Poor poor Seth. I think he greatly suffers from second-child syndrome. I begged his daycare teachers this morning not to report me for gross neglect.
A few weeks ago, I picked Seth up when I was standing at the sink--which is next to the stove. I had forgotten that I had just taken a pot off of the back burner (I always cook on the back burners) and had set it on the front burner. Seth's hand brushed up against the pot and he burned his two little fingers! I felt sooo horrible.
Then a few days ago, he was crawling around under me in the bathroom, and the blow dryer that I had carelessly rested on the sink counter fell down on his hand (thank God it was just his hand!) and banged and cut his finger just below his nail bed.
THEN this morning, he was crawling around under me again as I tried to get ready for work. I put my old makeup bag down for him to play with (stuff that he can't figure out how to open yet) and forgot that the pencil sharpener was in there. I looked down after a few minutes and noticed little drops of blood everywhere. He had managed to cut the tip of his finger and fingernail. Wow--did I feel horrible.
THEN, when I went to put him in the car seat to head to school, I notice that the side of his face is scraped--right on his cheek. I have NO IDEA when or how he did that, but it was in the span of just a few minutes. He cried and fussed a bit off and on this morning, but there wasn't any anguished, painful kind of cry. I guess he's pretty tough!
So I'm hoping he can get through the rest of the day without sustaining any more injuries. Clearly daycare is the safest place he can be right now! Poor Seth.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Weekend Report
Wow--I haven't done a weekend report in a long time! I guess this goes to show that things really might be getting back to normal. Our weekend was really nice and uneventful--just like they should be! On Saturday Ed and I cleaned and cleaned in between playing with the boys. We went to a local Mexican Restaurant for dinner. Today we went to the mall and William got his second haircut and a new pair of shoes! When we walked into Stride Rite, I didn't expect William to have much of an opinion about his shoes. Although he's picky about his shirts and pants, he never seems to care about what shoes he's wearing. I should have thought twice. He got one look at these:
and that was it. In case you can't tell, that's a MONSTER TRUCK on the shoe. It's pretty much the coolest thing ever. Ed was horrified by the flashing lights and tried to convince William to go for another pair. But then he realized that most of the shoes in that store are at least $50 and these were only $35. So William gleefully wore his tacky, light-up MONSTER TRUCK tennis shoes out of the store. (He's a size 8 now!)
When we got home, Ed and William turned right around and met Ed's family at a Japanese steakhouse (where they cook in front of you) to celebrate his grandparents' 59th anniversary. We thought it might be too much for Seth, so Seth and I stayed home. When William came back, all he said was, "Mommy, I saw FIRE!" I had already put Seth to bed, so I got to give all my attention to William as we did his nebulizer treatment, changed into PJs, and read stories. It was awesome to get one-on-one time with both boys tonight. And it was awesome to not feel worried about the boys' health this weekend. Seth's appetite is back and he's got much more energy. And I think he's finally stopped retracting. So we may try to send him to daycare tomorrow. We'll see how he looks in the morning and how his night goes.
So that's our weekend report. Hopefully our week will be as uneventful as our weekend!
and that was it. In case you can't tell, that's a MONSTER TRUCK on the shoe. It's pretty much the coolest thing ever. Ed was horrified by the flashing lights and tried to convince William to go for another pair. But then he realized that most of the shoes in that store are at least $50 and these were only $35. So William gleefully wore his tacky, light-up MONSTER TRUCK tennis shoes out of the store. (He's a size 8 now!)When we got home, Ed and William turned right around and met Ed's family at a Japanese steakhouse (where they cook in front of you) to celebrate his grandparents' 59th anniversary. We thought it might be too much for Seth, so Seth and I stayed home. When William came back, all he said was, "Mommy, I saw FIRE!" I had already put Seth to bed, so I got to give all my attention to William as we did his nebulizer treatment, changed into PJs, and read stories. It was awesome to get one-on-one time with both boys tonight. And it was awesome to not feel worried about the boys' health this weekend. Seth's appetite is back and he's got much more energy. And I think he's finally stopped retracting. So we may try to send him to daycare tomorrow. We'll see how he looks in the morning and how his night goes.
So that's our weekend report. Hopefully our week will be as uneventful as our weekend!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Seth is Nine Months Old!
I have so much to talk about--the inauguration, our visit with Laura and Heather, the boys recovering (fingers crossed!) and childcare options--but before I get to any of that, I remembered that today is Seth's nine-month birthday! And I even got chair pictures. (Not great, but they'll do!) I think I've mentioned before that William loves to "write" with pens. He discovered an old daytimer calendar of mine and was pretty busy recording goodness-knows-what in there.
Seth, meanwhile, was quite busy with all of the nebulizer tubing that we've accumulated over the last few years.
It's getting harder and harder to take pictures of him on the chair. He's usually trying to take a nose-dive off the chair! As you can tell by the pictures, his nose is still a faucet, but I think he's slowly improving. His appetite has picked up a lot in the last two days. He's eating cheerios again, and babyfood (but only if it's fruit), so that's promising. He also hasn't had any fever in two days. We went to the doctor again today for a follow-up, however, and he now has a double ear infection. So he's on Augmentin. The doctor said to continue with the nebulizer for his breathing, and as long as he continues to improve, they don't need a follow-up for two weeks. If he doesn't improve or gets worse, they'll see him right away. As for daycare, he can go back when his breathing is better (not retracting), his appetite is back, and his cough is just residual. It could be Monday, it could be a week from Monday. I'm hoping for Monday, but on the other hand, I'm really scared to send him back to daycare. But that's fodder for another post.
What I should be talking about is how much Seth is doing these days, and how freaking adorable he is! He has figured out how to climb, and he is so proud of himself when he does it. He especially loves to climb onto the fireplace hearth. And yesterday, he figured out how to get on the dishwasher.
He also figured out how much fun toilet paper can be.
And when you ask, "How big is Seth?" he does this as you're saying, "So big!":
He's starting to cruise a bit, too, so I'm wondering if he'll walk around the same time that William did. (12 months) It's crazy to me that he's already nine months old and passing all of these milestones. It's even crazier that he still doesn't have any teeth! Not one tooth! He is saying "Mama" though! And I think he knows that "Mama" is me.
Even though it's Seth's nine-month-birthday, I don't want to close without at least mentioning William. He has been equally as adorable, and has really been using his imagination so much these days. He has a set of blocks that have some pieces that are long and thin, and he stuffs these between the sofa cushions and pretends they're his controls and levers for operating his diggers. One day it will be an excavator and one day a backhoe and one day a crane. Today we were upstairs trying to get some work done, and there was something in the basement he wanted, so he went down there by himself. And when he came back, he was lugging his huge CAT backhoe. He carried that thing up two flights of stairs! And he was so proud of himself. He said, "I be ve-we careful Mommy!" I think he must be having a growth spurt, because he's been eating more lately (not much, but more than he was) and not fighting naps or bedtime. One of his favorite books right now is At the Auto Repair Center. He loves any of the Tonka books (I'm a Great Big Eighteen Wheeler, Pure Power, Rescue Action, etc. etc.) and studies them very seriously. There has been no diverting William from his love of all things truck! He's also been saying that he "loves" things, like, today at Target he said, "I lub dat twuck, Mommy!"
He is fully recovered from his pneumonia and his nose has even dried up. Praise be! He went to daycare today and had a great time. He told me that he likes his friends today when I picked him up. That's because in the morning, before we get to daycare, he usually tells me that he doesn't like his friends and he doesn't want to go to school. Once he gets there, though, he happily pushes me out the door.
So that's where we are right now. Not perfect, but much much better. I still have so much to say--especially about the inauguration and Laura's visit, but I'll have to save that for another night. This turned into a much longer post than I had planned, but that's good, because it means things are maybe possibly getting back to "normal," whatever that is!
Seth, meanwhile, was quite busy with all of the nebulizer tubing that we've accumulated over the last few years.
It's getting harder and harder to take pictures of him on the chair. He's usually trying to take a nose-dive off the chair! As you can tell by the pictures, his nose is still a faucet, but I think he's slowly improving. His appetite has picked up a lot in the last two days. He's eating cheerios again, and babyfood (but only if it's fruit), so that's promising. He also hasn't had any fever in two days. We went to the doctor again today for a follow-up, however, and he now has a double ear infection. So he's on Augmentin. The doctor said to continue with the nebulizer for his breathing, and as long as he continues to improve, they don't need a follow-up for two weeks. If he doesn't improve or gets worse, they'll see him right away. As for daycare, he can go back when his breathing is better (not retracting), his appetite is back, and his cough is just residual. It could be Monday, it could be a week from Monday. I'm hoping for Monday, but on the other hand, I'm really scared to send him back to daycare. But that's fodder for another post.What I should be talking about is how much Seth is doing these days, and how freaking adorable he is! He has figured out how to climb, and he is so proud of himself when he does it. He especially loves to climb onto the fireplace hearth. And yesterday, he figured out how to get on the dishwasher.
He also figured out how much fun toilet paper can be.
And when you ask, "How big is Seth?" he does this as you're saying, "So big!":
He's starting to cruise a bit, too, so I'm wondering if he'll walk around the same time that William did. (12 months) It's crazy to me that he's already nine months old and passing all of these milestones. It's even crazier that he still doesn't have any teeth! Not one tooth! He is saying "Mama" though! And I think he knows that "Mama" is me.Even though it's Seth's nine-month-birthday, I don't want to close without at least mentioning William. He has been equally as adorable, and has really been using his imagination so much these days. He has a set of blocks that have some pieces that are long and thin, and he stuffs these between the sofa cushions and pretends they're his controls and levers for operating his diggers. One day it will be an excavator and one day a backhoe and one day a crane. Today we were upstairs trying to get some work done, and there was something in the basement he wanted, so he went down there by himself. And when he came back, he was lugging his huge CAT backhoe. He carried that thing up two flights of stairs! And he was so proud of himself. He said, "I be ve-we careful Mommy!" I think he must be having a growth spurt, because he's been eating more lately (not much, but more than he was) and not fighting naps or bedtime. One of his favorite books right now is At the Auto Repair Center. He loves any of the Tonka books (I'm a Great Big Eighteen Wheeler, Pure Power, Rescue Action, etc. etc.) and studies them very seriously. There has been no diverting William from his love of all things truck! He's also been saying that he "loves" things, like, today at Target he said, "I lub dat twuck, Mommy!"
He is fully recovered from his pneumonia and his nose has even dried up. Praise be! He went to daycare today and had a great time. He told me that he likes his friends today when I picked him up. That's because in the morning, before we get to daycare, he usually tells me that he doesn't like his friends and he doesn't want to go to school. Once he gets there, though, he happily pushes me out the door.
So that's where we are right now. Not perfect, but much much better. I still have so much to say--especially about the inauguration and Laura's visit, but I'll have to save that for another night. This turned into a much longer post than I had planned, but that's good, because it means things are maybe possibly getting back to "normal," whatever that is!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Not To Be Outdone
Seth decided William was having all the fun this week, so he one-upped him. Seth and I spent the day in the ER.
When last I left you, it was Wednesday. Seth had been wheezing, and the doctor put him on Albuterol and an antibiotic, and wanted to see him on Thursday. So Thursday morning, Ed took Seth back to the doctor. Seth was sounding much better and he didn't have a fever. The doctor said to continue albuterol every 6-8 hours, or as needed, if his breathing started sounding labored. He was fine the rest of Thursday, and had a pretty good night Thursday night. He also didn't have any more diarrhea. So we decided to give daycare a try on Friday.
Well, his morning was good. But his fever came back on Friday afternoon at daycare, and his breathing was a bit labored. So we went home and did a nebulizer treatment and I gave him Motrin. He had a really fitful night and I nebulized him again at some ungodly hour of the morning. At that point, I considered just taking him to the ER, but he managed to go back to sleep and his fever went down, so I decided to wait and take him to his pediatrician in the morning.
So this morning we went to the doctor and they sent us to the ER. They didn't think he had pneumonia, and he wasn't wheezing, but his labored breathing definitely pointed to something--most likely RSV. So we went to the ER. He was so pitiful when we got there. He hadn't had any Motrin since the wee hours of the morning, so his fever had spiked, and he felt and looked miserable. His nose was so congested. We were admitted pretty quickly and the nurse and an intern and the attending doctor all examined him. The nurse gave him Motrin, thank goodness, and the doctor came back and said that he has bronchiolitis, which is brought on usually by RSV. They did a nose swab and sent him for a chest x-ray just in case. The nose swab came back positive for RSV and the chest x-ray was negative for pneumonia.
Initially the doctor wanted to admit him to the hospital for overnight observation. He was worried that Seth's breathing could become so labored that it would wear him out and he could go into respiratory failure. But he ordered a nebulizer treatment, which Seth responded really well to. And the Motrin had kicked in, so Seth was visibly improved. So they sent us home with orders to nebulize every 3-4 hours and to keep his fever down by alternating Tylenol and Motrin. They also gave him an oral steroid and we got a prescription for that.
I asked the ER doctor if we should consider getting a nanny and keeping him out of group care. He said keeping him home might limit how much and how often he's exposed to viruses and bacteria, but he'd still get sick and still react in the same ways. And since he already has an older sibling who will expose him to lots of germs, it probably wouldn't do a whole lot of good to have in-home care. That made me feel a little better. But I'm also going to ask my pediatrician/s what they think. I can't help but think there's something I'm doing wrong--some obvious reason that my kids keep getting so sick when other kids aren't. It just doesn't make sense--they weren't preemies, I breast fed exclusively until 6 months, and continued to nurse beyond that. There isn't a long history of asthma or other respiratory illness in our families. Or even bad allergies. Are both of my kids going to end up with asthma? Should I move somewhere with a better climate or less pollution? Should I stay home with them instead of sending them to daycare? I wish the answers were crystal clear.
As for operation sanitization, I've made good progress. I got all the beds stripped and the house Lysoled. I got about three-quarters of the toys sanitized. I need more Clorox Anywhere. And to end on a positive note, William is much much better. His nose is still runny, but his cough is winding down. Even though he's been a little more clingy to me in the last few days--wanting me to hold him or play with him--he's also been enjoying playing with his toys and even had a great day at daycare on Friday. I'm praying that we've been through the worst of it this winter. And I'm also thanking God that this is a four-day weekend for us. We get Tuesday off because of the inauguration, so hopefully Seth will be recovered by then. I used two days of sick leave this past week, and I'm not even sure I had two days of leave. And I think I have one day of annual leave left. But my new leave kicks in on Feb. 1, so that's a relief.
Anyway, this hasn't been a very interesting blog lately. But I think I'll be glad I recorded all of this later. Hopefully, I'll look back and think, "Wow--things were really hard then. But that was the hardest time, and it all got better from there." Wishful thinking, huh? I don't think it gets easier--the challenges just change. Despite the stress and worry and guilt, I still wouldn't trade motherhood for anything in the world.
When last I left you, it was Wednesday. Seth had been wheezing, and the doctor put him on Albuterol and an antibiotic, and wanted to see him on Thursday. So Thursday morning, Ed took Seth back to the doctor. Seth was sounding much better and he didn't have a fever. The doctor said to continue albuterol every 6-8 hours, or as needed, if his breathing started sounding labored. He was fine the rest of Thursday, and had a pretty good night Thursday night. He also didn't have any more diarrhea. So we decided to give daycare a try on Friday.
Well, his morning was good. But his fever came back on Friday afternoon at daycare, and his breathing was a bit labored. So we went home and did a nebulizer treatment and I gave him Motrin. He had a really fitful night and I nebulized him again at some ungodly hour of the morning. At that point, I considered just taking him to the ER, but he managed to go back to sleep and his fever went down, so I decided to wait and take him to his pediatrician in the morning.
So this morning we went to the doctor and they sent us to the ER. They didn't think he had pneumonia, and he wasn't wheezing, but his labored breathing definitely pointed to something--most likely RSV. So we went to the ER. He was so pitiful when we got there. He hadn't had any Motrin since the wee hours of the morning, so his fever had spiked, and he felt and looked miserable. His nose was so congested. We were admitted pretty quickly and the nurse and an intern and the attending doctor all examined him. The nurse gave him Motrin, thank goodness, and the doctor came back and said that he has bronchiolitis, which is brought on usually by RSV. They did a nose swab and sent him for a chest x-ray just in case. The nose swab came back positive for RSV and the chest x-ray was negative for pneumonia.
Initially the doctor wanted to admit him to the hospital for overnight observation. He was worried that Seth's breathing could become so labored that it would wear him out and he could go into respiratory failure. But he ordered a nebulizer treatment, which Seth responded really well to. And the Motrin had kicked in, so Seth was visibly improved. So they sent us home with orders to nebulize every 3-4 hours and to keep his fever down by alternating Tylenol and Motrin. They also gave him an oral steroid and we got a prescription for that.
I asked the ER doctor if we should consider getting a nanny and keeping him out of group care. He said keeping him home might limit how much and how often he's exposed to viruses and bacteria, but he'd still get sick and still react in the same ways. And since he already has an older sibling who will expose him to lots of germs, it probably wouldn't do a whole lot of good to have in-home care. That made me feel a little better. But I'm also going to ask my pediatrician/s what they think. I can't help but think there's something I'm doing wrong--some obvious reason that my kids keep getting so sick when other kids aren't. It just doesn't make sense--they weren't preemies, I breast fed exclusively until 6 months, and continued to nurse beyond that. There isn't a long history of asthma or other respiratory illness in our families. Or even bad allergies. Are both of my kids going to end up with asthma? Should I move somewhere with a better climate or less pollution? Should I stay home with them instead of sending them to daycare? I wish the answers were crystal clear.
As for operation sanitization, I've made good progress. I got all the beds stripped and the house Lysoled. I got about three-quarters of the toys sanitized. I need more Clorox Anywhere. And to end on a positive note, William is much much better. His nose is still runny, but his cough is winding down. Even though he's been a little more clingy to me in the last few days--wanting me to hold him or play with him--he's also been enjoying playing with his toys and even had a great day at daycare on Friday. I'm praying that we've been through the worst of it this winter. And I'm also thanking God that this is a four-day weekend for us. We get Tuesday off because of the inauguration, so hopefully Seth will be recovered by then. I used two days of sick leave this past week, and I'm not even sure I had two days of leave. And I think I have one day of annual leave left. But my new leave kicks in on Feb. 1, so that's a relief.
Anyway, this hasn't been a very interesting blog lately. But I think I'll be glad I recorded all of this later. Hopefully, I'll look back and think, "Wow--things were really hard then. But that was the hardest time, and it all got better from there." Wishful thinking, huh? I don't think it gets easier--the challenges just change. Despite the stress and worry and guilt, I still wouldn't trade motherhood for anything in the world.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Good News . . . and Bad
William is much much better today. Infrequent coughing fits, no fever, and back to his energetic ways. Seth, on the other hand, is much, much worse. He started coughing a lot overnight and his diarrhea has continued. He woke up with a fever, and started wheezing. He was so lethargic all day. So back to the doctor we went today--the third time in three days. The doctor prescribed nebulizer treatments with albuterol, and an antibiotic. She wants to see him tomorrow morning, and if he hasn't shown improvement, she'll send him for a chest x-ray. Ed will stay home with both boys tomorrow. William could probably return to school, but we figute it's better to give him one more day at home.
I'll be doing some major disinfecting over the next few nights. I've got my Lysol and My Clorox Anywhere. Toys that can will go in the dishwasher. Others that can get submerged will go in a bathtub of Clorox. The rest will get sprayed with the Clorox Anywhere. And all household surfaces (doorknobs, cabinets, faucets, etc.) will get Lysoled. All sheets and towels and pillowcases and washcloths, etc., will get washed on the sanitary cycle (super hot). I will become the handwashing Nazi, and will not go anywhere without hand sanitizer.
On a lighter and far more pleasant note, William has been thanking me lately for all kinds of things, like making his dinner, giving him a bath, turning on a video. It's really cute. Today, as we walked from our car to CVS to fill Seth's prescriptions, William said, (in a really sweet, almost excited voice) "Dank you for holding my hand while we cwossed de stweet, Mommy!" It was so completely unprompted, and so genuine and ernest. I laughed because a lady had just walked out of CVS in time to hear him say that, and my first thought was (although I didn't say this out loud), "Don't worry--he's not always this polite! It's just a phase." It's nice to have William back to his old self. Now if we can just get Seth there!
I'll be doing some major disinfecting over the next few nights. I've got my Lysol and My Clorox Anywhere. Toys that can will go in the dishwasher. Others that can get submerged will go in a bathtub of Clorox. The rest will get sprayed with the Clorox Anywhere. And all household surfaces (doorknobs, cabinets, faucets, etc.) will get Lysoled. All sheets and towels and pillowcases and washcloths, etc., will get washed on the sanitary cycle (super hot). I will become the handwashing Nazi, and will not go anywhere without hand sanitizer.
On a lighter and far more pleasant note, William has been thanking me lately for all kinds of things, like making his dinner, giving him a bath, turning on a video. It's really cute. Today, as we walked from our car to CVS to fill Seth's prescriptions, William said, (in a really sweet, almost excited voice) "Dank you for holding my hand while we cwossed de stweet, Mommy!" It was so completely unprompted, and so genuine and ernest. I laughed because a lady had just walked out of CVS in time to hear him say that, and my first thought was (although I didn't say this out loud), "Don't worry--he's not always this polite! It's just a phase." It's nice to have William back to his old self. Now if we can just get Seth there!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Pneumonia
William has pneumonia. It started Saturday, when he woke up with his typical, tight, dry cough. He was coughing a lot, and his breathing rate was a bit high. So I nebulized him with Albuterol. It didn't seem to help a lot, but he was in a pretty good mood, so I didn't worry too much about it. He started running a fever at some point on Saturday. The fever was not his typical MO, but it wasn't very high, so again, I wasn't too concerned. He took a nap, and when he woke up, we went to Ed's parents house to spend the night.
Overnight, his fever got worse, and he was definitely wheezing. We nebulized him again and gave him Motrin. The Motrin brought the temperature down, but it would go back up. On Sunday morning, I called our doctor to ask if I should be concerned about the fever. I told them that he wasn't struggling to breathe, but he was still wheezing and the Albuterol didn't really seem to be helping. The nurse didn't seem too concerned, and since we were in Maryland at Ed's parents, I decided not to take him in. His fever went up and down all day Sunday and he was coughing a lot. Sunday night was more of the same, so Monday morning, Ed took him to the doctor. The doctor sent them to get a chest x-ray, and an hour later, diagnosed him with pneumonia and gave him a prescription for Augmentin. She said we should see improvement within 24 hours.
He spent the rest of Monday with Ed's sister and I think he felt miserable all day. Monday night was pretty bad. He coughed and coughed and his fever continued to go up and down. Today, fortunately, he was much better. He didn't have a temperature, so that was good. But he was still coughing like crazy.
Meanwhile, Seth has not been himself, and now he has diarrhea again. He's not eating, and is pretty clingy. He's also taking really short naps. So I took him to the doctor today and William tagged along. The doctor concluded that Seth probably has a virus, but when she heard William coughing, she was concerned. We did a nebulizer treatment to see if that helped his coughing, and then she prescribed him an oral steroid. And if he doesn't improve by tomorrow, she wants to see him again. Tonight he woke up crying an hour after he went to sleep, and sure enough, he's running a fever again.
Last night, William slept in our bed. Tonight, I might sneak into his bed. I feel better being right next to him when he's sick like this. I'm hoping that the diagnosis of pneumonia sounds much more serious than it is. I know it can be very serious, but in most cases, it's easily treated and recovery is quick. So I hope that's true for William.
Overnight, his fever got worse, and he was definitely wheezing. We nebulized him again and gave him Motrin. The Motrin brought the temperature down, but it would go back up. On Sunday morning, I called our doctor to ask if I should be concerned about the fever. I told them that he wasn't struggling to breathe, but he was still wheezing and the Albuterol didn't really seem to be helping. The nurse didn't seem too concerned, and since we were in Maryland at Ed's parents, I decided not to take him in. His fever went up and down all day Sunday and he was coughing a lot. Sunday night was more of the same, so Monday morning, Ed took him to the doctor. The doctor sent them to get a chest x-ray, and an hour later, diagnosed him with pneumonia and gave him a prescription for Augmentin. She said we should see improvement within 24 hours.
He spent the rest of Monday with Ed's sister and I think he felt miserable all day. Monday night was pretty bad. He coughed and coughed and his fever continued to go up and down. Today, fortunately, he was much better. He didn't have a temperature, so that was good. But he was still coughing like crazy.
Meanwhile, Seth has not been himself, and now he has diarrhea again. He's not eating, and is pretty clingy. He's also taking really short naps. So I took him to the doctor today and William tagged along. The doctor concluded that Seth probably has a virus, but when she heard William coughing, she was concerned. We did a nebulizer treatment to see if that helped his coughing, and then she prescribed him an oral steroid. And if he doesn't improve by tomorrow, she wants to see him again. Tonight he woke up crying an hour after he went to sleep, and sure enough, he's running a fever again.
Last night, William slept in our bed. Tonight, I might sneak into his bed. I feel better being right next to him when he's sick like this. I'm hoping that the diagnosis of pneumonia sounds much more serious than it is. I know it can be very serious, but in most cases, it's easily treated and recovery is quick. So I hope that's true for William.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Still Struggling
I'd like to say 2009 is off to a great start, but the boys are sick again. We couldn't even get through one week of daycare. Seth came down with a fever and diarrhea on Thursday, so he stayed home on Friday (half the day with Daddy and half with Aunt Meredith), and on Friday, William started coughing. By Saturday morning, he was on his way to wheezing and had developed a fever. His fever has been up and down--down thanks to Motrin--and we've been giving him Albuterol to control the wheezing. He hasn't been this sick in a while, poor thing. Seth is better, though, so he'll be going to school tomorrow while William stays with his Aunt Meredith.
When his fever has been under control, William has been in a pretty good mood. He's thrilled that we've been letting him watch so many videos. He saw My Dog Skip twice and loves it. Tomorrow he'll get to see Wall-E for the first time. He's also been playing with Seth, which has been pretty cute. Seth has started following William around, and wants to play with whatever William is playing with. And of course, if I'm playing with Seth, William wants to play with whatever we're playing with. Fun times. I've also been bathing the boys together lately. Seth loves it and it's easier and less time-consuming than bathing them both separately. I got a few pictures of them together tonight so I"ll post them. I've been working on adjusting the flash so that's it's not quite so bright. Here are the full flash pictures:
And here's one with the flash adjusted a bit:
And finally, in the bath:
Let's hope William will have a good day tomorrow! And Seth, too, for that matter. It's always something.
When his fever has been under control, William has been in a pretty good mood. He's thrilled that we've been letting him watch so many videos. He saw My Dog Skip twice and loves it. Tomorrow he'll get to see Wall-E for the first time. He's also been playing with Seth, which has been pretty cute. Seth has started following William around, and wants to play with whatever William is playing with. And of course, if I'm playing with Seth, William wants to play with whatever we're playing with. Fun times. I've also been bathing the boys together lately. Seth loves it and it's easier and less time-consuming than bathing them both separately. I got a few pictures of them together tonight so I"ll post them. I've been working on adjusting the flash so that's it's not quite so bright. Here are the full flash pictures:
And here's one with the flash adjusted a bit:
And finally, in the bath:
Let's hope William will have a good day tomorrow! And Seth, too, for that matter. It's always something.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Christmas Morning Madness
Christmas morning was noisy at our house. Santa Claus brought a ball popper toy for Seth which turned out to be the hit toy of Christmas morning for both boys. What makes me laugh the most in this video is Seth squealing.
The boys had a great time playing with their new toys, although it was a bit overwhelming for them. Santa got a little carried away this year. We'll have to remind him of that next year! William got lots of different trucks (forklift, skid steer loader, front loader, garbage truck, LP car carrier, matchbox trucks), LP Spin n Crash Raceway, a mini space shuttle, , books, play dough, a few DVDs (he loves the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD), markers and paper, gears, plastic fruit he can "cut," a blower, and a fire station and doll house (neither of which he is very interested in, but Santa got them both for a steal, so that's okay). Seth got the ball popper, fish aquarium toy, Peek 'n' Play discovery dome, and lots of small, infant-type toys. He also got pajamas and Robeeze-type shoes.
In fact, the boys got so many new toys that even after cleaning out and putting away lots of old toys, we still needed to figure out a better toy storage system, so Ed went to Ikea and bought shelves to house all the toys. It makes the playroom look sooo much better. Although I'm embarrassed by how many toys we have.
Santa was not just good to the boys, though. I must have been a really good girl last year because here is what Santa brought me:
In my opinion, it lives up to the hype. I LOVE it.
So all the gift opening and playing with new toys was awesome, but the best part of Christmas was the early morning, when William and Seth both ended up in our bed, and then later, watching the boys play and interact, and making Eggs Benedict for Ed and me, and just relaxing and enjoying our family. In the afternoon we went to Ed's parents and had Christmas all over again with Ed's family. That was really fun, too. Even with all the stress leading up to Christmas, Christmas 2008 will still be hard to beat!
The boys had a great time playing with their new toys, although it was a bit overwhelming for them. Santa got a little carried away this year. We'll have to remind him of that next year! William got lots of different trucks (forklift, skid steer loader, front loader, garbage truck, LP car carrier, matchbox trucks), LP Spin n Crash Raceway, a mini space shuttle, , books, play dough, a few DVDs (he loves the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD), markers and paper, gears, plastic fruit he can "cut," a blower, and a fire station and doll house (neither of which he is very interested in, but Santa got them both for a steal, so that's okay). Seth got the ball popper, fish aquarium toy, Peek 'n' Play discovery dome, and lots of small, infant-type toys. He also got pajamas and Robeeze-type shoes.
In fact, the boys got so many new toys that even after cleaning out and putting away lots of old toys, we still needed to figure out a better toy storage system, so Ed went to Ikea and bought shelves to house all the toys. It makes the playroom look sooo much better. Although I'm embarrassed by how many toys we have.
Santa was not just good to the boys, though. I must have been a really good girl last year because here is what Santa brought me:
In my opinion, it lives up to the hype. I LOVE it.So all the gift opening and playing with new toys was awesome, but the best part of Christmas was the early morning, when William and Seth both ended up in our bed, and then later, watching the boys play and interact, and making Eggs Benedict for Ed and me, and just relaxing and enjoying our family. In the afternoon we went to Ed's parents and had Christmas all over again with Ed's family. That was really fun, too. Even with all the stress leading up to Christmas, Christmas 2008 will still be hard to beat!
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Seth is 8 Months Old! (Ummmm, 2 weeks ago!)
In all the commotion leading up to the holidays, I missed the chair pictures on Seth's 8-month birthday. And then I forgot the next day. And the day after. So almost 2 weeks later, I finally took the chair pictures!
Note the bruise on Seth's forehead. His sole purpose on Earth right now is to pull himself to standing--on anything and everything that looks even halfway stable. This has resulted in multiple falls, bumps, and bruises. And it doesn't help that William has no appreciation for how unstable Seth is. Poor Seth--I think it's going to get worse before it gets better. Despite the bruises, Seth remains his adorable happy self. Besides standing, he loves to eat. It's so nice for a change to have an eater! He's babbling lots, too--lots of consonant sounds. He doesn't really have a favorite toy right now because all he wants to do is pull himself to standing and attempt to cruise. He also goes crazy for his bath, and he can't stand getting his diaper changed. You'd think it was the worst form of torture possible!
So without further ado, the chair pictures! It's getting harder and harder to get good chair pictures. There's lots of motion and little cooperation. But these turned out pretty cute, in spite of that!
Note the bruise on Seth's forehead. His sole purpose on Earth right now is to pull himself to standing--on anything and everything that looks even halfway stable. This has resulted in multiple falls, bumps, and bruises. And it doesn't help that William has no appreciation for how unstable Seth is. Poor Seth--I think it's going to get worse before it gets better. Despite the bruises, Seth remains his adorable happy self. Besides standing, he loves to eat. It's so nice for a change to have an eater! He's babbling lots, too--lots of consonant sounds. He doesn't really have a favorite toy right now because all he wants to do is pull himself to standing and attempt to cruise. He also goes crazy for his bath, and he can't stand getting his diaper changed. You'd think it was the worst form of torture possible!
So without further ado, the chair pictures! It's getting harder and harder to get good chair pictures. There's lots of motion and little cooperation. But these turned out pretty cute, in spite of that!
Friday, January 02, 2009
New Year's Resolutions
Instead of writing a list of things that I resolve to do in 2009, I'd rather phrase things this way:
- 2009 is the year that I will get a full night's (meaning at least 8 hours) sleep.
- 2009 is the year that I will get to sleep in every other Saturday.
- 2009 is the year that I will stop biting my nails.
- 2009 is the year that I will take more and better pictures, and then print the pictures and put them in albums or frames.
- 2009 is the year that I will become a more thoughtful person by sending cards and gifts to friends and family.
- 2009 is the year that I will do a better job of getting dinner on the table and packing lunch for work.
- 2009 is the year that I will go on a date with my husband more than a handful of times.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
2008 in Pictures
Happy New Year! Ed and I got to dress up last night and enjoy a fancy five-course meal at a great little Belgian restaurant. It was pricey, but well worth it--if not for the food, then for the chance to go out, just the two of us. Resolution number one for 2009 is to establish a regular date night. We have enough family in the area that there really is no excuse.
Annnnyway, I'll talk more about resolutions in my next post. For now, I want to review 2008. I got the idea from Laura, who got the idea from Goddess.
February
Annnnyway, I'll talk more about resolutions in my next post. For now, I want to review 2008. I got the idea from Laura, who got the idea from Goddess.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
August
September
October
November
December
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