Ghosts of Holidays Past

I grabbed the camera card to pull off photos from our family vacation to Monterey, CA last month (blog post in progress, but don't hold your breath).  I realized that it contained pictures all the way back to the fall - none of which have been shared.  Until now!  I present to you...Halloween and Christmas 2013! Consider yourselves up to speed.  Well, except for that family vacation update. (Here's a preview: It was fun!)

Totally Tubular

Sam's surgery was scheduled for 7:30 am last Friday, which meant we had to check in at the hospital at 6 am.  Yikes!  Luckily Diane agreed to come to our house the night before to see Marley off to school in the morning and stay with Amelia.  It was definitely nice that Jeff and I could both be at the hospital with Samuel.  

I was really worried about how our night would go because he needed to stop having breast milk at 2 am.  Usually he lays in bed with me and nurses/dozes during the early morning hours.   But, he only woke up once during that time and went back to bed pretty quickly with only a little complaining.  Hmm...perhaps night weaning is in our near future.  

Sam wasn't really happy to be up so early, but he was a trooper and hardly complained.  He kept pretty busy playing with toys in the waiting room.  When it was time for the surgery, Jeff had to stay in the waiting room while I put on scrubs and headed back to the OR with Sam.  I'm pretty proud of myself because I only cried for a second when he was going under.  It was just so weird (and scary!) watching him fall asleep like that in less than 30 seconds.  

Then, I headed back to the waiting room to sit with Jeff while the doctor placed the tubes, which only took about 10 minutes.  Afterward, we both got to go back and wait for Sam to wake up.  He was pretty sleepy, so after a while we just had to get him up.  

In recovery, he got to have graham crackers and apple juice.  And lots of snuggles, of course.  We were headed home within about an hour after the surgery.  He was running around like normal from the moment we got home.  He never needed any pain meds or anything, just some antiseptic ear drops for the next week or so.

We go back next month for another hearing check and to make sure everything looks good. Hopefully this is the end of Samuel's ear problems!

16 month word list and ENT update

We had Samuel's follow-up appointment with the ENT.  Both of his ears are still filled with fluid.  And he failed his hearing test.  The good news is that his word bank is increasing daily - he uses around 30 words* now - and he responds to directions.  So we know he can hear us, at least somewhat well.  The bad news is that his doctor recommended he get tubes placed.  It's only a 15 minute procedure, and I know it's really common.  Most likely, it won't even require pain medication afterward.  But, my baby will have to go under general anesthesia, which scares the crap out of me!   They might have to anesthetize me, too, so I don't freak out.  The surgery is scheduled for early morning on March 14th.

Then, Sam will have a follow up hearing test six weeks later.  Hopefully, we will find that his hearing is perfect and there is no longer fluid in his ears.  The tubes will get pushed out as his eardrums heal, usually within a year or two.  By that time he will most likely have outgrown the middle ear drainage problem.

At his appointment, when his doctor asked how many words he was using, I guessed 15.  He's been having a vocabulary explosion this month.  At 15 months, I think he only had about 5 words.  Anyway, when we got home, I decided to sit down and make a list of all the words he uses on his own.  As I said each word he would repeat it and sign it.  It was so cute that I just had to try and capture it on video. Enjoy!



*up, no, yeah, ball, bowl, bye bye, hat, dada, mama, hi, hug, hot, eat, shoes (signs only), bath, all done, Marley, Amelia, more, close, yum, uh-oh, dog, woof, help, boo-bahs, again (signs only), baby, go, knock knock

Goodbye, Curls!

For the longest time, the back of Sam's head had these lovely little blonde ringlets.  Sure, everyone mistook him for a girl all the time, but who cares. Just look at those adorable curls!

Over the last few weeks, however, the curls have started to relax, creating more of a mangy mullet look.  So, we decided that it was time for Sammie Boy's first hair cut.

It wasn't the most pleasant experience.  It was 25 degrees today, and the kids' salon was without heat. Sam and Amelia both cried almost the entire time we were there.  But, we survived, and they got lollipops at the end, so I think all was forgiven:)

It was a big day for our little guy.  This afternoon Sam had his ENT appointment.  His ears still have fluid in them.  The doctor wants us to try giving him Flonase to open up his nasal passages and see if that helps the fluid drain.  We'll go back in three weeks for a hearing test and and a re-check.  The other good news is that the doc debunked the myth (that I believed) that pacifier use could cause ear infections.  Whew, what a relief!  Mama was not ready for the binky battle just yet!

Oh, and as for the rest of us...I think Jeff is probably the sickest, but everyone in our house still has snotty noses and coughs to some degree.  

Just Kidding!

I guess I spoke too soon, because Sam's and Marley's coughs got significantly worse yesterday. Marley came out of school in tears because he was feeling so sick. Poor kid. We had a talk about letting his teacher know next time so I could come pick him up. Both kids were up most of the night coughing.

It's a total bummer, though, because Marley has the day off school. I had big plans to visit the science center today. But, Marley hasn't moved off the couch yet. And Sam won't let me set him down. Oh well, looks like instead I'll be brewing myself an extra large pot of coffee and making it a pjs and movie day!

Sick

Well, so much for staying on top of blogging.  2014 is not off to the best start.  But, I can come back from this, I swear!  In fact, I did attempt to blog, but never got around to finishing any of my posts.  I blame this mainly on the fact that one or all of my family members has been sick for most of January. Take a look at my first attempted post from January 12th:

Cleaning up puke in the middle of the night is maybe my least favorite thing in the world.  First Sam, now Marley.  Please let it be over now.

Sadly, it was not over.  Here's my draft from January 17th:

My head hurts, I'm nauseous, I have a hacking cough, and my body aches. I just want to curl up with a warm water bottle and sleep! But, Sam is sick, too. And the only thing that makes him feel better is to curl up with warm "boo-bahs". During the day there are well kids to look after. Last week, I locked myself in the bathroom so I could throw up. Within moments, all three kids were pounding and crying at the door, demanding to be let in. Is it over yet?

I'm happy to report that it is mostly over.  I say 'mostly' because there are runny noses and lingering coughs that may not go away for quite a while.  Also, Sam still has fluid in his ears, presumably from when he was sick back in October.  His doctor recommended that we have him evaluated by an ENT since it's been over three months.  By the way, at 15 months old, he weighs 28.5 lbs (92nd %) and is 32 in tall (77th %).

My very big boy prompted a purchase that I never thought I would make: a double jogging stroller. This great deal on craigslist has already paid off for two sick, cranky, tired kids, and one mama in need of some fresh air and exercise.

Just a Little Pixie Dust!

Amelia dove off the armchair yesterday and landed on her face. When we asked her what had happened, she tearfully replied, "I was going to fly cause I wanted to be Peter Pan. And I did fly at first! But then, I just smashed to the ground."

Ever the helpful brother, Marley suggested she wear a cape next time, or possibly try fashioning a parachute out of a towel.