Settling In

First, an update on Alex: we took him to a couple of doctors Monday to get opinions on how to handle his recurrent ear infections. We first saw an ear, nose, and throat specialist. He recommended surgery to insert ear tubes. The pediatrician suggested a few other things we could try first, such as removing dairy from Alex's diet and giving him a different type of antibioitic. So we switched to soy formula, which Alex seems to be taking well. Unfortunately, Alex wasn't able to tolerate the oral antibiotic, and he had to have more intramuscular injections. But at least he seems to be doing better, although he's still sensitive to loud noises. We bring him back for a recheck next week and will (no pun intended) play it by ear.

Now that Alex is improving, someone else in our family must get sick to keep the universe in balance. This time, it was Eugene's turn to visit urgent care. He has bronchitis -- again. I hope eventually everyone is healthy!

Yesterday, my dad came for a visit. He secured some of our bookshelves to the walls and also tried installing a safety gate. (We need something else to finish the job.) After that he played with his namesake for a while until he tried putting Alex down for a nap in his crib. That didn't work too well. But at least I was finally able to unpack some of my books. Seeing them again was like reuniting with lost friends. There's still more to unpack, but at least now I can work on my office area when time permits.

As for today, after we went to urgent care, we went grocery shopping, came home for a while, and then had dinner with my in-laws at a restaurant. They too were suffering from Alex withdrawal. He generally behaved OK, though he got a little fussy toward the end. We also discussed plans for Alex's first birthday party. It's coming up soon!