Craziness

In two weeks time, Nathan has been to various doctors a total of 6 times. Throw in a baby shower, kitchen remodeling, Mother's Day, and the final MOPS meeting of the year and we've had craziness at our house.

It all started at Nathan's 1-year check-up at the pediatrician exactly 2 weeks ago when we found out he had an ear infection and a lump in his scrotum. So, the well-check did not go so well. We went there expecting to hear, "He looks great!", as usual, but instead we left with a prescription and a referal to the urologist. We did find out that he's still growing, though, so that part was good.

Length: 29.25 inches (40th percentile)

Weight: 20 pounds, 6 ounces (20th percentile)

Playing with the streamers from his party

The following day I hosted a baby shower for my friend Dru who is expecting a baby girl next month. Her mom and I were co-hosts, but the party was at our house. I didn't get to take many photos because I was pretty busy doing the hostess thing, but I did manage to get a picture of the diaper cake I made for Dru. It was my first attempt at a diaper cake and I think it actually turned out pretty cute. Honestly, with all the boys in my house, anything with pink is cute to me.

The diaper cake

There was a total of about 25 people who came to the shower, not including the 3 adorable infants who came with their mommies, so our house was pretty packed. It was a lot of fun, though, and Dru was blessed with a ton of great gifts. She has two boys already, so she was definitely in need of some girly things.

The cake and punch table

The following Tuesday we had our appointment at the urologist. After performing an ultrasound, the urologist thinks that Nathan has a hydrocele of the cord, basically a hernia. There's a chance that it will resolove itself, but the doctor doesn't think it's likely. We're looking at surgery if the hernia is still present about 6 weeks from now.

That Wednesday and Thursday we had our dry wall fixed in our kitchen (Hooray! FINALLY!). Because of all the sanding and the resulting dust, the boys and I stayed at my parents' house for a couple days.

One day while we were at their house, I put the boys down for their naps, and about an hour later I found a toy car threaded through one of the belt loops on my jeans. I just had to laugh...and take a photo of it so I wouldn't forget that it happened. (Note: It can be quite difficult to take a photo of one's own backside.) There could only be one culprit because Nathan doesn't have the fine motor skills required for such a maneuver. I guess I'm just so used to having one or both of the boys hanging all over me, I didn't realize Tyler was doing it.

When the boys and I returned home Thursday evening, I was happy to find kitchen walls that no longer looked like cardboard! The walls still need to be primed and painted (probably some kind of brown-ish color), but they are much more presentable now.

That evening we noticed a rash on Nathan's chest and back. My guess was that it was a reaction to the amoxicillin the pediatrician prescribed for his ear infection since I get the same rash from penicillin.

The next day (Friday) we went back to the pediatrician about the rash. The doctor agreed that it was probably due to the amoxicillin and found that it hadn't even cleared up the ear infection. So he prescribed omnicef.

Nathan had a low grade fever Friday and Saturday, but nothing bad. He wasn't himself, but we figured that was due to the ear infection.

Sunday was Mother's Day! I had a great morning with my boys. My day started with a treasure hunt that led me to an amazing gift from Tim and the boys. (More on that later.) We went to church, came home and ate lunch, and the boys took good naps.

That afternoon we went to a lake near my parents' house to have a picnic with Mom, Dad, Jonathan, Becki, their boys, and the Pittmans. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for a picnic. We all brought something to share (I brought cole slaw and watermelon) and the big boys had a blast playing on the playground and throwing rocks in the lake. While were at the park, we noticed that Nathan felt warm, so I gave him some Tylenol. He did not want to be put down, so just about everyone had a chance to hold him.

When we got home from the fun time at the park, everything kind of fell apart. We took Nathan's temperature because I thought he felt really hot, even after the Tylenol. Sure enough, it was 103. With the fever and the rash that seemed to be worsening, I was concerned. So, I called the after hours triage nurse who asked me all about Nathan's rash, fever, medications, etc. It was quite a long conversation and in the end she said to take him to the pediatric ER. She was primarily concerned about the rash. We had just put both boys to bed, so we got them up, called my parents to meet us at the hospital, and got in the car.

I think we got to the ER around 9:30. Mom and Dad took Tyler back to our house so that he could sleep in his own bed. It was probably 11:00 before we got into an exam room. Our nurse brought Nathan a toy to play with while we waited for a doctor to see us. By this point, he had several rounds of Tylenol and Motrin, so his fever was going down and he was slap happy because was so tired. He just couldn't fall asleep with all the commotion and excitement. It's hard to feel sorry for him when you see these pictures, but I assure you that he got really cranky after this because he was exhausted.

So after seeing two doctors, we were told that the rash was probably due to a virus, that his left ear was still really infected, and that his right ear also looked like it was infected. Nathan ended up getting two simultaneous injections of rocephin, a pretty potent antibiotic. After crying for a few minutes (those needles were huge), he finally fell asleep. We then had to wait for 30 minutes to make sure he didn't have a reaction to the shot. We were finally discharged around 1:15 a.m.

Since Sunday, Nathan has had two more antibiotic injections, but as of Wednesday his ears looked good to the pediatrician. The infection is gone and he just has some clear fluid behind his ears, so we have to go back in a couple weeks to make sure it clears up completely.

He definitely seems to be feeling better, but his rash is still really bad. It's all over his body and today is the first day that it didn't actually look worse than the day before. Right now the rash is the worst on his upper arms, thighs and cheeks. I'm sure when I take him out in public other people are wondering what kind of infectious disease he has. It looks awful, but since he's back to his happy self, I guess I shouldn't be too concerned. The hardest part is not knowing for certain what's causing the rash. It's gone from an amoxicillin rash to a viral rash to a possible MMR vaccine rash. We're just praying that it goes away.

Every time we sit down to eat, Tyler prays, "Jesus, for this food. Help Travis get better and Nathan get better. In Jesus' name, amen." (Travis is his little friend who has been sick for several months.)

So the last MOPS meeting of the year was this Tuesday. Since any "free" time I would have had in the week and a half leading up to it was filled with unplanned doctor appointments and ER visits, I had a lot to do in a short amount of time. (I've discovered that I can no longer stay up 'til 2:30 a.m. for 2 consecutive nights and be worth anything.) By the time the meeting was over, I was completely exhausted and relieved. Coordinating MOPS this year was a lot of work. It challenged and stretched me more than I would have liked at times, but if even just one mom's relationship with Jesus was strengthened as a result of MOPS, then it was all worth it.

The ladies in the group chipped in to buy a charm for my Pandora bracelet, which I absolutely love. I will always think of this past year and the amazing moms in the group when I look at that charm. They also got an Archiver's gift card for me and I'm looking forward to putting that to use this summer when I have some free time. The thing that I will cherish the most, though, is a card that just about everyone signed. The ladies wrote such encouraging and supportive words. I am honestly so humbled to be a part of this group of moms.

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Okay, so I think that pretty much recaps my last two weeks. I have some photos of the boys that I took today, but I'll save those for a future post. Let me just close this one out with a THANK YOU, LORD for getting us through the craziness.