Sleep Number vs Tempur-Pedic

So we're in the market for a new mattress. And I think I've narrowed it down to the Sleep Number & the Tempur-Pedic. I'm worried about the Sleep Number, that it could take me a while to figure out which number I am. And maybe I'll get it wrong. The Tempur-Pedic seems amazing. But I'm worried it will indent and never pop back up (after a while). So I'm looking for suggestions. It would be awesome to hear from someone who has tried both... but I'll take whatever you've got. Thanks!!!

New Pictures

Well, it's Groundhog Day... again.

Well we're hoping the day won't repeat over and over like it did in the movie. Owen will be having surgery on February 2 to have tubes put in. While there are several good things that will hopefully happen (better hearing, more speaking, less pain, fewer antibiotics), I am concerned about the potential negatives. We go swimming all the time. And I'm not looking forward to having to put plugs in each time. I've also heard you have to put plugs in just for baths. Ick. Owen will not like this. I'll have to get more details from our ENT about that one. I've also heard that when kids with tubes get ear infections (and they will likely still get a few), that puss comes out of the ear tubes. YUCK! I still need lots of information. I'm just hoping for the best. And I hope I don't freak out to much on the day of the surgery. It's never fun to watch your baby suffer in any way. I'm sure I'll be a nervous pacing wreck for the 10-15 minutes it's going to take.

Diapers

Bought diapers today. Spent $84 for 280 diapers. Two things: 1) Why do I have a son who is allergic to diapers that aren't Papmers? (I was never able to wear disposable diapers and had to wear cloth diapers.) and 2) When will Owen potty train? There is no sign of this happening ANY time soon. And this makes me sad.

Sleeping Late

Okay... not like in college sleeping late. But still. Owen has decided 7am is a much more desirable time to wake up (than his previous 5:30 to 6am). I feel like my birthday has come early! Last night we went to bed at 9:30 and woke up at 6:30. That may be more continuous sleep than I have had since I was pregnant (and in the early months). Maybe he's sleeping better because he's feeling better. I hope that's the case. But whatever the reason, I just hope it continues. Although we're going to have to start taking breakfast with him to school because he's too grumpy to eat in the morning (he did not want to wake up any day this week). I've been seeing flashes of my "teenager Owen" all week.

Toy of the Day

Owen had a blast today going around the neighborhood on his new tricycle. Granted, he can't really reach the pedals yet, but he loves ringing the bell!The book of the day: Elmo Loves You. Is anyone surprised by this?

No tubes for now...

We had our appointment in Austin today with Dr. Connolly. I really liked him. He was great with Owen. I didn't even have to hold Owen during the exam. He sat in the big boy chair and let the doc look in his ears, up his nose, and in his mouth. We had a hearing test done... good news is that Owen has no hearing loss. So the doctor isn't keen on tubes right now. This makes us feel pretty good. It's not like we're opposed to tubes, we just don't want a doctor who jumps right into surgery as the first option. (Erik thinks they're all out to make more money.) He's currently on his second round of antibiotics for this ear infection. If they don't clear it up, we'll talk tubes. If it does clear up, but he gets another one within eight weeks, then we'll talk tubes. Even if the end result is tubes, I feel really good about Dr. Connolly and a lot less stressed.

Super Owen!

I can't believe he was entertained for half an hour with a flour sack towel. We love Super Grover... but we love Super Owen even more!

Tubes?

So we're going to see an ENT tomorrow afternoon. After reading a lot today (and talking to many people), I'm starting to think that tubes may be a good idea for Owen. A lot of what I've been reading not only mentions the ear infections (a constant problem around here) but also the potential hearing loss and speech delay. Owen is almost 21 months, and while he says many words, he has yet to string anything together to make a sentence. He's also much more content naming animals by making their sounds than saying their names. I have tried really hard not to overreact or think he's slow to speak... understanding that each child develops at their own pace. But now I'm worried that he's not speaking much (and not speaking well) because of the fluid in his ears. While surgery scares me quite a bit (even though I know it's only 15 minutes or so), I think I'm leaning toward the tubes. Other than the surgery concern, I'm also worried about water in the ears. We bathe three times a week. And in the summer, we swim three or four times a week. I was really looking forward to Owen learning how to swim this summer. How are tubes going to affect that? Will he have to have earplugs in all the time? What if he refuses the earplugs? Will he not be able to swim? I still have many questions...

(The pictures are from a recent trip to the McKenna Children's Museum in New Braunfels. Owen had a wonderful time).