When We Last Left Off...

... William had a bad case of eczema and hives. We've had three small outbreaks since then, but overall, his skin has cleared.

... he was waking several times throughout the night, crying. His wakings have reduced to once a night or none at all. Perhaps the white noise machine has helped, but that's speculative. It could just be that he's getting more used to his new life. He sleeps from about 6:45 p.m. to 5:45-ish. His napping still continues to be erratic.

... he showed little interest in reading books. We are making great strides in this area. His two favorite books are Where Is Baby's Belly Button (he loves a good game of peek-a-boo) and Happy Baby Animals. We've intentionally kept the selection limited so he's not overwhelmed by too many different titles. He's also learned to let his arms go limp when we need to strap him into his carseat or highchair.

... he was gulping down formula like it was going out of manufacture. The other day, we clocked him downing 7 ounces in a minute and a half - and that with a congested nose. His overall consumption, however, has decreased. He also shows less interest than he initially did in eating solids. Perhaps he's learning that he doesn't have to make the choice between vacuum cleaning food or going hungry.

... he was running a low-grade fever with heavy congestion. The fever has since abated, but the nasal and chest congestion remain. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to go into the church nursery today where Craig was due to volunteer. (Speaking of the nursery, the staff at the CHOP adoption clinic recommend that we wait 4 more months before placing him there or in any other institution-like setting. Unlike routine daycare, there is too much time in between visits, his memory too short at this age, his attachment to us still too tenuous for him to risk being placed in a potentially scary environment without us.)

From the looks of it, we may be on the verge of our first whole family contagion. It's hard not to catch germs from a baby who shamelessly sneezes in our faces and has a runny nose we wipe with whatever is around, our own shirt sleeves not excluded. I know I've definitely caught something. Craig is not feeling too spectacular himself, and Andrew certainly sounds congested. But hey - we're a family. Share the germs, share the love.