Still Recovering...

What a week it's been. I have been to the doctor office one too many times in the last few weeks. Poor Easton, he still wasn't feeling better and started throwing up again on Sunday. I decided I wasn't willing to wait any longer and brought him into Children's ER on Sunday evening in St. Paul. He had a temp of 102.5 and they did a chest x-ray and that came back clear. She said his ears were still infected and gave me some meds to help with the ear pain and told me to keep him on the meds he's on. She also gave me some antinausea meds so if I thought he was going to be sick again I could give it to him. How am I supposed to know when he's going to be sick!  I felt at such a loss as to what to do. He's been so fussy and worn out and nothing seems to be helping. It's not easy watching your baby be sick.
With Grandma gone, Ryan and I took turns staying home with him on Monday and Tuesday. When I got home Tuesday Ryan pointed out a rash that had developed all over his body. I felt like breaking down at that moment. Now what was going on? I put a call into the clinic they thought maybe a reaction to the medication and they told me to stop giving it to him and instead give him benadryl and call for an appointment in the morning.

Wednesday we were back at the clinic. I asked his doctor if she was tired of seeing me yet! She wasn't sure that his rash was a reaction to the meds or part of the virus he got. She said he obviously caught some nasty virus on top of his double ear infection. She suggested giving him a dose of his medication one more time and see what happens. If the rash came back I was to swtich antibiotics, if it doesn't and he still wasn't better by this weekend I was to switch antibiotics. I gave him a dose when we got home and seemed to be ok. The rash didn't come back.

Both boys got to play with finger paints this week. Easton wanted so bad to put his hands in his mouth so finally I gave him his nuk. I think they both enjoyed it.

FINALLY by Friday he seemed to be on the road to recovery. I brought him to daycare and warned them that he's still fussy and still can't eat much for table foods but hasn't had a fever or thrown up in almost two days. I got a report when picking him up that he was clingy but did ok.

Sometimes Spencer just does not want to get dressed, so I let him run around in his underwear. Eventually he will get cold and put his clothes back on.

This weekend Auntie offered to take Spencer for a sleep over. I think she was feeling bad for all that we had been through during the week and wanted to give us some relief and rest time. I was happy to accept. Spencer was so excited to spend the night at his Auntie's. He talked about it all day and only took a 30 minute nap because he could hardly wait. When we met Auntie he no longer wanted anything to do with me but wanted his Auntie to help him with everything.

Here are the pictures Auntie sent.....

On the way home Spencer cried for the first 5 minutes. He wanted his Auntie! When I tried talking to him he said "Stop talking to me!" "I'm not ready to talk to you yet!" After about 25 minutes he finally was ready to start talking again. It's not often he goes that long without saying a word. Thanks Auntie for having Spencer over!

With Spencer gone we gave Easton a lot of one on one time. He finally seems back to his normal self. Happy, giggling and wanting to play. I love having my healthy little boy back. Easton is our little monkey and a climber it seems. Nothing seems to scare him or make him nervous. He wants to go and do everything his big brother does. I think we are in trouble!

His first real meal post being sick. He was so excited to eat! I couldn't believe how much he ate! Another sign that he's back to his normal self again.

Baby Update!

I will be honest I'm still in somewhat of denial that I'm expecting. I'm wondering when this is all going to seem real to me again! I think because I'm busy with the two boys and we've all been sick that I just don't have time to think about it. I talk about it but I even said at work the other day, "I still don't believe that I'm pregnant!"

I know I'm pregnant because well I haven't been feeling normal. I'm tired, beyond tired. I know I was tired with the boys but man this baby is sucking the life out of me! I'm ready to go back to bed the moment I get up. I can hardly eat breakfast or dinner with out getting sick to my stomach. I haven't felt like making a dinner in awhile because nothing sounds good to me. Lunch is my main meal. Things that I want to eat are sour more then sweet (I am not normally a sour fan) or fruity type candy over chocolate. Other then that, things are still the same. I can still fit into my regular jeans but often just wear my scrubs or comfy pants.

A lot of people think this baby is going to be a girl. I've had one person guess boy. I on the other hand have NO idea! With the boys as soon as I found out we were expecting I knew right away they were boys. I have no gut feeling this time. I'm wondering if people who have two girls get asked often if they are hoping for a boy as I do when people ask if I'm hoping for a girl. It actually really bugs me because the truth is I love my boys and that's all I know so of course I'm going to be thrilled with a 3rd boy. I guess we will see in 5 1/2 months!

What a Week!

I woke up Monday morning thinking this was going to be a different week. We were all starting to feel a little bit better (so I thought) and I was going to make it through a full week of work. Well that only lasted until noon. I got a call from daycare and Spencer had a temp of 101.2. I took him in and he had a mild case of bronchitis. To make matters worse Ryan thought he was starting to come down with the flu bug that night.

Tuesday is a day I will never forget. It's the day the boys and I were in a car accident. It had snowed the night before and was starting to warm up so to me it just seemed the roads were wet. I had an appointment in Eau Claire and Ryan was home sick with the flu and the cleaning lady was coming so we needed to get out of the house. I had plenty of time so I wasn't rushing or speeding (we all know I tend to have a lead foot).

We were just over half way and I was traveling in the right lane when a car zoomed passed me in the left. I stepped on my breaks a little to try and slow down because it seemed to be a bit more slippery. That's when I hit a patch of ice. My car started to fish tail and I kept waiting for the tires to hit road again and straighten out. Well instead we started to spin. We spun over to the side of the road and went into the ditch. The ditch was pretty deep so we started to roll right away. My reaction was to scream and reach back to try and help my boys. My fear was that I was going to turn around and I would watch the roof of my car cave in on the boys and there would be nothing I could do. We rolled one full time and landed back up right. After the car stopped moving I waited to watch Easton move (he wasn't crying or making any noise) and I saw him move his arms and legs so I knew he was alive. Spencer had a very scared look on his face and started to freak out when he asked "what happened?" I know because I was crying and scared that he was feeding off of me. I tried to keep my emotions in check. I reached for my phone and called 911 right away. While I was on the phone a random guy came down to see if we were okay. I told him we were all fine. The police told me someone would be on their way. While I waited I called Ryan and my dad. The first thing I said was "we are all ok, but we were just in a roll over accident on the interstate."  I was pretty emotional and finally my dad firmly said through the phone, "Heidi you need to stop talking. I will ask you the quesitons just give me short answers." After what seemed like forever the cops finally came.

I rolled down my window and she asked if everyone was okay and if we could get out of the car. I told her yes and started to open my door. She told me that I would just need to grab what I could for now and that we needed to get going. She also said "I can only take 2 of you!" My thought was well what two do you think you are going to take? I'm not leaving Easton or Spencer behind and good luck getting my boys to go with you without me! Luckily another cop drove up to help get us out. After I got both boys out of the car the second cop said we could all sit in the back of the first cop car. She said we didn't have time for carseats and that she was just going to take us to Perkins. While we drove she drilled me about why I was out on the road, where was I going and didn't I see other cars in the ditch. The more she lectured me the more I cried. What I almost said was "please stop lecturing me I feel bad enough as it is. Do you honestly think I wanted this to happen?" Once we got to the parking lot next to Perkins she started asking me all kinds of questions about the accident. She asked me about our insurance and honestly my mind was blank. I asked if I could call for help she said yes and to just take a deep breath and try to calm down. After she was done with the questions she said normally I would give you a ticket but I'm just too busy today so I guess it's your lucky day. What does she mean my lucky day? I just rolled my car! I said thanks but I didn't feel very lucky. The boys and I then walked to Perkins where we waited for my family to show up.

Once inside of Perkins a waitress asked if we were okay. There I was (I  hadn't showerd yet and had been crying and still was with two boys and no way of going anywhere). I told her I had just been in an accident and that I was waiting for my family to come. She felt awful and asked Spencer if she could get him some milk while we waited. Once my dad got there I felt safer and better already. I took Spencer to the bathroom and a lady that was eating in the resturant asked me if I was alright or did I need any help. She thought I had been left or ran away and was stuck at Perkins. I told her I was okay and that we had been in an accident but thanks for asking. Finally my mom showed up and my dad left to meet Ryan at my car. They grabbed pretty much everything out of my car that they could not knowing when we would see it again. While we waited for them to come back, Perkins bought us lunch. It's in moments like these that you realize there really are nice people out there willing to help strangers.

In all that was going on it slipped my mind that I was pregnant and I should probably get checked out to make sure everything was okay with the baby. The boys seemed fine and weren't crying or hurt anywhere so I didn't feel that they needed to be checked out. I said I would feel better if I went to Luther to get checked. Once we got to the ER it was my friend Sarah that was my nurse in the ER. I was so happy to see she would be taking care of me as I was a mess! I just kept replaying in my head the worst possible outcome. The doctor came in and looked me over. He used a small ultrasound machine and we were able to see the baby moving around inside along with a heartbeat. He told me that the baby is still pretty low in my pelvis and well protected. Sarah also used the doppler and we heard the heartbeat beating 168 beats per minute. All looked fine.

They ended up totalling my car and so now I will be getting that mini van sooner then I thought. In this awful situation there were so many things that could have gone wrong that didn't. I feel that we had a few angels looking out for us that day. I've almost had to detach myself from the situation or the guilt would drive me crazy. I don't like to stop and think about all the what could have beens instead I want to focus on the fact that the boys and I are okay and we are thankful for the support of our family and friends who have been there for us.

A lot of people have asked how the boys have adjusted and they seem to be doing okay. That day Spencer had a lot of questions and kept talking about different parts of the day. He woke up the next morning still talking about how my car is broken. I'm driving my mom's car right now so he knows there's a change. I called daycare to see how he was doing and they said he talked about it at one point but seemed to be doing alright. With Easton it's hard to tell. I tried touching him all over to see if he was hurt anywhere but seemed to be fine.

As if our week wasn't already bad, Easton still hadn't seem to return to his normal self since he had been sick last week. He's been screaming more (he's a big tantrum thrower these days). He will scream when putting him down at night or changing his diaper. I started to worry that maybe something did happen in the accident or maybe he was still sick and not getting better. I called and talked to his teachers to see if they had noticed the same things I had. They agreed that he just wasn't acting like his normal self these days. So I made an appointment for Friday.

The doctor checkd him out and confirmed that this ear was still infected and red (he's been on antibiotics for 6 days) she also took a long time listening to his lungs to rule out pneumonia and said it was probably more of an upper respiritory thing. So she switched his antibiotics.

The below pictures were taken the night of the accident. Talk about a range of emotions that day. Spencer kept saying, "he's wearing his pajamas." Little does Spencer know we have the same picture of him in the tub with his pajamas.

He may not be feeling 100% but he's still goofy! I guess he wasn't done with bath time.

This weekend was spent recovering. Easton is still pretty sick with a cough and cold. I'm hoping the new antibiotics will kick in soon. Spencer finally seems to be back to his normal self. This new year has already been pretty rough on us. I'm ready for the month of January to be over. Hopefully Easton will be back to 100% for his birthday! I can't believe he will be 1 in 10 days!

Making and obsticle course in the kitchen. Obviously they were playing with dad.

A week of the flu

The title of this blog explains what our week was all about. The flu hit our house Tuesday night with Easton. We woke up at 11:30 pm to Easton on his hands and knees throwing up in his crib! I picked him up right away and he continued to get sick. Ryan cleaned up the bed and I cleaned up Easton and myself. He didn't feel warm and was giggling after so I thought maybe it was a fluke. I decided to give him about 4 oz of water and after 45 minutes he was back in his bed asleep. That lasted about a half an hour and we heard him again. After everything was cleaned up again it was back to bed. About an hour later he was up again. It was awful watching him get sick. When I picked him up I could just feel his stomach tighten and of course there was nothing we could do to help him. I felt so bad. Thankfully Grandma was still up and she said she would come up on Wednesday to watch him. 

By Wednesday afternoon Easton was back to his normal self but I was starting to feel a little off. By the time I got home from work I had the flu. It was horrible. I called in sick to work on Thursday and thankfully already had a doctor appointment set up for the afternoon. I wasn't even able to drink and keep down a full glass of water. I knew I was dehydrated. When I got to the clinic I told her right away that I had the flu. When my doctor came in he decided right away he wanted me to have some IV fluids before I went home. He was worried that I was getting to dehydrated as well. So after my check up I headed over to urgent care for my liter of fluids. My mom brought mashed potatoes to see if I could get some food in me. When Ryan picked the boys up from daycare on Thursday, Easton was only in his diaper. Apparently he still had a touch of something because he got sick one last time. He had been symptom free for over 24 hours.

I was feeling better on Friday but Easton had been up on and off throughout the night so I was feeling more worn out than anything. Grandma came to our rescue again and drove up for a visit. She watched the boys so I could get a nap in. I'm not sure what I would do without her! By Friday evening both Easton and I seemed to be doing better and I was finally able to eat again. Somehow Spencer and Ryan were able to avoid it, but Spencer has started coughing lately so we'll see what happens next.

Easton has been screaming / crying a lot lately. Every time we put him down he will scream. I also noticed he won't eat table foods and would gag when I gave him his bottle. I kept thinking it was because he was getting over the flu. But Saturday morning both Ryan and I noticed at different times he was tugging on his ear. We got him into the clinic and she confirmed he had an ear infection. Easton is not off to a healthy start this new year!

Even though he's been sick he's still working on walking. He's getting better about walking behind his toys and he has a big brother that LOVES to show him how to do things.

After our appointment we drove to meet my family to for my mom's birthday lunch. As always with the three little ones meal time can be pretty crazy. Luckily the restaurant was pretty quiet. I'm not sure we will be going out to eat as a family much when there are five kids three and under! The only picture I have from this week is one of the older boys helping Grandma open her presents.

On the drive home the sun was in Spencer's eyes so he wore my sunglasses. Apparently they helped him fall asleep!

Baby Update!

I had my 12 week check up as I mentioned before. Grandma was there with me so we could hear the heartbeat together. After what seemed like forever we finally heard it. It was in the 160's. I honestly was to sick to care about anything else or ask any of the questions I had. So after my exam I just wanted to leave. I got home and then remembered my list of questions. Oh well I guess they can't wait until I go back at 16 weeks.

Overall I would say symptom wise this pregnancy has been the same yet different. I have felt more sick in the mornings and a few times have had to pull over in the daycare parking lot or on an exit ramp. Other than that things seem to be the same. I'm hoping now that I'm out of the 1st trimester that things will get better and I will start getting more of my energy back.

When we had Easton it was an adjustment as far as getting used to taking care of two kids instead of one. We didn't have a lot of major changes. Our house still worked and we had enough bedrooms and we could fit two car seats in both of our cars no problem. Now that we will be adding a 3rd it's presenting new issues. Where will baby #3 sleep? Currently our house has three bedrooms up and the potential to finish a bedroom in the lower lever. Sharing a room just isn't an option. Our rooms are on the smaller side and I can't imagine putting the baby with anyone for fear that he or she would wake them. Easton and Spencer will be too little for bunk beds.  Grandpa suggested we explore the option of moving. It's hard to believe after only living in this house for what will be three years we are already thinking of the possibility of moving. Ryan and I want to explore all of our options and really see what is out there before we make a major decision like that. So we've been looking into homes in our neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods. We've been looking into both building and previously owned homes. It gives me a headache to think about packing and moving while pregnant with two little ones or even after the baby comes. Hopefully we will come to some kind of decision soon! I will keep you posted on what we decide to do. This could be quite the adventure.

I promise next week we will have more pictures for the blog and hopefully we will all be healthy!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Everything In Between!

To get us caught up, this blog is mostly going to be pictures. Let's be honest, that's what everyone likes seeing anyway!

Christmas Eve was spent at my parent's house. It was our first year with out my grandma and normally that's where we would go on Christmas Eve. We missed her a lot and we talked about her often. We were still able to have a great time and finished the night off with a Wii bowling tournament which Ryan won!

Opening gifts from Marcus and Fran.

Easton and Joey are only a few months apart

Finley LOVES to play with Auntie's iPod Touch.

Santa came to our house while we were gone and left the boys their presents. Luckily though Spencer thought to leave out cookies and milk for Santa because Santa stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's to fill his stocking there.

Where does Santa find such crazy things?

It's become a tradition to take a picture on the steps in our Santa hats.

We thought we would try a goofy one also...

Then it was time for the present opening to begin. It was an unorganized mess!. Spencer wanted to open his gifts up really fast and Finley didn't seem to care too much about opening. Easton slept most of the time.

 Both boys got a lot of great things and are so lucky!

Auntie gave Spencer an empty box!

His real gift was hiding in the back room! He was super excited about his new big chair.

Finley got a little tired . It's hard opening so many gifts.

This was probably one of Spencer's favorite gifts. His dinosaur boots that he calls dinosaur feet.

He wore them all day and continues to want to wear them.

Grandpa has the special saying of "See you later Alligator." Spencer hasn't caught on just yet that he's supposed to respond with "After while crocodile." So Grandpa got each of the boys books so they could practice. What a great Grandpa!

When we got home the next day Spencer was so excited to see that Santa had been to his house and filled up his Santa sack. All Spencer had been asking for was an orange airplane. So when he opened his stocking and he saw a match box car he said "but I wanted an airplane."  Luckily Grandma had given Santa some help and there were two orange airplanes waiting for him to open under the tree. Both boys were spoiled again and they both had a great Christmas.

The best part of Christmas is getting to play with all of their new toys!

I had off on Wednesday this week. We were going to celebrate Christmas with my mom's side of the family but my mom wasn't feeling 100%. So instead we joined Auntie and Finley at the Eau Claire children's museum. Heather's little sister (from big brothers big sisters) joined us. Thankfully she was there because she was a lot of help with keeping an eye on the boys. It seemed Easton and Spencer were always going in two different directions (I keep thinking what life will be like with 3 going in different directions!)

This picture of Easton made me laugh. Only because I'm a GI nurse and he is about to make his way through the GI system. It also makes stomach noises along the way.

Spencer wanted nothing to do with crawling through.

We spent New Year's at a kid friendly party at Auntie's house. Sadly this is the only real picture I got from the night....

Saturday while Grandma and Grandpa went to the real Rose Bowl in California, we decided to have a party here with the neighbors. It was pretty crazy here with five kids four and under. They all got along great and even though at one point you couldn't even see the floor of the basement they were having fun.

The crazy mess!

Go Badgers!

It's hard to get all five looking at the same time.

We want to wish two VERY important people in our lives a Happy Birthday!

We Love You!