Recharging the Batteries

O boy, what a nice day it has been.

Because the past two days were not so nice.

Baby boy has decided to bypass the remaining front teeth for now and cut in his molars. Yikes. What a vacation that's been over the last two weeks. And did I mention we didn't even notice they were cutting in until one was all the way in and another was halfway in?  I was on the verge of calling my child a B.R.A.T. when the tooth discovery was made by the Hubs. Then I felt HORRIBLE. I'll take that Mom of the Year award now.

So anyway, this past weekend he ran a fever for a few days and started the fussing so I'm pretty sure another tooth will be pushing it's way through any day now.

Then on Monday, Memorial Day, Hubby started running a high fever and complaining of a sore throat. Oh man. So all day Monday and Tuesday, I have been taking care of my two guys, one whiny and clingy and one not feeling well. Come to think of it that fits both of them :)

The point of this is not to complain because I love caring for my boys. But sometimes a wife/mom has to recharge the batteries to keep sanity calm and carry on. And that's exactly what I prayed for this morning, a little time to get myself regrouped.

Blake went back to work this morning, against my wishes I might add since he still wasn't feeling well (fever was gone though). Preston was up at the crack of dawn, probably b/c of teeth and was already in fussy mode. Our playgroup had planned an outing at the pool at 10:00 a.m. but Preston was so cranky by 8:15 that I put him down for a nap, thinking playgroup was a lost cause. I was really looking forward to it since we had been cooped up for a couple of days.

I went ahead with my bible study (which is Beth Moore's study on Daniel and let me tell you, it is A.W.E.S.O.M.E, totally a must for anyone looking for a new study. It's definitely some food for the soul). So anyway, I was feeling a little down because I had a notion P's fussiness might continue the remainder of the day and I was just weary. So, what to do but hand it off to Jesus. It's amazing what the power of prayer can do to your spirit.

I finish my study, take the dog out and lo and behold Preston wakes up at 9:30. I thought to myself - we are getting out of this house and going to the pool! So I rush like a mad woman slapping some pb & j's together, loading up the beach bag and slathering on the sunscreen. We were of course still late but we made it! And it was so worth it. Preston had fun playing in the water with me and the others and it was nice to have some girl time chat for Mommy.

After lunch and more pool time play, we loaded up and headed home, Preston falling asleep on the way. That was about 12:45 ish and he is still asleep in his bed as I type at 3:44 p.m.

Today was just what I needed to freshen up my outlook and fuel me with a positive attitude. Now I'm going to have a glass of pink lemonade and wait for my little guy to wake up and my big guy to come home from work :)

Our Trip to the ER

I'm a bit behind in my blogging so here goes a few posts.

Let's start off with Preston's happenings. We had our first trip to the ER a few days before Thanksgiving. He came down with what I assumed was a cold, given his cough, runny nose and frequent sneezing. That was on a Sunday. By Monday I noticed his was breathing through his mouth a lot. Again, I assumed it was due to his nose being stuffy. By Monday evening I could hear a wheezy noise coming from him with almost every breath. He was also breathing a little harder. That did it. I'm on the phone calling the doctor while simultaneously scouring the internet for answers. I see stuff about pneumonia and respiratory distress and I freak out. The nurse informs me to go ahead and take him to Children's. Thankfully Blake had just gotten home from work so we loaded up and headed out. The ER waiting room was jam packed full so I started preparing myself for the wait. The check-in nurse listened to his breathing, had me fill out some forms and we were called back within 10 minutes. They do not take respiratory issues lightly. His fever was up to 102 and the his oxygen level was fairly low. They like it to be between 95-100 and his was 91 which is not horrible but definitely not very good. They ordered us a room and that's where we spent the next 6 hours.

He received two breathing treatments which were absolute torture for Preston. He doesn't like to be held down anyway but we had to hold the mask on him for a solid 30-45 minutes both times. He would literally cry until he passed out. It was heartbreaking for us. The doctors couldn't give us a definite diagnosis but said it could have been from his cold or possibly asthma. They treated him as if was the latter and sent us home with an inhaler and steroids. We were told if he gets these breathing issues every time he gets sick, it could mean he has asthma. I personally don't think he does because he's never wheezed like this before when sick. We will pray it was a one-time incident. The last thing they did was clear out nose and mouth and we had to hold him down for that one too...poor guy did not have a fun night. They almost kept him overnight but after the breathing treatments his oxygen levels went back up to about 97 so they gave us the okay to go home. He didn't wheeze anymore once we left the hospital and he was back to his normal self in a few days. I'm so thankful!

Guy on the Go

So I'm having to adjust to my son's new found mobility. He has hit exploration mode in full force. I'm used to him being content just scooting around a room playing with his toys. No sir, not anymore. He follows me to the bathroom, chases the cat into the closet or just excuses himself from the room and starts padding down the hallway. I'm sorry, when did you become so independent, Preston? His two favorite things to do are close doors and play with cords. Safe, right? What a stinker. So now all the cords have to be put away but not sure what to do about the doors. He gets mad if they are open just a crack so he slams them shut...geez. He likes our dog because she tolerates him but he loves the cat because he can't actually get to him. I guess it's the "hard-to-get" that fascinates him. Preston goes as fast as he can to catch him, excitedly calling "ki-ki" (kitty kitty) but as soon as he's within arm's reach, "ki-ki" scadaddles (sp?). It really is a joy though to watch him "find the world" and see where his curiosity takes him, under supervision of course. Preston's first birthday is two weeks away from today and I can't believe this first year is almost behind us. I'm so thankful for every moment that I get to spend staying at home with my boy...even if he is a little mischievous :)

Spontaneous Pneumothorax

What a mouthful! That's the term told to me by husband's doctor when he phoned to explain why he was admitting Blake into the hospital - a collapsed lung. Here I am cleaning the house, fully aware that Blake is at the doctor's office for some chest pain. He had begun to feel the pain the night before, along with a cough and headache. We both thought he might be coming down with pneumonia. Wrong. I couldn't believe it when Blake told me the diagnosis. I immediately freaked out and got upset, not knowing what this meant. This is why the doctor called me to further explain. Basically, there was a "pocket" of air outside of the lung which causes it to collapse. It is termed "spontaneous" if there is no underlying problem to cause the collapse (i.e. injury or lung disease). The doctor assured me the problem could be corrected but Blake would need to be admitted for observation to be sure nothing got worse. I don't care what anyone says, when I'm told my husband is being hospitalized for an illness that affects his breathing, I'm going to be scared and upset. God is so good though. As soon we I hung up the phone, I prayed for Blake and for peace of mind to get us through this situation. I felt so helpless but God reminded me that he is in control and would get us through this.

Blake spent a day and full night in the hospital, wearing an oxygen mask. The goal of the oxygen was to help the escaped air around the lungs be reabsorbed more quickly. Thankfully, this worked for Blake. Otherwise, they would have placed a needle in the lung to try and remove some of the air. Blake's X-ray the next morning confirmed it was getting better. The doctors told Blake there is no timeline for full recovery. They said as long as the pain did not get worse, he may expect to feel pain and discomfort for a while. It's also possible for this to happen again, though there is nothing specific he can avoid to prevent it. However, Blake was instructed to take the rest of this week off from work and no work-outs for a month. The latter was the toughest blow for Blake. He and I have been doing the P90X program for the past two months and besides the benefits of the exercise, we really enjoy doing it together. He has lost 30 pounds in the last four months and I'm so proud of how hard he has worked for it. But the most important thing is keeping Blake healthy so a month is not that much time in the long run.

So the three of us have been laying low this week and getting Blake to rest as much as possible. I love taking care of my two boys :) Side note: I really felt I needed to be with Blake in the hospital so we experienced our first night away from Preston. My parents graciously spent the night at our house while we were gone. I was afraid Preston would not do so well away from his crib so having them at our house gave me more peace of mind. And he did great! I'm so glad he was such a good boy for his grandparents. We sure missed him though!!!

We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers received for Blake. We have such wonderful family and friends!
Stay tuned for Preston's 9 month update!

Puny

That's the best word to describe Preston this weekend. My poor little guy is experiencing his first illness and it has not been fun. It started on Friday afternoon. Now we all know that my child does not like to sleep during the day and usually refuses all naps unless he happens to fall asleep in the car or while nursing. Being the determined mother that I am, I still place Preston in his crib throughout the day in hopes he will give in and fall asleep. This was the case on Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. He fussed for a few minutes and then silence. Yay! I'm hoping we might get a good 30 minutes to an hour. Well...4:30 rolls around and he's still sleeping. Hmm...a few minutes later he awakens and is "talking" just a bit. A few minutes later, silence. He is back asleep. We have friends arriving at 6:00 p.m. to have dinner with us and he is still asleep when they get to our house. Alright, what the heck is going on here? We wake Preston and I'm thinking once he has some food he should be a happy camper for the evening since he's had so much sleep. Wrong! He was very cranky and did not want to be put down. At 7:45 we are heading to bed. He was feeling a little warm so I gave him some Motrin just in case.

He slept all night until 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning and when I pick him up he is blazing hot. Temperature comes to 102.6. Holy cow! He has never had a high fever before. I gave him some more Motrin, nursed him back to sleep and called the doctor. We were at our weekly playgroup on Wednesday and one of the babies turned up sick the next day. Her doctor thought it could be the beginnings of Hand, Foot Mouth so I was concerned that he could have the same. His appointment was at 10:15 and we had to wake Preston just before we left because he was still sleeping. Yep, definitely not feeling good.

The doctor said his throat was red and that it may be a viral infection or still could be HFM so we would have to wait and see if anything happens. HFM is a common illness in babies that starts out with fever and a day or two later, red sores develop in their mouth, palms of the their hands and soles of their feet. I've heard it's very contagious and worse in adult form. Yikes!

So...my sweet Preston has just been kind of puny this weekend. His temperature went up to 103.9 on Saturday afternoon. I know babies typically run higher temps than adults do but it's still scary. Today has been an improvement though. He took a nap this afternoon and then played for an hour in the floor after he ate. I could tell his temp was very low if not normal. It started going back up by bedtime but I'm hoping we're headed towards recovery. No sign of any sores so I'm hopeful it is not HFM. I've included a sweet photo of Preston the day before he started feeling bad. I'm sure he will be back to his happy self soon! Two new posts below

Julie Elizabeth Reeves

I wanted to brag about my first NIECE! Julie Elizabeth arrived Wednesday, June 16th. Her proud parents are my brother Ryan and sister-in-law Dawn. She also has two big brothers that love her to pieces. She is the first girl grandchild in the family so we are excited to see a little pink :) On her birth day, Julie stopped breathing for a short period of time and was taken to the NICU for observation. She was overall very healthy and they are still unsure what caused it. But we are so thankful that God answered our prayers and this sweet girl only had to stay one extra night in the hospital. She and Mommy are doing great now! My pictures are taking forever to upload to I've just added a few. New post below!

Nighty Night

Who knew that a slight modification in our bedtime routine would result in Preston sleeping all night long? Our previous routine consisted of a bath followed by his night-night feeding in his room, lights out. Thus, he would get sleepy and have no problem laying down to sleep. Given he is now 6 months old, he is physically able to sleep most of the night without another feeding. However, he was waking around 11:00 or 12:00 at night, crying until he was nursed back to sleep. After discussing our situation with a friend and fellow breastfeeding mom, she gave me some AMAZING advice her doctor had suggested: Don't nurse him to sleep. Ha! I was skeptical that Preston would be a willing participant but I had to give-it-a-go anyway. So, we reversed our routine to having our night-night feeding in the family room with lights on and t.v. noise. Then we had our bath, lotion w/our lotion song, pj's and goodnight kiss from Daddy. Now to the hard part. Per my instruction from my friend, I was to rock him for a few minutes (gradually decreasing each night) then lay him in his crib. He did get a bit sleepy while being rocked but as soon as I laid Preston down in his bed he gave me this look of "What the heck are you doing, Mom?" I turned on his music, inserted the paci and left the room. The crying came about 30 seconds later. Continuing with my friend's advice, I was to go in every 5 minutes, calm him down and give the paci back. It took me going in twice and he was fast sleep. He slept until 5:00 a.m. that first night! I was in complete shock. I couldn't believe that such a small change could have such a drastic effect. This has been about 2-3 weeks ago and while we've had a few night awakenings, he is consistently sleeping from 8:00 p.m. until about 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. After he eats, he goes back down until 9:00 or 9:30, sometimes even later! I will let him sleep as long as he likes in the morning. This is simply because he refuses to allow this type of routine for naps later on in the day. Previously, I was able to get Preston to nap in his crib but I had to nurse him. I found out the hard way that this messes him up at bedtime. The poor guy was getting confused. So now we have to find a new way to get him to nap in his crib for naps :) And side note, Preston now goes straight to sleep when I place him in his bed at night. No rocking necessary. I hum his favorite little lullaby (ironically it's "Go to Sleep") a few times and slip out the door. I have to say, I have missed my long lost sleep and it has been extremely nice to get some much needed zzzzzz's. Speaking of, I'm off to bed!

March 17, 2009

One year ago today I found out I was pregnant with our precious baby boy. The details of it are still so vivid...That January I had a miscarriage and it left me devastated. After several months of trying for a baby, mine was now gone. After MANY tears and a week to recover emotionally, I went back to work and began to put myself back together. I had to continue seeing my doctor to check my HCG levels (pregnancy hormone) and make sure they returned to zero. I went twice in February and they were very low and I was told to come back in a few more weeks to check again. I went back on March 17th, had my blood drawn as usual and returned to work. It normally takes them 2 days to call me with the results but two hours later, my cell phone was ringing. It was my doctor herself and not the nurse. Our conversation went something like this:

Doctor: "Were you coming in to confirm a pregnancy?"

Me: "Um, no ma'am, I was just getting my levels checked again to see if they were down to zero yet."

Doctor: "Well, your HCG is over 700 so I believe we have a new pregnancy"

Me: (wordless and in shock)

So after a home pregnancy positive and an ultrasound at the doctor the next day, it was confirmed. I was pregnant again and we were thrilled to say the least. This last year has been amazing...from hearing Preston's heartbeat, feeling him flutter in my tummy, finding out he was a boy, watching my belly move from his strong kicks, waiting anxiously during labor and holding him for the first time, and now watching him grow and change. He truly is a miracle and I'm so thankful for him. Being his mother is such a gift and blessing from God and I just can't say it enough. Thank you Jesus for my beloved baby.

Snow!

The snow we had this weekend was beautiful. If Preston was older we would have definitely gone outside to play. But, since P is still a little fella, we decided to stay indoors and watch from the window. Preston showed his snow spirit by wearing his onesie with a polar bear :) When Daddy got home from work we decided to bundle Preston and brace the snow for a few pictures. I'm sure he will have a little more fun next year if we are lucky enough to get good snow again. NEW POST BELOW!

Sleep Success

I am so proud of my boy that I have to brag on him this morning. Preston slept from 9:30 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. this morning! And that's not all. After I fed him, I laid him back down while awake but sleepy and he put himself back to sleep until 6:20. His poor tummy usually hurts late at night so our normal sleep pattern is to wake every 3-4 hours. Normally it takes me over an hour to get him fed and knocked out asleep before I place him in the crib. He usually will wake right up if he's not totally asleep. I really think we're on the tail end of his colic and I'm so thankful he's feeling much better. I'm so proud of him! Hopefully we will have more nights like this from now on!

Back to Blogging

I have slacked on our blog for the past few months and now that we're settled in with Preston, I hope to keep it updated regularly. Preston is nearly two months old and we are enjoying every moment with him. His personality is started to show and he's smiling now. He is so adorable. His colic is beginning to subside and I'm hoping we're nearing the end of it. Below are two new posts - one about Preston's birth and another for Christmas. Enjoy!