Merry Christmas!

Found Santa sleeping on the job! Good help is so hard to find these days!  ;)

Turkey Day, Brilynn's Bday and a Photo Dump!

Merry Christmas Eve! I have procrastinated in the worse way when it comes to being ready to host my family in a few hours for Christmas. But the blog needed an update and I needed a photo dump!

Bricen and Mason on Turkey Day. We hosted Marty's family. 

A good time was had by all. Mason and Bricen made sure of it! They kept us entertained. 

Bricen went to town on some pretzels. 

Look at that monkey!

And I just happened to catch this picture at the right time. This is a feeding aversion at it's best. Who would want to swallow when doing so makes you gag half the time? Poor pumpkin. 

I thought it was just my side but I guess I've learned it's just something about my house and boys. For some reason wrestling is always involved at family gatherings. 

Apparently, real men bring their comfy to a wrestling match!

This cracked me up. Daddy was trying to sleep and Bricen was in bed with his camera saying "cheeeese". 

Bri hosted our side for Thanksgiving. Bricen loved papaw's whistle. If you are wondering why he had one...I am too. Haha

Marty sent this to me at work. He loved the picture so I thought I'd  put it in the blog for him. 

Marty got baptized. Again, God is awesome.

And on that note, we get to this picture. Haha I said "say cheese". When I looked at the picture this is what I got. Obviously, he has no idea what  he is doing but it made me laugh. It is probably a little bit how he feels about these doctor appointments!

I. can. not. get. enough. of. this. sweet. face!!!!!

When he is sick he moves around a lot more and I've been finding him in the strangest positions. 

Sooo, this is new. Haha He will be needing some shoes that lace up in the near future. 

This is my baby on steroids. I had started to undress him for a bath and he finished with the diaper and then took off running. Not to mention the knocked over kitchen and destroyed bedroom, those are new habits as well. 

This is my baby on steroids at walmart...with daddy. Of course Daddy would throw you in the big box full of bean bags...and then laugh as you try to get out while sinking to the bottom. Another reason why Marty is the fun one. :0) 

I so wanted to buy this hat for Christmas but he would not leave it on! We took a pic and sent it to daddy. It's the closest he was going to get. 

Ol' Scruffmeister got a haircut. Bricen was adorable when we dropped him off. He kept saying Scu-ffy, where are you? Every since the trim Bricen has been obsessed with him! 

Decided to embrace the curls. I'm still undecided if I like them or not. Who are we kidding? I think hes adorable either way!

Happy 17th Birthday Brilynn! 

He seems to be all better. Let's hope the family functions the next few days doesn't leave him with another cold!

A Doosey!

That's what the last month has been, a doosey! Here is a little catch up. We had our ear recheck on the 5th. At that time Bricen had started w his cough again, his nose was just stuffy at that point and he had fluid behind that ear that had been infected. No reason to give antibiotic, but could mean the ear infection could could back. He was grunting some still, she suggested increasing neb treatments again, which we had already started.  By the 10th we were back to the pediatrician. Ear infected again. He was still grunting off and on. Started second antibiotic. So the next couple days I talked to GI about starting a probiotic so we hopefully fight off cdiff and also a few more calls to pulmonary and reg pedi. Pulmonary to say he is still grunting off and on and I had started to notice some pursed lip breathing. They suggested adding pulmicort to the albuterol neb treatments and said if it "persisted" to take him to an ER. Common sense, but thanks. I'll also vent (bc it's my blog and I can lol) and say I worry about our healthcare. I called to say pursed lip breathing and the lady answering, after several back and forths trying to repeat myself, got pierced lip breathing. I just let her put it down. She was writing down the note for the nurse when I called. Unfortunately, this made me look like the idiot but at that point I was over it. It's not the poor lady's fault. She's not a nurse, prob has no medical training. Just annoying that when I call my pediatric pulmonary office that's what I get. Rant over. 

Anyways, called again to say, "what's your idea of consistent?" Bc this continued off and on and even saw some yesterday. But the boy was playing, etc. Did not present like a kid in resp distress. So ea time I called I had to plead my case for not taking him to an ER. His sats were good as well. By Thursday we were at the reg pediatricians office again. I joked and said she is prob thinking she needs to be more choosey in accepting her new patients. :) she started him on some steroids and said next step is inpt. I worked fri sat sun (and yes it killed me to do that, and yes there was a snow storm for the second time the second weekend I worked three 12's since I was preggers w Bricen.) He seems to be getting a little better. After talking to some trusted NP's at work I've decided to stop stressing about the breathing and he did prob just need some more recovery time since the pneumonia. Can't help but wonder had Dr. Jack wagon treated earlier we could have prevented the pneumonia and all of this. 

My point for my post. It's 430, I had given Bricen a treatment and he woke up. He went to sleep about 830 last night so I'm not surprised. As I mentioned, he has been on steroids again. So we are cuddling and I'm just rambling (shocker) talking to him, telling him he is gonna grow up and be big and strong and serve and love Jesus, and Jesus loves him more than he can even fathom and then I got into how Jesus takes care of us and then I got choked up. Sheesh. So. In my rambling I say, "are you hungry?" And the sweetest little voice says, "Eat?" Lol love that he knew hungry meant eat. Might not happen again for awhile but I'll take it tonight. The steroids are giving him an appetite (and mommy slept through his eleven pm feed.)  So I go in the kitchen to make a tube feed and he had followed me that direction. My poor husband has slept on the couch while Bricen has been sick. Of course he is climbing on daddy. And I cracked up because I could hear him saying "Eat? Eat? Eat?" I'm sure daddy appreciated it, too! So then He finds his way to the kitchen and as I'm opening and closing the fridge getting formula ready he goes to the fridge and says "apple". He has been on an apple kick! So here it was 5 am and he was munching on and swallowing a tad bit of apple in bed. 

Pediatrician is sending us to an ENT. Thinks it sounds like his adenoids need taken out. Idk but I have been wondering why we hadnt seen ENT w his laryngomalacia. Who knows. Maybe a Fresh view of things from the new pediatrician is what was in God's plan all along. Who knows.

Oh, one more thing to be thankful for...for the first time ever he has had a cold/ear infection and tolerated his feeds well! Even earlier in Nov we were cutting back some, etc. I can only contribute it to the new milk free formula! 

Rambled myself sleepy

Well it's one of those nights. A night that I can't sleep because Bricen is restless and snoring and I know he is obstructing more than his usual. His retractions seem worse. So it's almost 0230 and I've been googling obstructive sleep apnea and laryngomalacia and pharyngomalacia along with other things as if these are brand new diagnosis. He got better since starting the treatments and seeing pulmonary (thank God) but I feel like the last few nights his snoring and then of course his obstructing has been worse. I tried a treatment last night ( I know, OSA is not likely to be cured w a treatment to relax inflammation in airways but I was just ruling out things.) I'm hoping he's a little nasally congested and maybe cutting teeth. He's been chewing on everything. He has his two front bottom teeth but not the next two out after that in the bottom front. Of course jack wagon old pediatrician said its nothing to worry about "all kids get their teeth at different times" and pulmonary mentioned it and suggested we see dentist soon just to stay on top of things w his small chin. I think I'm just frustrated and worried so my frustration with Dr jack wagon is alive tonight! Anyways all that to say I think I see those next two teeth in the gum line. Maybe it's just where I'm pulling back the lip that's making the gums look white. 

We go Thursday for an ear check. I'm glad. I want to get  a clean bill of health and hopefully start a trial next week. I've also been googling different drinking cups etc. I can't get the kid to even take a drink. He is still putting food to his mouth, etc and now holding it in there instead of spitting it out (I'm told this is a step in the right direction.) of course I end up making him spit it out bc otherwise he walks around w puffy cheeks and I get worried he'd choke.  

For now my sweet husband is sleeping in his recliner and me and Bricen have the big bed. Marty n I joined the church my cousin is pastoring here in Franklin right before Bricen got sick so he is getting baptized tomorrow. God is good. So good I need to give all my worries to him and go to sleep. Just let my mind wonder too much. If this continues are we looking at another sleep study. Got to make sure I'm not dragging my feet to long bc I dread them so bad. Why have we not been sent to an ENT? Should X-rays of his chest n neck, have they been done? Are we going to need an upper GI soon? And of course insurance and co pays are changing as of the first of the year and I start working fri sat sun this week. Ty Obama. So much to thank him for (God, not Obama) Just venting. Bricen seems to have positioned himself w his head cocked back and breathing better. Amazing that these little guys are smart enough to do that. And I've rambled myself sleepy. Just remember him in ur prayers. TIA