The Flu!

Monday morning, the weather here was calling for frigid temperatures. 

We had already planned on staying in, 

our schools were even closed in our county, and surrounding counties due to the below freezing temps. 

That morning, Case only drank about 2 sips of his milk, 

and didn't want any breakfast. 

...and when he was a whiny clingy mess all morning, 

and finally said "Mommy, I just want you." 

I knew right then and there he wasn't feeling well. 

I asked him if he wanted his pillow, blanket and Bob. 

He nodded yes, so I grabbed them, and I put on a movie for the boys.

Rhett saw this, and insisted on having his pillow and blanket too. :)

Well, I ran upstairs to start some laundry, and looked over our banister and saw this...

Uh oh. 

It's never ever a good sign when they fall asleep on their own. 

The boys had gotten up very early, 

(like 5:30am. Oh my.)

since Rhett seemed to feeling fine, 

I figured he just got cozy and fell asleep, but I knew Case wasn't feeling well, 

as he doesn't take naps anymore. 

Well the next few hours, were exhausting for this pregnant Momma to say the least.

Just being honest. 

About a half hour later, I took Rhett upstairs to put him in bed...

Rhett had peed through his clothes and onto the couch, since he fell asleep without his usual nap time pull up. 

I take off couch cushion, scrub it, take it upstairs to wash. 

Come downstairs, Case wakes up, and keeps complaining about his belly hurting.

 All he had had all morning was Sierra Mist, and about 3 minutes later, while sitting on the other side of the couch, he throws up, about 3 times. 

Bless his heart, it scared him so much, and I promised him it was okay.

 He was so upset because he had thrown up on Bob and Mommy had to wash him. 

I go upstairs to switch laundry again, to wash the things Case had just thrown up on, well I had apparently accidentally washed a Pull Up and all of the absorbing crystal things were EVERYWHERE. ON EVERY PIECE OF CLOTHING

DISGUSTING.

Soooo I have to rewash all of that, while poor Case just wants his special blanket and Bob since he doesn't feel well.  

 I set up a TV and Netflix for Case in the guest room, and while both boys were resting in a bed, 

I psycho cleaned downstairs. 

If you are like me, if I know sick days are coming, I feel the need to have the house very clean and tidy so I don't stress out about dishes or vacuuming and can just take care of little boys. 

So by the time they woke up I was just exhausted. 

Oh and Rhett wakes up from his nap and pees through his pull up AND clothes...more laundry! ;)

Shew! 

So, boys wake up from naps, (Case fell asleep again upstairs)

and Case seemed to be completely fine! 

Bouncing off the walls, ate a few crackers and a string cheese. 

Nothing big, but was playing, and acting completely fine. 

He was very ready to go to bed, and felt a tad bit warm to me, but I was definitely thinking he was on the mend. 

Well, that morning, Rhett snuck into the room with Case before waking us up, 

so we found them watching Netflix together in the guest room. 

I felt Case's head, even though he kept insisting,

"Mommy! I'm okay, I not sick Mommy."

He was burning up though, took his temperature and it was 101.2. 

With Matt having a temperature too this week, and going in to the Dr. and on amoxicillin, 

I asked him what he thought...should I go ahead and call the Doctor? 

Matt ended up staying home all day Tuesday with a fever off and on! :( 

It was Tuesday morning, and the schools were cancelled again, so thankfully I didn't have to call in to preschool. 

 So we decided to call the Doctor. 

It was 8:35am, when I called and they said they had a 9:15am appointment so we flew to get ready, and got there just in time.

 (Our Doctor's office moved downtown, so it was quite a stretch to get there on time!)

By the time we got there, I could tell he really wasn't feeling well. 

When we got to the new office, he sat by me on the chairs instead of playing with toys. 

(Thankful he didn't, since we didn't know he had the flu!) 

Well by the time we get back, his temperature was 102, and his ears and cheeks were bright red. 

Doctor checked him out, did a strep test, and then a flu test. 

Strep was negative, and while we were waiting on flu results he fell asleep on me in the office. 

I had a feeling it was the dreaded flu at that point, and it turns out I was right. 

:(

He prescribed him Tamiflu, along with a prescription for the Rhetter man as a preventative.

Along with advice to call my OB for Tamiflu, and have Matt call as well. 

Oh my. 

So after spending a fortune at the pharmacy, 

we got all of our medicine home, Case hung out in the guest room again, but threw up his first dose of Tamiflu instantly. I called the Doctor, and asked some Momma friends advice on helping him keep it down. 

We ended up hiding it in gatorade mixed with a little orange juice, and he drank it up, 

along with a few bites of macaroni and cheese. 

Which apparently is a very good sign with the flu! 

Even came downstairs to eat, and cuddled with his big dog for a little while. 

 

Not having as much luck this morning with the medicine,

did the same mixture but he keeps insisting he doesn't like it. 

Even tried blue gatoade with a little Sierra mist, but he's not having it. 

However, little guy has zero fever this morning and is playing! 

A little tired, and cries easily, but he seems to be feeling very well considering. 

Gotta figure out a way to get this medicine in his system though! 

Hopefully we can figure something out that will work again today.

Been praying like crazy for our little guy, 

and for my big guy, and for my littlest guy. 

Also praying that God keeps me and baby healthy,

especially so I can take care of the boys. 

Also selfishly hoping everything will be okay for us to keep our big ultrasound this Friday, 

you know, the big gender reveal ultrasound?? 

Of course we will do whatever is best for everyone.

Just hoping it just gets better from here, and not worse!

Sick Little Boys Break My Heart

After all of the Christmas festivities, Rhett developed a little cough. 

A little cough turned into a bigger cough, along with a runny nose. 

Runny nose turned into a fever, and an awful cough. 

Yesterday, Rhett was absolutely miserable. 

Burning up, cheeks flushed, napped all day. 

Gunner and Case were so worried about him, 

which as you can imagine just melted Momma's heart. 

Today we took Rhett into the Doctor, 

he was acting and playing like normal, 

I almost hesitated on taking him in at all!

Thankful we did though, as it turns out he has a small case of pneumonia! 

Daddy's picking up his medicine on his way home tonight, 

he seems to be feeling much better, thank goodness. 

However, I am more than ready to let this antibiotic kick it out of his system.

Love his little heart.

"Mommy, I not feel good."

It started with a cough, that just kept getting worse. 

We went to school on Tuesday, and he coughed his little head off, and it seemed to get worse throughout the day. Then, Wednesday morning I had already planned on taking the boys to "drop in" so that I could finish up some Christmas shopping, and have a few hours by myself. 

However, when Case woke up all night long coughing, and was absolutely smoking hot that morning when he got out of bed...I had a feeling we weren't going anywhere. 

Matt and I took his temperature and it was 102.5°. 

Sooo, I called one of our teachers and let her know we wouldn't be making it in. Matt was so amazing and went to Kroger for us before he went to work. He bought Case some Ibuprofen and Popsicles. I couldn't get him to eat anything, I managed to get him to drink a little Orange Juice but that was about it.

Case laid around all morning, snuggled up watching cartoons, Rhetter just played and played. I'm always so thankful when the other is content when I need to tend to the one in need.

Around 11am, Case looked at me and said "Mommy, I so tired. I wanna take a nap."

...and THAT is when you know your child is really sick. 

He took about a two hour nap, and was still had a pretty high fever even with the medicine. It just wasn't breaking. He asked for another nap a couple hours later, but seemed restless and only laid down for about twenty minutes. The evening wasn't any different, he was so puny and miserable. I went ahead and called in from work for Thursday, and planned on calling the Doctor early the next morning. 

Wednesday evening was a LONG one. He was up about every 30 minutes from 8pm-12am, and then again from 3:45am-7am. Makes me tired just thinking about that again. Miraculously though, by 7:30 am, he felt cool to the touch (I realize now that he was probably clammy from just breaking his fever) and was acting just fine. Hyper even! I mean like crazy goof ball hyper! I shook my head and figured that it was just some bug that came and left pretty quickly. I was wrong again though, when by lunch time, he was snuggled on the couch again, and very hot to the touch. Checked him again and he had another high fever. Called Matt and we decided to go ahead and call the Doctor. They said to definitely come on in. Thankfully, Mom and Dad were having lunch close to the house, so they came over to watch the Rhetter man so I could take Case solo.  (Rhett's at the adorable exploring age, but it's not so adorable trying to contain him and keep him entertained at a Doctor's office! Ha!) 

His temp was 102.5 when our nurse checked him, and he was just pitiful while we waited for the Doctor. We played "I spy with my little eye" and read a book while we waited. He wouldn't leave my lap, and when Dr. Latham came in and said hello, Case replied with the saddest little "Hi" you've ever heard. 

After just a quick check up, he said he thought that it was probably pneumonia, but wanted me to head over to UK Sports Medicine for an x-ray to make sure. Pneumonia had not even crossed my mind! I thought for sure an infection of some sort, maybe strep but not pneumonia. Can't explain how thankful I am that we decided to go ahead and take him in today! We headed over for the x-ray and soon after heard back that it was in fact pneumonia, a small case though, thank goodness.

He took a warm bath tonight, and took his first dose of medicine Daddy picked up on his way home. 

Hoping he sleeps better tonight, and feels better fast! 

Nothing worse than having a sick baby.

Stomach bugs and Cancelling Appointments

Remember my post about Case's thumbs? Well, the date finally rolled around for his Orthopedic appointment. The appointment was for November 30th, and a few days before, Matt called our friend Eric (a trauma surgeon) to see if he had any recommendations for an Orthopedic Surgeon. (The Doctor we were scheduled with, worked in the same building as Eric, so we figured he would be the perfect person to ask for many reasons!) He called us back that Tuesday evening and said the Doctor we were meeting with was great, but didn't work with children that often - and that he recommended a Dr. Scott Riley. 

We of course decided to keep our appointment, and then we would decide what we wanted to do afterward.

Well, plans changed around 6am Wednesday morning. I came down with a vicious stomach bug, I was getting sick every 5 to 15 minutes, and it was not letting up. By the time the boys woke up around 7, Matt ran to Kroger for me to pick up some Pepto and Ginger Ale. For the few minutes he was gone, I tried to pick Rhett up and change his diaper, and had to immediately put him down. Then, I was over the toilet with Rhett standing behind me patting my back, and Case saying "Eww! Yucky Mommy! Yucky!

(Sigh)

By the time Matt got back, I was in tears. I literally didn't have any idea how I was going to take care of the boys that day. I was just miserable. The only thing I was really thinking that morning though, was how Case was going to get to his appointment. I first thought that maybe Mom could take him, and Matt could meet her there - and I would just pray that Rhett would be napping while they were gone. It turned out that Matt had a meeting that morning, and wasn't sure when it would be over. It just kept getting more complicated. I called Mom and Dad, and Dad said "Well, these things happen, can you cancel and reschedule?" "It took us a month to get the appointment though." I said. It was so frustrating - but we ended up deciding that Dad was right. There was just no way it was going to work out today. I was so disappointed. I called the office and left a message, letting them know we weren't going to be able to make it. 

Now that was taken care of, I called Mom and pleaded for her to help me. She thankfully came over and took care of the boys for me, I had Phenergan left over from the stomach bug I got when I was pregnant with Rhett last summer - so I took that and literally slept the entire day. Matt was able to come home at 4, and let Mom get home. I was able to rest all day, and I took another half of a phenergan that evening and felt so. much. better. the next morning. I already called into work for that Thursday, I wasn't sure how I would be feeling, I'm glad I went ahead and did though. I know I wasn't up to getting everyone packed and out the door so early the next day. 

 I was so thankful that my version of the stomach bug (that seemed like it took over Lexington) was quick and relatively easy thanks to medicine. Especially since I needed to schedule another appointment for Case as soon as possible. Matt and I decided to go ahead and cancel the original one all together, and try to get in with Dr. Riley. I was praying that morning that he took our insurance. I called first thing, and not only did they take our insurance, they had an opening the following Monday! (Praise the Lord!) 

Talk about one happy Mommy and Daddy. After telling Mom the Doctor's name we were recommended, she gasped and said that she knew him! That he was so gentle and sweet, and that he has performed hand surgery on my Aunt Sue Sue! Throughout the day, I just kept hearing more great things about him. Turns out he attends church at the church I teach in, and has performed hand surgery on my director's son's hands when they were little. We just couldn't be happier.

A few days after this, Matt got the bug too, his too was pretty quick. Thank goodness.

Well it's Monday. Doctor Day. Thanking God that we are over all this sickness, and that Mom is able to watch Rhetter man today.  We can finally take Case in for this consult (today at 2:30pm)  that we have been waiting for since the beginning of November. 

All Better!

In the words of Case, I think we are "ALL BETTER!" 

It got just a little worse before we were better. The day I drug myself into the Doctor, Mom came over to watch the boys for me. I woke up absolutely miserable- worse than the first day. I was dizzy, achy everything hurt. I scheduled an appointment with my Doctor at 11am. While I was gone, Mom said Case asked to take a nap. (That is how you know you have a sick little boy) After picking up my prescription, Case was still asleep and I decided I better take a nap myself. About an hour later, Mom woke me up to tell me Case was very hot. He woke up with fiery red cheeks, and was SO hot to the touch. We took his temperature and it was 103.7. 

I immediately gave him his next dose of Ibuprofen, and went ahead and called the Doctor. They had said to give them a call if he seemed to be feeling worse rather than better - and I figured this constituted just that. While waiting for a nurse to call back, we rubbed him down with a wet washcloth, and took off a layer of clothing. About 20 minutes later his fever dropped a degree. When the nurse called back, she said it was pretty normal for a virus to strike a fever like that, and to just keep the fever down. He would be fine.

Eventually, the fever came down to just a mild one and he seemed to feel much better too. A few hours later his cheeks even seemed back to normal. Mom thought for a while that he might have had fifths disease. (Which scared me to death when she said that, the last thing you want to hear is your child's name next to the word disease) but it is just a virus that consists of fever and bright red cheeks. 

He seemed to feel better each day, my antibiotics were definitely kicking in, and Rhett still has a little stuffy nose but hasn't gotten worse! (Matt has been so lucky and missed all of this!)

This weekend really helped us, we took it very easy. The little boys and I stayed home from church on Sunday, just in case Case was still contagious. His nose was still a little runny and I didn't want to share the germs, or pick up any new ones this weekend!

Today we are feeling much much better, thank goodness! I'm hoping to exchange our double stroller this week, so we can venture out to the park one day!

Sick Days

My boys are sick. 

I had anticipated that the first time my children were both sick at the same time would be difficult --- boy, was I right.

Case has woken up with a fever for the fourth day today, Ranging between 100-102°. Poor little guy was absolutely miserable. He was crying that pitiful cry, whining all day long. The kind of whining that doesn't even grate on your nerves though, because you know how horrible he feels. He was dressed in layer upon layer and still chattering. He couldn't decide if wanted to be in my lap, or lay flat on the floor just wailing. Broke my heart.

Little Rhetter man hasn't had it as bad as his big brother. He just has a little cough, and was pretty congested. He couldn't keep his morning bottle down from all the congestion so that had me worried. Thankfully, he ate just fine for the rest of the day. 

I have been thanking God for such an easy baby this week. I don't know how I would have given Case all of his much needed cuddle time if Rhett was super high maintenance. Instead, he just cooed and smiled and stared at his pudgy sweet hands all day long unless he was sleeping or eating. Bless his sweet heart.

It has been awful! I hate when my babies are sick!

I took the boys to the Doctor (BRIGHT & EARLY) this morning, to find out they both have a little respiratory virus. Our Doctor assured us that it should mend itself in just a few days. I can't wait for that day! 

What's even worse than having kids sick? Being sick along with them. I caught the fever today, and knew how Case was feeling. I had 4 shirts on, a sweatshirt, fleece sleep pants, socks, and still chattering underneath a down feather comforter. BLAH! NOT FUN! 

I took some medicine, and somehow managed to get both of my boys to take a nap this afternoon, and slept along with them for an hour. I feel much much better now. The boys are both working on their 3rd hour of napping. Two napping children at the same time is probably one of the most peaceful things ever when you are a stay at home Mom! :)

Hoping my little ones feel better soon, especially since the forecast this week is in the HIGH 50'S!!!

Stomach Bugs are Not Fun

Matt and I were so excited about this weekend, we waited until this Friday to celebrate Valentines Day because we wanted to skip the crowds last weekend!

We ate dinner at Logans, and planned to go see a movie afterward. I was doing fine, Matt and I were laughing, joking around, throwing popcorn at each other...I felt great for about the first hour of the movie and then I started to feel very sick. I would get very hot, and then I would freeze, almost chattering. My stomach was hurting very badly, and I became sick. :(

Matt had told me several times before this that we needed to leave, he said he knew I was miserable, and finally I agreed. 

I was sick all night, and poor Matt caught it and became sick around 3 am, he hasn't felt well all day, luckily I feel much better today, (which is good because we still have a little boy that needs some attention!) especially after I ate a little bit and had some caffeine. 

Come to find out, my niece Avery was sick as well, and so was a friend of mine! Must be something going around, we are praying that Case skips it all together. Sweet boy was so patient with his Mommy & Daddy today. He even took 3 naps (which was so great, because during those three naps Matt and I were sleeping as well!) 

Praying we will feel 100% better tomorrow, and hoping no one else gets it!

The Dreaded Ear Infection

Sick Again :(

After a busy week of Mom's surgery, my last week at Maxwell Street before summer break, I didn't even think about the possibility of Case getting sick again!

He went to the baby room (daycare across the hall from my nursery school room at work) on my last day, this past Wednesday, since Mom was resting and recovering after surgery.

He picked up some sort of cold we guess, but was acting and feeling fine. Well, then he was burning up on Friday afternoon, and even with Baby Motrin the fever wasn't breaking. So this morning, day four of a fever, I took Case to the Doctor to discover he has an ear infection in his right ear. His temperature was 102, and he was just miserable. He woke up this morning around 7:30 as usual, went right back down for a nap at 8:30, slept until 1o...we went to the Doctor at 11, filled his prescription for the antibiotic and he's back in bed! Poor little guy

:(

The worst part about your baby getting sick is that you can't tell them it will get better, and they can't tell you what is hurting!

We're going to take it easy this week, and hope that the antibiotic will kick this thing out of there.

Hopefully Case will be feeling much better by Friday...it's his 8 month birthday you know. :)