Our First Hospital Stay

Poor Baby!

November has been a rough month for our family... especially the littlest member. Henry started off being sick with diarrhea on November 2, and luckily mom had some free days to take off to stay with him. That night he woke up at 2AM puking and Tyler and I rushed into his room to clean him up. I know I am in nursing, but something about your own child being sick is just terrible. I would much rather it be me that's sick.

I kept thinking he was getting better because he acted fine the next couple of days, and he was eating okay, and he had a lot of energy. Friday morning he was acting not quite right so I figured I should just keep him home with me just in case. I always feel like an idiot for calling the doctor all the time especially when I know they cannot do much for flu symptoms, but I just wanted to speak with them to get some advice before the weekend came. The receptionist said she would speak with the nurse or doctor and call me back. Less than an hour later I ended up calling them back to schedule an appointment because Henry puked all over me and himself at a gas station.... It was so gross and all he wanted to do was have me hold him and I'm thinking, 'What am I suppose to do? How are we going to get home in these clothes?!' Luckily, a lady at the gas station gave us a bag to put his clothes in and my coat, and we headed home for a bath.

A couple of hours later, we headed to the doctor's office. They took one look at him and she said, "I could send you home and have you push fluids on him, but I think I would be more comfortable with putting him in the hospital to check his labs and give him some fluids." I packed him up in the car and headed to the hospital and he was whining the whole time I filled out the admission paperwork. We got in our room on the hospital floor and I was almost in tears from the whole process already! What a day!

The staff did good with Henry. Luckily they didn't have to do too many needle sticks in order to get the labs they needed. The doctor came up to check him out, and she showed me his lab values. His bicarbonate was only 15 and it is suppose to be 20 and his sodium was low. His blood sugar was only 47! (Average is 100). She asked me if he had been acting confused at all. I told her that when we were home earlier, he saw me walk into the kitchen but then he started banging on the bathroom door because he thought I had left him! Guess he was starting to show some confusion..... so the doctor was like, "He's in worse shape than we thought. It's a good thing we admitted him". Jeesh, and to think I wasn't even wanting to take him to the doctor.

I was nervous for the IV start, but it actually went well. He just layed there and watched them do it. He gave a little whimper, but nothing horrible. I thought once they got those fluids in his he would be back to his normal self, but he didn't perk up until the morning which scared me. It was a long night, but I was glad that they had done something to improve the illness. We were definitely ready to go home!

Of course, he had plenty of visitors in his 24 hour stay including Grammy and Grandpa Kevin, Aunt Ellie, Grandma Tracy, and Aunt Courtney. He got some new books and toys, but he wasn't excited about them until the morning after our admission to the hospital. Tyler took some pictures of him to show that he had ALL of these toys and books in bed with him! And he looks a lot happier and healthier in this picture.

I wish I could say we went home and everything was great, but the next week was also full of sickness. The diarrhea and vomitting were still occuring pretty frequently, and the babysitter called me a few times that week to have me come pick him up because he was sick. I called the doctor again the following Thursday and I was like, "HE IS NOT BETTER! I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO!" When I took him to the doctor Thursday, they weighed him and he had lost 3 POUNDS from Saturday! He's a little guy anyway, but that amount of weight loss is very significant in a child with the flu. They put us on a strict diet for him, absolutely no milk products, everything bland allowed such as toast, crackers, etc. 2 days later his weight was up by oz. This last week he has been acting like we have starved him though.... so I think he is finally feeling better. Throughout these three weeks, Tyler, my mother, myself, the doctor, Ellie's friend, and other kids at the daycare have been battling flu symptoms. It must've been one NASTY BUG!

Now, he just has a runny nose, a cough, and he's been grabbing his ears. Grrrr. If it's not the flu, it's respiratory problems and ear infections. When I was answering admission questions at the hospital for Henry, I realized that he has a far more extensive medical history than Tyler and I combined. As a parent, you feel as though you are doing something wrong, but it seems like almost every parent I talk to has experienced similar problems with their young children. Are germs just getting worse or are we prescribing so many medications at young ages that the kids have no immune systems built up?? I'm not sure, but I hope November isn't a foreshadowing of what is to come in the following winter months....

Halloween Fun

Although it's almost Thanksgiving, I need to post about Halloween. I really struggled with trying to decide what Henry should dress up as this year. I fell in love with a lobster costume, and I was so excited about it! Unfortunately, the company sent us the WRONG SIZE and they had no more lobster costumes in stock. The back-up plan for a costume was this blue monster costume that I wasn't a huge fan of until I saw how adorable Henry looked in it! He's developing such a personality, and this seemed to be one of the first times that he "realized" we all thought he was cute. I was afraid he would be yanking the hat off or cry from being hot, but he did great and we all had a lot of fun and laughs!

He's just recently discovered different body parts that he can identify and he was emphasizing where his nose was as my mom took his picture. Too funny!

I wish I knew how to get rid of the red eye, but this was my favorite picture of the night by far. Something about little kids in costumes, they are just TOO CUTE!

The Last 8 Months

I've completely FAILED at blogging since Christmas. I have had numerous people scolding me about how the world is not in touch with my life or more importantly, how Henry is changing and what he is doing because I have stopped blogging. I actually didn't realize that anyone even looked at what I posted, but boy was I wrong! So I will start with what is going on today, and then I will try to go back and post things about the months that I missed.

The Henry update: I'm sure you can tell by this picture what his best feature is. Those bright, big blue eyes. And this summer he's turned into a little blondie. He's turning into a handsome little boy and I'm very proud to say he's my child. But, I will also say, he's got quite a personality to go with those looks. He's not saying many words but he babbles all the time. He talks with his eyes though, and sometimes he's got an attitude. His favorite thing to yell is, "DA, GA, CA, GUH"... I think he gets frustrated because we don't always understand what he's trying to tell us. I'm sure a lot of people boast about their children being smart, but some of the things Henry does impresses me. I love watching him learn new things, and everyday he's doing something different.

Our new thing has been brushing his teeth. Of course, I have to help with the brushing, but if I say, "Henry, it's time to brush your teeth.." he runs straight to the bathroom and looks up at the counter. He kind of chews on the toothbrush rather than brushing. Today he CRIED when I took his toothbrush away. Yes, he's dramatic.

I think he's been blessed with my corky sense of humor. But he's got the curiousness of his father, and he climbs on EVERYTHING! He loves the stairs. He loves climbing on tables. I don't know how to break this habit. I attempted to put him in time-out a couple of weeks ago. That lasted a whole 20 seconds, but he knew he was in trouble because he was pouting the whole time. When he's upset he stomps his feet and sticks his arms out all stiff and gives me his "mean" face. Sometimes he sticks out his bottom lip too. My mom laughs at us all the time because I'm the bad guy and he likes to test my patience.

I could go on and on and on about Henry stories, but my recent favorite is the donut story. My mom was craving donuts and chocolate milk on Friday night so me, mom, Ellie, and Henry packed up and went to BP for a donut run. My mom got the kind with the cream filling, and Henry tried to eat some of it, but she wouldn't let him because it was his bedtime. I took carried him into the livingroom, sat him down on the couch, and noticed that he had something in his ear and on the side of his face. CREAM FILLING!!!! We were all laughing to the point where we were crying. It's still a mystery how he got the cream in his ear and running down his face since he didn't even eat any of the donut. Too funny.

So what's been going on with me in 2010? My life's definitely not as comical or as fun as Henry's. I've been living and breathing nursing school. This last Spring, I took the hardest class I've ever taken in my life: Pathophysiology-Pharmacology 2. I'm serious, it was the most intense class I've ever experienced and there was a lot of time, energy, and tears associated with that class. I also took OB last semester and HATED it. Kind of depressing considering OB is my area of interest. It was just so busy. Not only did I do clinicals at SBL, but I was also going places like Indianapolis for a fertility clinic visit, a 12 hours overnight shift on the unit, two weekends at Carle, and a day shadowing in the Doc's office. Mind you, all of these experiences were on weekends or my spring break so I began to HATE that class.

After I survived this spring semester, I decided to do the accelerated track which meant I had no summer. 8 hour clinicals and 5 hour classes. But I made it and I'm going to be graduating with my BSN in December. This last semester is suppose to be really tough, but I've heard that about every semester so I guess I'll have to see. I'm just ready to be a nurse and to have more time with Henry. So if anyone sees me around Christmas Time I will probably be overly happy for the holiday :)

Farewell to the Rat tail

Most parents don't have to worry about their child's first hair cut until they are a lot older than 6 months. We put off cutting Henry's hair for awhile, but when he began to get a long rat tail we decided it was due time for a trim. I've found that other babies Henry's age are bald or just have patches of hair. He had a head full of hair when he was born, and it has grown very fast. (And in case you're wondering, YES I had TERRIBLE HEARTBURN during the last few months of my pregnancy. There's conflicting views on whether heartburn is an indication that your child will have hair. All I know is heartburn was my biggest complaint through my pregnancy & Henry's got beautiful hair to show for it!) Henry's first official haircut was December 13.... and his Grandma Tracy was person who gave him his new do.

This is a BEFORE picture. It looks like a botched haircut has already taken place. This is a great picture of the "Rat Tail"

It just had to go....

The first snip... I think I was more nervous than Henry

Look at that shaggy hair

It's easiest to cut a baby's hair when they're asleep, but that was hard to accomplish since Henry only takes cat naps. It was quite a process getting him to hold still... me holding his face, Tyler occupying his attention with teething toys, and Tracy working her magic

We had some fun with him by giving him a mohawk

Then we made him a porcupine

The new hairdo! (We rewarded him with cereal for doing such a good job holding still!)

Looking an awfully lot like dad with his new haircut

Who's ready for Christmas?

For all of you who don't know, my mother (Henry's Grammy), loves Christmas. During the entire month of December, there's always Christmas tunes playing in her house... anything from Reba to Nsync holiday songs. She usually puts up about 7 trees all around the house that each have a theme. (ex: gingerbread, stocking, snowmen, etc.) All of the Christmas movies shown on ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas and FaLaLaLa Lifetime..... my mom's watched them all. If you'll refer back to a year ago on Christmas, she bought us all matching holiday pajamas. I'm sure that tradition will continue, and I will definitely post pictures because who wants to forget that? So with all of this being said, it's no surprise that I'm carrying on the tradition with my child. In his defense, he wasn't feeling the best when we took these pictures. I was frustrated when we were trying to take the pictures because he didn't smile and kept choking himself with the candycane. Now that I look at them though, I think they're pretty cute. This is only the beginning though, because me and my mom have several ideas for holiday pictures so there'll be more fun photos to come.

What a pose! He's all about his feet and toes these days so this picture is perfect

All cuddled up with stocking number 1. This one stays at Grammy's and Grandpa Kev's. (It's way cuter than the stockings for the rest of the family so this one hangs all by itself in the kitchen! *L*)

Stocking number 2. This one's from Uncle Todd and it's for Mommy and Henry's house.

On a side note, this has also been a bittersweet week. Henry turned 6 months old on December 7. Half a year gone already!! When people tell you it goes by fast, they aren't kidding. While it seems impossible for him to be half of a year already, I can't remember my life not including him. I had a rough day with finals for nursing, but he made all my worries fade when he smiled at me when I walked through the door. His smiles are the best! Because I haven't kept up with my blogging, I should give some highlights from the last couple of months.

Henry is very long and skinny. He must have a high metabolism because he eats all the time! He's now wearing 6-9 month clothes and size 3 diapers. We used to use Dr. Brown's bottles to prevent his "spitting up" episodes, but now that he is on Enfamil AR (a special formula for spit up babies) he rarely spits up. We now use Playtex bottles because they are much easier to clean. Henry also has a short patience because we have to use a fast speed nipple or he refuses to take the bottle. *L* He loves bathtime and his new favorite thing to do is to try to kick so hard that he jumps out of the tub. It terrifies me, but he seems pretty proud of himself for splashing so much. He also loves grabbing the washcloth and sucking the water out of it. Again, a little irritating for mommy but he gets a kick out of it.

At about 5 months, Henry started to suck his thumb. Such a horrible habit to break, but I don't know how to stop it. He also has a blankie and he finally takes his pacifier. We've been trying babyfood and I must say I never knew carrots could be so messy! In the last two weeks, he's really been jumpy and fidgety like he wants to move. He almost has the sitting up thing down, but sometimes he falls too far to the side or front and then he gets ticked off. He can't crawl yet either, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing. My apartment isn't baby-proofed yet! One last thing that is significant is that Henry chews on and tries to eat EVERYTHING! His mouth is like a faucet of drool that never stops. I like to think that he gives me kisses when he grabs on to both sides of my face and "kisses" my cheek. Tyler claims Henry's just trying to eat me, but I know he does it with love. hahaha. No teeth yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if one popped out soon!

I get four weeks off of school for the holidays so I'm going to try to update my blog more with old photos and stories about Henry so I won't forget them. I must say its a little sad to go shopping and realize that he's not a tiny baby anymore. But, with getting older he's developed such a funny personality and I love him more and more each day. Happy 6 months Henry!

Is it Deer Season?

Is Henry lying in a pile of leaves??

No, no. That's just his dad!!! Tyler bought this "hunting gear," and he tried it on for me and Henry. He asked me if I thought he would blend in with the woods.... I don't know how you could blend in more! I'm sure it will only be a couple of years before Henry wants a "Leafy Outfit" of his own.

My Favorite

This is my favorite picture of me and Henry. I took it over Labor Day weekend, but I never got around to posting it.