Friday, November 20, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Family Time
Lately, even with Dane sick, we've been having little moments that just make me so happy to be a mom. Mark's been working a lot, which makes the nights he's home so much more precious. He typically gets home around 6:15, which means we eat and then start Dane's nighttime routine at 7. Not much time together, but we try to make the most of it. Each night Mark and Dane spend some guy time laughing and goofing around during Dane's bath. Then we feed him and read to him before putting him down between 7:30 and 8:30 (if all goes well). We really love those moments in our living room, quiet and warm together.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Bark
For the last several days, Dane has had another cold. He gets so miserable when he gets congested... his face looks all pouty with his lower lip sticking out and snot hanging from both nostrils right down to the upper lip. After he coughs or sneezes, his perma-pale skin gets all red around the eyes. All together a very sad sight. But it gets worse for the little man. Yesterday, Dane woke up with a really bad cough. His cough sounded a lot like a seal barking...and immediately alarm bells started going off in my head. I have seen too many kids in the hospital with respiratory infections that were allowed to ferment several days too long and ended up being serious. So we bundled Dane up and brought him over the the Dupage Medical Group Urgent Care. Actually, they call it the "Convenient Care," which is a bit of a misnomer, since we sat in a waiting room for almost an hour before we were seen. Is this karma paying me back for me already making my patients wait for me? Anyway, they started taking a look at Dane. I gave them my somewhat-professional opinion: that Dane has croup. The good news was that they hooked Dane up to a pulse oximeter, to measure the oxygen saturation of his blood, and he was ranging between 96-99% (which is great). The urgent care doctor (yes, a Family Medicine doctor, of course :) ) listened to his chest and thought she heard some faint wheezing in his lungs. They gave him a nebulizer treatment to help open his lungs up, which the doctor thought worked well. She said the wheezing was decreased after the breathing treatment. Dane then got a chest x-ray, which was actually really funny (in a poor-Dane way) to see. They put Dane in this contraption that had him sit on a little bike seat and then get squeezed inside a plastic case with his hands above his head, to give the best exposure to his lungs. We really wished we'd brought our camera. (Dane, if you ever read this, we were nicer than some of our posts sound...)
This photo, obviously, is not of Dane, but its the only photo I could find of the x-ray contraption...
Anyway, the chest x-ray came back essentially normal. That is good because it means he doesn't have any pneumonia. After all of this workup, the doctor decided that Dane either had 1) Croup (I almost did the I-told-you-so dance) or 2) bronchiolitis.
A quick explanation, for those of you who care:
1) Croup is characterized by a barking cough. It is often caused by the parainfluenza virus (75% of the time). It is a "diagnosis of exclusion," which means that it is the diagnosis left on the table after you decide it can't be other causes (such as epiglottitis, foreign body aspiration, epiglotic edema, etc...) The barking cough and shortness of breath that infants with croup experience is due not to the infection itself but actually due to the inflammatory response to the infection. Croup is treated in several ways. First, by having the baby inhale humidified air (both by putting a humidifier in their room near the crib...we currently bought a second one and now have 2 humidifiers running in his room...and by bringing the baby into a bathroom filled with steam from a hot shower). Second, more severe croup is treated with corticosteroids to help reduce the inflammation. In our case, Dane was given a prednisolone (steroid) solution that we give him once per day for a total of 5 days, including the dose in the urgent care. Yet more severe cases of croup can require supplemental oxygen, nebulizer treatments, and, infrequently, intubation. In the end, croup is a self-limited disease, meaning that even if we did nothing it would probably go away like any other run of the mill cold...just scarier for us and more unpleasant for him.
2) Bronchiolitis is inflammation of the bronchioles, the smallest airways in the lungs (just before the lungs end up in the alveoli, where gas exchange happens). Again, this inflammation is often caused by a viral infection. While bronchiolitis can be caused by parainfluenza, it is most often caused by RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). The treatment, in reality, is fairly similar for bronchiolitis and croup. Steroids are not needed for true bronchiolitis but are sometimes given because giving them shouldn't hurt and might help reduce some inflammation. The mainstay treatments for bronchiolitis are bronchodilater drugs (albuterol) and antiviral drugs (ribavirin).
After they narrowed down Dane's problem to one of those two, they sent us home with oral steroids to give Dane for 5 days total plus a prescription for a nebulizer if he didn't seem to be getting better. We've been giving him the steroids but haven't needed the nebulizer yet. Larissa took Dane to the pediatrician's office today and she said he was looking pretty good. We're hoping he keeps getting better and that he shakes this cold soon. Keep praying for the little guy. :)
This photo, obviously, is not of Dane, but its the only photo I could find of the x-ray contraption...Anyway, the chest x-ray came back essentially normal. That is good because it means he doesn't have any pneumonia. After all of this workup, the doctor decided that Dane either had 1) Croup (I almost did the I-told-you-so dance) or 2) bronchiolitis.
A quick explanation, for those of you who care:
1) Croup is characterized by a barking cough. It is often caused by the parainfluenza virus (75% of the time). It is a "diagnosis of exclusion," which means that it is the diagnosis left on the table after you decide it can't be other causes (such as epiglottitis, foreign body aspiration, epiglotic edema, etc...) The barking cough and shortness of breath that infants with croup experience is due not to the infection itself but actually due to the inflammatory response to the infection. Croup is treated in several ways. First, by having the baby inhale humidified air (both by putting a humidifier in their room near the crib...we currently bought a second one and now have 2 humidifiers running in his room...and by bringing the baby into a bathroom filled with steam from a hot shower). Second, more severe croup is treated with corticosteroids to help reduce the inflammation. In our case, Dane was given a prednisolone (steroid) solution that we give him once per day for a total of 5 days, including the dose in the urgent care. Yet more severe cases of croup can require supplemental oxygen, nebulizer treatments, and, infrequently, intubation. In the end, croup is a self-limited disease, meaning that even if we did nothing it would probably go away like any other run of the mill cold...just scarier for us and more unpleasant for him.
2) Bronchiolitis is inflammation of the bronchioles, the smallest airways in the lungs (just before the lungs end up in the alveoli, where gas exchange happens). Again, this inflammation is often caused by a viral infection. While bronchiolitis can be caused by parainfluenza, it is most often caused by RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). The treatment, in reality, is fairly similar for bronchiolitis and croup. Steroids are not needed for true bronchiolitis but are sometimes given because giving them shouldn't hurt and might help reduce some inflammation. The mainstay treatments for bronchiolitis are bronchodilater drugs (albuterol) and antiviral drugs (ribavirin).
After they narrowed down Dane's problem to one of those two, they sent us home with oral steroids to give Dane for 5 days total plus a prescription for a nebulizer if he didn't seem to be getting better. We've been giving him the steroids but haven't needed the nebulizer yet. Larissa took Dane to the pediatrician's office today and she said he was looking pretty good. We're hoping he keeps getting better and that he shakes this cold soon. Keep praying for the little guy. :)
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Dane's Latest and Greatest
Dane's newest skill is rolling from his back to his front. This has given him a lot more freedom to move about, although he tends to roll in a circle, keeping his feet in approximately the same spot, and rolling to his left. It's pretty funny to watch, but he seems so proud of himself that we can't laugh at him too much.
He's also been pretty funny watching himself in the mirror. He talks and giggles and flaps his arms and even tries to lick his image. We're pretty sure he doesn't know that it's him, but whoever he thinks it is...he LOVES that little guy! He also likes it when Mark or I "stalk" him in the mirror, ie pretending we're going to tickle him or blow raspberries on his back. He's getting more and more fun each day, and while we really aren't over the hump because of Mark's schedule, we can at least see the light at the end of the tunnel. Dane's also sick again (3rd cold, fifth week of being sick in the last three months), but those couple hours at the gym each week are too precious to forgo their childcare all together. It's just another cold, but we'd appreciate your prayers for our sanity!
He's also been pretty funny watching himself in the mirror. He talks and giggles and flaps his arms and even tries to lick his image. We're pretty sure he doesn't know that it's him, but whoever he thinks it is...he LOVES that little guy! He also likes it when Mark or I "stalk" him in the mirror, ie pretending we're going to tickle him or blow raspberries on his back. He's getting more and more fun each day, and while we really aren't over the hump because of Mark's schedule, we can at least see the light at the end of the tunnel. Dane's also sick again (3rd cold, fifth week of being sick in the last three months), but those couple hours at the gym each week are too precious to forgo their childcare all together. It's just another cold, but we'd appreciate your prayers for our sanity!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Leavin' (and returnin') on a Jet Plane
Finally, we're caught up and back on track after our trip to Miami, Dane's first airplane travel and his second time seeing my sister, his aunt B-mo. Unfortunately, Mark was on call twice that week, so it was just me and the DaneBear. Fortunately, my parents also decided to come along, so I had a lot of help, which was especially nice because of all of Dane's items. Traveling with the little guy made me realize how much stuff he has and how little of we'll actually bring on the next trip we make! I don't think we broke out the umbrella stroller once. On the other hand, we used the Bjorn repeatedly, which made me thankful for it all over again!
We started the trip heading out from O-Hare, but used an off-site parking lot, which was great, as they dropped us off right at our gate, decreasing the amount of walking with all our luggage. Dane did a great job hanging out until we boarded, too dazzled by all the people and new sights to cry much. We then got on the plane, and had great seats, with two of us on an aisle and the other in the middle seat of the same row. It worked out perfectly, as we could get up easily when we needed to. We sat by a cute older couple, on their way to a conference in the Bahamas, who gave us advice about traveling with little ones and were overall, very understanding. Thank God for that! I pictured a very crabby person, sighing out loud every time Dane made a peep. He ended up doing great, though! It was definitely in large part due to my mom's holding him. She kept him happy for most of the three hour flight, and he fell asleep in her arms for around a half hour, both of them looking very content.
We got to Miami and stepped out into 98 degree weather, record-breaking heat after our own midwest record-breaking cold. What a change! Instant sweat. We found our hotel, located too close to the airport to be in a good area, but also clean and well-maintained, and then found Bethany's apartment. After many wrong turns. Many. It appears that our GPS wasn't familiar with all the construction changes that existed, hence, it directed us onto roads that didn't exist, roads that had different names and basically, just the wrong way. Yikes! Dane was great though, busy looking around and playing with grandma in the backseat.
Bethany and Dane immediately became good buddies again, which was so fun to see. He took to her like he'd been with her since day 1. And of course, she's fallen in love with him and all his smiles and giggles, so very different from when she first met him months and months ago. Once we got settled, we were able to do a variety of fun things, from going to the beach at night, Dane's first ocean experience, to visiting B's campus.
The night of the beach visit, we went to Miami beach right after dark. It was a full moon and Dane couldn't stop kicking. He was mesmerized by the moon and by the sound of the waves, smiling and giggling like a maniac. We headed to South Beach the next morning, and Dane had his first taste of actually being in the ocean. Incidentally, it was also my parents' first time at the ocean, so it was fun that they got to share their first time with each other! I carried him in carefully, and at first he was unsure about the temperature and the movement of the water, but soon, he was kicking along and splashing like he does in the pool. After we went back to sit under our umbrella, I realized that somehow, he'd managed to get sand in every spot imaginable. (Note to self: next time we go to any sandy place with the dude, bring water to rinse him off!) He had a great time and we missed having Mark there to enjoy it with us.
We stayed in Miami for four days and got to spend some quality time with the sis, which was much needed. We headed out late on Friday, with Dane being an angel again. We sat behind a woman, who, after asking how old he was and if it was his first flight, said, "We'll see about that!" in response to me saying he did really well on earlier flight. I was happy to have him prove her wrong:) Again, my mom and dad held him for most of the trip, allowing me to read, which I was very thankful for. They made friends with everyone sitting near them; I can't remember how many "Oh, he's SO adorable!" comments we got:)
Overall, we had a great trip and I learned a lot about the beauty of grandparents' love for our little guy. I was also very encouraged by the fact that he did so well in new situations; it's given me a lot more confidence in taking him out and about. Finally, I'm just realizing how much I fall more in love with him every day. He's such a happy little guy, and really brings joy to everyone he comes in contact with. This is such a fun time in our lives with him!
We started the trip heading out from O-Hare, but used an off-site parking lot, which was great, as they dropped us off right at our gate, decreasing the amount of walking with all our luggage. Dane did a great job hanging out until we boarded, too dazzled by all the people and new sights to cry much. We then got on the plane, and had great seats, with two of us on an aisle and the other in the middle seat of the same row. It worked out perfectly, as we could get up easily when we needed to. We sat by a cute older couple, on their way to a conference in the Bahamas, who gave us advice about traveling with little ones and were overall, very understanding. Thank God for that! I pictured a very crabby person, sighing out loud every time Dane made a peep. He ended up doing great, though! It was definitely in large part due to my mom's holding him. She kept him happy for most of the three hour flight, and he fell asleep in her arms for around a half hour, both of them looking very content.
We got to Miami and stepped out into 98 degree weather, record-breaking heat after our own midwest record-breaking cold. What a change! Instant sweat. We found our hotel, located too close to the airport to be in a good area, but also clean and well-maintained, and then found Bethany's apartment. After many wrong turns. Many. It appears that our GPS wasn't familiar with all the construction changes that existed, hence, it directed us onto roads that didn't exist, roads that had different names and basically, just the wrong way. Yikes! Dane was great though, busy looking around and playing with grandma in the backseat.
Bethany and Dane immediately became good buddies again, which was so fun to see. He took to her like he'd been with her since day 1. And of course, she's fallen in love with him and all his smiles and giggles, so very different from when she first met him months and months ago. Once we got settled, we were able to do a variety of fun things, from going to the beach at night, Dane's first ocean experience, to visiting B's campus.
The night of the beach visit, we went to Miami beach right after dark. It was a full moon and Dane couldn't stop kicking. He was mesmerized by the moon and by the sound of the waves, smiling and giggling like a maniac. We headed to South Beach the next morning, and Dane had his first taste of actually being in the ocean. Incidentally, it was also my parents' first time at the ocean, so it was fun that they got to share their first time with each other! I carried him in carefully, and at first he was unsure about the temperature and the movement of the water, but soon, he was kicking along and splashing like he does in the pool. After we went back to sit under our umbrella, I realized that somehow, he'd managed to get sand in every spot imaginable. (Note to self: next time we go to any sandy place with the dude, bring water to rinse him off!) He had a great time and we missed having Mark there to enjoy it with us.
We stayed in Miami for four days and got to spend some quality time with the sis, which was much needed. We headed out late on Friday, with Dane being an angel again. We sat behind a woman, who, after asking how old he was and if it was his first flight, said, "We'll see about that!" in response to me saying he did really well on earlier flight. I was happy to have him prove her wrong:) Again, my mom and dad held him for most of the trip, allowing me to read, which I was very thankful for. They made friends with everyone sitting near them; I can't remember how many "Oh, he's SO adorable!" comments we got:)
Overall, we had a great trip and I learned a lot about the beauty of grandparents' love for our little guy. I was also very encouraged by the fact that he did so well in new situations; it's given me a lot more confidence in taking him out and about. Finally, I'm just realizing how much I fall more in love with him every day. He's such a happy little guy, and really brings joy to everyone he comes in contact with. This is such a fun time in our lives with him!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Finally back in IL!
As you could tell, Dane and I are back from our wild Miami adventure, Dane's first plane trip, to visit my sister Bethany. I'm working on adding all the fun from that trip, but in the meantime, will add all our recent pictures of the little man. It's amazing how much he seems like a little toddler to us already. His personality is blooming and it's a joy for us to see how happy he is. What a blessing to have such a fun little guy to care for!
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