Wednesday, January 31, 2007
What a MOOSE!
James' official 2 month stats are in ... he was 15 lbs 5 oz and 25'' tall at 2 months of age. Joshua, our original moose, was only 13 lbs 13 oz and 24 1/4'' tall at 2 months old (and look at him now). James is so far off the charts that I'm a little worried ...
Monday, January 29, 2007
Updates
James got his 2 month immunizations today (2 in each leg) and weighed in at a whopping 15 lbs 5 oz ... more than a pound heavier than Joshua at this age!!
Joshua was awake 4 times during the night, wanting to cuddle with his Mommy. We figured he was coming down with something because he was very clingy and cuddly yesterday (thanks for holding his all through church, Myn). It was a VERY exhausting night, up with Joshua 4 times and James twice. My wonderful husband got up early for work and fed James for his 6am feeding, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU honey! I desperately needed the sleep!!
James has always been a very gaseous little boy (:P) but today he won't stop crying and his belly is so hard ... I don't know what to do ... we never had this problem with Joshua. He is spitting up everything I try to feed him and is just crying and crying ... help! (The doctor just called me back and suggested Ovol but even that is not working.) :(
Any suggestions?!?
Joshua was awake 4 times during the night, wanting to cuddle with his Mommy. We figured he was coming down with something because he was very clingy and cuddly yesterday (thanks for holding his all through church, Myn). It was a VERY exhausting night, up with Joshua 4 times and James twice. My wonderful husband got up early for work and fed James for his 6am feeding, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU honey! I desperately needed the sleep!!
James has always been a very gaseous little boy (:P) but today he won't stop crying and his belly is so hard ... I don't know what to do ... we never had this problem with Joshua. He is spitting up everything I try to feed him and is just crying and crying ... help! (The doctor just called me back and suggested Ovol but even that is not working.) :(
Any suggestions?!?
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Great News!
One of my best and oldest friends just told me some amazing news! (We've been friends for about 17 years ... since she and Steph were in the same grade 2 class together.)
She sent me the above picture on MSN Messenger and then told me their third baby is due in September!! :)
Congratulations Mike, Lyndsay, Bayleigh and Carter!! We can't wait to meet the new baby!
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Just Call Him, 'The Nebulizer'
As many of you know, James was admitted to the hospital last Friday morning because of his RSV (a common respiratory virus) and bronchiolitis which caused him to suffer from some fairly severe dehydration. He was having a lot of trouble breathing and coughed almost constantly.
The pediatrician put him on oral steroids and ventolin (through a mask) for his lungs. RSV, when contracted by babies less than 3 months old, causes their bronchioles and alveoli (lungs) to swell, thus preventing them from breathing. The ventolin is a bronchodilator which means it expands the airways for a short period of time (usually about 4 hours), allowing the baby to breathe. While the medication did not help him to get better, it did help him to breathe so he was able to eat and get re-hydrated. So after 3 long days and 2 even longer nights we were allowed to take him back home on Sunday.
I stayed with James the first night (Friday night) but there were 2 other babies in the room who took turns screaming all night long. Joe was really sweet and offered to stay the second night so I could get some sleep and I quickly took him up on his offer (even though I felt guilty for leaving the baby)! The RSV virus is extremely contagious so we were all put in isolation which meant the babies could not leave the room nor get within a metre of eachother and us parents were supposed to put on gowns, masks, and rubber gloves every time we left the room. All visitors, doctors, and nurses also had to wear protective gowns, gloves and masks whenever they entered the room ... nothing like making us feel like we had the plague! :P
We came home Sunday afternoon with a prescription for Ventolin and a rented nebulizer. (It gives the medication in a vapour form which is more effective than a regular 'puffer' chamber). By Tuesday morning, though, James had started experiencing apnic episodes where he would briefly stop breathing (for maybe 10 seconds at a time) and then start again on his own. I was worried but sleep apnea is a complication of RSV so I figured we would be okay. I held him most of that morning so that I could keep an eye on him but then needed a shower so put him into his swing, hoping that if he did stop breathing the rocking motion might remind him to inhale.
Well, I emerged from the shower about 15 minutes later to find my little baby in the swing - limp, not breathing, and blue around the lips. I freaked out!! I immediately picked him up and shook him and then called our family doctor, crying. He advised to me call the ambulance and so there we were on our way back to the hospital for the second time in one week. We had to wait in Emergency for over 5 hours before they finally admitted James and moved us up to Pediatrics for yet another stay in isolation. We were in a different room, again with 2 babies, but they just happened to be 2 families we had stayed with last time. One was still in there and the other had been discharged Monday and was back on Tuesday, just like us. Apparently RSV can get better and then worsen again many times in the 6 weeks it usually takes to go away in small infants. We stayed another 2 long nights (this time Joe was at work so I had to stay both nights) and now we are home, extremely exhausted yet feeling lucky to be out of that room!! James' pediatrician has advised me to watch him closely for the next several days for apnic episodes. I am not sure why we were released from the hospital already when James has suffered from 10 episodes in the past 36 hours, the most recent being 2 of them overnight last night but here we are at home.
I am ready to stare at his chest for the next week, if I have to, to make sure he's going to be okay ...
The pediatrician put him on oral steroids and ventolin (through a mask) for his lungs. RSV, when contracted by babies less than 3 months old, causes their bronchioles and alveoli (lungs) to swell, thus preventing them from breathing. The ventolin is a bronchodilator which means it expands the airways for a short period of time (usually about 4 hours), allowing the baby to breathe. While the medication did not help him to get better, it did help him to breathe so he was able to eat and get re-hydrated. So after 3 long days and 2 even longer nights we were allowed to take him back home on Sunday.
I stayed with James the first night (Friday night) but there were 2 other babies in the room who took turns screaming all night long. Joe was really sweet and offered to stay the second night so I could get some sleep and I quickly took him up on his offer (even though I felt guilty for leaving the baby)! The RSV virus is extremely contagious so we were all put in isolation which meant the babies could not leave the room nor get within a metre of eachother and us parents were supposed to put on gowns, masks, and rubber gloves every time we left the room. All visitors, doctors, and nurses also had to wear protective gowns, gloves and masks whenever they entered the room ... nothing like making us feel like we had the plague! :P
We came home Sunday afternoon with a prescription for Ventolin and a rented nebulizer. (It gives the medication in a vapour form which is more effective than a regular 'puffer' chamber). By Tuesday morning, though, James had started experiencing apnic episodes where he would briefly stop breathing (for maybe 10 seconds at a time) and then start again on his own. I was worried but sleep apnea is a complication of RSV so I figured we would be okay. I held him most of that morning so that I could keep an eye on him but then needed a shower so put him into his swing, hoping that if he did stop breathing the rocking motion might remind him to inhale.
Well, I emerged from the shower about 15 minutes later to find my little baby in the swing - limp, not breathing, and blue around the lips. I freaked out!! I immediately picked him up and shook him and then called our family doctor, crying. He advised to me call the ambulance and so there we were on our way back to the hospital for the second time in one week. We had to wait in Emergency for over 5 hours before they finally admitted James and moved us up to Pediatrics for yet another stay in isolation. We were in a different room, again with 2 babies, but they just happened to be 2 families we had stayed with last time. One was still in there and the other had been discharged Monday and was back on Tuesday, just like us. Apparently RSV can get better and then worsen again many times in the 6 weeks it usually takes to go away in small infants. We stayed another 2 long nights (this time Joe was at work so I had to stay both nights) and now we are home, extremely exhausted yet feeling lucky to be out of that room!! James' pediatrician has advised me to watch him closely for the next several days for apnic episodes. I am not sure why we were released from the hospital already when James has suffered from 10 episodes in the past 36 hours, the most recent being 2 of them overnight last night but here we are at home.
I am ready to stare at his chest for the next week, if I have to, to make sure he's going to be okay ...
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
James' First Visit to the Emergency Room
Steph and I had to take James to the emergency room today while Mom and Rick watched Joshua. The baby was coughing and having trouble breathing and then he lost his voice. It was so cute to see him crying but not hear any noise. Cute but also a little scary!
The doctors were so nice. They gave him some steroids through a mask and then took a chest x-ray and tested him for the RSV virus. The x-rays were good but he tested positive for RSV (a completely normal virus that is only especially harmful in small infants). So he is now on a baby inhaler and we have to watch him for the next 10-12 days in case it gets worse.
Joshua has a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon as he has been very whiney and clingy lately, even waking up a few times a night. It's probably just anothe ear infection resulting from his cold, though. So he should be better in a little while.
I will hopefully be getting my normal nights back soon enough (where I only have to wake up twice with the baby, not with Joshua as well!!) Life sure is more hectic with 2 than 1!!
The doctors were so nice. They gave him some steroids through a mask and then took a chest x-ray and tested him for the RSV virus. The x-rays were good but he tested positive for RSV (a completely normal virus that is only especially harmful in small infants). So he is now on a baby inhaler and we have to watch him for the next 10-12 days in case it gets worse.
Joshua has a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon as he has been very whiney and clingy lately, even waking up a few times a night. It's probably just anothe ear infection resulting from his cold, though. So he should be better in a little while.
I will hopefully be getting my normal nights back soon enough (where I only have to wake up twice with the baby, not with Joshua as well!!) Life sure is more hectic with 2 than 1!!
Sunday, January 07, 2007
James Comes to Church
Today was James' welcome to the church (after a 40 day rest for both me and the baby). The ceremony is called being 'churched' where he was officially welcomed in with prayers for him as well as myself. I have several photos of the ceremony thanks to Amy Lanteigne. :)
Monday, January 01, 2007
Life Expectancy Calculator
Joe found this site on the internet and it's kind of cool. You input all the information and it gives you an estimate on how long you will live. Mine said 89.96 years while Joe's was 85.6. Joshua got about 62 years and James' was 56 ... I think the program thought my babies were "little people", thus shortening their life spans?!? :P
http://gosset.wharton.upenn.edu/mortality/perl/CalcForm.html
Joe's first attempt said he would only live to be just over 28 (another 13 months) but he went back and realized he'd accidentally input that he had Aids and was not receiving any treatment for it ... OOPS! ;)
http://gosset.wharton.upenn.edu/mortality/perl/CalcForm.html
Joe's first attempt said he would only live to be just over 28 (another 13 months) but he went back and realized he'd accidentally input that he had Aids and was not receiving any treatment for it ... OOPS! ;)
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