This morning the kids woke up to a treat! A leprechaun had visited our house and left a trail of skittles and gold nuggets!
Yesterday Hailey and I worked on a "hotel" for our leprechaun. She didn't want to catch one, because he needed to get around to other kids and home too. :) It took awhile, but I think it turned out pretty cute. Especially the inside. It was all her design and I just helped glue on the paper and make the roof. I love the lamp addition. It was very pretty last night in the dark. A very welcoming hotel for our leprechaun.
The work was worth all the effort because he left a great treat!
Last Tuesday at about two in the morning Caleb woke up to eat. I couldn't get him to go back to sleep he just cried and cried. At first I thought it was gas. But then I noticed a fever. A fever too high for a newborn.
I called the Dr. and they didn't have any appointments that morning so they sent me to the ER. Not cool! But, if you don't know when you take a baby under two months to the ER with a fever and no more symptoms, they do a total work up on them including a spinal tap and chest x-ray. Then they admit your child until the result come back.
They found out he had right off he had RSV but it was very early on and didn't have any symptoms. But then we had to wait on cultures and they take at least 24 hours. Caleb was still fussy, but he slept quite a bit during the day and then fussed again late into the night.
Then next morning they told us he had a UTI and started him on IV antibiotics and they needed to do an ultrasound on his renal system since it's really weird for a baby boy to have a UTI. So, we had to stay even longer for that and more cultures to grow out to see exactly what type of bacteria was growing so he could get on the right antibiotic. All the time the RSV hadn't started showing any symptoms.
Thursday they said the ultrasound came back good and Friday they would know what oral antibiotic to put him on and since he wasn't sick with RSV yet they would send us home.
But Thursday night Caleb had to have oxygen in the evening. He did pretty well until about 3:30 in the morning. At that point I woke up and looked at him and started getting a bit concerned. I held him and wouldn't go back to sleep until 7:30 when I decided he was ok. About an hour later he crashed and was really struggling to breath. They took him off of oxygen and put him on a machine that forces oxygen up their nose and is also connected to a vaporizer that comes out into the nose also to help open up the lungs. They put him on 40 percent oxygen and he started doing a little bit better. They pounded softly on his chest and back and did a deep suction and nasal suction every three hours Friday and Saturday. Sunday he didn't need it as often.
Below are two videos I took. This first one you can hear how hard he is struggling for air and you can hear the oxygen blowing. Ignore me. I should have just kept my mouth shut.
The second video shows how hard he was working to breath. He's bobbing his head. FYI: If you ever see that it is really bad. The further up from the chest you move to try to breath means you are struggling harder. You are pretty much using every muscle you have in your upper body if you're moving your head to breath.
After three days on the machine, Caleb was able to come off and go straight to room air. And 24 hours later his lungs were almost clear. (on Friday night there were parts of the lungs at times that they couldn't hear air moving.
Friday, Bo and I wanted to take turns at the hospital while I sat with the kids in the car so he could see Caleb for a bit. Bo decided on the way up Caleb needed a blessing and had a friend that worked nearby the hospital and he was able to meet him. Thank you Scott. THANK YOU to so many that helped out with meals, visits, kids, and prayers in our behalf. And my Mom who brought me treats a couple of times and sat with Caleb for awhile so I could go home for a little while. Thanks to Gini for taking our other boys for a few days too.
Caleb had a quick recovery considering many babies under two months stay for a week after they get really bad. I'm so grateful for the power of the priesthood and prayer. I know they truly make a difference in our lives. We are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives!
Here's a picture of him today after we got home. He looks so much better. We love you so much Caleb!!!
It's been a month since Caleb joined our family. I'm sure many of you have at least spent a few seconds wondering how we are doing with five (only because we got a lot of "you're crazy" comments when we told people we were having another). Well, here's how our first month has gone.
Bo made 3 trips to Community Care for strep throat...a 1-2 hours process (not including picking up prescriptions.) Doctors are not something he's ever had to deal with. He of course isn't getting great sleep and has to step in more often to make sure things are taken care of.
Hailey has been a great help and does a great job with Caleb. But she's been a bit emotional.
Conrad hasn't had too many issues, but has been a really big help also. I'm sure it gets old being asked to help with this or that. He and Hailey are great about not complaining when it comes to helping with Caleb.
Jackson has been adjusting to having less attention and in order to get the attention he wants he totally clobbers Brayden. We were having at least five crying spells a day, but it was down to a few this week. :) He is always saying "Caleb is SO cute." I love it!
Brayden is having the attention issue too. He has been getting into everything and crying over everything too. But, he is even so sweet and careful around him. It's amazing how quick the kids are to love their new brother.
Celeste, of course has made many adjustments. The first week and a half were rough because I was so tired and we had to go to Rexburg every day to have blood tests for Caleb's jaundice. But since then many (many, not all) of the adjustments have been GREAT! Believe it or not I am getting more sleep, have more energy, my brain is back, and I get to hold and cuddle our sweet Caleb whenever I want.
Caleb sleeping with the bili blanket
Caleb is a very calm baby. He wakes up about every two hours at night, but goes back to sleep. He is patient and doesn't eat as often as the other kids did. And did I mention he's so sweet :). I could just stare at him all day long.
Of course it hasn't been a cake walk and at times I have lost my patience. But, I wouldn't trade him for anything and neither would anybody else in the family. We are so blessed to be able to have families!
Bo and I did a little photo shoot today. We are far from professional, but here's some pics. I have to say Caleb did not enjoy the shoot. But it was worth it.
We call these the crazy eyes:)
Caleb loves his binky. The first of our kids that has taken one.
Wow! What a week it was...An exhausting week of roller coaster contractions, two trips to Rexburg (to be close just in case) and back and third times was the charm. Friday, February 1, 2013 at 7:10, Caleb decided to join our family. He came fast and I cannot explain in words how relieved I was when I got my epidural and when it was all over.
Caleb is so sweet and we love him to pieces. I just love holding sweet him and he LOVES to be held. He is so cuddly. He's had jaundice but just got off of the Bili blanket. So it has been really fun to hold him without having to worry about keeping that blanket on and in the right spot. The kids just love him. It's so cute to watch them react to him.
A big thank you to my parents who watched the kids while we spent the weekend in the hospital. It was nice to have some alone time with Caleb before we came home to our busy little life.
Here is a picture OVERLOAD!
I just love baby feet!
aaaaawww
YAY, going home...
Here are some pics of visitors. My parents managed to leave without a pic of them with Caleb. But they surprised us by bringing my grandpa who doesn't go out much and I never would have expected to be there.
Grandpa Shelton
Very excited siblings!
Just as we were ready to check out Bo's Mom, sister and sis-in-law made a huge detour to Rexburg on their way back to Boise from Provo.
Caleb, we are so grateful to have your sweet little spirit join our family. We can't wait to watch you grow and see what your life will bring.
I didn't get my pictures this year for Christmas. I'm totally bummed. But, here's a pic from the kids putting a gingerbread house together that our neighbors gave us.
