Tuesday, February 28, 2012

February must end

I am so sick of this month.  Things just get worse and worse.  So since my last post I ended up taking Simone to the doctor again because her cough was getting worse.  Turns out she had/has RSV.  I thought having croup in the house was bad, but holy shit RSV is the worst.  She hasn't been sleeping at night for a week and a half.  I am getting about 4 hours of interrupted sleep each night on a good night.  I am absolutely exhausted.  There are moments when I feel like I am going to flip and just start screaming at everyone.  I am so tired and worn out.

I looked at the calendar yesterday and realized that Dave and I haven't slept one full night in the same bed since February 15th.  When Samuel and Joseph were super sick I slept with them because they were waking up too often and would only sleep when I was next to them.  Then Simone has been unbearable since the 18th.  It is terrible.  Last night Dave and I started out in bed together, but when Simone woke up at 2:15 she was a mess, so I told Dave to sleep in the other room so he could get some rest.

This month has got to end.  My mom came in town this past weekend and stayed until last night.  Of course the kids all slept better then they had for weeks while she was here.  Then she leaves last night and the boys were up several times in the middle of the night.  This is getting so ridiculous.

I have never experienced a sickness like RSV.  Simone can't breathe through her nose, she is coughing like crazy and she is just miserable.  For two days she wouldn't eat at all during the day and only at night when she was delirious and exhausted, so I was able to get her to nurse.  We tried bottles too, but she just screamed.  She is normally so easy and will let me put her down on the floor and she just chills out.  Last week she screamed non-stop.  I think I held her continuous on Wednesday and Thursday.  My only break was when Dave got home and he held her.  All my carriers got lots of use.

I am stressed about getting our taxes done, writing thank you cards for Joseph's birthday gifts and other gifts and just getting stuff around the house done.

In the mix of all this craziness I did sign Samuel up for summer camp, planned our summer through July, set up a pediatric dermatology appointment for Joseph and an appointment with the pediatric plastic surgeon (we have decided to remove Joseph's birth mark on his bottom).

This weekend all the family is coming in town to celebrate Samuel's 4th birthday.  I guess with kids things just never slow down.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

It got worse

So from my last post until today the days have been a blur.  Here's a quick update.

Samuel got better by Wednesday night and still has a little cough, but overall is fine.

Joseph continued to have a terrible cough, very high fever and was absolutely miserable from Wednesday until yesterday afternoon.  I had to sleep with him (I think because I can't really remember) Wednesday and Thursday night, maybe even Friday night.  Like I said the days and nights kind of ran together.

By Saturday, Simone woke up and she had green junk coming out of her right eye and it drained all day long.  By mid-morning she started to get a low grade fever.  At 5 pm her fever was 100.3, so we called the exchange number for our doctor.  They didn't call back until 5:45, but by that time her fever was 101.7.  We were freaking out because it was so high.  She was absolutely miserable.  They told us to take her to the ER.  I packed everything up and spent the evening until 9:30 at the ER with her.  They tested her for the flu, took her temperature, listened to her chest.  The diagnosis was pink eye and an upper respiratory infection.  By the time we were about to leave, her fever was 102.8.  They gave her Tylenol and sent us home.  She was a mess all night.  Her fever spiked at one point to 103.9, which stressed me completely out.  We just kept giving her medicine and keeping her comfortable.

I slept with her Saturday and Sunday night on the couch.  By Monday morning, both Simone and Joseph were a mess so we took them to the doctor.  Turns out that they both had ear infections and the doctor said he was a little concerned that Joseph may have pneumonia.  We got medicine for the ear infections and we needed to watch Joseph and if he didn't get any better we would have to take him back in.

After the meds, Joseph started to sleep at night.  He still had a nasty cough until yesterday.  Today he has barely coughed and I know his ear feels better.  Joseph will not take the medicine.  He throws a huge fit and spits it out everywhere.  So we have now started slipping it into his morning juice.  He has no idea, drinks it right up and we don't have to fight with him.

Now for Simone.  Yesterday was the first day we could put her down without her screaming.  We literally held her from Saturday morning until Monday night non-stop.  Dave and I switched off holding her and we were exhausted.  I know her ear feels better because she is now taking naps and sleeping for a good period of time at night.  She nursed so much Saturday through Monday because she felt so terrible and now my boobs have quadrupled in size.  She is now coughing a lot and seems almost more miserable because it looks like her coughing hurts.  She still has a low grade fever, but nothing like Saturday and Sunday.

You don't want to come near our house.  We need to air it out and bleach everything.  Hopefully we will get no more sickness in this house.  We are staying away from anyone sick.  If you cough or sneeze we are high tailing it away.  It is pretty clear that my kids are prone to chest colds, which turn into ear infections.  It is crazy because I have never had an ear infection and Dave doesn't think he has had one either.  I know I can't control what they might pick up at school, but I am hoping we can avoid any more illnesses.

On a positive note.  Samuel is really curious about all of our names.  He knows all of our full names.  The other day I was sitting on the couch with Joseph and Samuel was asking me how to do something.  I was right in the middle of saying something to Dave, so I ignored him.  He was so frustrated and he said "Mommy Emerson Glasser, look at me."  It was hilarious.  The funniest part is that I have never ever gotten mad at him or tried to get his attention by saying "Samuel Emerson Glasser".  I don't know where he got that from.  He must have seen it on TV or something.

I am hoping for health, sleep and relaxation.

Friday, February 17, 2012

What a week!

Well, you know how the week started.  It is ending about the same.  Samuel started to get better by Wednesday afternoon and Joseph went completely downhill.  Wednesday afternoon Joseph wouldn't take a nap, so I had him on the couch watching TV.  All of the sudden his face got red and he started pulling on his ear.  I took his temperature and it was 102.4.  I gave him Advil and called the doctor.  I wanted to make sure he didn't have an ear infection because the night would be unbearable.  I called the doctor at 3:30 pm and they said to come in by 4:30, which was perfect because Samuel gets home from school around 4 and we could go straight there.

Right after I got off the phone with the doctor, Simone woke up from her nap.  I got her all changed and then started feeding her.  Around 3:50 I saw Samuel's ride coming down the street, so I told Joseph to stay by the back door and not move while I ran and put Simone in the living room, so I could go and meet Samuel outside.  It was raining and I didn't want Simone or Joseph outside.  Plus, I never let Joseph go down the back steps by himself because he isn't normally that stable and he just goes.  I am sure you can guess what happens next, in less then 30 seconds, Joseph is screaming at the back door.  I knew he tried to go down the steps and I was terrified at what I was going to find when I rounded the corner.  He was laying on the ground and half off the last step, he lifted his head up and there was blood everywhere.  I flipped.  I picked him up, ran into the kitchen and made him spit in the sink.  I grabbed wet paper towels and cleaned up as much blood as I could.  I looked in his mouth and there were no loose teeth and no cuts in his mouth.  Then I wiped away the outside of his face again and there was just a gash on his upper lip and right side of his mouth.  He was bleeding a lot, but they were mostly big superficial cuts.  Thank goodness.

At the same time this is happening, Samuel is being walked to the back door.  He does not do well with blood or seeing other people hurt, so he started to freak out too.

I have to preface the end of the story with a recap from Tuesday middle of the night.  Samuel woke up in the middle of the night with a bad dream and I ran into his room.  I got him calmed down and back to sleep, then I went back into our restroom because I felt like I needed to blow my nose.  I reached up with a Kleenex and all of the sudden my nose started gushing blood.  I have gotten nose bleeds before (usually when I am pregnant or really stressed out), but this was unexpected.  I usually can control the bleeding, but it wouldn't stop, so I yelled for Dave and totally freaked him out.  Anyway, my nose finally stopped bleeding and I got back in bed, but I was feeling really light headed like I could pass out.  I ended up falling asleep, but in the morning, I had a conversation with Samuel about if something happens to me and I can't respond or talk that he needed to call Daddy or Savta on my cell phone and tell them and they would get me help.  I wasn't sure if he understood what I was saying, but he acted like I did.

So back to Joseph bleeding.  As soon as Samuel saw him bleeding, he freaked and grabbed my phone and said, "Do I need to call Daddy now?  He will know what to do."  He did in fact call Dave and told him that Joseph was bleeding and hurt his mouth.  Luckily Dave was already on his way home.  When Dave got home I took Joseph to the doctor and he did not have an ear infection (after all that).  He was clearly sick, but no ear infection.

It ended up that Wednesday night the boys slept okay, but not great.  Then last night happened.  In the afternoon Joseph started to get a really high fever.  By 3:30, he had 104.4 fever and I totally flipped.  If you can't see the pattern here, when my kids hurt themselves or are sick I completely freak.  I know I should be calm, but I get so worried and I don't handle that stress very well.  Joseph was absolutely miserable.  Let's just say that for the next few hours, I was not a relaxed person.  Joseph was freaking out, Simone was screaming and Samuel just being a pain.  My nerves were shot.

I had a feeling last night was going to be a bad night, so I set up blankets on the couches for me and Joseph, just in case he needed me in the middle of the night.  At 9:30pm, Joseph was up and a mess.  His fever was still super high (we did try everything to get it to go down) and all he wanted was for me to hold him.  So my night on the couch began at 9:30.  Joseph is terrible to sleep with.  He wanted to sleep right on top of me in the craziest positions.  At one point his entire body was on me, but his head was hanging off the couch, then he wanted to sleep directly on my head, this went on and on.  Around 12:30 am his fever finally broke.  We didn't get restful sleep at all, but he was feeling a little bit better.




The kids on Valentine's Day.

Simone dressed up on VDay.

I made the boys heart shaped sandwiches for lunch. 

Here is my miserable little boy.  This is when his fever was super high and you can see the cuts on his face.

The boys this morning wearing their superhero shirts.  

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Week Two

There must be something about Tuesdays lately that means, throw up day.  You know the story from last week, well this week both boys have vomited.

Last night Samuel started coughing a ton and he didn't stop.  All of the sudden I knew that the cough was so bad that puke was coming next.  I ran into his room (this was around 12:30 am) and he had thrown up all over his everything.  I know I have said in the past and I will say it again, I really hate puke.

Anyway, in the middle of the night I changed all the bedding, including the comforters and started a load of laundry.  I changed all of Samuel's sheets, cleaned him up, got him redressed, cleaned up the floor (yes it was there too), got him water and got him tucked into bed.  I laid down with him for a little bit and he finally fell asleep.  Everything took about a hour total.  Then I got back in my bed and I think it was about an hour or so later when he started coughing again.  I sent Dave in this time to lay with him.  I fell back asleep and Dave fell asleep in Samuel's room for a while.  I have no idea when he got back in bed because I was exhausted.

Then around 6:30 or so, Joseph started coughing.  He was basically up at that point, so I rolled out of bed to start the day.

The boys have been coughing like crazy all day.  I obviously didn't send Samuel to school, which broke my heart because today they were having a big Valentine's Day party and exchanging valentines.  We dropped of Samuel's valentines at school and his teacher is going to collect all of his for him and give it to him tomorrow, if he goes.

Then to my afternoon.  I made the boys heart shaped turkey sandwiches.  Joseph inhaled his and Samuel took two bites.  Joseph was acting really tired around 12:30, so I decided to put him down for a nap.  When I laid him down he started coughing too, but I thought he would eventually fall asleep.  I took Simone into her room to get her to take a nap.  She was eating and was basically asleep when I heard Joseph doing the same ridiculous coughing that Samuel did last night and I knew he was about to throw up.  I quickly put Simone in her bed (which she wasn't happy about at all) and ran into Joseph's room just in time to hear him throw up all over his bed.  Are you freaking kidding me?!

I stripped him and the bed down, cleaned him up and got him dressed again.  Then I started my fourth load of sheets and bedding for the day.  It has been awesome.  Now both boys are sitting on the couches, watching TV, covered with blankets and coughing their heads off.  Samuel just told me his bones were hurting, which scares me because I really don't want flu in this house.

Tonight we are ordering heart shaped pizza in honor of Valentine's Day.  The boys are really showing me some serious love today.

I have always hated Valentine's Day and this is just another reason not to like it.  However, because today is the day to celebrate love I do want to say how much I love my wonderful husband.  I couldn't function without you!  I am also extremely grateful for my beautiful kids.  They drive me crazy sometimes, okay a lot of the time, but my life would not be complete without them.  I celebrate this day because of them.

I can't leave out my amazing parents.  Now that I am a parent, I really appreciate everything they did for me growing up.  Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs EVER.  I think they did a pretty good job with me!  I love you guys.

There are other people in my life that I appreciate and love so much.  I am so grateful for my in-laws, my brother, sister-in law, niece, nephew, aunts, uncles, my beloved Zayde and my friends.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Party Weekend

We had such a busy weekend.  We celebrated Joseph's 2nd birthday on Saturday.  All the grandparents came in town to help celebrate.  Jonathan, Laura and Haidyn came over and a lot of our friends.  Also, my Aunt Kay, Uncle Izzy and my Zayde came in town from Kansas City.  It was so nice to be able to have them in town.  It is sad to think that there are not going to be an infinite number of birthdays that my grandfather will be able to attend and I really cherish each one that he is able to celebrate.  

I thought I took a lot more pictures at the party, but when I downloaded the pictures I didn't have a lot.  I know a lot of people were taking pictures so I will have to get some from everyone else.  

Not only did we celebrate Joseph's birthday, but Simone also turned 4 months old.  She is still absolutely wonderful.  She is so happy, laid back, beautiful and easy.  She is such a joy to have.  She rolled over yesterday from her back to her stomach all on her own.  She has been rolling from her stomach to her back for a while now, but it was the first time she rolled completely over from back to stomach.  She has really found her feet and hands too.  She is also still sleeping completely through the night. 

Here were her statistics from the doctor's appointment yesterday:

Height:  25.5 inches (88%)
Weight:  13 pounds 14.5 oz (53%)
Head Circumference:  15.90 inches (31%)

She is tall and skinny right now.

Just as a comparison, here are the boys stats:
Joseph:
Height: 25.5 In. (73%) he was the height as Simone is now.  
Weight: 15 lbs 6 oz (62%)
Head Circ: 42.5 cm (58%)

Samuel:
Height 64%
Weight 16 lbs 11oz (84%)
Head Circ: 34%

So far, Simone is the tallest at this point.  It is crazy that my little girl is such a big girl!


What can I say about Joseph.  My goodness, Joseph is such a handful.  In two years, he has changed and grown so much.  Before Simone was born, Joseph would not hug, kiss or cuddle with anyone unless he decided to do it himself.  After Simone, it was like a completely different loving kid emerged.  I think having a younger sister brought out this loving and protective personality that we had never seen before.  He is so excited to see her all the time.  He now will give kisses and hugs.  Not only has he become very affectionate, he is also extremely stubborn and independent.  When he doesn't get what he wants he throws fits and he is adamant about getting what he wants.  I know he is in his terrible two's, but I also think that his behavior is just part of his normal personality.  I don't think he is ever going to be an easy going laid back kind of guy.  He is my fully animated little guy.  I love how much he has changed and grown.  He is absolutely wonderful.

Yesterday was Joseph's birthday and we spent the afternoon at the doctor's office for his well visit.  It was quite an experience.  As soon as we walked in the door at 1:15, Joseph started screaming.  I know he thought he was getting shots and really I wasn't sure if he was getting any, so I couldn't tell him not to worry.  I tried to calm him down, but when the nurse came in he lost it.  He screamed continuously until we left at 2:45.  It was a really long appointment because we were there for both Simone and Joseph.  I talked to the doctor about Simone and that was pretty quick, then we moved on to Joseph.  

After we discussed all my questions, then the doctor came over to examine him.  Now Joseph is always very difficult to examine.  He hates to be touched by the doctor and fights like crazy.  I always have to hold him on my lap and restrain him when the doctor is looking in his ears or eyes.  By the time we got the the examination part Joseph had been crying for at least an hour.  His cheeks were bright red, his ears were bright red and he was a completely mess.  I felt terrible for him and I was trying to calm him down. I thought the examine would go okay once the doctor listened to his heart and chest.  Joseph was actually laughing a little bit because the stethoscope was cold and the doctor was making him laugh.  Once his ears and eyes were looked at then the doctor started to look in his mouth at his throat.  All of the sudden Joseph started gagging (because he was crying and screaming again) and then he just threw up all over.  When I say all over I really mean it.  He threw up all over the doctor, all over my legs, my arms, his shirt, the blanket he was holding and the floor.  It was disgusting.  I took off Joseph's clothes, wiped myself off, took off my jacket, cleaned off the floor and tried to gather everything up.  The doctor gave me a bag and I put all the nasty stuff in the bag and tried to calm Joseph down.  By this time, Simone was screaming, Joseph was still screaming and the doctor was just trying to help me get everything together and get me out the door.  He felt terrible, but what could he do.  It was not the best experience I have ever had at the doctor.  I guess you have to experience everything once.  


Here are Joseph's stats:


Height: 34.3 Inches (47%)
Weight: 28.60 pounds (59%)
Head Cir: 19.40 inches (67%)


Here were Samuel's:



Height: 36.25 in (91%)
Weight: 35 lbs (>97%)


Here are pictures from the weekend:




Simone at 4 months!

Zayde with Simone


Family picture!

The cake pops I made for the party

Joseph attempting to eat his birthday cupcake and ice cream.  


Samuel and Simone hanging out on the couch

Another Simone picture

Oma and Opa with the kids

Joseph and Simone on his birthday

Another happy picture

The kids hanging out on the couch

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

A little break

The past three days have been gorgeous here.  We have taken advantage of the beautiful weather.  I have walked Samuel to school every day this week, gone on walks and taken the kids to the park.  We have been having a lot of fun.  I really needed some nice weather, even though technically we haven't had much of a winter at all.  

I haven't posted pictures in a while so here are some below:





Yesterday, Simone was laying around and she found her feet.  She is grabbing them all the time now.  She is growing so quickly, I can't believe how fast time is going.  She is going to be 4 months in a few days.

Joseph is going to be 2 in a little less then a week.  I am planning a big birthday party with friends and family.  I am going to be making lots of food and desserts, so I will have to post pictures after the weekend.  Joseph has been on such a strange food kick the last few weeks.  For two weeks all he wanted to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner was peanut butter and honey sandwiches.  Then on Sunday night he started to only want to eat veggie corn dogs and apple breakfast bars.  He is throwing in a few veggie sausages and smoothies in the mix, but really that is all he wants to eat.  Then I discovered yesterday that he is getting his left bottom two year molar.  We were wondering why he hasn't been sleeping that great and now we know.  Thank goodness the last four teeth are starting the come in.  I am so done with teething at least for the boys.  As soon as all of his teeth come in, Simone will probably be getting her teeth.

I can't believe that Joseph is turning two as well.  I take both Joseph and Simone to the doctor next Tuesday and I can't wait to see how big they both are getting.

I can't believe that January is gone.  I am happy to say that I lost 7 pounds in January.  I still have 10 more pounds to go before I am at the weight I was when I got pregnant with Simone.  I have really been trying to workout more and making food at home every night really has made a difference.

I was planning to write a lot more, but Simone is crying and I have to run.  At least I got a little post in today.