February Valentines!

Kristen - I'm so sorry Maddie isn't taking to the shots very well. Joey was already sick when he got his, so it wasn't a huge deal. I'm glad she is back to her old self again. I think I mentioned it to someone else a bit ago, but don't you just appreciate their good days so much more after the bad days?

Amy - Ft. Worth IS far! ugh! lol but it's okay. At first you will be sad to leave him for the night, then you will think, "It's actually kinda nice to not have to worry about him all night." But I feel so guilty thinking that. cuz we all love our LOs, it's just nice to have a night out once in a while.

AFM - DH and I have been on pretty good terms since V-Day, had a little spat today b/c I was trying to explain to him that joey eats, then plays for two hours and when he cries after 2 hours, he is not hungry, he's tired. Well DH gave him a bottle... UGH and that messes everything up schedule-wise. I know he's trying to help, but there is kind of a way we do things when he's not home. anyway, he apologized later for making me feel bad(we kinda got into it), then we had makeup sex lol and that was good stuff. but anyways, we have been nothing but nice to each other since today. he's at work now, so i have to grab joey, but I will talk to you girls later! k! bye!

Ugh...my oldest is sick, it is a very croupy cough with a fever, about 101. We have been using the humidifier and tylenol, but she starts coughing so hard she vomits. I feel so bad for her. I am considering bringing her to the Dr's but her lungs sound clear and her mucous is clear, so I am just about 100% positive it is viral...not sure what more the Dr. can help me with but being out $10...I am pretty sure I am taking a family sick day for tomorrow. I know my mom would take excellent care of her but I hate going in when they are sick. I will see how she does tonight and make a decision in the morning.

Kim - try a steam for her before bed - it might help loosen everything up....

Ah Kim! Sick kids just stink!! I agree with Elise on the steam. And you are right....there probably isn't anything a doctor can tell you to do that you aren't doing already. I hope she feels better soon!

I need advice. I don't deal well with vomit. Dawson has probably puked 6 times his whole life and NEVER as a baby. Today Brenden has been really squirmy, a little fussy, and he ALWAYS falls asleep eating his bottle....but not today. He's been like moving all around to keep himself awake KWIM? Then at his 4pm feeding...when the bottle had about an oz left....he projectile vomitted all over himself, me and the chair. He never cried or even got upset...actually he laughed. At 5pm DH offered him another bottle (he literally puked up the entire first one) and he took one suck and passed out. I need some insight......HELP!

Michelle - Joey has projectile vomitted(like the whole bottle, I totally understand) on me before. He apparently did with DH once, but I didn't see it. I know the one time he puked on me was like a month after he was born and he only cried b/c I took the bottle away, but didn't seem to be crazy hungry after. I know Joey spits up what seems like a lot sometimes, but in reality it ends up being mostly saliva that has mixed with the formula and he just spit up. If you feel like it was the whole bottle, it probably was. I was reading that some babies just have a premature closing to their stomachs and they spit up sometimes just b/c they are full and their little flap doesn't close all the way. I know Joey spits up a lot, but it doesn't seem distressing like with GERD. And it's usually just a little and he laughs about it. He even laughs when i try to mop up his little face and neck, like he's proud! I am not really totally grossed out, only if it really gets on my arm, or worse, between the girls! I hate when that happens ugh.

Anyways, I wouldn't worry unless he does it again and then starts running a temp. Or at least that's what I've been told. Just watch him, if he throws up more than twice, i'd say call the on-call doc and see what they say. if not, ER... i don't know what else to do tho. I am praying that Brenden is healthy, and just had a fussy tummy. I hope he gets better, Michelle.

I am so with you Kim and Michelle(I think it was you) about being a bit ticked when they let Chris go on AI but I totally agree he has done alot better than the winner from that season...that should tell ya something....

MichelleL - if he's laughing, then he probably ate too much or ate too fast or a combination of them! if he's running a temp and puked, then i would say call your ped and talk to the on-call doc. otherwise, i would just watch him and make sure that it was a one-time thing. if you're really concerned, you can always call the your pedi office and leave a message with the service for the on-call doc to call you back. it might put your mind at ease if your really worried.

Ok I have the dumb post of the day...Last night I knocked the remainder of a glass of milk all over the key board on my lap top.So then my computer wouldnt turn on for awhile...Then we discovered that certain letters wouldnt work. the b,n,m and space bar keys were those keys.Amazing how many times you use those keys...So DH got a keyboard from his pile of computer stuff and plugged it in to the usb port so I now am typing on a keyboard on top of my lap top.LOL So if I type badly then you guys know why..

MichelleL- Maybe something just didn't settle well and he felt better after he puked.Is he still sick? Poor baby and poor you for getting covered!

Kim- Hope McKenna feels better soon. Whenever ODS gets that croupy cough(yes he still gets it even at 6) the only thing that helps him is steroids.Do you have a nebulizer? Poor girl hopr she feels better.I hate that cough it sounds horrible!

AFM:Not having the best of days and not because anything bad is happening here..Would've posted earlier but all my sentences were all attached and the only way to get the letters b,n,or m were to cut and paste so I just couldn't think of something worth saying to have to do all that...Just having one of those "woes me" days...I think its partly due to the weather and being stuck inside....I just want to have a life again. I don't mean give up my kids but I wouldn't mind spending a day in something other than my sweats and not covered in baby spit up and having a conversation that didn't involve putting someone in the corner....KWIM?Somehow, someway come hell or high water I'm startig school this fall....

what does a croupy cough sound like?

Aww these poor kiddos!

Kim - When nate was real croupy we did the steam, baby rub on the chest and feet, cool mist humidifier, Traminich Vapor fan thing & tylenol. That is all we could do until it ran its course. I hope McKenna feels better soon. Maye she will feel better tomorrow.

MichelleL- This is exactly what Nate was doing. Almost a whole bottle projectile vomited not only out his mouth but his nose too. It didnt seem to bother him as much as it bothered us. The first time we went through it was because of the reflux. You dont think Brenden has outgrown his Rx again? The second round of the projectile vomiting was the gastroenteritis he had. Aka - a stomach bug. Those are the only two I have had experience with. Maybe he just has a little bug and it will pass soon.

Well it is almost 10 PM and my DH is still at his job interview. It started at 7 and is still going on. Maybe they like him, I dont know but Nate is in bed and now its just me here all by myself. I guess its a good dry run for when DH goes out of town for 4 days at the end of next month. I will tell you what I barely got to eat dinner. Nate was having a really needy evening. If I put him down and moved more than 5 feet from him he would start bawling. Then I would pick him up and he would stroke my hair and back and calm down. I guess he was just really needing some extra attention. That is really about all for now. I guess I am going to nap on the couch until DH comes home. Hopefully that will be soon.

Take Care Ladies,

Morning ladies,

Kim, Sorry McKenna is so sick. I would try the steam bath and the baby vicks on her feet. Hope her night wasn't too awful.

Michelle, That's great about your business. As for the vomitting, my ped said if it's not hurting them then don't be too concerned unless it starts to be all the time or fever too.

Shannon, Yesterday we spent the day signing DH up for school so 14 months of M-Th 6-10:30pm. I love Aubrey and enjoy every day I have with her but I was thinking there goes any 'me' time for the next 14 months.
Is that selfish??? I feel bad for even saying it. It's a great opp for him since being laid off and it's only to make our lives better.

It's 5:30am and I'm up trying to get everything in order for our 5-6hr trip. Oh my gosh...you have to pack everything in the house!!!!
I won't get to chat all weekend. I'm sure I'll have alot of catching up to do next week. Have a great weekend ladies!

Diana - have a fun weekend! It is always crazier packing for kids -- you never know what to bring!! I always ended up overpacking clothing for the kids at this age.

AFM: I GOT SLEEP!!!!! I am so excited!!! I got all 3 kids at least into bed by 8:30 (and I think they were all asleep too!!). Got some laundry folded and put away, and was in bed by 9:15. Talked with DH for about 15 min, and then turned the TV onto the sleep timer and was out by 10pm. Got woken up by DD at 11:30, but laid down with her, woke up at 1am, went back to my bed, Logan got him up at 2:45, dealt with him and DD until about 3:30, and then was back in with DD at about 4ish, back in my bed by 5 and got to sleep until 6:20!!! Woo Hoo!! I can't remember the last time I got this much sleep!!!!!!

Today they're having a grief counselor at DD's school to talk with the students and the parents, so that is our plan for the day! Hope everyone has a good Friday!!!

I was bad...really bad, we brought her into the bathroom for some steam but she just kept coughing and coughing...poor thing, did the vicks and humidifier, she has hardly eaten anything in two days, and last night her fever peeked at 102.7. Right now I am just waiting for the dr's office to open. Her temp currently is around 101 and you can't get her to take meds for anything. If you force her she will just throw up and she has thrown up enough from the coughing....sigh, I am pretty sure it is viral still but I will waste the $10 to get peace of mind that it isn't pnemonia or something else, and maybe a little advise on how to help her.

Michelle- McKenna would do that as a baby and she had acid reflux, if you over fed her watch out. I agree as long as he doesn't have a fever and he doesn't keep vomitting over and over I wouldn't worry about it.

Diana- have a fun and safe trip!!!
Elise- Glad you got some sleep!

Amy - I think you're right about the bug. He's only gained 2lbs since his last zantac dosage was changed. Here we had this great schedule going....I knew something was going to f it up! :-((((((

He just really wasn't himself yesterday and last night was just awful. He was up every two hours wanting to be held....which is unlike Brenden....he does not like to be cuddled. I was actually starting to think he had outgrown his reflux. I've missed his zantac a couple of times, shame on me, and it didn't seem to bother him. The silent reflux, which is what both of my boys have, is harder to diagnose because they are in pain (screaming alot) but there isn't spit up or puke. Dawson was an easy diagnosis because of his surgery but I don't think Brenden would have been diagnosed if the dr wouldn't have heard it while we were at the appointment. Anyway, I hope I can get some sleep out of that kid today. I am exhausted. I took the entire night shift last night because DH has an inspection today and he has to be completely rested and alert. Hopefully I'll be back later for personals.....if Brenden finally goes back to bed I'm drinking a pot of coffee and getting on the computer. Hopefully he'll take a nice long afternoon nap too....cause I'm crashin' with him.

TGIF Ladies!

Shannon - Hopefully your keyboard will go back to semi normal once it comepletly dries out. That is such a bummer. I hope you get to feeling better!

Diana - i hope you have a great trip. Oh and dont forget to pack the kitchen sink. You never know when you are going to need one of those! ;-) I am sure it feels that way.

Elise - Yeah for sleep! Here is hoping you get more. So when does your DH get back? I was just curious how his interview went.

MichelleL- I hope Brenden gets to feeling better. Yeah it kind of sounds like a bug. Hopefully he will feel better soon.

Kim - I dont know why you were bad. It sounds like you are doing everything you can to help McKenna. Hopefully you can get into the Dr.'s office soon. Let us know how it goes.

AFM - Well I think Nate is teething. He is chewing everything in site now. This morning when I woke him up he just kept rubbing his fist back and forth on his bottom gums. I felt in there and it is spongy and you can feel 2 little grooves. I cant see anything so I dont think they will pop through anytime soon but I think it is starting.
DH got home last night at 10:30. He was a bit dissapointed. He doesnt know what is really going on. It seems the guy who set up the meeting also set it up with like 4 other people he used to work with all meeting and talking. He said it was more of a social thing than an interview and he kind of feels lied to a little. He did talk to the person who was to be interviewing him and said he answered a few questions but in the end they were just talking budgets and he doesnt even know if they are sitll interested in him. Well I guess its good he didnt go to Holland then! Eeh, we will see how it pans out. It was no real skin off our nose.

I guess that is about it for now. I will try and check in a bit later today.

Kristen-sorry maddeis is struggling with teh shots!

Kim sorry your little one is so sick!

shannon-goodluck on teh keyboard

diana-i always ahve to make a list fo what to pack because i always forget something

Elise-congrats on the sleep!

MichelleL-sounds liek a bug hope it passes soon

Amy-yup sounds like teething to me

AFM-lirttle daniel is teething i can feel 2 bumps on the top and 2 on the bottom. plus he wants to be held all teh time. the good thing is atleast he is not picky abotu who holds him so it can be sister, me or daddy or whoever. but ug having to hold him ALL the time or him fussing.

I know its going to be a long day because its 10:30 in the morning and I am so caught up here at work and have nothing to do that I have checked in about 20 times to see if anyone has posted anything and I have only gotten lucky twice. This usually makes for a long, boring day! Bah!

Bekah- Don't know if anyone answered this for you but a croupy cough sounds like a seal barking.Literally.Its not one that you will mistake for another one ever.If they weren't so sick it would be funny but they are almost always miserable when they have croup.

Kim- What did you do that was so bad? How's McKenna feeling? Once when ODS had it we ended up taking him to emergency because his fever hit 104 and even just sitting yuo could hear the terrible breathing(croupy breathing?)and we almost thought he had whooping cough because it was so awful. But they gave him a dose of liquid steroids(most of which got thrown back up within minutes)and within hours he was breathing freely. He still had a yucky cough but he could breathe normally again and rested much better...Poor little girl I hope she feels better soon.

Diana- No its not selfish at all.Every person needs some "me" time whether there's kids involved or not. And you have a daughter so you definetly need and deserve a little bit of me time once in awhile. I feel guilty making "me" time because my DH works 2 jobs(about 70 hours+ per week) and gets very little sleep so on the weekends I know he wants(and deserves) to rest and not deal with a ton of chaos but he did want these kids too.KWIM?

MichelleL- How's Brenden doing today?Is he feeling any better?

Eileen- Poor little Daniel! Lucas is teething too! Anything within arms reach isn't safe from being gnawed on or drooled on. The other day he was trying to jam both fists into his mouth, tried to take a pic but he smiled and pulled his hands out. Luckily I can stick him in his walker for about 5 minutes at a time and he's happy.

AFM- Sorry for those I missed with personals.Will check back later. TGIF!!! Seriously! Tomorrow we're meeting up with my cousin and her kids and going rollerskating! Although ODS has diarrhea and I don't know if skates and diarrhea are a good combination. We'll see....

okay...so I was sitting here trying to figure out what you guys were talking about...LOL...I meant to post "it" was so bad, reffering to last night and sleeping....but anyway back from the Dr. and I am very thankful I brought her in...if we had let it go it would have turned into full blown pnemonia but we caught it at the early weezing stage so we have an inhaler and a really cute ducky mask that we use to give it to her...and I did get the best advise from the Dr....tylenol comes in suppository form!!!!! Called fever-all, she still isn't happy about it but at least I know she is getting what she needs. So I am not going in to work today or tomorrow, sunday is questionable...and I had already taken Monday off as it is my birthday.

Kim - yeah for catching it early!!

Amy - he's actually meeting with the powers that be right now...i'm anxiously waiting for the phone to ring to see how it went!!!

Shannon - hope ODS feels better soon!!

AFM: so much for posting - Logan is screaming...i'll try to get back later!!

Elise-ODS says he feels fine just got the runs...

Kim- OMG glad you got her in! Lucas has a penguin mask! So cute!Is it an inhaler or a nebulizer that gets plugged in.Is she on albuterol?Has she ever taken the meds before?

Yes, albuterol...and no she hasn't ever had it before...I only read the pamphlet...anything advise from an experienced mom on what I should expect?

and I swear the day just gets worse and worse, finally McKenna decided to eat something (she hasn't eaten in three days really) and then we took a nap, she had a couple of coughing fits but not bad, then she woke up and had a huge coughing fit and promptly threw up all over my bed. The poor thing kept saying she was sorry which made me feel so bad, so into the shower she went, bed stripped, laundry started. Got her dried off and dressed and went to change Landree as she pooped, headed into their room, which I had just been in to get McKenna's clothes and while I was dressing McKenna the dog must have shit on their floor...and I just took the thing out two hours ago and he peeded and pooped before nap...so I had to clean up the dog crap and then Landree...and now I noticed that Landree has started coughing some, her's is a dry cough for now...but I will be keeping an eye on it. Apparently when it rain's it pours.

I've read everything but don't remember most of what was there! I am soooooooooooo tired! If I forget anyone or get the info wrong I just wanna apologize upfront!

Kim -so glad you took McKenna to the dr! It's unbelievable how they can take a turn for the worst in what seems like minutes! I hope she gets to feeling better really soon.

Amy- I called the dr after thinking about what you said about Brenden's zantac dosage. She didn't change it at his 4month appointment so he's had the same one since 19lbs. Anyway she upp'ed it from 1.4 three times a day to 1.7 three times a day and that should really help!

Shannon - All I could think of after reading your post was you rollerskating thru your house and slipping on dog doo in your kitchen! I don't know why that dog incident has stuck in my mind like this..... LOL!

Elise - Hoping ya'll get to move to Texas!!!!!!! Let us know when you hear something!

AFM - Okay, so the dr upp'ed the zantac but I thought I'd cover my bases anyway. I think this is a combo disruption! I gave him the difference in the zantac dosage mixed with tylenol just in case he was in pain. I heard Brenden's belly making poop noises so I gave him a suppository and he filled two diapers. Then I gave him mylacon to help with tummy upset. I put him on his belly on the floor and he burped about 12 times. I tried to feed him lunch but he didn't want it (SHOCKING) so I made him a cereal bottle, gave him a teething tablet and he passed out. I sure hope he sleeps well....he really needs it! He has circles under his eyes!

Kim - I just read your post inbetween putting Brenden back down to bed FOUR times! What the hell is going on???? I'm wading in vomit & something in the air that says "hey kid! Don't sleep" and you're wading in dog shit, kid shit AND VOMIT! I am so ready for this day to be over! Here I thought he had finally passed out.....nope....like I said I had to put him back FOUR times as each time he was screaming like someone had just given him his second set of lungs! Then to top it all off DH called and said instead of postponing raises (which they said they were gonna do about a month ago) they are just doing away with them this year.....WTF? He's gotten a cost of living raise EVERY year and this is the 15th year! And then the worst news came.....they also cut bonuses. He usually gets about $8k and this year it will be $2900! I am so stressed! Maybe that's why Brenden is going thru this, maybe he is sensing my frustration! Oh, and tomorrow is our 11th Anniversary. Last year I got 2carats worth of diamonds....I wonder what it will be this year....probably vomit on a silver platter with a side of the check I have to write to the IRS. Damn.

MichelleL- Aww poor little guy!Maybe all that poo made his belly hurt...I've gotta find another story to tell you...LOL and no skating for me.I have a really bad knee that I've dislocated about a half dozen times and I actually chipped a piece of my knee cap off and its floating under the knee cap and has destroyed all the cartilage so I have bone scraping bone when I walk so on a good day it just aches, on a bad day it's almost excrutiating but the surgeon told me he won't operate until I lose 100 lbs(this was pre-Lucas) so 50 down and 50 to go...So DH says no to skating or snowboarding and skiing(all things I LOVE to do and miss)

Kim- Albuterol will either knock her out OR make her really hyper!It will also make her jittery if she doesnt have any food in her system...Try and keep her away from dairy until her cough loosens up as that makes the phlegm thicker...How often do they have you doing it? Did they do any x-rays? I've ben through pneumonia with Luc and Brady and myself(although mine was't your average pneumonia)....And croup dozens of times with ODS(that seems to be the big thing he gets)...

Elise- Have you heard anything yet??? Enquiring minds want to know!