What a week Wednesday...be prepared, it's a long one!

Wow! What a week this has been! Daddy is out of town all week on business, and even though my mom (Grandma Bear) has been here to help, it has still been a little tough. It's been a mixed bag so far...the cubs are waking up before the roosters (UGH), skipping naps, and suffering from teething pain, general crankiness, and sheer exhaustion. I don't know if it's a full moon, or daddy being gone, or perhaps they have been possessed, but my cubs sure aren't acting like themselves. Yesterday was the worst, so thank goodness today was better. I don't think I could have handled another day like yesterday.

Steve left on Sunday (July 13) for a trip to D.C. I think our downward spiral started then. We took him to the airport and after having to switch terminals once we got there, it got even worse. I spent Monday tracking down his lost baggage. The airline refers to it as "delayed baggage"....let's call it what it is....it's LOST. I must pat myself on the back, after a few phone calls and the help of a clerk at Reagan Airport (calls to the airline were a colossal waste of time), I found the lost bag. I see some real shortcomings with the way airlines handle their luggage tracking (or lack thereof). UPS handles packages worldwide and is able to offer real-time tracking. The airline couldn't even tell me if the baggage ever made it on the plane...."we don't really know where it is"....and even though I managed to track it down on Monday, the airline's website at this very minute still says "Your bag has not yet been located. Please check back later for an updated status." Hmmm...let's talk about consumer confidence. I'll get off my soapbox now.

I do want to mention that Steve and I had a "date night" before he left for DC. My mom watched the cubs on Friday (July 11) evening while Steve and I had dinner at PF Changs. We then went to play Putt-Putt (he won) and air-hockey (he won) followed by ice cream at Baskin Robbins. YUM! It was really nice to spend some alone time together. We should really do it more often.

Zach had two appointments on Monday (July 14). One with his Gastroenterologist and one with an occupational therapist. Those didn't go much better. Zach is having an issue with thickened and lumpy/chunky textures. I read where this may be caused by oral trauma, and our poor little boy has had his fair share. He was tube fed for the first days of his life, then we subjected him to an upper GI, EGD and pH probe test trying to find out why he was throwing up entire bottles. So we have another challenge to overcome. While the OT was here we tried vanilla pudding and soft apple bits (jarred in juice), and he forced himself to throw it all up. It's such a mystery to me, because he actually swallows the food, and then forces himself to throw it up. He even did this on Tuesday when we tried lemon yogurt and even some ice cream. I am so desperate to get him to eat that I offered my child ice cream, and he threw it up. What kid doesn't like ice cream??? I read that other children with oral aversion issues have even worse symptoms than Zach, so I count my blessings that this is not the worst it could be. On a brighter note, I think he has finally made the transition from formula to whole milk. He started milk-only bottles on Sunday and those have been going pretty well. I am still adding powdered formula to increase the calories, but that's it. Two bottles of milk and one bottle of Pediasure a day. We're making progress. Please cross your fingers and say your prayers that he continues to gain weight. I let him try to feed himself with a spoon today, and to my surprise he did pretty well with it. He tried with both hands, but he seemed to do a better job with his left hand. His daddy thinks he'll be ambidextrous. His walking is improving, and it's so funny to watch him follow his big sister around the house. He is Emily's shadow.

It's been such a bizarre week that even little Emily Bear has been fussy. She's even had a few temper-tantrums. I finally realized that there is nothing I can do for her when she's mid-temper-tantrum, so I just walk away. She then stares after me with this shocked look on her face. The girl can turn the tears on and off like a water faucet. Such a drama queen. Let's not even mention the drooling. It has returned. I have to follow the poor girl around with a mop. I guess a tooth-check is in order...some more must be coming in. She likes Spaghettios, she just inhales them, and she's so adorable because she tries to chew on them with her front teeth. She is still walking backwards, which is really cute, except the girl doesn't ever look where she's going, so this has resulted in a few bumps and bruises. She understands when I tell her to sit on the floor and she's pretty good with the cat. I can hardly believe how fast she's growing, she looks like a little person walking around the house. She's so unbelievably curious, not sure which parent she gets that from (hehe), and she is pretty stubborn, especially when it comes to sharing.

Wednesday is finally coming to an end. The cubs are soundly sleeping, storing up all their energy for an early wake-up call in the morning. I miss the days when they would sleep in until 8:30. I imagine I won't have late mornings very often...certainly not often enough. I must take advantage of this quiet time and get some sleep myself.

We miss Daddy and can't wait for him to come home on Saturday.