A Short Hospital Stay

This past week brought about a significant event in our lives when Elijah was admitted to the hospital with RSV. It all started with Zach getting sick last weekend. On Tuesday (day 5 of his illness) when he still had a fever I decided it was time to go see the doctor. We had tried to keep the boys separated and to be vigilant about hand washing but unfortunately Eli began coughing on Tuesday so I went ahead and had the doctor look at him also. Zach was diagnosed with an ear infection, pneumonia and probably the flu and Eli was pronounced as still sounding clear but probably coming down with what big brother had and she made some quip about the week being young...(just great, I thought!)

Thursday morning at 4am Eli awakened and sounded wheezy and congested. I briefly considered taking him to the ER but I thought that it was probably being a little over anxious. That morning when the doctor's office opened I called and got an appointment for 1:30 that afternoon. As the day progressed Elijah's breathing sounded worse and worse but I was still taken by surprise when our doctor immediately sent us to the emergency room I had no idea that the congestion and wheezy breathing I was hearing was actually him struggling to get enough oxygen! In our local hospital they administered a breathing treatment and started an IV, they also collected samples to run some tests. The test results came back as positive for RSV and we were told that we would need to go to a hospital with a PICU in case things got worse. At 8pm Elijah and I were transported via ambulance to University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore.

Thankfully, as bad as things could have gotten, Elijah remained fairly stable throughout the whole sickness. It was very difficult to watch him struggle for breath, now that I knew what it looked and sounded like, but apparently it can be much worse and the doctors kept telling me he looked good for a 7-week-old with his diagnosis. The hospital continued to monitor Eli for the few days we were there and they offered him support through nasal suction and some humidified oxygen near his face but basically he had to fight off the virus on his own.

During the drama with Elijah we had to take care of a sick and somewhat emotional Zachary. Steve and I were not comfortable abandoning Zach during this time so we tried to keep him with us to provide him with some stability. Unfortunately the hospital was not allowing children inside the building at all so it got a little crazy trying negoiate our noble goal. I would leave Eli, run down to the main entrance get Zach and then Steve would run upstairs to be with Eli, then later we would switch again. I spent nights at the hospital and Zach and Steve stayed with some family friends that live near Baltimore. So for about three days Steve and I weren't in each others presence for more than one minute as we made the Zach pass-off. The whole experience was exhausting, emotionally and phyisically. I was very grateful Saturday late afternoon when they said that Elijah could go home! (I was doubly grateful to be going home because we had been waiting for the results of a bacteria test that if positive would have meant that Eli needed to be in the hospital with IV drugs for another seven days!) At home that evening Zach said grace for our dinner. Steve prompted him to be thankful that Elijah was home, which Zach repeated exactly during his prayer but then he added, "Thank you that mommy and daddy are right here!"


I took this picture on Monday...he is obviously making a full recovery!

Trick or Treat

For Halloween this year Zach was a Red Sox baseball player (shocking, right?) complete with batting helmet, official baseball pants, eye black, bat and glove. The great thing about his costume is that he is getting a lot of use out of the batting helmet both indoors and out. Elijah went trick-or-treating as a rather disgruntled pumpkin, which I didn't really blame him for since he was lugged in and out of the car without the benefit of receiving any candy.

Our evening involved a lot more driving than I remember as a child since we drove to each grandparents' house. At each stop we rang the door bell, Zach was prompted to say, "trick or treat" and then we were invited in for a quick visit (this is what happens when you only go to the houses of family and close neighbors-it ends up being more visiting than candy-gathering). At the end of the evening we made one final stop at our new next door neighbor's house, who we don't really know, and after receiving the candy Zach proceeded to walk into their house for the 'visit' portion of trick-or-treating!

When it was time to go bed later that night, Zach insisted on bringing his bucket of candy into the room and he fell asleep holding on to an unopened tootsie roll pop.

One Month

Baby Elijah is one month old today! Already he is lifting his head and having longer 'alert' times during the day. He displays wonderful dimples when he smiles in his sleep and he is a terrific eater, as evident by his incredible weight gain. He sleeps pretty well at night giving me 3-4 hours at a time but during the day he is only content when he is being held! Even so, we think he is a pretty amazing little guy.

Just pictures...

Pemberton Park

In case we weren't struggling enough trying to adjust to life as a family of four, Steve came down with the flu Friday night! (a nurse friend told us that he has had the swine flu because the regular flu is not "out" yet?!?--just great!!) I had looked forward all week to Steve being home for the weekend to help keep everyone 'in play'...but instead I had to banish him to the guest room and told him not to come out until he was fever-free. Of course we shifted into huge efforts for clean hands (with a toddler--an impossible task) and I tried not to be nervous about my two week old baby contracting the flu... Somehow we managed to scrape through the weekend with me only occasionally knocking on the quarantined room asking if he was "better yet?". (I should also mention that a healthy Steve emerged from the sick room yesterday and went to work today!)

Zach has been "asking" for more attention lately, which is hardly surprising since mommy's arms are always full of Elijah. (His "asking" usually involves him unrolling the toilet paper, dumping all of his toys out, emptying baskets of laundry, or smearing yogurt all over the table.) So yesterday I decided to drag myself, Elijah and Zach to the park for a walk, thankfully my sister was also able to come and help me juggle everyone. At one point, unprompted, Zach looked up at me and said, "We're having fun!" It broke my heart and I resolved to try and give him more positive, undivided attention...we'll see how long my good intentions last.

Zach-isms

Everyone always tells me that I must record the little sayings and words that our children use otherwise, as cute as they may be right now, we will in fact forget them. Today, Zach said a "new" one and I thought I would try to record not only the new one but some of the old ones too.

This morning while Zach was getting dressed he told me that he, "Wants to keep his ja-mama shirt on!" (that would be pajama)

The brown delivery truck that might come to your house once in a while is a U-Piss truck! (UPS)

Some mornings Zach does not awaken until after Steve has left work. On these days when I go into the room he will ask for Daddy and I reply that he is at work. Zach's response every morning is, " Bis not!" (We think this is, It's not!)

Tomatoes used to be called tray-moes.

And chicken with bones still in was "chicken on the bum".

Also whenever Zach was playing with an excavator or dump truck he would use a scooping motion with his arm and say, "A dump-it-da-thru-it!" We have no idea what this meant but it had something to do with scooping and dumping associated with construction trucks!

Bad Dreams

(Warning: This blog entry should not be read if you are still considering having children!) Last night Steve, Elijah and I crashed into bed at 10pm utterly exhausted from two previous nights of not getting enough sleep. At 2am I awakened to nurse Elijah and actually had the passing thought that, 'this night isn't as bad as last night'. Eli was waking up, nursing and going right back to sleep -- perfect! This morning, looking back I can't quite fit all the pieces in chronological order but I will try and hope that those of you who have had this 'night' before can laugh with (or at) me!

2am. Eli wakes up and I changed his diaper. (This little sentence requires some explanation to appreciate so... a diaper change at this point requires a great deal of "stuff" and almost perfect timing, precision and reflexes. First you must get a warm washcloth... this is necessary because Eli is healing from his circumcision and the chemicals in the wipes would hurt him. Now warm water in our house at 2am is not a quick thing so I turn on the bathroom faucet and go prepare the rest of my ammunition. Gauze and A&D ointment are next. I spread the ointment on the gauze and then open up a newborn diaper, because once you unleash the old diaper you only have seconds to get everything in place before you have to start over again adding a change of everything into the mix, if you catch my drift. By this point the water is hot and I can get the final diaper changing piece, a warm washcloth. I then proceed with a lightning quick diaper change.)

Afterwards, we settle down to nurse. As Elijah begins to drift off I have that passing thought of this isn't so bad...when suddenly he wets through everything! So I change his diaper. (please see above side trail and add change of onesie and sleeper) By this point Eli is awake again so I nurse him to lull him back into that desired sleep mode....no luck. After many attempts I decide that it is time to awaken Steve to give me a reprieve.

3am. I awaken Steve and as he is getting up to hold Elijah I make the suggestion that since we are already awake maybe we should move Zach (who is a very sound sleeper) to his bed.

Zach wakes up.

Steve begins to hold and rock Elijah while Zach and I snuggle in bed with the hopes that we both fall back asleep quickly.

4am. Zach is crawling all over the bed wanting to hold and snuggle with Elijah, meanwhile, Eli, who is just falling asleep, wets through everything again. Steve changes his diaper. (add another change of onesie and sleeper to first mentioned diaper change story)

4:45am. Zach is asking for bread, Eli is still awake and mommy is crying for having ever entertained the idea of moving Zach to his bed. Eli is close to falling asleep and Steve offers to get up with Zach but I'm too frustrated at this point so I get up with Zach and move to the living room. Less than 5 minutes later, Steve comes out of the bedroom and says, "The nightmare continues. He just pooped through everything and needs 'the works' again." (Thankfully at this point my wonderful husband begins to laugh and is able to bring me around to see how the whole absurd night/morning is actually pretty funny.)

5:30am. Everyone back in bed and asleep at last!

I'm including pictures taken this morning of my two cherubs as proof that they are in fact both still alive and unharmed.

Welcome Elijah!

Zach became a big brother on Saturday, September 26, 2009. Elijah Gustav Miller was born at 3:18am weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces.

Zach slept peacefully through the delivery and awakened to a new world order. He has taken to the change rather well. He is very gentle and sweet with Eli and wants to hold him, snuggle him and nurse him all the time. (We're pretty sure that Elijah is going to have to be one tough little guy.) During our first evening home Zach, Eli and Daddy were lying in bed and Eli started to fuss a little. Zach started patting him and said, "It's okay Elijah, mama's coming." Within a few hours from this sweet little story Zachary also announced that "Baby Elijah needs a shower." (Which was true since he hadn't had his first bath at that point!)

We are all thrilled with the new addition in our lives!

A Day Trip

On an impulse yesterday we took a long day trip to see some friends who we haven't seen for a year! Their son Josiah is Zach's age (only 3.5 months older, although with his language skills the gap still seems wider) and they are expecting their second son two days after our due date!

Yesterday was the first time we really got to enjoy the boys being so close in age and for us it was the first time we have really seen Zach 'play' with a peer. Most of the children that we are with are much older than Zach and he loves to be entertained by them, but yesterday we got to eavesdrop on little not-quite-three-year-old conversations as they played together. Steve's favorite was at the end of the day when both boys were well past normal bedtimes and we heard them saying, "No, stop it!" "No, you stop it!" "Stop it." "No, you stop it". It was stimulating conversation!

I preferred the running game they played together, which is apparently a reoccurring favorite at Josiah's house. Zach would say, "Come on Josiah, run!" and then he would take off around the kitchen, living room and foyer loop with Josiah hard on his heels, ending with big crashes into their respective daddies. The boys were delighted and repeated this game for quite some time while I was thrilled to not have to participate in all that running!

We had a very enjoyable day filled with simple everyday things; baseball, bubbles, trains, football, shucking corn and Settlers (for the adults)! I was hoping that Zach might take more of an interest in Josiah going to the potty but he eluded my strategy by following Josiah into the bathroom and then saying, "Oh" and walking out again as if that had nothing what-so-ever to do with him!

Waterpark

Over a week ago now we celebrated Steve's birthday and his having a day off with a family trip to a water-park!! (You can tell by how many pictures of Steve that I took where the real center of attention was!) The park was wonderful because most of it was geared for kids Zach's age and a little older. There was a Zach size pool and slides and then also a lazy river. (Thankfully I was spared from having any picture or video footage of a very pregnant me climbing into and out of those inner tubes. Not my most graceful moment...more like a large floundering fish.)

Our picnic lunch of sandwiches and grapes was supplemented with some delicious boardwalk fries (another highlight for Zach). Then after lunch we played eighteen holes of miniature golf. Zach swung his putter like he was hitting a baseball and when we tried to help him we got our shins whacked with his bat! Despite the bruises we all enjoyed Steve's birthday!

More baseball

One of the reasons that Zach plays so much baseball is because that is exactly what his daddy likes to do in the backyard. Steve has had an easy time investing a lot into this activity because Zach has preferred to be all-time pitcher and Steve prefers to be all-time hitter (a mutually pleasing deal for both boys). Monday night that all changed because for the first time Zach began hitting a pitched ball! Up until now he has mostly held his bat still and it was up to the pitcher to hit his bat. I'm not exactly sure what made the overnight change but last night he was tracking the ball and swinging AND making contact! Zach took this new combination of skill in stride as if he always expected to hit the ball but Steve and I were shocked and delighted (except for a brief moment when Steve realized that he was now going to be all-time pitcher) and obviously I had to run and get the video camera! I thought I would share this BIG moment with all of you and coincide it with my first attempt to put a video on the blog. (Unfortunately I could not get the video to upload onto the blog so you will have to just enjoy this new skill with your imagination-sorry! If anyone can help me upload videos, let me know!)

To the beach

This year our week at the beach was filled with baseball, baseball, baseball and a little singing/piano playing mixed in once in a while. Zach was the center of attention for one more big family get together before his little brother's birth, and he was determined to make the most of it! He continued to be a little intimidated by the ocean and preferred to spend his time playing ball and digging with his trucks in the sand. During the course of the week he developed his "game" a bit more! He now runs the bases after he hits (the running pattern is always interesting and sometimes he manages to score more than one run per hit!) and he also started turning his back to you like a real pitchers wind-up when he is pitching to you (which really throws his aim off--look out!). Although all the pictures I took were outside, Zach also began playing imaginary baseball while in the house. He used a long railroad piece as a bat and then would either pitch with or have us pitch to him with a pretend ball. If he was pitching he would then run to the kitchen to field the ball! Steve and I have honestly not been teaching him any of these little baseball nuances but I think he picked it up from the Redsox games we were able to watch while we were there!

Steve was only able to be with us for half of the week but we managed to pull through and still enjoy the beautiful sunny beach and pool. Thankfully I had plenty of willing family members available to help pitch, field and hit while trying to relax at the beach! My 80-year-old grandmother was even caught playing a few times, although I think it wore her out pretty quickly.

Birthday celebrations!

Yesterday we celebrated Zach's birthday! Steve and I gave Zach his presents in the morning, which consisted mostly of new trucks (the big excavator has been a huge hit) and then he happily spent the morning playing with his new trucks in various places throughout the house.

Later in the day Zach and I met a few friends at the zoo for a picnic lunch and a chance to see the animals. (Mama is starting to "feel" pregnant because the heat and walking through the zoo made me desperate for the nap that Zach and I shared afterward.) Then during more truck play, I attempted to decorate a cake for our family celebration that night. I was pleased with how it turned out and Zach loved seeing two of his favorite things come together... trucks and cake!! (Anyone with a critique of my cake can look at the apple spice cake I made at Christmas and see how far I've come.)

Somehow, despite all of the sugar, Zach managed to fall asleep and probably dreamt of more trucks.