Linnaeus 20.1

Chasing a pigeon off Main Street.

I've got good news & bad news to report in this week's update. Follow the link to read the rest after the jump...

We'll start with the bad. Sprout's major milestone has been vomiting for the first time. He had his share of spitting up in his first year or so, but a little milk overflow is not barf. I've always hoped we could make it a while before he had a proper stomach flu, but I guess 20 months isn't bad. It was pretty minor & I had some warning, so got him to the bathroom in time. I'll spare you further details.

I called the Newborn Hotline--which, despite the name, is for children up to age two--but after AN HOUR on hold, our cordless phone battery died & I gave up. I called the Nurse Line & spoke to a nurse fairly quickly who went through the Symptom Checker then advised us to take him to the doctor asap. Hm. Could have done that myself online here. She did, however, give me the protocol for feeding & watering someone who's barfed. Nil by mouth an hour after vomiting, then an ounce of water every 20 minutes for the first hour, two ounces for the second, three for the third. No food at all until six hours, except maybe soup or the occasional saltine.

Sprout had breastfed once & gulped down a good six ounces of water before I talked to the nurse, but it stayed down. Poor kid was starving though, because he'd got sick immediately after waking up in the morning & by the time we'd talked to the nurse he hadn't eaten for over 16 hours. I gave him a cracker, which disappeared quickly, then some toast, which he also ate as fast as I gave it to him. I won't list off his entire consumption for the day, but let's say it was pretty normal. I guess the barfing was just a false alarm, not a stomach flu. We took him to the doctor as the nurse suggested, just to be sure, but she couldn't find anything wrong with him. Here's a video of him puddle-jumping after visiting the doctor.

Naps & consequently bedtimes have gotten seriously out of whack this past week. If he goes down for a nap a bit late, then sleeps over three hours, he wakes up late in the afternoon & then doesn't get tired until 11pm. It doesn't really matter that much, as he's getting enough sleep & we don't have to be anywhere in the mornings most days. I still find myself vaguely embarrassed that my kid goes to bed so late, however.


So, on to the good. Far & away Sprout's favourite activity right now is biking. He tolerates the trailer in the same way that he puts up with our rare car trips, but he's ecstatic about sitting front row, centre in the iBert. He's asked to do it every day since we got the thing. When I told him on Sunday that yes, we were going for a bike ride & we'd see Nana & his aunties, he was thrilled. As soon as he was dressed he started trying to hurry me out the door: "Coat? Shoes? Hat (=helmet)? Shide (=outside)? Shess (=stairs)? Bike!" We also biked to the Aquarium & a few parks, as well as around part of the seawall this week.

While we're on the road he delights in going fast down hills & rings the bell or waves at other cyclists. Every time we come to an intersection along a bikeway with a bike button, I ride close enough to it so that he can lean over & press the button himself. He points out trees, birds, dogs & often just yells, "Wow!" Or "Yeah!" As we go along. He even loves his helmet & will wear it after we arrive at our destination. I'm sure the other parents at the park must think I'm ridiculously overprotective when the see him in a helmet on the playground, but he'll pitch a fit if I try to force him to take it off.

His vocabulary continues to increase & he often repeats the last word of our sentences. He's still using single word utterances the majority of the time. We most often hear two or three word phrases when he hits his head or falls, like, "I bonk." or, "I trip." I also can't help but laugh when he makes a request like this: "Milk! Hokay?" Notable new words this week: puddle, tempa (temperature/thermometer), beep-bap (button for bike crossings) & helmet.

Another thing that Sprout loves is his baths. Papa gives him one almost every night. Tuesday night he was so eager that he jumped in the tub on his own, fully clothed. Guess that'd be one way to cut down on the laundry a bit, hey?