Who needs sand???.....and an update

With the milder temperatures we've been having lately, some of the snow has been disappearing, which finally gave us access to open our shed door.  Brady couldn't wait to get his hands on some of the toys he hadn't seen in a while!  He had fun building snow castles and driving his loader up the snow hills!

We've been doing pretty well since Nate's hospital stay.  Thankfully, he's been sleeping well at night....actually he's sleeping better than he ever has - the last few nights we've had 3 hour stretches of sleep!!!!  Not sure what caused that overnight switch....must be the all the prayers that have been sent up on his behalf in the last week!  Thank you to all our families and friends for upholding us all in prayer and for the encouragement you've been to us!

We're so thankful that Nate's fever did not return after coming home.  His breathing is much better than it was at the hospital, but we were told to expect some lingering symptoms, so I'm not overly alarmed.  He's about halfway through his antibiotics.  And tomorrow morning he gets the last (hopefully) of the monthly RSV antibody injections.  So, it's another morning spent at the hospital, but at least it's a scheduled visit!

Here's a cute 'morning hair' picture of our two boys taken about a week ago.  Why can't I look that cute with bed head???

Brady enjoyed watching a bit of curling, learning more about the game, however, I'm thinking that's not the ice that Don will want him playing on in a few years!!!

Nate & Mommy go to the ER

Well, plans for the week drastically changed overnight on Monday.

Monday night is when Nate's fever started. Hovering between 101.5 and 99.5. During that night his breathing was different, a sort of grunt before every exhale. Tuesday morning I went to the clinic and later was advised by one of the nurses that an available Dr. said we should go straight to the ER. 

We were seen quickly at the ER. They were concerned with his grunt breathing, lower oxygen saturation levels, fever and lung issues they could hear by listening.   He got a clinical diagnosis of bronchiolitis. For a regular kid, this may not have been as big an issue, but because of Nate's history, this diagnosis can be severe for any child with heart or lung issues, or if they were born premature.   They were concerned and needed to take more precautions.

They started with a nebulizer (think oxygen mask, but with Epinephrine to try to open up airways) treatment. This reduced some of the grunt breathing temporarily, but increased his heart rate (Nate's heart rate is hight to begin with).  They did this treatment three times in the next 12 hours. Nate didn't like it. Can't blame him! His fever still remained and they continued to try and reduce it. His oxygen levels were also fluctuating between 92 and 96%.  They said we should count on being in for at least 24 hours. 

They were going to move us over to the observation area in the ER (which is just a room with a bunch of bed separated by curtains. When the nurses saw that the ICU was actually empty, they let us use that area instead, and gave us the treatment room that would be used as an isolation room - complete with the big glass sliding doors/walls...and it had a window. Wow, what a difference that made! Although, regardless of where we would have stayed, I was still close to going crazy by the end of the 24 hours!!!

It was a difficult time, as anyone with an infant in the hospital can probably relate to.  Just when I would finally get Nate asleep, there would be a new Dr. in to check on him, or an O2 saturation to check, or meds to take or a temperature to take.  Rest did not come easily during the night, and I was already exhausted from being up most of the previous night at home as well, but God gave just enough energy to get through!

Because bronchiolitis is viral, and can be caused by the RSV virus,  Nate didn't start on any antibiotics initially. By the next morning, because things were not really improving, they did a chest x-ray and blood test. One lung was pretty patchy, so they put him on amoxil, just because they didn't want to take any chances. By noon, his temperature had reduced and his oxygen was at 96%. We got the go ahead to go home by 2:00, as long as we would come in right away, if things got worse again.

So that's it in a nutshell. We're going to lay pretty low for the next few days. Nate and I had a great sleep last night.  It surprised even me, not knowing what to expect.  Thanks to the many prayers, I know!

(Hope you're enjoying the first 2 songs on my playlist....they were Brady's request....seriously!!!!)
Edited March 20/09 :  I was getting a little tired of the Cars song and Copa Cabana, don't tell Brady that I changed them!

The Week...

If you've been watching CBC lately, you've probably seen ads for, or have watched a series that they are airing right now:

The Week The Women Went

I haven't watched any episodes, but the basic premise of this show is this:

Pick a town.  Invite all of the women to a vacation destination.  Leave the men and children at home.  Observe!

I'm sure there have been a lot of good laughs and probably some very eye opening experiences for those men.  Not to mention a new appreciation for some of the 'unseen' duties of a wife or mom.

Even though as a mom, this idea somewhat appeals to me - I can't imagine doing that for several more years.  (Although ask me at 3 in the morning, and my answer might be different!)

This week, my week has looked more like this:

The Week the Husband Stayed Home

Not good enough for a CBC series, but I've been loving it!  Just as good, if not better, than taking a holiday!  It's been great doing some projects around the house.  I'll have to show some pics when we're done!  

It's also been such a treat to have 2 parents at home.  Especially when Nate is needing one on one so much of the time.  He's so close to walking on his own, but right now needs those hands to hang on to!

So I've been planning a week of little treats for myself, too.  (Other than the redecorating and painting!)  Book Club tonight, hair cut tomorrow, breakfast with friends on Friday, and with other friends on Saturday.  Not to mention enjoying the talents of some of my nieces....GVC's presentation of The Mikado on Sunday, and the Skating Carnival coming up on Saturday.  Don's birthday is also this weekend, so there's sure to be some cake thrown in there, too!

Supper!

I was introduced to my new, absolute favorite soup recipe by Heather....and in the few weeks that I've had it, I've made this soup probably half a dozen times.  It is sooo delish!  So, I thought I'd share it.  (And chances are if you've been at my house for a meal in the last month, this is what you've had!  Some people have even had it twice!)

Cream of Potato Soup

6 cups chicken broth (I have used OXO to make my broth - shortcuts are good!)

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

3 cups chopped potatoes

3 cups chopped carrots

1/4 cup parsley

1-2 tsp dill weed

1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp salt

pepper to taste

4 cups milk

6 tbsp cheez whiz or 6 slices cheese

1 1/2 cups chopped ham or sausage

Combine broth, onions, potatoes, carrots, parsley and dill weed in a large pot.  Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are tender.

In a sauce pan, melt butter, blend in flour, salt and pepper.  Add milk all at once, cook until thickened, stirring constantly.  Stir in cheese until melted.  Add to broth and vegetables; mix well.  Add meat.  Cook until heated through.

This will be supper for us today.  Along with some biscuits straight out of the oven....mmmm!  

As good as this might sound, I'm afraid it may be seen as a bit cruel by Don.  Yesterday I took some steaks out of the freezer to thaw in the fridge.  He's expecting a "man's steak" for supper .....not "girly soup and biscuits!"