First Loose Tooth.

Today Landon returned with a wiggly surprise. His bottom front tooth is loose. This will be the first tooth he's ever lost and as loose as it is I'm sure it will be out today or tomorrow. It was good to have him back and he was very excited to sleep in his new bunk bed.Rewinding to earlier in the day my morning started pretty early with an appointment for Xander with the GI doctor. This GI doctor is the same as Ronan's. The doctor put Xander on a fiber supplement. If the fiber supplement doesn't help I'm supposed to call in two weeks. He wants to run further tests if the fiber supplement seems lacking.

He wanted Xander to have blood work done but they don't have a lab at his office. They gave us blood draw paperwork and told me he could have the blood draw done at the lab that is located in our pediatrician's building. I preferred this location because Ronan had a followup directly after Xander's appointment.Ronan's appointment went well. He's down to 22lbs again but I don't think that's too bad considering how sick he's been. We headed down to the lab. Xander became more nervous the longer we sat in the waiting room. By the time they called us back he was pretty resistant. I gave him a quick reminder he had to hold still or they might have to redo the poke. Those words straightened him right out.

Tonight I gave my speech and I was very pleased with how it went. I was able to keep from coughing through it and the words came out pretty smoothly. Tonight we found out our SUV needs a new engine. It is our only means of transportation so hopefully we'll figure something out quick. Other than that it's been a good day to have my baby back and with his first tooth half way out.

Sailor Hats and Toy Drawers

Today no one went to church. Everyone was feeling sick and with the babies still coughing it didn't seem like a wise option. Xander received his sailor hat last week for patch club and several achievement pins. He is very proud if it. I have to remind him he can't wear it all the time because it has to stay nice. Landon got one too but has been at Grandma's so he hasn't seen it yet. Landon returns tomorrow and this will bring his total days gone to 16 (tomorrow would be day 17). This is the longest he has ever been gone and as I've said several days in a row now it will be a blessing to have him back.

Ronan discovered how to open the toy drawers. I need to get a picture of how he picks out toys now. I should have tonight but I was busy at the time. He stands on his little tip toes and peers into the drawer. He then pushes all the toys around until he finds whatever object has the most appeal. I say object rather than toy because for some reason Ronan finds fascination in the strangest items. He would be content to have a slinky over a truck and a sock over a stuffed animal. He likes anything he can manipulate in his hands. The thought has occurred to me that I should get him some play dough but he would eat it. I suppose I need to start looking into edible playdough recipes. Maybe then we could work on chewing and eating strengths at the same time.
Inara has been grumpy today. Daddy brought a few smiles out in her for a little while today. The rest of the time she's fussed and kind of moped around. I know from her continued hoarseness and cough that she just doesn't feel good. I really dislike her being sick. She's so little and I just want her better. Ronan isn't completely well either but he's getting there and he's more of his happy self.Tomorrow I'm giving my informative speech for my speech class. Normally I'm nervous about giving speeches but I'm ecstatic about this one. I'm going to be talking about Down Syndrome which is a subject I'm passionate about for obvious reasons. I love the fact I can spread awareness while accomplishing my education goals. We are allowed to wear any clothes we would normally wear to class so I'm going to be wearing my Gigi's playhouse shirt. I have a short piece about Gigi's included in my speech.

Gigi's Gala

Today I woke up feeling more like myself and I knew we were finally well enough and the Gala was a go. Isaac was going to be the photographer for the Gigi's playhouse gala so it was important we arrive. My mom was watching the kids and she also did my hair for me. She's always been good at up dos. She's always styled my hair from high school events to my wedding.
The Gala was a formal event. I wore the dress we picked out the other day and Isaac wore his new tux. He looked pretty stylin. I learned that it's a bit difficult to walk on ice in high heels. I was grateful for my husband's supportive arm. Isaac started taking pictures right away in order to get his light settings right. He's only been a photography student for about six weeks now so he's still trying to figure out all the settings on his camera.Isaac and I both had the chicken for dinner and it was quite delicious. I enjoyed the sauce best it was very creamy and smooth. There were parfaits and chocolate cake for dessert. I dove right for the chocolate cake first. The rest of the event went pretty well. A picture of Ronan was included in one of the videos. I was excited to see my baby on the big screen. Ronan's OT was also at the event. It was neat to see her there. She's been Ronan's OT since a few days after he came home from the NICU. Overall the event was a lot of fun and a wonderful celebration of individuals with Down Syndrome.
When we arrived home my mom informed me that Jadzia did a little baking while I was away. Apparently Jadzia had placed her lego made cake in the oven. My mom did not realize this and put dinner in the oven. A short time later she smelled an obnoxious stench and traced it to the oven. There melted all over the oven was various colored legos. There never seems to be a dull moment.

Baby Laryngitis

This is the first blog I'm writing with my new laptop. I'm loving this because I can sit upstairs with Isaac while he watches his shows. Usually I'm downstairs and until I get everything I need to get done computer wise I don't get to see him. He's watching pawn stars and I have to say it's pretty interesting what people bring in to pawn or sell. I'm starting to like the show about as much as he does.

Inara is losing her voice. She has a slight cough and a very hoarse little squeak where her cry used to be. She's adorable but I feel pretty bad for her. I can just imagine from the sound of her voice how her throat must hurt.Landon is really getting homesick and I'm really missing him. I got these photos via my mother in-law. This is some of the fun he's had on his two week vacation. Looks like Monday he'll be coming home, weather permitting. Isaac and I are both doing better and just feel like we have lingering colds and sinus infections. The biggest issue for me is the itchy throat that makes it near possible not to cough.

Tomorrow is the gala and so far it looks like we'll be able to go. I'm hoping the cough will be gone and if not I'm not sure what to do. I really don't want to smell like Menthol at a formal event but I may not have many options. I have been feeling a little better each day so there is a chance tomorrow I'll be fine and the itchy throat will have vanished as quickly as it arrived.

Recovering

Today I felt better and just felt like I had a bad cold. The cough is the biggest thing that's lingering. I'm really hoping I'm better by Saturday so I can go to the gala. Isaac seems to be doing a little better so hopefully his Tamaflu is kicking in and will work for Saturday.
Xander has a cough now but other than that seems ok. Since Landon has been away Jadzia and Xander have been playing more. Xander even had a tea party with Jadzia tonight. I'm missing Landon horribly and can't wait to have him home. I'm hoping we'll all be better this weekend. Landon is missing everyone too so if this carries on too long we'll just have to bring him home and hope he doesn't get sick. I think the entire house will be more than happy to have him home.
Here's my baby train. You can see there isn't much of a size difference anymore. Soon they will look like twins. This is because Ronan is below the charts for everything and Inara is 75th percentile. I know when it warms up and we head out people are going to assume they are twins. I think they are both pretty cute and are good for each other.I'm off to bed since Inara is sleeping away. I'm hoping tomorrow I'll wake up and be pretty much back to normal. I'm hoping the same for Isaac. And no more babies are sick.

My New Laptop

Today I got a new laptop. I had had one about a year back but it had been a free promotional lap top for a course I had signed up for. The laptop had lasted about a year and then gave up on me. I've missed having one for times kids were in the hospital and when I had Inara. Since I've been doing school online Isaac decided to get me a new one. I was very excited when it arrived this afternoon.
I needed the pick me up as I am going on day 5 of this flu bug and today has been pretty rough. I've had 102.5 temp and Tylenol has brought no relief. I went to the doctor only to be told since I'm nursing there's really nothing they can do for me. 5-7 days is average for this thing so I'm hoping day 6 will go much better.

I've been doing the basics for the kids. Xander has been a great little helper and brought me anything I asked him too. Xander also drew me a picture of a gingerbread boy to make me feel better. A really cute moment from Ronan today was when I had a pillow and blanket on the ground and was laying down so I could rest but still keep a close watch on the babies who were playing on the floor.

I'm not sure if Ronan could sense I didn't feel well but he laid his head on my pillow and faced me. He then reached his hand over and gently patted my shoulder about five times. As he got up he gave me a big kiss on the cheek and then started playing again. I was very touched by his sweetness. That's all I can manage to think of today. I'm waiting for Inara to realize it's bed time then I'm going to sleep.

Flu and more Flu

I apologize if this blog ends up sounding disillusion. I've had a fever for most of the day and kind of have a distorted view on things at the moment. This is actually day 4 for me and the worst. I thought I was better yesterday but it hit me again this morning. Isaac started yesterday and last night I was on the computer when I heard him barreling down the stairs. He sounded out of breath and was stumbling a bit. He could barely talk and was grabbing his chest.

He managed to tell me his chest, jaw and arm were hurting bad. I made him pop two aspirins. My mom sat with the kids while I rushed him to the ER. I almost called him an ambulance but he insisted on me taking him. When we got there they rushed him back. His heart rate was extremely high. They took him around through the back way because some of the people had been waiting for three hours to be seen. But chest pains are always given priority and for this reason he was seen immediately.They gave him an IV because he was dehydrated and took some blood work. The nurse swabbed his nose to check and see if he had caught the flu. All the blood work came back fine but he tested positive for Influenza B. We now knew which strand all of us had. When they had called me about Ronan they just said he had the flu and didn't elaborate. The doctor did set up a referral to a cardiologist for Isaac to get a stress test. Since Isaac's heart rate had shot up so high he wanted Isaac to be follow-up and make sure he was really ok.
They released him and we went to the 24 hour Walgreens to fill his Tamaflu prescription. I also picked up a bunch of Gatorade and 7Up which both Isaac and I have been living on today. I was doing ok for most of yesterday but I woke up this morning with an intense sore throat, bad cough and a general sense of weakness and body ache. I changed the babies and fed everyone. Xander and Jadzia have stayed in their pajamas all day because I haven't insisted them changing like I normally do. This is why Xander is in the same clothes as he was in yesterday's blog. Today just had to be a pajama day.

Thankfully Ronan is back to himself and has color in his cheeks again. He does have a lingering cough but is playing and eating as usual. Xander has still not gotten it and his flu shot seems to have been the only one to have worked. Landon will be coming home Friday as long as everyone is on the mend.

Recovery... for Most of Us.

Last night Inara started throwing up again but by morning she was able to keep her breakfast down. Ronan needed to get re-checked but his pediatrician's office had 45 walk-ins so they couldn't squeeze him in. I got him into another clinic and brought Jadzia along because she'd been complaining of ear and throat pain. She'd also been coughing for the last five days and it was worsening.

Ronan's lungs are starting to clear and the doctor said to give him the Tamaflu for 24 hours more and then he can stop. Jadzia had bronchitis caused from her influenza. I didn't take Inara because was doing fine and the less exposure the better. I did cancel Ronan's Thursday hearing test because he has to be put under for it and I didn't feel comfortable with him still recovering from the flu and pneumonia. He's a lot happier today and eating better. I didn't get a weight loss tally since it was at a different office. All the scales weigh different and they weighed him with clothes on.
He is looking better but has dark circles under his eyes. My camera flash makes them look lighter than they are. But in person they look like he has two black eyes forming. Isaac has it now the poor man is miserable with chills and body ache. I sympathize because I had it over the last three days and all I have left is a sore throat and cough. He seems to be getting the symptoms in the exact order I did right down to the sharp hip pain. He's staying home tomorrow so I can give him lots of TLC. He needs to be better for Saturday.

On Saturday he's going to be the photographer for the GiGi's playhouse fundraiser Gala. We went formal wear shopping today. We got it all done before Isaac felt sick. It was weird I started to feel better as he got worse. Isaac picked out dresses for me to try on. We found a pretty white dress with a black top. After dress shopping we went suit hunting for him. He's needed dress clothes for awhile. We were excited because the store we walked into was on the last day of buy one get one free on every item but shoes. He was able to get a tux and a suit for the price of one. He's going to look pretty sharp on Saturday.
Xander is the only one left who hasn't gotten this thing. It's a good thing because Xander very rarely gets sick but when he does it usually hits him pretty hard. He gets that from his daddy. Isaac doesn't get sick much but when he does it knocks him out.

Fullmer Bug of 2011

Jadzia is the third kid to be struck by the infamous Fullmer Bug of 2011. Xander is staying strong thus far but hasn't been eating very well so I'm wondering. Xander always plays tough and won't let me know when he's sick or hurting. Jadzia woke up and told me she didn't want to go to church. I knew that something was wrong because Jadzia loves church. She finally admitted her ears hurt and she wanted to stay home. Jadzia was on the couch holding her new Belle doll when she asked for some toast, I complied but before she could even take a bite she sat on the floor. I knew the look. "Go to the bathroom, Zee!" She headed towards the bathroom and I rushed behind her. She made it in time but it became clear Jadzia had the respiratory and stomach woes of influenza.She rested on the couch the rest of the morning with a large bowl We had no more incidences. She didn't want lunch so I just pushed the pedialyte. She is still complaining of stomach pain and an ear ache. Ronan yet again is looking droopy. His stomach problems have left but his respiratory symptoms have kicked up a notch. His cough and wheezing is worse. He whines if anyone slightly bumps him which leads me to think he's achy. Finally tomorrow he will be able to see his pediatrician. I keep thinking he's getting better and then bam he's bad again. He's also looking very thin from six days of not eating well. He's mainly only wanted the pedialyte and occasionally yogurt. We'll find out tomorrow how much weight this has knocked off of him.
Inara is doing a lot better. She had a couple bad diapers today but is holding food down and acting like her happy baby self. She even got ambitious and pulled to stand on a stair and the low side of Ronan's therapy chair. She's also crawling off belly more but still mainly belly crawling.

Bunk Beds

With everything going on yesterday I forgot to announce that yesterday was the blog half way point. This is post 184 in 184 days. Post 183 was the halfway mark. When I hit 365 posts I'm not sure what I'll do from there. I might just post randomly or I might finish out 2011 so the entire year is documented. We'll see when we arrive at that point.

Last night I left off debating what to do with the babies. Inara threw up a total of five times in two hours and got to the point she was just dry heaving. We decided we would take her in and see if they could give her anything to help. Ronan had a bad coughing fit so we thought since we were going in anyway we'd just have him checked again.
When we arrived Ronan was doing better. Since Ronan has neubulizer treatments, cpap, pulse-ox, steroids, tamaflu and antibiotics all at home the doctor came to the conclusion we had our own mini ER for him. She thought he would fare better at home away from the rest of the hospital illness. Isaac took him home and I stayed with Inara. She was still throwing up at the hospital. They gave her anti-nausea meds and she still threw up small bits of pedialyte. They did a belly x-ray to be sure an obstruction wasn't causing the vomiting.The x-ray was clean and we tried smaller amounts of pedialyte at longer intervals. She still was not holding anything down. The doctor gave us two options. We could go home with a prescription for anti-nausea meds and see if they would work or we could wait another hour. If Inara vomitted even one more time she would be admitted. This meant if we chose to take her home and she threw up we would have to come back for her to be admitted.
We chose to take the medicine and chance having to come back. The doctor assured me Inara was hydrated enough to be ok during the night as long as she didn't throw up anymore. I put her to bed when we got home and she slept through the night. By morning the medication was working because Inara kept her breakfast down and despite a little grumpiness she is no worse for wear. Ronan woke up with a smile which is what I'm used to. As the morning progressed we had a few crying spells but he was looking considerably better.We decided it was time for the three big kids to have big kid beds instead of toddler beds. We bought bunk beds. The boys wanted to share the top ( their choice) and Jadzia gets the entire bottom to herself.Grandma relieved me of sick duty and also had presents. She had presents for the babies because they had been sick and presents for the big kids to go on their new beds. She got Inara a doll bath set that has a rubber duck that lights up and changes color. Ronan got a teddy bear. For the boys she bought them a huge comforter. She showed Xander how to turn the bunk beds into a fort by dangling the comforter from the top bunk to the floor. He was very enthusiastic about this feature. For Jadzia Grandma got her a Princess Belle blanket that came with a cloth Belle doll.Isaac and I took off to the store. We walked around the mall and had pretzels. We sat and watched the people go by and talked for awhile. We decided to go ahead and buy the kids' Easter outfits. Their Easter outfits are a tradition and each child always gets a completely new dress outfit and shoes. We found some cute ones this year but chose not to match all the kids like we did last year.Inara is still holding food down. We're grateful for anti nausea meds. Ronan seems stronger but still a little moody and droopy. This marks day 5 for him and I was told the duration is usually 5-7 days with two weeks being the longest time. I'm hoping tomorrow he'll be almost back to himself. If Ronan and Inara are in the clear and no one else is sick Landon will be returning Wednesday. I miss that boy. Isaac had to make me sad when he brought up the fact we are one third of the way to Landon being 18. I can't wait to see him again. Xander is really missing him tonight.