I see a light at the end of the tunnel...

...a long dark, month-long tunnel of sickness, that is! First, Baby B, then A, then me, then dh, then Baby B and D and finally, Kit. Kitter came down with a fever of 103 on Friday, March 20th...the last hold-out in our month-long ride on the sickness train...poor little guy continued to run a fever above 101 for FIVE long days - he'd complain of feeling really cold, huddle underneath his blanket and shiver until we took his temp (oh, only 102, now is it? And then give him alternating rounds of tylenol and motrin)! Then, he'd start feeling better, temp would go down and he'd run around like a crazy man until we'd catch him huddled on the couch under his blanket or huddled in the corner of his Dad's office chair - again complaining of being so cold and again, having a fever over 101. This craziness of up and down continued thru Tuesday. DH took him to the base doctor on Monday, but his lungs were clear and it was declared Kitter had a virus and hopefully, it was on its way out of his system. Luckily, the doctor's nurse wrote a note, excusing him from school thru Wednesday. We believe his fever broke early Tuesday morning but kept him home on Wednesday, just to make sure he was fever-free for 24-hours. His teacher was worried he wouldn't do well on his standardized testing - math and english - but we're hoping he'll do just fine - he's really a smart kid and reads above his grade-level.

This Sunday, Grandpa W had to ride to the hospital in an ambulance. He was complaining of bad chest pain and tingling, pain in his left arm. Grandma D had to call 911 and off they went to the local Emergency Room. He's been kept in the hospital for two nights now - an irregular heartbeat is all we know. Poor Grandma has had to spend the night in a recliner in his room. The first night he was disoriented and pulled out his IV and told Grandma to wake up because he thought he cut himself - he thought he was at home. His dementia/short-term memory loss is really starting to accelerate - I feel so bad for Grandma as we've witnessed what a handful he can be. Grandpa will under-go a procedure tonight where a balloon type instrument will be inserted thru his leg into his heart to see if he has any type of blockage or damage. We're hoping and praying for a good outcome.

We have tentatively decided to spend Easter morning with Grandpa W and Grandma D. This will be the first long car ride for Baby B - hope she sleep most of the way - she can be really cranky when she doesn't get her way - exceptionally spoiled! LOL

Amazing Life Quote

"Every morning is a fresh beginning. Every day is the world made new. Today is a new day. Today is my world made new. I have lived all my life up to this moment, to come to this day. This moment - this day - is as good as any moment in all eternity. I shall make of this day - each moment of this day - a heaven on earth. This is my day of opportunity." Dan Custer

Happy 1st Day of Spring!

We have all been sick, sick, sick. It all started over the week before last week when a little one at daycare was brought each day in spite of his being sick, sick, sick. Parents insisted it was allergies - according to them and "their doctor"...little fella spent the week on the couch - everyday from March 2nd to Tuesday, March 10th when they kept him home but Dad brought him the next day saying he thought the boy was playing hooky and not really sick - and the boy spent the day on Wed, coughing, sneezing, trying to stay awake. Baby B became ill, spiking a fever of 103 with a cough on Monday night, March 9th. She continued to run a fever, cough and what we thought was wheezing thru Thursday when I made her a 6 pm appointment at our Acute Care Clinic. To make things worse, dh was working 12 hour shifts - he left for work at 4:30 am and didnt' return until almost 7 pm on Tues and Wed. Luckily, he was home by 5 pm on Thurs so I didn't have to take everyone with me to the clinic! The doc at the clinic came in, looked Baby B over and after listening to her lungs, said the sounds he heard were just referred sounds from the back of her throat where she had lots of sinus drainage from her cold. He declared she was suffering from a virus and take her home and keep doing what we've been doing. I was relieved to hear him say she wasn't wheezing but not 100 percent convinced she wasn't wheezing. By Friday morning, Baby B was breathing very hard - almost chuffing - so dh and I agreed that I should take her to our local hospital ER for an assesment. Long story short, Baby B had her nose swabbed and her lungs x-rayed and her pulse and O2 sats measured. Turns out, she had bronchitis! Luckily, her nasal swab was negative for RSV and infuenza. She was given a breathing treatment with Accuneb in the ER and then after another round of checking her lungs, we were dishcarged with a prescription for an amoxicillin and Accuneb - a milder dose of albuterol inhalation solution for babies. She has continued to improve over the past week with the nebulizer treatments and the antibiotic - hurray! The worst side effect besides the cough and wheezing has been her refusal to eat any baby food - she's reverted back to nursing every two hours - it's been like having a 20 pound newborn all over again! LOL She did lose about a pound and a half over the course of her illness. Poor baby!
Meanwhile, Big Sister started coughing and spiked a fever over 101 on Wednesday, March 11th. She continued to be run down and run a fever thru the week and into the weekend. And on Friday, while at the ER with Baby B, my stomach started to hurt really bad. I was really uncomfortable all day Friday and by 3 pm, I had really bad flu symptoms - aching joints, frequent trips to the bathroom, etc. Luckily, dh was home helping with my daycare all day, and helped me with the kids, chores, etc! I continued to have stomach problems and achiness thru Sunday.
And poor dh and Big Sister came down with the same bug on Sunday! Dh was aching and running to the bathroom while Big Sister was throwing up - starting around 8 pm and then every few hours thru the wee hours of the morning. She initially threw up on herself and her blanket in the family room - and unfortunately we had tomato soup and grilled cheese. Luckily for me, she only ate a tiny bit of soup because she said her tummy hurt! I had to clean her up, get the puke bucket and then run to Target and WalMart with D-Man to get a mini carpet cleaner - she managed to get just a little puke on the carpet but it was a crazy shade of reddish burgundy! LOL
On Monday, the said sick child from last week came to daycare and when I explained that Big Sister was throwing up and had the flu, and the dad told me his boy was throwing up and having diarrhea on Friday! But he tried to convince me that his boy was up and running around just fine on Saturday and that he did not have a fever - hmmm, really?! Because everyone else who was sick at my house to include me ran a fever and were still wiped out after THREE days. Even after I told them he was sick all week - they still brought him and exposed my entire house to not only a cold but the FLU! And all this even AFTER I put out my sick child policy letter last week - I don't even think they read it, to be honest. SO FRUSTRATING! And now, one of the twins came to daycare on Wed, March 18th, complaining of a tummy ache and sure enough, at naptime, threw up all over herself and her bedding and my carpet - seemed like gallons as I was trying to clean it up -dry heaving all the way! Ewww, ewww, ewww. The little girl said she woke and told her mom her tummy hurt but couldn't remember what her mom said. Meanwhile, I find out her Mom is home sick with the flu and dad had to work, hence the kiddos were brought here...Mom thought little girl had "gas." Really frustrating for all involved - hoping her twin brother doesn't get sick but they sit so close and hold hands while here so I'm thinking he will!
And poor Baby B was throwing up on Wednesday night - she usually takes a nap around 4 pm to 5 pm and when I went to check on her, she was covered in dried puke - her hair, her sheet - poor girl! Spent Wednesday night checking on her and washing puke blankets, sheets, etc...sigh...I hope this is finally over with!

Still here...

...working on some "pre-Spring" cleaning and looking forward to warmer weather and more sleep now that Baby B is sleeping in her crib in her room. Funny thing about her sleeping in her crib - she's always slept on her back and now that she has all that room in her crib she rolls to her belly and "face plants" her face straight into the mattress! I usually wait a few minutes after putting her to bed and then sneak in to turn her head to the side...sometimes she is resting her head on her hands but still has it face down! Anyone else have their babies do this? It's driving me crazy...of course, her daddy says she's just fine and since she is 9 mos old, she is more than capable of turning her head if she needs more air! LOL