Tummy Bug

Disclaimer: The following blog consists of bodily functions... squeamish beware!

Oh, poor Aiden. He has been fighting something yucky for about 5 days now. It started with just throwing up once right before bed, but after that it seemed like he was fine. He was okay all day the next day at preschool for his Halloween party and seemed okay at dinner and bedtime. But, he woke up at 10:00 that night throwing up and just sick, sick, sick. The next day, oddly enough, he was fine again. Sadly, he had two parties to go to that day; our annual Halloween Potluck Playdate that we have done with our good friends for 3 years in a row, and also a birthday party that afternoon. Even though he seemed better, I didn't think it was a good idea to go. I felt so sad for him! He woke up and begged me to let him wear his costume and promised that he felt much better. The poor kid was so sad to miss his parties. He spent Saturday resting up and watching movies, and went to bed early. I thought he was finally kicking the tummy bug, but he woke up at 1:00 a.m. worse than ever. He really had me scared! His belly was big and distended, and he would scream any time he tried to move or sit up. He was just writhing in his bed, clutching his belly and crying. After about 20 minutes of this, I decided that something was wrong and we needed to get to Children's Mercy. Having to sit upright in his carseat was very uncomfortable and he whimpered and cried, "it hurts, help me!" the whole way there. It's so sad to see your baby in pain. The way he was acting had me afraid that it was his appendix or a hernia or something. When we got there, he was not in good shape. He is normally very at ease at the doctor, and will chat everyone up, even when he doesn't feel well. This time, he was just crying and screaming that it hurt. When they got us back into triage, he sat up all of a sudden, and puked everywhere. I thought that might help him feel better, when he suddenly yelled very urgently, "I have to go poop!" I scooped him up and ran to the bathroom, and the poor kid let out some of the longest, loudest farts I have ever heard! I literally watched his belly shrink back down to size. After a good 10 minutes of this, he was a new kid. Every nurse or doctor that crossed his path was greeted with a' "hey, I thought I was super sick but it's okay, I just had to poop!" It was such a relief that it wasn't something worse!

Louisburg Cider Mill

We spent a fun day at the Louisburg Cider Mill with our good friends Rachel, Olivia, and baby Brynn. Aiden just loved little Brynn! He was so protective over here, and was checking on her in her stroller every 5 minutes. Both boys really love Olivia, too. They all had such a nice time running around with each other, watching the apples get washed and pressed for the cider, and enjoying some fresh cider and apple cider donuts. We had a great time enjoying the fruits of the harvest!

Boys will be boys.

"If Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer were alive today, we’d say they had ADD or a conduct disorder. They boys are who they are, and we need to love them for who they are. Let’s not try to rewire them.”

I found this quote the other day, and it really spoke to me. I am a fairly mellow kind of gal; I enjoy my quiet time and I like my house clean. I really don't understand boys. With boys, everything is the faster, louder, and messier, the better. That is so beyond my comfort zone! I have spent the last couple of years trying to mold them into something that they're not. I am realizing that I need to find a balance. It is still important to me that I have children that are polite and respectful, that try to do well in school and sports, and that show love and tolerance to others. However, it's okay that every now and then they are going to break stuff, cover themselves in mud, or color their entire arm blue trying to look like a Smurf. It requires a daily conscious effort for me to not sweat the small stuff, and to really take joy in the little things. Yes, a bathroom soaked in 2 inches of bubbly water may throw a kink in my evening, but they will remember laughing hysterically and having a blast with their brother. So, tonight, when I tuck them in, they are going to giggle and talk for 45 minutes before they finally close their little eyes, and that's going to be just fine.

The truth about boys

My boys eat fish sticks or chicken nuggets at least four nights a week. They pick their noses and were born with the innate sense that farts are hilarious. The house is always cluttered, there are always crumbs in the seats of the car and sticky fingerprints on the windows. Sometimes they like to read books; most of the time books make good frisbees or weapons. Every toy in the house is missing at least one piece, making your brother cry is good entertainment and timeout is usually worth whatever you did to get there. Welcome to the Chretien house. Mothers have this constant voice in their head telling them that they could do better, their house could be cleaner, their waist smaller, and their kids more polite. I fall into this trap almost daily, and I am slowly learning that my success not measured by these standards. I may not be the perfect mom, but I know that my boys are happy. They know that they are loved, and they love each other. All day long they will fight over the same toy, the same book, the same spot on the couch. But, when evening comes, and they have sleepy eyes, jammied feet, and sweet smelling hair damp from bathtime, I know that we must be doing something right. This blog is dedicated to two sweet boys learning, playing, growing, and finding their place in the world, and to their mommy learning how to guide them.

This kid has really been giving us a run for the money in the health department. It seems like he has been sick non-stop the past few months. Once again, he started up with the coughing and wheezing, and after maybe a day or 2, just sounded awful. We got in to the pediatrician, and had to see the one doctor that I absolutely despise. She diagnosed Aiden with walking pneumonia and an ear infection. They gave him a horrible, hideous, painful shot that was supposed to take care of everything. Cole, on the other hand, sounded so much worse than Aiden, but she decided to do nothing. She said to continue with his nebulizer twice a day, and to just wait it out. We went home, and this just didn't sit well with me. I called the next day, and asked to come in again to have another doctor check him out. This doctor agreed that he sounded awful, and started him on antibiotics and upped his breathing treatments to every 4 hours. She said to come back in 2 days, sooner if I thought necessary. Well, the next morning, I just didn't think he was doing well, and got an appointment for that afternoon. The doctor agreed that he seemed to be having a hard time.  She then shocked me by telling me that an ambulance was going to be coming from Children's Mercy to pick us up! By the time they came, it was around 6:30pm, and Cole was exhausted and hungry. During the ride, they were suctioning him out and doing breathing treatments. He was handling it all well, and not crying, til just before we got there. By the time we got upstairs and checked in, and had x-rays done, it was almost 8pm, and the poor kid usually goes to bed around 7:00-7:30. He was struggling to keep his eyes open, and having a hard time breathing. They said they were going to start an I.V., and then he could go to sleep. Well, the nurses put the tourniquet on his arm, and prodded around for probably 20 minutes. They inserted the needle.... and missed. At that point I just knew that it was going to be a long, awful night. It ended up taking them almost 2 hours, and 5 tries to get the I.V. in correctly. It was probably the most horrible thing I have ever experienced. They were holding him down, digging that needle around, and Jonny and I took turns standing by his face trying to comfort him. He would just look up at me like, "this hurts, and why aren't you helping me?". I could cry just thinking about it! Once that was done, things were finally a little better. He got to rest and even slept through his breathing treatments. They kept him for about 24 hours, to monitor his oxygen levels and to administer medication and breathing treatments. They officially diagnosed him with asthma, as well as pneumonia. The combination of both had caused one lobe of his right lung to collapse. Needless to say, I am a little ticked at the doctor who sent him home and told us to, "wait it out". We ended up being discharged at around 5:00 pm on Christmas Eve. We had the option of staying one more night, but I am glad that we were able to make it home to spend Christmas together. The entire time in the hospital, and for several days after, anytime he was awake, he insisted on being held by mommy. And, whenever I held him, he wrapped himself around me like a little monkey. It was such an awful night, I hope it is the last one like that we have to experience!

Here's my little guy being transported from the doctor's office to the ambulance.

 Resting up after a long night.

Yay, I feel better!  Time to go home!

Daddy's dream come true.

Aiden is at such a fun age right now, especially for daddy. He is so solid and sturdy on his feet, so now he can begin to learn athletic skills. He has already taken a strong liking to golf, which of course daddy is thrilled about. I know we are biased, but anyone who sees him hit can't believe that a two year old can hit so far and straight! Well, he has had a tee-ball set in the garage for awhile that he usually just tries to use as a golf club. A few days ago, we were outside while Jonny was painting the house, and when he took a break, we pitched a few balls to Aiden. The first couple times, I would pitch it, and Jonny would help him swing. After a couple hits, he said, "I do it myself!!". Jonny stepped back, and I pitched him one... and he HIT it!! All the way across the driveway on the first try! I could see the gears turning in Jonny's head! He was so thrilled and proud, it was a sweet moment.

Quite a scare.

Wow, Cole gave us quite the scare last week. I took him in for a cough that was getting worse and worse, and once again they did a chest x-ray. In this film, his lung still looked compressed, just like it did a month ago when they said he might have a food allergy that was causing a gas buildup in his belly. Well, since there had been no change in the condition, the doctor was a little worried. After looking at his xrays, she determined that it was not croup or pneumonia, but the wheezing was partially due to his lung not being able to fully inflate. Then she said the words that would make anyone cringe, she wanted to send him to Children's Mercy to get some more tests to rule out a mass or tumor. I felt like a deer in the headlights. I felt like I was ok, but I completely tuned everything out and didn't hear anything else she said. I felt like I was in a fog, til I called Jonny and broke down. I know it wasn't bad news yet, but given my family history, I was so sure that it was going to be awful. Jonny came home from work right away, and we ended up being able to get into Mercy that afternoon. Thankfully Kenny and Courtney were off and came to stay with Aiden. I was so prepared for the worst, I had packed Cole's jammies and his favorite blanket. They ended up doing a couple of ultrasounds and a test called a fluoroscopy. On the ultrasound, they were trying to get a simultaneous look at the lungs in action, because it seemed like one wasn't working as well as the other. This was really difficult, so they had to order the fluoroscopy. The reassuring part was that they could tell via the ultrasound that there were no masses. I felt so relieved at that moment. During the fluoroscopy, he was on a table, with the xray machine positioned over him. On the screen, we could see the image of his lungs working, in real time. It was very clear that one side of his diaphragm was expanding, giving the lung room to inhale. The other side, however, was not moving at all, or if it did, it moved in the opposite direction, pushing up onto the lung. This is a side effect that they frequently see when someone has had surgery in that area and the nerve gets traumatized. So, they know what it is, but not why it is occurring. We are going to go see a Pulmonologist soon to determine what to do next. I can't believe the range of emotion we all went through on that day! Through it all, he was so happy and cooperative and sweet, we are so lucky.