Happy New Year!!

Well, Zachary seems to be feeling better. His temps have been normal since Saturday. Our only issue now is congestion. He can't eat well because he can't breathe well. Joshua's rash is gone and things seem to be getting back to normal. Hope you and your families have a happy and healthy new year!

The number for today. . .

105. Temperature for Zachary this morning! He has been acting sick but I thought he was getting the viral illness that Joshua has. Then at 1am he woke me up screaming, he was so hot. He ran a temp of 104-105 all day. Took him back to the dr this morning, and he believes it is viral, but because of the fact that Zachary has been sick so much the last few weeks he put him back on antibiotics. There is a fear that he is developing a secondary pneumonia from the respiratory illness he recently endured. Please keep us all in your prayers. We're tired!

Merry Christmas to one and all!

We spent another family Christmas together again this year. On Sunday, we traveled to the Fort Wayne area for family time with each side. The kids loved getting to see all their cousins and the family loved seeing the kids. It was a blessing to spend time together with all of our families in one place, which rarely happens! Today, Joshua woke us up at 7am (would have been 6:04 if we hadn't told him he had to wait til 7 to get up). Zachary was still sleeping as he tried to catch Santa making deliveries twice during the night. We let Joshua go ahead and open presents. He loved everything Santa brought him.

Zachary woke up shortly after Joshua finished. He enjoyed watching mommy and daddy open his presents, then he loved playing with them. He truly wanted nothing to do with opening the presents. We spent the afternoon with my sister who came to visit and enjoyed a traditional Christmas feast, thanks to Honey Baked Ham! ;o)

Hope you all enjoyed your day with your family and remember that if it were not for a tiny little baby being born many years ago, we would not all be blessed with what we have today.

Hmm, blog issues

I posted earlier and it never showed up, so I'm going to try again. Zachary and I spent Friday afternoon and evening in the ER. I had taken him to the dr for a recheck because his symptoms (wheezing) were not improving and his coughing was getting worse. While in the office the dr decided to check an oxygen level and it was only 86%. He decided we had to go to the ER with a sat that low. So off we went and when we got to the ER, his sat was 96%. (He had a good cough on the way to the ER and probably cleared whatever was plugging him up.) They gave him some extra breathing treatments and he really turned around. Hopefully we are on the outs with this and things will only get better from here. On a fun note, we are going to Fort Wayne and Columbia City Sunday for Christmas with both sides of the family. Should be fun with the boys!

ER regulars!

I have to admit, I'm beginning to hate the ER! After another not great day with Zachy with his coughing getting worse, his appetite decreasing, and his wheezing continuing. We were back at the dr on Friday for a recheck. The initial plan was to change his antibiotic and wait it out. Then my dr got the genius idea to check an oxygen saturation on him. It was only 86%. So that bought us another visit to the ER. He coughed well on the way to the hospital and of course by the time we got there he was 96%. Oh well. He did get a extra special treatment called a heart neb that was twice the dose of Albuterol that we were doing at home along with another medication called Atrovent. These two changes together truly seemed to turn him around! He has been doing well since. Keep praying that the wheezing stays away. We finish the antibiotics and steroids on Sunday, so we'll see!

We're home!!

Because my doc knows that I'll call if he gets in serious distress, he is allowing us to treat this at home. Zachary's chest x ray showed "a little something." Either early pneumonia or the effects of a viral respiratory illness (such as RSV). His oxygen sats were 91%. We came home with prescriptions for antibiotics and steroids. Will continue doing resp treatments at home and see how it goes. Praying the steroids kick in and the wheezing slows down.

Tis the season for some wheezin!!

Zachary's wheezing started infrequently on Sunday night. Yesterday it got worse and we started treatments. Have done treatments every 2 hours all night and he's still wheezing. Guess we will see what the doc has to say this morning, very well might end up in the hospital. Will keep you posted!

Prayers for friends please!

I have an amazing family who I have come to know and love since taking care of their adorable little girl. The Layman family can't seem to catch a break but their faith sustains them through the most difficult times. Their little girl, Kate, just underwent another heart surgery yesterday. After learning that she had made it through surgery and all was going well, her beloved grandpa (Andy's dad) passed away. Please keep their entire family in your prayers during this difficult time. You can see Kate's blog at www.layman4.blogspot.com

Ambulance Adventures

Well, I've been in the back of an ambulance numerous times as the nurse, this time I was honored as the patient. Yesterday afternoon, I stopped and picked up Chinese for lunch on my way home from Target. I got home and started eating it. It did not taste as good as it usually does. About 2 hours later, I was violently ill. After 6 1/2 hours of not getting out of the bathroom, I found myself laying on my bathroom floor unable to get up. I was so dehydrated that everytime I tried to get up, I almost passed out. Gary called 911 and the wonderful Danville Fire Department came and got me. After 3 liters of normal saline, a dose of nausea medicine and a dose of diarrhea medicine, I came home feeling like a new person! So I have a greater understanding of being the patient today and what it's like to ride backwards in a fast moving ambulance! ;o)

Just updating quickly

I got my voice back on Saturday, which was a blessing because Friday at work with no voice was no picnic (though the doc seemed to enjoy it!) I ended up starting Zachary on his antibiotics on Sunday, and he has begun to improve. No more thick yellow snot. He did go to day care on Mon and Tues so that I could do clinical hours for school. He actually slept really well on Monday at daycare, so I think he's getting more used to is.

Joshua is going to help after school with TIC (a reading program his first grade teacher runs). He so enjoys getting to be the teacher and helping younger kids learn how to read. He looks forward to it each week. Have a good week!

Yucky sleep study lead to yucky germs!

Seems as though Zachary and I both picked up some sort of bug at the hospital during his sleep study. We both started with a runny nose and cough on Wed morning. We saw the dr today and though I could barely speak to the dr (my voice is gone!), he got my point. I was diagnosed with a sinus infection and started antibiotics. He feels as though Zachary's is just a cold. He did give us a prescription for him to start in a day or two if he's not feeling better. Guess we'll see how it goes! Luckily, Joshua and Gary are still healthy. I slept on the couch last night in an effort not to breathe on Gary!

On a happy note, we spent Thanksgiving afternoon with my sister Kelly and her family. It was a great time visiting (even if I did fall asleep!), and eating. Zachary took his first 2 unassisted steps while there, of course it was while walking to his favorite aunt! Hope you all enjoyed your holiday and spent time being thankful for all that you have. I am thankful for a wonderful husband, two very loving sweet boys, a family who loves me, a job I adore, and friends who mean the world to me. HaPpY tHaNkSgIvInG!!

Yucky sleep study!!

To say that it was a rough night is putting it very mildly! Zachary was fine with all the electrodes, etc until they put two cannula type things in his nose. One monitored his air flow and one his co2 level. That really upset him. He screamed for 1 1/2 hours before he finally fell asleep and then was awake every 20-30 minutes all night crying. He did finally get 1 1/2 hours straight sleep and that is when we got our best data. Basically the ped pulmonologist said that he did have several episodes of apnea during his sleep but that his sats and heart rate tolerated it. We are just going to watch it for now and we are going to start him on prophylactic inhaled steroids to prevent lung issues during the winter months. Thanks for the prayers. Praying for an entire night sleep tonight!

Mondays the day

Well, just typed this out then it did not post. So I'm going to try it again. After all the issues Thursday night, we saw our Dr on Friday. I discussed my concerns and he agreed that we need to start getting aggressive about Zachary. He spoke with our GI doc who agreed and ordered an overnight sleep study. So on Monday we will be admitted to the peds floor at St. V's and be wired for sound for the sleep study. Hopefully it will show if he is refluxing at night and if the reflux is causing oxygen sat drops, heart rate drops, or apnea. If it is, we will get a game plan on what type of more aggressive treatment is needed. If he seems to be tolerating everything that is happening, then we will wait it out and hope he outgrows the reflux soon. Keep us in your thoughts!

Mr. Zachary

He seems to be a high maintenance kid. He was sick 3-4 weeks ago and we ended up in the ER because of a badly swollen throat that caused him to choke on his own saliva. Well, we were at the GI dr yesterday, just for a check up, and his throat is again very swollen. The nurse practitioner was shocked how swollen it was because of how little he is. I was not surprised to hear it because he has again began having bad choking spells, turned a little blue on me the other day. The nurse practitioner believes it's his reflux (too bad I thought he was beginning to outgrow it) causing irritation and swelling. She started him on a steroid inhaler that I have to spray on his tongue and he will swallow. I am calling our family dr this morning though because he is not sleeping well, appears to maybe be having some apnea due to the swelling. I don't know how long we can wait this out for safety sake. I worry about him at night, but I spend half his night with him, so I guess I'm not too far away. ;o) Will post after the appt.

Not enough blog postings?

Or so I've been told. So I guess I will begin writing about nothing at all. Let's see what my week has entailed. Zachary spent his first day at daycare on Monday. Mommy has clinical hours for school and classes required for work to do and I have no babysitter. So I found a wonderful day care not far from home. He did well there in the morning. He did not nap well and when I arrived to pick him up, found him crying because another baby had taken his pacifier away. Guess Zachary will just need to get more aggressive. All in all though, she said he had a good first day. I can tell you he was tired that night! Joshua continues to thrive at school. He has been asked to help with TIC (Think I Can), which is a program that his first grade teacher runs. He will be helping first graders read by playing games, reading with them, etc. He is so excited to get to help kids learn how to read. Mrs. Blankenship (his first grade teacher) truly turned Joshua into a kid who loves to read. We owe her so much for instilling a love of reading in him.

Mommy continues with school. Tomorrow I begin my big class (8 weeks long) which includes 32 hours of clinical time required. I am so ready to be done with this program and to finally say that I have a BSN. I never anticipated only getting my ASN, but I could not afford 4 years of college right out of high school. I will be so proud of myself when I complete this program in April, if I complete this program in April!

Daddy continues to work over time and comes home exhausted. Zachary attacks him by climbing all over him while he lays on the floor. It's their daily game.

That's about it, those of you who actually read this blog need to post a comment so that I know someone is reading my jibber jabber! Have a great night. Enjoy the beautiful weather before it gets cold again!

Girl's night out

My mom came to town on Tuesday to spend a few days with me, as I was going through "Mom withdrawl." Last night I took her to Melting Pot for cheese and chocolate fondue. We had a great time and she really enjoyed herself. It's fun seeing her play with the boys. She's going to go to school with Joshua for a little while today. He will be so excited to see her.

FINALLY!!

Yeah, everyone seems to be healthy again! Zachary is his normally ornery self, climbing the stairs each time that we forget to put the gate up! He has been laughing and spitting all over and ate a full lunch today! Thanks for all the prayers.

ER fun after working all night

Well, Zachary continued to not do well as the week went on. We were back in the dr office on Friday to discover that not only was his throat red, it was now very swollen, getting worse from Wednesday's appt. We started on Steroids. He continued to choke and cough a lot because of his throat. His paranoid, knows too much mom, panicked and took him to the er on Saturday morning after working all night because I just felt as though we were not making any progress. My fear was that he had an abcess in his throat and it might occlude his airway (yes, I know, I know too much!). The ER doc said his throat didn't look too bad and I got a peek at it too, the swelling had decreased. We did do some xrays to ensure he hadn't choked on anything (toy, dirt, etc) that was causing his coughing. Luckily, the xray was clear and we went home. He seems to be feeling better now, except for a continual cough, especially at night. Please keep him in your prayers that he will get back to his old ornery self!

Antibiotics anyone??

My family could certainly share if anyone is in need! Joshua got sick last weekend and was diagnosed with Strep on Monday. He is finally feeling better despite a lingering cough. Zachary got his fever while we were sitting in the dr office on Monday morning but everything looked ok at that time except a red throat. He has continued to run a fever and we saw the dr again today. His throat is now red and swollen! So onto antibiotics he goes too! Hopefully this will be it for the winter! ;o) Hoping everyone else's families are happy and healthy.

Hmm, missing Florida!!

Well, I'm back safe and sound from my trip to Orlando. It was beautiful there, we had no rain and the temperature was perfect. The conference was wonderful and I can not wait to use what I learned in caring for my patients. I also truly enjoyed my mommy time away. Not to say that I didn't miss my boys and Gary terribly, but I now firmly believe that every now and then a mom needs a break. I have to say huge thanks to Gary and my sister Kelly for keeping the house running smoothly while I was gone and for allowing me to feel confident enough to relax and enjoy myself. I will post some pictures of our trip when I get them downloaded.

How's that for a face to start this post? Zachary's 6 month old pictures. Hard to believe he's almost 7 months already! He is such a joy and makes us laugh constantly. He does have bonchitis right now so we pray for him to bounce back quickly. His coughing and congestion make him miserable and make sleeping difficult. I leave for Orlando on Wednesday, so we're hoping Zachy will be feeling better soon so that Daddy and Aunt Kelly don't have to deal with too much of a cranky baby!

Please keep Gary, Joshua, and Zachary in your thoughts and prayers while Mommy is out of town. I'm sure they will be fine, I will probably miss them more than they miss me! But it will be wierd for all of us to be apart for 5 days!

Gonna try somthing!!

You all gotta check something out. Go to this site!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anSpBUxsgAU

Anyone who is a mom or has a mom will laugh like crazy! Enjoy!!

Uh oh, I've been found!!

Started this blog, just to see if I could do it. But I've been found. So I guess I have to keep it going, huh Krista? So a quick update into our lives. Zachary had his endoscopy last Friday and they drew lots of blood (gotta love having anesthesia for blood draw) for allergy testing. They said 7-10 days for the results, so I am not so patiently waiting! He has been doing ok. Still throwing up some, I got green beans puked on me last night! Kinda makes me want to go back to just formula! ;o) He has also discovered that he is quite good at pulling himself up to the couches. The dogs are having a very difficult time escaping him now! I will try to post a picture later, if I can take one before he moves along to the next object!

Joshua is doing well. Loving 2nd grade. He has been battling his allergies as has his daddy. We started Joshua on allergy shots this July and he does great with them. I'm so proud of him, as I hate shots and would be a big baby!

I am looking forward to my trip to Orlando next Wednesday. I was chosen along with one other co-worker to go to a PICU conference at Disney World. Gotta love an all expense paid trip to Florida. Only problem is that I will spend lots of money on surprises for my boys! I told Gary that I probably ought to take an empty suitcase for the "surprises." Gotta run, Zachary's ready for a nap!

Check us out!

Well, we finally moved into the 21st century by creating a blog for all our family and friends to keep updated on our family stuff. The boys are busy growing up, way too fast for mom and dad's liking! Joshua is loving 2nd grade and has yet to have moved his clip (a form of discipline), meaning he's been good so far! Zachary is crawling, sitting up, eating baby foods (bananas are his favorite so far), and cutting teeth! Gary is busy working and loving on the boys when he gets home. I work my weekends and spend my weekdays playing with Zachary and maintaining the house! I am also busy trying to complete my BSN degree online through Indiana Wesleyan University. Thank goodness for Gary who takes over with the boys when he gets home from work so that I can do homework. Without his help, none of this would be possible. We will use this blog to post pictures of the boys and keep you updated on the busyiness of our lives!