Summer 2016: Malakai's Tonsillectomy

If you know us personally or follow us on social media then you know our sweet first born had surgery a little over a month ago. He had his tonsils + adenoids removed. The surgeon also removed his ear tubes that had been placed in June 2015 but had not come out on their own like they were supposed to.

Malakai has a tendency to get worked up about things, making them a bigger problem than they are. This is usually the case if he is afraid of something whether it be an imaginary thing or the fear of punishment for something he did or was perceived to have done. It is a difficult road some days but with Ben by my side (and our fantastic counselor) we are helping him to get a better handle on it. He has made a lot of progress over the last few months. 

So when his pediatrician and then his ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat specialist) both mentioned the idea of surgery back in the winter/spring when he had reoccuring strep throat, my first thought was how it would impact him emotionally. Would he be afraid? Would he worry about it constantly? How would we move forward to help him through these intense emotions? Imagine our surprise when he was able to focus on the positives (ice cream for a week) and not even really mention the potentially worrisome aspects. It helped that he could remember his ear tube surgery well enough to know what to expect out of anesthesia and recovery, but it had been long enough that he didn't remember the painful part. We were simultaniously proud of him and thankful to God for providing this peace. 

We scheduled his surgery for after his birthday at a time when our calendars were clear enough that we could both focus on taking care of him and he wouldn't be missing any of the big events he'd been looking forward to over the summer (see previous post for a list of all the fun we've been having!). Then when we had his pre-op about 3 weeks prior to his scheduled surgery date we started to question whether the procedure was necessary. He was healthy and we had the option to "wait and see" which basically means he could outgrow getting sick all the time but we'd have to go through a cold and flu season to find out. Were we willing to risk him still needing surgery in the fall/winter when he'd miss school? Would we be able to actually find a time to schedule it if he was constantly sick? Would our health insurance still cover it if we waited? I literally wrote out a list of the pros and cons of either option and they were totally equal, both in number of things I came up with and the weight they carried. 

We prayed a lot and talked a lot about what we should do. We asked others for prayer and advice. At one point we had said we would be cancelling his surgery, but then I took a glance at his throat and it was red. He had an episode of ear pain during our 4th of July camping trip but not since then, still I thought we should have him looked at just in case. We saw a doctor at his pediatrician's office who confirmed he did have an ear infection and prescribed him antibiotics. One challenge with him is that he has allergy/sensitivity to 2 very common antibiotics, making him hard to treat. This is part of the reason he was put on the road to a tonsillectomy in the first place as his strep throat was very difficult to get rid of. Thankfully this time he didn't have strep. The doctor told us that she could see good reason to do the surgery but would also support a decision to "wait and see". She then referred us back to the ENT to check out his ear and also determine if he could have the surgery if he was getting sick. His ENT was out of the office so by the time he had seen Kai his ear infection was gone. He said because of his history he was still a candidate for surgery, he would never recommend surgery for a child if it was unnecessary, but that we could wait and see if we wanted. However he did say if he's getting an ear infection and cold symptoms in the summer that the likely-hood he'd struggle in the fall/winter again was high. I told him I just needed someone to tell me whether or not we should do the surgery, and he told us he thought we should do it. 

So Ben and I took everything into consideration and decided that it would benefit Malakai's future health to go ahead an have the procedure done. It was a simultaneous sense of relief to have a decision made, but also panic as his surgery was just a week away at that point and I felt totally unprepared. I woke at 3am that night worrying about all the things we had left to take care of. We didn't have anyone ready to watch Desmond and Aurelia so we could both be with Malakai at the surgery center, we didn't have the right groceries to support his limited diet during recovery, we didn't have the pain medicine prescribed by his doctor yet... I did my best to give these concerns to the Lord and he really did show up, everything fell into place and then some. We had friends and family offering to bring meals and balloons and you would not imagine the number of popsicles we stuffed into our freezers.

We made sure to do a lot of fun things that week since he would have to be very stationary for the two weeks after. He got to jump on the trampoline at his grandparents', we took him and Desmond to their very first theather movie (Finding Dory) and we focused on his 7th birthday. We let him ride his new scooter late that night to make sure he got a chance to try it out. 

The day before his procedure we received a call with his surgery time. He wouldn't be checking in until 8:45 and his surgery wouldn't be until 9:45. I was dreading a long morning of having to keep him from eating and drinking. We kept him up late so he could have a snack prior to the midnight cut off and we kept spirits high by making a batch of homemade vanilla ice cream together. 

The next morning Malakai only showed one small moment of worry when he got into the car and said "I'm not so sure I want to go to magic sleepy town today" (this is our way of explaining going under general anesthesia that we had made up the previous summer when he was having ear tubes placed). We talked it over and then he was totally fine, dreaming of ice cream for dinner. During our wait he played some games and read a book. Everything was very prompt, he got back to be admitted quickly and fairly easily. He wasn't a fan of the hair covering but he complied after a few chats about why it was necessary and seeing the nurses wearing them as well. He went under anesthesia easily but for some reason I teared up, which I have every time I've seen him go under. Something about it is just the slightest bit unsettling.

I went back to Ben in the admission area and we walked out to the waiting room together where my dad was. I text family and friends that he was in surgery and we chatted casually. He was done in about 20 minutes, his surgeon said everything went perfectly but "now you have the hard part" in reference to navigating his recovery. We waited another 15 minutes or so before the recovery nurse called us back. Malakai was still asleep and she encouraged us to let him wake naturally. She started to chat with us about his recovery when he coughed and began to wake up. His dry and barky cough was startling. The nurse said it was likely a symptom of his being intubated and that getting him to drink, putting an ice pack on his throat and giving him anti-inflammatory meds would help that get better faster. I can't imagine how uncomfortable it had to be to cough after a throat surgery. He was a bit disoriented and didn't really say anything at first but he came out of anesthesia very calmly. He did say he had some pain so the before removing his IV she gave him a dose of pain medicine in it and made sure his IV fluids finished up so he was well hyrdated from the start. He requested a popsicle, and another before we left. They also gave him a dose of liquid ibuprofen.

She talked us through his discharge and recovery instructions, writing down most of it. She made sure to tell Malakai that he could not run or ride his bike for two weeks, he needed to avoid anything that would cause him to breath heavily. He turned to Ben and I and said "I don't think I should go to swimming lessons" with such sweet concern in his temporarily higher pitched voice. We assured him that he would miss a few sessions until he was all healed up. My responsible little kiddo.

We carried him out to the car and I sat with him in the back of the van to make sure I was within reach if he needed anything during the trip home. We said goodbye to G'Pa and made our way back. The entire process was only about 4 hours. When we came home we settled him into bed and he wanted to eat more popsicles right away. We made sure he had plenty of cold water at all times and I set up several little stations to make aiding him easier. He would be staying in our bedroom so I could sleep next to him for a few nights, Ben would be in the bottom bunk in the boys' room and Des would be in the top bunk. Kai had a tv tray next to the bed with a plastic tray of medicines and droppers, a bell to ring if he needed something (although he had someone by his side constantly for the first day and a half), his water, some books and the tv remote. We set up a humidifier on the night stand next to him as well to help with that barky cough.

I set up an app on my phone called "dosecast" that helped me keep track of when to give him medicine but I also kept a paper record. The app alerted me of when he was due a dose of something but the hard copy helped for having a longer history of what we had given him and when. He was on a hydrocodone and we were alternating doses of ibuprofen based on the discharge instructions which meant waking up that night every 3 hours then 1 hour on a rotating basis. It wasn't until the next day we consulted a nurse at his pediatrician's office about his pain medicines and found out that we could give him both at the same time which meant I only had to get up every 4 hours. Having him in our room made that part easier but it was still tiring. None of the exhaustion mattered as long as he was doing well.

Ben had taken the day of surgery off but needed to work from home the rest of the week. It was a nice compromise between him being able to get work done but also be here to help as needed. Malakai was really needy those first couple of days so I spent a lot of time at his side which meant Ben was on duty to care for Desmond and Aurelia much of the day.

On day two of his recovery my aunt brought us dinner and there was macaroni and cheese as a side. Malakai wanted to eat some so we let him try it (his surgeon had said it would be fine to let him eat softer solid foods as soon as he wanted) and he ate a small bowl of it. We were shocked and very excited that he was willing to eat. He was doing great at eating and staying hydrated, which were our main concerns about his recovery. Our secondary concern was managing his pain which we felt like was going well...until it wasn't.

We went by the discharge paperwork and started to give him less of the narcotic pain medicine on day 4 which ended up being a disaster as that was his most painful day. We tried again a couple days later with mixed results. He did great during the day, he was able to tell us his pain level and it wasn't so bad with less and less medicine but one night he was inconsolable and we couldn't get him to take his medicine. By that time he was back in his room but on the bottom bunk. When we tried to give him his dose of medicine before we went to bed he sort of freaked out and refused to take it, he was acting so strangely it was really quite scary. Ben spoke to a nurse and she said it sounded like night terrors. She was totally right, we have experienced night terrors before but being so caught up in recovery and pain management we were thinking it was something related to those things, especially since it was happening when he was due a dose of medicine. She did say it could be his narcotic pain meds causing him to sleep so deeply he wasn't waking fully but it was unlikely since he was having less of them. He had another night terror the following night but it went by much faster because we knew how to handle it, thankfully he hasn't had any since.

We weren't able to really start letting him sleep through the night without pain meds until closer to 7 days this was around when we were able to start giving him less medicine during the day. About 10 days later we were just giving him medicine when he asked for it, which was usually by the end of the day just before bed. By the full two weeks he was off medicines completely and able to play normally again. During those two weeks he watched a lot of tv, played on the ipad, read books, played some minecraft on the xbox with Ben and Desmond and had a lot of caring visitors who brought him things to do and eat and even brought meals for the rest of us. We felt very well taken care of which was so valuable in allowing us to focus on taking care of him.

Near the end of the 2 weeks we eased him back into being out of the house and expending more energy. He would usually self regulate his activity level. Even when he was outdoors he did a lot of stationary activities. 

Unfortunately Desmond and Aurelia both struggled a bit with the shift in routine. Desmond really had a hard time with Malakai getting to eat jello and popsicles all day even though he usually had a popsicle once a day as well. It was hard for him to not keep score but it was a good lesson for him. The hardest part was being torn in my giving attention to all the kids. Aurelia really wanted to be with mama a lot. We let them come snuggle up with us as much as possible but a lot of the time it just didn't work out. Aurelia was very clingy to me as things started to go back to normal, it has only just recently gotten better.

Malakai was so brave and relatively easy to care for through out the whole thing. Even with the few rough moments I am just so thankful for how smoothly things went compared to how it could have gone. I was told several stories of other very difficult recoveries with complicaitons so I was prepared for the worst while hoping for the best. We are happy we made the decision to have Malakai's tonsils removed, at this point he isn't snoring at night and seems better rested during the day because of it. I think it is safe to say he no longer has sleep apnea, now we will just be praying it helps him stay healthier during cold season!

I would be happy to pass along any tips and tricks if you find yourself with a kiddo facing this procedure. Everyone recovers differently of course but it was helpful for me to be aware of possible outcomes. I gathered information and experiences from other parents before and during recovery. We are just so blessed by our little community both locally and through the internet. 

oh hey...

winter.

I usually don't mind it so much, and I don't complain about the rain like most, but the sickness. Oh the sickness! If my memory serves me correctly (and it certainly may not) we haven't been quite this sick (in intensity, frequency, and longevity) for about 2 years.

Last winter our kiddos did have quite the battle with ear infections, which was pretty miserable. Malakai ended up getting tubes put in last June and Aurelia got pretty close but thankfully it wasn't necessary. Des rarely gets ear infections, but he gets knocked out with respiratory infections due to some asthma. 

This winter, we've got it all. First it was colds with a lingering cough. Two months later and I'll still get to coughing if I talk too long. The main culprit lately has been the stomach bug that just won't quit. Over the past 2 weeks we have each sucummed to some form of it. I'm not even entirely sure we all got the same thing because of how varied our symptoms were, but one triage nurse did say that the same virus can present differently in each person affected. It would hit one of us, then we'd all be fine, a couple days would pass and then someone else or the same person would suddenly be sick. It was always gone long enough to think we were in the clear and then, boom, someone else came up really sick. Malakai has been sick 3 times in the past 2 weeks!

 

{daddy played some music to cheer us up}

It's so sad to see your kiddos sick and not be able to do much about it. It's even worse when they're missing fun events that they've been looking forward to. One praise is that February 2nd was Ben's birthday and we all managed to stay well for long enough to celebrate him, however he was hit in the middle of the night that night and there we were again...

Thus my attempts to blog more in 2016 have been thwarted so far by the diseases of the season. We are finally feeling better and praying hard against any more bouts of illness this winter! So far we are all feeling pretty good!

So make sure to subscribe, like, and follow for upcoming posts. Expect a couple giveaways, tutorials, and the like!

Father's Day Weekend...

We had the blessing of a Ben being home for 3 days over the past weekend, which was such a treat for Father's Day. We had a great time and enjoyed having daddy home for more days, but it was also a very strange weekend.

This past week I came down with a sudden and fairly uncomfortable infection on my mouth. I will spare details, but it was the first time I ever had anything like this happen and I will be thrilled if it's the last. My Dr concluded that it's another thing to blame on my immune system being weakened during pregnancy. For a whole day I felt like Angelina Jolie, and not in a good way. It's still uncomfortable, but finally healing up a week later. So we started off the weekend with that weirdness. 

Also for the past week, Desmond has been on singulair for asthma related to seasonal allergies. If you  aren't familiar, Eugene had the highest pollen count in the nation over the last couple week. Grass pollen peaked over 700 last I saw. We were all suffering but Des and I took a big hit. I had a doozy of a sinus headache and he was wheezing. The meds seemed to help a few days in but his mood changed. I didn't make the correlation until Friday night when I remember a conversation about allergy medications and hyper activity I had with some other moms recently. I googled, and then I grabbed the insert from his medicine and sure enough mood changes can be a side effect and a reason to stop the medicine. The biggest issue for us was aggression and sleeplessness. We'll see if things change after some time off of it. 

On Friday, earlier in the afternoon Ben had the boys outside in the culdesac. He had finished power washing the house (it looks brand new!) and I had just returned from a hair cut, it was such a nice day. Malakai was running and went to jump up onto the sidewalk but missed and kicked the curb, knocking his shin into the edge of it. He didn't cry but he wasn't happy about it. He yelled and complained and wanted to go inside. He wouldn't put weight on it for over an hour and a half. I spoke with triage at his pediatrician who recommended we have him seen. Unfortunately it was the end of the day Friday and they had no appointments open so we'd have to go to urgent care. Daddy took him and I was left with Desmond bouncing off the walls.

After 2 hours of waiting in the most boring place on the planet and finally an x-ray it turns out Malakai had just badly bruised his shin. He continued to limp that night and into the next day, so I'm glad we took him in so we weren't continually wondering if we should have him examined. 

Saturday started out slowly as we didn't have any to-do's or obligations until a graduation party at noon. After which we came home for some downtime and then headed out to visit Ben's parents at the boys' request. They had a sweet father's day gift for Ben (we have yet to give Grandpa his because it was misplaced...) and we stayed for dinner.

On our way home we took a longer route because Des was dozing off and with all his sleeplessness we wanted to take the easy way out. As rounded a corner we've taken a million time our van thumped and there was a terrible sound just outside the back passenger side. Ben thought some jam that his parents had given us might have tipped over and hit something but it was on my side so I heard and felt it more and knew something worse had happened. He pulled over and got out to find we had a flat tire. He ran back and found what had caused the problem...

We had driven over top of it (not seeing it) and it hit the underside of the passenger side sliding door and then slashed the tire. We were so close that we were able to hobble home. Thankfully Des slept through the whole thing so I got Kai to bed while Ben worked on putting the spare on. Meanwhile his parents came over to drop off their bigger vehicle for us to borrow until we figured out what to do with the van come Monday when our insurance offices would be open. The one night the boys were to bed early and Ben spent most of it changing the silly tire. 

Sunday morning came and the boys were being CRAZY! Just unruly and disobedient. We all have those days, but I was so discouraged that it was happening on Father's Day after the way our weekend had already gone. Thankfully Ben was able to stay positive and linger on the good moments we had instead of the rotten. They were sweet when it came time to give Ben his gifts that we all made.

{Kai + Des are both looking AND smiling at the camera...miracle!}

That morning both boys would "move up" in their Kid's church classes. Desmond was promoted from nursery to his first pre-school class and Malakai went from pres-school to Kindergarten! It was so odd to almost start over from what had been our normal routine over the past year, dropping them off at the same classes with the same people every week. Thankfully they were both super excited to go to their new classes and they did great! 

After church and lunch I made sure Ben got a nap so he could have some sort of Father's Day treat (we never have enough time to get ready for church AND make a special breakfast on Sundays). That evening we went out to my parents' house for a nice dinner. My mom made some wonderful food! Unfortunately Desmond came unglued and was really hard to get settled down. We were both exhausted and I had another odd rash, this time on my hands (just when the one on my mouth was clearing up).

Monday I called and got an appointment to get my hand checked out. I bandaged it all up in fear that it was the same thing that I'd had on my lips, which was contagious for the first 24 hours. I got the boys ready to head out the door to take Kai to his first week of Vacation Bible School. My doctor called and asked if I could come in "right now" and I told him I had to drop off my son somewhere and I could get there ASAP after that. Drop off took a bit, this was out first experience with dropping off at an unfamiliar place. I struggled with it just as much as Malakai did. It wasn't that he didn't want to stay, I wouldn't have forced him to, but that he was being painfully shy and his nervousness was coming out in defiance. He didn't want to be outside (where all the kids were gathered by age), he didn't want to wear his name tag, etc.

 After a few attempts I finally got a peaceful goodbye but was a little late to the doctor. This meant that I actually had to wait an extra hour until my original appointment time. If someone would have told me that would be the case, I would have gone home since we live literally 2 minutes down the street. Keeping Desmond preoccupied anywhere these days is excruciating but a waiting room and then exam room was near unbearable. I finally broke out  my phone for Des to play a game when my doctor came in so I could focus. Thankfully the news was good and my rash was not bacterial, but an allergic reaction of some sort. It's not contagious and should go away with time and be relieved with topical benadryl and cold compress.

Monday night was another rough one for Desmond, it took an hour for him to settle down. He has been off the singulair for 3 nights so I'm hoping it's out of his system and tonight will be quieter, especially for Ben's sake.

Here we are ending our Tuesday. This morning the goodbye at VBS was still hard (for me), it was much smoother. I told Ben it's hard to leave part of your heart in an unfamiliar place. It also boils down to my being more sensitive than usual during pregnancy and that I'm highly empathetic, so I kept worrying about how he might be feeling.

I had the first session of a summer Bible study at church so Des got to play in the nursery and I got some downtime. We grabbed a few groceries and picked up Malakai. Nap went smoothly, I even got to snooze for a little while and while I've not being feeling too great (indigestion every time I eat!) the evening has been fairly productive. So I think our "bad luck" is wearing down and hopefully we can get our house put back together in time for family to visit this weekend!

illness + injury

I feel like a broken record, I even said this to my Bible study group recently when requesting prayer for my sick family, again. We are entering month 4 of illness in our home. I don't share on social media to get extra attention or to throw a pity party. Sometimes I'm actually embarrassed to admit that we are sick again (or is it still?) but I do, because every time I'm covered in prayer and encouraged by a community of friends, family + even strangers. We've endured countless doctor's office visits, pharmacy pick ups and a 3 day emergency hospital stay. Just when things start to look up, someone else comes down with something. Here we are again.

I'm thankful and so happy to be able to say that last Friday when Des had an ear check, he is over his ear infections (he had one, that turned into two really bad infections while on the first round of medicine). I'm also hesitant, but hopeful in saying that I think Malakai is over his recurring infections. (he had 4 in a row, and tried 5 different medicines that all failed). He has an ENT appointment this Thursday morning, so we will know for sure, but he's been acting more himself and not complaining of any pain for the last week or so. These things outweigh that bad day that we had today...

Last week I was told I have another sinus infection (I've had symptoms that won't quit since January, was treated once in February but never felt better- then recently got much worse). I saw another Dr. in my primary physician's office who prescribed me a stronger antibiotic for another sinus infection. Today is day 3 on meds and I had a very bad reaction. Debilitating headache and nausea all morning that resulted in "losing my breakfast" in the kitchen sink just before lunch (right after Des fell and bit his tongue REALLY badly, it looks like he has a hole in it). Thankfully Ben could come home on his lunch break, get Des down for a nap so I could rest and then he preoccupied Malakai while working from home the rest of the afternoon (he is our Superman). I've been nauseated with the same bad headache all afternoon and just as I went to crawl into bed my sciatica (that I'm waiting on a referral to have treated) took a turn for the worse and I nearly fell over. 

I'm not looking for pity (but I will gladly take prayers). I post all of this because the purpose of my blog is to share with my readers and to document our lives so we can look back on it all one day. Life isn't always pretty, and lately for us it's been rather ugly. I'm not whining or complaining, but merely documenting so when things are good I can see what God brought us out of. Because despite the back to back illnesses and injuries and a hospitalization I know it could be worse and I also know that it's going to get better. 

I'm clinging to God's promises to bless us and I'm focusing on the joy in each moment. The fact that almost any time I ask Desmond to snuggle me, he replies with an excited "okay!", when Malakai loves to color pictures/mail/surprises for anyone and everyone, laughing til I'm crying at the things Kai has said over the past year when I came across Ben's "Kai Thoughts" Instagram, smiling at Desmond's growing vocabulary and constant need to narrate our day, all the sweet innocent questions they both ask constantly, the sweet baby kicking around in my belly, loved ones who check in with is because we've been quarantined in our house for months (thanks for not being offended that I haven't contacted you in weeks...), everyone who covers us in healing prayer, the moments when we can feel those prayers doing their work and know that this too shall pass. 

So I do apologize if I sound like a broken record...It's just a season, one with more challenges than others, but soon we'll be on the other side and be blessed by the suffering that taught us how to better embrace joy. 

Mystery Ailment: Part 3

This is the last post of updates on Desmond's illness. Click through to read part 1 and part 2. 

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Once we found out all that was supposed to happen at the hospital, we prepared ourselves for the onslaught of tests that our little Desmond would have to endure.

We hadn't eaten dinner yet and the cafeteria closes at 7:15 so Ben ran down to grab us some food while we waited on x-ray. We took turns eating and being by Desmond's side. Thankfully x-ray was done in the room and was rather quick. 

After that Des was wheeled down for his ultrasound. By then he was really tired and ready to be done, sadly we were just getting started. The ultrasound took a long time and he had to lay on Ben to stay still. He got so upset that the tech wasn't able to find his appendix as you have to push rather hard to get the equipment in position to see it. We were informed that this was actually good as the appendix would be inflamed and easy to find if he had appendicitis. 

When we got back to his room we finished eating and turned on the tv to keep him preoccupied until the nurses came to put his IV in. Sadly, the first two attempts failed because he was slightly dehydrated, making his veins harder to get to. They gave him a break before another nurse came and tried again. It was quite the ordeal, and once it was taped on it actually leaked so they had to untape and retape which was painful. It was misery watching him go through all of this and not being able to help.

They started him on IV fluids and thankfully let us wait a while after that to see if we could get him to pee in a cup on his own so we could avoid a 2nd catheter. He had been complaining of pain all day since his catheter that morning. I cheered when we were able to get him to go in the cup, knowing that was one less painful ordeal he would have to endure. 

In between tests and exams I was able to update family and friends on our situation. We immediately had people offering to brave the icey roads to bring us anything we needed. People all over were praying for our sweet boy, we felt very loved amidst a scary situation. 

Ben + I took turns sleeping with Desmond in his bed, the other in the "day bed" that felt more like sleeping on a concrete slab. After a round of fluids they started his antibiotics and we got a few chunks of sleep here and there. There are a LOT of noises in the hospital so none of us could get much sleep. Children have a security monitor on their leg and Desmond's kept coming unstuck, setting off an alarm in the hallway. The IV can only be set for 2 hour increments so that would beep every time it needed to be reset. His bed was an air bed so it would whoosh and groan to adjust the pressure every time you moved and there was a constant rush of air from the ceiling. The nurses also took vitals every 2-4 hours and the nurse he had that first night came in at 2am with way too much pep in her step. She told me he could just sleep through what she was doing, which he was, but then she started to talk to him and woke him up. I was not a happy mama bear. 

4am they started his 2nd dose of antibiotics and I was awake for the day by 6:30. At that point, Ben was in bed with Des and they slept another 2 hours while I sat and prayed and updated friends on Facebook.

{keeping a 2 year old in bed for 15 hours is not an easy task}

That morning we got to FaceTime with Malakai while he was still at Amy's. The boys were pretty excited to see each other.

Dr. R from our pediatrician's office came in that morning to check on Desmond. She said she'd like to see him off fluids to get him to drink on his own. Having him off fluids meant he only had to be attached to the tubes every 8 hours for 30 minutes to administer the antibiotics. This was so great for how stir crazy the poor kiddo was getting. We were able to take him out in the hallway for a walk and in to the play room across the hall. 

Ben's parents were able to come visit and his dad took Ben over to pick up Malakai and to our house for a few things for us as we didn't have time to pack our own bags. Malakai came to visit and was so excited to see us, but more so to see Desmond. They greeted each other with an enthusiastic "Hi, Brother!" Kai was able to go with Des for his first walk around the unit, check out the playroom with us and eat lunch. Ben's parents took Kai back to their place for the 2nd night and he got to play in the snow before it turned into freezing rain.

My parents weren't able to come visit because my mom had a fever plus they live much further away so it wasn't a good idea for them to drive in the snow and ice. I updated them by phone and text when I could.

Des napped and we watched a lot of Disney Jr. Ben's mom left her iPad for him to play with as well. We watched the snow fall non stop outside our window, we were thankful for such a beautiful view.

We did all that we could to pass the time and keep Desmond comfortable and happy. He started to eat better and was drinking a ton by Friday evening. We were still waiting on a culture from the blood they took when they started his IV to see what kind of bacteria he was fighting. That night we all slept much better. It helped that our overnight nurse was as quiet as a mouse when going about taking vitals and hooking/unhooking tubes for his meds.

Unfortunately Malakai + Grandma didn't sleep so well. Kai was complaining of ear pain and couldn't sleep. He was pretty miserable so they brought him to the hospital and Debbie and I walked him down to urgent care on the other side of the hospital while Ben and Grandpa stayed with Des. After a bit of a wait we found out Kai had a fever of 103 when we got back to see the nurse. Of course I immediately had visions of both of my boys being admitted to the hospital with mysterious infections. I was overwhelmed on top of being overwhelmed. During the 45 minute wait in the exam room, Kai fell asleep on my lap.

After being examined by the doctor (who was really great with Kai and even made him laugh) he was diagnosed with another double ear infection. Although an ear infection doesn't cause fever, so he also though Kai might be fighting off a virus as well. We got a new prescription for antibiotics and headed back upstairs to Desmond's room. He had just finished up his last dose of antibiotics.

We ate lunch (thanks to a generous delivery called in by a friend) and waited for Dr. R to come check on Des and let us know if we could take him home. She came shortly and told us his 48 hour cultures were negative and that his most recent labs were much better. His white blood cell count came down from 39,000 to a normal 10,000. Since no bacteria grew on the cultures the diagnosis was vague. We were discharged with a diagnosis of "fever of unknown cause" which is frustrating, but I knew I could discuss it further with his doctor at our follow up appointment. All I cared about was that my baby is well and I get to take him home. We got a prescription for antibiotics and Grandpa went to pick up both the boys' meds and was back just before Des was discharged.

{goodbye snowy hospital}

We got home safely through the snow that was under a thick layer of ice from a storm the day before. Ben carried each of us in the house because there was no clear path through the ice. We settled in and relaxed as best we could.

{Can you tell Kai missed his Desmond?}

On Sunday we were looking forward to a full day at home to recover from all these events when I got a nasty headache. My mom encouraged me to take my temperate and I had a fever. I took some tylenol and waited it out, but felt miserable all day. I went to the doctor on Monday for a flu test and it came back negative. My doctor did say he thinks I have a stomach virus and I'd probably feel bad for a few days. Just what we needed, another illness.

On the bright side, we have amazing family and friends. They've all rallied around us in prayer. Some braved the storms and brought us food to the hospital, and other have started a meal train to bring us dinner while we settle back in at home and recover now that I'm sick as well. It's so humbling to receive so much and be able to give nothing back (at least at the moment), and I'm doing my best to let it be and just feel the blessings overflow as we heal. I know there will be an end to these miserable sicknesses even though it's hard to see through it.

Yesterday morning we had a follow up appointment for both boys. Malakai's exam was simple, his ears looked great! We were also informed that about half of ear infection patients do develop a fever, like Kai had. I was so thankful that he would finally be back to himself.

We originally scheduled with Dr. R because Dr. B didn't have any openings but when she saw that we were there Dr. B "stole" us- which was very sweet and I really appreciated that she wanted to follow through with Desmond's care and give us the information she'd gathered directly.

She confirmed again that nothing grew on the cultures, but she explained that it's actually quite normal to not be able to grow bacteria, even when it's present. Due to the volume of blood you'd have to use to get enough bacteria to grow in a petri dish, it's common to get no growth. So her diagnosis is that he did have bacterial sepsis based on all of his symptoms and his response to the antibiotics. She had even called an infectious disease specialist at Dornbecker Children's hospital to confirm her diagnosis.

It was nice to get information but it was also scary to think that Desmond had such a serious condition. I'm even more thankful for a pediatrician that took the right steps and got our boy well without any complications. What a blessing that Desmond is already so healthy after being in the hospital less than a week ago!

We so appreciate our beloved Dr. B and all the caregivers at Eugene Pediatrics. Malakai especially likes it there because they always let him play with their tools. His favorite is the otoscope and even Desmond got into it and played with the stethoscope.

We came home and had popsicles with our lunch to celebrate a clean bill of health!

Now, after nearly 6 weeks of illness, we are on to getting me healthy and keeping everyone else healthy as best we can in this doozy of a season. Once again, thank you for all your support and prayers!

Mystery Ailment: Part 2

Due to overwhelming amounts of detailed information in these updates, 

I've split them into separate posts. Find Part 1 here + 3 here.

____________________________________

Wednesday Des was acting like he felt better, but usually only when he had a good dose of tylenol or ibuprofen in his system. He'd start to crash again an hour or two before we could give him another dose. The on call doctor gave us permission to switch by and forth between ibu and tylenol to help with that. We decided that if he felt sick in the morning we'd call again to have him seen by his main pediatrician as he was seen by another doctor in their practice and a nurse the last couple of times. 

Come Thursday morning he started vomiting at 5am. After cleaning him up and getting him back to sleep for a couple hours Desmond woke with a fever and it was getting higher. His temp hit 105 at 8am and I immediately gave him tylenol to try to lower it. He was still complaining of belly pain, as he has been since Monday night. I called his pediatricians office as soon as they opened to make an appointment. They got us in on a cancellation with our beloved Dr. B so I rushed us out of the house to drop Kai off at Grandma + Grandpa's and headed to Eugene Peds...in the snow.

That morning it had started snowing just before sunrise. It wasn't too bad so Ben went ahead and drove to work. He goes really early so this was before Des' fever got real high. By the time I left there was quite a bit of snow on the ground and I don't really drive in snow. I took my time driving slowly and cautiously. I only had slight trouble at a couple stops when I tried to go again and slid a bit, but was able to correct it quickly with no problems. 

We got to Dr. B's office at 9:40am and due to his fever and slight cough Des got to wear a lovely little mask. He was amazing about it, he just wanted to play trains. He didn't have a lot of energy and he'd been breathing heavily, but he was talkative- narrating what he was doing while playing.

It was such a relief to see his primary care physician. I trust all the other doctors and nurses at their office, but there is a deeper trust with your main doctor that gets built over having them care for your children over time. 

She poked at his belly and listened to his lungs as she did a thorough examination to figure out what was going on. She mentioned that if this had been accompanied by diarrhea she would have thought it was the stomach flu for sure, but quite the opposite, Desmond hadn't been going poo very often at all. 

She assured me (but I already know) that she would make decisions for Desmond like she would if he were her own son and said we needed to get a urine sample and go in for blood work. My heart sank. I've overcome a fear of needles over all the blood draws and such that they do during pregnancy, but I didn't want my little guy to have to go through any of that. Sadly, to get the best result they wanted to do a catheter for the urine sample. 

The catheter failed miserably and was extremely painful. He must have just emptied his bladder, so they put a bag in his diaper to catch the urine next time he peed between then and our going over to the lab for the blood draw. I called Ben and he met me at the labs. I knew I wasn't brave enough to hold Desmond through it. I'm so thankful he was there, I got light headed and had to sit down. Des whimpered and cried a little, but was really brave. 

It was nearly noon and due to the snow I wanted to drive as little as possible. It hadn't stopped all morning so the roads were covered and it was still coming down. The lab was close by to Grandma's so I drove to pick up Kai and met Ben at home. We fed the boys lunch and Ben worked from home while Des napped and Kai + I played a bit. We expected to hear back on Desmond's labs by 4 at the latest as they put a rush on the results and would page Dr. B directly. 

Just before 5pm I decided to call in, but the pediatrician's office had closed early due to the snow storm so I got the answering service. They took a message and paged Dr. B because thankfully she was the doctor on call at the time. They tell you to call back if you don't hear in 20 minutes, which I hadn't so I did. They said they'd been paging her and would try again. I was worried that perhaps she had trouble in the snow. Turns out she was still in the office catching up on things, she called me back just before 5:30 as Ben waking dinner. 

During all of this I wasn't too worried about hearing back because Desmond woke up from his nap a couple hours earlier in a great mood and no fever. The tylenol had even worn off by then and he was acting himself. 

The first thing Dr. B said was that she knew I wouldn't be expecting this, but Desmond's results were not good. She said was really sorry but if he were her son, she'd take him directly to the hospital. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My voice started to crack and Ben looked at me from the kitchen with wide eyes trying to figure out what was going on. He was just about to toss some spaghetti into boiling water when I waved him off while listening to Dr. B explain the results. 

Desmond's white blood cell count was much too high and his other results were not great either. I explained that his fever had gone and he was acting fine, but she insisted that even so she felt in her gut that he needed to be in the hospital. I told her I trusted her opinion completely and we'd pack up to go. She asked if we'd be able to meet her at the hospital in all this snow, that had now turned to thick sheets of ice, or if she should call an ambulance. Ben was sure we could brave the weather. 

Ben dropped the noodles on the counter and turned off the stove and we started to make preparations. I called Amy, who lives a block away, and I burst into tears. All I could manage was a shaky "We have to take Desmond to the hospital" and she immediately told me "Bring Kai right over!" So I ran outside to start the van to thaw and  we packed both boys a bag quickly, I grabbed a couple snacks for us since we were missing dinner. I backed Ben's car out of the driveway blindly, it was covered in such a thick layer of ice and snow I didn't have time to thaw it out. I attacked the ice on the van until Ben came out to take over. It was so thick after just 5 hours that it broke the scraper in half. 

Ben grabbed Kai out of the car and carried him up to Amy's house. Malakai was thrilled for his very first sleepover at a friend's house (Amy's son Nate is just a little younger than Kai + she has a baby, Luke who Kai also adores). Thankfully he wasn't scared and didn't know to worry about Desmond, as worried as Ben + I were. I texted Amy directions for bed time and such on our way to the hospital. 

Desmond was still in a great mood and asked us where we were going. When we said the hospital, he said "OK!" as we had just been there for x-rays 2 days earlier and he seemed to enjoy the adventure. We slid at an intersection once as we tried to start from a stop light, but we made it safely in the terrible weather. I did NOT enjoy that drive!

We grabbed his bag and headed to the front desk in the lobby at Sacred Heart Medical Center Riverbend where both boys were born and where Malakai had his hernia surgery a couple years earlier. We were led upstairs to the pediatric floor and immediately admitted. Dr. B met us in Desmond's room and explained his results more thoroughly. His white blood cell count should normally be less than 15,000 was elevated to 39,000. He also tested as anemic and low blood sugar. His crp levels (which I don't really understand) were elevated, which apparently isn't good either. All of these things indicate a dangerous infection somewhere in his body. Her plan to rule out Bacterial Sepsis was to get a follow up chest x-ray to make sure the pneumonia hadn't become visible after the last one. Then have an ultrasound on his abdomen to see if there were any abnormalities and to check on his appendix. Third, was to recheck his urine and lastly was to administer IV antibiotics for 48 hours. That's when we realized we were in for a long stay.

Mystery Ailment: Part 1

I wrote the following post on Wednesday Feb 5th before things took a turn for the worse the next day. 

____________________________

My poor sweet family can't catch a break from sickness lately. At least 2 of us have been sick at any given time for the past month and not one of us has been spared. Thankfully, we did have a small reprieve for Ben's birthday this past Sunday, but it didn't last long.

Yesterday I went to the doctor after a month of coughing my life away and was diagnosed with a sinus infection. What a pain, but I am glad to have some medicine now and that there is an end in sight to this suffering. 

Desmond came down with a high fever suddenly on Monday. He was his happy unruly self and then suddenly he said his tummy hurt and he was burning up. That night he and Ben were up all night and Des threw up so we thought it must be (ANOTHER) stomach virus. Until the next morning when his fever shot back up and he was breathing erratically.

 Since I am still feeling miserable, Ben took Desmond to the doctor. He saw a nurse practitioner who called in one of the doctors and they couldn't quite figure out what was bothering his tummy. Thankfully they ruled out all sorts of serious conditions like appendicitis, he also tested negative for flu. Due to his shallow breathing they sent him in for a chest X-ray. No matter how bad I felt I had to be there for that.

{waiting sweetly for his x-ray}

My angel-neighbor Amy took Kai so I could go to the hospital with Ben and Des. By that point the ibuprofen they gave him at the pediatrician kicked in and he was talking up a storm. He breezed through the x-ray and we headed home. 

By the time we got home he was exhausted and hungry. We were thrilled that he had an appetite again, he hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. I went down the street to bring Malakai back home and by the time I got back Ben and Desmond were both asleep. Ben has been my rock through all of this, even when he was sick a couple weeks ago he still took care of all of us, sacrificing the rest he needed so the rest of us could get healthy.

We later found out that Desmond's chest x-ray was clear for pneumonia so our instructions are to keep an eye on him and call back if he vomits again or his fever gets worse. 

It has been so hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel. We struggle to get through each bout of sickness only to get hit again and harder. I know this is normal with small children, but this has been the worst season for us by far. I'm so glad to have a handful of people in my phone that I can text at any time to lift up a prayer or run an errand for us. My father in law, Ron picked up dinner and my antibiotics last night so we can focus on keeping Des comfortable. Amy has been dousing my children and I in essential oils to relieve symptoms here and there. Ben's work has been extremely understanding of his need to care for family (it helps that he is such a hard worker, he always catches up).  I know that God is reaching down through all these people to bless our family in this needy time. My incessant prayer now is for a total healing over all of us and a nice LONG reprieve from all that has been ailing us physically.

____________________________

Due to the content of these posts being drawn out and detailed, I've split this update into separate posts.
Find Part 2 here + 3 here.  

a little of both...

In case you missed my diagnosis on instagram, it looks like I am suffering from BOTH a sinus infection and seasonal allergies. I know, you all were on the edge of your seats waiting for that information.

I waited 3 weeks to see a doctor because I always get the "well, it's only been 2 weeks-so it's probably a virus". It drives me nuts because with our insurance we pay for every appointment that isn't a well-check. So I wait and see if the darned symptoms will go away and if they don't I cave and see the doc...most of the time.  I went in to a new doctor today and was rather happy with his style. I'm also pretty sure that he's younger than me, which is a WEIRD feeling.

He prescribed me some antibiotics for the sinus infection and a steroidal nasal spray for the allergies. I should be feeling better in a week or so. It's been a couple days and I still wake up with terrible sinus headaches. Thankfully allergy season is supposed to be coming to an end in the next week or so.

I'm still not sure what the reaction to strawberries was, but I'm waiting to eat them again until after the seasonal allergies and sinus infection are gone. Then we'll see, but I'm REALLY hoping it was just a weird trifecta, or perhaps I just had a reaction to whatever the fields were sprayed with.

During all of this, Malakai came down with an ear infection. Poor dude was having more ear pain than he's ever experienced. Usually he barely notices when he has an ear infection and we just check it because of other extreme symptoms. This time it was the opposite, he never even had any cold symptoms. So, it was most likely from the drainage he was also experiencing from seasonal allergies. He is also on antibiotics, and has been on children's allegra for quite some time. I'm not sure if it did any good, but he doesn't seem to have so many problems during or after being outside.

Here's hoping we can go into the rest of summer without being sick or suffering from allergies. The weather has been gorgeous and I just want to enjoy it!

Happy weekend!

the bad news, and the good news

I've alluded to something pretty big going on in our family over the last couple of months. I've clarified that I am not pregnant, and once again...no, I'm not and don't plan to be for quite some time. So there's that.

On January 15th my mom went in for a mammogram and the radiologist saw something. He told her he was almost certain that it was cancer. My mom is only 51 and quite healthy. There was a lot of testing, and a LOT of waiting. She had ultrasounds, MRI's, and a biopsy. We found out about 10 days after the mammogram that the lump was in fact cancer.

I never knew how much waiting is involved with breast cancer. I was surprised that we wouldn't even find out the stage of her cancer until after surgery, when they'd run tests on the tumor. My mom had about a million doctor's appointments for testing, results, and the like.

All of us were pretty quiet about it all, but still doing what we could to support her and hold it all together. I found myself proclaiming God's favor over our family and finding His peace to be most comforting when things should have felt chaotic.

This card is from a message that was preached at the exact right time for what our family is going through. I posted this in our home and claimed these truths. I prayed this prayer often over my mom, and over many other situations that have cropped up over the last few months because, when it rains- it pours.

February 15th my mom went in for a lumpectomy to remove the cancer. Ben's mom stayed with the boys and I went to wait with my siblings and my dad. My mom's sister, brother-in-law, and one of my cousins came for a time as well. Surgery was successful, but it's always so painful to see someone you love in such a state and know that what they are going through and about to move into is going to be painful.

I set up meals to be brought over while she recovered. Thanks again to those of you who may read this and made a dinner for my mom, dad and siblings. It was a huge blessing over them to be able to focus on her recovery and the road ahead.

After surgery we waited to find out more about her tumor. They also removed lymph nodes to test them for cancer. If they had been affected, then the stage of her cancer would be higher and the treatment more aggressive as it would indicate the cancer had moved through her lymph system to other parts of her body. She would most definitely need chemo. No matter the results, she would need radiation treatments to prevent the cancer from returning.

11 days after surgery my mom and I went to meet with her surgeon for results. Her cancer was staged low and the lymph nodes were negative. PRAISE GOD! Dr. F referred her to the oncologists that would take over her treatment from there.

Over all of this we had throngs of people praying over my mom. The prayer team from my church, all sorts of friends, and family, and our small group have been lifting her up. I have a handful of people that I can text whenever I have a prayer request and know that they will deliver. We have been so blessed by this.

Thanks specifically to my mother in law Debbie for making a care package for my mom and watching the boys extra, and to Liz for watching my boys during a couple of appointments.

About once or twice a week I'd accompany her to meet with one of her 2 oncologists. In early March we met her Medical Oncologist and found out there was still a possibility of chemo. Neither of us were expecting that. Of course there was another test to run and more waiting.

While we waited on that, we met with her Radiation Oncologist the next week about the course of treatment for radiation, which was a definite. The nurse told us all about the radiation treatments, but none of what she said would pertain to my mom as she is a candidate for balloon catheter radiation. She lives in a rural area outside town and the regular radiation treatments would be once a day, every day, for 6 weeks. The balloon radiation treatments involve an implant that she'd have for a week and she'd go in for treatments twice a day for 5 days. The side effects of the radiation are also lessened. She opted for the balloon radiation, which she would also do prior to chemo (if needed) instead of after.

March 21st we went back in to meet with her Medical Oncologist and her test came back low, meaning no chemo! The doctor told us he was surprised that the numbers were so low. Prayer works people. She will be on hormone therapy, in pill form, for the rest of her life. With that, the radiation, negative lymph nodes, and the successful surgery the likely hood of the cancer returning in the next 5-10 years is only 6%, which he assured us is very good. She would only need to see him again to make sure she was doing well on the hormone therapy after she finished radiation.

So, today she starts her radiation treatments. She went in this morning and will go back again this afternoon. Please pray for her through this and over the course of her treatment and recovery. We are confident that God has answered our prayers and will continue to do so. Pray for her energy and that she has no complications from the catheter or otherwise.

Please pray for me. I'm 31, annual mammograms start at age 40 but now I've been advised to go in this summer and get screened. My mom's surgeon made a comment that when breast cancer affects women in their 20's and 30's that it is much more aggressive and harder to treat. He was talking about her, trying to reassure her but he scared both of us about my sister and I. Once again, I'm proclaiming God's favor over us.

That has been what I've been doing in my free time. I've been wanting to blog more here as my sons grow and are doing remarkable and hilarious things, as great things are happening all around us as well (see my February recap), but my time is precious and I haven't had much of it to sit at a computer and really update. I'm hoping that changes soon. I'd love to do a March recap before April is over, and I am especially looking forward to posting some Easter photos of my little boys.

In Hindsight

For the past couple of months, and even more so in the last couple weeks, Malakai has been quite unruly. Many have been the victims of his screeching, crying, kicking, and hitting. I've often felt powerless and unsure of what to do; not only to squash the unsavory behavior but to meet his needs as well.

For the past few days he's been tugging at his ear and Sunday night at 2am he woke screaming. Yesterday he sounded congested and started to cough so we went to see Dr. B. Sure enough he has an ear infection...still, meaning that when he had double infections last month, one didn't fully heal.

Hindsight is always 20/20.

It's obvious that his behavior has been due to pain and frustration. Even when I clued into his ear bothering him, he couldn't really communicate what he felt. In fact, he'd been tugging at his right but it's his left that has the infection. I'm irritable when I'm sick, and I have the ability to communicate my needs. I'm sure I'd be just as difficult to be around if nobody understood me.

Dr. B gave us a prescription for a stronger antibiotic in hopes of finally getting rid of this nasty infection plaguing my little boy. Much to our surprise it cost $71...for the generic! The meds he was on last time were only $4. It also has some strange restrictions, like he can't take it within two hours of having milk. Kid LOVES milk, so that'll be interesting trying to time that out. I mean I only give him milk at meals, but he usually sips on it for a while. I see many "no milk" tantrums in my future.

Oh...and Desmond has thrush again. I'll take that over another ear infection, but still. Challenges, challenges, challenges.

Ear infections are the worst. I distinctly remember being little, maybe 4 or 5, and having a terrible ear infection. I was in so much pain that all I could do was cry because I just wanted my parents to take the discomfort away. My dad had even gone out and bought me a happy meal with one of those chicken nugget character toys in it (we NEVER could afford stuff like that) and I threw it at him. I don't know why I remember this so well,  but I think of it every time my kids are sick.

{keeping ourselves entertained}

I'm really hoping that my sweet Malakai will be feeling better and 100% healthy within the next week or two. I'm also fervently praying that his mood swings will tone down significantly once he gets to feeling better. 

the sleepless nights begin

Last night was a rough one, the most difficult we've had with Desmond yet. He didn't start really crying until last week, right after we discovered his ear infection. The past few days he's been passed out and then as soon as Ben + I get ready to climb into bed (9-10pmish) he acts hungry but when I go to nurse him he just scream and grunts, but won't eat. We've tried burping and then attempting to feed him over and over again. We've changed his diaper over and over (he has a bad rash right now, stinkin' antibiotics). We swaddle, and shush, and sway. He'll calm for a minute or two and then start all over again.

Last night it lasted for just over 3 hours and I couldn't help but sob some too. We snuggled him and prayed for relief. It was emotionally draining for both Ben and I, not being able to comfort your baby is the worst feeling in the world. He finally passed out at midnight snuggled up next to me. He slept for almost 5 hours straight, at which point I woke up really uncomfortable. I changed his diaper to wake him so he'd eat, and he ate just fine. No crying, or fussing- actually he fell back to sleep as soon as he started to nurse.

During all the crying, after about 90 minutes of Ben and I trading off trying to calm Desmond, he turned to me and asked "is this colic?". I wasn't sure until I looked up info on our pediatrician's website which said colic is 3+ hours of unexplained crying followed by normal behavior the rest of the time. Since it lasted that long before he fell asleep we're wondering if we are in for a colicy baby for a while, or if it's related to one or multiple other things: ear infection (which should feel better by now), diaper rash, thrush in his mouth, over tiredness, or fast letdown (he sometimes fusses and coughs when feeding during the day as well). It's so hard not knowing, I can't believe I forgot how terrible this felt. Kai had a couple hard nights as an infant too.

I have a newfound thankfulness for Malakai's ability to tell us what is bothering him for the most part. Also, despite our tiny house and sharing a bedroom wall, Malakai has never been disturbed by Desmond's night time crying. He may toss and turn a bit, but always stays asleep. Ben wondered aloud "how is he still asleep?!" I answered, "Jesus". God's power is honestly the only explanation for how that kid can sleep through the screaming that can be heard clearly in every corner of our 1000 square foot home.

Needless to say we are total zombies today. I feel bad that Ben works too far away to come home for a lunchtime snooze. If Kai would cooperate we'd go to bed earlier to get some rest before the crying sets in, but the timing just doesn't work out.

Once again, I'm requesting prayer. We are definitely experiencing a challenging season in our family right now. Thankfully, more often than not, we're able to focus on the blessings and find joy.

productivity

Being stuck at home has increased my motivation to get things done around the house. We've actually been doing a really good job at keeping up with the cleaning and such for having a newborn and a toddler. Since we've basically quarantined ourselves to avoid spreading this sickness or catching anything else, I've been getting even more done. Over the past week 1-3 loads of laundry per day (although I'm a little slower getting it put away after washing it), 1-2 loads of dishes, as well as keeping up with the clutter, sweeping, vacuuming, etc. All of these things I thought would go undone for a while longer as I transitioned to caring for my two boys. I even baked a loaf of pumpkin bread, a batch of cookies, and made two kinds of ice cream.

Today Ben got a bunch of childproofing done that became more of a necessity with my nursing Desmond and not being able to get to Kai in a hurry if he were to decide to get into or on to things. It's such a good feeling to have all of this stuff done, but I'm ready for us all to be healthy so we can visit with family and friends!








P.S. I'm attempting to blog every day this month as part of NaBloPoMo (I typed this out while nursing). It may be a few sentences, a regular post or possibly just a photo. We'll see if I can make it happen!

the past 2 weeks

October has been an interesting month for us. We've had some challenges as well as some wonderful things happen. First my stay in the hospital for monitoring, then Desmond's birth, next my recovery. Last week I came down with a stomach bug which luckily only lasted a day.

Then this past weekend I came down with a nasty fever. Ben took me to the after hours clinic and I was diagnosed with mastitis. I felt like I had been in a car accident, the aches and pains were almost unbearable. However,  I was so thankful to not have something contagious. Poor Ben had to take care of the whole family all by himself- he did an amazing job. Sadly we spent the last days of his paternity leave stuck in the house feeling pretty miserable.

Our plan to transition from having Ben home full time for 2 weeks was during the last week to have me take on more time with Malakai as I could based on Desmond's feeding demands. Unfortunately, that was interrupted by my being so sick I could barely get off the couch.

Thankfully the antibiotics kicked in quickly and after two days of a miserable fever, it broke last night and I felt like a human being again today. Just in time for Ben to go to work! My mom came over this morning to help which we had planned before my fever cleared. It was nice to have her help this morning to ease the transition. She stayed til nap and because I felt so much better I let her know that I'd be fine for the afternoon and she went home. I also had several friends offer to come over and help or pick up anything I needed which makes me feel really loved, thank you ladies! It was really nice to not need them and I'm hoping that this will be my only fight against mastitis as I've had a couple people tell me they've had it several times! I can't even imagine.

_____ _ _ _ _____ _ _ _ _____ _ _ _ _____ _ _ _ 

Our boys are doing really well. Kai is still establishing some physical boundaries with Desmond. He hasn't quite grasped the difference between jumping on daddy and jumping on baby. He loves his little brother though and every morning asks "where's baby? find him? see him?" which I absolutely love.

Desmond it two weeks old today! He loves to eat which helps out with having mastitis. I think I actually came down with it though in part due to his sleeping well at night. He can sleep 2-4 hours at a time, which Kai didn't do so early. He is getting so chubby already and is increasing his wakeful hours during the day.

We still have people bringing meals, which is super nice with my being sick and transitioning to being home with the boys without help during the day. Kai gets a bit mischievous and seems to know that I'm less mobile while feeding Desmond. He'll open the fridge (the lock broke just before Des was born), mess with the tv buttons, or jump off the couch because he knows I can't stop him right away. I'll have to figure out just how to get him to be preoccupied during the frequent feedings as tv, toys, and snacks only go so far.

Thanks for all the inquiries and congrats! I appreciate all of you. Be back soon (with photos!).