F/U (Follow Up) to Unhappy Camper :(

No fever when I checked this morning (he'd been 100.6 and 100.7 yesterday).  Temp today: 99.8.  Yay!  It's also obvious that Baby Bird is feeling better, as he's less clingy today.  I'd pretty much been holding him for the past 36+ hours and finally he was content to play in his crib and hang out in his sleeper for a bit.  Still a bit congested, but not as bad as yesterday.

So we have survived our first fever, and first attempts at taking a rectal temperature reading (sure helped to see the pediatrician do it first)!

Not Ready For Prime Time :(

Along with finding out that Baby Bird has a fever, and us getting locked out of our apartment, my dream of getting my baby into modeling has been deferred.  I checked out the agency's Facebook page today and saw a post asking for a head count for Sunday's open search (they announced a call for models that will happen quite close to where we live), i.e., who would be there, rain or shine.  Since they asked, I chimed in saying I'd like to bring my son, as long as it's not totally pouring out.  I also mentioned that I'd sent photos to them via email earlier in the week (and before I'd heard about the meet-n-greet) and asked if we still should come.  The rep from the modeling agency commented the following shortly thereafter:

If you email us we respond only if we are interested, fairly quickly...

Ah.

I see...

*sigh*

It had only been two days (and on their website they said they'd get back to you within a week) but I guess Baby Bird doesn't have "the look" they want.  Didn't realize how much I had my hopes up until they were dashed, but it probably also had to do with the day I've been having (Baby Bird's fever, getting locked out, the rain). I'll admit I'd been a little nervous about how we'd pull off taking him to appointments during the week, but I was willing to give it a shot.  If Baby Bird gave any indication that he did not enjoy himself, we would stop.  Just looked like it might be fun, and I was looking forward to the chance.  

Ah well, maybe we'll try again later, or with another agency.  The rejection stings, but I guess right now it wasn't meant to be.  

Unhappy camper :(

Up for part of the night with Baby Bird. :( Crying and crying, not sure what's wrong but think it's his reflux medicine. He was doing so well, doctor said we didn't need to increase his meds for weight anymore (a sort of self-wean). Well, that doesn't seem to be working. Or at least, I hope that's it, because it's an easy fix. For a while I'd thought his reflux was gone. Now I'm not so sure. :(

UPDATE: It's not reflux, at least, we don't think it is.  Turns out Baby Bird has a fever, so likely he's just got a cold.  So, no day care for him today; Mommy and Baby Bird stay home today.  Ha, but not before Mommy locks herself (and Baby Bird) out of the apartment, and has to wait for Daddy to come home from work to rescue them.  Luckily it didn't start raining until after walking to/from the pediatricians'!

Baby Bird, Entertainer

I don't know whether Baby Bird will share DH's and my love of music (singing it, playing it, or listening to it), but I'm making a first attempt to get him started.  He's getting so curious about the world around him that reclining in his sleeper or swing just isn't cutting it anymore.  So I wanted to get him something where he could sit up and look around and explore a bit.  We had put a Jumperoo on our registry and gotten it as a gift, but returned it after Baby Bird's occupational therapist at the NICU told us he shouldn't use one (they had noticed his feet turning in a significant amount, and while this was a natural result of being curled in the womb, we were given exercises to make sure his leg and feet muscles uncurled properly).

For a while it seemed fine to go without one, but as he's grown up a bit and gotten more interested in exploring, I wanted to find something to help satisfy his curiosity.  So, to replace the Jumperoo, I found this Fisher-Price Little Superstar Step N' Play Piano, which doesn't bounce, but does allow him to sit up, turn and step around a bit.  I don't know if it's really any better for his legs, so we won't let him play in it for long, but it definitely seems to do the trick of giving him something fun to do!

And here he is, checking it out (we just got it yesterday).  So far his favorite thing is to try to eat the maracas.

Flippin' baby!

This past Friday, Baby Bird learned how to flip over, at least one way.  He's been trying for a while but hadn't quite managed to work out the kinks until now.  And of course, once he learned, he couldn't stop himself.  Only trouble is, he gets stuck.  Flips easily from his back to his front, but once there, he's trapped.  They say (and I'm always trying to figure out exactly who They are) that it's easier for babies to flip from their front to their back.  Baby Bird seems to have gotten the memo backwards.  Whether it's his prematurity, or just his personality, he seems to have bypassed the easy for the hard.  Ha!  I bet he can't do the easy thing because he's overcomplicated it.  Must take after his mother.

I caught some of his earliest flips on video.  Here's a couple of examples (I didn't catch his first flip on video, so that's why they're named Take Two and Take Three, though Take Three is really probably Take Five or Take Six, he was constantly flipping once he got started).  So proud of him!

America's Next Top Model?

Even before Baby Bird was born, I had considering possibly getting my baby into modeling.  Of course, it would all depend on whether a) my baby turned out to be photogenic and b) my baby and I have the temperaments for the modeling world.  Well, I have been pleasantly surprised to find that so many people, family, friends and strangers alike, comment on how cute Baby Bird is when they meet him or see photos of him.  So why not?  Might as well try sending in a few photos and see if we get any bites.

The trouble was figuring out where to send some photos.  I've heard of all kinds of scams and had no idea how to distinguish the legitimate agencies from the sketchy ones, at least as far as online searches would go.  But finally I found one!  One of my cousins, who doubles as one of Baby Bird's godmothers, happened to have a friend who'd gotten her children into modeling, and she recommended the agency to me.  So DH and I took some pictures, and tonight I finally sent the email.  On the agency website they said they'd get back to me within a week, or not at all.  Now on to the waiting game; will we hear from them, or not?

These are the pics I sent in (the first two were taken by DH, the other two, by me):

Friday, September 9, 2011

This post contains a slight amount of breastfeeding TMI.  You have been warned...

Feeling very proud of myself -- I pumped nearly a full feeding just now!  The trick: second letdown.  My Medela pump works at two speeds: fast at first – for letdown – and then after a couple of minutes the pumps slows down, somewhat mimicking a baby’s sucking motion.  There is a button you can press to restart the pump, so that it goes through the two minutes of fast pumping again.  I was amazed to find that pressing the button actually induced a second round of letdown and I added maybe another ounce or so to my production… Woo hoo!  Now maybe there IS a chance I can keep up with Baby Bird at daycare – what a thought!  Gotta keep drinking that water, though…

Off to lunch!