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On Thursday afternoon, we found out about Josh passing the Texas Bar exam. That night we went out to eat at a restaurant. Since I'm trying to save pumped milk for when I go back to work (originally on Friday 11/7), we decided to bring some formula.
We had a good dinner. Soon after, Ben started projectile vomiting. Throughout the night, he was losing fluids. At 5 am, his temperature reached 100 degrees. I called the on-call line for the third time that night. Luckily, Ben's pediatrician was the one on-call. She recommended we take him to the Emergency Room due to possible dehydration, his young age and temperature. This clearly meant that I was heading to the hospital on Friday morning, rather than to work.
Ben was examined, and after some tests, it was narrowed down to two possible causes:
1 - A reaction to formula due to an allergy
2 - A stomach virus
He was lethargic, except for when he was screaming during the IV placement (to replenish his fluids, he was dehydrated). The nurses tried in several places, for over an hour. Finally they were able to get a blood sample and get the IV drip going for him. Ben also started eating again... you know something is wrong when Ben does not want to eat!
Late in the afternoon we were moved to an examination room, where we stayed the night. Ben was starting to show signs of improvement, but was so young that they wanted to continue monitoring him for a little while.
Josh got me dinner and stuff for spending the night. My mom was a huge help, taking care of Ben (except for the obvious - feedings!) during the middle of the night so that I could get some rest. Ben was alert for a large portion of the night, which was great!
Here's Ben during his recovery time at the hospital. We brought him home this morning and hopefully will never have to do that again!
We still aren't sure what the cause was, but no more formula for now!
Once Ben was home, he seemed much more like his normal self. Lately that means he is much more alert, makes much more noises, loves to focus on wall hangings and mirrors and likes to grab items (including my hair - ouch!).
Here's Ben at lunch, joking around with Josh:
Ben loves his daddy!
In spite of the trials of the hospital visit, Ben weighs almost 12 pounds at 6 weeks of age and is very strong! Tonight he reached another milestone: his first smiles based on a reaction! He first smiled at my mother-in-law, and a couple minutes later I was able to capture one on film (right before he was over stimulated). He's growing up!
Before Josh and I (plus Ben) started watching election coverage, I made Spicy Baked Macaroni, from the Giada de Laurentiis cookbook "Everyday Pasta".
It is not anything like Macaroni and Cheese. I used whole wheat rotini instead of macaroni, and liked the hearty taste when it was coupled with the spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms.
The leftovers will be great for making a frittata - if they last!
Continuing to empty my pantry, I used up the rest of the dried cranberries making Cranberry-Oatmeal Bars from the current Cooking Light issue. The ingredients were those that are always around our house, and it was very easy to put together.
I didn't measure everything exactly, as I was working to get the bars in the oven before Ben would wake up (which he did, not long after the mixture was placed in the oven!). I also tried adding mini chocolate chips to the top of the bar on half of the mixture.
One thing is for sure - the bars make the house smell great! I prefer the bars with the chocolate chips. This is a good recipe, but probably not one I'd go out of my way to make again.
Tonight I was looking for a dinner that would meet three objectives:
1. Use up items in our pantry
2. Be filling (an uncooked burger at a restaurant this afternoon - yuck! - meant I had not eaten a full meal all day)
3. Be fast (Ben behaved well during our trips out today, but is quite cranky tonight)
Using the following ingredients, I put together something that even Josh liked (he's never a fan of casseroles, but does usually like them once he tastes them). It's based off of a recipe that my mother-in-law made for us during Ben's first week.
"Cleaning Out the Pantry" Casserole
Ingredients
- Half of a rotisserie chicken (meat only, cut into smaller pieces)
- One can of cream of chicken
- Sour Cream (About 2-3 tablespoons)
- Cheddar Cheese (1 handful)
- Italian Seasoning
- 8 oz. of Dried Linguine Pasta
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic (Approx. 2 cloves, minced)
- Onion Powder
- 1 package of frozen mixed vegetables
- Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
- Cooking Spray
Steps
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cook the pasta and prepare the frozen mixed vegetables per the package instructions.
- Add the chicken, cream of chicken, sour cream, pasta, garlic, seasonings and vegetables into a casserole dish. Combine ingredients.
- Spread a thin layer of Panko on top, followed by a light dash of cooking spray for a crispy top.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
The next time, I will add mushrooms since Josh and I like the flavor they provide.
Unfortunately our three bags of candy for Halloween were not sufficient. We had to turn out the front entry light early so that we wouldn't disappoint any trick-or-treaters.
That also means I couldn't use any of the leftover Halloween candy recipes. Luckily, I at least had some canned pumpkin in the pantry from early this year (or maybe late last year...). The 2007 Holiday Baking issue of Cook's Illustrated had a recipe for Pumpkin-Nut Bread, which I had planned on making.
Many months later, I finally did - and even Josh liked it! I used walnuts as the nuts in the recipe (which calls for pecans or walnuts) and didn't use any dried cranberries (only because they were optional, and there is another recipe I want to try that would use up my supply.
We are slowly, but surely, emptying our pantry shelves before the holiday season!
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