August 17th entry (creative, I know!)

It’s been a while, so I don’t even know where to begin.

Lake has not had fevers for so long that I can’t even remember the last time he was really sick. So that’s a blessing!

On July 20^th I got the extreme honor of witnessing my niece, Sloane Augusta, be born. Seriously, watching the miracle of birth is just an amazing and beautiful experience and I’m just so blessed to have a sister who let me be there. Breanna certainly didn’t make it look easy, but did such an awesome job of doing it completely drug free that I will always be in awe of her. I’m very excited that I get to be the first person to babysit her on Monday night so that Will can take Breanna out to celebrate her birthday.

Tim finally had an interview for the city of Bellevue, which we’ve been waiting 7 years for. We’re hoping he’ll find out he got the job on Monday. This opportunity will mean we’re finally on our way to accomplishing some huge goals in our lives and I am just so excited for the future!

We decided to not put the house on the market after finding out that even if we got our asking price, we would just barely make enough to move into an apartment. At this point, we’re not just trying to get out of our house. So we’ll see what happens with Tim’s job situation, then go from there. I do hope that maybe in the next six months or so, selling our house becomes a reality so that we can move and I can maybe go part time. But first things first: Tim gets that city job!

On Thursday night we received an email from the kids’ daycare that they are closing their doors after 20 years. I was in shock and totally heartbroken. Sure, they cost a lot, but knowing the kids love it there, learn so much, are around friends and their teachers really love them, makes paying the expensive tuition worth it. Especially after the home daycare we tried for two months, Tim and I really know what’s important when finding good care for our kids.

So after it sinking in that we only have two weeks to find new care for our kids, we started looking at other daycare facilities in the area. We also discussed a couple of the teachers we may consider approaching about hiring as a nanny.

Since my last search for a nanny came up empty handed, due to the typical pay a nanny could get, I wasn’t sure this would be a viable option. But we thought that it was worth a try because not only are parents out of care for their kids, a whole bunch of great daycare teachers are out of a job.

So yesterday morning, I took the kids nice and early to daycare since I knew Miss Elisa typically covers Lake’s room early in the morning. I was right and as soon as the classroom door closed, I said, “So you wanna job!?” She replied with, “I was hoping you would ask! As soon as we learned the news last night, you’re the first family I thought of!”

I was so relieved to hear that! Tim and I ended up meeting with her after she got off work and apparently, what we were able to offer, was totally agreeable to her! We are so relieved! It will certainly be a transition, to have a nanny come to our house, versus taking the kids some where. But we’ll be paying her less than what we currently pay daycare - it will equal out to be the same due to now having to supply our kids with lunches. She never missed a day of work at the daycare, which means she’s accountable, she is already certified for all the things you’d want in a caregiver, she is totally flexible with her schedule, she LOVES our kids! (She’s the one who bought Lake a cake and cute card for his first birthday) and I won’t have to stress about getting the kids ready and out of the door each morning.

Tim has decided, in preparation of having a nanny, we’re making our guest room a play room. I’m requesting a few days off as vacation since now I don’t have to worry about saving so many days in the event I’m not able to take the kids to daycare when they are sick, so I’m going to enjoy a few days off to myself while they are in daycare J I’ll still keep some vacation and sick days handy in the event that I have to stay home with them, but considering I REALLY need a break from work, this seems like perfect timing!

Tim and I had a date day last weekend. Back in March he bought tickets to the Mariner’s game that Ken Griffey Jr. was being inducted into the hall of fame. We had a gift card from Christmas to a restaurant close to the stadium, so we had a great, cheap date together. Tim’s parents had the kids overnight so after we ate and enjoyed a bit of the game, we headed home, hiked around our neighborhood and just really enjoyed us time. It was the first time that we had ever spent the night at our own home with out the kids. It was a little weird, but nice at the same time. We really need to figure out how to have more dates!

The kids are doing well. Kaydriana is becoming a bit more defiant, so we’re trying to combat that. On the positive side, her imagination is growing and now that she loves me telling her stories, particularly Goldilocks and the Three Bears, she likes to add on to the stories at the end. Her bangs are finally starting to not look so horrid after her run ins with the scissors. I’m praying we never have to deal with that again!

Lake is always covered in bruises! It was so bad about a week ago where he had a bruise on each cheek and everyone, including Tim, thought it was dirt! He still isn’t saying much, but he is in love with books. He enjoys it when I say animal sounds and he is pretty good with snorting like a pig when he sees one. Last night we were playing while Tim took Kaydriana to Home Depot and I told Lake that it was time for nigh night. He got up and started going up the stairs. I love that he understands me J

The past couple of weeks have been tough. I’ve been pretty down lately with the non-stop stress and feeling like I’m not fulfilling my life’s passion of being with my kids more. I still get up everyday and go through the motions, but what I really want to do is either be in bed or just hang out with the kids. It’s all I can do to get through the work day. Maybe having a four day weekend to look forward to next week will energize me, but knowing we’re entering our busy time of year here at work, is already having it’s toll. I want out so bad, and I just don’t see an end to this position in the near future. I just need to keep my eye on the prize and continue working towards our goals and, at minimum, survive until then.

How Many Balls Can We Juggle?

I’ve learned that God has an interesting sense of humor, especially since I became a parent. Thursday is a great example of thinking God was saying, “I’m going to give you the desires of your heart, but you need to remember to trust me through tribulations.”

On the way into work on Thursday, I was running short on time and was going about 10 miles over the speed limit down one of our hills. I know where the cops usually hang out, so I slowed down in the normal spots and sped up where I knew I could. Just then a sick feeling washed over me and I slowed all the way down to the speed limit. Few seconds later I see a motorcycle cop hiding where there never has been before. I typically would be going fast through that area so I thanked God for giving me that warning. I just couldn’t take another financial blow.

Later, I’m at work and on my to do list is a member issue that is just ridiculous and very escalated. I’ve been trying to get a hold of this member to tell him we will not cover the cost for missing an appointment with an installer that HE hired and is ripping HIM off. The bill was $2,188. I get a call from a phone agent telling me this member is on the phone to return my call. Perfect, lets get this over with, I think. I accept the call cheerfully and was told this was not the member, it is the installer. He starts threatening me telling me I’m bad mouthing his business (he used some legal jargon, not defaming, slander, or libel, but something else) and that it is against the law in the state of Texas and he’ll have his lawyers contact me and blah blah blah. I get nervous and take a, “play nice in the sand box” approach and get him off the phone.

I was worried that I might be held personally responsible because I did tell the member that the installer he hired has an unfavorable rating on the BBB and from my experience, no installer would charge a member that much money to have to reschedule their installation appointment. I was only telling the member out of concern.

I ended up calling our legal department and had to leave a message. So I sweated about this for a few hours. Finally, I spoke to one of our lawyers and he said I didn’t do anything wrong. I wasn’t maliciously saying untruths about this company and what I did share was public knowledge on BBB’s website. Phew!

A little while later, Tim text me after he picked the kids up from daycare to say that our monthly daycare fee has been reduced by $122!! That means our new monthly fee is… $2,188!!! That dollar amount look familiar!? Crazy coincidence!

However, minutes later Tim calls me with bad news. As he was backing up to parallel park, he hit someone who was behind him. He says it was her fault because he was already partly in the spot and she obviously wasn’t paying attention. But I’m not totally convinced. Who knows how the insurance company will go. The last thing we need is to pay another $500 deductable! We just paid that with our water damage.

It’s bad enough that I hit a neighbors rearview mirror and had to pay $318 out of pocket to reimburse the replacement mirror. Then we receive a bi-monthly water bill and it’s gone from an average of $200 to $600! I spoke with our insurance company and it’s unlikely they’ll reimburse us, because for one instance of our toilet overflowing, wouldn’t cause that much extra water usage. My toilet has done this constant running thing for months and I had my huge make up case on the back of the lid, so I generally would just let it be. Now with the toilet situation and our outrageous bill, I’ve been taking the lid off to stop the water. Next step is to have someone from the water department make sure we don’t have a leak and then ask them to cut us a break. We also need to call a plumber to look at the toilet, but we definitely can’t afford that right now, so I need to be diligent about stopping it from running. Ugh! Being a home owner is not all it’s cracked up to be! I kinda miss the days where I can call the apartment manager and have the handy man fix my issue.

To make matters worse, Tim and I have not put ourselves in a financial situation where we have wiggle room to handle disasters. Since I returned to work from having Lake and paying for two kids in daycare, we’ve had to use credit cards a lot to make ends meet. Add to that all of Lake’s doctor bills and not only are we struggling to pay our monthly bills, we certainly can’t afford all these unplanned bills. We’re looking into debt consolidating, but wonder if we should. We’re putting our house on the market and my idea is to use what we make on the house to get out of debt, move into an apartment, save money for a new down payment and start fresh. I just don’t know what the right answer is.

Among all these financial unknowns are our work situations. I’m so excited that Tim is finally switching to day shifts on July 1^st. I’ve been feeling alone for a long time. Not just single parent status and having to deal with all the kids needs from 7PM-9AM each day, but no one to talk to status. I began to enjoy it, like the kids go to bed and I’m by myself to read. But after I realized I was mostly looking forward to seeing my message therapist for the conversation and not just for the back care, I realized that something just wasn’t right. I’ve turned to my online mommy groups, which has been really great, but nothing beats being able to sit and talk to your partner. It really, really became obvious when Tim and I went to stay overnight for our anniversary. Being able to have a conversation with him is something so simple, but so needed and worthwhile. Imagine that, a wife talking to her husband…

Tim will begin working from 630-330 most days. We’ll need to figure out how to sleep in the same bed again. He likes windows open, TV or radio on, no covers. I’m exactly opposite. But we’ll finally have time together while the kids are asleep, which will be great.

Now, onto the topic that’s bringing me a lot of excitement and nerves… I’m applying for a new position at work. It’s a lateral position in a WAY less stressful position, earlier hours and Monday through Friday. I would be all excitement and no nerves if I didn’t have to worry and figure out childcare. The position would mean I’d have to open 3 days a week, which I would absolutely love!! I loved those hours before I had Kaydriana. However, I’d have to be at work at 5:30 AM and daycare doesn’t open until 6:30. So at least three days a week, we’d have to hire a nanny. If everything worked out perfectly, a nanny would be at our house at 515 those three days I have to open and the kids can stay in daycare two days a week. It would have to equal out to be what we’re currently paying as we certainly can’t afford more than what we’re paying. I like the idea of not having to get the kids fed, dressed and out of the house in a frenzy. But I would be concerned about their safety (do I let the nanny drive them anywhere?) and learning and playing with other kids. Also, finding good childcare is stressful!!!!

I have my interview on Tuesday and while I have an excellent shot at getting it, I’m not a shoe in. I’m trusting God will open doors to get me out of this current position, with these really restricted hours. When I was on maternity leave with Kaydriana, I was called and told I was coming to Ecom. So I never got the benefit of really learning if I could have a good work/life balance and be satisfied with my job and home life.

I feel like this new position, with it’s earlier hours, would give me the benefit of having a good balance and perhaps satisfy the hunger I have to spend more time with my kids.

With the house going on the market, our financial situation, new positions at work and possible childcare changes, we have a lot of things up in the air. Trusting in God’s plan for us and praying for patience and wisdom in all of this. 

Adventures...

It’s been a crazy past few weeks. Actually, all of May was crazy, which I knew it would be. I had a lot of time off for the kids’ birthdays, girls weekend, and our 5 year wedding anniversary. That was all planned. What wasn’t planned was the not so expected adventures.

In my last post, I covered how well Kaydriana’s party went. When I entered the information into the kids’ baby book, there were 41 guests at her bday party! We didn’t invite as many little friends to Lake’s, so his party had 21 guests, which was perfectly fine!

Lake’s birthday was fun. I made him a little ball pit with a plastic tub with plastic balls. He loved it! Kaydriana loved it too! That made for a fun morning. Because it was the Friday before Memorial weekend, daycare was closed so Tim and I took both kids to the Woodland Park Zoo. The kids held up for a long time, but they made it clear when it was time to go! After we got home from the zoo we sang happy birthday to Lake and presented him with an adorable little cake his daycare teacher gave him. He was not into it! I think he is more like Tim: not a big fan of sweets. Unlike Kaydriana, who is a lot like me and insisted on helping her baby brother with devouring his cake.

Lake’s party started off a little touchy with decorating and setting up for an indoor party. At the last minute, we moved everything outside since the weather seem to have stabilized. Lake doesn’t usually go too long without a nap so we knew we’d be fast tracking the birthday events. Lake had fun playing with the ball pit balls we moved outside and watching his sister and cousins running around. He was in a much more cheerful mood than he was at Kaydriana’s party. Then it was time for cake. He still didn’t have much interest, but we made him get dirty anyway, because we’re awesome parents like that. After he was good and messy, I realized we hadn’t brought out any wipes to clean him with. I asked Tim to go inside and grab wipes.

He comes back out sauntering in that way that he does and locks eyes with me and motions me with his finger and then says our house is flooding. Without reliving all the gory details, basically, my third story toilet didn’t stop running and it leaked through the second floor all the way to the first floor kitchen. Water was pouring out of the sprinkler system and light fixtures. Tim and Lee were taking care of things and Tim told me to go back out with our guests and go ahead and open Lake’s presents. So the party went on.

Lake wasn’t too excited with opening presents, but sissy was there to assist. Our party goers started to leave and give us their condolences and well wishes as they left.

Not too long after, the water damage people showed up and went to work drying out our house. All I gotta say is, thank goodness for homeowners insurance!

They tore apart my bathroom, placing the toilet in the tub. In both bathrooms and the hallways, Lake’s closet and the linen closet, the floor boards were ripped off. So with the carpeting also pulled back and nails and chunks of dry wall exposed, it has been too dangerous to have the kids upstairs while I’m getting ready for work. That has been so difficult. How our house is laid out, the most practical way of me getting ready each morning is having the kids on the third floor with me, putting the baby gate up at the top of the stairs and letting them play. This has not been possible for over two weeks. I’ve been going to the gym to work out and get ready, dropping the kids off at daycare early so I can get ready at home, and once I locked them downstairs while I showered and that didn’t work out too well. Finally after 16 days the house was put back together!! I am looking forward to getting back into our normal routine. The mornings are my only quality time with the kids. However, now that I know I can make it to the gym, I’m going to try to go twice a week. I really enjoy my work outs again!

Both kids had their well child checks on May 30^th. Kaydriana still has her irregular heart beats, called PCVs. I was kinda hoping she would have grown out of them already, but we’ll just continue to watch her. Kaydriana is 33 pounds now and despite her heart beats, is perfectly healthy.

We talked about Lake and I gave Dr. Schrier the notes I made regarding Lake’s fevers.

There isn’t a consistent pattern and we talked about the possibility of arthritis. Because Lake hasn’t been exhibiting any real signs of it, she felt we could rule that out for now.

She advised that we continue checking his temperature, and when he does spike a fever, to have him come in and get checked for symptoms. And if we can find a more consistent pattern, see if I can get him in before a fever spikes and draw blood to check his white blood cell counts. Sounds like if he does have something, it’s going to be a long time before we figure it out.

However, less than 12 hours after our appointment and he getting vaccines, when I got home at 7 that night, Lake had a fever of 102. He woke up the next morning with that and had fast shallow breaths and his heart was beating fast. I called the nurse on call at Children’s and from what we were able to discern, it appears he could be part of the 1-2% of children who have a reaction to the PCV vaccination. I was told his symptoms could last 72 hours, but to go ahead and treat with ibuprofen and Tylenol. I took him to daycare and got a note faxed over so they could give him the fever reducers.

That same day, Tim had a surprise overnight date planned for our 5 year anniversary. He had picked up the kids from daycare and took them to his parent’s house. He didn’t mention anything about Lake not doing well. He picked me up and whisked me away to Salish Lodge.

We had a great time, staying in the nicest room I had ever stayed in. We had an amazing dinner and dessert and enjoyed the falls. We also enjoyed the Jacuzzi tub, which I’ve never used before. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention, I walked into the room with a beautiful bouquet of roses and gourmet chocolates.

The next day, I had a hard time sleeping in (darn breast feeding!) but enjoyed lounging around and ordering room service. Salish makes the best eggs Benedict! While we were waiting for our breakfast to arrive, Tim called his parents and that’s when we learned that Lake had had a really rough night.

When we made our way to the kids, Lake couldn’t even sit up, he was so lethargic. He usually is so excited to see me, but it was almost like he didn’t recognize me. The rest of our anniversary, Lake laid on top of me. He couldn’t get comfy in his crib, and he didn’t want any food except to nurse occasionally. My sweet little guy L

The next day, Sunday he perked up a bit, but still had a fever. And then on Monday morning, he woke up and it was like a light bulb was switched on. He was perky and happy and fever free….

So we’ll just keep tracking, and I’ll be avoiding vaccines at his 15 month appointment. 

Starting Down a New Path

Starting Down a New Path

It’s ironic that my last post started off with talking about a healthy child. Within a couple of days, my little guy had high fevers once again.

May 11^th, (Kaydriana’s 3^rd birthday party day) Lake was clingy and didn’t want to be put down. I didn’t pay too much attention to it, as I was hosting the party and had had Lakey helpers. However, later that evening, I noticed he started to get a bit warm so I gave him a bit of ibuprofen before bed.

The next day was Mother’s Day. I gave him the rest of the fever reducer we had and went to the zoo and had a nice time. Afterwards, I went to run a few errands (sans children) and Tim text me to say Lake had woken up from his nap and was shaking. I ran to Fred Meyers and got Motrin and Acetaminophen and when I got home and took his temp, it was up to 104.5… here we go again with his ears, so I thought.

We were able to keep his fever down with alternating between the two meds. He woke up every two hours Sunday night/Monday morning, which was no fun as I had a day of jury duty to look forward to. I pumped him with meds, dropped him off at daycare and crossed my fingers. I only ended up being at jury duty for about an hour or so, then had to report to work. I was only at work for an hour before I saw the dreaded, “ICA” show up on my phone.

Lake had fallen asleep while being held by one of his teachers outside. They laid him down in the crib and when he woke up, he was shaking and had a temp of 103.7 (and as his daycare says, “without adding a temp because of being taken in the armpit”). I left work and picked him up. I knew I had to take Lake to the doctor to confirm another ear infection. If it was, then they could write me a note for daycare, allowing him to return tomorrow and give him pain medicine/RX/Motrin. If it wasn’t an ear infection, then he wouldn’t be able to return for 24 hours of being fever free.

We had about 3 hours before the doctor appointment so I gave him Motrin, and then we both took a nap.  When we get to his pediatrician, he was happy and energetic and his ears were perfectly clear.  Which might be good news to some, but it wasn’t for me because now I’m in territory I’m not familiar with… the unknown.

Dr. Schrier says that she feels like there must be something else going on and that there are some syndromes that are known to cause recurring, high fevers. She said that to diagnose that, we’d have to track his fevers and probably do some blood work and that regardless, it’s probably going to take some time. She said that she believes his ears may not have been causing these high fevers after all. That reminded me of the comment one of the doctors made when we took Lake in after vacation. She said he did have a minor infection, but it’s unlikely that that is what is causing such high fevers. I remember being mad and annoyed because in my mind, of course that is what was causing the high fevers.

After I got home and started to google different fever syndromes, I found that Juvenile Rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) can cause fevers too. Since I had that as a child, I called Dr. Schrier’s office up and left that information with them, so we can be looking in the right directions.

Here is some of the information I was able to pull up regarding recurrent fevers:

Recurrent fevers are defined as three or more febrile episodes in a six-month period, occurring at least seven days apart, with no causative medical illness. These episodes can occur at regular or irregular intervals. 

Few diseases cause a regular pattern of recurrent fevers. The most common diagnosis associated with this fever pattern is PFAPA syndrome (i.e., periodic fever, aphthous ulcers (canker sores), pharyngitis (sore throat), and adenopathy (enlarged Lymph nodes). PFAPA is characterized by high fevers lasting three to six days and recurring every 21 to 28 days, accompanied by some or all of the signs noted in its name. The syndrome usually occurs in children younger than five years who present with regular fevers and cervical adenopathy. Aphthous ulcers, which are usually small and relatively painless, are the symptom most likely to be missed.

There is another syndrome called Familial Mediterranean fever that Dr. Schrier mentioned by name. That can have a lot of other symptoms associated with it (none that sounded like Lake has had) or in 25% of the cases, no other symptoms appear.

And this is some of the information regarding JRA:

Systemic JIA. Affects the whole body. Symptoms include high fevers that often increase in the evenings and then may suddenly drop to normal. During the onset of fever, the child may feel very ill, appear pale, or develop a rash. The rash may suddenly disappear and then quickly appear again. The spleen and lymph nodes might become enlarged. Eventually many of the body's joints are affected by swelling, pain, and stiffness.

I’ve gone ahead and looked back on my previous blog posts and Instagram and Facebook posts and tracked how frequent his fevers have been. Since December, the shortest amount of time he’s gone without a fever is 18 days. The longest is 45 days. Unfortunately, I haven’t tracked how long the fevers last, but from what I recall, they are typically about 4-6 days.

I don’t qualify for FMLA until mid-July because of using up all of my hours when I was on maternity leave with Lake. I only have about 2 days of sick left and 3 vacation days until November. If I can’t take him to daycare when his fevers strike, then I’ll be running out of protected time and will need Tim to call in and utilize his parents while they’re available. I don’t want to rely on any of my other possible resources who have children because we don’t know if what he has is contagious.

I’m sad that most of my recent posts have to do with Lake’s illness when there is so much more going on in our life. Kaydriana’s 3^rd birthday party went off without a hitch. We had great weather, and having it in our park worked out great. She had a lot of fun! She got awesome gifts and adorable clothes! When I asked Tim how I did with the party, he said it was over the top. Well then, I take that as just right! J

Lake is turning 1 next Friday and honestly I am shocked by how quickly this year has gone. I can still remember every detail of that day he was born and it feels like a couple of months ago, not 51.5 weeks ago! He can run (kinda) and I’m teaching him how to high-five. He’s starting to sit at Kaydriana’s big kid table and feed himself. Last night we went to Red Robin and he drank water out of a cup with a straw and fed himself grilled cheese sandwich pieces. I started him on hemp and oat milk instead of using formula a couple of weeks ago and I’ll start him on whole milk in a week or so. He’s still waking up one to two times a night to nurse (more frequent when he’s sick). Through out the day I nurse him in the morning, pump twice at work, nurse him when I get home, then nurse him before bed. I’m trying to cut down on the nursing and the last few days am only pumping once while at work. It would be grand if he would stop waking in middle of the night to eat!

 Daycare is already starting to transition him into the, “wobblers” room instead of the infant room. That makes me sad, but as I see all the cute babies cradled in a swing and doing tummy time, it’s obvious that Lake has surpassed that stage. Oh and he got his first haircut on Kaydriana’s birthday. He’s definitely becoming a big boy!

Things are Good

You don’t know how amazing it is to have healthy kids, until you don’t have healthy kids. Lake had his tubes placed about two weeks ago now. Since the procedure, our little boy is a different person. He is much more independent and loves to play. He’s much less clingy and there is a sense of relief that when I go to pick him up out of the crib, I don’t need to check his head and body for a fever. Now if his darn teeth would pop out, he’d be the happiest kid on the block! (Update – When Lake woke me up in the middle of the night last night, he had a temp of 102. He has been acting fine and no complaints from daycare, so I think that might have been just a fluke)

Life is good. It’s warm and sunny and I got to enjoy about 36 hours of girl time with no kids this weekend. Each year, 4 of my girlfriends from work and I try to get away for a weekend. We didn’t get to go the last two years because of pregnancies and weddings, but we’ve done it about 8 times so far. It’s a lot of effort to get 5 of us Costco girls the same time off, but when we do, it’s always worth it! We’ve all worked together for many years and now we are all in different departments. We have girl chat, eat junk food, go shopping, watch movies and laugh a lot. It’s awesome!!

This year, a few weeks leading up to the trip I told the girls I was just going to go for one night instead of two. At the time, I decided it was best because of how sick Lake has been and that he doesn’t sleep through the night yet. Since Lake had gotten the tubes, he’s been acting so much better and sleeping better too, but I still decided to just go one night because I really don’t get to spend enough time with my kids as it is. One of my girlfriends, Katie felt the same way regarding her family, so we decided to drive together. We got 4 hours of quality time in the car, which was a bonus!

The month of May is going to be such a fun month. Girls weekend was last weekend, this weekend is Kaydriana’s third birthday, Lake’s first birthday is on the 24^th and then it’s me and Tim’s 5 year wedding anniversary.

I can’t believe my baby girl is going to be three on Friday. In some ways she seems older than that because compared to her little brother, she is a big girl. But when it’s just her and me time after daddy leaves for work and Lakey is asleep, she loves to snuggle with me as she watches a bit of cartoons before bedtime.

I love the way she talks. When she hears an unfamiliar noise, she says, “what does that sound make?” instead of saying, “what’s making that sound?”. When I tell her its bedtime she holds up her two fingers and she says, “two minutes mommy, two minutes”. She has absolutely no concept of time. At times she tells me I am her best friend or that Lakey is her best friend, or sometimes it’s daddy. When Lake does something she doesn’t like she says that Lakey is not her best friend. It’s hilarious!

She has two little buddies at daycare that she constantly talks about, Nora and Lacey. They both greet her in the mornings, excited she’s there and suddenly she is in to purses, pretend lipstick, and asking for her hair to be put into pig-tails. She usually only wants to dress herself and I try not to fight her when she insists on wearing her warm dress coat when it’s a shorts and sandals kind of day. Love the girliness of it all!

Sigh… my babies are getting old! Good thing my niece will be born soon and I can snuggle on that precious itty bitty baby. Until I get to have another itty bitty baby :) - Someday. Like when I get a few years worth of sleep first! 

The Procedure

 While I felt I was prepared for what to expect regarding Lake’s, “bilateral myringotomy with tubes”, (ear tubes in both ears) nothing can prepare you to actually handle the day with energy and patience.

Before I get into how the day went, here is a bit of an explanation of the procedure:

“A myringotomy with tubes is ear surgery done under general anesthesia. A small hole is made in the eardrum so fluid can be removed from the middle ear. A tiny, 2-mm tube is then inserted into the hole. This allows air into the middle ear which prevents fluid from building up again.”

I’ve learned from a friend’s experience, and the information the surgeon gave us, that tubes do not prevent all infections. But they often reduce how often a child gets infections.

Our day started at 4:30 AM. The cut off for Lake’s last meal was 4:45 so I set my alarm to wake him up to feed him. I knew he would not want to have a spoon of food crammed into his mouth, so I used one of the medicine droppers and force fed him like I do his medicine. He hated every minute of it, but I got him to eat at least a ½ jar of food.

The cut off for breast milk was 6:45, so we were back up early enough for me to nurse him. Then I just hoped and prayed that we could survive long enough without eating until the procedure.

Check in was scheduled for 10:50. Tim and I got there in plenty of time and I don’t know, I guess I was expecting to be taken back within a few minutes. Ummm no. When we checked in, one of the volunteers greeted us and let us know the surgeons were a little behind. We waited and waited and waited. About 45 minutes into waiting (with no update) I overheard another family go up to the desk to check on what was going on. They were told it would be at least another ½ hour. They were there before us.

Lake was squirmy and bored so after Tim and I took turns carrying him around, I finally took him into the play room. Finally about another 15-20 minutes we were taken back. But then we waited another 20-30 minutes for the anesthesiologist. Exhausted and hungry (all of us!) we finally got started.

Because the procedure was going to be so fast, Lake got to keep his clothes on and he didn’t need an IV. I think all of that really helped me keep it all together. I laid him on the table and they warned me that as the anesthesia was given, he might start to cry/scream. Not my baby. He got the biggest smile on his face and giggled (The anesthesiologist said they have never seen that J ) I stroked his face and when he started to squirm, I held his hands. As he settled into sleep, I gave him a kiss and then they escorted us out.

The procedure was supposed to take less than 10 minutes. At the 8 minute mark, I kept checking the time after each additional minute or two went by. Finally about 15 minutes after it started, they brought us into the recovery room. Lake didn’t look like my baby. He had a thing in his mouth that kept his tongue from rolling back. The nurse told us that if he didn’t wake up on his own in 15 minutes, they would start trying to wake him up. After we took a seat, Tim mentioned something about the Seahawks and I don’t know if it was daddy’s voice or what, Lake started waking up. He was upset and I started nursing him. You could tell he was starving! The nurse told us to fill our prescription for ear drop antibiotics since he indeed did have a double ear infection when they went in to place the tubes.

After we got out of there and into the truck, I gave Lake a food pouch, which he sucked down. Then he screamed the entire way home. By the looks in his eyes, the anesthesia was still affecting him. I sat in the back with him and he kept reaching for me. I felt so bad that I couldn’t hold him. Tim and I were both starving too so we drove through Taco Bell and by the time we got home, Lake was asleep. It was nap time for mommy too!

After he woke up, he was a little delirious, but after he got his bearings, a smile came to his face. He was ready to eat and play! We hung out for about 1.5 hours ( I was really entranced by the news coverage of the authorities finding, “suspect #2” from the Boston Marathon Bombing, hiding in that guys boat). I took Lake grocery shopping with me and he did great. We picked Kaydriana up from daycare and when we got home, they played and he was doing so well!

He went to bed just fine, but then at 2 AM he woke up screaming. Tim was at work since he signed up for OT before we knew about the procedure. He was almost back to sleep when Kaydriana woke up crying. The double whammies are the worst! So I put Lake down in his crib and he was not happy. But I knew if I didn’t tend to Kaydriana soon, she’d cry louder or come upstairs and then there would be no hope of Lake falling asleep. She wanted a snack and water. After I got that for her, I came back upstairs to find Lake inconsolable. At one point, I laid down on one of his blankets and used his boppy as a pillow next to his crib. We held hands (wish I could have gotten a picture!) until I thought he was asleep. He wasn’t. Basically after 2.5 hours of us being awake, I did the only thing I was capable of at that time. I brought him into bed with me and nursed him to sleep.

So basically I didn’t sleep, which is awesome when you’re the only manager on duty for Saturday. Adding insult to injury, I’m now sick and I’m pretty sure I have an ear infection in my right ear.

Yesterday was a really long, hard day and today will be too. But I’m feeling very optimistic about the future of Lake’s health. And now if we can survive teething, we should be good!

Resolution!?

I am so happy to say that Lake is having tubes put in his ears on Friday!

We had our long awaited Children’s Hospital appointment today. It’s perfect timing too, because Lake woke up at 4 o’clock this morning with 102.2 fever!

Driving into the CH in Bellevue, I felt like we were in a special place. They have these shiny pinwheels spinning throughout the driveway and of course, everything is bright and cheery. Everyone, even other patient’s parent’s, were smiling and friendly.

When we got called back they took Lake’s height and weight. He’s grown a pound since his last appointment. He’s a whopping 21 pounds! We only have a pound left before we have to change his car-seat; we better get on that!

When the doctor came in, she asked the normal questions and reviewed his history with his infections. Then she said, “so you want to do tubes?” I told her yes, unless there was something we haven’t tried yet. She said that she thought tubes were a great idea. She said that I can take him out of daycare, keep him home and in a bubble and not allow his sister to ever touch him. But seeing as that is not an option, tubes are the best resolution at this time. I really appreciated her assurance because I haven’t gotten that yet! So then I shared with her other people’s feedback or advice regarding extra vitamins, chiropractor adjustments, etc. She said there is no evidence supporting any of that helps cure or reduce ear infections.

I believe there are certainly health benefits to those things mentioned above, but the fact remains, my son’s ear infections are not going to be resolved without this procedure and that’s where we are at, at this point in time.

She checked his ears and sure enough his ears are, “angry”. She said they aren't technically infected yet, so if we can get him in to get the tubes right away, we should be able to avoid another round of antibiotics.

Then she tells me the surgeon has an opening this Friday. I was totally excited! Although, to be honest, I’m slightly bummed that I have to cancel my reflexology spa appointment, my hair appointment and my coffee date with Ashley, but of course, nothing is going to stop me from going forward with this procedure for Lake.

The only thing I am nervous about is the not eating or drinking before the procedure. When the lady called to confirm the details of the procedure, she clarified for me that check in time is at 10:50 AM on Friday. Lake cannot have any formula or food after 4:45 AM, but that I could nurse him up until 6:45. He’s only wanted breast milk the past two days anyway, so hopefully, we can last those 4 hours without too much difficulty.

The procedure should only take less than 10 minutes and we should only be there for a total of 1.5 hours. The recovery is painless, but they warned me that he could be fussy for a while until the anesthesia completely wears off in a couple of hours. So I know Friday will be a tough day. Tim and I will get to be at his bedside as he falls asleep, but before they start the procedure, they’ll move us into the recovery room. I’ll probably cry, I’m sure.

I’m thankful that we have some hope for relief and can’t wait to have a healthy baby for more than a week at a time.

Oh and as icing on the cake, as the scheduling nurse was leaving the room, she waved, “bye” to Lake. It took him a moment, but he waved (both hands) back at her! That was his first wave! J