The great thing about this toy is it interactive.  It plays some funky music and flashes a nice little light show when Sammy smacks the lever on the side, which also causes those little balls to come spiraling down and out the bottom.  When we need a couple minutes, we plop him down in front of it and he sits there for a good twenty minutes before deciding to wander off and get himself into trouble. It comes with about a dozen different “gumballs” that are all decorated in various ways and textures.  Which is probably also the biggest problem!

These freakin gumballs roll everywhere! Thus the “Ankle Breakers” in the title of this post.  We are definitely more careful when Sam is playing with it, cause we know he’s sent a ball or two across the room… or through the kitchen… or at the bottom of the stairs… or just behind the chair your sitting on. You get the idea.  In order to keep things sane, and keep our butts off crutches, we’ve hidden most of the gumballs and have left him with five.  That way there easy to count quickly and we don’t spend too long looking for them around the house!

It is, however, really funny watching him go at this thing.  He grabs those gumballs and tries to fit them in his mouth, which is, of course, impossible, they are way to big.  But it hilarious to see him try! At first he had a little trouble figuring out how to put the balls into the open top of the toy.  He would smack the ball against the top edge, and end up losing his grip on the ball.  Now, he just grabs the top rim and pulls the whole thing down!  Smart kid eh? He doesn’t go to the hole… It comes to him!  That pic on the right, were Sam looks a little less than happy, was taken when I tried to show him how to put the balls in the top and not to topple the toy over.  Didn’t go well.  He’s started to do it the right way now, but he still likes tugging on the top… Which spills all the balls onto the floor at once.  Which is probably his plan… Hmmm… Does he know about our life insurance policy?

Well that’s it for today.  I thought I’d share about what Sam’s favorite toy is.  If you need a great baby gift for someone, I’d recommend it.  Just warn them about those killer ankle breaker balls!

Thanks for reading!

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I ran downstairs and sure enough, Sam was shakily holding up on all fours, gently swaying front to back.  He had this puzzled look on his face as if he was either unsure on how to proceed or still trying to figure out how he got “up” there.  Three inches off the ground is high for a baby I guess. He looked up at me and I must have distracted him, because he lost his balance and flopped on his belly.  That’s when we grabbed the camera and recorded the first part of the video below.  Sam tried again a few more times, but he was pooped.  All the effort and excitement had worn him out, so off to bed he went dreaming, I’m sure, of all the potential havoc he could cause Mom and Dad once he successfully gets to crawling!

The next day, after a good breakfast, nap and morning snack, Sam wanted to try again.  So down he went on the floor and what happened next was quite a sight to see for us.  It may not seem as quite the amazing event to most, but to Melissa and I, this was a big moment. You’ll see that in the second part of the video, which you can view just below.  Enjoy!

As you can see, this is just the beginning.  Soon, Sam will be scooting around the floor getting his hands into everything he wants and beginning his plan to take over the world.  And he will, yet again, test another level of his parents patience!

As always, thanks for reading!

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ed lips!  It’s funny to watch!

Melissa picked up some chicken puree from a company called “La Mère Poule”, that translates to “Mother Hen” in English.  It’s a company that specializes in frozen baby foods made from all natural products with nothing added.  The ingredients for the chicken puree were – water and chicken.  That’s it.  Since I have this little policy to taste everything we give to Sam (yes that included breast milk ), I was a little worried about how this would taste since it wasn’t homemade.  I dipped a spoon into the gray, pale, lumpy stuff and slowly raised the spoon to my slightly shaking lips…and it was good.  Melissa tried it next and was also pleasantly surprised that the kitchen floor wasn’t covered in our vomit.

Now we had the final test: Sam.  He was sitting there, expectant, in his high chair watching us eat what he knew was his food.  He had a slight smile in the corner of his mouth as Melissa approached with the little bowl full of chicken paste.  I won’t spoil his reaction to you in writing, but instead invite you to check out the clip below! We laughed and I hope you will too. Enjoy!

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We’ve done this a few times now, we just grab a blanket and head outside on our lawn.  Melissa was busy working on a Christmas project (yes I know!!! In September no less!!), so Sam and I chilled on the blanket with a couple of his toys, not mine , and of course… the camera!

We must have spent a couple hours in the nice breeze just playing away, with only a couple regurgitation accidents.  That might seem trivial to some of you, but to a Dad who’s lying on his back, holding his son above him… it’s important.  So here’s a few pics of that really cool afternoon.  Funny how those simple afternoons, you know the ones that don’t require electricity, fill us with the best memories…  Here’s hoping you get to have one soon!

Enjoy!

Toppling over!	Sammy doing his Ray Charles	Sam wants grass!
Sam & Dad	Sam through the jungle brush!	Sam scoping out the neighborhood

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And now for the rest of the story…

After my episode with the needle from Hell, nurse Sandi (not her real name) let me rest up a bit before “The Big Move”.  The nurses now deemed us self sufficient enough to be placed into an observation room, away from the crazy happenings of the triage hallway/cot area.   This was a welcome change, even though it took them 20 minutes of tugging and pushing my stretcher around the tight hallways of the hospital, before settling on a room that could fit both my stretcher and Melissa’s.  They would put me in one ammonia smelling room only to come fetch me three minutes later to park me in a bio-waste smelling room.  Just as Sandi pushed me into that nasty second room, an orderly came by and said that he hadn’t cleaned that room yet hence the smell of the previous occupant lingering in the air. Nice.  Now I had a throat full of bile and a nose full of sh*t.

So off we went for another session of musical chairs, this time landing me in a room with an 80 year old lady.  Sandi apparently thought that this lady, who was two and a half times my age and had a belly button between her boobs, was my wife.  Sigh… Enter nurse Mandi (never saw nurse Sandi again) who whisked me away yet again, away from my geriatric roommate to finally bring me to the last room I would visit in this hospital.  Mandi pushed me into the double sized room and assured me Melissa was on her way and considering how the last 20 minutes went, I hardly believed her.  But then, a noise found itself to my ear.  It was low a first, almost an unpleasant, incomprehensible buzz that quickly grew louder into a jabbering of words being rapidly and enthusiastically exchanged.  Words in the voice of Melissa and her sister chatting away as they approached the room.  Happy to see Melissa for the first time since we left the ambulance a few hours earlier, I greeted her with a blown kiss.  She smiled too, happy to be back together.

Myriam, Melissa’s sister, brought our bags to the door of the room and repeated a routine she must have done a hundred and sixty times that day: throw on a visitor’s gown and put on rubber gloves.  You see, Melissa and I were in “quarantine” due to the unknown nature of our illness.  So Myriam had no choice but to put on and take off, every time she stepped from or into the room, her gown and gloves.  Even back in the triage area, she had to change when she went between our cots. An annoying precaution to be sure, but to this day she hasn’t been sick!  Myriam was a great help to us and we were thankful that she was there as we are not sure what we would’ve done without her.

The IVs in our arms gave us much needed strength and by 5:30 P.M. our stomachs were growling, which we took as a good sign.  Supper came and Melissa started eating carefully, not fully trusting her bowels.  I was still having dizzy spells and feeling weak, but my stomach wanted food, and really folks, who am I to ignore what my stomach wants?!?!  I was having trouble sitting up close to my plate to get some carrot cubes into my mouth, so Myriam actually fed me some spoonfuls.  What are sister-in-laws for eh?  If I had any pride left, it was now gone at the expense of an empty, cramped and hungry belly.

Shortly after, around 7:30 P.M., Mandi walked in and told us that our blood tests came back negative and that we most likely had suffered from a form of severe gastroenteritis.  It was viral and not a case of food poisoning.  This conclusion was supported by the fact that no one else we knew got sick from anything we had eaten with them, including my parents and their friends who we’d dined with on Sunday.

She also let drop that pending the doctors approval, and if our meals “stayed down”, we could then leave.  That was welcome news because as you know, there’s no place like home and this hospital gown was itching my butt so bad!  It had been a long day and we just wanted to get back home and see how Sammy was doing.  We missed him terribly.

Now that we knew what they thought we had, we were busting our brains trying to figure out where we got it.  I couldn’t remember licking any toilet bowls and Melissa’s a pretty clean girl… So where? How?  Well, figuring something like that out is like finding WMDs: near impossible.  Before we knew it, doctor Brandi came in, gave us the once over with a poke here and a prod there, and told us to go home.  Needless to say, we were all smiles… maybe a little worried about actually, physically getting to the car… but smiling none-the-less!   So after sliding off the bed, going for a quick bathroom break in a chair/toilet thing (I will spare the details on that), we got dressed and headed for that blessed fresh air!  We were free, after what felt like three days, we were now actually walking out the door to our car’s parking spot… which was empty!

Stolen!

Just kidding folks!  The car was fine… and thank goodness too.  I think that would have been the last straw.  I would’ve had a rampage and the next mornings news paper headline would have read: “Man kills half the hospital with used colonostemy bag”.  In all seriousness, we got home nice and safely to see Sam sleeping soundly and my Dad reporting an easy time of babysitting.  We let him know that what we had was viral, so he could get it by touching us or something we touched.  He said it wasn’t a problem as he washed his hands frequently while going about his business in the house.  We thanked him and Myriam profusely for their help and they went on their separate ways, deserving of a good nights sleep after a crazy long day.

That night, we slept great.

We’ve been recovering ever since and barring a little diarrhea from Sam, we’ve completely recovered.  That, however, can’t be said for my Dad.  He fell ill two days after our parting with the same symptoms we had.  He’s doing fine now, but he had one nasty night and a very unsteady day as well.  Hearing this news, it dawned on Melissa and I that the only common factor tying her, my Dad and me to the sickness was…  Sam.  On the previous Saturday, Sam threw up on Melissa and I (see Part 1) and he’d been having wet poops ever since.  Two days later, we got sick.  My Dad, being the loving Grandpa that he is, kissed and hugged Sam while he babysat him the day we were in the hospital.  He only washed his hands after he touched our stuff and not after he handled Sam.  Again, two days later, he got sick.  It’s so simple to see now!

So, folks, It might have been obvious to you from the start… or not.  But now that you’ve followed us through our journey into the unknown filled with nursery rhyme paramedics (Jack & Jill), stripper nurses (Candi, Bambi, Mandi, Sandi and Brandi), killer needles, carrot cubes and an abundance of bodily fluids (both ingested and expunged)… You now know the full extent of: Sam’s Big Gift!

That’s it for now folks, hope you enjoyed it.

Thanks for reading!

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2. Sam’s Big Gift: Part 3
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So here’s a little fun we had, just taking it easy and relaxing on our bed, with Sammy hamming it up for Dad and his ever present camera!

Enjoy!

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Last time I left off when the paramedics entered the room, so I that’s where I’ll pick it up. Melissa and I are lying in our bed, side by side, both of us in our pyjamas with wet face cloths on our foreheads and a pile of blankets at our feet when they step into the room. The paramedics, we’ll call them Jack and Jill, were immediately smiling at the sight of us and quickly apologized for doing so, explaining that they found us to be too cute not to smile. Assuring them that we weren’t insulted but would appreciate their help as well as their good humor, they took the hint and proceeded to introduce themselves and ask us a series of symptom, medical and family history questions. They then took our vitals while easily chatting with my Dad, who had come to take care of Sam, and Melissa’s sister Myriam, who was going to follow us to the hospital. They explained to us that the big concern is that we were suffering from dehydration and they strongly recommend we see a doctor, preferably a hospital.

I was feeling relatively OK by that point, my last visit to the porcelain throne had been about 90 minutes earlier and, although my body was very weak, my stomach was feeling stronger. So, I pushed for them to take Melissa because she wasn’t doing good, but Jill cut me off like a neutered dog saying that since we both fell ill around the same time, we both had to go. This would ensure we were sick with the same thing, whether it be viral or food poisoning or something more sinister which they only referred to as a “mediacized public health emergency”. That was, of course, bull. We all new they were talking about the MapleLeaf meat virus outbreak thingy that’s been on the news for a couple weeks now: Listeriose.

So taking no chances not knowing what made us sick, we both shuffled off to the parked ambulance outside. Did I mention that Jack & Jill were both bigger and heavier than myself? I’m not judging, it’s more of a relief actually. I was suffering from dizzy spells, weak limbs and light headedness as soon as I sat up. I am 6 foot 2 inches tall and weight around 193 pounds. If I lose it and pass out in the stairs, no one I know would’ve been able to catch me, but Jill gripped my elbow tight and I knew without a doubt that she would swing me up on her shoulder if she had to. As embarrassing as it was to shuffle out of my house, being held up by a hefty paramedic, in my pyjamas, wearing socks and sandals, holding a puke bag, to an ambulance parked in the middle of the street, around midday, with mothers and their children walking about and nosy neighbors peeking through their windows, it could have been worse if I was slung over her shoulder. So I gathered my strength and made to the ambulance. Jack & Jill only had one stretcher, which I was glad Melissa got, else she might’ve suffered the above humiliation. So I took the bullet. I’m used to it, I’m a guy and I humiliate myself all the time anyway.

I guess we can consider ourselves lucky that our first ambulance ride was together. Me sitting in a chair, clutching a barf bag wondering if it was big enough, and Melissa lying in front of me strapped tightly on the stretcher, chatting away with Jill like little school girls back from a boyband concert. What the hell? Wasn’t Melissa sick and in pretty bad shape? Here she is talking and laughing with Jill, just layin’ back enjoyin’ the ride! I’m sitting there, no seat belt, knuckles white, face pale like a Jackson family member, trying to line up my lips with the bag. The bouncing, speeding ambulance, not to mention the trampoline that I mistook as a seat, didn’t help my stomach achieve the calm, relaxed state required to feel better. Suddenly Jill breaks off the conversation to look at me and give me a quick “You OK? We can switch you onto the stretcher if you want?”. Being the proud bastard that I am, I look at her and say I’m fine. She seems happy and gabs it up a little more with Melissa. I roll my eyes and put my head between my knees anxiously waiting the moments we arrive at the hospital. During the ride, we find out that Jack & Jill are actually a couple and are engaged to be married this November! They were both very nice and professional people, and Melissa and I wish them the best for their upcoming life together.

We arrived at the hospital in about 12 minutes. As it turns out, Jack’s a pretty good freaking driver, cause the hospital is about 25 minutes away! I didn’t blow any chunks and am pretty proud of myself for it. Take that stomach! A small victory in a landslide of losses…yay. Melissa and I made it to the hospital where a looong afternoon awaited us, we just didn’t know it yet.

That’s it for now folks, check back soon for part 3 of: Sam’s Big Gift!

Thanks for reading!

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We’re on the living room couch, he’s sitting on my lap and I’m gently patting him on the back to get that mid-bottle burp out, when suddenly, Sam projectile vomits in one fell splash, all over my arm, leg, couch and floor. Surprised by the amount of fluid Sam has produced and deemed to share with his Dad, I call over to Melissa for some help with the clean up. And true to form, reliable Mom, comes walking over with one half of a paper towel. Upon arriving at the scene of the spill, Melissa quickly sees that no matter what the absorption capabilities of the paper towel, a half will not do. So as she turns to fetch more, Sam accentuates the point by vomiting again twice in rapid succession all over the place. You know, to hit the spots he missed before.

Melissa and I clean up the mess, Sam and myself all the while making us wonder what caused Sam to have an involuntary reflux of gastro-intestinal acids… umm to puke. So we go through the check list of usual suspects and settle on it maybe being his milk. We thought this because since that morning, Sam had not been finishing his bottles, always leaving an ounce or two, which he’d never done. So I took his unfinished bottle and squeezed a few drops into my mouth to taste it, immediately noticing and odd taste. I then asked Melissa to do the same and she confirmed that it was probably the milk. So we threw out all his made bottles, washed, and made new bottles from another formula box we had bought. Sam was happy and playful the rest of that evening, so we thought nothing more of it. He did what he had to do, and that was that.

We spent Sunday at my parents house, where after discussing Sam’s episode the previous night with his wise grand-parents, we felt re-assured in our understanding of what had caused it. As the previous day, Sam was still leaving milk in his bottle. We figured it might be because of the solid food we were now giving him taking up more space in his little belly, so we didn’t worry too much about it. We had a great spaghetti with homemade arrabiata and spicy Italian sausage sauce, then took our leave for home and the long, eventful night that awaited us.

I woke up around 2 A.M. because I felt Melissa get up from the bed and head to the bathroom in a rather “Quick! I’m gonna barf!” manner. So naturally, being the good husband that I am , I got up and assisted any way I could. I’ll spare you the details, but sure enough, she was sick and it wasn’t pretty. We got back to bed and I realized I was feeling a little queasy myself. Believing it’s only the side effect of seeing what Melissa just went through, I settled in for a little rest. Thirty minutes later, I was tasting that spaghetti dinner all over again, but the wrong way! So we were both sick, at least Sam was still slept like a… well, a baby. Having both gotten to know the toilet in an intimate manner, we both supposed the sausage from dinner was the culprit and well (again) assumed that since it was “out” it wouldn’t bother us anymore. Again, we were wrong.

So wrong in fact, that Melissa was busy every half hour and I every hour. Sometimes we synced up and went together! Isn’t that what couples do? So after a few hours of this, and Sam thankfully still sleeping soundly, I called my Dad and asked him to come over and take care of Sam, cause we, literally, had nothing left. He agreed and showed up around 7:30 A.M. just in time to give Sam his morning bottle. Melissa and I, meanwhile, were still taking trips to the bathroom and getting weaker and more dehydrated by the splash… We had tried everything and nothing stayed in us for long: water, pedialite, gastro mix (boiled water, orange juice and salt), flat ginger ale… You name it, we tried it with them all ending in the same place, the bottom of the toilet. Finally, around 11 A.M., Melissa says she can’t take it anymore and I agreed. She was pale, weak and has been hit the hardest by this, so I get my Dad to call an ambulance. With all the talk of this “maple-leaf meat sickness” going around, enough is enough. We needed professional intervention!

About 15 minutes later, the paramedics arrived and the mystery deepened.

This is getting a little long for one post, so tune in tomorrow for part 2 of “Sam’s Big Gift“!

As always, thanks for reading!

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So in the blender a bunch of frozen peas went, add a little water, hit the button and presto… neon green pea puray! I told myself that when Sammy started eating “solids” that I would taste everything we give him, and I have been. Of the three cereals we’ve fed him (rice, barley and wheat) the wheat cereal was the best. So here I am staring down the barrel at a spoonful of radio-active looking snot , with Melissa looking on expectantly, as I raise the spoon to my lips and taste. “Wow! That’s really pea-y!” I say. But it’s good. It’s a raw, green, earthly taste that I rarely have the pleasure of savoring anymore with all the seasonings, spices and additives (like butter) that we put on our food. Melissa emboldened by my enthusiasm digs in herself and is pleased with the taste, although she wouldn’t eat a bowl full.

The peas have passed the parent test, now it’s time for the big show, the king of the crib, the dude of the diaper…Sam! We strap him into his highchair and remove all his toys from the tray. This is the signal he recognizes that food is on the way. Now by this point he’s already had a bottle, so he’s expecting a cereal since that’s all he’s ever had to this point. Melissa lets me have the honor of Sam’s first veggie feeding, so I load up his spoon with the green paste and send it in towards his expectant mouth at a leisurely pace, gentleman-like, not to rushed. Sam’s ninja defenses immediately perk up, arms and hands waving a complex pattern through the air to intercept any inbound intruders… like my cargo heavy, green-glowing spoon. Even though I’m only still a rookie spoon pilot, I deftly avoid his co-ordinated hand swipes and drop the spoon’s payload right into his mouth like Luke running the Death-Star trench. I pull the spoon up and away quickly, awaiting the look on Sam’s face… and we get this:

A happy smile and a “gimme some more!!!” look! Well, I guess we’ll have to give him some turnip to see those funny baby reaction faces. Maybe next week! Here’s a couple more shots from the feeding… and yes, it kind of got a little messy… but none of it was my fault I assure you!

Besides, as you can see, he was having a lot of fun! After his meal, Sam decided to kick back in his spaghetti pillow, do some reading and chew on a little after dinner “Q”… Ahhh the baby life!

Meanwhile, Dad finished the peas!

Thanks for reading!

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We’ve started feeding him barley cereal and his reaction was the same to the rice cereal: a slight hesitation, rumpled brow, mild frown… but then he’s somehow convinced it’s great grub and hungrily empties the spoonful. Of course we feed him in his brand spanking new high chair, which he loves being in. Whenever we eat supper, Melissa and I put him in the highchair and he sits at the table with us… because he likes being part of our dinner time. That’s right, we’re now into family dinners! Sam also likes playing with your typical measuring cup set. However, he tends to stick the handles of the measuring cups into his mouth, instigating an involuntary gastric reversal… he makes himself puke! Here he is on the left about to do just that.

After his belly’s full, Sam is ready for some hardcore baby playing! Tupperware beware! But to give those tortured plastic containers a little break, Mom takes Sammy-boy outside for a little spin through the air! Next week we start the vegetables which will guarantee some funnier reactions on Sam’s part. We can’t wait! Check back here for some pics and video, hopefully you’ll have some laughs! I know I won’t when I start changing those diapers…

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