A month has gone by since my last post, and I'm feeling something akin to guilt about not posting, although you have probably heard that no news is good news, yes? Onward...
Ruckus has been averaging about four days a week at daycare for the past month, due to a variety of reasons. He caught a cold after being there for only one week, one that turned his nose into a faucet full of green goo, and lent him a smallish fever for a few days. I kept him out of 'school' for two days because of this, only to find upon his return that all of the other children had a similar affliction and the staff was calling it 'allergies'. It is their policy that any child out sick can't return without a doctor's note, so we didn't dare tell the truth about where he'd been, at home on sick watch. The cold lasted over two weeks but finally has released its grip on my small boy.
I kept Ruckus out of school again for a couple of days around his first birthday, just so that I could soak up his company, and reflect a little on our first year together. He is a bundle of activity nowadays, and it is not particularly relaxing hanging out with him, but I still marvel over the little things and enjoy our time together in spite of being exhausted by it.
The day before he turned One he started walking. He had taken a few steps here and there previously, but he finally figured out how to string them together and make it across the room unassisted, and this was wonderful to see. His dad and I both witnessed it, so this was also wonderful. One of my greatest fears was that Ruckus would start daycare and we would miss this particular milestone, but it didn't happen that way and I'm grateful. It would have hurt to have them tell me about it.
We gathered our family together at my mom's house to celebrate his first birthday. It was very nice, and exhausting for us. I now understand why many parents opt to have their children's birthday parties hosted at a restaurant or the dreaded Chuck E Cheese's. Between buying presents, sending out invites, buying and putting up decorations, ordering a cake, cooking all the food, trying to keep things flowing and not boring, and the relatively minor cleanup, it was expensive, tiring, and stressful. It was very nice of our families to come out though, and he got some really great gifts, so it wasn't at all bad, but I think I'll do things differently next year. I guess we'll see how I feel about things when his birthday rolls around again.
The day after his birthday we took Ruckus in for his one year checkup. He passed inspection with flying colors! He now is 30 inches tall, and weighs 24 lbs., 10 oz. This puts him in the 75th percentile, being a large kid but not a giant. He now wears size 18 months clothes, and size 5 shoes. After his doctor's appointment we took him to a salon for his first haircut. I did not realize that it was a cash only place so I quickly explained how I wanted to have his hair cut, left him with his dad, and went next door to get some money. I got stuck in a very long line, and by the time I had returned the haircut was finished, Ruckus and dad were covered in clippings and snot, grumpy, and ready to go home. I just laughed, paid the lady, and packed everyone into the car, then home for a nap. Our plans to go to the zoo were put off for another day, and I spent the afternoon just staring at Ruckus because he looks so cute and grown up with his big boy haircut.
In addition to all of the above going on, Ruckus has decided to cut his first molars. This must be very painful because he is gripey, and doesn't sleep much at night due to what I assume is an invasive sort of pain. As with every other time he has cut teeth, he is doing them all at once so the bright side is that it will be over sooner rather than later. I do not find these teeth to be as cute as his first ones for some reason.
This past Sunday we had a scare because Ruckus spiked a high fever which seemed determined to stick around, growing and growing and growing until I found myself phoning his pediatrician at 1 am in a panic. He topped out at 104.4 and by then I was ready to pop him in the car and race to the hospital but his doctor talked me down. She recommended upping his Tylenol dose and observation only, which thankfully worked. Things that didn't work included a cold shower, which I learned (after the fact, naturally) is no longer recommended and can have the opposite effect. So don't try this with your baby. It just makes them and you shivery and filled with confusion and probably distrustful of showers.
The next day, after we had managed about four hours of sleep, Ruckus was right as rain and ready to play, but us parents were beat up, stressed and exhausted so we stayed home to recover. I do not know what caused this fever, and am left to wonder if there is a monster virus waiting to spring from him at any moment, or if this is teething gone mad. I've always heard that teething can cause a fever of around 100, which is a far cry from 104. Regardless of the cause, I'm relieved he is feeling better, we don't have a Emergency Room bill staring at us, and we all learned something from the scare.
In other news, there is really no other news. Ruckus has stopped crying when I leave him at daycare, which is a very good thing. I sometimes still feel badly about this because I feel that he won't miss me at all, waaa, or I think he's hardened his heart which makes me sad that he is so grown up at such a young age. Emotions are funny irrational things! The truth probably lies somewhere around the fact that he has adjusted to the routine, likes it there, and knows that I'll return in a few hours to take him home again. When I pick him up I see him playing with his friends Trey and Rodney through the glass door and window, and it looks like he is genuinely enjoying himself. The ladies all seem to like him, he hasn't lost any weight, he hasn't been injured (knocks on wood), and he has begun napping on his own, which are all wonderful things!
