Wednesday, 19 January, 2000

You have had a nasty rash on your face for the past week.  It started with a few pimples here and there, then moved to your ears, and became progressively worse.  Your ears were so bad that they were quite swollen.  It makes me feel so bad that you have had to experience this and that your face looks so painful.  You have been really good about it though and rub your face and ears with your fist only occasionally.  I took you to the doctor last Friday and he prescribed some cortisone cream for your ears but said not to put it on your face because you could easily rub it into your eyes.  We have just had to let the rash run its course.  Dr. Berry said that it is probably due to the dryness of the air, but I also think that you might be allergic to fabric softener dryer sheets.  I have stopped using them and hope that your rash goes away.

While we were at the doctor’s office, the nurse, Jennifer, weighed you.  I was amazed that you already tip the scales at 12 pounds.  No wonder my back hurts so much all of the time.  You have already gained half your body weight.  You have a double chin and rolls of fat on your legs and arms.  At least you aren’t lacking in food and seem to be healthy.

I also weighed myself while at the doctors and was pleasantly surprised to see that I have lost all of the weight I gained while pregnant and hope to be able to continue losing weight over the next couple of months as you continue to nurse.

You are getting more of a routine.  Most nights you go to bed around 10 or 10:30 and sleep until about 3 or 3:30.  Some days you wake up a bit earlier, and others, like this morning, later—4:30 am.  Then I can usually count on you waking up between 6 and 7.  We have started giving you a bath before you go to bed and it works wonders at calming you and helping you to sleep, and sleep longer.  I usually run a tub full of water and get in and Daddy hands you to me.  You love the water.  You haven’t learned yet to splash, but I am sure that too will come.

You have started to notice more things.  We have some colorful rings that you haven’t bothered much with until today.  This morning you were batting them with your hands.  It is fun to see the changes happening.