the last three weeks have been ...

ROUGH!

The night of Jack's actual first birthday, around 10 p.m., he woke up and had thrown up all over himself, his sheet, his bumper ... everything! And, since then he hasn't really been the same.

Luckily, the next morning we were headed to the doctor for his 1 year check up. At that visit we made the decision to take him off of cow's milk and try soy milk. {Let's just say the poor guy hadn't had a solid dirty diaper in way too long...}.

Jack didn't just like milk, he LOVED milk. I never did measure it, but I'm sure he went through 24-30 ounces a day. He was constantly carrying around his sippy cup. So, the switch wasn't easy.

That first day, I had him try the soy milk. And, he kind of liked it, but it didn't hold a candle to cow's milk.  So, we decided to give him a week to get off of the cow's milk and then try the soy after that. In the meantime we took a trip to Denver {Jack's first airplane flight!} {more on that later}, and with only water to drink, things started to really look up. By the time we got back home, he was drinking lots of water and the dirties were a lot more like usual.

It was time to try soy milk. This time things went a lot better than expected. That week, though, he was really snotty and just not quite himself. Lots of fussy moments when usually he was so happy and easygoing.

We were constantly having to give him benedryl and motrin/tylenol. I hated "pumping him full of meds". But, we were just trying to keep him happy...

Last week, after having a sore throat and having to miss John's great-grandmother's funeral, I tested positive for strep. Great! Even though I tried really hard to stay away from Jack, it was nearly impossible!

Now, less than a week later, Jack has tested positive for strep {apparently a very uncommon thing in such a young guy} and has started antibiotics.

And, FINALLY! after we got home from the doctor, and I gave him his first dose of Amoxicillin and some tylenol, he was so much more like himself -- laughing, screaming, running, just generally going EVERYWHERE!

I think we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel {crossing my fingers and toes} and hope that we can finally put the last few weeks behind us!