My Kids Always Get the Weird Stuff

MRSA.  That's what my baby girl has on her rear end.  Went to the doctor on Monday and he lanced the sore to culture it.  It was finally confirmed as MRSA yesterday.  Awesome. 

She also has a sinus infection.  She is on an oral antibiotic, I have to put a topical antibiotic on her rear along with a water proof band aid, and she has to bathe in warm antibacterial soapy water-all 3 times daily for 7 days. 

She likes the baths!

We also all have to put that topical antibiotic up our noses twice a day for 5 days.

At least she's cute!

"I Sit in Time Out"

Brian is sick. Again.

Last night we got home from dinner and he was on fire. Temp of 102.6. It was still in the 102 range at 2a.m. when he and Shawn woke me up. Brian was crying because he had fallen. When I asked him what was wrong he moaned, "I hurt my nooooooooooose!" Oh my.

He went the the potty and stripped from the waist down. Shawn was struggling to get him to put on a new sleep diaper. He wanted to get dressed. He kept saying, "I wake up." Um no, little man it's 2a.m. So I finally convinced him to wear the diaper with underwear over top of it. I tried to put his pajama pants back on him and he said no, ran to the closet and grabbed a pair of pants. Fine, I don't care what you sleep in as long as you sleep!

Of course Lilah was wide away during all of this ready to party!

He still didn't want to go back to bed, so he went over to his time out bench and cleared off all the books sitting on it. Then he had a seat. When we suggested he go back to bed, he said, "No, I sit in time out." Are you kidding me? He would rather sit in time out than sleep?! Crazy kid.

Temp was still 101 when he woke up this morning. It's down now. Heading back to the doctor at 2p.m. to make sure it's just a virus. So over this!

Winter Be GONE!

Okay, we haven't really had a winter as previously noted. No real snow to speak of. What we have had are short stints of really cold weather, followed by a few days here and there of unseasonably warm weather, tossed in with some cold, but not really that cold days and some rain and some sorry excuses for snow days.

Do you know what that creates?

Germs.

Germs that will NOT go away.

My babies are sick again. Brian has croup and Lilah is a snotty, crusty mess with ANOTHER double ear infection.

Yesterday Shawn, Nana and Teri took Brian to the after hours clinic at our doctor's office while Lilah and I went to the preschool open house. The doc (not our normal doc) said he had croup (which I knew from having heard his cough and breathing the previous night) and that his left ear was red. He sent them home with a prescription for an antibiotic and a prescription for a steroid.

We got about 1/4 of the steroid dose down him yesterday afternoon and a little bit more of the antibiotic. He literally spit the steroid at me-some of it landing in my eye! (I wonder if it will improve my vision??) Anyway, last night, I knew the meds were going to be a fight. Shawn was at work, so Mom was here for bedtime. We tried the antibiotic once. He spit it out. He gagged. Major resistance.

We tried a second time. I swear to you it was like a scene from the exorcist. It always is when Brian makes up his mind that he's going to puke. He literally expels every.single.thing. from his body. It was everywhere. We called Pappy for back up.

After the very, very disgusting clean up, Mom and I made the decision that I would take him back to the doctor today and beg for a shot. No way were we going through that again. And certainly not 18 more times for the 10 day, twice a day antibiotic regime to be completed.

Mom got Brian to bed while I got laundry going and Pappy entertained Lilah. Shawn got home. I started to work on getting Lilah to sleep. She gagged while nursing. And then it was her turn to puke. Oh how I love puke!

I took my second shower of the night and changed my pjs again. Lilah finally went down about 10:15.

This morning we were lucky enough to get appointments back to back! I asked everyone there what they charge for room and board. I feel like we have been there SO MUCH this winter!

As it turns out Brian's ear was fine. Dr. Price offered him a one time oral steroid for the croup. I had my doubts, but I figured it was worth it to try to avoid the shot. Shawn offered him a new Angry Birds game on the I Pad if he took it. So he did. He cried and spit afterwards, but it was already down his throat, thank goodness, so no puke and no shot for Brian!

Poor Lilah had to get a shot though. And she has a one time antibiotic to follow that later today. We had already a cancelled her ENT appointment because her ears were clear last week. Luckily though, we got her in for a week from today. Poor baby!

That Rash

Here are the pictures of that penicillin rash I wrote about last week.
For reference, here is what Lilah look like with a double ear infection and an allergic reaction.

As means of comparison, this was Brian with a high fever and possible strep that same weekend.
Just sayin'.

Checking In

Just checking in to see if anyone is still out there? I have posted so infrequently, perhaps you have all gotten bored and disappeared.

Does life ever slow down? I keep thinking it will and then it doesn't.

Lilah is still battling it out with the double ear infection. She got a shot Monday, followed by one dose of a really strong oral antibiotic. The doc was hoping to "nuke it," as my Mom put it. The results? TBD. She did sleep better last night and has seemed generally happier the last two days. Here's hoping! We do have an appointment with Brian's ENT for her on March 1st just in case. After dealing with tubes twice with B, I almost wish we could just go that route now with Lilah. It takes all the questions out of it, which is nice. Sedation is scary though, so I am torn! This is the third round of antibiotics though, so something's gotta give! Oh, and Miss Lilah is allergic to penicillin. Which is no big surprise considering my mom, Brian and I are also allergic. The poor baby was covered head to toe in spots when the reaction finally showed up. I have pictures on my camera which I will load someday!

Brian is really enjoying school! He comes out with the biggest smile on his face. He seems to be talking and interacting more, although it tends to come in spurts, so some days I spend all day worrying about it and then I spend the next day wondering what I was so worried about! His OT, Kacia, is changing jobs, which I think is going to be so tough on him. He adores her and I am a fan too. She's done a great job of figuring him out. The core strength exercises she has had him doing have done great things for him and she thinks she has finally figured out his eating issues. She thinks that's related to strength-or lack of strength too. It seems that his jaw and lips are weak. So now we have exercises to work on this. It really makes sense and it may help with his speech too from what my aunt says. This totally makes sense as well as the letters that he has a harder time with are made from the parts of his mouth that are weak. Slowly piecing the puzzle that is Brian together, right?! But it really stinks to loose the therapist that has made it all possible. I hope his new one will be just a great!

A few weeks ago Brian agreed to try wax ear plugs so that he could attend two different (LOUD) events. Normally we steer clear of these, but now that's he old enough to be agreeable to things like ear plugs, we decided to give it a try. We went to a dinosaur exhibit one day and he attended the Family Dance (a huge fundraiser for my preschool) another day. He had a blast at both!Potty training is still a work in progress. Number 1 is pretty much good, but Number 2 is a different story. At Melissa's recommendation, we will be stocking a "poop jar" this weekend. And no. It is not a jar to keep poop in. Thankyouverymuch Shawn and Nana! It's for treats that one receives for successfully pooping in the potty. Geez!

My Week In Numbers

Nine.

Nine hours of uninterrupted sleep last night. Heaven.

Three.

Three whole dry nights and three whole dry days for Brian. Three Maisy books as a reward. Still wearing a pull up at night, but he's in underwear all day!

Two.

Lilah has her first ear infection. A double ear infection. Poor baby.

Three Hundred.

The number of tickets we sell for the Family Dance, our huge preschool fundraiser.

Seven.

The number of tickets we still have available. And the dance is Saturday. Can you say sell out?!!

Little Turkey

We are on the mend here. Last night was the first in a few that Brian did not run a fever. At it's highest his fever reached 104.1. Not fun. Every two minutes he yells, "MaMA! Tissue! Wipe nose!" So between wiping snot and other various tasks I am finally getting my Thanksgiving pictures uploaded.

Here is a preview...

Gobble.

Gobble.

Gobble.

Mish Mash of Pictures

These pictures don't really have a common theme-except that they are of my sweet little babies, but I wanted to make sure to get them up anyway!

And while I am on here, have you ever seen the movie Napoleon? Not Napoleon Dynamite, just Napoleon? Brian stumbled across it on regular tv this week and it's his new obsession. Worst. Movie. Ever. It's about a golden retriever puppy and a bird. He loves it. We had to go to Blockbuster today and rent it to avoid a major melt down. Brian woke up sick and we had to stay home from school. I am thinking croup. Awesome. I am hoping he gets over both the illness and this terrible movie quickly. I am loosing brain cells by watching it. Seriously.

Okay, onto the cute pictures...

Brian in a box.

Lilah in her bath.
Big girl...almost rolling and really holding that head up well!

Helping Daddy put the bouncer together for Miss Lilah.

More outside pictures. I just love 'em!

Wow, What a Week!

Sunday started with me finally "catching" Brian's bug. I knew I had it all weekend. You don't get puked on twice and not get the bug. I was soooo sick. Shawn even took off work on Monday to take care of Brian since I couldn't.

So you know what happens next. Shawn got the bug on Monday night. And he was home sick Tuesday. Wednesday he worked from home.

Thursday we had another house showing. We both went to work and I took Ruben to Barb's house. Before I left he had peed three times. Once in a potted plant. Like he actually jumped into the plant, hiked his leg and peed on it. Now that's talent, folks.

Somewhere in this crazy week Brian flushed a Thomas train down the toilet. I swear we have had a huge discussion about this before. He even learned to say, "No choo-choos in the water" at a very young age. Apparently that didn't sink in. The train did sink though. Almost all the way to the pipes. Thankfully the plumber got it out before that happened. Apparently that would have involved cutting into pipes and possibly walls. Not the thing we need with the house for sale.

I guess this comes with potty training. We taught him to flush the damn thing, so now he has to practice, right?

Speaking of potty training...it's still going well. He woke up dry again today! We had a minor accident at school, but it was very small and he caught himself. Otherwise, no accidents today!

A Quick Update

Just a few updates...

* Brian has finished his antibiotic and is still tugging at both ears. He's more like himself though. Things actually got worse before they got better. He had two MAJOR screaming tantrums mid week...grabbed his ears and fell to the floor. Poor little man. I called the ENT the next morning and the nurse said to start motrin 2-3 times a day. That gave him great relief. He started napping and eating again! But he's still tugging at those ears. I am going to call the ENT on Monday. I am thinking maybe 4 more weeks is a bit too long to wait to decide about tubes and adenoids.

*Had a visit with the OB on Friday. We got to hear baby Elmo's heart rate again. It was between 140 and 145. We find out the gender on March 1st!!! I am feeling movement when I am really still, but not all the time yet. I have gained about 7 pounds, which is pretty much on track. We took a 16.5 week belly pic, but it's still on my camera.

*Brian "spilled" a sprite on my laptop. The keyboard is shot. The new one will be here Monday. I am typing this on my mom's laptop. We are staying at my parents' house tonight because...

*Our wonderful friends and family (and my mom's wonderful friends) came over last night and today for a painting party. Our kitchen, hall, and master bedroom are now "neutral." Our house looks like we don't live there. All of my collectibles are boxed up, all pictures of Brian are down and the colors on the walls are totally not ones we would pick. BUT we are getting much closer to having the house ready to put back on the market. There are still some things on the list that were suggested by the realtor, but we're getting there!

And because of the painting party I am totally exhausted. Good night!

A Yucky Bug

A yucky bug has bitten my baby. He's all snotty and weepy. He has run a low grade fever the last few nights. He's not eating much and napping even less. As usual, he's pretty playful still, just more whiny than usual! Say a little prayer that he gets better and we get to go ahead with his hearing test on Friday. I hate putting those off!

Sick of Yuck

As you know, we missed the hearing test on Monday because Brian had a fever. He was diagnosed with a virus. Yesterday, we thought he was on the upswing. We were wrong. Last night was BAD. He was a coughing, cruddy mess. He was restless and miserable.

We went BACK to the doctor today. This seems to be the trend. Brian has croup. Yuck. It's supposed to be bad for 3 nights. So we get two more nights like last night. Yuck.

Brian had to take an oral steroid as treatment. He shot it like a pro! He didn't even want the Sprite chaser they gave him after. Just some vanilla wafers.

He also has some fluid in his right ear, and I have a prescription for an antibiotic just in case it turns into a full blown ear infection. Yuck.

We have not been to school all week. Except for the 1/2 hour yesterday. I managed to be so busy last year when I was staying home. Now I am GOING NUTS missing work! I guess you just get used to whatever your routine is :)

Say some prayers that this YUCK leaves my baby and we can move on from the sickies. I'm SICK of YUCK.

Refugees Again

Shawn is sick. I think this has become the story of my life! He finished his antibiotic two days ago and last night he had a fever. With Brian's mono diagnosis, we thought it would be best to keep them apart, so Brian and I are staying with Nana and Pappy.

I am not complaining. Nana took Brian last night and I got NINE hours of sleep. In. A. Row!!! I also got cinnamon toast for a bed time snack. And I got pancakes for breakfast.

Brian is happy, too. Nana let him sleep on her chest all night. And she let him "reorganize" her tupperware. Jackie lives with Nana and Pappy. He's slower than Ruben...much easier to chase.

I hope Shawn feels better soon. But for now we'll enjoy the cable tv and all of the other perks of exile.

The results are in...

Well, it turns out my pee adventure was all in vain. We no longer need a urinalysis. The blood word that was taken yesterday came back. Brian has MONO. I know I should not be excited about this very serious condition. However, I have to take some happiness from the fact that I am NOT CRAZY. A low grade fever for three weeks is NOT normal in an infant. Thank you Aunt Sarah for helping me know when to push for a diagnosis :)

Since there is nothing they can really do for mono, all we can do is wait it out. At least now we know what is causing the fevers.

Rash or Reaction?

I've been talking about how sick Brian has been for a couple of weeks, and on Friday I realized, he still wasn't much better. So, I called the doctor and they called in a new antibiotic since the first one didn't seem to be doing the trick. Before I gave him a dose of the new stuff, I stripped him down to avoid getting the medication on his clean clothes and I noticed a rash starting to form on his belly. I figured it was just diaper rash, so I gave him the new medication, and we both went to my room for a nap.

Brian and I slept for almost 3 hours and he was drenched in sweat when he woke up! I figured his fever was breaking when I realized how sweaty he was, so I snuggled up with him and let him keep sleeping. When we finally got up and got to his room for a diaper change, I realized the rash had spread. So, I called for Shawn who noticed it was on his face as well.

Mom, Shawn and I spent some time on the Internet last night trying to decide if the rash was an allergic reaction, or something viral. We decided it was viral, but to be on the safe side, Shawn and I took him back to the doctor this morning. This was the THIRD sick visit in THREE weeks. When my kid gets sick, he apparently goes all out!

Anyway, after consulting a book on rashes, the doctor decided it was viral as well. She said to make sure to point out that he had this reaction the next time he needs an antibiotic and to watch him really closely is amoxicillin is prescribed again. It would not be a huge surprise if he were allergic, since I am also allergic to that drug.

Anyway, my poor child looks just pitiful, although he doesn't seem to care one bit. Check it out!

Spring Break

The Mom of the kids that I babysit for is on Spring Break this week, so Brian and I have gotten to spend a lot of one on one time together! The weather has been much nicer, so we've spent time outside...looking at the new blooms on our trees, checking out the flowers, and walking Ruben around the neighborhood. Brian loves to ride in the stroller and watch his main man Ruben trot along in front of him. Speaking of Ruben, Brian said his first absolutely discriminate word this past week. Much to his Daddy's dismay, he now says "dah-gee" whenever Ruben is in sight. Still no dada, and mama is not always directed at me, so I guess Ruben gets the honor of being Brian's first word!

Last Friday we visited Totter's Otterville for the first time with Renie and Heather. Brian loved the baby room where he could crawl all over the foam pads and blocks like a little maniac. I'm going to go ahead and blame his cold on all of the toys he enjoyed dining on while we were there. Yes, my baby has his first cold :( He's been running a low grade fever and has more snot coming out of his nose than usual. He's also coughing a bit. It's not a bad cold by any means, but more of an annoyance and a concern given his 9 month hearing test is tomorrow. We're really hoping it doesn't effect the results.

Speaking of doctor's appointments, Brian had physcial therapy yesterday. Elizabeth was really impressed with his continued progess-he's really close to "cured." So, we get to wait a whole month before we go back. We're supposed to just continue his stretches two times a day and the "football hold" as much as possible.

With Brian's increasing mobility, we decided to baby proof a couple of weeks ago. This included installing a gate at the top of the stairs. It's now one of Brian's favorite places to pull up!
Speaking of stairs, he LOVES them! He'll climb them any chance he gets. Especially is Ruben or Mommy is at the top. Dad has also turned into his jungle gym of choice. I know, he's a brave boy being so close to that tush!!















This brings me to the most recent poo story. I was changing Brian's diaper at church on Sunday (he had some how made it to church with a poopy diaper and neither Shawn nor I had noticed) and was trying to be quick about it because a little girl was knocking incessantly on the door. Anyway, I had just put the diaper in the trash and I turned back to Brian as he unfolded his left hand. And, I'm sure you can imagine my horror when a little piece of poo rolled out! Man he's fast!!


Finally, we started 3rd foods this week. The difference between 2nd and 3rd foods is that 3rd foods have little chunks in them-meat, noodles, veggies-whatever. Anyway, they have not been a hit thus far...