It's Always Something

Jacob has been pretty sick the past week and a half, it started the Friday before Christmas, he came down with really bad diarrhea, we figured it was from teething because he was drooling a ton, was grabbing his ears and had his hand constantly in his mouth.  He also started biting me again, all tell tale signs of teething and he usually gets diarrhea while teething so we didn't think much of it since he had no other signs of being sick, no fever, no rash, no other signs.  Plus the Dr told us a week ago that his molars were coming in.  Well by Christmas day it was out of control, he was going about 12 times a day and his poor little toosh was fire red and he screamed each time he went.  No matter what we gave him it went straight through him and he could literally take 3 bites before he was screaming for a diaper change.  Marc took him in on Wednesday to the Dr because I had to work.  The Dr said it was either teething (she thought his molars would cut through in the next day or so but have yet to come in) or a virus and if it wasn't better to come back Friday or Saturday, she did give a prescription diaper cream to help with his diaper rash. 

Friday it wasn't any better and his rash had started to bleed because it was so acidic and not getting any relief.  We took him in late Friday afternoon and the Dr was very concerned because it had been over a week.  Plus when he felt his stomach it was very bloated and caused my poor little man a lot of discomfort.  He ordered some blood work as well as stool samples (we came armed with a bag full of dirty diapers), we seriously changed 4 or 5 diapers an hour on Friday, it was out of control.  He did a full metabolic blood panel (which broke my heart as they pulled blood), tested for viruses and parasites in his stools, and tested for Celiac disease since my brother just tested positive for  Gluten intolerance.  Of course I didn't sleep all night Friday with worry.  The Dr put Jacob on a B.R.A.T. diet and that has seemed to help some in the past few days and also said that since his rash had become an open wound it had gotten infected so he has an antibiotic ointment which seems to be helping.  Friday night his blood work came back, his glucose was high, his calcium was high and albumin was high.  I made the mistake of going on WebMd (which I should know better given the Drs recommendations of not going on there when Riley was diagnosed with her clubfeet) and the feedback was grim.  The elevated glucose and albumin indicated Type 1 diabetes.  The elevated calcium could be an indication of cancer, I was heartbroken that something could seriously be wrong with my sweet Jacob.  He just turned 1!!! And of course all night Friday night there were a plethora of St Judd's Children's Hospital commercials, what if we became those families!?!  Oh and while we were there I asked the Dr to look at Riley's ears because I had noticed her grabbing at them and she had started complaining that her ears hurt.  Sure enough, ear infection.  Seriously!?!  Enough is enough!

I waited all day Saturday for his stool and Celiac results to come back, suddenly going gluten free didn't seem so bad!!!  Riley could see the concern on my face and when we were driving home from an errand Saturday she asked if I was worried about Jacob.  I told her yes and she said "Don't worry mommy he's ok, I just know he is."  Sweet sweet girl, she's actually been quite loving and caring towards him, especially during diaper changes when it's clear he's in excruciating pain. 

Sunday morning Jacob had us up super early for a diaper change, when we were done I decided to check my email before trying to go back to bed, there it was, an email from the Dr, at 6:04AM on a Sunday morning, on the Dr's birthday, while he was on vacation.  We seriously have awesome Drs in the practice we go to!!!  My hands were shaking as I logged onto the website to check the message.

 

Received:

12/30/2012 6:04 AM PST

So far all labs are coming back reassuring. Even the bloodwork. Stool studies do not show any parasite, blood work shows normal liver and kidney function and he does not have celiac disease. The elevated blood sugar is normal for someone not fasting. Also his elevated albumin shows that his nutritional reserves are actually very good. Hope the diarrhea is improving.

 

 

Suddenly the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders.  Sunday morning I took some extra time with the kids, you never know what tomorrow brings, I didn't even shower until 11AM (of course I had my coffee at my normal time, lets not get too crazy!) but rather I joined the kids in the playroom to help Riley put YaYa down for her nap since she too is very sick and I helped Jacob vroom vrooom his cars. 

 

Unfortunately we thought Jacob was on the upswing, but his diarrhea has seemed to pick up again.  A later email from the Dr said he thought it was just an awful virus but his diaper rash is getting better with the antibiotic cream.  We've currently gone through 2 tubes of Butt Paste, 2 tubes of prescription diaper cream, a tub of Bag Balm, 3 4-packs of YoBaby, and almost 90 diapers since this started but it's all ok if it means there is nothing seriously wrong with our baby.  His spirits are good, he wants to play, he desperately wants off of the B.R.A.T. diet but I think we'll be heading back to the Dr on Wednesday if he doesn't have a drastic improvement tomorrow.  He's lost a little weight and was 21lbs 13oz on Friday (no idea how since he's literally been living off of Gatorade and toast for the past 10 days) and somehow the 55th percentile on weight.  I would expect him to be lower on Wednesday if we take him back as his face looks thinner and his thighs are less pillowy.

 

 

I captured this photo of the kids this morning during breakfast, Riley freely went up to Jacob and hugged him and Jacob leaned forward, wrapped his arms around Riley and hugged him back.  Such a tender moment.  As jealous as Riley is of Jacob I know she genuinely loves him (it's no secret Jacob loves his big sister).

 

Moments like these I take away all the mean things I've said about Riley.  She really is a sweet kid.

 

My new favorite brother/sister photo.  I love these kiddos!

 

 

 



Gumball Style!

Riley has gotten into Gangnum Style, which she call "Gumball" Style.  I guess PreSchool C kids listen to and dance to it at day care so they've started letting PreSchool B in on the fun (at least that's the story Riley tells me).  I walked in one day with my friend Jessica and we see about 12 3-4 year olds dancing to the song.  Riley's friend James even twirled her.  It was the cutest thing ever and both Jessica and I were kicking ourselves for not having our phones with us, not that my phone would have opened the video app fast enough to record it! I got Riley to show us her "Gumball" moves at home! 

Christmas Day

Christmas Day is always blah for us, we used to rock the movies but with an almost 4 year old and a 1 year old that's not possible now.  Jacob has had an upset stomach since Saturday but Sunday he seemed better so I forced us out of the house (in the pouring rain) to go to Gymboree and then to lunch at the new Corner Bakery that opened in Pleasanton, I am beyond excited.  We needed to get out of the house, we were practically in the house all day on Saturday because of rain and I knew Monday afternoon and Tuesday would be lock down and we were all getting antsy and annoyed with each other.  Jacob had so much fun at Gymboree, he is obsessed with Gymbo the Clown and we actually used his Hanukkah money from my aunt to buy him a stuffed one since it was on sale which he loves snuggling against.  We so needed to get out of the house, it was great!  Riley came with us and the older sister, also named Riley, of one of the girl's in Jacob's class was there and they ended up playing together the whole time.

Monday Jacob seemed better still so we ventured out in the afternoon to the park.  We grabbed a coffee before it shut down and headed over to our favorite park, one of the moms came up to me while Riley was sliding and said we looked so "zen" both of us carrying our coffees and the kids so mellow in the double stroller, like we had it all together.  I laughed and thanked her profusely because it is all a rouse!  Our life is pure chaos and she happened to hit us in the calm before the storm so to look for us in 15 minutes and all hell would probably be breaking loose! 

Sure enough, Jacob wanted nothing to do with the swing, slide or anything to do with the park, refused to go back into his stroller and was pretty much a hot mess on our trip to Safeway to pick up a few things and then back home.  Once we got home we realized why, his tummy had taken a turn for the worse and his bottom was fire red.  :(  Poor little guy!  Marc took him to the Dr on Monday (I'm stuck at work) and the Dr isn't sure if it's teething or a virus but the poor kid can not keep anything in, it goes right through him.  He can tolerate formula the best so I've purchased what is hopefully our last tub of formula.  He has lost about 2 lbs in the last 4 days and we have gone through nearly 60 diapers!!!  His stomach was progressively worse all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning he was up at 1:45AM, 4:40AM, and 5:30AM.   At 1:45AM I made the executive decision to take him into the Dr, the poor kid can't even sit down.  So needless to say if we did celebrate Christmas it would probably be the worst Christmas EVER!  I am so over the sickness, he just got over bronchilitis, Riley has a cold, I am just over it!  

Zip lining at the park, that girl has some muscles, she held on all the way there and back!

Jacob crawling around the "water" park area (it was all dried up for the winter)

Riley wanted to do arts and crafts on Christmas Day and she found our owl making kit that her Aunt Jill gave her last year so we made paper owls together!

Jingle Jam

Riley had a winter concert at school almost 2 weeks ago now, I'm quite delinquent in posting, I know.  It was absolutely adorable, the kids had been practicing for weeks and they were so adorable.  They did a snowman poem and then sang Jingle Bell Rock, they were so adorable and we've all been singing it since they began practicing!  I even catch the teachers walking around her school singing it out loud!  They had the song choreographed and the kids did all of the moves straight down to the booty shake.  So cute!

 

The video is too big to post here but here is a link to YouTube where Marc posted it:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjmT8nRrQSA
 



Time with My Boy

I took Jacob's actual birthday off (Wednesday) and spent most of the day with him and got Riley from school a little early.  We didn't do much but played, ran some errands and spent a lot of time trying to get him to sit in his chair for his monthly chair picture.  He thought it was a hilarious game to climb out of his chair just as I was trying to snap his picture. 

He hasn't had his official 1 year well-check because they don't do them between December 15 and the first week of January but when I took him for his asthma check-up last Friday he was a whopping 22.2 lbs.  As a baseline, Riley was 17lbs 3.5oz at her 1 year well-check, so he's quite beefy!

Funny boy, squirmy wormy

Homemade mac and cheese for dinner

Happy Birthday sweet boy!

Ice cream cake

How can something so good hurt so bad!?!

Giving ice cream cake another go!

12 months!

Being goofy again!

Add caption

Jacob's new funny face

Obsessed with his balloon!!!

Happy 1st Birthday

Wow, how can it really be that one year ago you came into this world and instantly stole my heart forever.  From the moment you were born we had an immediate bond and you were such a cuddle love, even now, a year later as a busy toddler you still love your nightly cuddle time (and I am thankful that you are still a momma's boy!).  Daddy didn't spend a lot of time in the hospital with us those first few days because he was juggling Riley and coming to see us so we got to spend a lot of time together getting to know each other and bonding.  I will forever cherish those first few days where you were most content doing chest to chest contact with me and sleeping in my arms. 

It's been a crazy year getting used to having 2 kids in the house but it's been worth every crazy step!  You have been mellow, observant, and funny through it all. 

Jacob, you have been a complete joy and you have completed our family.  You are mellow and cautious but you are also starting to learn to stick up for yourself, which I see daily as you defend your place in this house to Riley.  You also "speak" your mind and are sure to communicate if you are not happy or you disagree with something.  We're even starting to see the emergence of real toddler temper tantrums when you don't get your way.  Your teachers at school can even attest to this as you have begun to speak your mind when you disagree, like when they tried to bring you back into the infant room after visiting the toddler room.  You wanted nothing to do with the babies and insisted on being brought back to the toddler room. 

You are definitely 100% all boy and are into everything.  Your favorite toys are your baseball bat which you crawl around banging on the ground, Riley's play kitchen which you love to empty, and any ball that you can get your adorable little chubby toddler hands on.  Recently you've started playing catch with us and will throw the ball to us and wait for us to throw it back, it's so fun and it's amazing to watch you grow and develop.  And it's no secret that you love to eat.   Between that and the way you bounce up and down when you are excited, you have more than earned your nickname "Hercules."  You have been extremely talkative in the past few weeks and are now saying "ea" for eat, "babba" for bottle, "Momma" and "dadda."  You have also been standing independently more and more and I fear :) that walking is around the corner, you insist that everyone cheer and clap for you when you stand all by yourself.

But my greatest joy is seeing your face light up when your sister entertains you and tries to get you to laugh.  No one can get you laughing the way your sister can.  There are no words that can describe the feeling of watching you and Riley playing together so well the last couple of months.  I hope that as you continue to grow, that you and Riley will be best friends and look out for each other always. 

Happy 1st birthday my Handsome Pants.  I love you to the moon and back (times infinity!). 

Minutes old, my heart is yours  forever!

Such a handsome pants from the beginning.  Hard to believe you were ever this little!

Happy Birthday sweet boy!  Celebrating your first birthday!

Still a handsome pants and more than ready to be a big boy!

Partying it Up!

Saturday we celebrated Jacob's first birthday at Gymboree with a Jungle Safari theme.  It was so much fun, all of the kids had a blast but most importantly, Jacob had the time of his life.  He can get reserved and sensitive so with the hubbub around him I was a little worried, but not the case!  yay!  We got there a half hour before the party started to set up and Riley and Jacob got right into all of the structures and play.  By the time our guests arrived he was well acquainted with his surroundings and ready to party!  He had a blast.  And of course Jacob was not shy around his cake and ate every last morsel!  I look back at the pictures and I can't help but smile at the joy I see in my kids' faces as they had a blast at the party!

First Haircut

I took the morning off today and we all (minus Jacob) went to the dentist for our teeth cleanings, then I dropped Riley at school and picked Jacob up and took him to get his hair cut.  I took him to this kids hair salon in Livermore that was recommended, today was the only day that they could get me in and I wanted to get his hair cut before his big O-N-E party on Saturday.  He was especially good and sat for about 98% of the haircut, he started to lose it as she was finishing up and stood up while she evened it up and used the buzzer.  There were zero tears (from him at least, I think I was more traumatized by his first haircut than he was!  But I'm especially traumatized by the whole first birthday looming in general!)  Oh my little man is such a handsome pants!!! 

The car was a hit!

Look, he's even smiling!

I had to bribe him with his bottle after, this is the best I could get of his new 'do, he's hard to keep still these days.  Notice the new big boy car seat too! :)

I Wonder...

I wonder if I will ever be able to take Riley shoe shopping without having my heart sink every time they measure her feet and tell me that her left foot is smaller than her right foot.  I swear, between her strong fashion opinions and what will and will not fit on her her wide feet with one foot a 1/2 size bigger than the other, an activity I once loved has now become something I dread.  I wonder if that left foot will ever catch up to her right foot.  At least she finally graduated from the "Walkers" display at Nordstrom to the "Toddler" display at Nordstrom.  I don't think about clubfoot that much these days, between being brace free for almost a year now and the fact that her left foot is staying straighter these days when she runs, I just don't think about it that much but there's nothing like a shoe shopping trip with Riley to sober me up and remind me of her birth defect. 

Made My Day

I'm on a conference call right now so I was flipping through some old pictures on Facebook and came across this picture of me and my Poppa.  It made me miss him oh so much but also made me realize that this is the man I want to remember.  This is the man he was.  This was taken about 2-2 1/2 years ago at my cousin's wedding!  How cute is he???

New Play Room

We decided over Thanksgiving to convert our loft area upstairs from adult work area/scrapbooking central to kids play area.  We were both sick of the mess in our living room plus we were having a hard time keeping Jacob out of everything so we dumped our desk, moved my scrapbooking desk/supplies downstairs to the back corner of our living room and moved all of the kids stuff upstairs.  My scrapbook table in the living room isn't ideal but I am hoping that it helps motivate me to scrapbook some since I haven't scrapbooked in about 3 years!

Jacob enjoying a bottle in the new play room

A view of the loft from the nook, we put screen up along the banister so Jacob can't throw stuff through the slats

Toy corner of the nook

Reading corner of the nook

The kids love their new area, Jacob I think is too young and keeps wandering out but they both were giddy with excitement when we gave it to them.  Jacob loves to go head first down the two stairs that are in the nook that lead to the loft, it's quite a site, we've tried to teach him to go backwards but he prefers to lead with his head.  I have some ideas on decorating so I'll get to that after we're done with birthday parties galore over here!  I also want to come up with a way to block it off so Jacob can't wander, we close all of the bedroom doors so he can't get into anything and it is a baby proof area with the doors closed but it would be nice to keep that area contained.  Any ideas are welcome, you can see the opening at the far end of the second picture!

Happy December!

Happy December!  How is it possible that my baby is going to be 1 this month!  How did that happen so fast!?!  I feel like he was just this little guy!