And then there were three...: October 2012

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Asthma

Our sweet Caleb has had his fair share of medical issues. He has has two sets of tubes and ever so often a pretty major asthma attack. Earlier this year we had to take him to the ER and stayed a couple of nights for an attack. We have gotten a little better at figuring out his triggers and managing his symptoms with a preventative inhaled steroid.

However, a few Sundays ago he started out the morning with a little cough. We gave him a puff of his inhaler and went ahead to church and class. By the time we got home from eating lunch he was worse. I gave him two breathing treatments and laid him down for his nap. I was a hostesses at a baby shower and headed to set up. By the time I got home, he had gone way downhill. I tried more breathing treatments, but he had blue lips and was struggling for every breath. I called the grandparents and raced him up to the hospital. They gave him the same albuteral that we were doing at home, and it was obvious that wasn't helping. We at first tried blow by oxygen and his oxygen stats continued to drop.

The only good thing about bringing in a baby who can't breathe is that you immediately get into a room. Nana met us at the ER.

Chest x-rays were clear for infection, but he was getting more and more agitated.

We then got oxygen into the nose, and without any improvement in our oxygen numbers the decision was made to admit us. By the time they got the iv started he was so upset. It broke my heart. Hunter said he couldn't breathe well enough to nap so he was exhausted, clammy, and had panic in his eyes. Our ER nurse got in touch with our Dr. and the decision was made to take him to PICU. That was when I realized how serious we were at the time.

On the way up to the children's floor he started coughing so hard he was throwing up. He managed to get me and his blanket as well as Nana and the shirt he was wearing. In ICU they hooked him up to a continuous flow of oxygen, albuteral, magnesium, and steroid for the next 8 hours. We rested peacefully for a few minutes.

It was getting late by this time, and Honey arrived to take over for the night. We were the only ones in ICU, and we had an awesome nurse all to ourselves. This ended up the only sleep we got all night. Poor guy was really wanting to suck his thumb but all jittery and shaking from the massive amounts of drugs pumping through his system. Thankfully, he didn't fight his mask too hard all night. By the morning, he was breathing much better.

sweet angel

By the morning, it was like nothing had happened. He was his happy self. After Dr. T rounded we got moved to a regular room. At this point his lungs sounded good. I couldn't believe how fast he got better. This was definitely an answer to prayers! Mom went on to work, and Caleb and I spent the day together. It was hard work keeping him untangled and entertained.

Caleb is such a nice boy. He was very compliant with all his breathing treatment, medicines, and prodding. He would greet everyone who came in the room and tell them "bye" when he was tired of being messed with. He is my little flirt and quickly became a nurse favorite.

Tuesday morning we were out of there! They took great care of us, but it's just hard to get any sleep when people are in and out all night long.

All that missed sleep finally caught up to him on the way home.

His brothers were so happy to have him home!

We have since upped his preventative and added another medication. So far, we have handled all the changes in temperature pretty well. Our prayer is that we grow out of this asthma quickly!

September 1

September marks the beginning of Hunter's favorite time of the year-hunting season. Dove hunting runs right into bow hunting, which runs into duck season. I try to be a good sport, but I think it'll be easier to love hunting season when he takes his 3 little assistants with him instead of leaving them at home;) Benton is super excited about going on some hunts this year.

Happy guy sporting his Red Ryder

dove flying everywhere at this point

Have I mentioned we love living in the country? We are situated between a creek and hay field, so there are lots of birds in our front yard. Love them sharing a dove bucket!

Sad brothers watching the fun out their window

I even got in on the action. The boys stayed the night at Nana and G-Daddy's house, so I surprised Hunter by getting my hunting license and a box of shells. I was quite proud that I shot 8 dove with my box of shells. Hunter loved our date night!

My kind of hunting--no snakes, sweating, or squatting!

Back to School!

Our summer went by so quickly! Before we knew it September was here and it was time to go back to our Tuesday/Thursday school. Most of Benton's friends went to the Pre-K class, but with a summer birthday we decided it was better for our big boy to head to the 4's class. I have been so proud of him making new friends and learning lots! Caleb and Clayton are across the hall from me. They have a big time with their sweet teachers and come home worn out. I have 6 sweet babies in my class that range in age from 7 months to 2 months. Michelle and I enjoy our day visiting and rocking babies. We are glad to get into a routine again!

went well, don't you think?

This year the twins "nap" on mats. Thanks Honey for making our cute nap mats!

1st day of school cousin pic, 2011

Big boy getting right to work in his journal

Caleb and Clayton doing what they love best!

After school we celebrated with pizza

And this cutie is there too this year! Macey is teaching in the 3's class, so all my nephews are now at school. I love to get to see his sweet smiling face.

Banff national park

We were so excited to head to the mountains! The drive from Calgary to Banff is absolutely gorgeous. The TransCanadian Highway follows the Bow River as mountain jagged mountain peaks are on either side. A lot of them still had snow and ice at the tops. Our campground was on the Bow River, with tall trees and cold evenings and mornings.

This guy would run straight to the road every single chance he had. There wasn't much traffic on our road, but Clayton had us all worn out from running him off the road 50 times a day.

Unfortunately, Nathan and Zach both got a nasty stomach bug, as did the GG's. We had planned on doing some sightseeing Thursday, but no one was in any condition to move. Somehow, none of the other 8 in our motor home (yes 8) got it. We did a lot of outside play this day and the boys took their nap outside.

After 24 hours of stomach bug, very little sleep, and a lot of camping we decided to scrap the last night of RVing it. Hunter suggested turning in our moterhome a day early and getting a hotel for the last night. No one disagreed at this point. We decided that 7 days of family bonding was quite enough! Honey and Poppa took our crew back to Calgary to return the motorhome, and Hunter drove the GG's motor home to Banff and Lake Louise with the Percivals and Nathan and Katie. We enjoyed the drive, shopping, and a one of a kind view.

fun photo set up on the sidewalk at Banff

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Lake Louise=stunning

Camping for a week with toddlers was definitely an experience (that I probably wouldn't do again) Ha! The boys loved being outdoors, getting dirty, and running wild. We didn't get very regular naps, baths, nor meals. By the end of the trip I think we were all a little cranky. We were thrilled to walk into the hotel room! Benton was up late that night throwing up because he was coughing so hard. Caleb had a pretty major asthma attack, and Clayton had a cough as well. Then we had to get to the airport, go through customs, security, and got on the plane without lunch. You can probably guess how the plane ride went. Michelle got the stomach bug in the airport. Benton had just nicely gone to sleep and Clayton was about 15 minutes into his nap when he woke the both of them up coughing. Clayton was exhausted and screamed for the next hour no matter what I did to entertain him. It was a joy. After being gone for 10 days, it was good to be home. I am glad we went, and in about 3 years will probably be ready to go again!

Camping at Buffalo Lake

After a busy reunion weekend, we packed up and headed to Old MacDonald Campground with a smaller group of our family. 4 full motor homes of Texans pulled in ready to do some relaxing. We were again in an open field, surrounded by trees with an open space in the middle for the kids to play. Our cousins brought lots of toys for the little guys to play with, and as you can see there was a lot of fun to be had. This is one of the best campgrounds I've ever been to. There is a petting zoo, train rides, hay rides, bicycle rentals, ice cream shop, and playgrounds, and it's on a beautiful lake. We could have stayed much longer than the 2 days we were there!