Another hospital stay

Nate's allergies have been awful for the past couple months, so when he started coughing Saturday evening, I figured he just had sinus drainage. We gave him some cough syrup and put him to bed. He woke up at 4:30 am Sunday in a coughing fit and was not in a good mood, to put it mildly. He was up for the day, and so was Blake. :) By late morning, he was still hacking, and I was starting to get worried. After his last horrible hospital stay this summer, the last thing I wanted was to end up back at the children's hospital. I called the on-call pediatrician, who called in a prescription cough medicine and told me to give him a breathing treatment. The breathing treatment helped him stop coughing long enough take a nap, but he woke up with a low grade fever, and I called the doctor back. This particular doctor had never seen Nate before, so I explained why I was so concerned (his history of lung disease, last hospital stay, etc), and we were wondering about the flu, so she prescribed tamiflu. By the time I found a pharmacy that had the last two bottles of tamiflu in our side of the city, Nate was breathing hard. I packed a bag and took him to the hospital.

Blake met us at the ER (and of course Georgia was with us and I was scared to death she was going to catch something!) and they started an hour-long breathing treatment. That didn't help, so they did a chest x-ray then started another hour-long breathing treatment. His oxygen saturation still didn't improve, so they admitted him. But all of this took about 6-7 hours, and we weren't admitted to a room until 3:30 am. They started a continuous breathing treatment for about 8 hours. I've never even heard of this before, and thank goodness he slept through most of it because when he was awake, he was tearing at the mask on his face. They also had to give him an IV. Blake tried his best to refuse it for him, but it had to be done. Poor guy HATED it, of course. He kept holding up his arm, saying "Help!" Also, they had to start steroids again, and you may remember that Nate turns into a monster when he's on steroids.

That night/morning, Nate got some sleep, Blake got a couple hours, Georgia slept like an angel, and I got no sleep. Literally, no sleep. I haven't pulled a real all-nighter since college, and this time I was already sleep deprived! Thankfully, my mom came Monday afternoon to help out, because I was braindead and having a hard time keeping both Georgia and Nate fed, changed, and entertained in this little room, especially with Nate being so cranky.

We figured it would be like last time and on his second night in the hospital he'd be able to go without oxygen and then we'd go home. Well, it didn't happen like that this time. After an exhausting day of fits and considerable efforts I finally got Nate to sleep and fell asleep myself, and a half hour later the nurse woke me up and said Nate was desatting and we had to wake him up. That was about the worst news I could hear at that point. She asked me if he'd blow a pinwheel to clear his lungs out a little, and I was thinking, Lady, do you have any idea what kind of beast you are about to wake up? We woke him up, made him cough ... I'm sure the screaming helped clear his lungs too. The details are a little foggy after that, but I remember that all of us (except Georgia) were wide awake at 2 am. When Nate fell back to sleep, he kept desatting again, and the only thing to do was put oxygen on him. And I knew what that meant--yet another night in the hospital. He has to go a whole night without oxygen before he can go home.

Tuesday kind of dragged by. At one point, I noticed there was some blood on Nate's bed, and I saw his hand was bleeding at the IV site. At first I was a little horrified, but then I realized this meant the IV had come out, and that was good news! The day before, I had begged the doctor to take the IV out and she said she wouldn't, but if it came out on its own she wouldn't replace it. So we were rid of the IV! I think I was as relieved as Nate. Another side effect of the steroids is that it wires him so he doesn't want to sleep. He looked tired enough to nap at 11am, but he wouldn't lay down and fought sleep until 10 pm when he passed out against his own will. He slept about 8 hours last night with no oxygen or waking, and we were all itching to get home this morning. Fortunately, his pediatrician came by early, and we were discharged by 11am.

So best I understand, they think that Nate might have caught a bug of some kind, or it might have just been his allergies, that caused a full blown asthma attack. The pediatrician thought he might have seen a spot of pneumonia on his lungs too. Since this is the third bad respiratory thing Nate's had since May, it's time to do something preventative. I didn't realize Nate had asthma, but I guess it's apparent now. Lots of kids with chronic lung disease of prematurity end up with asthma. So long term, Nate will do one breathing treatment of pulmicort a day to prevent him from getting sick as often, and prevent getting soooo sick when he does catch something. It's a steroid, but it doesn't have the side effects of the liquid steroid. In the short term, he also has an antibiotic, the liquid steroid (till Sunday), and breathing treatments every 4 hours, including at night.

A cute little story: When my mom was coming to Louisville, she asked if we wanted her to bring anything, and Nate said he wanted Hiro (the train). Well, this train is impossible to find, and walmart didn't have it, so she brought him something else. That afternoon, my mom was talking to Nate about my dad, and Nate said, "Pop's comin, and he's bringin Hiro!" It was cute, and my mom told daddy what he said. Then I got an email from my dad saying, "Hiro is on the way. He is leaving West Virginia and should arrive in Louisville at Nate's house by Thursday." Nate was so excited, and that's all he talked about after that. Well, Hiro made better time than we expected. We had been home today for about an hour when UPS rang the doorbell, and I saw the package was addressed to Nate. I said, "Nate! Hiro is here! Hiro is here!" He was running around laughing saying "He's here! He's here!" I opened him up, and Nate said, "Oh my goodness! He's big. Oh my goodness!" We called Pop right away to tell him Hiro made it and to thank him. It made his day. Right now he's saying, "Oh my goodness. I got a new engine."

We're so happy to be home, and I'm going to try to find a way to catch up on sleep. Staying in the hospital is hard work. P.S. if anyone is looking for a charitable thing to do for the holidays, take some new or used toys to your local children's hospital! It really helps to have some different toys to occupy the time.

My cute kids

As you know, Georgia is my dress up doll.


Speaking of dress up, Nate is really into costumes right now. :)

Nate: "Look at those trains, Georgia!"

Hello, Bear.

So sweet in their jammies.

Streeeeetch!

Where did she get this coloring?

We had a very nice week. It was much less stressful than the previous few weeks, partly because Nate is getting more used to school and party because one of his therapies was cancelled this week. When I picked him up from school on Thursday, one of the teacher aides said, "Nate has the best attitude! He has the best laugh, and he never throws tantrums!" I said, "... Really?" :) I'm really glad he behaves so well at school, even though he must save up all his tantrums for me. I think he knows that I am genetically required to love him no matter what.

Friday morning was our first Music Together class, and Nate had a ball! I thought he would love it, and I'm so glad he did. Even though it's another "scheduled" activity in our busy schedule, this one is just for fun! Our neighbor and her baby go, and Nate's PT (the one we like) was there with her little girl. So Nate walked in knowing half the people in the room, and he thought he owned the place. He laughed and danced and pranced around and played instruments. Even Georgia seemed to have a good time!

Have a good weekend. I'll update after our SB clinic on Monday.

Migraines, colic, and the dentist

Yesterday was the day of appointments for me and the kids. I went to the doctor to get my flu shot (That reminds me--Blake, go get your flu shot!) and I also talked with her about my migraines. I've been having them more days than not since Georgia was born, and that is a bummer. She put me on a preventative medication that is safe for breastfeeding and also immitrex for when one comes on. She also had me do bloodwork and ordered a CT scan for next week just to be thorough.

Next, I called the pediatrician about Georgia's reflux. We've been using prevacid for about a week now, and she's still spitting up multiple times after almost every feeding, and she is screaming for hours every night. Poor thing is miserable, and she's taking all of us with her. Of course I'm not getting any sleep, and it's stressful when a baby screams for that long every evening. Blake has taken to sleeping on the couch to get any rest (and I don't complain cause I don't want what precious sleep I do get to be interrupted by snoring). And the crying is even causing Nate to get less sleep. Yesterday he was exhausted at school cause Georgia kept him awake until after 11 the night before. Anyway, he said in addition to the prevacid, I can give her a little mylanta 2-3 times a day. If that doesn't help, we'll look into it further.

Yesterday afternoon, Nate went to the dentist. This is the second time he's been to see Dr. Haney at the UK pediatric dental clinic where Uncle Lucas works, and she is amazing with him. He was so good during the exam--he actually likes going to the dentist! He doesn't have any cavities, thank goodness. She said his teeth have moved somewhat because of the pacifier, but now that he has given it up, they should move back where they should be within 9 months. I'm going to try to switch to a dentist here in Louisville now (I think I found one that takes his medical card), because as much as I like Dr. Haney, it's about a 5 hour ordeal to get there, eat, park, and get back (maybe cause I get lost every time I'm inside New Circle Road in Lexington) just for a 15 minute appointment.

Next week we have some more big appointments. We go to Nashville on Monday for Nate's Spina Bifida Clinic. This will be the first time he will WALK into clinic! I know his doctors will be so proud. He'll see the neurosurgeon (no concerns), ortho (no concerns, but I want to see what he thinks about Nate's new braces), and urology (where we'll discuss potty training). Also, Georgia has her 2 month check up next week, and I'm not looking forward to her getting 5 shots. :( I was always so tough when Nate got shots, probably because he went through so much more in the NICU. But I'm getting softer as time goes on. :) I'll update on those next week.

Funny sayings and tutus

There hasn't been much blogging lately because I usually have a fussy baby in one arm. But I wanted to record a few cute things Nate is saying lately. He is talking like such a big boy these days! I'm amazed every day at the things he says. But it's funny--in just about every sentence, there's one word wrong. Examples:

I miss your paci. (He misses his paci.)

Maggie pooped on the ottoman. (Maggie actually pooped beside the ottoman. Still not good.)

He needs his paci. (It was Georgia who needed her paci.)

You threw the bowl! (I saw a fly on a bowl and swatted at it, so I think he meant I hit the bowl.)

This is Nate's 4th week of school, and he still likes it and is getting stronger every day. But he still gets really tired, especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays when he has therapy right after and no time to nap. After two days in a row of carrying him screaming to the car to go to therapy and dealing with behavior problems because he is so tired, I knew something had to give. I talked to his therapists about the schedule, and the best we could come up with, with their packed schedules, was that Nate could do PT Wednesday mornings before school instead of after. That will help some. And I know Nate will continue to adjust and build stamina. Today I had a talk with Nate's teacher about my concerns, and she said he is doing wonderfully at school. She said he sometimes refuses to do things they ask him to, but he doesn't throw tantrums. Really! He sure throws tantrums at home. She said this morning she was trying to individually assess each child on how much they knew of their shapes, colors, etc., and Nate didn't want to. She finally lured him over, and after about 2 minutes, he politely said, "I'm done with this." :) Anyway, she told me if Nate was too tired and needed to stay home sometimes, that would be okay. We'll see how it goes.

We had a very busy weekend! Blake and Nate went to Owensboro, and Nate had such a great time playing with Memaw and GrandBob that he couldn't nap. Saturday evening, there was a birthday dinner for Little Bitty Memaw, and Nate was so tired that he fell asleep sitting up in his booster seat. While they were in Owensboro, Mindy and Georgia and I went to Columbus, OH, for Jenny's baby shower. This was Georgia's first road trip, and she was a trouper! We had a great time.

Today we picked up Nate's new braces, so while Nate stayed home with Elizabeth, I took the braces to the mall to buy shoes. (The only perk of your kid wearing braces is that you don't have to take them shoe shopping.) I did finally find shoes, and during a brief stop in Gymboree, I found a pink tutu on clearance! Then I thought that since I had a tutu and a couple pretty hair bows in my bag, I should go ahead and get Georgia's picture taken! We went to Sears. Here they are, Georgia's first professional pictures:

Big things going on here!

1. Georgia gave me her first real smile yesterday! I offered to feed her, and I got the biggest smile. Later on I got a couple more as I made every silly face and noise I could come up with.

2. She also slept through the night last night! She's still having belly troubles (reflux) so last night she cried and fussed for hours, then I guess she was exhausted. She slept from about 12:30 till 6:30 this morning! After I fed her, she slept for 3 more hours! I remember that Nate started sleeping through the night right after he started smiling, so maybe Georgia will be the same way. Even if it was just a fluke, I like it.

3. Nate is now paci-free! For the last few weeks, he's only had it while sleeping, and he's done really well during the day. So I decided this weekend was a great time for the Paci Fairy to visit. I started prepping him for it the day before, and he was excited that the Paci Fairy was going to bring him a train in exchange for his paci. He said, "I have an idea! Let's pick a train! How about .... Hank!" So she brought him Hank. His first night, he cried for a bit, but I went up to talk with him once and assured him he'd learn how to sleep without it and that I was right downstairs if he needed me. He talked until after 10, but he fell asleep. Yesterday morning he was so excited about Hank that he didn't even want breakfast! And that's saying a lot for Nate! Later, he took a nap, and last night--after some crying and having to go talk to him a few times, he fell asleep just fine again. He's only asked for it a couple times, but then he remembers on his own and doesn't ask anymore. I'm very proud of him--he's a big boy.

4. School went better this week. He walked a lot more and wasn't so exhausted when I picked him up. I'm glad they had a short week. On Tuesday the teacher aid called and told me he fell and bumped his head. He had a large bruise and a pretty bad scratch that they had to doctor up. He was fine, of course, and it didn't bother him for long. Yesterday when I picked him up, the teacher told me he had done a lot more walking this week, and they let him walk even if it takes him 10 minutes to walk down the hallway. Good. Then she said that since his fall on Tuesday, they are making him hold someone's hand when he walks. He kept telling them, "I walk by myself" but they told him that his mom said I had to hold their hand. She said she hoped it was okay that they said that. Well, no. That's probably very confusing for him since I would NEVER say that! Ha! My mantra is "Let go of my hand. You can walk by yourself." I realize they want to keep him safe, but at some point that is at a cost to his independence. So I'll give it some time and hope this hand-holding thing doesn't last long. Maybe the PT will tell them to knock it off.

This morning we went to the SBAK's Poker Run to see the motorcycles off. The kids like to see the bikes, and the bikers like to see the kids they are helping. There was a huge turnout! It was awesome. I was talking with a mom of a 4 year old, who is cute as can be and doing well in a walker. She said she didn't know about her daughter's SB until the birth. After an emergency c-section and thinking the baby had swallowed some meconium, the doctor told her, "Everything is fine. There's just one small problem. She will never walk." That's how he gave her the diagnosis. Even though I have heard so many of these awful stories, they still take me by surprise. Our "Delivering the Diagnosis" project with the SBAK is still ongoing. We're currently working on gathering a focus group of doctors to give us input on the project. I hope the information we give OBs will prevent situations like the one this mom experienced.

I'm the Boss

I have a bunch of pics! These first ones are from the Kentucky State Fair last weekend. We went on a whim on Sunday afternoon.

I'm still not over how cool it is to see him walk by himself.

She's only a month old, but after seeing how strong she is, I decided to test her out in the bumbo (Nate used it around 4 months). She loved it!

On Saturday my parents and brother came to the house, and we celebrated my dad's 50th birthday! Georgia wore a pretty outfit.

We went to Buca di Beppo (yum) and my mom "accidentally" (so she says) mentioned to the waitress that it was his birthday. He looks amused, but I don't think he was.

Nate got his cake. :)

Last night Georgia slept better than usual, and then this morning Blake took her for awhile, and I got an extra couple hours sleep. I woke up feeling like a new person! I hadn't felt that good in months. We went to our church's Family Palooza, which was awesome!

Nate tried out the inflatables for the first time ever.

He got a pony ride.

There was a petting zoo.

And train rides! We had to pull out the train hat for that. He was excited to ride in a coal car. :)

This evening we were at the table eating dinner, and Nate was getting very bossy. Blake was just cutting up his potato, and Nate said, "No more cutting anymore!" I said, "Nate, you're getting very bossy. You don't boss Daddy around--he's your boss." Nate says, "I'M the boss!" Hahaha! We couldn't help but laugh at that one.

Then we all went to the grocery store, and Nate was singing a little made up song that sounded like it was to the tune of "The B-I-B-L-E." But I've never sung that song to him, so I wondered if he was singing something else. Well, I started singing the words to "The B-I-B-L-E" and he tried to follow along. Later on as I was getting him out of the bath, we were singing it again: The B-I-B-L-E, yes that's the book for me, I stand upon the Word of God, the B-I-B-L-E. Then he said, "The Bible!" Which surprised me because he can't spell! So apparently he learned this at Sunday School. Then I heard his version: The B-I-B-O-E, yes that's the book for me, I stand right here before I go, the B-I-B-O-E. :)

Georgia's 1 month stats and Nate's preschool progress

Georgia is getting so big! This morning at her 1 month check up, her stats were:

Height: 21in, 50th percentile--3 inches longer than at birth!

Weight: 8lb 11oz, 25th percentile--up 2lb 3oz from her birth weight, not counting that half pound she lost right after!

The doctor said she looks very strong, and I agree. Her head control is great for being so little, and when she's really mad, she can practically climb up me and stand by herself, haha.

But he also suspects she has reflux. I told him she seems to always have an upset tummy. The spits up constantly, is always grunting and straining and crying, doesn't like laying flat and always wants to sleep on an incline, and milk comes out her nose! She is gaining weight well, so it could be a lot worse, but he gave us some tagament to help her feel better. I'm supposed to give it to her 4 times a day, a few minutes before feedings. We'll see if this helps.

When I got back in the truck after the appointment, I was getting myself situated and realized I was rushing and bracing myself for someone from the back seat to yell "GOOOOOOOO!" :) But Nate was at preschool, and Georgia didn't make a peep.

Nate is liking school, but he's getting VERY tired by the end of his (half) days. Yesterday when I went to pick him up, I saw that the teachers had used his stroller to get him down the hall. They said he was tired and wouldn't walk, so they used it to get him to the cafeteria, he walked back from the cafeteria, then they strolled him back to the front of the building to meet me. At first I was really kind of upset about it--they had used this stroller on the second day of school already when I had told them it was only to be used for emergencies. But I also know that when Nate is tired and doesn't want to walk, there is no making him. He becomes a noodle. So the only thing that's going to keep them from using the stroller is for Nate to want to walk. And that means he's going to need to develop more stamina over the next few weeks. Anyway, he was really cranky and whiny, and he fought napping, but eventually he fell asleep for about a half hour before I had to wake him up for aquatherapy. But after that he was in a great mood and did well at therapy.

This morning I coached Nate to say, "No stroller. I walk by myself." Mwahahahaha! Blake called me after he dropped Nate off and told me he reminded Nate of "No stroller. I walk by myself." I said, "Blake! You weren't supposed to say that in front of the teachers! They were supposed to think he said that on his own instead of being coached." :) But Blake said that the teacher reminded Nate he needed to walk when he was crawling around. So I do think they are trying. When I picked him up today, he was in the stroller (grrrrr) and cranky and whiny. The first thing he said when he got in the truck was, "I no want to go to school tomorrow." Awwww! But as soon as we got home, he snapped out of it and told me all the fun things he did. We went to PT and he did great again.

Okay, so a couple cute things he's said lately. When we get home from school, we've been sitting on the porch for a few minutes since the weather is so great right now. Yesterday a neighbor's cat came up on the porch to visit. Nate said, "Hi, Cat! What you do today?" I told Nate it was time to go inside, and he said, "Bye, Cat. See you later. Have fun." :) Today when we got home, he started looking for the cat, yelling in a sing-song voice, "Mr. Caaaaaat!"

Nate plays this funny little game, where he asks where someone is and we make up places they might be hiding. On Sunday we went to a Chinese buffet for dinner, and when Blake went to go get a plate of food, Nate says, "Where's Daddy?" I said I didn't know. He says, "Is he in the truck?" We both say Noooooo. He says, "Is he under the table?" Nooooo. "Is he up in a tree?" Noooo. Then he says, "Is he in Vegas?" Ha! I cracked up.

Today I was asking him what he played at school today, and he said he played in the house. (They have a little play house set up.) I asked if he played in the house with a friend and he said yes. I asked the friend's name, and he gets a sly little grin on his face and says, "Is it Joe?" Noooooo. He's so funny.