....and the sickness continues

We spent all weekend snuggling.  All weekend.  Didn't leave the house, didn't accomplish anything on my to do list, didn't get much sleep, and didn't even make it to church.  I wish I could tell you that it helped.  :(

In truth, he was starting to seem better on Saturday, but then yesterday he refused to breastfeed.  I tried and tried to get him to nurse, and he would sometimes latch and sometimes not, but never would he stay on longer than a minute before he would pull his head back and either wimper pitifully or just outright scream.  

I tried pumping and giving him a bottle.  I tried giving him breastmilk in his sippy cup.  I tried juice, I even tried water.  I began to get really concerned about him getting dehydrated, and after a conversation with "first nurse" (our clinic's medical advice hotline) I was preparing hubby for an ER visit if he didn't have a wet diaper in the next half hour.  

And then he did.  It was really more damp than wet, but right after that I was able to get him to nurse for about five minutes.  It was just enough to give me peace of mind to let the little  guy go to sleep and wait it out until I could make an appointment at the clinic in the morning.

So we had our third doctor's office visit in a week and a half and found out the Hendrix now has a double ear infection.  Poor, poor guy.  The doc said that his right ear was particularly swollen and pussy (yes, he used the word pussy.....yuck!), and that it was probably causing him alot of pain to suck and swallow.  No wonder the little fella didn't want to eat. 

He was down 10 oz in weight from his appointment on Thursday, but I had been getting enough fluids down him to keep him plenty hydrated.  The good news is that the nebulizer really helped because his lungs were completely clear!

The bad news is that the amoxocillin hasn't really seemed to have done him much good yet.  He still hasn't nursed well today, and now he has diarrhea on top of everything else.  

I am hoping tomorrow brings a new day with much brighter prospects!

I'm so glad that kids are resilient

What a couple of weeks for my little man.  He has had a cold for going on three weeks now, and wiping his runny nose has become second nature for this momma.  

Hendrix received a steroid shot to treat his croupy cough last week and then I took him back in to the doctor this week because it seemed like he was getting worse instead of better.  

I was right.  He had developed a much deeper, raspier cough, and was also wheezing when breathing.  The doc took some chest x-rays (which he HATED), and after finding that he didn't have bronchiolitis or pneumonia, she diagnosed him with RSV and sent us home with a nebulizer to help him breathe better.   

Now on day three of the treatments, he remains calm enough to actually fall asleep during it which is a huge change from screaming throughout the first couple.  


I can notice a huge difference immediately after the treatment in his breathing, and that has helped him to be able to sleep significantly better.  He still has a rough cough, but at least the wheezing is over. 


While he is still very fussy and short-tempered, he has bouts where he seems almost back to "normal".  Yesterday afternoon, he was all smiles, and daddy captured this movie of him playing. ;)

I'm thankful that it is the weekend, and we still have another day to sit at home and focus on nothing but getting this little guy better.  

Stay healthy!

Wordless Wednesday

I LOVE THIS KID!

Weekend full of family

This weekend was super busy, but a lot of fun.  We spent tons of time with family, and Hendrix did a great job of 'going with the flow'.  

Hannah, my brother's fiancée, get second place diving in the Midwest Conference Meet at Grinnell College and it was really neat to be there to watch her. 

Hendrix and Daddy in their Grinnell College t-shirts together (my hubby went to Grinnell for his undergrad).  ;)

We helped Riley celebrate her 7th birthday!

Aunt Hannah.....

and Uncle Josiah had birthdays too.....

My youngest siblings, the twins, turned 15 on Sunday and we enjoyed a special family meal with them.  It was a real birthday party weekend!

Hendrix always receives plenty of attention when we are hanging out with my family!

I snuck away with my hubby for an hour to take some pictures of my brother, Joel and his new fiancée, Rachel.  

Rachel's ring is currently in the shop so we just practiced for the real shoot.  Pre-engagement pictures if you will!  lol

This was the first time I have actually tried to "officially" take pictures of anyone other than Hendrix, so I was kind of nervous; but I loosened up as we went along and I think I got some good ones.  Bud came with me to provide support and creative ideas and I think that we made a great team!  

I can't wait for my next shoot!

I'm one of the big kids now, right Mom?

Gabe showed Hendrix how to open his Valentine's Day present like a big boy.  It is really fun to see Hendrix getting the opportunity to interact with the older kids that I nanny for - they seem to really enjoy him, and he really takes everything in.  He likes to imitate them.  

The little monkey/zebra that we got him has been a huge hit.  He loves to squeeze it to death and chew on its ears!

We finally got some nice weather here this week and took advantage of the opportunities to spend a lot of time outside.  We tried out the stroller without having Hendrix in the carseat carrier and he seemed to enjoy being able to see what is going on around him.  It requires more bundling up that way; but seeing his little grin in the sunshine was worth it!  Gabe enjoyed being a big helper and pushed him around the neighborhood. 

The kids really enjoyed our first playdate at the park this year.  Hendrix even got to play on the playground a little bit too, and I took him down his first ride on the slide. 

Then I snuggled him back up with his blanket to watch them run around.  He seemed to enjoy that just about as much. ;)

Riley is a really big helper, and is thrilled that she can carry him around pretty easily now.  She even helps feed him and change his diapers.  He is a lucky kid to get so much adoring attention. ;)  

Gabe still isn't sure what he thinks of him most of the time.  He likes to talk about the "baby", but never uses his name.  He also like to tell me when he is crying, and when he has gone potty in his pants. lol

My three little couch potatoes! Yes, Hendrix enjoys watching a little bit of Word Girl and Curious George on PBS with the kids sometimes in the late afternoon.  I would never have turned the TV on for him if it wasn't for the bigger kids.....but I have found that he takes an interest in it.  I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not.  Don't worry we have very limited screen time!

He is really exploring the noises that he can make with lots of squeaking and belly laughs. What a big boy!

Adventures in Eating

This is the face Hendrix makes when he is trying a new food for the first time.  This was butternut squash which was the first vegetable he ate.  While it was very different from the cereal and required a little getting used to; he really likes squash.  :)

Peas on the other hand, he despises.  Daddy was the one who fed those to him, and he even mixed them with his oatmeal to try to dilute them a little bit, but Hendrix hated them.  He didn't spit them out, he just started crying, and was inconsolable.   He got so upset that he wouldn't even eat cereal after that until a couple hours later.  Guess we will wait to try those again.

The next veggie on the list was sweet potatoes.  He likes those a lot too, and has become much more coordinated to use his hands to try to shovel it in faster!  He is a noisy eater and in between bites you can hear his rendition of "mmmmmm".  

He has been known to try to eat his bib if he thinks that he is still hungry when the bowl is empty. ;)

I have been having fun making his baby food, and will probably continue to do so as long as I have the time and energy to plan ahead.  It is so much cheaper and I feel really good about knowing that what I am feeding him is wholesome.  

Making the baby food it actually pretty easy, but since I freeze it in my ice cube trays, I can only do so much at a time before I have to wait for it to solidify.

Hendrix is eating about two ice cubes (roughly 2 ounces) of vegetables once a day, and then cereal the other feeding.  That makes my "batch" (of three trays) last for about 24 servings.  It's a pretty good system.  He seems to like these orange veggies, now if I can find a  green one that he might put up with.....

Both my Valentines

This year I have two very special Valentines!

Few things melt my heart more than seeing the two of them together.  

We announced the exciting news that our family of 2 was going to be expanding on Valentine's Day last year with these fun homemade cards.

And this year he was the one spreading the holiday warmth!

Mom definitely loves her little man....

and he loves me :) 

but I love my big man even more....

because he's the one who gave him to me. ;)  

I love you, Bud, my Valentine of 7 years now.

I am really thankful for my mom who came yesterday to spend time with Hendrix so we could go out on a childless date!  It felt good to have just a little bit of just plain "us" time. 

And now we are working on helping Hendrix find a Valentine of his own!  

I'm wishing everyone a day filled with love and special memories.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Life is better with friends!

Josie, Hendrix & Abigail 

(Picture taken September 2010)

All three babies were born within 12 days of each other.

Josie was born a lil' bit late, and both Hendrix and Abigail were born early.  Funny how that size difference seems so drastic at the very beginning.

We are all in a small group bible study together so we see each other on a weekly basis.  These kids are really going to get the chance to grow up together!

Abigail was born just 12 hours after Hendrix, so they came pretty close to sharing a birthday!

Sleeping babies!

Their mommies want them to be friends, but as you can see, they often don't give each other the slightest time of day.  ;)

Whether this threesome will be more like the 3 Musketeers or the 3 stooges remains unseen; but I hope that they grow up to be close friends. :)