Monday, August 17, 2009
One month old
Happy one month birthday, Claire. Thought I'd take some standard one-month pictures today. Which daughter is which?
Saturday, August 15, 2009
What a wild week
It's been a wild week. We've had some sick little babies on our hands.
Last Sunday night, Brett and I had our hands full with both the girls. Claire was her normal self, or at least as normal as a three-week-old could be. Sophia was completely not herself. She woke up 9 at night, only an hour after she went to bed, and ended up screaming and staying awake until 3 am. Brett even took her for a drive in the car to help put her to sleep, which worked for all of 20 minutes. We just couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. We thought she was just being stubborn.
Brett left for work on Monday morning, after we both got about 4 hours of sleep. He was set to be gone until Thursday. Sophia and I just laid around all day. She ended up with a fever, and I noticed that she was pulling on her ears later in the evening. So I decided to call the pediatrician the next morning and make a doctor's appointment. That night was awful. Claire started acting a little weird. She didn't want to be held. She wanted to just eat for 10 minutes and fall asleep for about an hour. She screamed every time I touched her or tried to pick her up. Sophia was up and down all night. The girls were playing tag team. When one was asleep, the other was up, and vice versa. It went on all night, and I finally got an hour of sleep between about 5 and 6 am.
Thankfully, my dad came on Tuesday to help me take both of the girls to the doctor. By this time, I was less concerned about Sophia and more worried about Claire. Sophia had slept a little off and on the night before, and she wasn't in too bad of a mood the next morning. Claire, on the other hand, had a fever at 7 am of 100 degrees. I took her temp again before we left for the doctor, and at 10 am, her fever was 101. By the time we got to our appointment an hour later, her temp was 102.
When a baby under 6 weeks has a temp over 101, they have to be admitted to the hospital. So across the hall we went to the pediatric ICU. I wasn't too concerned since my sister's youngest had to be admitted to the hospital for the same thing when he was only 2 weeks old. I sort of had an idea of what to expect. Sophia ended up to only have a small ear infection, so I was happy to hear that. But poor Claire had to go through a whole gamut of tests. I'm glad Sophia and Dad were there while they did these tests because I spent time with them rather than being in the hospital room with Claire and the nurses. I know some moms would totally be by the side of their baby, but I just couldn't take all the crying right then. I'd had it from both girls for two nights in a row, and I just couldn't do it again. They took Claire's blood, took a urine sample, and did a spinal tap. We went for a chest x-ray later, and she ended up also having an ecocardiogram on her heart. Ugh. I called Brett right after they told me they were admitting Claire to the hospital, but he couldn't get out of his day of work and couldn't get home until after midnight that evening.
Thank God for family. Dad ended up taking Sophia home and watching her for the rest of the day. Brett's mom came that evening to stay with her overnight and in to the next day. My mom came the next evening and stayed with her the next two days. Are you getting the picture here? We have an awesome family, and I'm so thankful that we live near them now.
So my Aunt Kay, Mom and Carla came to the hospital to keep me company until Brett showed up late Tuesday night. Claire had been hooked up to all these monitors. She was super hot, and even though they gave her Tylenol, she just couldn't break that fever. We were in the hospital until Thursday, and she finally broke the fever in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, they ended up putting her on oxygen that night, and she had to be off the oxygen for 24 hours before we went home. Long story short, we were there until this morning.
So Brett and I lived at the hospital from Tuesday until Saturday morning. I don't know how parents who have really sick children can stand living in the hospital while their kid is sick. We were only there for a short time, and I was so ready to go home. The doctors were amazing. The nurses were the best. The Clarian North facilities were immaculate. Yes, everything was perfect in that case, but all I wanted to do was take Claire back to her own home environment. And I guess every parent (and especially every mom) can relate to the desperate feeling of not being able to fix things. She's my daughter, and there's something wrong with her. I should know what's wrong, and I should be able to fix it. When you can't fix it, you feel helpless.
Thankfully, we have a strong daughter, and Claire was able to shake the viral infection that she caught. Ended up that she got a cold/flu/fever, and the doctors determined that her vomiting was caused by acid reflux. Brett and I ended up catching the same viral infection while were in the hospital with her. Brett got the sinus cold part of it, while I got the headache/bodyache/fever part of it. We are all on the mend, Tylenol in hand. Sophia was ecstatic to see us come home, and I'm thankful to get back to normal again. Brett leaves again for a 4-day trip on Monday, which sort of stinks, but at least I know I'll have two healthy daughters at home with me.
Last Sunday night, Brett and I had our hands full with both the girls. Claire was her normal self, or at least as normal as a three-week-old could be. Sophia was completely not herself. She woke up 9 at night, only an hour after she went to bed, and ended up screaming and staying awake until 3 am. Brett even took her for a drive in the car to help put her to sleep, which worked for all of 20 minutes. We just couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. We thought she was just being stubborn.
Brett left for work on Monday morning, after we both got about 4 hours of sleep. He was set to be gone until Thursday. Sophia and I just laid around all day. She ended up with a fever, and I noticed that she was pulling on her ears later in the evening. So I decided to call the pediatrician the next morning and make a doctor's appointment. That night was awful. Claire started acting a little weird. She didn't want to be held. She wanted to just eat for 10 minutes and fall asleep for about an hour. She screamed every time I touched her or tried to pick her up. Sophia was up and down all night. The girls were playing tag team. When one was asleep, the other was up, and vice versa. It went on all night, and I finally got an hour of sleep between about 5 and 6 am.
Thankfully, my dad came on Tuesday to help me take both of the girls to the doctor. By this time, I was less concerned about Sophia and more worried about Claire. Sophia had slept a little off and on the night before, and she wasn't in too bad of a mood the next morning. Claire, on the other hand, had a fever at 7 am of 100 degrees. I took her temp again before we left for the doctor, and at 10 am, her fever was 101. By the time we got to our appointment an hour later, her temp was 102.
When a baby under 6 weeks has a temp over 101, they have to be admitted to the hospital. So across the hall we went to the pediatric ICU. I wasn't too concerned since my sister's youngest had to be admitted to the hospital for the same thing when he was only 2 weeks old. I sort of had an idea of what to expect. Sophia ended up to only have a small ear infection, so I was happy to hear that. But poor Claire had to go through a whole gamut of tests. I'm glad Sophia and Dad were there while they did these tests because I spent time with them rather than being in the hospital room with Claire and the nurses. I know some moms would totally be by the side of their baby, but I just couldn't take all the crying right then. I'd had it from both girls for two nights in a row, and I just couldn't do it again. They took Claire's blood, took a urine sample, and did a spinal tap. We went for a chest x-ray later, and she ended up also having an ecocardiogram on her heart. Ugh. I called Brett right after they told me they were admitting Claire to the hospital, but he couldn't get out of his day of work and couldn't get home until after midnight that evening.
Thank God for family. Dad ended up taking Sophia home and watching her for the rest of the day. Brett's mom came that evening to stay with her overnight and in to the next day. My mom came the next evening and stayed with her the next two days. Are you getting the picture here? We have an awesome family, and I'm so thankful that we live near them now.
So my Aunt Kay, Mom and Carla came to the hospital to keep me company until Brett showed up late Tuesday night. Claire had been hooked up to all these monitors. She was super hot, and even though they gave her Tylenol, she just couldn't break that fever. We were in the hospital until Thursday, and she finally broke the fever in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, they ended up putting her on oxygen that night, and she had to be off the oxygen for 24 hours before we went home. Long story short, we were there until this morning.
So Brett and I lived at the hospital from Tuesday until Saturday morning. I don't know how parents who have really sick children can stand living in the hospital while their kid is sick. We were only there for a short time, and I was so ready to go home. The doctors were amazing. The nurses were the best. The Clarian North facilities were immaculate. Yes, everything was perfect in that case, but all I wanted to do was take Claire back to her own home environment. And I guess every parent (and especially every mom) can relate to the desperate feeling of not being able to fix things. She's my daughter, and there's something wrong with her. I should know what's wrong, and I should be able to fix it. When you can't fix it, you feel helpless.
Thankfully, we have a strong daughter, and Claire was able to shake the viral infection that she caught. Ended up that she got a cold/flu/fever, and the doctors determined that her vomiting was caused by acid reflux. Brett and I ended up catching the same viral infection while were in the hospital with her. Brett got the sinus cold part of it, while I got the headache/bodyache/fever part of it. We are all on the mend, Tylenol in hand. Sophia was ecstatic to see us come home, and I'm thankful to get back to normal again. Brett leaves again for a 4-day trip on Monday, which sort of stinks, but at least I know I'll have two healthy daughters at home with me.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Was it a fluke?
Okay...we got Sophia her own personal toilet, right? She's been really good with it so far. We've only had it since Thursday, and it has found a great home in the corner of the second bathroom. Brett has been really great with Sophia about going to sit on the "potty" pretty much every morning, before naptime, and then again in the evening. (I've sort of had my hands full with the other one, but I can hear everything that goes on in there. There is much book-reading going on in the bathroom now.) Anyway, so we got back from church this morning, and Brett sat Sophia on her little throne. We figured she had drunk a full sippy cup of apple juice, so something should be happening soon. And what do you know...that little girl WENT ON HER POTTY. No joke. I don't think she realized what she was doing. I chalked it up to a really full bladder. But then...oh, but then...Brett sat her down again before her bath tonight and she WENT AGAIN. Holy cow! She's not even 20 months old yet? Is this real? Is it a fluke? Or do we honestly have a toddler ready for potty training????
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Things are going pretty darn good
Things are going pretty well in our blooming little family. Here are some pictures to update everyone on what has been happening.
For the past month or so, Sophia has been coming up to us and telling us that she is stinky. I'd say a good 50% of the time, she actually does something to let us know that her diaper is dirty and she needs to be changed. Ah ha. So Brett and I decided we'd introduce the whole "potty" thing, and we went out to Babies R Us and got the mini-toilet. I have to say, I've always hated the word "potty," and I always swore I would never really use it with my kids, but rather, refer to the bathroom as "the bathroom." After introducing all of this to Sophia, I figured out that "potty" is easier for a toddler to say than "bathroom." So we've regressed on the whole potty word hatred. I guess I really only hate it when adults use "potty" to other adults when they need to go to the bathroom. Hence...potty word hatred. Oh well. Sophia loves her new pink potty chair.
We branched out a bit today and went to the Carmel Farmer's Market with our friends Sarah and Chris. This farmer's market was so cute! It was so much bigger than the markets in NY, and everything was MUCH cheaper. We ended up stopping at a booth that was selling these elaborately decorated sugar cookies. We walked away with 3 of them (for 85 cents a piece, how can you beat it). Since Sophia has been so fond of sheep lately (Baa Baa Black Sheep was the first song she really learned), we found her a sheep cookie. I love the reaction she made when we pulled it out for dessert at lunch. Thankfully, she had no issues eating it.
For the past month or so, Sophia has been coming up to us and telling us that she is stinky. I'd say a good 50% of the time, she actually does something to let us know that her diaper is dirty and she needs to be changed. Ah ha. So Brett and I decided we'd introduce the whole "potty" thing, and we went out to Babies R Us and got the mini-toilet. I have to say, I've always hated the word "potty," and I always swore I would never really use it with my kids, but rather, refer to the bathroom as "the bathroom." After introducing all of this to Sophia, I figured out that "potty" is easier for a toddler to say than "bathroom." So we've regressed on the whole potty word hatred. I guess I really only hate it when adults use "potty" to other adults when they need to go to the bathroom. Hence...potty word hatred. Oh well. Sophia loves her new pink potty chair.
We branched out a bit today and went to the Carmel Farmer's Market with our friends Sarah and Chris. This farmer's market was so cute! It was so much bigger than the markets in NY, and everything was MUCH cheaper. We ended up stopping at a booth that was selling these elaborately decorated sugar cookies. We walked away with 3 of them (for 85 cents a piece, how can you beat it). Since Sophia has been so fond of sheep lately (Baa Baa Black Sheep was the first song she really learned), we found her a sheep cookie. I love the reaction she made when we pulled it out for dessert at lunch. Thankfully, she had no issues eating it.
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