Adorable pictures to counteract our crappy weekend...enjoy!

I can't believe these pics were taken on thurs and fri this week when Aaron was getting so sick. Other than the last two pics of him looking terribly pale, he was still so "well" looking. Kids take a turn quickly...I tell all my preemie moms this...you just have to know when to go! Hopefully we're done staying at CHOP...it's a "nice" hospital and all but I really hate the whole thing!

Here we go again!

Well folks, Aaron is back at CHOP...hopefully only overnight...I'm really starting to feel like a terrible mother...they ask me, how many times has he been hospitalized before and I say twice (now thrice), not including his two weeks in the NICU...and he's only 5 months old! What's wrong now...well, he's had some pretty terrible and relentless diarrhea for 9, going on 10 days now. But he's kept his formula down, no vomiting (some increased spit up but no real vomiting), so other than cutting out fruits and veggies, we've pressed on with formula and cereal with the intention that if it wasn't better by Monday (day 11), we'd go to the peds. Friday night I had my name checked at work so if they were slow, they would call me and I would get a paid vacation day essentially. They called and I was psyched. We had a nice family dinner and Aaron hadn't been eating much all day so I was happy to stay home and try to keep him hydrated. Put him to sleep after forcing 2 ounces of formula in him (the last two of maybe 10 ounces all day...he normally take in 24-30 ounces plus two solid meals). I came downstairs and after 15 minutes or so (a time when I would normally be on my way to work and not home anymore) I heard the faintest of noises coming from the monitor...I ran upstairs, something in my mom gut told me something was wrong...and Aaron was laying in a HUGE puddle of vomit, eyes wide open and blue face and trying to breathe. I smacked his back got him to scream and yelled for help from Alex...who didn't hear me till yell 3 or 4 because he and Charlie were playing loudly.

A few things here before I continue on with the story. Had I been at work, this could have all been very bad. I don't know that Alex would have heard anything on the monitor. It was just a weird feeling that made me run up there like I did. He flops himself all over the place so little noises don't really make me run...something intervened to make sure I had off work last night. I've never been a religious person before, and don't really know if religion is where I'm going with this, but Aaron has had so many close calls since he was conceived (starting at 7 weeks gestation when they told me to go home and expect to lose the baby any day), I am becoming a much more faithful person I guess, believing in some higher intervening power that is saving our ass. On with the story now...

So several more times Aaron vomits more than is humanly possible. It's like he was manufacturing milk in his belly and spewing it. once the vomiting was over, it started coming out the other end in mass quantities. I changed my clothes more times last night...Aaron went to bed naked but got his sheets changed multiple times, and thank god we have a leather couch. He tolerated an ounce of pedialyte so we went to bed (with him in our room...he has been in the room with Charlie for several weeks now) and I knew we were heading to the peds this morning.

He was better this morning with just pedialyte but we went to the peds as he was pale and had only damp but not wet diapers and more runny crap. He had also lost a pound in two days (when we were at the GI clinic ironically enough) She sent us the CHOP's ER for dehydration evaluation and monitoring for more ALTE's (acute life threatening events). They admitted us. Probably just overnight for fluids and monitoring. It took their amazing IV team 6 tries to get an IV in him (he was pretty dehydrated, despite my efforts to keep him otherwise), he got an IV bolus and kept a decent amount of pedialyte down.

Our amazing friends and neighbors (where we were supposed to be having dinner tonight) took Charlie so Alex could bring a few things up here and so we could have "dinner" together in Aaron's room. What would we do without our friends?! Aaron is settled and sleeping. He took 4 ounces of formula (I can't tell you how many times I had to tell the nurse which formula he is on and explain that not all similac formulas are the same, there are several types and they all have different purposes...oh well)he kept it down and is sleeping on the monitor (keeping an eye out for those ALTE's...what a creepy non-chalant way of describing something so horrifying that I won't forget , probably ever!)

So we'll hopefully go home tomorrow. They think that he might have a systemic yeast infection that is attacking his whole GI tract. He has thrush again and the description of his stools that I gave them (I'll spare you all) is consistent with a yeast infection of his GI tract...yuck!


Sorry this turned into such a long wordy post. I promise that I have some adorable pics that I took the past few days that I will post once we are home (tomorrow?!). One cool thing, we are on a floor with all private rooms (although we are right across from the nurses' station which is noisy....) but each room has it's own computer! Thus the prompt update directly from CHOP! Goodnight all....

Lots of pics

Aaron has found his feet and is totally obsessed with them. His PT has been working with him on getting his feet up and grabbing his feet...she'll be so proud when she comes this week!
Ready to go out to breakfast with Tutu and Grandpa...looking so big!

Telling grandpa to have a safe flight... they are going to Washington state on vaca for 10 days...we'll miss them!

At the pool on Sunday after breakfast...Bode looking handsome as usual!

Casper and Brownie...poor Charlie is going to have the same complex growing up next to Bode as I did growing up next to my sister...couldn't we have gotten just a little bit of their pigmentation...Aaron seems to be darker than Charlie already and he's never in the sun.

Grandpa with two of his favorite boys...

Aaron has two teeth coming in already and has been faring pretty well although he is randomly exhausted and hasn't been eating as much...here he's passed out on Alex monday morning after sleeping 13 hours overnight!

I took the boys to the Please Touch Museum monday and we had a great time. I was nervous we'd relive the vomiting incident we had last time we went, but it was a vomit free car ride home! Charlie built this "garageway" for the truck in the activity room. He loved it and asked if we could bring the garageway home with us!

Ready to work as a construction man

Here he is playing with a 6 year old who exclaimed several times that Charlie was a great wheelbarrow driver and that "nothing gets done without teamwork!"

Giving his baby a shot in the head...I asked him to stick to the arms and legs...

Trying to put his baby in the doctor bag so he could walk around with her.

And I LOVE this picture! My big boys having a great time!

Random sayings from my 3 1/2 year old this past week

C- "mommy, you not going to work tonight?"
Me- "No honey, I get to stay home with you all night!"
C-"Oh good, you'll be my princess then, that's right!"

The next evening...
C-"mommy, you not going to work again tonight?"
Me-"No sweetie, I am going to work, sorry!"
C-"Oh no, you not my princess anymore, you just a grownup that's all..."


I had him out on the sidewalk the other evening, trying to get him into riding his big boy bike (with training wheels). I am trying desperately to get him to master pedaling the pedals and making the bike move on his own...this was his response after 10 minutes...
C-"awe mom, this bike is killin me, I'm just so done with it, it's just killin me!"
I really don't know where he got that!

Yesterday when we were leaving the Please Touch Museum...
C-"Awe mom, why is it just so hot here in Phillydelphia?"

Absolute Adorableness

Charlie is all about his baby brother. He loves that he can play with toys and kick and coo and smile at what is going on around him.
He loves to give him kisses on the cheek

Here he is playing "this little piggy" with Aaron's toes! I didn't even know that he knew that song!

This morning I told him that he was being such a good big brother. His response, "oh thank you, you can get me some three new cars from the car store, cause I such a good big brother". Now where did he learn that? Maybe I've been using bribery a bit too much lately!

Public Service Announcement

The following is a little story I'd like to share with you to encourage all of you who are of age, or circumstance, to go out and get your annual colonoscopy!

Someone very dear to me...without this person I would be lost, and terribly sad...is now 53 years old. This person should have had a colonoscopy at 50, but put it off, who really wants to have all that done to you. There were no real risk factors except for age, so this person wasn't in a hurry. Finally a doctor convinces this person to get the stupid test done. The test is done and Sunday evening a phone call comes through informing this person that one of the two polyps removed was pre-cancerous and would have been colon cancer in less than a year. Scary huh! True story.

Everyone who needs to, like I said based on age or family history, etc...PLEASE GET YOUR COLON SCREENED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Status Quo

Things right now are status quo. It's a nice feeling. Just moving along, nothing too crazy happening. I'll take the calm while we have it! I am still working overtime but the unit is slowing down so it's less of a sure thing...they can cancel me anytime up until I actually come in for the overtime shift, so I plan to pick up some hours at the per-diem job I started (pediatric home care) so I am guaranteed the hours.

Charlie has been very into coloring and drawing and painting lately. I love it because it's some quiet time for me, and he's really good at it. His drawings seem more and more grown-up every time he draws. He also "wears" two markers (one in each ear) when he draws. He says to me, "okay mommy, we have some work to do, lets go!" I love it!

Aaron's doing well. Moving around more and more. The PT really seems to make a difference, and she is able to show us how to help him on days when she isn't here. He still eats two big meals a day of some fun mush I make and he has two bottom teeth coming in. Right now they are just little specks poking through his gums, but they are coming...he drools up a storm and is constantly chewing on his hands.

We finally all had a free night at the same time and had Dave and Mike and Abby over. The kids were also all awake at the same time (for about 15 minutes total) so we snapped as many pictures as we could of the cuteness. Abby is a smiler but was overwhelmed by my boys' cuteness and charm!

Charlie thinks she is just the cutest! We joked that she and Aaron would grow up in love but we're wondering if it may be Abby and Charlie...hmmmm!

Charlie eating corn on the cob. He was so serious about it and so into it. Very cute!

We went to my mom's Sunday for dinner and a movie (Grand Tourino...terrible acting but awesome story and awesome movie overall). Christy, Mike and Bode were there. My dad is in San Fran so he missed the fun but had a call in where we all chatted with him so he felt included in the fun. Poor Bode is getting his two year molars so he was pretty unhappy...but he's still so adorable!

Trying to get him to take a picture...yeah, not so much!

Hope everyone had a great weekend...stay cool!

Trip to LBI and a case of the sickies...

We headed to LBI this weekend where Alex's dad has a house on the beach. It's very nice and not as far as Dewey (where my parents' house is) so it makes for a quick getaway.
All three boys in the house (Alex included) started showing signs of sickness Wednesday into Thursday. I took Aaron to the peds on Thursday just to make sure he was okay...last time he was sick he ended up in the hospital...I wasn't taking any chances! He is fine, he has some viral ulcers in his mouth, as well as thrush, I also noticed the ulcers in Charlie's mouth but other than some runny nose and mild cough, he was fine. Alex might have had the same thing but the doctor also put him on antibiotics for what looked like strep throat. We went to the shore anyway because everyone seemed under control.

We had fun. Saturday was a great beach day and it was sunny but not too hot.

Aaron hung out on my reclined beach chair for a bit and he slept a few times as well.

Janice (Charlie and Aaron's "bubby") has her parents down in LBI as well. They live right next to the house we stay in. "Grandpa Jack" (Janice's dad) hadn't been to the beach all summer so far and most of last summer (he's 92). He made a surprise appearance at the beach because he wanted to hang out with Charles (he actually calls him Chuck but Charlie says that's not his name!). It was very sweet to see the two of them together!

A nice picture of Zayda and Bubby with the boys

We met up with a couple on Saturday night who also go to LBI to visit their parents. I met them because I took care of their twin girls in the NICU and we've kept in touch. We had a very nice dinner with them while bubby and zayda stayed home with the sleeping boys. We were supposed to meet up with them Sunday for a beach day but it was thunderstormy and rainy and Aaron was feeling pretty lousy...so we left early and got home in time to have a family dinner!This is a shot of the boys at the table...I was obviously taking the picture and Alex was finding suitable music. Charlie asked me several times why I took a picture of dinner. This is really the first time we all sat together...including Aaron. he had already eaten but he's usually napping or fussing during dinner...but this time he sat quietly in his highchair while we all ate...it was really sweet!

He and Charlie are still sick but it doesn't seem to be out of hand so we're trudging along. I am starting to feel some ill feelings myself, general achiness, headache, sore throat, nausea, etc.

Despite all that, I took both kids to the please touch museum today for a few hours. It was great. Aaron slept some of the time (above picture) and Charlie generally had a great time!

He made a few pictures...

And played "baby doctor". He was doing some weird sort of chest compressions on the poor baby...he said the baby was sick and he was making it better, okay!

He then put on the doctor coat and decided that the baby was all better!

Then he played construction man for a while.

We had a great time...I brought his lunch and was surprised when he really didn't eat any of it. Even the watermelon which is his favorite. So we left, and he was in a bit of a mood but I pretty much ignored it. Ten minutes into our fifteen minute ride home, he threw up ALL over himself in the car. Several times. I seriously almost wrecked while trying to calm him, not throw up myself, and decide what to do. All is well. Alex came out and took the baby while I stripped Charlie and threw him in the tub. Poor kid kept apologizing for his "vomit up". I also wanted to just throw out his car seat and buy a new one (it's only two months old as it is) but since we're watching our spending, I figured I should suck it up and get vomit on my hands. I seriously considered buying gloves at the drugstore. I didn't. We all lived. Charlie is feeling better and had only that one episode. Aaron sounds sicker and seems to feel worse but is eating and sleeping so I don't see a need to take him to the doctors just yet. I got my overtime cancelled tonight which was a sort of blessing as I can get some real sleep and try to kick whatever ailment I have!

What a Monday! Oh yeah, and we have mice again!

Cuteness

While Aaron patiently waits for me to make him his yummy concoction of home made fruits or veggies and cereal, Charlie likes to keep him busy. He also finds it funny when Aaron kicks Charlie's tummy while he's laughing and getting excited. He tells me, "it's okay mommy, baby Aaron is just a baby and he can kick me, it's not too hard, so it's okay if it doesn't hurt me, okay mommy?!" Perfect logic I think!

Charlie, Uncle Sam, Aaron and Cousin Ethan. Charlie and Ethan are now at good ages to play well together. In the past, Charlie was always a little too young developmentally to get what Ethan was doing (playing games, dressing up and pretending, etc). Now they are on more equal ground and can make up stories together and do fun things at the same level. I had to work the night they all came over for dinner but I heard that there was alot of fun cousin playing going on. Can't wait to see it myself!

Look who can prop himself up! He can get his arms in this position now although he doesn't do the straight arm prop yet. The physical therapist is very pleased with his progress already and thinks he's actually trying to move while on his belly. He has alot of pre-comando crawling moves already. His head control is better and for longer periods of time. He definitely gets fatigued with all the work though and after 20 minutes is done for a while! He slept almost three hours after his therapy appointment this morning! He actually fell asleep in my arms (which he never does) and I didn't want to put him down...I love a sleeping baby in my arms!

Look at those eyes! I could just eat him up!

The shirt says "don't expect alot, I'm big for my age"...the funny thing is that I got this for my sister's baby Bode and he ended up crawling when he was 5 months and walking at 8 months. The shirt is still cute though!

I decided to not work any overtime this week (I've been working 1-2 extra shifts per week since Alex's job let him go a month ago) and I was literally fried this week. I needed a break. So I took it and only worked my scheduled 3 12 hour shifts...hahaha, like that's any small feat in itself. Anyway, we went one of my nights off to Downingtown to visit my parent's. My dad recently had surgery to remove a ruptured appendix and I needed to see him and know that he was okay. We went out to dinner and watched some of an outdoor concert that they have in their development every Tuesday. It was really nice and Charlie was thrilled to hang out with Gampa and Tutu. At one point my dad took Aaron and Charlie for a little stroll like a proud grandpa...it was so cute!

Here's Aaron showing off some head control. He tolerates the bumbo seat for a few minutes at a time. We put him in the exersaucer for a bit yesterday while I helped Alex with the computer for a bit. He didn't love it. I think it was total over stimulation for him. It didn't help that Charlie was making all of the toys talk/sing/shake, etc right in his face! Ahhh, big brothers!

Aaron has a nice little schedule down and has been sticking to it quite nicely. He's asleep by 6-6:30 every night and gets up anywhere from 5-6:30am. How sweet is that! He's been doing this for over a month now, so we are excited! I am wondering when I should put him in the room with Charlie. I'm not quite brave enough yet. Maybe I'll wait till I'm doing less overtime and I can spend a few nights at home supervising everything...in case you don't know this about me...I like to be in control of things...gotta love the type A personality! So Aaron eats two solid meals a day, usually fruits in the morning mixed with cereal, and veggies in the evening. He eats like a champ and really loves his highchair time! He takes several 6 ounce bottles during the day, and spends a decent amount of time playing, talking to us, and he even likes glancing at the TV.

Charlie is great...he's such a doll. I love hearing what comes out of his mouth at any given moment. He's doing great in daycare (school is what we call it, it's preschool sort of) and is learning Spanish and he has learned the days of the week. He knows how to count on his fingers and can tell you how many fingers you are holding up at a time. He also knows that he is "three and a half olds". He has a great imagination and I love listening to his "adventures". Often times, his firetrucks and firemen can be found battling a "wine factory" fire around our wine rack in the kitchen. There's also aquarium factory fires and swing factory fires...the possibilities are endless! When he doesn't have a plastic figure to use for a character, he uses his fingers or hands to pretend to carry said figure. I love watching his mind work!

Okay, I will stop gushing about my amazing 3 1/2 year old and get back to work! We are off to LBI this weekend to see Alex's dad...look for some cute beach pics next week!