Lucy vs. Croup...Smackdown!

I am happy to report that Lucy had a great night last night :) It was the first time she slept COMPLETELY through the night in over a week! I gave her a dose of Motrin before bed and ran the humidifier again and it seemed to work. I think she won the battle with the croup!!!!!

Unfortunately, a side effect from feeling yucky has been that she has reverted back to sleeping in the crib at night instead of in her big girl bed. She was more comfortable in the crib and if it was going to help her sleep then GO FOR IT!!!!! Also, I have had a pillow tucked under the crib mattress to elevate one end for a long time so I think the slight elevation she has is helping her breathe a little better at night.

She has napped in the big girl bed all along but something about night time and the room and the bed just aren't meshing for her. Just another battle to be fought but I am so tired of fighting these battles right now...I'll give it some time. Baby Girl won't be sleeping in the crib for awhile anyway so I'm not stressing right now. Besides, Lucy's current behavior issues and throwing temper tantrums is giving me enough to stress about right now! More about that later... Good Night!

Our Nemesis is Back...

...making it's Fall 2009 debut in the Bailey household...our old nemesis...the CROUP!!!!!

After Max's wild night ending in an ambulance ride to the ER and 4 breathing treatments back in November 2008 and then another late night trip to the ER in early February, I was REALLY hoping we would not have to slay this dragon again.

Well, Croup came slinking back into town and through our door as we slept unsuspecting. He didn't bother Max this time however...he found a new victim...a sweet precious 2 year old yet to be touched by his breath stealing, seal barking cough self. Yep, Croup woke Lucy up at 12:50am this morning. She woke up crying (which she has been doing for about a week now anyway) so John went to check on her and hold her. As soon as he picked her up to calm her down I heard the horrible sound...the cough...you know the one...barking.

I got to her room and grabbed her and the blanket and we went and sat outside on the front porch to try the cold night air trick...didn't help. We then went to the bathroom and turned on the shower to hot and sat in the steam...didn't help. John held her in the rocking chair next to an open window while I headed upstairs to get dressed in case I needed to take her to the ER.

By the time I got downstairs she had calmed down and her breathing wasn't as labored. I wasn't ready to lay her back down in the bed yet so I stayed up with her in the rocking chair and we went back and forth from the chair to the couch numerous times before she finally told me she was ready to go back to bed at 3am. She was feeling much better and was talking to me and walking around so I felt okay about putting her down. The fact that she wanted to go also made me feel better because I figured she wouldn't get upset and start the whole coughing gasping for breath thing all over again.

She went to sleep fine and slept until 6:45 this morning. She woke up crying again and had a croupy cough but the breathing wasn't as bad. I told John I thought it was kind of ironic that she would get the croup on the one night that I had decided to move Max's humidifier into her room to help with the congestion she had been having.

I have made her an appointment with her pediatrician for this afternoon just in case. I was praying last night as I was getting dressed that I wouldn't have to take her to the ER. Normally I would not have thought twice about it if I thought she needed to go but what worried me the most was that I kept wondering how many cases of the Swine Flu might be sitting in the waiting room at the ER.

Okay, Lucy is down for a nap and I think I'm going to skip some chores this morning and grab a few winks myself before we have to pick up Abby from school. I have to conserve my energy to fight the croup war (and any other germy villain who dares to cross our threshold)!!!!!

WANTED: Preferably DEAD!

GERMS

other known aliases...

croup, flu (seasonal and SWINE), colds, upper respiratory infections, bronchitis, etc.

WARNING! They should be considered armed and dangerous.

Please take any and all safety precautions as these villains can strike anywhere at any time.

Baby Checkup...31 wks 5 days

I had another checkup yesterday and Baby Girl is doing great. Her heartrate was in the 130's yesterday. Normally it has been in the 150's - 160's but since I was on my feet all morning yesterday packing for us to go out of town I figured she was sleeping (at least someone in our family got some sleep!)

The doctor said she sounds great. My blood pressure was back down to a more normal range for me. 104/60...whew!...that was actually a shock as well considering the rushing around all morning and dealing with all 3 kids in the process (Max and Abby didn't have school). I am pretty sure I have a pulled muscle in my back (I described it to the dr. and she agreed that is what it sounded like). She told me I could use a heating pad or even a prenatal massage would help...hint hint John! With my other 3 pregnancies my sweet husband decided that in order to get out of giving me a backrub himself, he would get me an hour long massage from a local spa. I wonder if I can talk him into one this time :)

The doctor did ask me how the contractions were doing and I told her that although I was still having a few a day, they weren't nearly as bad as last Tuesday and that I haven't had to take another Terbutaline since then. Wouldn't you know though...I almost ended up taking one last night because I kept having contractions.

Next checkup is in 2 weeks. That will be my last 2 week checkup and I will have the Group B Strep test and the doctor said they would even check my cervix at that time. After that I go to weekly appointments! I can't believe I'll be 32 weeks tomorrow!!!!!!!!!

It's That Time of Year...

Before I got married, I was usually on the ball with Christmas shopping and would have it done by Dec. 1st. Since I have been married (and especially since I had kids), I find myself running out for last minute items on Christmas Eve and staying up until 2 or 3 in the morning that night to wrap everything. What happened?

Last year I was on the ball and everything was bought (not wrapped but at least bought) by the 20th. I swore I was NOT going anywhere on Christmas Eve because John had to work that day and I had to get dinner ready since my mom and dad and sister were coming over. HA! Well, I DID have to go out but it wasn't to shop, it was because we thought Max may have gotten the flu. Trip to the pediatrician on Christmas Eve...something else I hope to avoid this year :)

Anyway...back to my point...THIS year! My due date is December 20th. I have made it MY mission (and I dare anyone to stand in my way on this) to get my shopping DONE by the weekend after Thanksgiving (preferably before but I figure I should give myself some wiggle room). I also plan to have things wrapped and tagged by December 10th. I may be cutting it short but we'll see.

One of the reasons why I have alway waited until Christmas Eve to wrap is because I enjoy sitting on the living room floor while everyone is asleep with all the presents and wrapping paper surrounding me. I turn on the 24 hours of A Christmas Story and drink hot chocolate while I wrap. It's my tradition and John thinks I'm a lunatic but hey...I've done (and still do) crazier things :) Since I will more than likely be nursing a newborn on Christmas Eve (and as talented as I am with multi-tasking) I don't think I'll be able to continue that tradition this year. My fall back tradition is to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and The Santa Clause as I wrap on any other night.

So, as I get my list(s) together and gear myself up for some shopping, wish me luck that I can meet my goal...because we don't want to see what happens if John has to do the rest of the shopping for me :) Hang tight Baby Girl...don't try to make an early appearance!

Not a Silver Spoon in her Mouth...Just Silver Teeth!

I think Abby is pretty happy about her "silver teeth".

Why do I think that?...

This afternoon I caught her in the bathroom, standing on the stool, looking in the mirror. Her mouth was wide open and her booty was shakin' back and forth and she was singing, "I got silver in my mouth, I got silver in my mouth", over and over.

Well, I'm glad she's not self-conscious about it at least.

Should I tell her that these are baby teeth and she will lose them in 4-5 years? Naaaaaa, I'll let her enjoy them, otherwise she might start plotting how to get more when she gets her permanent teeth!

Abby's Shiny Smile...

Abby got her teeth fixed today! Yeah! She had 2 root canals done (on back molars that could not be pulled due to crowding issues in her mouth) and silver crowns put on those. She also had 7...yes I said 7!...cavities filled but those fillings are all tooth colored so you don't actually have to wear sunglasses when you look at her smile.

John and I aren't happy about the fact that she HAD to have it done but we were warned that she was going to have trouble since her teeth are so crowded. We have already accepted the fact that we will be paying for braces down the road...the dentist AND the hygienist told us to expect it :(

Abby did really well today considering she was not knocked out but sleepy. She woke up a few times and would fuss and the dentist ended up having to give her more medicine but all in all she did great. She told me tonight that she liked the people and she liked going to the dentist because it is a fun place but she didn't like them fixing her teeth. I thought maybe it was the sound of the drill or the shots to numb her mouth. Nope, it was them pulling her cheeks to the side so they could get into her tiny mouth :) (It may be tiny in size but it is HUGE when it comes to volume!!!!!)

Hopefully the only thing she will have to have done at the dentist for a VERY LONG TIME is have those babies cleaned. We are on the brushing and flossing bandwagon around here and Abby is actually the one who reminds me when the bedtime routine is getting hectic and I forget to mention it! Good Girl!

I wonder...should I get silver polish for her crowns?????? Make them nice and shiny :) (Just kidding people!)

Unexpected Dr. Visit...

I had to take a little trip to my doctor this afternoon. This being my fourth baby, I have been experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions for a good couple of months now. Well, today they were stronger and there were a lot more of them. Since I ended up in the hospital twice while pregnant with Lucy for the same thing I really wanted to gop ahead and get checked out.

I was having some contractions but I am not dilated at all (WOOHOO!!!). My blood pressure was a record setter for me at 137/70. My top number has NEVER been over 120. The doctor was pretty confident it was from anxiety... what? ...me? ...anxious? ...never!

They hooked me up to the monitor for about 30-40 minutes and I did have some contractions so the doctor prescribed some Terbutaline for me to take on as as needed basis and sent me home (versus having to check in to the hospital for i.v. fluids and a shot of terbutaline)! I got the prescription filled and as I was waiting I was still having the contractions so I took one in the car at 5:30pm. Yeah, a little over 5 hours later my whole body feels like I have been shooting caffeine into my veins all day! I'm shaking like a leaf. I hope I can get some sleep tonight!

The doctor did say when looking at the strip from the monitor that the baby looks great and that at almost 31 weeks she looks better than some full term babies :) By the way she has been body slamming me from the inside and trying to chip off pieces of my right hip bone, I figured she was doing okay :)

I go back to the doctor next Friday the 23rd. The doctor did do a fetal fibronectin test just to make sure I wouldn't be going into labor in the next couple of weeks. I got the call tonight that it was negative! YEAH, baby girl can cook awhile longer :) I asked the doctor that called me with the results about the shaking from the medicine and she said it is common and that when I take another one I might want to try to cut it in half and only take half to see how I do.

Please pray that this little one can stay in safely to term and that my blood pressure does not become a concern.

Also, please pray for Abby tomorrow. She is getting her extensive (and expensive) dental work done in the morning and will be sedated. Just a little more anxiety for mom :P

Happy Birthday John!

Dear John (no, it's not one of THOSE "Dear John" letters),

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband :) I am so blessed to have you as my husband. The best thing I could have done in February 2000 was to leave it up to God and trust Him to bring the right man into my life. He did that the very next month. His timing was perfect...as always :)

You are a wonderful man, husband and father. You are honest, VERY hardworking, loving, honorable, and tenacious (sounds better than stubborn...hahaha). I love watching you play with our kids. I love that you read to them and pray with them at night. I especially love that even though you would never have done it before (because you just aren't a singer), that you sing to our kids...they love it...and they love you. They know and I know that you would do anything for them.

I am so glad that you have such a hearty appetite because I thoroughly enjoy cooking for you and I like that you like it when I try new recipes (that's about the ONLY change that you like though). It's also nice that you actually enjoy my cooking...although even if you didn't you'd never go hungry because you can't stand seeing the tiniest morsel of food go to waste. This is why I have to clean out the fridge of all the "science experiments" when you aren't home because I know you'd say "Hey, I was going to eat that". If it has green stuff growing on it then it's out!...too bad :) I also think it's funny that you get so amazed by how much Max eats. He can just about out-eat you at the age of 6 and will probably be able to wear your clothes by the time he reaches middle school at the rate he is growing. He looks so much like you and I love that :)

I love watching football with you on t.v. and I hope one day soon we can go to another Clemson vs. NC State game together. Even though I tease you about it, I think it's cute that you love to watch the Weather Channel (for hours and hours) and the History Channel (the origin of dirt just fascinates you, I know :) I love that it takes you months to finish a book because you are reading about 3 or 4 at a time :) I love that you read the Bible before bed every night.

I think it is hilarious that you get the heebeejeebees whenever you put your hand on my pregnant belly and our baby kicks you :) It cracks me up when you say "Daddy's got it today!" when you are being silly. I get so excited when I go to our room after you have left for work and see that you took the time to make the bed :)

Your seasons are definitely Spring and Summer. You act like a little kid on Christmas morning when you see that warm weather is coming and you can get out and work/play in the yard. Daylight Savings time is a big deal to you :) I love that you take care of yourself by running and keeping in shape. Not an easy task when "free time" rarely exists around here! I think you look just as hot as the day I met you :) I do think it's funny though that you get more upset about your hair turning gray than about it falling out! Yep, can't figure that one out :)

It's been quite a ride John and I am hoping it keeps going and that we get to share many many more birthdays together.

I love you so much and I am so proud of you.

Happy Birthday Sweetie,


Stach

P.S. Jack and Charlotte, thanks so much for raising such a wonderful son to become such a wonderful man!

Change in plans...

Well, the weekend didn't turn out quite as we had planned. We did go to the Fall Carnival at Max's school Friday afternoon. Max was thrilled that when he had his turn at the Dunking Booth that he hit the target twice in a row and dunked the poor waterlogged highschooler who volunteered :)

After the carnival Max had a soccer game. True to form, with only 2 games left in the season, Max has seemed to hit his stride. He played very well and was really into it! Don't worry though, he only played goalie briefly and did not need to be rescued (although he did have to perform another little dance for the crowd).

Yesterday I told John to let me know what he wanted for his birthday dinner so I could go shopping. He decided that it would probably be too much work (or too expensive...or both) for me to make the shrimp and grits AND the crab stuffed bacon wrapped shrimp. The birthday boy instead requested Papa John's pizza! What a switch :)

We were planning to go to the pumpkin patch today but it is wet and dreary outside so I think we'll have to wait until next weekend :(

I'm going to go and take a little nap. I was dealing with heartburn from 11pm-1am and then Braxton Hicks contractions from 1:30isham - 3am. The kids started getting up about 6:30ish. It was a loooooooong night I tell ya!

Check back tomorrow for a special birthday post to my sweet hubby!

Baby Checkup and Busy weekend...

I went for a checkup today. Baby Girl is doing great. Kicking up a storm and contorting my belly into some pretty strange positions. Her heart rate was in the 140's today and my blood pressure was back down to a more normal place for me
(110/60). It wasn't high at all before but I usually run about 100 or 110/60 or 70) and the last couple of times it was 120/80 or 120/70.

Anyway, I am now going to start going in every two weeks! I will be 30 weeks on Sunday. I can't believe how fast this has gone so far. Praying everything continues to go well.

Later this afternoon I am taking the kids to the Fall Carnival at Max's school. We will hang out there for awhile and enjoy some "carnival food". John will meet us there then we have to head to the soccer field for Max's 6:30 game. I am hoping Lucy holds up :)

Tomorrow night I will be making John's birthday dinner. His birthday is actually Monday but he'll be working so he gets his dinner tomorrow. Right now he says he wants shrimp and grits and crab stuffed-bacon wrapped shrimp. I tried to talk him into going out but he wants me to cook it...sigh...what I won't do for him :)

We are hoping Sunday will finally prove to be a little cooler so we can head to the Pumpkin Patch. It just doesn't seem right going to pick pumpkins and going on a hayride when it's 80 something degrees outside! Come on Fall!!!!!

Prayer Request...

***UPDATE*** My aunt Mary Jo got through the surgery and spent the night in ICU. We got an update saying that she is now in a regular room and is eating well. The doctors drained 2 1/2 liters of fluid from her lungs during the surgery and she will remain in the hospital for a few days until the rest of the fluid has been drained off. Thanks for your continued prayers. I just found out that the chemo she was receiving for the cancer wasn't working because of all the fluid in her lungs, the medication just couldn't get to the cancer. Hopefully this procedure will work so the doctors (and my aunt) can now tackle the cancer.

Original Post:
I am asking for prayers for my aunt Mary Jo. She is my dad's sister and the oldest of seven kids. She has been undergoing chemo for lung cancer. One of the problems she has been having (which I believe was the reason she went to the doctor in the first place and then found out about the cancer) is fluid build up on her lungs. She has had the fluid drained a couple of times but it keeps coming back. This morning, October 7th at 7:30am CST, she will be undergoing a procedure that will hopefully (80-85% success rate) drain the fluid out and prevent it from being able to build up again.

The procedure is called Talc Pleurodesis. She will be in the hospital for about a week, give or take a couple of days. Please pray that this procedure works and that she is able to recover quickly so she can be even stronger to fight off the cancer.

Up until this cancer slowed her down, my aunt Mary Jo was very active. She would cut the grass at the family farm, she is involved in a musical group with some of her fellow nuns, she teaches, and is involved in countless other activities. She is determined to beat this cancer with a very strong faith in God and the prayers of others.

Thanks so much for your prayers...

Baby Steps for Our Big Girl...

Alright, last night was #3 in our attempts to get Lucy to sleep in her big girl bed in her new room. The first night she finally fell asleep after about 2 hours only to wake up crying 2 hours later. In the interest of letting Abby sleep we put Lucy back in the crib in her old room and she fell right to sleep and we didn't hear another peep out of her until the morning.

Night #2~ she lasted about an hour before she had had enough and started crying. Thinking she would refuse (because she did the night before) I asked her if she wanted to go into the crib. She called my bluff and and said yes...grrrrrr.... Since Abby needed to sleep because it was a school night we put her in the crib. Same thing happened...went right to sleep and didn't hear from her again until the morning.

Night #3~ HA! Lasted all of 10 minutes before the crying and sobbing started. This time she didn't wait for me to ask...she told me she wanted to go into the crib...put her in and she was....yep, out like a light!

Naps are going really well in the big girl bed so I am hoping we can slowly make the transition (taking baby steps) to the night time sleeping as well.

Any advice?

"When It's Time to Change, You've Got To Rearrange..."

Okay, yes, I have seen EVERY episode of the Brady Bunch about a million times and I thought I would use this catchy tune from the Brady kids to let you know that we have been busy around the Bailey house this weekend.

On Friday, my dad (with help from John) brought over a bed and my old dresser because it was time for our baby girl Lucy to get her BIG GIRL BED!!!!! She has been taking her naps in Abby's bed for about the past month to get herself ready for the big switch and she loved it.

Now, not only did Lucy get her big girl bed, but we also moved her and Abby into the bigger bedroom where Max was sleeping and moved him back into his old room (that Abby had moved into). Once the baby is old enough to BE a roommate, then we'll let Abby have her own room again and let Lucy share with her little sister (Lucy will get to be the "older one" then and have the privilege of being just a little bit bossy...you know...like her big sister Abby is with her).

So tonight, Saturday, October 3, 2009, our sweet little Lucy, who is no longer a baby (sniff, sniff), is dealing with some heavy duty changes. New bed, new room, roommate! Let's just say she's been in the bed for a little over an hour now and once she FINALLY stopped calling for me and John, she started singing her ABC's and "Jesus Loves Me". She's still talking to herself (Abby fell asleep), who knows how long this will go on tonight? So much for mom and dad going to bed early :)

I'll let you know how it goes...

In the meantime...for all you closet Brady Bunch watchers out there...click on the link below to enjoy the whole song... sha na na na na na na na na na...sha na na na na!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyooALwfxO8

Come on...you know you want to! :) It'll be stuck in your head all day anyway since you read the title!

Boys Will Be Boys...Boy oh Boy!

Seriously? I don't think Max will be making a lot of money (or any for that matter) in the future as a goalie. Check out the video of him taking his position very seriously at last night's soccer game :)

See what I mean? What I didn't get on the video was that the coach had to rescue Max TWICE when he got himself tangled up in the net in his boredom (in his defense there wasn't a whole lot of play at his end of the field but...REALLY?????)

I also didn't get the first part of his dance when my mom pointed out to me that he was doing the "hand jive" and then proceeded to be dancing around like a monkey. Best $48 (for soccer) I ever spent let me tell ya :)

On another note...

Today we had some high drama around here. Max came home from playing at a friend's house sobbing and crying hysterically. He told me that as he was talking to his friend, his friend picked something up off the ground and threw it in Max's mouth as he was talking. He told Max it was a poisonous nut and that Max was going to die. Well, wouldn't that freak you out too? Anyway, I questioned Max about it (this friend doesn't seem the type to do that kind of thing). I knew that these parents wouldn't have anything poisonous laying around in their yard so I was trying to explain this to Max. I also tried to explain to him that his friend was probably trying to play a joke on him that wasn't really funny but that his friend would never intentionally hurt him like that. He wasn't buying it and just kept sobbing that he was probably going to die now.

He said the "nut" was white and had some brown in it. I figured it was probably a small pebble. Max said it wasn't, he didn't swallow it but it was in his mouth for a few seconds before he spit it out which is why he was certain that death was imminent. Poor guy probably couldn't figure out why I wasn't freaking out along with him. Anyway, since he wouldn't believe me that whatever it was couldn't be poisonous (because we ALL know that 7 year old boys know everything about everything and mom's just don't know anything) and showed no signs of calming down, I called the friend's dad. He told me he would speak with his son and call me back.

In the meantime I asked Max if he could show this "nut" to his friend's dad and the dad told him it wasn't poisonous if he would believe him. He assured me that he would. So off we went (the dad had called me back and said his son wasn't talking). Max found the "poisonous" nut on the ground...he handed it to his friend's dad...dad opened his hand to look at it.

It

was

white...

It

had

brown in it...

It

was

a

PISTACHIO!!!!!

(like the drama?...I felt like I had to build it up a little.)

Anyway, I pointed out to Max what it was and that he had eaten hundreds of those at my parents' house in the past. Once he realized he didn't need to be rushed to the hospital for emergency poison removal and that he could relax, he got a grin on his face.
That grin spelled R-E-L-I-E-F!

And...as often happens with kids...they forgot about it right away and went off to play...all is well :) The friend's dad was worried about whether or not he handled it right. I told him the boys were fine and my only concern was that he (the dad) was able to convince Max that the nut wasn't poisonous and that he wasn't going to die from it...because for crying out loud, he wasn't going to believe his own MOTHER!!!!!

What next?? Never mind...DON'T answer that :)