Sharon's Staph Infection

With a title like that, who wouldn't want to read this thrilling blog entry. The promised blog entry by Sharon has not materialized (although she does contribute the caption to one of the pictures below) because the staph infection on her arm she got in December has taken a turn for the worse. She went to the doctor today for the second time this week and he was debating whether or not to admit her to the hospital before finally deciding to drain it himself. It was quite an unpleasant, gory procedure that I'll spare you all the details on - but she did say that the pain was more intense than any labor pains she had (although thankfully much shorter). The one positive is that we found out that Sharon's extreme tiredness over the last week was more than just "baby fatigue" and was really the infection attacking her body. Hopefully this means that she can expect to have a little more energy when she gets over the infection.

The bad news about the infection is that it is a rare form of staph that is resistant to normal antibiotics. The doctor who checked it out gave the official diagnosis of "this is really scary stuff!" - which of course is a very reassuring thing to here. The new medicine she is on has forced her to stop breastfeeding, so Caleb is now on a temporary formula diet for the next 10-14 days. The good thing for me is that I finally have the option of being involved in the feeding process - something that is exciting now but may get a little bit old at 4:00 in the morning. We're hoping he is able to sleep longer with the formula in his stomach - but I guess we'll know for sure in the next few days. That's all for now and we'll keep you updated as we learn more.

In a completely unrelated note - I can't tell how you wonderful it was to be a Steelers fan in Boston when the Patriots missed their chance at "perfection." It seemed like the general mood of people before the game up here was that the Super Bowl was a mere formality to showcase the greatest team in the history of sports (yes, I heard that argued). I actually have to admit that the Patriots losing was even more invigorating to me than when my Steelers won the Super Bowl two years ago. I guess I couldn't imagine having to put up with all the "perfection" talk if they won - which made the defeat oh so much sweeter. Although he missed much of the game, Caleb did come in to share in the celebration with me. At the time he didn't seem to appreciate being ripped away from his feeding to "watch" the last minute of the game, but I know he'll thank me someday.

Here is my first realization that before I know it, Caleb will be grown and driving. Well, maybe that's a bit extreme, but I was very sad to have Caleb outgrow his newborn size diapers and need to be in size 1 - even though I think they look way too big for my little baby. - Sharon

Daddy's first feeding (yes, that is a pink pillow I'm using and yes I'm really wearing shorts)