Laugh Track

We just figured out how to download our videos onto our computer. Oliver has really enjoyed watching movies of when he was a baby (ok, last year). He asked where baby Elliot is in those movies. It makes me wonder how well he remembers life before having a brother. In any case, this is one of the best things about having a brother...making him laugh.

Get Your Groove On!

We have some exciting news to report. At precisely the same time I was rushing to the hospital with Elliot on Friday, February 6, Adam asked Abby to marry him. She said yes! We are so happy for them. Adam is so cool! In fact, he is so awesome that we have offered him a much-sought-after editoral position on the vaunted Cackalacky Kitchen blog. You will be able to read about plans for their upcoming nuptuals there and on their wedding website, whose address I won't post here but leave to their discretion.

Anyway, Adam and Abby can really shake it up on the dance floor, too. Check out this video.

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Oliver thought this video was so funny that he has taken to including it in his prayers at night. Right off the top he says, "Heavenly Father, greatful for Abby and Addie (Adam) dancing movie." So, when Abby and Adam came down to spend a few days with us last week we made a "dancing movie" starring my three homeboys. Check it, check it out.

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Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

Elliot's pediatrician in the PICU, Dr. Donell

Well we are FINALLY home! I am so relieved and happy to be home with two (relatively) healthy little boys and my rock/rockstar of a husband. We finally got the all clear this morning and walked out of the PICU at 12:00 sharp. We almost got home last night about 10:00pm. Elliot was doing really well breathing with out extra oxygen. The doctor on call was writing up our discharge papers when Elliot started to "desat" or lose oxygen saturation in his blood. So that got us our ticket for another night in the PICU. 

I felt really overwhelmed with emotion as I was leaving the hospital.  I had Elliot in the carrier and was pushing his stroller full of the accumulated "stuff" from a 6 day hospital stay. The sky was that gorgeous cerulean blue that is the hallmark of spring in North Carolina. It was warm and breezy and I literally had a spring in my step. I felt so grateful that our adventure at the hospital had ended, and ended happily. But I was also so sad for the families who weren't leaving the hospital. Or who were leaving the hospital without their babies, or their loved ones. In particular I was thinking of the little girl who was in the room next to Elliot. I don't really know what her situation was but I know she was pretty sick. Her parents and the friends who came to visit her always wore tight, drawn expressions and talked in low tones to the doctors. I really wished I had said something to her parents at some point, but I don't know what I would have said. I guess just let them know that I was aware of their sadness and that I was praying for them. 

More than anything this experience has made me so aware of our many blessings. I am grateful for the love and support of our friends and family. I am grateful for the advancements in medicine that made it much easier for Elliot to ride out this storm. I am grateful for Ryan's job that provides our family with health insurance so that we didn't have the added worry of how we were going to be able to afford the treatment that Elliot needed. I am grateful for the delicious meals and treats that our friends brought to our house and to the hospital. I am grateful for all the phone calls, emails, and comments on this blog from people letting us know that we are surrounded and supported by a far-reaching, powerful web of friendship. I am grateful for the travel-sized Aveda shampoo, conditioner and body wash that was in my overnight kit (I snagged them from a hotel on our last trip.) It was so nice to have a little aromatherapy after being a walking Kleenex/vomit target. And now I am grateful to be back at home in my own house with my family. Ryan will be home soon so I'm going to sign off. Thanks again to everyone who reads this blog for the thoughts/prayers/good karma that you sent our way. We love you!

Elliot proving to the nurses that he does know how to smile. 

Back at home getting reacquainted with his toys.

Update on Elliot

Our poor sick little guy is slowly recovering. Tonight marks the fourth night we'll spend in the hospital, but I hope that it's not too premature to say that the end may be in sight (how's that for a tentative statement!) Boy, this is tough bug and Elliot really got it bad, but I am cautiously optimistic that we'll see his cute little smile again soon. 

On Sunday afternoon he got really tuckered out from trying to breathe on the "low-flow" oxygen therapy and spiked a fever that wouldn't go down so we were transfered to the Pediatric ICU. The nurses are great here since they only have one or two patients to look after versus the four or five on the regular peds unit. They got him squared away in no time. He was put on antibiotics and a "high-flow" cannula that supplies him with warm, humidified oxygen-enriched air that makes it a lot easier for him to maintain a normal blood-oxygen saturation. It's still kind of hard for him to breathe since his lungs are filled with junk but, because he's breathing enriched air he gets the oxygen he needs. His poor little chest rattles and crackles like a coffee percolator. He coughs and gags on all the junk in his airways. And, as if that weren't horrid enough, a couple times a day he gets treated to a "deep suctioning" to remove that nasty stuff. The nurse or respiratory therapist runs a tube (WAAAAAY) up his nose and vacuums the buggers right out. Forget a bulb syringe, this is the Dyson of snot-removal. 

Anyway, one person who has thoroughly enjoyed this experience has been Oliver. He is thrilled to have Daddy to play with all day long (sweet Ryan has been staying at home while I am at the hospital with Elliot). He is so kind to Elliot when he comes by to visit. He says "don't cry baby Ellie, Odiver's here." He thinks the hospital is great fun as you can see from the pictures below. 

The joy of popsicles

Hey, Dad, it's for you!

Spinning

Dancing

Jumping 

Hiding

This picture makes me laugh. Poor Elliot looks like he is really hating life. Oliver is having a grand old time. And Ryan looks like he can't believe this is all really happening. In all seriousness, I am so glad that Oliver hasn't been traumatized by this experience. I know this is physically rough on Elliot but I'm hoping that he is too young to remember. I worried that it would be really scary for Oliver to see Elliot in the hospital but he didn't seem fazed by it at all. I love these three boys and I just can't wait until we can all be healthy and home together. 

Thank you everyone for your prayers and your phone calls, your delicious meals and thoughtful notes. We appreciate it so much and feel so very loved. Thank you. 

Your Prayers Are Needed

Elliot is in the hospital. He has RSV, which is a virus that acts a lot like a bad cold. It is hard on babies because their airways get gunked up and they have a hard time breathing, which in turn leads to a hard time eating and staying hydrated. Elliot started acting sick on Wednesday, we took him to the doctor on Thursday and brought him to the Children's ER at WakeMed on Friday. 

He is doing pretty well so far with oxygen support and extra fluids, but I am getting a little nervous/worried because tonight will be our third night here and he doesn't seem to be getting better. He's not getting worse, which is what I need to remember, and the doctors have said that the virus just needs to run its course, but all the same I thought I would do what I could to spread the word so you guys could all say a little prayer that Elliot will recover quickly. Thank you!

January Pictures

 

 

Twins...separated by 27 months

Without meaning to we have taken two almost identical pictures of the boys...at the same age, in the same cute little Patagonia bunting, strapped in the same B.O.B stroller. We got a major camera upgrade in the past 2 years so the picture of Oliver is not as sharp. But, seriously, aren't they cute!