Way too long

I hate when I get behind in blogging.  I feel like the next blog I write should catch up on everything I've missed saying, but then I freak out because that's a lot of work and it makes it that much for easy to procrastinate.  So I think I will skip everything and only talk about the most recent.  Ethan getting sick. 

Being a mom is so fun and rewarding.  Every day is a new adventure.  You wake up happy to share the day with your loves.  Even if Ethan wakes me up waaay to early.  I love him so much and wish he could be happy 24/7.  Unfortunately, things sometimes are out of our control. 

Monday, October 31, Ethan went to Prestonwood Baptist Church's Halloween Carnival.  It was a blast! 

Ethan was the cutest lion there ever was.  He was so good at the carnival.  We went with cousin Josh and watched him play games and walked around.  It was a great time.  Until that night.  Ethan got sick.  He was throwing up and had a horrible night.  Jason stayed home with him the next day and poor baby was miserable.  

 

This picture he doesn't look that miserable, but sweet boy never lost his charm through all of this.  He went to the doctor and they prescribed Zofran for the vomiting, but that's pretty much all they could do for him.  Poor baby wasn't getting any better.  

 

Wednesday, we took him back to the doctor because he was still throwing up and we had a new visitor in the mix.  Diaherra.  Ethan was losing weight and even with the medicine, couldn't keep food down.  He went to an all liquid diet.  I had never been so thankful to breast feed more than this time.  I was praying those anti-bodies were working miracles in his little body.   The doctor's office recommend we take Ethan to an Urgent care center.  They needed to hydrate Ethan.  He hadn't peed that day and was needing an IV.  We went immediately and waited forever.  Ethan was soo good though.  Of course.  In that time, Ethan went through two outfits.  We had no more clothes for him, and were running low on diapers.  I called a friend who had a boy two moths older than Ethan.  She immediately came and saved the day.  She got him everything he needed and we were so grateful.  She prayed with me and really made me feel better.  She even called my school and got me lined up for a sub. 

The doctor wanted to try giving Ethan liquids to pee instead of the IV.  That would be a last resort.  We obliged and started giving him a syringe of pedilite every five minutes.  We were to do this until Ethan peed.  At 55 minutes, Ethan threw it all up.  This put him behind and so they went to get the needles.  Attempt 1:  10 minutes of screaming, poking, prodding, and frustration as they kept trying to get the needle in.  Being new parents, we didn't know that this wasn't normal.  They assured us it was because Ethan's veins were so dehydrated that the were puffing up, making it difficult to get the IV in.  We should have left then and gone straight to the ER.  They decided to give Ethan a break to calm down.  In that time, I nursed him and cried!  Jason and I prayed and prayed.  It was awful.  After about ten minutes, they were ready for attempt two.  These nurses must have really sucked because they took even longer trying to get it in the second time and I couldn't be in there.  I waited in the hall and bawled my eyes out.  I harassed the doctor that this isn't right.  I begged her what we could do.  Should I take him to the ER?  Why can't they get the needle in?  My friend Crystal arrived with dinner and it was so good to have a friend to turn to.  She prayed with me there in the lobby and when we were done the nurse came looking all proud and said we could go home.  Ethan had peed.  After talking to Jason, he said that they were never able to get the needle in and after trying for what seemed like forever, they decided to take a break and check his diaper.  There was pee so he was free to go home.  I was so mad.  Don't go to Acute Care Center.  They suck. 

That night, Jason and I got Ethan's sickness.  Thursday, we were so sick and miserable.  Ethan looked like he was feeling better.  Jason and I thought we were going to die.  It was awful.  I decided to stay home Friday even though I was feeling better.  Jason went to work.  I asked my mom to come help me so I could rest and she could watch Ethan.  He was looking good. 
  

 But around 12:00 he started getting real lethargic.  He had no energy and was so sad looking.  I called the doctor because this was day 5 and Ethan was still sick.  They thought that his blood sugar had dropped and recommended Sprite.  It didn't help.  Plus, Ethan hasn't peed that day.  They recommended the frequent feeding til he peed.  It was a lot of stress and prayer from my mom and I.  I was so thankful she was there.  I was a nervous wreck.  I was hurting seeing my baby that sad and miserable. 

 The doctor told us if Ethan vomited frequently, then we needed to go to the ER.  It was a very hard night.  Ethan vomited twice, but that wasn't considered 'frequent', so we waited until the next day and took him back to the doctor.  She sent us immediately to the hospital where Ethan was going to be staying overnight to get treated. They should not have to make hospital gowns that little. 

 Ethan is such an amazing boy.  He really was a trooper.  I hear the saying "kids are resilient."  Ethan was.  This was the "before the IV" photo. 

 He was so good! 

 They put the IV in him, and Jason went in there.  I couldn't stand to see my baby in any more pain.  I knew it would be better for everyone involved if I stayed away.  Jason said they got the IV, blood drawn, and the board put on his hand on, all in the same time it took the other place to get the needles out of their bags.  Puffed veins my foot. 

 After much hydration, Ethan was getting better and you could tell he was feeling better. 

 Lita came to see him and he was so happy to have here there. 

The vomiting and diareha stopped.  He was on the road to recovery.  I slept in the crib next to him that night.  It was rough with the nurses coming hour after hour.  The next day, Ethan was ready to play and get that IV out of his hand.  The next day, the doctor and nurses were so happy with his health.  We were sent home and Ethan was able to go to home sweet home.  We were out of the danger zone.  He even shared his lovely sickness with Lita and Pappa. 

I am so thankful for the prayers from family and friends in all of this.  I know those prayers were helping me hold it together and not lose it completely.  I feel so blessed.  This was a rough time, and I am so grateful for Ethan and his sweet baby blues.  I pray no one ever has to go through that or worse as a parent. 

Ethan is so sweet...

Age:  6 months 23 days

Weight:  17 lb 6 oz

Milestone:  He can sit up, worm crawl, and roll all over.  He also has two bottom teeth and you can feel two more coming in on top. 

Favorite toy of the moment:  He loooves Sophie and a Eric Carle catapillar.  At Mrs. Claudia's, he like a hardback book about Christmas, Cucumber, and Shark. 

Favorite Food of the moment:  Yummy sweet potatoes

New thing:  Giving mommy lots of slobbery kisses!  And praise God he has pooped three days in a row.

Sleep:  Still wakes up a lot.  He has gone 12 hours, but usually wakes up 1 or more times a night.  Last night was three.  :(


Like:  Being held

Dislike:  Being put on his back.  And diaper changes.

ETHAN IS SIX MONTHS!

Yikes.  Time flies!  He is doing a worm like crawl, sitting up, biting anything and everything, and giving the most amazing sweet kisses.  I love him so much!  I hug and kiss him lots.  He is very well taken care of.  His baby-sitter is a former nun.  She is fabulous!  Here is his 6 month pictures...

Ethan's first food...Oatmeal! Yum.

We decided not to give Ethan cereal because 1.  It has no nutritional value, 2. It constipates many babies.  Ethan already has issues with his tummy, so we didn't want to make things worse.  We did oatmeal because it has the probiotics and is a good starter food.  Watching this clip, you would have thought Ethan gets oatmeal everyday.  He's so advanced.  :) 

July photos for 5 months!

Time flies so quickly.  Ethan is already a rolling, teething, jeep driving, laughing, talking, raspberry blowing machine.  He is sooo sweet.  I can't believe how big he is. 

Constipated Baby

Ethan has never been regular.  He usually goes every two days.  And he is fine and happy as can be.  The doctor said it is normal for breast fed babies to go a week even.  Unfortunately for Ethan, he also supplements with formula.  Recently he had been eating a lot more and going every other day.  A few times he went every day.  We were so proud! 

But then we backtracked.  He went on Friday, and so Sunday when we were traveling, we fully expected a blow out on the road.  Nope.  None Monday, Tuesday, and on Wednesday we were getting concerned.  He was really trying.  He was grunting a lot and you could tell he was uncomfortable.  I called our pediatrician and they recommended apple or pear juice.  We gave some to E and had no success. 

This morning, we gave E a little more juice and we finally had success.  It was a happy day for mommy and daddy.  While Jason was cleaning his diaper, I pressed on his tummy to see if it still felt hard and he squirted out right on daddy's hands!  Hilarious!

4 month Pictures

I can't believe he is no longer a newborn.  He's so big!  And getting bigger everyday.