The Cubby Chronicles XLV

As the first official Cubby Chronicle post of 2009 (& just a bit overdue) it's safe to say January has been a busy month here in Raleigh. Between the craziness of the holidays winding down, the new nanny starting, & slow but steady progress on the knee front we've been pretty busy.

I'd like to blame a freak snowstorm that dropped 6 inches of powder on Raleigh as well (see below) but that would really only buy me a couple of days.

We're delighted to say that Jake is doing very well & is now up over 14 & a half pounds. He's had a recent slate of doctors appointments for simple check-ups & shots & he's really handled them like a trooper.

One thing that's been so nice (knock on any available surface) is that Jake hasn't been sick so far this winter. This can probably be attributed to a few key factors including having a nanny (vs. daycare), us being fascist with the hand sanitizer, & limiting exposure to other people.

The rule for our local buddies is 'if you even think you might not be 100% healthy, you're not allowed any contact with Jake.' Thankfully we have conscious & understanding friends & we're slowly getting bolder about inviting larger groups of people over to our place & taking him *gasp* to other people's homes.

Kristin & I are fairly social people & one of the lingering facets of Jake being born early that is we aren't able go out & do many of the things we'd like to. Like all premature babies, Jake's immune system isn't as strong as what a full term infant's would be & thus we have to take special care to keep him as safe & healthy as possible.

This is especially true during the winter where germs get passed around more in enclosed spaces. Given that a simple bout of the flu could send him back to the hospital for weeks, we've been extra cautious since he's arrived home. That means that unlike parents of 'normal' babies; we can't do simple things like go out to eat at restaurants with Jake or even take him along with us to the store.

While this scenario won't last forever (he should be as strong as any other kid by the time he's two) and keeping him healthy is by far our biggest priority, I can't say I'm not envious when I see families sitting down with their babies enjoying a leisurely meal while I'm running in & out to bring a take-out order home. That's all right though, as long as I get to eat my food with the Cubs I don't care where I am.

On another note, Kristin & I often discuss what the blog could use more of (no, really, we do) and the clear consensus (yes, besides more numerous & timely posts) is more video clips. We've done this kind of thing before which resulted in some amusement so when we came across another piece of unintentional comedy we thought it was only fair to share....