Sunday, September 30, 2012

How did we get here?

How did we get here again? It's the one place I NEVER EVER wanted to be again. It holds so many bad memories and I really thought that after getting through everything with Addi we wouldn't ever return. I just can't believe we are back here. Greyson was so healthy and doing so great, until this past Tuesday. Addi and Aubrey had gotten sick over the weekend and I did my best to keep them away from him, but obviously it didn't work.

I had mentioned him being sick in a earlier post, wet cough and what-not. Well we went to the Doctor on Thursday and I explained everything to him and he checked him out and said that day 3 is when they know if it will just work itself out or if he would need medical intervention. He told us to look out for quicker breathing, refusal to eat (during the day since he was already refusing at night), and fever. Well that night we were on watch, we barley slept. Greyson's breathing kept getting really fast but then it'd go back to normal, which can be normal for newborns. Then around 3 AM he was laying on my chest and felt really warm so we checked his temp. It was 100.5, we weren't sure if it was just from him laying on me and us making each other really hot. We then retook it an hour or so later and it was down to 99. I kept tossing and turning all night wondering if I should take him back into the Doctor. The deciding factor came when it took me 45 minutes to get him to start eating that next morning and then he threw what little he finally ate right back up. He had been doing great with his daytime eating so I was pretty sure something more serious was going on. His breathing was still very labored.

We went in around 1 and the Doctor listened to his breathing and became very concerned about him having fluid in his lungs. She told us we would have to head to the hospital just to get some testing done and if it came back ok that we probably wouldn't have to stay. She then had a nurse check his pulse-ox (saturation of oxygen in a patient's hemoglobin) and his number was low. She then came in and told us that as soon as she saw his pulse-ox number that she called to get an ambulance there to take Greyson to the hospital. I about freaked out, and of course started crying. There was no way I could stomach another one of my kids being carted off in an ambulance in the crazy incubators they have. Those incubators make everything seem so much more scary for some reason. She said that the ambulance was in Orange Park and that she is going to let us take him ourselves only if we promised to go immediately to the hospital.

We headed to Wolfson's, I dropped Greg off at the ER with Greyson. I then spent the next half hour trying to make it there with the girls. It was seriously the longest maze to get to the ER from the parking garage. Aubrey was loving it, since it gave her a chance to ride in "her" red stroller. When we got to the room Greyson was on a big bed with an IV in his arm with people rushing around to get stuff hooked up to him. They hooked up the pusle-ox monitor and then pretty much instantly put him on oxygen. Every time someone came into the room they asked us about what was going on with Greyson. I felt like I was on repeat, saying the same things over and over.

They then did a bunch of testing that we all had to step out of the room for. Addi was a bit of a handful she was very hard to keep happy since she wasn't really able to be put down. If we put her down the ER would of been ransacked in 15 seconds flat, that girl can destroy a room in no time. After about 20 mins of hanging out in the hallway listening to poor Greyson's pterodactyl cries we were allowed back in. A nurse came in to get his vitals, and when she took his temp it was only 94, she thought it must be a mistake and retook it. It was still 94. She had me crawl in the bed with him to cuddle. He was so cold. It was so scary. The Doctor told us that Greyson had RSV, but they were doing all the other testing to make sure that he didn't have anything else on top of it. They started antibiotics, it was a standard precaution for any baby under 1 month.

They were getting a room ready up stairs but they wouldn't let us go until his temp came up. It took quite a bit of time to get it up, which meant Greg had to entertain the girls in that time. Both girls were unfortunately forced to skip their naps due to all of this, but both really did a great job handling the situation.We finally got moved up to the room, which was nice since there is a play area in the PICU. So Greg took the girls to play while I told the Doctors all over again what was going on with Greyson. The Doctor said the girls would not be allowed to visit just in case they didn't have the exact same thing as Greyson. It has made this stay that much more painful.

My parents would normally have come to get the girls, but my sister had started having contractions and they weren't sure if they were going to have to head down there to watch her son if she were to have the baby that day. So thankfully Mary came and got the girls, and they have since been passed back an forth between Grandparents. Thank goodness for having family close by, and thank goodness the girls adore them as much as they do and they take it all in stride. 

Greyson has slowly been getting less and less oxygen, so we thought we would be able to go home today. His respiratory rate increases pretty frequently, and you can see him struggling to breathe. They tried to take him off it completely this morning and he lasted a few hours before his pulse-ox number went down and wouldn't come back up to a normal range. So back on oxygen he went. They then came in a few hours later to try to just take it down a little bit. His pulse-ox instantly dipped and his respiratory rate instantly increased. Very frustrating. So the nurse put it right back to where it was. We try again at 7pm to take him off. If it works we will be able to go home tomorrow.

I am so ready to go home. I really miss the girls and am going a little insane being back here.

Each day in here feels like a week.

I just want Greyson to be better and for our little family to be back together again.







Since writing this they have decided not to take him off the oxygen yet, his numbers aren't very good right now on the oxygen so they feel he still isn't ready. So looks like our stay keeps extending since they won't try to ween until morning. :(



Thursday, September 27, 2012

We won a stroller!

I am a crazy contest enter-er, hmm there has to be a better way to word that but I have mush for a brain right now due to my lack of sleep as of late. Anyways what I mean is, I enter any contest or giveaway that comes my way. I don't really search them out but if they show up in my Facebook feed or email, I enter. Greg always makes fun of me for wasting my time on these giveaways, but it doesn't stop me from making him enter if it gets ME more entries. Am I sounding crazier by the second or what?

This giveaway was one of those where if your friends entered you got more entries for yourself. I never really expect to win and really NEVER expect for Greg to win, he's just a pawn to get me more entries hehehe. Greg is not what I would call lucky. Actually it's a known fact amongst his friends that if it comes down to luck Greg pretty much always loses, but if it comes to skill and determination Greg most times comes out on top. So when Greg received an email from JJ Cole, he instantly thought it was fake. I told him not to delete it and to let me check their Facebook page and see if it maybe was real. When I went to their page, there it was in black and white. Gregory Moore won a stroller. Not just a cheap umbrella stroller either, a fancy stroller (http://jjcolecollections.com/broadway-stroller) with an extra canopy and a bundle me!

Now if you know me, you know that I have two baby gear obsessions. One is diaper bags, and the other is strollers. I have had 8 or so different strollers in the past two and a half years (since Aubrey was born). So yeah. Just a little stroller crazy. (Which reminds me I will be reviewing all the ones I have had very soon, hopefully!) Not only am I stroller obsessed, but Aubrey is even more so than me. She was so excited when she saw that we had yet another new stroller. She wanted to rip it open on the spot (I of course didn't get her initial reaction on video but here she is a little while later still asking to open it).

So if there was a contest that would be perfect for our family to win this would be it! A really fun and neat stroller. The only thing that kind of stinks is that we just purchased two new strollers this month. What are the chances??

Either way we are super excited to have won anything at all! Maybe Greg is luckier than we thought! :)

Who Knew??

*WARNING! Another post about breast feeding. 

Who knew that having a child who wants to sleep at night would be so stressful?

I certainly didn't. I prayed and prayed for Aubrey to sleep through the night. I was so jealous of parents who brought their babies home from the hospital and supposedly their kids slept through the night from the get go. Does that really happen???

So yeah... I am exhausted. Greyson wouldn't eat again last night. He is doing fine during the day, and he does fine for his last feeding before bed and his first feed in the morning. During the night though, we just can't get him to eat. It's turning us into looney people. We are now reacting to every little noise he makes in hopes that he is waking up to eat. I don't think we'd be as crazy about it if he didn't have this wet cough and congestion, but we know the only way for him to get better right now is to get breast milk.

Last night was so painful for me, I had to get up and pump because I just couldn't take him not eating. I tried to just relieve it so that I don't start overproducing even more than I already am. So I just pump until I don't feel engorged anymore. I pumped 4oz in less than 3 minutes from just one side. It was so intensely coming out that it was loudly falling into the container.

He really needs to start eating at night again. I really can't take it. I need sleep, and I need for my boobs not to explode.

END VENT.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Feeling Like a First Time Mother.

This one might be a little TMI with all the breastfeeding talk, be forewarned. 

Each child has somehow made me feel like a first time Mother. With Aubrey I obviously was a first time Mother. With Addi it was when I couldn't get her to latch. I had no issues with Aubrey at all, I could nurse her upside down if I wanted and it'd still go smoothly (kidding of course). The nurse kept coming in and trying to help me feed Addi, which was just beyond frustrating since I had done it a million times before. I kept telling her something must be wrong because Addi just couldn't do it. Well of course as you know, we came to find out a lot of stuff was wrong and breast feeding wasn't going to be an option.

Now on to Greyson. With Greyson we have no issues with latching at all. It's more so the frequency of his eating that is stressing me out, well that on top of other stuff.

What other stuff you ask??

Well the girls have been sick, Aubrey is finally better but Addi is a hot mess. I have tried to keep them away from Greyson but I fear he may now be getting sick too. He has a wet cough and his spit seems to be a bit foamy. We have an appointment set up for tomorrow already, if not I would of been in there today. I am trying not to over react but he is not even 2 weeks old yet. He isn't coughing a ton, but when he does it's mucusy. Also he slept through his feeding last night. He fed at 9:30 and then I tried to wake him to feed around 3:30 after I awoke freaked out that he hadn't already woken me to eat. He wasn't having it. He just wanted to sleep.  Finally around 7 he was up and ready to eat, and he had a good feeding. He normally goes 4-5 hours (sometimes more which is why I'm stressed to begin with) between feedings but over 9 hours seems just plain CRAZY!

So yeah, I am a little stressed and scouring the internet just like I did as a first time Mom. Let me just tell you, googling stuff is NOT helping keep me calm. Goodness his appointment tomorrow can not come soon enough.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

A Few Reason's Why I Love Greg So Much.

There are many reasons why I love Greg, but lately I have been reminded of some of them even more. He is one of the most hands on Father's I know. He changed EVERY single diaper while we were in the hospital and does EVERY single night time diaper change too. Who does that?? He knows that he can't do feedings so he steps up in other ways to help me out. Last night when I woke him for Greyson's night time change, he got up with out even a huff or a puff and changed it like a pro. In that moment I thought to myself just how freakin' lucky I am. It truly is the little things that mean so much.

Greg will do anything for us and our children, he busts his butt at work to get promotions or raises so that he can provide more for our family and he pitches in at home to help whenever he can with little to no complaints. I know I don't tell him nearly enough how wonderful he is. I really wish I could be half as selfless as he is. I am truly in awe of how he just takes everything in stride and just does what needs to be done. We are so lucky to have him!

LOVE!


He is always having a blast with the girls!


He loves his Gator babies!
I know we are now out numbered but at least we are in it together, and with Greg's help I know we will be fine!




The girls just adore their Dada!
Saving a turtle! Such a sweetie!


Friday, September 21, 2012

First Bath!

Greg made me do it. Well more like made me allow him to do it. I hate giving newborns baths. They scream and cry and are so upset and it just breaks my heart. Greg said "Do you really want to be the parent of  the smelly kid in class?" He is so corny but he cracks me up! So I gave in.

It didn't go so well at first...
Then we brought out the big guns, AKA his paci...
Went so much better...
My poor little orange boy...
I kept telling Greg he was done, but Greg just kept scrubbin'.
I am pretty sure he took his paci out to let us know he was done lol!





Our nights...

Whenever someone has a new baby, I instantly wonder how much sleep they are getting. I am not sure why I care so much or find it so interesting, but I think it's because I have had such hugely different experiences.

Aubrey: She would not sleep if we put her down. She cried ALL the time (I am sure you all have heard me complain a bazillion times about this). She was a boob girl, was only happy while feeding. Which led to some long sleepless sore nights. We then did cry it out (no judgements please, everyone does what they feel works best for them and their child) at 4 months since the doctor said she weighed enough to be able to sleep through the night. It took one night and she has slept 12+ hours straight through the night in her own bed/crib ever since. Ah-mazing, if you ask me!
Don't let this picture fool you, she was laying in the boppy ON my lap lol!
Addi: She slept SO much, she was really easy at night. She didn't really ever fully wake up, we just fed her on a schedule until she was in the clear for weight gain, and at that point it was once or twice a night until she was 6 months. After 6 months she started sleeping through the night (12+ hours also) in her crib (she was in a rock and play before since she had spit up issues) and has ever since!
Why yes, those are socks on her hands!
Greyson: He has only been around now for just over a week but so far, so good. We have been staying up later since his arrival (until 11 or 12) we do his last feed before going to sleep, he then goes 4-5.5 hours until his next feed. Then another 4 until his next (which we are already awake for). So really if we went to bed at our normal time it would be two feedings during the night. Which is not bad at all. I fully don't expect it to continue, it's too good to be true. So I am just waiting for the sleepless nights to start. I thought it was going to start last night had a little gas before bed, so I got ready for what I though would be a rough night, but he got all of it out and went right to sleep. Don't worry I will update you all when they do start, so that you don't hate me too much for having such sleepy children. :)
Only baby of ours whose liked being swaddled!





What have we been up to?

Kayla came to meet Greyson!
Dada getting some snuggles!

Silly Dada!
Aubrey flying!



Both girls flying lol!
Family Walk!
Our speedy little bike rider. I had to run ahead to get a pic!
Onwards...
They both loved the new stroller! (Look out for stroller reviews coming your way. I figure with how many strollers I have had I should at least share my thoughts on them all!)



Thursday, September 20, 2012

House Update!

The walk through went great. The foreman said the drywall should be up in a week or so!! I can't wait to see actual walls. I took some pictures today, but really there wasn't huge noticeable changes on the inside. Windows, electrical, the two bathtubs/shower units (the other guest bath is just a standing tiled shower, and the master is a separate tiled shower and tub, so those go in later), some canned lighting, and a finished roof, are all that's changed. I'll post the pics anyways!

Roof is done!

Loving that we chose to go with larger windows!!!


Doors are in!!
Recessed lighting!
Sliders are in!
Playroom (forgot to take pictures last time)
Playroom Bathroom. The one with the standing shower.
Master Bathroom, really only could get the a picture of the shower and bath area (forgot pics of this last time too).
Kids Bathroom!

 So that is about it! Hopefully next time you see pictures, it will be of actual walls!! :)