Pneumonia

Ethan gave us quite the scare this weekend. Tuesday afternoon after going for a bike ride I noticed Ethan's eyes were watering and his nose was starting to run. I thought he was reacting to all the pollen in the air. That evening I gave him a bath to get all the pollen off and put him to bed. The next morning he looked worse, but he was still acting like himself. I called the pediatrician's office, and they recommended benadryl. My mom came over in the afternoon and we took Ethan to the beach. I thought that being by the water would help his reaction to the pollen. The poor guy just wanted to sit on my lap at the beach. We left after a little bit and I put him down for his nap. When he woke up he was really warm so I took his temparture. It was 102.6. I called the pediatrician's office and they recommended tylenol. The next morning he woke up and I took his temp and it was 100. We gave him some tylenol and benadryl and I left for work. I called home a couple of times and Josh said E. bear wasn't eating or drinking. By the time I got home, Ethan was really not feeling well and his breathing was rapid. After speaking with the pediatrician's office triage nurse, it was decided we should bring him into the ER.
At 11 pm we arrived in the ER. Ethan spent the majority of the time charming everyone in sight. He had a blood draw and chest x-ray. It was decided he had pneumonia and needed to be admitted.

The ER nurses and IV people attempted 5 or 6 times to get an IV in him. He screamed, cried and struggled and they failed each attempt. Finally at 6 am we were given a room in the pediatric ward. We all napped on the bed and by 11 it became clear Ethan was really not doing well. He was lethargic and wouldn't nurse, eat or drink. We told the pediatrician that Ethan was not acting himself. He wouldn't even raise his head off of me to look at people. It was decided another attempt would be made with the IV. They decided to use a vein in his foot. The IV specialist asked that a little prayer be said before she attempted the stick. Really confidencing building. Ethan was too tired and dehydrated to fight that last time. When she finally got it in, I cried. I was very scared and so happy that the IV was finally in. Ethan rested the rest of the day.

I spent the night with Ethan. I would get up and cuddle him when he woke up and nurse him if he wanted to eat. On saturday he seemed to be getting better, but Saturday night his blood oxygen level was really low so the nurse put him on oxygen. I was so scared. During the night he woke up and I cuddled him and he laid in his crib and wrapped his arms around me and wouldn't let go. I cried again. My poor baby. Some time during the night the night nurse told me that Ethan's oxygen probe was hanging off his toe and they thought the low reading was from that and not that Ethan was not able to keep his oxygen level up.

Sunday morning Ethan started to eat a little more (his Daddy brought some of his favorite foods from home) and by lunchtime it was decided he could be discharged. So home we went with antibiotics and a nebulizer.

Ethan was so funny when he got home. He was totally excited and wanted to touch all his toys, kitties, and highchair. It was all we could do to keep him calm and resting. He stuffed himself with mac 'n cheese and tried to eat some pizza.

He slept okay during the night. The very fabulous Josh got up to give him his late night nebulizer treatment.

I feel so guilty. How did my baby get pneumonia? Was it something I did? Was it something I didn't do? What does it mean for the future? Is he prone to pneumonia? Is this all somehow related to his problems as a newborn?

I just hope he continues to do well.

One year photo shoot

We took Ethan for his 1 year photos on Sunday. He looked super cute in a button down shirt and black corduroys. He was a bit distressed in the beginning with the idea of having to stand or sit by himself on a white backdrop while Mommy and Daddy stood behind some crazy lady who made quacking noises at him and held a camera up in front of her face. He cried, he wouldn't stay where we put him, but eventually, he settled down, and we got some great pictures. He is such a handsome guy. After the modeling we went to the food court for lunch and did a little shopping afterwards. I even bought some new clothes which I am really happy with.

Friday night I went out with my old grad school class. It was nice to get out and chat. Saturday was full of errands. I skipped spinning and went for a walk with my family instead. We also did some yard work and brought lots of leaf bags to the local composting center. At night we watched a scary zombie movie, "I Am Legend." It was not a Penny movie and gave me nightmares. :(

Missing my baby

I work a 10 hour shift at the hospital which means I'm gone from home for about 13 hours. I had to work an extra day this Friday because three people are off on vacation this week. I'm really missing Ethan today. I got to see him for about half an hour last night and a little bit this morning. This evening I'm going out with my old grad school class to catch up and see how everyone is doing. I'm looking forward to it, but it means I won't be cuddling Ethan for a little nighty night cuddle/nursing. I know it is good that I have my own life separate from my baby, but I miss his little smile and antics. I'm so lucky Josh is such a fabulous parent and loves spending time with his son and doesn't mind having to attempt a bedtime sans Mommy nursing.

Fire trucks!

Ethan and I went for a bike ride yesterday after his morning nap. (I know in my last post I mentioned my scepticism about E bear taking a nap, but it turns out he just wanted to fall asleep without Mommy's help. No nursing, no singing the "Ants Go Marching", and no cuddling). We rode over to Lynch park. It turns out that there was a large group of Mommys and kids playing at the playground. These were well-prepared Mommys. There were balls and bubbles and kids with sunscreen and snacks. I had brought nothing but Ethan, helmets, and my bike. My little pauper managed to steal a couple of balls from some bigger kids and a little boy offered him some sort of cracker which I declined. Next time I'll try to bring stuff for the little guy.

The Beverly fire trucks were at the park too practicing spraying water from the top of the ladder truck. Ethan was fascinated. He kept wanting to go right up to the trucks. He was totally unphased by the noise of the engines, the smell of diesel exhaust or the size of the trucks. His head didn't even reach the top of the tire! The firemen turned on the lights for the kids. We walked over to one truck that had its cab door open and the lights on. The firemen gave Ethan a plastic hat that said "junior fireman." He was thrilled. He thought it was funny when I tried to wear the hat. It was a really nice experience and a pleasant surprise. I wish I had brought my camera so I could have gotten a picture of his expression when looking at the trucks. We then rode home for some lunch.

The rest of the day was spent napping, playing outside, visiting Auntie Lisa, and dinner.

And it is only 9 am

I can't believe it is only 9 am. So far today I have dealt with a flooding dishwasher (it is brand new by the way), taken out the trash and emptied the diaper pail, put away laundry, fed and washed Ethan, and ate breakfast. Ethan is currently attempting his morning nap. Usually, we snuggle in the chair and I sing until he falls asleep, but lately he has been slapping my face. So I put him in his crib without snuggling. He is currently watching his crib entertainment. For some reason I don't think napping is in the immediate future. Is it really only 9?

Once a week posting

I am such a prolific blogger. Woo hoo! Look at me go posting once a week. I have so much to say and insight to share. :) Let's see what did I do last week.

Monday: Work. Gone from home 13 hours.

Tuesday: Kindermusik. Teaching (Last class!)

Wednesday: Tyler and Mom came over on the train after going to the circus. Had a nice family dinner. E. bear had a great time chasing his older cousin around. Poor little guy got so tuckered out, he laid down on the rug by my feet in the kitchen while I was cooking dinner.

Thursday: Work. Gone from home 14 hours. Fire in the marshes next to the train tracks prevented my train from moving for an hour!!! Ethan fell asleep without nursing or cuddling with me. :(

Friday: Gardening and lunch with Mom and Tyler. E. bear loves pizza!

Saturday: Spinning, trip to Newburyport, visit Lisa in hospital, and yard work.

Sunday: Laundry, work, and dinner with my parents.

Busy, busy!

Weekend fun

We had a lovely, low key family weekend. It started off with Ethan and I staring out the window on Friday morning at another rainy April day. I swear it is never sunny in April. I decided to give the Peabody Essex museum in Salem a try, but only if I could get a library pass. I called the main Beverly library and their pass was already taken. I called Beverly Farms and their pass was still available. So E. bear and I zipped over. Granted we almost ran out of gas on the way, but we coasted into the gas station on fumes, filled up and continued on to the library. We then had to make a detour to the ATM and then we were on our way to the museum.

Once there we ate lunch in the atrium. It was overpriced but decent enough. Next time E. bear and I will eat at one of the sandwich shops around the museum. The museum has one semi large room where kids can be kids. Meaning they can touch stuff. We played with musical instruments, looked at stuffed birds and snakes, waved at people on the street, looked at the origami, and ran around the room. After an hour I grew bored. I strapped E bear into the stroller and began to walk around the museum. I found an interesting Kabuki exhibit, but Ethan didn't want to be strapped into his stroller, so we left quickly. A security guard smiled understandingly as I hurriedly walked through the exhibit of ugly American textiles towards the elevator with my screaming toddler. We found a nice empty exhibit of Japanese art where I nursed him on a comfy bench. I totally don't understand why some moms don't nurse. It is just so convenient. Ethan was distraught and he was immediately pacified. No shaking formula, no looking for a way to warm it. Plus I got to sit on a comfy bench and admire art while he nursed. So easy! Of course, if any video cameras were on me they got a nice view of my breast when Ethan decided he wanted to have a look around too. He's not very considerate of keeping me covered.

We then walked over to Crunch Granola where I paid for our CSA. Mmm... a summer of organic veggies!

Then home we went with a nice cup of chai tea to warm mommy!

Saturday was busy. I went spinning, Josh worked on his novel, we did errands and bought a bike for Ethan and I to ride around Beverly with this summer. I have big plans to go to the library, Lynch park, the beach, and where ever else our hearts and my legs will take us.

Sunday was a gray, drizzly day, but we made the best of it. We bundled E bear up and went for a nice walk in Salem at Ravenswood. It was beautiful and felt great to get out and stretch our legs in the woods. We then went and had warm yummies at a coffee shop in Salem before we returned home.

A very nice family weekend.

3.5 hours I'll never have again

So yesteday was supposed to be the last day of the class I'm teaching. However, I spent 3.5 hours commuting and never actually made it to MGH. Apparently there were power lines down some where and none of the signals were working for the commuter train. So my normal 40 minute train ride into the city took an hour and 40 minutes. My class was cancelled while I was sitting on the train. Then when I got to North Station I found that the next train leaving for home was at 5 so I had 50 minutes to spend in North Station. Then it took an hour to get home! At least Ethan and his Nana had fun together! Now I have to teach a makeup class. :(