If at First You Don't Succeed....

The end attempt was videoed yesterday afternoon while mommy and Millie waited for daddy to come home from work. It wasn't the first time Millie rolled over, but it was the first time I was able to get it on video. It's a nice leisurely roll with a brief intermission on the side and a couple of stops for snacking on arms and fingers :). The successful roll is worthy enough to be seen in it's entirety (in my humble opinion...).

Picture of Good Health



Millie is finally over her flu :). We all had our first good night of sleep in about a week on Wednesday and Millie made it back to daycare on Thursday (which meant that Daddy made it back to work...). Her first day back was pretty good, though her nose was still a little runny, and when she got home yesterday afternoon she was all smiles. I think we have our happy little girl back :)

Magical Mentholatum



There is a strange attraction? addiction? love? of Mentholatum among the Ross family that stretches back at least 3 generations. Auntie LoLo and Grandma Babe border on the obsessive. In fact, Grandma Babe and Grandpa Bill are quite mixed up in my first memories of Mentholatum. I actually thought that it was a product of the 60's that wasn't around anymore but just happened to be in my grandparent's medicine cabinet still (something about the packaging just made it seem really old...). I was shocked to find out as an adult that they still made it and that I could buy it too! And of course, our house is stocked with it. We also have some Vicks VapoRub, but I refuse to use it, it just isn't the same. While Grandma Babe and Grandpa Bill passed on my love for Mentholatum, Grandpa Bill never was able to convince me to tie a sock around my throat when I was using it :).

Anyhoo, the Mentholatum tradition has been passed on to yet another generation. Millie took her first mentholy whiffs yesterday as we worked to clear up her poor little nose so she could breathe. I think she liked it :).

Daddy Daycare, Part 2

So, Millie was running a slight fever last night and didn't sleep so great, so she stayed home again with Daddy. One aspect of the day was much better - not as much hassle from work. Unfortunately, Millie and I did not have a repeat performance of yesterday. Of course she was still a super sweet little smiley baby, but she really wasn't into the whole eating or sleeping thing quite as much. A little more into the fussing and crying. We made Mommy come home a little early from work and after that she was much happier. Again, the mommy is the best. Its just an undeniable fact. We started out the day pretty well with a bath and a visit to the Doctor (just in case). As always, she had tons of fun at the doctor's and they thought things were running their course and to keep an eye on her. I think they also thought, "Why are you here again?" Better safe than sorry of course, besides, what do we know - how often have we had to care for a sick 4 month old? (Um, never). Really the only thing that seems to be bothering her is a stuffy little nose - we have to clean that out for her. She is not that big of a fan, but it must be done. All that said, it was a pleasure to be able to hang out with the baby for a couple of days. She should be back in action at daycare tomorrow. Now the mommy and daddy need to stay flu-free! Wish us luck!

Daddy Daycare

So, the baby Millie is still experiencing some flu-related symptoms, so it was Daddy's turn to stay home with the baby! She stayed home yesterday with Mommy, but she is all out of sick days until September! (Sidebar: It is completely ludricous that she was forced to take most of her sick time before going on short term disability when Millie was born. Mothers are definitely not given adequate time off/benefits in this country. At least some companies have figured this out and go beyond what the law says they have to, some haven't. Okay, preaching to the choir....) Anyway, Millie and I got to spend the entire day together for the first time. I am happy to report that we had a great day. Millie took about 9 oz from the bottle with only minor fussing. She took a long nap and also several little cat naps. She spent much of the day as a little potato sack and kept Daddy pretty much occupied and one handed for most of the day. We also had some playtime and some good laughs. Unfortunately, Daddy got bothered by work throughout the day, but luckily one-handed one-sentence emails sufficed for the most part. It was nice to spend time with the baby and also find out that I can adequately care for her for a whole day. I think if Mommy were here, it would be a different story since Millie knows that Mommy is the best! She is so smart! (Note to mommy: No editing allowed). We may have a repeat performance tomorrow so hopefully it goes as well as today.

Sick Days

We've been busy the past few days taking care of a sick little baby. Millie started running a fever Friday afternoon. She had fussed about taking the bottle at daycare on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons and had a very slight dry cough on Friday along with a runny nose. So, we bailed on a dinner party at Stephanie's on Friday and kept an eye on things. Millie continued to run a fever Saturday morning, so we made a trip to the Dr.'s office.

As usual, Millie was a happy smiley baby at the Dr.'s office -- she definitely didn't act sick! But, this time she WAS still running a fever, so we didn't have to try to justify being there ;). Millie got looked over -- lungs were fine, ears were fine and she was still smiling! The Dr. decided to swab for RSV and on a whim decided to swab for flu too. We really weren't expecting anything to come of either one, but the Dr. came back with the news -- it's the flu!

We got a list of things to watch for (lethargy, dehydration, etc.), an order to give Tylenol if she became fussy/uncomfortable, and that's about it. Not much else for us to do except give lots of love and snuggles. So, that's how we spent our weekend. I gotta say, she must have the most mild case of the flu ever 'cause it hasn't been too bad. I don't know if Millie would say the same thing or not, but there weren't a lot of overt symptoms. She never really developed a cough and her fever stayed low. If she was achy and miserable, she didn't really let it show. She needed to be held a lot, nursed a lot and slept a lot during the day, but she never really got overly fussy. And we're not complaining!

Mommy stayed home from work today to give Millie some extra care and nursing time -- she slept a LOT! About four hours straight! She remained fever free for the most part and started to seem more like herself when she was awake. We're going to keep her home one more day just to make sure she's fully healthy -- tomorrow is daddy's turn :)!

More fun

Tummy time is much more fun with a friend :)