Cheerio Confessions

Elliott Richard: Pass it on, Mommy! Pass it on!

Translation: Skip the commercials, Mommy! Skip the commercials!

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Elliott Richard: Mommy, my blankets are wiggly.

Translation: Mommy, my blankets are bunched up.

(You're supposed to sing the title to the tune of "The 12 Days of Christmas".)

3 Sick Boys

Yes, you read that correctly all three of my boys are sick, again. Isn't that always how it seems to go in the Cheerio household though? I'm not sure if it's better this way or not. I guess it is. I know it would definitely be much easier without the #1 down there. But I digress.

Elliott Richard

Elliott Richard was first. For all the "gory details" see this post here. He will finish up his antibiotics tomorrow. Yippee! Because even though he's on the "bubble gum" meds that most kids love he's 3 and a terrorist and therefore he enjoys being difficult.

Things were just starting to return to "normal" (not a term that usually applies to our household). Meaning that Elliott Richard was sleeping in his bed rather than on the couch in the living room with Daddy. He was sleeping through the night again. Wasn't super whiney or clingy. He was himself again. He seems to be doing much better. Although he's developing a cough, but I'll get to that in a moment.

So things were starting to look up...and then...

Emmett John

Emmett John, never one to be out-done in anything, was next. Friday afternoon he spiked a fever. By Friday night, his fever was 102.8. By Saturday morning it was 103.2 so off to see Dr. Beth we went. No ear infection or strep. It was just a virus. She said to let it run it's coarse and by Monday the fever should be gone. If Monday morning the fever was still there or his cold symptom had returned, I was to bring him back in.

So we suffered the weekend. No one slept. Emmett John screamed a lot. I considered clawing my eyes out and super-gluing my ears shut. But decided against it in the end. We all survived (I use that term loosely).

Monday morning, always the over-achiever, Emmett John still had his fever and his cold symptoms had returned with avengance so off we went to see Dr. M. But really, let's be honest here, what's a week in the Cheerio household without a visit (or two or three - keep reading) to the pediatricians' office? He checked out our young bebe and thought for sure he had strep throat so he did the swabs - rapid and 48hr. Both ended up coming back negative.

So now he's just a super-clingy grump. He doesn't really want to eat. But he downs water and juice like they are going out of style. He's exhausted but won't sleep. Wants to snuggle but doesn't want held. My fellow mommies out there know this drill well. *sigh*

Gavin

Then of course, Gavin had to jump on the bandwagon. Although truthfully, it's not like he had much of a choice, with two sick little brothers the odds were stacked against him in a major way. So a week or so ago Gavin developed a cough. As the week went on the cough got worse. The problem that Patty brought to our attention at our appointment on Tuesday was timing. The cough started about the same time that Dr. R increased Gavin's dose of Zyprexa. Patty was worried that the Zyprexa was possibly that Gavin is over-medicated and it's causing decreased respiratory function. Of course, I mean what else would you expect from a Cheerio Child?!

So I called and made an appointment with Dr. M. The appointment was actually going to work three ways. Here's what they are and why:

a.) If Gavin is over-medicated, the dose will be changed.

b.) If Gavin is sick, hopefully it's something that will be fixed with anti-biotics.

c.) Everytime Gavin gets a tickle in his throat he proclaims that he has asthma, which he does not.

So I was hoping to find answers to all three of those when we met with Dr. M. Although truth be told, Dr. H has already told Gavin on numerous occasions that he does not have asthma. Heck, even his original pediatrician Dr. Mike told him he didn't have asthma. But he's still convinced that he does.

So we went. We saw. We talked. Some of us more than others. Dr. M asked Gavin a bunch of questions to rule out asthma, which he was able to do, again. Then as Dr. M and I were talking about the cough - when it came on, the meds he's taking etc - Gavin kept jumping in with random Aspie statements. "I like pancakes." Things that given the given the context of the conversation really didn't make much sense. Gotta love those Aspies. :)

Dr. M checked him out and let us know that:

a.) He is not over-medicated. Huge relief there.

b.) He is sick.

c.) He also does not have asthma, although I don't know that this will put an end to the debate.

Apparently, Gavin has some funky form of bronchitis. The normal anti-biotics won't work on it because of the cell walls or something. And the anti-biotic they would normally prescribe is Zythromax or something in that family but Gavin is allergic to those. Even if he weren't he can't take them because they increase the levels of the Zyprexa in his blood stream. So he's on an anti-biotic I've never heard of before, which after three boys (especially Emmett John) I didn't think that was possible. lol And I have to take him back on Monday so that Dr. M can listen to his lungs and make sure that he's improving etc.

Back to Emmett John

Now we get to go back to the pediatrician today. In the last 24hrs Emmett John has developed a rash that started on his back so I thought it was heat rash. Then it began to creep. It creeped to his sides, stomach and now it's creeping down both arms and legs. So I called and talked to Paula, one of the lovely nurses, and she talked to Dr. M. He said that he felt Emmett John should be seen because of Gavin and Elliott Richard both being sick. So at 4:15pm we will be back at the pediatrician's office. This time we get to see Dr. H though. Yippee! So we'll see what that brings us. Oy vay.

2 Ped Appointments

Yeah, it was 2 ped appts if you only counted Emmett John with Dr. M on Monday and Gavin with Dr. M yesterday. However, if you count Emmett John with Dr. Beth on Saturday and now Emmett John today. The grand total is now 4 ped appts but that doesn't work with my title at all. ;) lol

1 Fibromyalgia Flare

Yeah, that would be me. Of course, who else would it be. I love living in Ohio. Really, I do. Lately though, this weather, it's killing me. The ups and the downs - the weather is just crazy and it's downright killing me. I've been flaring off and on for nearly 2 weeks now. But that's another post entirely, believe me.

A Baby on the Way

Okay, so he's not so much "on the way" anymore because I started this post 5 days ago and let's face it, that's kind of a long time for active labor! (Ouch!) On Thursday, August 6th my cousin Sam went into labor with her second child, first boy. If you would like to see his stats and a picture of him head on over to her blog. Try and prepare yourself though ~ seriously.

Welcome to the World and to the Family, Mr. Evander Benjamin!

Some of you may remember me posting here about Mr. Emmett John and his ear infection that would not die and the very real possibility of him having to get tubes. Well, Trish and I took him to see his ENT Dr. KR this morning. He's been a real crank butt lately so I was afraid the nasty infection has returned.

WRONG! :)

Dr. KR said that his ear are clear and perfect! He went on to say that most kids get their ear infections in the winter and the fact that Emmett John has had this many nasty ones in the summer could indicate that winter is going to be particularly nasty for him. But "he's not God, that's just his educated opinion". Those are his exact words. lol

He said that the next time Emmett John gets an ear infection to have Dr. H call him and he'll arrange for the tubes. Or we can call him and say "That's it! We're done! Put the tubes in because we can't take it anymore!" lol Either way, he'll set it up and get it done. So for now, we wait and see.

Then, not one to be out-done, Elliott Richard has been feeling under the weather for the past few days. I've been trying desperately to get ahead of it by drying him up with Benedyl at night. I lost. Yesterday, he woke up and started coughing and hacking. Then last night he went to bed. Fell asleep. Woke up vomitting like 15 minutes later.

I called Dr. H this morning and got him in at 2pm. Rob took him because Emmett John and I were exhausted and napping. Turns out that Elliott Richard now has the ear infection. Oy vay. So he's on Amoxicilian and napping right now, which means he'll either never sleep tonight or sleep like the dead tonight. With Elliott Richard you just never know.

Ah the joys of life in the Cheerio house.

Elliott Richard: Mommy, Dammy's here!

(His cousin Danny was at the door.)

Elliott Richard: (screaming through the door) Dammy! I ate a bug a boogers!

(He tries to open the door.)

Elliott Richard: Mommy, I need the keys. This door is locked.

(Gavin gets up to try and help him. Elliott Richard pushes him back.)

Elliott Richard: No, Gavin! Dammy is MY'S COUSIN not your's!

(I let Danny in.)

Elliott Richard: Dammy, I eat a bug and boogers!

(Danny talks to Trisha.)

Danny: Bye guys. Elliott, don't eat bugs and boogers. Please!

Today is Monday. Normally, I would partake in "Not Me Monday" with all the rest of MckMama's many faithful readers/followers. However, MckMama, Prince Charming, Stellan and the rest of the MckCharming Clan are currently in the middle of a rather...well shitty situation. Stellan is very sick and needs everyone's prayers and happy thoughts and "get better soon vibes" and whatever else you care to send his way. His doctors could use prayers for wisdom and inner peace because I can't imagine that treating a child that young and small and so sick is a very easy thing to do. MckMama and Prince Charming could use some of those prayers etc for peace of heart, peace of mind, and peace of spirit. I can't even imagine what this must be like for them. And then of course for the elder MckSibs, if you could pray for peace and age-appropriate understanding for them.

So in leu of Not Me Monday, I have decided to start my own little Meme this week. I am going to do: My 3 Sons. All I'm going to do is list my boys one-by-one and then I'll list some random things I love about them. This week I'm going to focus on little personality traits they have that I love. Next week, maybe I focus on silly things they say or funny connections they've made. And so it shall go. Now if anyone chooses to play along (please feel free) just mention where you got the idea and link back to me. And if you don't have 3 sons then change it to match what you do have - 3 daughters, 3 babies, 3 kids etc. Heck you could play with My 3 Cats if you wanted to. :) Anyway, without further ado....away we go! :)

My 3 Sons

Gavin

~ He sleeps fully clothed (long sleeve shirt, pants, socks) every night under a comforter even in the middle of summer (we don't have A/C and yes, we've tried to get him to stop - he won't).

~ He has the most vivid imagination of any child (myself included) I have ever known.

~ He loves with his whole heart, unconditionally.

Elliott Richard

~ He talks non-stop...including right up to the very moment he falls asleep at night.

~ He loves to brush his teeth.

~ He loves the sprinkler but he won't run through it - he'll run right up to it but never through.

Emmett John

~ He snorts when he laughs really hard.

~ When he's tired but not overly so, he sings himself to sleep.

~ As he's learning to climb up on the couch, he's also discovered that if he bites someone already sitting on the couch they make a good anchor while he climbs!

Well there's my first entry into My 3 Sons. I hope you enjoy reading about my babes as much as I enjoy raising them. :)

You know, kind of like "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe" only not. In my story there isn't any fun or adventure. No one makes any new friends. Or triumphs over evil.

In my story, the dryer puts out heat but doesn't tumble. The washer washes. The dryer doesn't dry. And we are running out of clothes. We don't have the money for the laundromat. My sister has graciously offered the use of her dryer, as has Grandma G but that's only going to work for so long. I'm mechanically challenged, meaning I can't fixing things to save my own life so I can't fix it. Rob's thrown his back out and is going to try and fix it but I don't know how that's going to work.

Mr. Emmett John has an appointment with Dr. H tomorrow morning at 10:15am to get his ear infection rechecked. I've been giving him his Augmentin twice a day, on a full stomach just like Dr. M said. For the first few days he was getting better. His mood was improving. He was sleeping better. He was our happy, independent little guy again. Then some where around Saturday morning (happy birthday to me, right?) he started pulling, smacked and poking at his right ear again. His mood took another nose dive and he became really clingy again. Now I could be wrong here, and I honestly hope that I am, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the ear infection had started to clear up and is now back. :( I really hope that I'm wrong. But I honestly won't be at all surprised if I'm right.

Then there are "The Terrorists". I have 3 of them now. Yes, you read that correctly, Mr. Emmett John has joined the ranks of the Terrorists. It's a sad day in the Cheerio Household. I'm not out-numbered 3-to-1. And they are taking full advantage of it! True, they can't, and don't, work together (what terrorists do though?) but that doesn't make them any less terrifying. Or any less of a handful. Or any...less...exhausting.

In fact, it almost makes them worse because at any given moment I've got Elliott Richard over here jumping on the couch, which he knows he shouldn't be. Then I've got Gavin over there throwing toys, again something that he knows he shouldn't be doing. And finally I've got the trifecta with #3, Mr. Emmett John off in the corner trying desperately to pull his diaper off for God only knows what reason a 1 year has for wanting his diaper off. No is listening because they all claim I was talking to "that one over there". I'm pulling my hair out by the roots, or at least seriously considering it. The Terrorists are all grinning from ear-to-ear and couldn't possiblly be any happier. And so it goes. Afterall, who am I, a mere mortal of a mother, to deny them these silly, crazy life experiences?

Elliott Richard has recently figured out how to dress himself all by himself, without any help from Mom and Dad. He's not so keen on following these pesky things called weather reports and seasons though. lol

Yes, those are his "new" snow boots he's wearing. And yes, that's a long sleeve shirt he's got on.

Yes, I tried to talk him out of both. Obviously, I failed on both accounts.

And so I gave up and followed him outside to nab some super cute pictures of him marching around, all proud of himself. :)

Honestly now, what would you have done when confronted with a face that cute all proud of what he had accomplished?

Yes, it is. He definitely isn't tired enough to fall asleep while eating/mutilating/protecting it. Nope, not Elliott Richard. lol

Not Elliott Richard!

My laptop won't connect to the internet. So we will have to put off the finishing of my doozy of a post part deux - don't worry you haven't missed it, I'm still writing it. So yes, it's likely to be just as long, if not longer than my previous doozy of a post. Now on to the update...


My dr's appointment @ 9:00am? Check.
Fasted for cholesterol test? Oops. That's a negative.
Topamax increased? Check.
Allergy meds prescribed? Check.
Other meds prescribed? Check.
I even lost a pound!
Home by 10:00am.

Appointment w/Dr. R @ 11:00am? Check.
Changed the dose of his Zyprexa.
Waiting to hear from Psychology unit at local Children's Hospital about scheduling testing.
Learned that Zyprexa will have to be stopped a minimum ONE WEEK before testing. (Oy.)
Gavin behaved wonderfully so we rewarded him w/lunch of his choice. He wanted orange chicken and lo mein. He ate it all in a single sitting.
Home by 12:15pm.

Came home. Rob was feeling sick so he slept for the rest of the day. I wolfed down my Steak Escape. (I *heart* Steak Escape!) And took my sister, who was kind enough to baby-sit the fuss-pots (a.k.a. Elliott Richard and Emmett John) all morning, to a "Special Person's Tea" w/my niece.

Came home, again. Emmett John napped for a little bit. Elliott Richard spiked a fever, again. Gave him his Motrin and called Dr. H's office, again. (I swear they should name a room after us at this point.) Made an appointment to see the CNP at 4:30pm. I don't care for her but it was either her or the one doctor I prefer to avoid, especially when it comes to Elliott Richard.

Made it the office at 4:30pm w/Elliott Richard, Emmett John and Trisha in tow? Check.
Elliott Richard freaking out over shots? Check.
Explain to him no shots today? Check.
Elliott Richard still freaking out? Double check.
CNP calls us back.
Aunt Trisha to the rescue, asks CNP if there will be shots. That's a negative - no shots today.
Elliott Richard calms down.
Emmett John seems fascinated by being on the "other side".
CNP checks out Elliott Richard.
Bronchitis. (Of course.)
Opinion of CNP changed? Double check.
Homeward bound at 5:00pm w/prescription for Zithromax.
Pickup chicken nugget happy meal as reward on the way home.

Now it's 8:13pm. I have no internet on my laptop. The ice in my Polar Pop is melting. My buffalo wings are getting cold. Elliott Richard is looking for ANY excuse to not sleep. I just wanted to vegg, do some blog writing, South Park watching and Polar Pop drinking. Alas it was not meant to be.

Ah well, on the bright side Rob is the only one left to get sick. On the crappy side, when he gets sick with what we've been passing around he usually ends up hospitalized. Are we having fun yet?

And does anyone else find it odd (funny haha odd or crazy interesting odd) that Emmett John was the only one hospitalized for this so far and he's also the only one who recovered without antibiotics?

Once again, the entire month of May sucks! If you are confused by this declaration, read here first and then come back to this post. Now on with the post. Here is what my past week has looked like. (Sound familiar? You have no idea.)

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009
Okay, let's be honest here. After the week before, I have no idea what I did on Saturday. I could go and check my datebook but I don't think I have anything written in there either. So...moving right along...

Sunday, May 24th, 2009
My little brother Zach graduated from high school today. I had planned to go to the ceremony. In fact, I really, really, really wanted to go to the ceremony. It just wasn't meant to be. Between all the craziness the week before, my body was done. My body just couldn't go anymore. Besides the fact that my body had been pushed beyond it's point of no return, Emmett John woke up this morning running a fever of 101 degrees. Now this alone didn't concern me too terriblly much. It was the fever coupled with the fact that he was near inconsolible that had me concerned. But it was a low grade fever so I didn't think too much about it. Then as night fell (of course) his fever jumped to 103 and the Tylenol stopped being effective. He was still completely inconsolible to boot. At about 10 o'clock that night Rob and I made the decision to take him to the Emergency Room. Rob stayed at home with Elliott Richard and Gavin because Elliott Richard hasn't been feeling well off and on for the last few weeks. And Trisha and I took Mr. Emmett John to the local ER.

We got there and got him registered. Then we waited. For 4 hours we waited. Finally, at about 2:00 or 2:30 am they called us back. By then he had the Tylenol in his system for 4 hours and his fever was slowly returning. They gave him the once over and the all clear - no ear infection, strep throat, croup/pneumonia etc. Then they gave him some Motrin and told me to alternate Children's (not Infant's) Motrin and Tylenol until his fever broke and sent us home. They offered to do a chest x-ray if it would make me feel better but since the doctor didn't feel a need for one, I didn't see why we should torture him. The three of us got home at about 3:00 am or so. Climbed into bed and passed out.

Monday, May 25th, 2009
Happy Memorial Day to all!

We were supposed to go to a picnic at Rob's parents' house but since Mr. Emmett John was still running his 103.3 degree fever we opted to stay home. Nothing with Emmett John had changed at this point. He was still running his crazy high fever. He was still inconsolible - to the point where if I offered him a breast, he would bite me. He also still had diarrhea - for the past 3 weeks. We were alternating the Motrin and the Tylenol. I was taking his temp every time he was due for Motrin because honestly, the Tylenol wasn't doing squat. And his temp was still consistantly 103.3 - 103.5 degrees. He was sleeping, fussing, eating, fussing - lather, rinse, repeat. At one point we tried to call the answering service at Dr. H's office but the phone just rang and no one ever answered. In the end, we just kept doing what we were doing and went to bed early.

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
First thing Tuesday morning I called and made appointments for all three boys to see the doctor. Dr. H wasn't in the office but we were going to see one of the other partners. Then as the morning went on Rob and I decided that it was more important to get Emmett John in now. Gavin and Elliott Richard could wait.

So Aunt Trisha and I took Mr. Emmett John in to see Dr. C at about 11:00 am. He weighed 21lb 8oz, which is loss of about 5oz from the week before. Then we saw the doctor. She looked him over and agreed with the ER, proclaiming it to be a virus and said we should call if he began vomiting or his fever jumped up etc. So again, we came. We saw. We left with a very sick little boy and no answers or help.

Jump to about 10 or 11:00 pm that night...I'm on the phone with Dr. C. Emmett John's fever is now 104 degrees. He hasn't had a wet diaper since 11:00am that morning. And his chronic diarrhea 5-7 times a day for 3 weeks has just stopped. He does nothing but scream, claw at my face, bite me - where ever he can get ahold of and scream some more. He won't nurse. Everytime I try and nurse him, he latches on and takes a few sips before biting me hard and pulling off and screaming some more. Dr. C said that she would support me taking him back to the ER, if that's what I wanted to do. She said if I felt comfortable enough I could take the next 4 hours and try and get him to lay down with me and nurse. If he nursed, then we could call first thing in the morning and make another appointment. If he didn't nurse, then I was to take him straight to the ER for blood work and IV fluids.

So my sister went home and we went to bed. Praying the whole way. I laid down with Mr. Emmett John and explained the situation. Said one more prayer and tried to nurse him. Wonders never cease, he nursed! So we all got comfy and went to sleep. Crisis averted...or so we thought...

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
I remember waking up at like 2 or 3:00 am and thinking Emmett John was due for his Motrin but he wasn't hot or even warm. Then I remember thinking "Thank God! His fever's finally broken!" before I fell back to sleep.

At 5:00 am Mr. Emmett John woke up screaming. Rob and I woke up scared out of our minds because that is not how he usually wakes up. I checked him and he was burning up. Rob runs for the Motrin, Tylenol and themometer. I give him the meds and take his temp. It's now 104.5 degrees. I'm done playing games. This has gone on too long.

Rob is trying to call the answering service at Dr. H's office. It's still just ringing - much like on Memorial Day. I got dressed and woke up my sister. Got Emmett John ready. And prepared to return to the ER. Mama is through playing games.

We walked into the ER. They checked him in. Took his vitals. Took him back to a room. A PA came in and asked questions. I told her everything. The temp. The fact that it was now 6:30 am and he had wet 1 diaper in 19+ hours. The diarrhea. The screaming. The refusal to nurse. EVERYTHING. A nurse came in to check his vitals again. I told her everything as well. The stupid doctor with a God-complex came in and I told him everything. He looked at my baby and told me it was a virus. He said "his mouth is still moist and he has a few tears so there is nothing wrong with him and I won't torture him with blood work and an IV to make you feel better" - his exact words. Then he stormed from the room. He tried to slam the door except the doors are spring loaded and don't slam. But he tried.

The nurse came back with Zofran for the nausea my baby didn't have. When we questioned her on it, she couldn't come up with a good reason other than "the doctor ordered it and I have to give it to him". Then she gave him Motrin and a bottle of orange Gatorade. I turned to her...this nice nurse...a caring woman...and I begged her for help. I cried and I begged. I told her that I understand they have the degrees and I'm "just the mother", however, this is my baby. There is something seriously wrong but they won't listen. I begged her to make them listen and if they wouldn't listen, I begged her to page Dr. H. She said she couldn't page Dr. H, only Dr. God-complex could do that. She said she would talk to him. She never came back. It's now 8:00 am and we've been there for an hour and a half.

At 8:30 am two new nurses come in, to "torture my son to make me feel better" per Dr. God-complex. They took his blood - twice because the first set clotted from sitting. Then they gave him an IV. Emmett John screamed. I sobbed. His right hand and inner elbows are bruised from these women. I feel horrible. When they were done I sobbed to my sister. Begging her for reassurance that she would tell me if she felt this were unnecessary. She said she would tell me. I sobbed with my baby because these "professionals" were causing me to question myself, my gut, my mother's instinct. When I know that I know my child better than they do. We sat there while 350cc's of fluid ran into my little boy. Then at 9:30 am the PA returned.

She marched into our room. She did not make eye contract. She starred at the wall to the left of Trisha when she spoke. She spoke quickly and then she left. This is what she said to me:

"The labs came back on your son. They were perfect. There is nothing medically wrong with your son. If he gets worse, please bring him back in. Whatever you believe, we are in the business of helping people here."

My baby hadn't urinated in 21+ hours at that point. He wouldn't nurse. He was running a fever of 104.5 degrees. And yet "there is nothing medically wrong with your son". As if this weren't enough, one of the butchers - I mean nurses who did his IV came in to discharge us. She felt the need to comment on the fact that Emmett John does not take a bottle.

Her: So he's 11 months old and doesn't take a bottle?
Me: Yes.
Her: You still nurse him? (As if it's a nasty, dirty thing to do.)
Me: Yes.
Her: You should wean him immediately and put him on a bottle.
Me: No. Where do I sign so we can leave?

I was horrified, mortified and stupified. My beloved hospital, that I hold in the highest esteem, had let me down. I was born there. All three of my boys were born there. I go there for everything. I absolutely love my hospital. And here I was, devastated by this experience. Crushed by the PA who knew nothing. Insulted by Dr. God-complex. More than a little irritated by the nurse who was obiviously offended by the idea of my nursing my 11 month old. Who were these horrible people? How had they been allowed to work in "my" hospital?! I felt so let down.

We came home and I was completely defeated at that point. I was ready to give up and quit fighting. Clearly the professionals knew something I did not, and perhaps it was time for me to just call it quits. Rob and I got into a horrible argument. I don't remember what it was about. All I remember is that in the end he said I couldn't give up. That if I wasn't going to fight for our boys, who would. That I knew them better than anyone else and they needed me to be their voice. And so I fought on.

I called Dr. H's office. Linda answered the phone. I love Linda. She is one of the floating nurses so sometimes she takes care of us. I told her everything as well. Including the nightmare ER story. She said that since he had seen Dr. C last she needed to tell Dr. C everything. I begged her to tell Dr. H as well. In the end, she said that Emmett was such a complicated case that she was just going to go straight to Dr. H and she would call me back.

About an half hour later, Linda called me back. She had spoken with Dr. H and while he was booked solid because he had taken a few days vacation over the long weekend (imagine the nerve! j/k) he wanted us to see Dr. K. Now you might remember that I don't really care for Dr. K per this post here. So I was a little less than thrilled with this arrangement. But this was the partner that Dr. H wanted us to see, so we would see her. Besides, could she really be any worse than Dr. God-complex?!

So 11:15am Emmett John and I arrived at the office and were whisked away by one of our favorite nurses, Mel. Mel just adore Emmett John so we always love seeing her. I told Mel about our morning trip to the ER and she was shocked. Then Dr. K came in the room. I went back to the beginning - back to when I took Emmett in for the hoarseness and we started the Zyrtec, which made him super grumpy and we thought caused the diarrhea. Then we stopped the Zyrtec, which stopped the grumpies but the diarrhea kept going etc etc etc. When I had finished, she asked me if he always looked that pale and yellow. Nope. She didn't like his color. She didn't like that one minute he seemed okay and then the next he was screaming bloody murder, clawing at my face and biting any part of me he could reach (literally). She said that she and Dr. H had discussed the case before we got there and wanted to admit him to either the local hospital (where we had been in the ER that morning) or the local Children's Hospital. I asked her if she felt he needed to be in the Children's Hospital, if he was that bad. She said if it were surgical, she would send him there in a heart beat but if I was okay with the local hospital, that he would be well taken care of there. I agreed since they were going to admit him and bypass the ER. She then asked if someone could bring me my things because while she didn't think he needed the Children's Hospital just yet, she didn't want me to go home. She wanted me to take him straight there. (Oy.)

She called the Peds Unit and made all the arrangements for me. Then she sent us on our way. On our way out, I stopped to thank her. At which point, I burst into tears. I stood in the hallway, holding Emmett John and sobbing. Telling her how grateful I was for her. For her willingness to just listen to me. That she didn't blow me off. She didn't treat me as a crazy, over-protective mom. That she understood that maybe I do know my children better than she does. And just because his mouth is still a little moist and he sheds a tear or two, doesn't mean he isn't dehydrated...once a baby's mouth is dry and he stops producing tears - it's too late. She hugged me and asked me to call and give her an update. I promised I would. And we left. It was 12noon.

Emmett John and I made it to the hospital at about 12:15pm. We were in the Peds Unit, in his first room by 12:30pm. Registration was taken care of and vitals taken by 1:00pm.

21lb 13oz (way off)
29.75in (again, way off)
94% O2 levels
114/57 BP

His nurse, Cara, was super nice. She liked to call him "Sug", like "sugar" without the "ar". He liked the crib, which I find humorous since he's never his own at home. He hated the scrubs/pajamas. They ordered him full meals because he is 11 months old and apparently at 11 months old, he should be eating more than me! (Who knew?!) He loved the breaded chicken breast. Thought the mashed potatoes were okay. Had fun picking up the corn kernels. But mainly ate the applesauce.

They did a cath to get a urinalysis. His bladder was empty except for 10 drops. (No joke.) So they put a bag over his penis, which he hated just as much as the cath. Then they took his blood, which angered him to the point of squeezing a bit of pee out. At the point the plan was to try and get 10 oz into him every hour by mouth. If we could do that, then we wouldn't plan an IV. We tried applesauce. Nope. We tried Gatorade. Nope. He didn't like their sippies. We tried pudding. Nope. Finally, against all odds (because he really hadn't nursed much in two days) I tried to nurse him. Wonders never cease (again), he nursed! IV avoided for the time being. At this point I asked the nurse if they had a room with a crib for him and a bed for me, since I would be sleeping there to nurse him to try and avoid the IV. She pulled some strings and *poof* Emmett John and I were in a double room. :)

Grandma W and Aunt Trisha came up and visited us for a bit before we switched room, which was nice. I mean the nurses were all lovely. And Dr. Tim, Dr. Mike, Dr. De are all wonderful. But they don't have time to chat. And the TV is only so entertaining. Emmett John isn't much for conversation. So it was nice to see some "big people" for a little bit, ya know? :) lol

Once we were in our new room, Daddy came up and visited us and brought me some McDonalds. (Yippee!) We hung out for a little while but he went home early because he was sick (and looked horrible). So it was just Mr. Emmett John and myself. It actually worked out pretty well, Rob being sick just then because Gavin was with my parents. And Elliott Richard was with Rob's parents. So at least he got to go home and actually get a little bit of undisturbed rest, which is a difficult thing to come by in our house.

I tried a few times, unsuccessfully, to get Emmett John to sleep and put him in the crib. It worked really well when he was hospitalized at 2 months old for suspected sleep apnea but no dice this time around. Finally, I ended up taking him to bed and surrounding us with the half dozen pillows and nursing him to sleep. (Score! More nursing!) When our super cool nurse came in (of course, I can't remember her name now) I told her, "Look, I'll be honest. I co-sleep at home. I tried to put him in the crib but it's just not happening. If you talk to Dr. Mike, he was my pediatrician for like 6 years. He'll tell you that I a) know what I'm doing and b) do it safely." She said the hospital recognizes that moms co-sleep now and it's viable "life-style choice" (???) and I just have to sign a paper saying I am "blantantly refusing to place my child in the crib". (Oy vay.) Whatever. I signed the silly paper. Emmett John and I slept all night - well, he slept all night and nursed all night, which means I didn't really sleep at all. But that's a sacrifice I was willing to make. :)

Thursday, May 28th, 2009
Bright and early Thursday morning, our nurse and a lab tech woke us up. And by "bright and early" what I really mean is 6:00am! The lab tech was perfectly nice and all, but she was a bit much at least for that early in the morning. Since Emmett John and I happened to be snuggling in bed when they burst into the room, I was "lucky" enough to get the job of holding him down while "Super Happy Lab Tech" poked him. (Yippee?) After that we got to snuggle for a while. Then the doctors made their rounds. They said that Emmett's labs from last night were a slight improvement over the ER labs taken that morning. (Dr. De also made it a point to say that whoever told me his morning labs were perfect was clearly mistaken because they weren't. His morning labs showed he was definitely becoming dehydrated. Thank you Dr. God-complex. We were still waiting on his morning labs since they had just been take not that long ago. Dr. De felt that his morning labs would again be an improvement from both last night and yesterday morning. As long as that held true, we would be going home - hopefully before lunch! :)

After Dr. De and Dr. S left, we snuggled some more until breakfast arrived. Emmett had some scrambled eggs, Canadian bacon, plain Cheerios (lol) and Baby Mum Mum snacks. We had a highchair in our room so he sat and had a blast. While I got to sit and eat my breakfast in peace, for once. After that, we snuggled and hung out some more until around 10:00 am. That's when Dr. De came back in and gave us the all clear!

We could go home! :)

Emmett John was released with the understanding that if his fever returned, he stopped eating or stopped urinating again I was to call them and bring him back to the Peds Unit - not the ER. Also his morning bloodwork was better but still not where they wanted it to be. So she gave me order for more bloodwork. She said I had to have the blood draw done first thing Wednesday morning (that was yesterday - Yes, I'm still working on this on Thursday June 4th.) and follow that with an appointment with Dr. H that afternoon.

The rest of Wednesday was spent at home (Yay!) napping and snuggling and nursing. (Double yay!)

Friday, May 29th, 2009
Oh come on now, you didn't really think that was the end of our week, did you?! I mean, if you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you've figured out that my family doesn't do anything the easy way and they don't do anything half way either.

Friday morning started out okay. Then it quickly became apparent that Emmett John was doing okay again but Gavin needed to be seen by the pediatrician. So I called Dr. H's office, again. Dr. H didn't have any available appointments but Dr. K did so Rob and I took him in to see Dr. K. Trisha stayed with the babies because Gavin needed to have some bloodwork done and depending on what Dr. K found, we were going to try and have it done while we were there.

We got there. We checked in. The nurse weighed him and we learned that he's gained 10lbs since January!!! Holy cow! It took him nearly three years to gain the last 10lbs he managed to put on.

(I just spent an hour finishing this post and when I hit "post" my internet crapped out on me in mid post. So not only did it not post it but it lost everything I had just worked so hard on! ARGH! Moving right along...)

When Dr. K came in she came him the once over and determined that he has a pretty nasty sinus infection. In fact, she said that the first round of antibiotics may not be enough to kill it off. She also that although we had hoped to get his routine bloodwork for his Depakote levels, LFT's and CBC out of the way while we were there we wouldn't be able to do that. She felt that with him as sick as he was it was bound to throw his LFT's and CBC off. So the bloodwork was a no good. Of course Gavin was thrilled. :)

In the end, we went home with a prescription for horse pills for Gavin. Then we spent the rest of the day resting, napping and trying to recover.

Saturday, May 30th, 2009 & Sunday, May 31st, 2009
And of course in true Cheerio fashion, things just kept on getting better. It wasn't enough that Emmett John was recovering from his fever and diarrhea, which had come back (the diarrhea not the fever). Gavin was sick, which just makes him grumpy-er. And then Elliott Richard spiked a fever of 102-103 degrees. Elliott being sick and running a fever adds a whole new layer to an otherwise "dull" weekend - because you know our lives are so dull and without excitement.

Elliott Richard being being sick amounts to our weekend going something like this:

Motrin every 6 hours.
Hours 1 and 2: he's super grumpy and inconsolable.
Hours 3 and 4: he's perfectly normal.
Hour 5: he's passed out cold.
Hour 6: he returns to super grumpy and inconsolable.

At night, forget about it. He sleeps for little bits at a time. But mostly he tosses and turns except for Hour 5 when he's passed out cold. Emmett John is still co-sleeping and nursing at night so I had him. Plus he's been nursing all night long trying to make up for lost time while he was sick and not nursing at all. So Rob "volunteered" to "sleep" on the couches with Elliott Richard. And by "sleep" I mean Elliott slept and tossed and turned while Rob stayed up all night and kept an eye on him and helped him back to sleep.

That was how it went...all weekend long. By Sunday night, we were all driving each other crazy. The boys were getting on each others' nerves. Rob and I were getting on each others' nerves. We were fighting like crazy. It was just a bad situation overall.

So again I say, I hereby decree the demise of the month of MAY. Period. End of story. If you unfortunate enough to have a birthday and/or anniversary in the month of May, then you can choose to now have it either in the month of April or the month of June. The choice is your's but it must be made because I'm sick of this crap and I'm not doing it next year. I'm done.

Seriously. I want out.

Elliott Richard came into our room about an hour ago convinced that it was time to get up. Here are some snippetts of the conversation Rob and I had with him...well, what I can remember at least.

Elliott Richard: It's morning day!
Daddy: No, it's definitely not.
Elliott Richard: There was a bug in mine room. I don't eat bugs. Sometimes I eat hair but not cause I want to.
Daddy: Okay, thanks for that update.
Elliott Richard: Ew. Did you fell (smell) that?
Daddy: No.
Elliott Richard: Something fells (smells) funny, Daddy. Fell it. (Smell it.)
Daddy: (getting out of bed and leading Elliott Richard back to his bed) No thanks Elliott Richard. Let's go. It's time to go back to sleep.
Elliott Richard: No! It's only 9-up-up o'clock! It's to early to go to fleep (sleep)!
Daddy: Now you are just making up time to try and stay out of bed. Let's go...
Elliott Richard: No I not! Look it's 9-up-up-30 Daddy! It's not time for bed! See? See? See?!

Aren't 3 year olds wonderful? Now I'm sitting here, in Elliott Richard's room, waiting for him to fall asleep. I'm working on a post about what the past week has been like - it's a doozy of a post for a doozy of a week - and the child.just.won't.sleep! It's now 2:50am we've been trying since 1:30am to get him to go back to sleep. Someone shoot me. Please?

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Let's see what I haven't done this week...

I did not put Mr. Emmett John on the floor a little while ago to play because that seems to be the only thing to entertain/calm/stop the screaming lately. I did not do this because I need to sweep the floor (although it's not that bad but still) and an unswept floor is a cesspool for germs.

I did not send Gavin to school in "high water" pants this morning because all of his pants are "high waters" since he miraculously grew like 3 inches over night! That would make him look like a hill-billy and me a hill-billy mama by association.

I did not spend my weekend playing Cake Mania rather than doing productive things like working on the Cheerio State Pen, dishes, or laundry. That would be irresponsible and very un-motherly of me.

I am not spending today playing Little Big Planet for Elliott Richard because he is sick and this is the only way I can get him to sit still and rest.

I did not just throw the PS3 controller to the side and dash to Emmett John's side because he fell while exploring my unswept living room. He's the youngest of three and obviously by now I've learned that children will stumble and fall and get bumps and bruises.

I am having one of those days. Mothers of small children everywhere just shuttered...collectively. Did you feel it?

They all shuttered because they feel my pain. What pain you ask? Allow me to lay it out for you:

The pain of a 10m old who has a diaper rash that, at this point, I'm pretty sure came from Hell. Dr. H said on Monday that he was "almost certain it's a strep diaper rash, which is incrediblly painful". It isn't. It also is taking forever to respond to both the prescription strength diaper cream and pinxav (pronounced Pink Salve).

This pain is very different from the pain of cutting both top...what are those...eye teeth (?) next to the top front teeth?! Yeah, whatever those are, he's cutting both top ones at the same time. When he teethes, he grates his teeth while he nurses. I'm bleeding. Enough said on this matter.

You add to those pains the pain of Gavin being home from school all day today because of a Teacher-in-Service-Day. I declare Shenanigans! There are a mere 9 days left of school...again I say, Enough said and Shenanigans!

Then there's the pain of Elliott Richard, who is 3 years old. If this needs further explanation please see this post.

Aside from all of those I'm just in pain in general. S.S.D.D. (Same Stuff Different Day) I've got a raging migraine (I know you're shocked). And my back is killing me right over my left kidney, whether or not it actually is my kidney remains to be seen. If I don't move (yeah, right) and drink my body weight in water, the pain isn't too bad.

Are we having fun yet? ;) lol

Elliott Richard is currently allowing his hair to "grow tall" by his request. When he wants it cut, we will have it cut. If you don't agree with this method, sorry but he's three and can't control much in his life so we've decided to give him control over the length of his hair. Anywho, in order for him to grow "tall" hair we bought some of that hair spray to detrangle his hair without the tears. After his tubby this morning, Rob sprayed Elliott Richard's hair and accidentally got some on his face, which caused his face to break out. This is the conversation that followed:

Daddy: Mommy, look at Elliott's face. He's all broken out.

Me: Boo-boo, come let Mommy see your face.

Elliott Richard: No Mommy. It's mines face. Get your's own.

Me: Baby, come here please.

Elliott Richard comes over and I check his face.

Me: Yeah, he's broken out but he'll be okay.

Elliott Richard: Mines face is not broken!

Seriously? Two Terrorists in one family? There should be some sort of rule against that. It just isn't fair.

Incidentally, whomever said that it was the "Terrible 2's" is full of it. Clean up to their eyeballs, full of it. I guarantee that once that parent said that, they took it back 365 days later. Once the "Terrible" left the building and the "Terrorist" took over, all bets were off and that parents went *forehead desk* "I was a complete idiot. I hope no one remembers I said that." Well, guess what buddy...We all remember.

It is currently 8:29pm EST. I have been sitting in this same rocking chair for 1 hour and 29 minutes listening to a screaming, whining, begging, pleading, bargaining Terrorist. Apparently he hasn't heard that Americans don't negotiate with Terrorists. Someone should probably let him know. He's not speaking to me or I would tell him. God only knows how much longer I will sit here while Elliott Richard does everything shy of throwing himself out his second story window to try and stay awake and get out of going to bed. Gavin has already fallen asleep - that tells you how long this has gone on. It's insanity.

Of course one of his favorite tactics is the "Daddy Guilt" method. He screams and pleads "Daddy help me", "Daddy save me", "Daddy, Daddy please" as if I'm up here systematically and heartlessly jamming bamboo shoots under his fingernails rather than surfing the net or working on turning my home into a prison. And off course Rob will call up "Are you okay honey", "Do you need anything", "Can I help you" which of course is just enough to feed the idea in Elliott Richard's mind that Daddy is coming to save the day. And so what does he do? Why he kicks it up a notch, obviously.

Why doesn't anyone mention this stuff in birthing classes?! "Oh by the way, yeah that video looks horrible and painful. Yeah, you're probably scared witless right now. But seriously, wait until this kid is THREE. *insert evil laugh here* That's when the real pain starts and it only gets worse from there."

Yeah, I think I would have seriously reconsidered this whole "parenting gig" had someone mentioned that way back when....okay, probably not but it still would have been nice to have been properly informed.

Sssssshhhhhh....do you hear that? Apparently, I was wrong. Elliott Richard didn't outlast Gavin. He just out-screamed him. Either way you look at it, no easy feat. But since my Terrorist is finally asleep. I'm outta here!

BTW, it's now 8:44pm. 1 hour and 44 minutes spent with a Terrorist 3 year old. Oy.

Baby brothers might make good pillows but big brothers definitely make better arm rests.

Emmett John appears to be sleeping peacefully. However, he's really quietly stalking his prey. Waiting for the perfect moment to begin moving in.

He slowly begins moving in for the kill.

And after much planning and careful follow-through, Mr. Emmett John has successfully turned his big brother into an arm rest!

I *love* Simply Lemonade. It's actually sour and has pulp - yum. Well, Elliott Richard asked for some today so I shared. After he had finished his lemonade he had this to tell me:

Elliott Richard: Mommy, I really like your's lemonade.
Me: I'm glad baby.
ER: Yup, it's good fuzzy lemonade.
(Apparently, pulp is fuzzy. lol)


Then Trisha and I were sitting and watching television and she asked Elliott Richard for a diaper because his was "soggy". I gave her a diaper. Elliott Richard jumps off the couch, takes off the soggy diaper, leaves it on the floor, runs into Rob's office and pees on the floor. At this point Trisha told him that tomorrow she will take him to the store and buy him big boy undies. She even offered to buy him boxer shorts if he wanted. At this point he decided he wanted "boxers shorts". We've now learned that "boxers shorts" aren't actually boxer shorts. To Elliott Richard they are boxES of shorts.