Weeeeee!

Five days before Christmas, I came down with the stomach virus.  It wasn't as terrible as it could have been, but still no fun.  Thankfully neither Chris nor Lucy got it!  Maybe it was something I ate?  It made me miss the last day before break.  How unfortunate, right?!

However, four days before Christmas, Lucy started acting weird...  It was Friday night and she had already gone to bed, but she woke up SCREAMING!  I went and got her, and she wanted to get down immediately.  She started pacing around her room as if she was nervous.  I tried to rock her, she didn't want to.  I tried to sing to her, she didn't want me to.  I tried giving her some bread, she didn't want to eat.  She didn't even want to drink.  She felt a little warm, but our thermometer registered no temp for her.  Then I noticed her shaking.  Like a nervous shake.  It worried me, but she eventually calmed down and passed out in my arms.  The next morning we were on our way to Newnan for Christmas with my family.  Lucy was running some fever, I could tell.  And she was very cranky!!  She slept most of the morning while Chris and I packed and most of the way to Newnan.  When we finally arrived, mom suggested we take her to the pediakare for kids place there.  I agreed.  By this point, her fever was sweltering at 102.7!  She tested negative for flu.  They assumed it was RSV, but said there was nothing they could do and sent us home.  This would make her second Christmas ever, and her second Christmas with RSV!

We ended up spending that night in Newnan so we could at least exchange gifts, and came home early the next day (Christmas Eve-Eve). Lucy was pitiful.  Still running fever.  Still not eating.

Christmas Eve was no different.  No improvements. We took her in to see Dr. Samper, who tested and confirmed for us that she did have RSV.  My heart was beginning to break.

The next day was Christmas, and I hoped and prayed all night that she would somehow feel a little bit better.  Enough to open and enjoy her presents that Santa had brought her.  She woke up very cranky and unhappy though.  Again, my heart broke.  She cried at her presents, hit them away, and screamed to go back to bed.  We attempted taking her to MaMa and Pops for their family Christmas thing, but Lucy was so sick, she and I came home early and she slept the whole rest of the day and all night that night. 

The day after Christmas, I called Dr. Ivey who was finally back on call.  He asked us to bring her in so he could see for himself what we were dealing with instead of going on hearsay.  We took her at 10:00 and I cried at the thought of them possibly having to put her in the hospital. 

I had read that while lots of children have RSV, only1-2% have to be hospitalized with it.  And of that 1-2% only a few cases are fatal.  WHAT??!?  That's part of what I get or googling, but my mommy heart felt scared that if she were already one of the 1-2%, what's keeping her from becoming one of the further few?

Dr. Ivey listened to her breathe, and monitored her oxygen (89%) and suggested we go across the street to the hospital to monitor her and help her get some oxygen to help her breathe a little easier.  My heart continued to break, and at those words, I felt like it was becoming harder for ME to breathe!    I felt guilt that we had not come in sooner, relief that she was finally getting the help she needed, and fear for what was to come.  

We had to come home and pack and really waste 45 minutes while they got her room ready.  I was a nervous wreck.

We got to the hospital and took her vitals, started her IV, etc.  it seemed we had to wait forever to receive orders from Dr. Ivey though, and until then, they couldn't even give her anything to drink.  Poor baby was thirsty!  The only thing I had with me was a jamocha shake from Arby's.  She sucked it down! 

Finally they received orders and her medical care was able to get going!  They monitored her oxygen level through a little monitor taped around her big toe.  It was hooked to a machine, and I learned quickly which numbers to watch.  They wanted her levels to be and stay at or above 95% on her own.  Lucy was at 89%.  Slowly, that number dropped, and I would alert the nurse each time.  Sh alerted respiratory.  I watched it drop from 89% - 87%.  The nurse said we needed to try to keep her awake, because oxygen levels naturally drop when we sleep, but Lucy was so tired.  The number dropped to 85% and she again paged respiratory.  As I watched that number drop to 83%, the nurse called for respiratory STAT, and we tried desperately to keep Lucy awake.  She was exhausted though.  She had not eaten in 5 days, and was just so so sick.  I was shaking her, singing to her, and stroking her hair.  She was limp and her eyes closed.  I prayed for God to not take my baby from me just yet.  I was not finished loving her here.  Chris finally said "Lucy, peek-a-......" And Lucy replied with the faintest and saddest sounding "boo."

Eventually respiratory came and Lucy found some fight in her as they attempted to put the oxygen mask on her.  She eventually gave up the fight and I was able to slip it on and tighten it to stay.  They wheeled us down to X-ray to check for pneumonia (which turned out clear), and we spent the remainder of our time in the room.

I curled up next to her and never left her side.  They said by law they had to have a crib in the room for her to sleep in, but I let her sleep in the hospital bed so I could lay beside her all day/night.  I wanted to watch her breathe.  And if I slept, I wanted to feel her breathe.  I did end up sleeping some, but not for long.  

MeMaw ended up coming and staying the night, too.  It was so much help having my mama there, because I was so scared!  

They kept bringing us both food, but neither of us ate it.  She didn't have her appetite back yet, and I just wasn't hungry from stress.

She had great nurses while she was there.  Each shift change made me nervous to see who we old get next, but each shift change brought an even better nurse than before.  Her last nurse was so sweet, trying anything and everything to get Lucy to eat.  She even went as far as to make Lucy a milkshake, since she had eaten some of mine the day before.  Lucy didn't want to eat the milkshake either, but that was okay.  Our goal was just to get her breathing on her own, and that we did!  Once she was able to nap and sleep without the oxygen mask in, but keep her levels at or above 95%, they let us go home!

Coming home was a relief, but I was still nervous.  She finally was able to enjoy some of her toys that Santa had brought, and started to eat animal crackers.

It wasn't the Christmas hi days we expected, in fact neither of her Christmases have been as she's been 2 for 2 with being pretty badly sick both times, but at least we got to spend them together and that she ended up healthy and well in the end!  :)

Da Funk!

There has been this funk going around Milledgeville (& the rest of America, really from what I can tell on blogs and Facebook).  It's been going around our schools and daycare since before Thanksgiving.  I have tried my darnedest to stay away from it, washing my hands constantly, keeping sanitizer handy, and refusing to touch my students more than I had to. Mean?  Maybe.  But I really didn't want this funk!

I just prayed day for Lucy's health, knowing my odds of her not catching it were slim, with her only being 16 months old, in daycare, and constantly putting her hands in her mouth, swapping toys with peers, etc.

And she did.  She caught it.  5 days before Christmas break.  She threw up at school.  Only once.  But as soon as they called me, I took off running to the office to sign out to get to my baby.  Last time she vomited, she was so scared! I wasn't going to leave her without the comfort of her mama long.  I didn't want her to feel fear like that again.

When I got there, she was fine... Playing with the other children, had eaten snack and drank juice, and was holding it all down like a champ!  We got home, and no real change.  Other than spitting up a few times, she was her regular sweet, playful self!  5 1/2 hours passed...

...and she threw up again!  FIVE AND A HALF HOURS!!!

Only once, and then back to slep.

Although this time of her being sick hasn't been near as forceful, frequent, or fearful, she still needs her mommy.  And I still need to nurture and care for her.  So, we're slumber partying in the guest room, books and all!  She's asleep now, but I'm fearfully waiting 5 1/2 hours until her next due time to throw up. because I want to take her fears.  I want her to feel comforted, loved, and protected.  So I'm passing my time keeping up with what she's eaten and when, the times that she threw up and went to sleep so I can have documentation just in case it's needed.  

I'm fearful for her, but strong for her. 

It's a weird catch 22.  

Having a sick child is the worst part of parenting so far... 

25 Days of Christmas: Days 2 & 3

So, I've already failed on my 25 Days of Christmas Blog Posts, but not by far!  I can still catch up!!

 

Day 2:

 

Yesterday was Sunday, and I had big plans to start going back to church, and even try out the Methodist church again (since I miss traditional church), but got up and read facebook and read WAY too many posts about people having this awful stomach bug that's been going around.  I'm trying my darndest to stay away from it, and I just pray every day that Lucy doesn't catch it from daycare.  I hear it's AWFUL!

 

She slept in until almost 8:30!  I love weekends when she can sleep in, even though I still wake up early -- it's so nice! :)

 

Chris went with his mom to City Wholesale to pick up Big Mama's table and chairs that we used at Marshall Rd. and he brought them back here.  I helped him load them into the house and into the kitchen.  They look pretty good, not ideal, but decent enough.  I hate losing the open space that room provided, but we needed a table there, especially one that Lucy could bang up and us not feel like she was destroying money.  I love the meaning the table has, too though.  We all three sat around it last night and had stew meat for dinner.  It was our first family meal around a dinner table just the three of us.  As Chris & I ate, and Lucy banged her juice cup on the table, Chris smiled and said "Big Mama would be thrilled to know we were using this table and that she was having fun around it."  He is so right.

 

Lucy took an incredibly long nap yesterday -- nearly three hours!  Which was odd, especially for her having slept in... We got a lot done while she slept though.  I had bought a set of three bar stools (for $99!) at Bed, Bath, & Beyond a couple weeks ago and Chris decided to put them together.  No wonder they were only $99!!  They came in a bajillion pieces!!! He finally got the base of one put together, and when he brought it into the kitchen to see how it measured up in height, we noticed it had a terrible rock to it from the pieces being unbalanced in length... so we just packaged them back up.

 

Lucy finally woke up and we went over to visit MaMa & Pop.  It's so nice them being so close.  Lucy wasn't too keen on visiting, wanting to be by herself a lot and not being her usual sweet self.  She has learned how to make some pretty mean faces lately, and she was casting a lot of them at MaMa, although I don't think it was intentional...

 

We came home and played and went to bed.

 

Day 3:

 

Well, it was a typical Monday, starting off by running late!  Mondays are always the busiest mornings for me, because I have to make sure I have all of Lucy's stuff for daycare.  They send home her stuff on the weekends, so I wash it and bring it back on Mondays.  This includes her bookbag that has a change of clothes, boogie wipes, wipes, and diapers (which comes back and forth daily, because you never know when we might run over to Cindy & Smiley's or something...), her lovie, and her sleep mat (although they provide her with a mat and sheet at school, I still want to know, that I know, that I know, that I KNOW that she's sleeping on something clean.  Besides, it's super cute! :)  I take ALL of this, on top of my coffee & lunch, usually her jacket, and sometimes her quart of milk (Dr. Ivey recommends that she drink whole milk until she's at least 2 -- daycare only provides 1%, so I take a quart every couple of weeks).

 

Today was strangely warm for it to be December 3.  It was a high of 75.  So strange, but so appreciated!  I love living in the south!!

 

I had a typical day fighting off cooties, dousing myself in hand sanitizer at every thought of it, and trying to get things turned in on time. 

 

I was extremely late picking up Lucy because of a meeting I had after school.  Bummer. :(  I usually feed her a snack around 4:00 every afternoon.  By the time we got home (4:45) she was starving!

 

Chris came home from the gym with Wesley and they finished the steps.  They can't be walked on for at least 24 hours. Chris is bummed, because that meant he couldn't watch wrestling upstairs.  Because of our wood floors and how big our house is, we have to watch the tv on super low volume at night when Lucy's asleep.  Poor thing!

 

I finished up my research paper for grad school.  I only have one more small assignment to turn in by Thursday and I'll be done for this semester!!!  Then, I'll only have next semester (2 classes) and I'll have my Masters in Library Media!!! :)  Yay, me!

 

I suppose that's all. Until tomorrow... :)

25 Days of Christmas: Day 1

I'm ashamed to look at this blog and see that it has been since the end of September since I've written, but that only means that we have been BUSY! 

 

It's the first day of December, meaning I'm going to kick of a 25 days of Christmas Blog Posts.  Mmmmhmm, to make up for lost time.  Ready, GO!

 

Lucy:

You are 16 months old!!  I know in just a blink of an eye, this blog will be saying "Lucy, you are 16 years old!!"  I'm not ready for that... 

 

You had your 15 month check-up back at the end of October, and you were 21 pounds!  Dr. Ivey said you had the vocabulary of a 2 year old!  You are saying so many words, your Daddy & I can't keep up!  You're not talking and putting together sentences yet, but you put a label on EVERYTHING and love to point out things to us.  You can make all kinds of animal noises (Cow -- moo, Duck -- "duck-duck", Dog -- haahaahaa, Lion -- ROAR!, Monkey -- Aah Aah, Goldfish -- *kissy noises*, Snake -- sssssss), you can even tell us what Santa says (Ho, Hoooooooo).  You're OBSESSED with the moon!  Every time we go somewhere at night, you point to and say "Moon!" over and over and over again until we get there.  The only time you'll stop saying it is if I sing "The Moon Song." 

 

I see the moon.

The moon sees me.

The moon sees the one,

that I want to see.

God bless the moon,

and God bless me,

and God bless the one I love.

 

You still LOVE Elmo and call him "Mel-Mo."  You've even figured out that the remote to the TV is used to turn your Elmo DVD on/off, and when you want to watch it, you'll go get it and point it to the TV. 

 

You love my phone, mostly to play Elmo games, but occasionally put it up to your ear like you're talking on it.  Instead of saying "hey" though, you always say "Bye!"

 

You love to give hugs and your favorite game to play at night is running back and forth between your Daddy & me giving the best Lucy-Goose hugs in the world!

 

Your teachers at daycare (Ms. Wendy & Ms. Morgan) say that you are very smart and attentive for your age!  You are one of the youngest, and are in a class of about 15 kids.  At circle time, they say that you and only a few others will sit the entire time, singing songs and participating in the movements.  You always clapped to "If you're happy and you know it," but now you'll point your little fingers to your cheeks at the right part.  It's the sweetest to know you're learning while at school!  Speaking of, you also have gotten so grown that when I drop you off, you turn around and tell me "Bye-Bye!" and wave, and then blow me a kiss!  It melts my heart every. single. time.

 

Bath time continues to be your favorite time of the day.  You have gotten to where you could stay in there forever if I would let you.  And sometimes I do.  Nothing brings me more joy than seeing you happy -- and that giggle, oh, it's what keeps my heart beating! 

 

You're still in love with reading!  This makes my teacher-heart so happy!  You have your favorites: Brown Bear, Peek-a-who, The wheels on the bus, My first 100 words, etc.,  You also love books that have things you can feel.  We've ordered you several here lately.

 

You do some really funny things that keep your Daddy & I laughing.  For instance, we've talked about when is the right time to have another baby.  The other day, you & I were playing in your playroom and were feeding your baby doll a bottle, you handed me the baby and I started to "rock, rock" the baby and sing the same songs that I sing to you at night.  You very quickly ripped the baby out of my arms and threw her behind you and didn't play with her again that day.  I suppose now is not the right time... :)

 

You have also started making a "mad face" when you don't get something you want.  Such as today, you were standing up in the fridge, looking for something to eat, and your Daddy moved you out of the way so he could shut the door.  You started walking in circles with a furrowed brow like you were so frustrated!

 

You are the joys of our hearts, sweet girl!  We love you!

 

 

Chris:

I never ever update on us, but one day when I look back, I want to know what we did, too!  So...

 

In case it ever changes, you go to work from 7:30-4:00 every day, and work out on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 4:00-5:30 with Wesley.  This puts you getting home around 5:45.  I wish you got home earlier, but I know the gym makes you happy. :)

 

You've been working very hard at finishing the upstairs bonus room of our new house.  It's been a long process, one you hoped would be finished by your birthday, but will be relatively finished by Christmas.  At this point (Dec. 1, 2012), the main room up there is complete, minus office furniture, you had the closet finished with carpet, and you and Wesley installed shelves.  You spent about a week painting the new shelves, and you and I worked on putting in your ginormous collection of DVDS.  The bathroom remains unfinished for now, but today, you and Wesley also started the process of finishing the stairs.  Your dream space is slowly coming together, and you've done it all your way.  I am proud of you!

 

You and I are quite a pair!  We can get things done if we work together, and love to spend time together.  The time we get, just the two of us, is far and few between these days, but I cherish the sweet looks, kisses, and snuggles at night.  You are my better half, and I couldn't imagine being the wife to a better husband.  I don't tell you how much I appreciate you all the time, but I do so much!  You are a strong man, with big dreams for yourself and our family.  You work hard to provide for us, and never make us feel that we have to do without anything.  I love you so much, Christopher Michael! 

 

 

Me: 

I am teaching Kindergarten at Creekside Elementary.  I am loving my year, but wait on pins and needles for each break so that I can be a full-time Mom for Lucy!  I love my time with her, and it is more important to me than ANYTHING in this world!  

 

I am looking forward to Christmas, having spent more money this year than I should have, but I am so excited for Lucy's (first) Christmas.  It's really her second, but poor thing was sick with RSV last Christmas, and so we couldn't go anywhere, and she couldn't really enjoy the festivities of Christmas.

 

I want to start going to church again, now that Lucy has gotten a bit older.  I think that we will try the Methodist church some this season.  I miss traditional church.

 

I don't really know what to say about myself other than how much I love the life that I've been given.  I love my husband, my daughter, my house, my job, and my family.  I am so blessed!

Say What??!?

Oh my goodness!  

I have spoken recently about you growing up so fast, but I didn't mean for you to take it as a challenge, sweet girl!!

Miss Lucy, you are 14 months old and I guess you just decided that this would be the month that you would break free of your baby stage.  You are talking up a storm!  You have always loved to babble in babble-like sentences and a look of distinction like you know exactly what you're talking about, but literally you're vocabulary has exploded!

You now have a vocabulary of about 15 words (& I swear you're learning a new one every day it seems!)

They are:
Mama
Daddy
Teddy
Eye
Bye-bye
Hey
Duck
Book
Cracker
Juice
Uh-oh
Fish
Ball
Night-night
Snack
Noah (Noah Franklin is a little boy in your class.  You talk about him every day and call him "Wowah")

You can tell us what a dog says (well, you hassle), as well as a goldfish (lossy sounds)

You absolutely LOVE reading!  You will bring me book after book after book and
I read them to you every time!

You also decided that this fourteenth month of your life would be the month that you would try your hand (or your foot, rather) at walking! You've been taking steps here and there for a couple of weeks, but September 26, 2012 was the day you decided to really walk!  We woke up that morning and while getting you ready for daycare, you took 6 steps to your daddy.  That afternoon you took 6 more to Kim Harrison.  That evening, we went to see your MaMa and Pop and you took off!  You took several 10-12 step sets back and forth between your dady and I.  You were so excited about your accomplishment, you started trying to run, and would only make it one or two steps before you would fall down laughing!  

You also just got brave enough to climb up and slide down your plastic treehouse climber your daddy and I bought you.  You will sit up there, wait for someone to count and slide down -- then you'll just clap in excitement and pride!

We are so very, VERY proud of you sweet girl!

We love you so much!

Mama

Catching up! :)

Oh, Goose-Goose!

I am not going to write monthly-updates anymore, as I feel I have to cut the tie off somewhere (can you imagine -- when you're a teenager "Miss Lucy, you're 204 months old today!"  Ha!).  However, I do solemnly swear to update more often.  You are getting so much more active and interactive and just plain FUN!  I find myself missing you all day long.  I used to long for you all day at work, because I couldn't wait to come home and nuggle you, but since you're not a big nuggler anymore (just sometimes, and oh, how I treasure those sometimes), I find myself thinking about what all we're going to play when we get home. :)

For your birthday, I had several people ask "What can I get her for her birthday?  What does she want?" and you really didn't need anymore toys that played more music, or made more lights blink, but you do love to read, and I want to foster your love for reading, and so I told them books.  You received lots of books -- and really good ones, too!  We keep all of your big toys in a huge brown wicker toy box I got for the living room at Target, and all of your books in a small wicker basket beside it.  You'll go straight to the book box and pull out your favorites.  You seem to favor the smaller board books, because they're easier for you to handle.  You always want to read "The Wheels on the Bus," "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," or "The Very Hungry Caterpillar."  We also still read four books every night before bedtime, too.  You just love to read and are so attentive!

This weekend, Memaw and Nathan came to spend the night.  You and Nathan acted like brother and sister.  At one point, we were reading books, and he wanted to be pesky and put his head in front of you so you couldn't see the book.  You promptly began to push his head out of the way with your finger.  When he didn't move, you tried head-butting him.  It took three tries, but he finally moved!

You crawl everywhere now, and are taking some steps -- but only when YOU want to.

I took you to the park today, and you had so much fun climbing and sliding and swinging -- it wore you out, too!  You came home and took a long nap, and were very cranky when you woke up.  Speaking of sleeping, you're getting harder to put down at night.  We're going to have to start just putting you to bed in your crib, and not waiting for you to fall asleep as I rock you, because you will rock for hours before you close your pretty eyes.  You really like your crib though, and have lots of little stuffed animals and special blankets that you treasure.  You have your purple mongey that Nathan picked out for you when you were still in my belly, the moose your Daddy & I bought for you in Ellijay, GA, the pink bunny your Daddy picked out for you when we found out you were a little girl, your lovey I had made for you, and your Teddy.  You love each one of them.  I also just put a pillow in your crib.  You start off on it, but are off of it by the morning.  I also just put your bumper pad back up in your crib, but weaved it in and out of the slats, because you keep sticking your feet and legs through the slats and wake up squawling!!!

You're standing up and walking the whole time during your bath -- makes it so much harder to bathe you!

At daycare, you're still in the Nursery because you're not walking... but there's a little boy, Connor, in there who can walk and likes to push you down -- most likely accidentally, as he's probably just trying to balance himself, but he also likes to pull your bows out of your hair.  We practice every morning on the way to school saying "No, No, Connor!  No, No!" 

You love The Fresh Beat Band's "Reach for the Sky" song -- we also listen to it on the way to school. 

You eat anything and everything now -- You do love lunchables and hot dogs (healthy, I know).

You love to go strolling, we have the perfect neighborhood for it, too!

Your Daddy & I love you to pieces! :)

Everytime I promise myself I'm going to post more often, I seem to post less often... :-/

I want to remember these days.  I want to remember the swelling my heart feels each day for Chris and for Lucy.  Those two... I could not imagine my life without them.  They are the reason I get up (and not just because he's snoring, or she's wide-awake at 6 a.m.), but they're the reason I am so tired, why I can't get my own lesson plans written (thanks, Kendall!), and why I don't always get to eat dinner every night at 6 (although they do!)

I love them so much and appreciate all the time I can get with them. 

I promise to post more this weekend.  For now, my computer's dying, and my head is wanting to crash on the pillow behind me..........