Angela, congratulations on the 9 pounds! That's absolutely wonderful! Good luck with the visit to your family. How great that you and your sister have a plan. That's a lot better than winging it, since you'll be letting your sister down as well as yourself this way!
And I know what you mean about your son. My DS is 17 months younger than his sister and they are so different. When DD was sick as a baby, she spike a really high temp (104 was typical). DS never spiked a temp at all, but he'd be just as sick. It got to the point where if his nose was running, I took him to the Dr. I even bought one of the ear checkers myself because I thought maybe I was over-reacting. But every time his nose ran, he had an ear infection. He did eventually out-grow them, probably about 3 years old.
And I know what you mean about your son. My DS is 17 months younger than his sister and they are so different. When DD was sick as a baby, she spike a really high temp (104 was typical). DS never spiked a temp at all, but he'd be just as sick. It got to the point where if his nose was running, I took him to the Dr. I even bought one of the ear checkers myself because I thought maybe I was over-reacting. But every time his nose ran, he had an ear infection. He did eventually out-grow them, probably about 3 years old.