Just because I don't want to forget...

Liam is eating breakfast. He asked me to wipe his hands. I was in the middle of that when he put his hands on my cheeks and said, "You are a good mommy. You are a good mommy. I  love you mommy, all the way to me." 

I don't really know what that last part means, but we read a book, "Guess How Much I Love You." It is about a mommy and baby bunny and at the end the baby bunny tells the mom that he loves her all the way to the moon and then the mom says that she loves him all the way to the moon and back. I think he was channeling this book in his own Liam way.

I just needed to write this moment down so I don't forget it.

Zoo Day

On the lovely 82 degree day this week we went to the zoo. I didn't really take many pictures, but we had a great time and spent 4 hrs walking around seeing animals. Their favorites were the elephants and the sea lions. We finished off the day by watching the sea lion show. Then they went down for a long restful nap!

Spring is Near

We have been in our house almost a year and a half now. Dane and I say how lucky we are everyday that we made the move when we did. We sold our house fast and got a great deal on our new house. But one of the things we love most about our house is the trail behind it. When the weather is nice, the Stanglers can be found on it almost everyday. Here are some cute pictures of my boys from an evening stroll on the trail last week.

Fun At Home

Here are some pictures from the last couple of days. I realized that most of March has gone by and I did not have any pictures of the boys. Since we haven't done much, they are just of us around the house. It is becoming increasingly difficult to take pictures of them. Liam refuses to smile, Gavin won't hold still, and trying to get a decent picture of the two of them is near impossible. So, this is what I have to share. Enjoy.

Here are the boys before their bath.

Here is Liam proudly showing his new Lightening McQueen Shake and Go car. He is very into the Disney Cars right now and infomed me that he wants Lightening McQueen Bday party this year.

Wrestling on the ottoman.

Gavin looks like such a chunk in this picture. It makes me laugh. I will admit that he has quite the belly, but I really just had him crunched in this picture.

Gavin loves to hang out in the pantry and then carry food to all sorts of inappropriate places in the house.

The boys love their Daddy!

Here Mom

I know I have been a lame blogger. My mom made sure I was aware of that this morning. I tried to pull the..."you know mom, I am kind of busy....two little kids, work, school, etc..." card, but she called me out on it and replied, "I don't care. You need to post pictures of my boys for Gram." 

Fine Mom. This is for you.

I was wrong

So Gavin is not better. I have to admit that I was a little nervous to bring him home last night, but he seemed OK, and none of the doctors had concerns. I didn't like that his saturations were still in the 80's while he slept. I know that he "looked Ok", but I was still worried. I have to confess that I wanted to come home because I simply wanted a break from the hospital life. He was restless and getting harder to contain in our room. I sort of buried my concerns because I wanted to be home. 

He was happy last night, but today was a different story. He has either screamed or slept all day long today. I knew that he was not feeling well. It is unlike him to act like that, and it is not like I expected to bring home a perfect kid, but I didn't expect to have so many concerns. 

I called our pediatrician today and talked to the nurse. I told her the course of things from the hospital and told her that I was concerned because his lungs still sound sick (course, crackles and expiratory wheezes for you nurses reading this). Plus, he still is having fevers and not eating. She got us an appointment immediately.

We went, he screamed. The doctor agrees that he is still quite sick and that they could have been a little more aggressive in the hospital. At Mercy, I asked for a chest x-ray and some blood work to see if maybe he did have pneumonia and needed IV antibiotics...my requests (to 3 drs) were denied. Today, Dr. H made me feel validated. Gavin's ears are HORRIBLE. The antibiotic that he is on is NOT working....I specifically asked the doctors in the hospital to look and they told me that "they didn't look that bad". When I "borrowed" their wall otoscope I could see how they were still infected despite several days of antibiotics. I kept trying to not be a crazy mom with an ICU trained brain, but now I wish that I would have pushed a little harder. Even all of his nurses agreed with me and told me that I had valid concerns. 

So, poor Gavin...got an injection of IM Rocephin (a strong yet VERY painful shot of antibiotics). He is also now on steroids to try to decrease the swelling in his chest to improve his breathing and he changed his antibiotics to try to cover his ear infections and any possible pneumonia. Dr. H said that if he is not remarkably better in 48 hours we need to come back again. 

He is asleep now and I am sitting here trying to not feel guilty that I let him come home. In all fairness, I can probably take better care of him here then they did there. I am just missing some of the equipment :) I will keep updating....and hopefully have some positive things to add soon.

RSV...a 3 letter word

Since I became a PICU nurse almost 6 years ago, RSV has been a "three-letter word". As if I had not had enough exposure to this nasty virus, Gavin and I just finished a 5 1/2 day camp out at Children's Mercy because of it! It all started Tuesday when he woke up from his nap. He was screaming, burning up and working too hard to breath for even my level of comfort. I had to pull out the old stethoscope to take a listen. He sounded like he had a pnemonia in his left upper chest. I took him to the walk-in hours of my pediatrician's office where the doctor agreed with me (and also told me that he had a left ear infection...#11). He wrote for Omnicef...a wonderful antibiotic and we went home. He went to bed fine, breathing a little fast, but comfortable with Motrin. He woke around 1:15 in the morning and continued to be restless until 4 am. Dane and I brought him in our bed and I began to get a little worried. He was breathing about 60-70 times per minute and when I listened to him with the stethoscope, he sounded horrible! Dane got him dressed while I got ready and we went to Urgent Care at Children's Mercy. Low and behold he was diagnosed with RSV and possible pneumonia and admitted!

After 5 1/2 days (with our ups and downs) we are back home where we were longing to be! He spent about 2 1/2 days on some Oxygen, frequent deep suctioning, had lots of fevers, but is looking well. He is still breathing fast and sounds a little wheezy, but he will hopefully be able to put it all behind him soon. 

I wish that I would have been able to post throughout the ordeal, but I couldn't get the internet to work on my laptop while in the hospital. I spent little time at home, and now I am too tired to rehash the course of things. Bottom line....RSV is no fun! 

Here is Gavin after busting out of CMH...he is eating watermelon 

Gavin asleep in his PJ's

Starting to feel better. His favorite hangout was under his crib. This was during a visit from Liam and Lynnie. Liam and Gavin had quite the reunion. There was hugging, kissing  and Liam even spoon fed Gavin some ice cream. 

A little side note: yesterday morning when Liam woke up, he asked Dane where mommy and gavin were? Dane told him that Gavin was still sick and in the hospital and that I was there taking care of him. To which Liam replied: "Oh no, now we have to get a new dog AND a new baby!" 

Gavin on his worst day with high fevers up to 105.5! He felt and looked yucky!

Dane and Gavin rocking. I spent well over 50 hours in that chair with my baby...I am sure of it.

Getting back some energy to play with toys on the floor.

What is it about kids and balloons?

Happily munching on a banana! I am not sure who was happier, him or me (that he was finally able to eat without coughing up a lung)

All better

It may take a few days to break the bad habits that one gives in to with a sick kids. For instance, the pacifier that has NOT left his crib since he was 9 or 10 months was forever in his mouth the last week. It was his only comfort. School of hard knocks is now open again...we walked in the door, it came out of his mouth, got a quick scrub and promptly returned to its proper place in his crib. He never made a peep about it. Maybe he was just so happy to be home. And yes, the routine will also need to return for Liam, who is also out of sorts. He was a trooper throughout, but will need to get whipped back into shape this week too. 

Next up is a consult with ENT. Gavin is going to get tubes! I hope this will help alleviate some of his chronic bouts with ear infections. He is such a tough little guy and has been through so much in a short time. I hope that he doesn't remember any of it when it is over!

Can I just say that after a long week of worry, sadness, and exhaustion how nice it was to come home and listen to the sounds of little feet running about, Gavin crying because Liam stole a toy, Liam crying because Gavin bit him....life is sweet! We are very lucky! AND not to mention, I get to sleep in my own bed tonight.