had been in the family for decades and the candelabras that had been in the family for centuries, I was reminded of the poem "Spring and Fall to a Young Child." There is a line that has haunted me since I was 15 (when I first read it): "It's Margarite you mourn for." The poem is about the child understanding the mystery of life and the certainty of death, and her tears in that moment aren't for the people she will lose, but the things she herself will not see when Death comes calling. As I stood in that house, so fresh with grief, memories, and the essence of someone who made that house what it was, I couldn't help but think how fast life passes, and ho
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JT and K with Aunt Joyce during a rare
moment of levity amidst such palpable grief. |
w much I need to hug Kaitlyn and Jenny every day. Because eventually I, too, will just be a memory - and I want to make sure those memories are the kind that sustain faith, hope, and love.
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So many babies...so much dirt...and the cleanest person I know
sitting by the fire, surveying the damage in her own home...
Thanks for letting us stay, Aunt Connie!!! |
So as you can see - an emotional week for Team Taylor! But tomorrow we're off to the Volunteer state for the first time since May to eat, sleep, and bond with my half of the family. I cannot WAIT - provided we don't get stuck in snow. :-) Fingers crossed!
Chat soon, and Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Love,
Sam and Jenny
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