One, or two, sick puppies~

Beginning on Wednesday, the daycare ladies said that Tanner had thrown up and had diarrhea twice, but their policy is that it took three times before they called to have him picked up. I went ahead and called to make a doctor's appointment to have him looked at since he needed to be evaluated concerning the breathing treatments anyway. Dr. Moore gave him the all clear in regard to the nebulizer and said that his chest sounded as clear as a bell. She said he was congested and needed an antibiotic for the sinusitis again. He couldn't breathe very well and when he would take the bottle, it blocked his only airway! SCARY!!! She prescribed the same exact antibiotic as last time. He was also treated with Diflucan for thrush which occurred (AGAIN) due to the nebulizer. She said he was not contagious and could go to school. We propped his bed up and used saline drops and the aspirator.

Back at daycare on Thursday, he apparently threw up all day, but there was no mention of diarrhea. He hadn't thrown up at home once! NO diarrhea at home either...this all happens while he is at school. I was called during 6th hour and asked to come get him immediately after school got out. When I arrived, he wasn't his normal smiley self, and his eyes looked a little glassy, but not too badly. The director told me that unless the doctor could tell me that this was all due to a reaction to his meds for sinusitis, he could not come today due to their 24-hour policy. I knew in my heart that it wasn't a drug interaction, since he has been on the same medicine before. So, my aunt and my mom came over to help while Tobin was at work, and I called urgent care. I don't know what I'd do without my loving nertwork of family on both sides. Our instructions are to put Tanner on half breast milk/half Pedialyte for 12 hours. He hasn't thrown up any, other than what I would call a little spit up, and is replacing his electrolytes just fine with the Pedialyte. Our little pup dog slept well over night, but did wake up for a bottle around 3am. He has been doing that for the last week or so, so I assume he is in another growth spurt. (He is well over 16 pounds now.) Prior to that he was sleeping 8-9 hours with no wake ups.

So, I am now home sick with sick baby Tanner. My head is killing me, my eyes feel as if they could explode, my nose needs to be blown about every 5 minutes, and my throat hurts a little when I swallow. Since I am breastfeeding, I can only take certain things so that it is safe for Tanner and my milk supply doesn't dry up. No decongestants allowed. I feel dizzy, but Tanner is keeping me busy with his fussiness this afternoon. I am thoroughly worn out, to say the least.

Sooooooooo, no Halloween costume for Tanner and no fun festivities. I had stressed over his outfit for weeks, all to learn the lesson (as my mom put it) that "you'll find that the things you think are big things, become the little things or not important at all." We just want Tanner to get well!

More milestones met

It feels like more than a week since I posted last, but I just can't find time to sit down, organize my thoughts, and type it all out.

Tanner is doing better, but still on the nebulizer. He only coughs a few times a day, but I still hear a rattle deep down in his chest when he breathes sometimes.
Tanner passed the five month mark this past Wednesday. He also rolled over for the first time about two weeks ago. He doesn't do it every day, but Tobin and I have both seen it now. I almost cried the first time he did it, I guess because he has come such a long way from the NICU days. It was such a proud moment and a great milestone in his development! He stares at his LEFT hand a lot and chews on both nonstop. I still don't feel any teeth, but he is a slobber monster nonetheless.
Today, for the first time, he giggled a lot when I attempted to play Peek-A-Boo with him. It was soooo adorable to hear his voice like that. His hair is also coming back in. We think it will still be dark, but we cannot tell how dark. Somedays it looks blondish, but his eyebrows are dark. Daddy is rooting for dark hair! I have to include the cutest picure of my two favorite guys!This past week was my first full week at school since the year began. We ended 1st quarter, so we are now well on our way to the holidays! I am still trying to figure out what Tanner will be for Halloween. He has four options and all of them are too big! I just can't make myself pay a lot of money to dress him up for the picture, but it stresses me out regardless. It is more for me this year than anything else.
I have scrapbooked just a little bit here lately. I'll try to get the pics posted soon. Maybe I can get some done this week. I was finally able to get his vinyl wordart framed. We are both pleased with how it came out. It is on glass, so it will be more versatile.

Tobin is on his last big hunting trip for the year and my mom and aunt will be staying with me. That is so helpful! I can actually get things done around the house rather than move Tanner from one activity to the next every 15 minutes. He gets bored so easily! He will also go to Grammie Elliott's hosue on Monday night. I am very blessed to have such a great family that is willing to help with Tanner every week!

Breathing treatments?

Beginning Thursday morning, Tanner developed a deep, raspy cough that persisted throughout the day and night. He felt warm and didn't seem to feel well overall. Then, he started the sneezing. Soooo, Friday morning I called his pediatrician and luckily got an appointment. After being evaluated, she decided to give him a breathing treatment of Albuterol. Correction, she showed ME how to administer it since she had more patients! Basically, it consists of a nebulizer that blows medicine mist up toward his nose. There are several parts to it, that all have to be cleaned after each use and then disinfected with a vinegar solution at the end of the day. Tanner doesn't care for it, but he is to receive it every 4-6 hours until the coughing subsides. She said that if he is crying, he actually takes more medicine in because he is literally breathing harder. That makes sense, but it is not fun for me trying to administer this and keep it on his nose and mouth area! So, we have been getting 2-3 treatments in per "awake" hours, but have not been waking him overnight. If he is breathing and sleeping fine, then why wake him? He does seem to be quite a bit better, but the cough is not completely gone. The 100.4 degree temperature was taken care of with Tylenol, but most importantly, it is NOT RSV disease. I was very worried that he would or could develop that since he was preemie. Even when preemies start to look healthy and strong, their lungs are still smaller and less developed than those of full-term babies. We are still waiting to see if he qualifies for the Synagis shots. Being in daycare, seven weeks premature, and lung issues at birth place him a greater risk for RSV (respiratory syncytial virus.) Synagis is a very expensive drug, so we are waiting to see if he qualifies, and if insurance will cover it.

It sound so sad to hear his little cough because you expect that sound to come from someone that has really bad pneumonia or something. I'll keep you updated if anything else develops.

Busy, busy Part 2

I meant to post a little sooner and update about the rest of our busy weekend LAST weekend, but here it is a week later and I have about 5posts in mind since then!

Emmarie's quite the BIG GIRL now! Her birthday party was a good time and she sure seemed to enjoy herself playing with cousins and friends. Kodi went all out on snacks and treats. Since I have NO will power against yummy food, that was calorie madness for me! Em was sooo cute as she opened her gifts, too! The expression of surprise was so animated, but the funny part was that it only lasted maybe 2 seconds before it was on to the next gift! Too cute!

Tanner crashed BIG time and took more than a two-hour nap, mostly in Kodi's arms. He can sleep through any amount of noise or activity, so that is great. I also got to meet some of Kodi and Trai's friends and family. Good times.

Sunday afternoon brought my youngest sister's baby shower. It was a nice affair with more yummy food! Tricia received some great gifts. Another sister, Candi, did the vast majority of the work since I seem to have no time these days and Melody had just gotten in town for a short visit with the boys. Tricia is around 33 weeks along now and doing well.

In between those two activities, Mel, mom, and boys made the 12-hour drive back home and arrived safely. I was curious how the boys would react to "Baby Tanner." I have attached the funniest pic of my aunt GeGe holding Tanner. We asked Griffin, my youngest nephew if he would give Baby Tanner a kiss. We had NO idea that he would grab his face, turn it toward his, and lay a big wet kiss right on the mouth. I wasn't even ready with the camera at the right angle for that. I completely expected a quick kiss on the top of Tanner's head!! The pic may have turned out even better though, as it shows our complete surprise as depicted on GeGe's face! Hysterical!

The week flew by, as predicted, but we were able to fit in some quality time and a few fun activities, namely a trip to Rutledge-Wilson farms and also to JumpMania. I will have to blog about those later.

Busy, busy...Part 1

I feel like I never get caught up! Sometimes, it really gets to me, almost to the point of a breakdown. I went for almost 38 years of being able to do what I wanted, when I wanted, and now I have no time to myself! I know that is part of the deal, but it does wear on me. I can walk into any room of my house and see about 5 things that need to be done. It just gets overwhelming. Maybe it is part of my personality or maybe it is normal for all new moms.

Tanner is just growing like crazy. Sometimes I see Tobin walk into the room with him and I do a double take. He just seems so huge! He is 19 weeks, or almost 5 months now. He can easily wear some 6 mo. clothing, but I think kids clothes are sized just as crazy as adult clothing. Not all size 3-6 mo outfits are created equal. Some are too small and some are too large. What I DO know is that he is a real smiley pants these days and has even laughed out loud a few times. He is quite the charmer, too. He entertained the people behind us at a varsity football game recently. He truly is a happy baby most of the time, so it is a fun feeling to show him off.
He is sleeping 8-9 hours through the night now, unless his Velcro swaddle comes off. Then, he wakes up and wants a bottle. Tobin went hunting last week (Tues-Fri) and my mom stayed with me for the first two nights. That helped a lot, especially in the mornings. He was fine while she was here, but Thursday night he decided to be an escape artist and woke himself up. Naturally, this happened at 3 am while I was pumping. Figures. He is drinking 5.5 oz bottles now pretty regularly. Last Friday, he took 9 oz at one feeding!! Piglet!!

My mom flew to AL this past Friday and helped drive my sister and nephews home all day Saturday. It is a 12 hour drive, so it helps to have someone manage any issues that arise and change DVDs while the other drives. They arrived at 9:30 or so Saturday night and we were a part of the traditional "welcome committee." Melody got to see Tanner for the first time since he was in the NICU. Both boys called him "baby Tanner" when they saw him. That was really cute. They have been watching videos of him that I upload to YouTube. I wanted them to feel a connection even though they are very far away.

I am taking the day off tomorrow to hang out with Mel, Koen, and Griffin. Tanner will go to daycare so I can have some quality time with my nephews. I am also off this Friday due to parent teacher conferences this Thursday. So, that is great timing since they head back on Saturday. It will definitely be a busy week!

1st professional pics for Tanner

I finally scheduled Tanner for a portrait setting at The Picture People. They had a super cute flyer and a free sitting offer, plus a free 10x13. These are the proofs and they say "Zazzle" on them and have some kind of symbol right in the middle of the pic. I joined the "club" and used one of my $10 off coupons. With the club deal, I get all pics stored online for one year, no sitting fees, three $10 off coupons, three free sheets, and the proofs for each sitting sent to my email address. Most of the pics came out really, really cute. The photographers were really sweet and great about trying to get Tanner to smile. I was impressed with the efficiency of the whole process. They had some generic version of Photoshop, and were not capable of doing some photo edits that I can do at home; however, their version was cool in other ways. I was very happy with the outcome overall. I was able to see the proofs within 25 minutes and once I made a decision, they had my prints done in five minutes!! I took forever to make a decision though. I knew I couldn't spend too much money, and my more frugal side kept reminding me about how much cheaper I could get them processed. But, they had great lighting and backdrops that I haven't been able to achieve at home. I ended up getting the one where he has his hand in his mouth done in black and white. Super cute pic. Tanner cooperated pretty well, but was a little squirmy at times. They had him in several different positions. I was able to feed him a bottle in the middle of the session and that helped a little bit. I can't wait to get the pictures framed and on the wall!

1st Weekend Getaway with Tanner

Since Tobin is gone periodically throughout hunting season, he usually plans a mini-vacation for US sometime during the fall. This year, we took Tanner with us!

Tobin planned the whole trip and I didn't even know what to expect, other than website pictures on the Internet. It was just a little over an hour drive one way. We left Friday afternoon, after work, as soon as we were loaded up. Tanner had WAY more packed than Tobin and I put together! We arrived before dark and checked out the grounds and the cabin. We set Tanner's pack & play up in the second bedroom along with his sound machine and his video monitor. Tobin got a fire going in the fireplace (Tanner was mesmerized) and we enjoyed our evening in the cabin. I caught a cute moment of my two guys on the couch. Check out their positions again! Too cute!

Tobin fixed breakfast both mornings and a wonderful dinner Saturday night. There was only one other group renting a cabin this weekend, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Tobin grilled pork roast, plus butternut squash and black-eyed peas. That afternoon, he went down to the river and kayaked and fished while Tanner and I hung out at the cabin. I watched a movie while Tanner napped. It was a beautiful day, so I took Tanner for a stroll around the grounds and we ended up in a gazebo! I had tons of papers to grade, so Tanner was nice enough to take a nap again while I finished up two classes worth of tests. Tobin had packed his little TV from the garage, so Tanner was able to watch some Baby Einstein later that day. We all slept in both mornings (well, until 7am, which beats 4:50 am any day!)

Thank you Daddy for such a nice little weekend together as a family!