Bacterial pneumonia for Carter

We had a health scare with Carter last week. Thankfully, we are on the upswing and he's doing great. He had been complaining of belly/chest (sort of in between) pain, back pain, and being tired for a few days. We actually took him to urgent care on Labor Day when he came down with a fever while at my parent's house for the day. He was so miserable and lethargic that day and kept falling asleep everywhere. Urgent care called it viral (in other words, they did nothing and gave us that as a diagnosis to send us on our way.) He missed school on Tuesday but went back on Wednesday. He seemed okay on Wednesday except still that occasional back pain comment. Then, on Thursday, I got a call from his after-school program that he was in severe pain and was laying on the floor, complaining about belly and back pain. Seth got there as fast as he could and I left work immediately.

As soon as I saw him, I knew he was sick. I took his temperature and it was only 99.5. But he was really crying and in pain. I called his pediatrician who clearly didn't feel the need to squeeze us in that night. They suggested that with the back pain, we "put a heat pad on it." I was livid at their lack of concern because, by that time, his fever was up to 101. Within 1.5 hours of getting home, his fever was 103.5 and I told Seth I was heading to the emergency room. He COULD NOT stay awake -- he fell asleep on the 10 minute drive to the hospital, and was out cold in the lobby of the ER. Thankfully, because he was pediatric and looked so pitiful they moved us through the registration and triage quickly. 

We pretty quickly got put into a room and the doctor came in within just a few minutes. I was immediately glad I decided to bring him to the ER because the doctor began ordering fluids, meds, tests, etc. We had actually suspected it was his appendix, but she requested chest x-rays and an abdominal ultrasound as well. He fell asleep so quickly when he got into the bed and got tons of blankets to keep warm. He was even so brave when they took blood and placed a pic line. But the poor boy was so miserable! 

We were there for about four hours, and for a section of about 1.5 hours, we did not see anyone or hear any results. He fell sound asleep once the meds kicked in and the fluid was pumping into him. But waking him up for a urine sample was interesting. He was in a full, deep sleep and he was hard to rouse. When I was able to rouse him, he flipped out and tried to rip out his IV and was screaming and delirious. The nurses were looking a little panicked and were discussing admitting us but I was able to convince them that this is just what happens with him when you try and wake him!! 

Welllll, once I got him awake, he got the FULL sillies. He was deliriously happy and out of it. He farted and laughed with tears running down his face for like 30 minutes (which then had me rolling with laughter, too). He said he was starving so I went and found a vending machine and got him a few snacks. It was so hilarious to watch him laugh at things. The doctor came in and said he had a clear case of bacterial pneumonia but his appendix was totally fine. So....I guess the good news is no surgery! Bad news is a brief break from soccer and some meds to take care of it. As of today, he is doing so much better already. 

Christmas Day 2017

Merry Christmas! We had a (mostly...more to come on that) fun and lively Christmas Day at our house, as you can imagine with a 7-year-old, a 5-year-old and a dog. We actually had to wake Carter this year, which is super rare. He's normally waiting (im)patiently for Addison to wake up. They were VERY excited to see the living room when we finally gave them the "go ahead." 

(Making them pose before we let them dig in!)

We managed to do gifts a bit slower than normal this year which was nice. As always, we had the yule log going on the TV for our "fireplace" and Christmas music. The kids didn't ask for a whole lot this year...they were pretty consistent in what they said they wanted, too, when they were asked by people. 

The big thing the kids wanted were fit bits!

In a total lapse of judgment, we bought our already boisterous peanut a real, live, working microphone! :)

Here are the gifts this year (Addison, Carter, Danielle, Seth)

After we did gifts, my parents and gram stopped by for a visit and to play for a little. We had appetizers for lunch and showed them what we got. Later in the day, we watched a movie cuddled on the couch and just took it easy. Which was a good thing because, at bedtime, Carter randomly threw up with no warning whatsoever. And that began the Christmas Day Stomach Bug 2017. The kids didn't know this either, but we had a trip planned to go to Inner Harbor 12/26-12/28. I quickly called and postponed the trip for a few days later because I had a bad feeling things were about to spread through the house.

Thankfully, my sweet boy was only sick for about 4 hours. He had a fever on the 26th and was really tired and mopey. He took two long naps and wouldn't eat much. But by 12/27, he seemed as good as new! More on our trip to come...

An exciting start to 2014!

I've never claimed our life is boring, that's for sure!! 2014 has been off to an active start. The theme seems to be snow and sickness if we're being honest. :) We've had several little (and not-so-little) "storms" so far this winter, and it is complicating work schedules and such. Seth has missed five days of school I think, which means he's lost all of his make-up days and Easter break. I've worked from home quite a bit as well on those days, which is...interesting with two little ones under foot. 

One day I was home, I just took a few personal hours so that we could play in the snow. As you can imagine, it took twenty minutes to get suited up and they lasted outside for about five. Standard. 

Mid-month, we had an overnight visit from Michael, Sarah, and Ethan! We went to Chuck E. Cheese and the kids (and ahem, us!) had a blast. I was expecting it to be dirty and crowded but it was neither. 

Addison continues to get ear infections pretty frequently, and both kids get colds like it's their job. Addison got sent home from school last Thursday because she threw up. I got the call LITERALLY as I sat down to my desk at 7:30 a.m., so I made the drive back home right away. She was a stage 5 clinger all day and was a little mopey but never threw up again. The next morning, she seemed fine so I decided to take her to school so I could work. I was punching the code in the door at daycare and she barfed. Of course. Back home we went! We saw the doctor and the cultures in her ear came back negative for bacteria so I guess just something viral. 

Fast forward to Saturday. It was a busy day for us -- Seth had to judge an event at the high school, I had a cupcake order for Owen's 1st birthday and then we had Owen's party (as a sidenote, Feb 1st was POPULAR. We got invited to five parties that day!). I was FINE all day and was fine for an hour or so when we got to Michelle's house for the party. About twenty minutes before the party, I started to feel nauseous and it all went quickly downhill from there. 

I spent three glamorous (sense the sarcasm) hours laying on her bathroom floor, using a towel for a pillow and another towel to cover me since I had the violent shakes. I was MISERABLE. I managed to make it to the steps to watch Owen smash his cake and I probably shouldn't have because that stomach bug spread like wildfire through everyone there over the next two days. WHOOPS. 

Nonetheless, his party was precious....and I missed it. :( I don't even really have a good picture of him. So sad. Here are some pics of the party: 

Fortunately, I felt well enough for us to make the drive home and aside from feeling dehydrated, nursing a wicked headache, and cramping, I at least stopped the worst of it. Sunday was spent moping around and majorly disinfecting the house to prevent everyone else from getting it. Another snow day on Monday gave me an extra recovery day, which was awesome. Back to work for a day and then ANOTHER snow day today. Oy vey. Tomorrow is to be generally okay, but we're expecting another storm this weekend. I have a cupcake order this weekend but the mom and I decided we better plan for a Friday night pick-up to be safe! :) 

Hopefully everyone is having a great year so far and staying healthy and safe in this crazy winter weather!! 

Addison's Ear Tube Surgery

On March 20, Addison finally had the much-needed ear tube surgery. She had already had five--FIVE--ear infections in about three months so it was time. We had blasted through amoxicillin, augmentin, omnicef, clindamycin, and the injections. Three rounds worth.

We had to be to the Children's Hospital at 6:15 a.m. on surgery day (where we promptly began our three-hour waiting. WHY do they do this?!? Sure is hard to entertain a child who was woken up too early and then has only diaper bag toys to play with. And hasn't eaten). ANYWAY. We checked into our little room and waited.

I do have to admit, though, that she was so stinkin' cute in her tiny little gown, and was really happy for not eating since midnight and having minimal toys.

Thankfully, Child Life came to the rescue while we waited with more toys, books, a red car for her (which we pushed her around in for probably 75 loops of the pre-op wing. I wish I was kidding. She was SO HAPPY in it and preferred that method of entertainment). :)

They also had bubbles which she really enjoyed. We talked to the anesthesiologist and the surgeon and then waited some more until it was her turn. She was having separation anxiety even when the nurses or doctors would come into the room so they gave her an anti-anxiety medicine by mouth. However, they then came to get her about two minutes after that so it had no time to actually work. It broke my heart to hear her screaming as they wheeled her into the OR.

The surgery was pretty short--maybe 15 minutes--and then we were called to go back and see her. She was, of course, screaming and very irritable, but that's common for babies coming out of general anesthesia. Oh, and she was starving so that didn't help either. They preferred that she start with clear solids, so she tanked a small bottle of pedialyte, and then demanded more. She had a bottle and some crackers and we were allowed to go with just a small bottle of antibiotic ear drops to show for our morning (huge bill to follow in a few weeks, I'm sure). :)

She ended up falling asleep on the way home and napped for 4.5 hours! She did pretty well throughout the rest of the day, but didn't really do much better overnight. She played with her ears a lot, but they said that could happen because she's 1) hearing better and clearer and 2) is feeling no fluid and/or feeling fluid draining out.

WELL. And here we are today. She's continued to sleep like crap (sorry, I'm being frank). We tried to let her cry one night instead of tending to her, and she cried for 2.5 hours (we checked on her). She's just been continually cranky overnight, and last night yellow/brown drainage was coming from her ears. I. KID. YOU. NOT. I called ENT today and they said she'll now begin a 7-day course of ear drop antibiotics. I am not clear if this means she has an infection or not. I did ask and they said not necessarily, but that the tubes are doing what they are supposed to and draining out the fluid that would have normally sat behind her eardrum and caused one soon. This poor girl. Sigh....

Anyway, she goes back for her follow-up on April 17, where I believe they'll re-test her hearing to see if it has improved since her first ENT consult a month ago. I'm guessing the answer is yes because she is much more sensitive to sounds than she was prior to surgery.

Keep the little peanut in your prayers that whatever she has going on now clears up without issue on these drops!

(FYI: all phone pics; sorry they are blurry)



Sick baby girl

The poor little girl has her fourth--FOURTH--ear infection in just over two months. It's just pitiful. Sweet thing goes ten days on antibiotics, seven days off, and then pretty much has another (or the same, just not going away) ear infection again. She hardly has time to recover!!

She is already on a pretty strong antibiotic and has blasted past amoxicillin, augmentin, omnicef, and now clindamycin. Yesterday was just too much. We called for an ear check and took her in and, yep, she had another. We knew it was time to talk about tubes after the third one but her pediatrician wanted to see how omnicef worked for her. Since it obviously didn't, we got the referral yesterday and by some sheer miracle/gift from God, there was a cancellation at 2:15 yesterday, so we took it! We got back to my office after her pediatrician appointment around 11:30 a.m., and the sweet thing slept in my office for over two hours.

After much time spent at the ENT specialist's office--where they were able to complete her baseline hearing tests and complete all pre-op procedures SAME!! DAY!!--we headed home. And it was sad. She's feverish, grumpy, and NOT into clindamycin (can't say I blame her; that stuff smells like sewer!). And she may or may not have been up all night. We felt so bad for her. :(

Her tube surgery is scheduled for March 20. The pediatric otolaryngologist said that she needs them badly, and she will be a new girl when she has them. Prayers appreciated! :)

In happier news, after a few bouts of spitting/throwing up the nasty meds, CVS has pulled through for the win with FlavorX grape flavoring and bitterness suppressor, and she took dose four with only minimal gagging.

Here's to hoping this is our last ear infection for a very long time...

News and other stuff

First and foremost, Michelle and Jason had the baby today. Owen Michael was born at 8:51 a.m., and was 6 lbs., 14 oz. I'm going to see him around 3 p.m. before I pick up the kids. Yay!!!

Secondly, our laptop is being sent away for 7-10 days to be repaired (or have parts entirely replaced, in some instances). One super sweet and adorable little girl decided to get the stomach bug and barf all over it on Friday night. Oh, and it was while we were skyping with my mom, so she got QUITE the show. :) However, this computer mishap also means that I'm going to have a rough time showing people pics of Owen outside of cell phone ones. Sorry! :)

(sure is hard to be mad at this face when it's just THAT CUTE.)

We are mostly on the mend of the sickness, but some final prayers that we can kick this out once and for all would be appreciated. Addison has ONE. MORE. DOSE. of nasty Augmentin tonight and then praying all the side effects of that are gone, gone, gone. Augmentin diaper rash? Unreal. Carter finished his yesterday, so I'm hoping his "my belly hurts" comments are done too. Poor thing!! And poor mommy, too--sleeping on the floor of a toddler's bedroom 5 out of 7 nights a week is exhausting! ;)

And, because when it rains it pours, we had to purchase a new chest freezer last week when our upright decided to bite the dust out of nowhere. Good thing I craved a cookie that was in there or else we may have not discovered it until all of our meat was ruined!

The dryer is also on the fritz (well, or was, temporarily???) when it ran for FIVE HOURS without my knowledge but when I opened it, everything was cold and soaking wet. Super.

I'm attempting to schedule a hair appointment and color on Friday because, frankly, I look homeless. I seriously have zero time to do things like this with all the insanity at work, new babies, sick kids, sick me, sick Seth, dog sitting, cleaning, disinfecting, and repairing all major appliances in our house.

How's life with everyone else? (And how does that song go? Maybe trials of this life are mercies in disguise??) :)

Just living the life.

I haven't blogged in forever because the plague seems to have over taken our house. It all started back before Christmas with sniffles and a rogue ear infection for Addison. Fast forward a few weeks, and it's a house full of congestion, sneezing, coughing. Seth, I think started the January cold first (hard to keep it all together these days), but Carter quickly caught it. On Saturday, he was feverish, but we didn't think much of it. He's in that toddler phase where everything hurts --hands, feet, belly, nose, lips, etc. -- so we didn't even think anything of it when he kept saying his belly hurt Sunday morning (albeit, he DID keep pointing to his chest, so why would we?).

Next thing I know, baby love yakked on the floor and then again a few minutes later. Because he had a fever and had been a little "off," I scheduled him an appointment on Sunday morning. I couldn't believe it when they told me he had an ear infection. It had been so long!!

Sunday afternoon, Addison kicked up the crankiness a notch or five, and also seemed off. She was a congested mess, and coughing up a storm as well. She also began running a fever. I had a busy day of work Monday morning, and since the kids really couldn't go to daycare because of their fevers, they went to my aunt's house. Addison woke up with a nearly 103 degree fever, so I was back picking them up by lunch anyway. Annnnd, back to the doctor. Another ear infection for her too.

And then I bought stock in Augmentin. Geez.

I have been feeling horrible, too, and sleeping pretty much not at all (because how do you do that with two sick kids and a cough that could wake the dead?!?!), so on Tuesday, I scheduled an appointment for myself. Bronchitis for me. Excellent. I attempted to come back to work, but my head felt like it was about to explode and I was freezing from my fever so I went home to sleep.

Needless to say, last night was not pretty. I need a good, solid night or two of rest to kick this, and so does Seth (though he's alllllmost done with it!). The kids do, too, in a big way. We're praying this mess of sickness is gone for good here in the next few days because Michelle is having Owen next week (or sooner), so we have to be healthy to visit!

Prayers for healthiness.

And sanity. :)

Buh-bye pacis and a sickness.

[Christmas recap backdated to 12/25]

Because I am insane, I decided that Christmas eve was the perfect time to finally break our 2.5-year-old of the paci. Thankfully, he was down to using them only for nap and at bedtime, but still--it was time.

We had talked about it a few times leading up to the big night but sort of left it go. Randomly on Christmas eve, I decided to throw the idea out there to Carter and he went with it. I told him that, instead of cookies, we'll put his pacis under the tree, and in the morning, Santa would bring him a present for every paci he gave up. He willingly placed them all under the tree. Shockingly, there were only a few quick tears at bedtime, but he was so exhausted that he fell right asleep.

Santa kept his word, and there was one very excited little boy on Christmas morning! The novelty had worn off slightly by naptime and there were a few tears then, too, but I just laid beside his bed until he was asleep and he slept for just under three hours. The afternoon of Christmas, he was a handful, but I can't say if that was because of the pacis or overstimulation of toys! toys! toys! on Christmas day.

But that night...NOTHING. Not a single mention of them at bedtime. HUH!?!? Dang. We should have done this earlier.

Five days in, and he has mentioned it only once when he got scolded for something and once when he found one in a bag. Shoot, that silly Santa missed one. After a meltdown of toddler proportions, I bribed him with M&Ms and a show on tv, and that was that. A few minutes later, he reiterated that Santa took his pacis to the North Pole for the babies.

I'm so proud of how things are going. There's no difference in his sleeping except for the better (no more mini wake-ups because his pacis are lost!), and that, at bedtime, he is FULL of stall tactics and excuses now rather than just popping in a paci, rolling over, and going to sleep. Here are a few of his favorites right now:

- "It's too dark/light."
- "I have to pee/poop."
- "I need to play."
- "My pillow fell."
- "My foot is sticking out."
- "My arm is stuck."
- "I need a drink/snack/hug/kiss/song/prayer."
- "I can't see my clock."
- "My door is shut too tight."
- And on...and on...and on.

Here's to hoping we're officially done with the pacis and can get back to quickly falling asleep soon!

Oh, and baby girl was diagnosed with her first ear infection today and is a hot mess. Praying this amoxicillin kicks in incredibly fast, or else this will be the seventh or eighth consecutive night of crappy sleep. Currently, she's in the swing because she screams when I lay her down. Pray hard...momma needs some sleep!

Christmas in New Jersey

This year, we spent Christmas in New Jersey before Christmas, which was a nice change of pace that allowed us to chill at home on Christmas day. We got to spend a lot of time with the entire family, and the kids had a blast playing!! Let me tell you--eleven kids under age seven makes for a very active household. :)

Oma and Opa made a yummy breakfast yesterday morning and then we did gifts as a family. This year, the kids each pulled names and so did the adults, so it did cut down on the chaos a little. From Oma and Opa, Carter got a tool bench and some clothes, and from his cousin, he got two really cool Melissa & Doug puzzles which he LOVES.

 

Addison wasn't quite herself while we were there--our normally laid-back little girl was a fussy mess, and of COURSE refused to sleep. Our kids always seem to do that when we travel anywhere, and always when it's a full house for them to wake up! Sorry, everyone! She made an appearance from her super long nap to open gifts after everyone was done and she had fun, too. She got lots of clothing, the snap and lock toy she's chewing on below, a snack trap, and a laugh and learn purse.

 

I got my blog printed into a book, and money (which I used to buy perfume!), and Seth got Bass Pro gift cards toward the many things he has in mind. We also got a gift card for Olive Garden! Yum!!

 

And the photo that takes the cake for the weekend, and the award for most hilarious...Oma and Opa attempting a grandkid shot which they were all CLEARLY into. Haha! :)  Real life at its finest right here.

 

Last night, the rest of the extended family came down for a big dinner and hanging out. Addison had a super rough night, so unfortunately, we got up and headed out early this morning. We were pretty certain it was an ear infection, so we called the pediatrician on the way home and made an appointment. Sure enough, though, it was viral (that dreaded word), and not an ear infection. Good on one hand; terrible on the other because there's no medicine for that!

 

Anyway, we had a fun time in NJ hanging out with everyone!

The Christmas celebrations begin!

On Saturday, we celebrated our first of many Christmases with my mom's side of the family. Of course, the day couldn't start without some standard Ran-family drama, right? The morning was pretty calm and laid back. I had made the highly-requested chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing, and transferred them from my plastic case into the nice bakery-style box I use when I have cupcake orders. We placed them in the back of the car, but left the hatch up. Bentley gets beside himself when he thinks we're going somewhere without him, so naturally he took off out of the house into the garage, ran around the car, and jumped up into the back.....right on top of the cupcake box, smashing the center twelve or so. Couldn't resist dog-shaming him. :)

 

As at any Christmas party, there was good food and a lot of candy, cookies, etc. Carter began the day by digging right in to the juice and junk food and never stopped. We'd find him hiding, eating chocolate and I counted A LOT of pieces of chocolates hidden in his pockets when we unloaded them that night. More on that later...

 

My mom did a craft with the kids...these little ornament wreaths. They were really cute!

 

Sweet girl (with her bumped up nose) with Aunt Michelle!

 

We got home around 7 p.m. and Carter was pretty chill and laid back. He hadn't really eaten dinner, so I tried to give him some pretzels, which he refused. I had a feeling he wasn't feeling so hot after all the junk, but didn't think much of it. He went to bed like normal but started crying around midnight. Sure enough, alllll the junk reappeared in a big way! Oy! We spent quite some time cleaning his room and giving him a bath but he went back to bed with no issue. He wasn't acting sick yesterday but was refusing to eat (but who wouldn't be??). He went to daycare today like normal, but was sent home after he threw up again. At this point, we were thinking maybe it was a stomach bug and not the junk. Who knows??

 

Anyway, much more on Christmas festivities to come!

The Sicknesses in Our House

I talked a bit about how Seth and I had the stomach bug this past week, but I think I forgot to mention that we had another sickness in our house the week before. I got a call from daycare two weeks ago that C-man had a fever and needed to be picked up. He wasn't interested in eating his lunch and just wanted to go to sleep. When I got there, he was sound asleep on his cot in the middle of the room while everyone else ate lunch. Poor thing. He was so warm and sleepy. I carried him sleeping to the car, he slept the whole way home, and then I put him in his crib and he slept there for three and a half hours (until I woke him up so he'd sleep).

We went to the living room and the poor little boy didn't want to even be put down. He just wanted to be held and to sleep. He did this all afternoon. :(

He was home the next day as well, but his fever broke and he was feeling better. Thankfully, it was just a 24 hour fever because it could have been much worse. He's got a nasty runny nose now, but we can deal with that!

First Steps, Teething, and Various Medical Ailments

Our handsome little man has been taking steps like crazy for the past two weeks. He took his first two steps on Mother's Day (for his very proud mama), and has been taking many small groupings of steps since - think five steps here, six steps there. Just this past weekend, he took seven steps at my parents. I think he'll be off and running in no time at all!!! I can't wait [famous last words] because I think it'll be so much fun to play with him outside!

He had his well visit on Friday and has tipped the scales at 30 pounds. Yes, 30. He's our chubber bubber. :) 


He is currently breaking all four molars, which has been....interesting. He isn't nearly as miserable as the other teeth, but they are clearly bothering him. He also has a nasty cough which sounded like croup, but that seems to be getting slightly better now. But you didn't think that was all, did you?? Please. It's the Ran household. He also has what appears to be pinkeye and is therefore being treated for that just in case! Add all of this to three vaccinations on Friday, and it has made for a somewhat unsettled baby. We're on the upswing, though!

In Which We Lose Our Marbles.

Things have been fairly crazy lately, or so they've seemed. So then it only makes sense for all the stars to align just so and kick us while we're down.

C-man has another ear infection. A double this time. The poor child. Something just seemed a bit off again. Then he got a fever and began tugging on his ears again - the telltale sign in the Ran house that things are about to hit the fan. He was flushed and warm when I picked him up from daycare on Friday and was blah all day on Saturday (he took almost 6 hours of naps!). We decided to take him in to the pediatrician on Sunday morning. He was mis.er.able. in the waiting room, and his temp came in at 103.7 so we knew baby love wasn't feeling so hot. Sure enough, a little peeksy revealed a double infection. Well, truth be told, it is probably the one from 2 weeks ago that just never healed with the amoxicillin.

He's on something stronger now, and has a pretty nice amount of Tylenol and Motrin in him, too. Seth is home from school with him today because, as of this morning, he still has a 103 degree fever. After an hour of solid crying, Seth finally got him to fall asleep in his arms. It makes me heart hurt just thinking of how much pain he must be in. I made another appointment because they freaked me out with all this "ruptured-eardrum-might-need-an IV-we'll-want-to-check-his-ears-in-4 weeks-to-make-sure-he's-hearing-okay-over-the-fluid" talk. Seriously, people, you're about to make me lose my marbles. Looks like tubes could be in our future.

On the upside, Seth said his temp was down to 98.8 after his nap, so we're praying the antibiotics are finally kicking in!

So long for now...until our next adventure. :)

Scratch What I Said...

Ok, I spoke too soon. We are far from "back in commission" now. Things seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. On top of Carter's ear infection (which, thankfully, amoxicillin is helping with), I now have bronchitis and a sinus infection and Seth is having stomach issues.

To put it blantantly, we are a mess.

We are longing for the days of spring and fresh air - and, of course, the opportunity those two things will afford us to be outside and away from many of the germs we're encountering.

Prayers appreciated for this to be the last sicknesses for a long time. :)

Back in Commission

I guess not entirely but Squirt's ears seem to be doing much better - he slept through the night Tuesday and last night. In fact, last night, I put him down early at 7:30 and I had to wake him up for daycare at 6:40. Little rascal, never sleeps that late on the weekends. :)

I'm playing in a volleyball tournament this weekend, so I hope he's doing okay so that I can enjoy myself while daddy and baby look on!

Weight Watchers Wednesday & An Ear Infection

I feel like I should be reciting the Serenity Prayer right now. While crawling into the fetal position. Sucking my thumb. You know, if that gives you a good idea of how the last week has gone.

Sick, fussy, teething baby pulling on his ears and refusing to sleep. Up to my eyeballs with projects and deadlines at work. Arguing over stupid stuff with the husband due to aforementioned drama.

In Weight Watchers news (and there isn't much of it), I lost another .6 pounds. Which is by the shear grace of God because I didn't do a lick of tracking this week and I only worked out half-heartedly one day. So, I consider another .6 to be victory. I did not take my measurements. I did make one new recipe to meet one of my goals from last week. It was banana muffins with chocolate chips (WW-friendly, of course), and they were yummy. When my head stops spinning, I'll try to post a recipe.

In baby-land, Carter has an ear infection, which helps explain the madness that is the hours of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. We took him in to the doctor last Thursday for a check of his ears, but embarassingly enough, he had some wax which prevented them from fully seeing his eardrums (what's a mom to do?! They say no q-tips!). The doctor didn't give a whole lot of effort to getting it out but wanted to adopt a wait-and-see approach, telling me that if he developed a fever to bring him back because it is probably an ear infection. Lovely.

Enter Tuesday. Call from daycare that Carter has a fever. We returned to the doctor's office where we were assigned a lovely, wonderful doctor who perfectly cleaned out his ears in no time flat and declared that yes, he had an ear infection. We amoxicillin'd it up and had a splendid sleep-through-the-night kind of night. Ahhhh...but, no daycare today, so daddy is home with him.

Oh, and a tooth popped through overnight. With another about to.

Back to the fetal position.

Ear Infection

Long story short: the little guy has his very first ear infection. He hasn't been sleeping well...ha. ha. ha. I realize that he never really has, but I mean he has been sleeping WORSE, okay?! :) Anyway, he was fussy and something just didn't seem right. Plus, he hasn't been wanting to finish a full bottle the past few days, which, ahem, isn't like him. So we took him to the doctor last night, and yep, our suspicions were right - left ear infection. He started on amoxicillin and slept through the night last night (and only took dose one at 7 p.m.).

Side story which we somehow found funny: While at CVS, the pharmacist flagged Carter's prescription because he told me it was an "awfully high dose" for a child who is 8 months old. He stood there doing some calculations and then Seth walked up with Carter. He asked if that was Carter, and I said yes. He said "oh, how much does he weigh?" So we told him....and all was fine. He just was going by an estimate of 18-19 pounds and not 23. :)

OH...and Carter barfed on the pharmacy counter.

The end.

Recap - and Photos, Too!

Well, the past week has been busy to say the least. The Thursday before Thanksgiving, I dropped Carter off at daycare and drove to work. I sat down at my desk at 7:33 and at 7:38 got a call from daycare saying that Carter was throwing up and needed to be picked up. Super. So, I got back in my car and drove 35 minutes back to daycare to get him. I've got to be honest--I sort of thought they might be overreacting to some spit up, so I huffily went inside to get him.

When I walked into his room, there were several workers there with gloves on cleaning up a mess....that my son created. And right then I knew that he really was sick. It was so odd though because he was super happy. But they said he was there too, right before he threw up both times. We headed to the store to get Pedialyte and then went home. The rest is textbook stomach virus. There was only one more session of vomiting at home and that was after I gave him Pedialyte for the tenth time (he HATES it). Then it proceeded to the other end, if you know what I mean. :) He ended up being out of daycare Thursday, Friday, and then all of the next week (well, they were closed Thanksgiving and Friday, but he was out Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday).

Here is the little guy loungin' around, drinking his bottle. He was very cuddly while he was sick, but was also very happy, too, which was nice.

Silly daddy put him on Bentley to "ride him like a small horse" which, according to the e-Trade commercial, is frowned upon in this establishment. :)

He was pretty happy on Thanksgiving day, but all of the passing made him a tinge (and by tinge, I mean A LOT) grumpy by the afternoon. Here is the little squirt in his Thanksgiving bib from Oma and Opa.

And the most precious little "stuffed" pants, which were sort of a misnomer for the day, since he really didn't get to eat anything fun (and I even had a jar of baby food that was turkey and rice with veggies, which seemed pretty festive). But alas, we played it safe with applesauce, carrots, and rice cereal. Yum.

On Friday night, Carter went to Aunt Annette and Uncle Randy's house and Seth and I went out for dinner with my cousin and her husband, and Michelle and Jason. We had a lot of fun and made it home in time to get Carter in bed and welcome Oma and Opa for the weekend.

We decided to wait until Saturday to get our tree this year because Friday was rainy and freezing. But waiting until Saturday, we had snow and freezing (and windy). :) But seriously, it was much better than the rain. We tucked Carter into his stroller and put on the weather shield to keep the wind off of him. He fell asleep and was snuggly warm!

After some serious searching, we finally found the perfect tree that wasn't too big, wasn't too tall, wasn't too skinny or too fat, too short, but juuuust right. It was our version of Goldilocks, if you will.

My turn to cut!

Seth and his dad dragging the tree to the shaker to get out any and all spiders and nests that may be lurking!

And here we are with our beauty. Carter was sleeping WAY too peacefully (and warm) to wake him up for this photo op. Next year...

On Sunday, we dedicated Carter at church. It was a very nice service, and he only gave us one scare of freaking out, which thankfully was before we went up to the front. He fell asleep a few minutes before we went up, and stayed asleep almost the whole time.

We found out that his name Carter means "one who carts things" and his middle name, Nicholas, means "victory" (from the greek word, Nike). It also comes from St. Nicholas, a fourth century saint, who was widely known for his compassion for the poor and for being a giver.

A family photo after the service.

Opening an ornament from great Aunt Polly and great Uncle Dirk - a baby's first Christmas ornament!

Now for his gift from mommy and daddy! Yummm, this is good paper and ribbon, mommy. :)

It was another baby's first Christmas ornament and his very first Bible!

Hanging out by the tree and playing while everyone visited. After the service, everyone came back...we had barbeque, macaroni and cheese, salad, cupcakes, pie, ice cream, and more! Thank you for celebrating with me gramma, grampa, Oma, Opa, Aunt Michelle, Uncle Jason, McKenna, Elijah, great grandma, papa, great Aunt Polly, and great Uncle Dirk.

In all, it was a great Thanksgiving and weekend, and thankfully, the little guy is back to himself and feeling better. :)