From the desk of Mom

We've made a couple changes to the blog to make it more interactive and accessible.

1. You can now easily comment on posts! From the "Comment As" drop-down menu, select either Name/URL or Anonymous. Both work. And with Name/URL, you only need to type in your name, you don't need to put in a URL. So please comment away!
2. The blog now has a mobile template so you can view it using your smartphone (e.g., iPhone, Blackberry, Android) or any web-enabled device. Now you can keep up with the Jewell family while you're on the go!

In other news, Brayden is getting better by the day. We have a follow up appointment with Dr. Tammy on Thursday, and we'll keep you posted.

Baby giggles

There are few sounds in the world cuter than a baby giggling. Brayden laughs out loud now, and it just melts us. Whatever has happened to you today, prepare to feel a little bit sunnier after watching this.

I’ll take “Baby Ailments” for $1,000, Alex.

Sooo…strike what I said earlier about the “happy, healthy boy” thing. Granted, Brayden tends to be a pretty happy boy, but we’ve yet to achieve the healthy part. The steroids cleared up the croup but not the underlying problem. A doctor’s appointment on Friday revealed a second, worse case of RSV and a double ear infection. This round of RSV has really affected his respiratory system so Brayden will be on breathing treatments with a nebulizer every six hours for the next two weeks. In typical Brayden style, he tolerates the treatments well but doesn’t hesitate to voice his opposition from time to time.

Although Brayden has been sick since about mid-December, I don’t want you to get the impression the poor child lies around miserable all day. Although he’s on a medicine cycle that rivals most 85-year olds, Brayden has plenty of fun time too. Here’s a collection of the cute times from this month including dressing up for a (disappointing!) Saints playoff game with Mom and Dad, wearing a UNR Wolf Pack beanie from Grampa Bob while watching the bowl game, enjoying a visit with Uncle Mark and looking cute in a “Stud Puffin” onesie from Uncle Ryan and Kylie.

		January 2011 Fun VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Q: What do Barry Bonds and Brayden have in common?

A: Steroids!

Quick croup update - Brayden is doing much better after yesterday's first dose of medicine. The steriods calm his airway, help his breathing and accelerate the healing process. He'll be on it for three days, and then he should be a healthy, happy boy.

Just in time to go back to daycare Monday where he will likely catch something else horrific...ick.

Rice cereal with a side of croup

On January 1, 2011, Brayden turned four months old. His official four-month appointment was on the 10th, and that gave us the green light for an exciting first – eating rice cereal! But before we get to that, Brayden is now 14 lb. 7 oz. and 25 1/2 inches long. I know I said he was that long during month three but apparently I am not a good baby measurer!

Brian and I went out after the appointment, promptly bought some Gerber rice cereal, baby bowls and spoons and got ready for Brayden’s big introduction to solids. Here’s a little video of the experience. As you can see, Brayden wasn’t 100% sure how he felt about the whole mushy food thing but he was a good sport.

Unfortunately, things took a turn by the time we woke up Tuesday morning because Brayden woke up with what we thought was a cold. Flash forward to last night (Wednesday) and I was in the pediatric after hours urgent care with him because he was getting worse. Turns out the little man has croup. Daycare strikes again… (sigh) Brayden’s croup sounds terrible, and he is so uncomfortable. Brian and I are watching him like a hawk and doing everything we can to soothe his little body. We’ll keep you posted when he starts to feel better.

Fur brother, where art thou?

We teach Brayden that our cat, Avery, is his big fur brother. We always considered ourselves a family of three (Brian, Avery and me) before Brayden arrived, so it's only fitting that Avery be elevated to older sibling. On this particular day, Avery decided to indulge two of his favorite pastimes - observing Brayden and playing with Brayden's toys.

In this first picture, Avery stealthly tunnels under Brayden's play mat.

Then, he pops his little head out the front and supervises Brayden's tummy time.

Here's a close up of Avery's covert mission.

Now just wait until Brayden can take off in pursuit of Avery! That will be a fun day!