We're Home!

Justin was discharged this morning. He is laughing and playing and is acting like himself - it's so great. He was able to get through the night last night without oxygen help and without needing his nose suctioned. Now that he's home we just have to keep an eye on him and he'll finish out some antibiotics. We'll continue the wrestling-match of suctioning his nose a few times a day. We're going to keep him out of daycare for at least another week. I'm just not ready for him to go back to germ-central yet!

Hurricane Pneumonia Update

There isn't a lot to report today. Justin acted like he was feeling pretty good. He played a lot and was able to maintain his oxygen levels all day - even during naptime. The big test is if he can do it overnight. Dave is spending the night with him tonight and I'm going to try and get some rest at home. Being in the hospital is exhausting with people coming in and out of the room all night!

The nurses and respiratory techs are still getting a ton of gunk out of him when they are suctioning- which they do every four hours. That's the scary part to me about coming home - we won't be able to be so high-tech about it. I did get the Nosefrida in the mail this week though...maybe it will work better than the bulb suction.

If Justin does well without oxygen overnight they will likely send him home tomorrow - if not he'll have another day there. I took some of his favorite toys in for him on Tuesday. His book from Aunt Lindsay is getting a lot of use and the singing puppy dog that Aunt Lori gave him is too. They untethered him today so he did get to crawl around the room a bit too which was nice.

Hopefully we'll have good news to report tomorrow.

Hurricane Pneumonia - 2011

Not a whole lot to report on yet. They did a chest x-ray this morning to see how things are going and there is some mucus in one of Justin's lungs that they are working on moving out. Respiratory Therapy comes and pats his back every four hours - it looks like it would feel good and I wish they'd try it out on me too. The nurse is suctioning out his nose about every four hours too. It is gross how much gunk the kid has produced. They were running some more tests that the doctor to referred to as the "Top 10" test which evaluates for the top 10 viruses to see if they can pinpoint what started all of this.

The IV fluids were stopped today - which means one less cord which is nice. Justin is still on oxygen to keep his levels where they need to be. He won't be able to go home until he can maintain those levels on his own. I imagine we'll be there a few more days.

All in all - he's being a trooper. He was playful today which I think is a good sign. It's not easy to keep him occupied in a small space and keep him from messing up his IV access. They want to leave the access on for now so his foot is basically immobilized and he's got lots of tape and a sock on it to help prevent him from pulling anything out.

Thanks everyone for continuing to check in on us.

Update to the Update

When we went to the pediatrician Tuesday morning Justin's oxygen level was low and we ended up being sent to the ER for oxygen and a chest xray. He was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. Poor little guy has had a rough go of it lately.  We will probably be here a few days. He is on IV antibiotics and  hopefully they will start to knock this crud out of his system. He's  doing as well as one can be after a day of poking and prodding by
doctors and nurses.

Update on JD

Justin has been home from daycare since last Wednesday. I called the ENT several times and they kept saying that his symptoms were normal for adenoid removal. Well on Friday they called him in an antibiotic because I had called again saying how awful his drainage was. Big mistake on my part- I should have taken him in to see them.

Friday night was awful - his cough was so bad. I ended up at my friend Shannon's on Saturday morning (she's a doctor) and then we headed to the pediatrician. They think he has RSV. They didn't do the test but his symptoms are all pointing in that direction. And - his tubes are blocked. He has an ear infection and I didn't know it because the tubes are supposed to start draining fluid when he has an infection - and they are blocked.

We are heading to the ENT tomorrow to get his ears cleaned up and seeing the pediatrician for his one year appointment. I'm looking forward to talking through everything with the pediatrician just to make sure we're on the right track.

When I called daycare today they said they have 4 babies with RSV - one was in the hospital all last week. So - I guess we know where he picked it up. I'm thankful it's not worse than it is - but I really can't wait for him to get over this. It is awful to not be able to do anything to make him feel better.

Happy Birthday Justin!

Justin had his birthday cake on Sunday night. We had planned to have a brunch/cake/playdate with a bunch of our friends- but with Justin's surgery last Friday we decided we'd better not. So- instead a couple friends came over for dinner and we ate some cake- pretty low key - but at least he had a little audience for cake eating!

Justin is taking cupcakes to daycare tomorrow and we have a few presents to open tomorrow night and then birthday fun is over!

Video:

The "how has it been a year?" post

Here it is - the sappy first birthday post. The "I can't believe it's been a year and I can't imagine life without this precious baby boy in it" post. I can't help myself...I'm going to write "that post" that all the other mommies write. But really - he's going to be be ONE on Wednesday - already?!

It has been a whirlwind of a year. I think back now to labor and delivery and realize that those last four hours of labor were really pretty awful and terrifying. Though JD had a rough start, he bounced back quickly and for the most part is a happy, fun little boy. Maybe now with the adenoids out and tubes in - he can enjoy himself even more! It amazes me that he hasn't been miserable this whole time with all of his sinus issues.

I know I speak for both of us when I say it is amazing watching Justin learn new things. He has learned so much - especially in the last 2 months. He went from watching all of the other kids crawling- to cruising all over the place. I'm sure walking isn't far off.

Motherhood has really been wonderful. I never doubted it would be - but it truly is something you can't describe. I love the fact that Justin stops crying when I pick him up and that "mommy" is the best medicine. His snuggles just make my day. I love picking him up from daycare and watching him zip across the room to get to me as fast as he can. I have done my best to soak up every moment of this year - and sometimes I cuddle just a little longer because I know this stage will pass way too quickly.

While I know being a working mom is what is right for me - there are definitely days when I wish I could just skip work and hang out with Justin. I'm very lucky that work has been flexible with me and has adjusted to my new schedule and the unexpected days at home. There are days when it is hard to juggle them both- but we make it work.

The hardest part - I think for both me and Dave - is being far from family. We know it is a decision we made and we are happy in Texas - but it makes me sad that Justin isn't going to know his grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles as well as he should. We do the best we can with traveling to Philly and Iowa and Skyping - but I know that isn't the same thing as living in the same vicinity. I'm thankful that our family is good at keeping in touch and know that's something that I work really hard at - and one of the reasons I post so many pictures and videos here.

There are also days when it would be so nice to call somebody for some help when we're in a bind. A good friend told me "you need to make your friends your Texas family" and I'm working on that- but I'm not always good at asking for help.

This year has gone by so quickly and I'm so thankful that I have a wonderful husband to share all of these milestones with and I'm looking forward to so many more.

Our first family picture - wow - what a mess I was:

Coming home from the hospital video:

Birthday cake pictures and fun stuff to come in another post! Just needed to be sappy for a moment.

All is well

The surgery went well this morning. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to get him there and keep him happy while withholding his morning bottle. I had to wake him up because we left the house at 6:30 and I think he was just confused about being taken from bed and shoved in his car seat. The surgery center was very kid-friendly - bright with lots to look at.

The goofy-juice they gave him back in the pre-op area helped a lot - it would have been MUCH harder to watch them take him away if he was screaming. He was just sorta confused.

The doc said everything went fine. He'll have bad breath for a week - and some drainage. He sounds extremely congested right now with everything draining  - but that should clear up.

We got home around 11 and he had some lunch - took a nice nap and has been playing this afternoon. He's a bit needier than usual - but overall he seems to be in good shape. Thanks to everyone who checked in on us yesterday and today! We appreciate it!

What is an adenoid?

Several people have asked what an adenoid is- so I thought I'd post a little information. Tomorrow is the big day - and I'm starting to get nervous/anxious. I just want it to be over with!

Adenoids (or pharyngeal tonsil, or nasopharyngeal tonsil) are a mass of lymphoid tissue situated posterior to the nasal cavity, in the roof of the nasopharynx, where the nose blends into the throat.

It's in green below.

It sounds like JD will be a bit sore after having them removed- but from what I've read/heard thus far I don't think he should have major issues eating/drinking.

This is the info his doctor gave us on the procedure.

Is it over yet?

Book Lover?

Justin has spent a lot of time this weekend emptying his book basket:

First Haircut

We were supposed to get JD's hair cut last weekend- but since he was so miserable we had moved it to this weekend. He was still less than thrilled with the situation. He hung on to me and wouldn't let go - and screamed through most of it.

Before:

During:

After:

What a week!

Daycare has been closed since Tuesday, as have all of the school districts in Dallas. We had freezing rain on Tuesday and the city has been a mess ever since. Thursday night we got snow on top of the ice that's been hanging around.

I've been thankful for all of JD's Christmas presents as they have been getting a lot of use this week! We've set up a corner in the living room with all of his stuff. He's been enjoying it as you can see in the video:

Hopefully all of this will melt and we can get back to our usual routine- though I hear we are in for a storm next week too!

Pictures from two days before the ice storm - when it was over 70 degrees:

After the storm: