An Overdue Update

It's got to be hard to get much more
content and comfortable than this!
(You can't tell, but her shirt was a gift from the Harding
Alumni Association...it says "I Love Harding"!)
Sleeping "Beauty" -
It's a tough job staying this cute!

Now that's a Daddy's Girl!

Can't get much happier than that! Just makes you
want to kiss all over that sweet little face!

Just take a look at that cute little toosh!!
Madilyn thinks she's going for a swim
lesson rather than taking a bath

Well, as you've all noticed by now, I'm not the most timely blogger! In all honesty, though, there hasn't been a ton to update you on. I do have a few cute pictures to share, though!

Scott is still on the job hunt. He's had two really good interviews that we're hoping to hear back from, though. One is with Wal-Mart headquarters - he had a design project to do for them as part of the interview process that's due tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll hear something about that opportunity within the next week or so. The other prospect is with Proctor & Gamble. That's the job that we're really praying is part of God's plan! Scott has been wanting to get into 3D design for a while now, but just hasn't had the time and opportunity. This job with P&G would be an excellent career move for him, would directly work with 3D design to challenge him personally, it would have a great pay and benefits package, it would be closer to Madilyn and I so that we could easily have lunch together if we wanted, and the office would be right by a local community park where Scott likes to ride his bike! There aren't too many down sides to the whole deal! He has a 3rd interview for this position on Thursday morning. Be praying for him!!

Madilyn is doing great! She's past her RSV bug and obviously feels much better. She LOVES playing in her excersaucer and with toys that she can grab hold of! In fact, she loves anything that she can grab hold of and put in her mouth! She's nearly 5 months old now, so we really should have already started her on infant cereal and baby food, but when she got sick, that got put on hold. She's finally got her doctor appt for her 4-month immunization shots scheduled for tomorrow. We'll talk to Dr. Carl then to find out what he recommends for her to start eatting. I will admit that we have given her little "test" bites of tasty treats, though! She has tasted mashed potatoes, chocolate icing, whip cream, blackberry fruit topping, and baby food fruit. She loves it all, but can't figure out how to eat it very well! She thrusts her tongue out and ends up spitting it out when she tries to "savor" those flavors! She hasn't rolled over yet, but she absolutely loves to sit and stand like a "big girl". We've been working with her tummy time to strengthen those arms to help her roll over and learn to start crawling on her own. She's also teasing us thinking that she'll be trying to cut a tooth any day now. We've been thinking that for nearly a month, though! She drools like nobody's business! She absolutely soaks her shirts and bibs!! As I've mentioned above, she also loves to put anything and everything in her mouth to chew on, too. About the only other "progress report" that I could give on Madilyn is that she has a ton of fun spitting and blowing bubbles with her mouth...that kind of goes with the soaking her clothes thing, too, though!

As for me, I'm just back at work and juggling all the little day to day activities of a working mother! It's certainly gotten easier and she loves playing with her friends at school. I miss the days when I was with her all day, though. Oh well - maybe Scott will land a big time job that pays off all our bills and lets me stay home again one of these days! Hey, nothing's too big for God!

Happy Valentine's Day (...a little late)

This is what happens when you're the child of Scott and Cheryl Savage - Your mom likes to dress you in skirts, tights, and bows, but your dad likes camo!!!

A few old (but still good) pictures

Karen here again. I spoke to Cheryl briefly after I last posted. She said there wasn't much of an update to give other than everyone's sick. Madilyn kindly shared her cold / flu / infection with her parents. I don't see the problem with this, afterall aren't parents always teaching their children to share? :-)

I was going through some pcitures on my computer and found a few from my visit to the Savage's house at the end of 2008. The day we (my mother and I) were leaving to go to Texas, Cheryl and Scott were heading to Mississipi. Small problem: Cheryl was ill and Cheryl's the organiser - Scott is the loving husband at hand to do what Cheryl asks. So in Cheryl's absence...

Scott sterilised bottle nipples (the old fashion way - he didn't know how to use the other thing)

Madilyn needed a bath, but Scott wasn't sure how to bath her in the sink, so Grandma helped. (I love this picture of Scott - "erm, what am I suppose to do?"
Nice clean Madi

My mother took this next picture; she thought it was funny to have a bottle on one side and coffe on the other. With Cheryl back at work, I'm sure this is a very apt picture*.

*okay, so Cheryl doesn't drink coffee - but it's the meaning behind the picture ... does that make sense? [ponders]

A new Simpsons fan

I don't have any real updates for you*. I just thought the blog needed a new post. My mother emailed me some pictures of Madi, so I thought I'd share them with you.

Just in case you forgot - She loves me :-)

Scott and Cheryl went to Paris to re-wall paper Cheryl's mom's kitchen at the end of January. It looks like Scott has already turned Madi into a Simpsons fan.

* I do know that last week's tornados didn't hit the Savages.

Poor Baby!

Well, on Wednesday night Madilyn started a pretty nasty cough that just progressed on Thursday, so on Friday afternoon we took her in to see Dr. Carl. Well, the unfortunate diagnosis is that she has RSV. The fortunate part is that it's not a severe case, she's still in very good spirits, and we're able to just treat her at home as if it was just a normal cold. It does just break your heart to hear her cough, though, because it's just so deep and yucky. Keep her in your prayers that her infection will not progress and she'll heal quickly and easily! For those of you who are not familiar with RSV, here's some info that I looked up:

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia among infants and children under 1 year of age. RSV causes infection of the lungs and breathing passages. Illness begins most frequently with fever, runny nose, cough, and sometimes wheezing. During their first RSV infection, between 25% and 40% of infants and young children have signs or symptoms of bronchiolitis or pneumonia, and 0.5% to 2% require hospitalization. Most children recover from illness in 8 to 15 days. The majority of children hospitalized for RSV infection are under 6 months of age. RSV also causes repeated infections throughout life, usually associated with moderate-to-severe cold-like symptoms. (Luckily, at least right now, Madilyn only has a mild case and is not severe enough for hospitalization).

RSV is highly contagious, and can be spread through droplets containing the virus when a person coughs or sneezes. The virus can also live on surfaces such as countertops or doorknobs, and on hands and clothing. RSV can be easily spread when a person touches an object or surface contaminated with the virus. The infection can spread rapidly through schools and child-care centers. Infants often get it when older kids carry the virus home from school and pass it to them. Almost all kids are infected with RSV at least once by the time they are 2 years old. (For this reason, Madilyn’s doctor wants her to stay isolated at home as much as possible. Another big reason is that we’re experiencing a flu epidemic up in this area and he doesn’t want her to get that on top of her RSV infection!)

Fortunately, most cases of RSV are mild and require no specific treatment from doctors. Antibiotics aren't used because RSV is a virus and antibiotics are only effective against bacteria. For children with mild disease, no specific treatment is necessary other than the treatment of symptoms (e.g., acetaminophen to reduce fever). Children with severe disease may require oxygen therapy and sometimes mechanical ventilation. Ribavirin aerosol may be used in the treatment of some patients with severe disease. At home, make a child with an RSV infection as comfortable as possible, allow time for recovery, and provide plenty of fluids. The last part can be tricky, however, because babies may not feel like drinking. In that case, offer fluids in small amounts at more frequent intervals than usual. (Madilyn has medications to treat her symptoms – one for the cold and cough symptoms and a steroid to help protect her airways from damage by the virus. She has stopped eatting as much in one setting, as well, so we’re doing our best to feed her smaller amounts more frequently).

To help your child breathe easier, use a cool-mist vaporizer during the winter months to keep the air moist — winter air can dry out airways and make the mucus stickier. Avoid hot-water and steam humidifiers, which can be hazardous and can cause scalding. (I just discovered this information in my research today, so I image we’ll make a trip to Walmart this afternoon!)

Excluding children with colds or other respiratory illnesses (without fever) who are well enough to attend child care or school settings will probably not decrease the transmission of RSV, since it is often spread in the early stages of illness. (Madilyn has not had any fever yet. Her only symptoms have been the nasty cough, sleeping a lot more than usual, and not eatting as much. Since we just took her to the doctor yesterday afternoon, I have not yet had a chance to talk to her daycare about whether or not she’ll be able to attend next week. Scott may end up playing nurse next week. Tuesday will be tricky, though, because he’s got several interviews scheduled. I may have to work out staying home that day.)