Tubes Day = My Nightmare

 

As I said on Friday, we got the call that we needed to be checked in to the hospital at 6 AM, so we decided to go down the night before and get a room.

Sunday morning, I woke to a foot of snow. Awesome! By the time we were leaving for the city the snow had stopped and the roads were a little snow packed but in great condition. We picked up Brad and headed over the pass and by the time we were half way down it was 55, Sunny, and the roads were dry. Nice!

We got down to Denver, got checked in to our hotel room and got some dinner. We headed out for Ice Cream to get the girls a little treat, and headed back to our room for the night.

The Anaesthesiologist called just to see if I had any questions and kind of led me through things for the morning. She said that I would absolutely be able to bring Aubrey back and be with her while they  were putting her under. It was a gas and that most kids did not require an IV or breathing tube but with all of the viruses that go around it isn’t uncommon to end up with an IV.

Then our LONG night started. Neither of the girls would settle. Every time we laid Ella down she would be up and wandering around the room, trying to climb up on to my bed while I was trying to nurse Aubrey which would then un-settle Aubrey. At one point we just had the bathroom light on and both of the girls were up wandering the room just giggling. They both finally went to sleep at about 10:30!!! Of course I couldn’t get to sleep until about 11:30 as my mind was racing with the thoughts of the next day.

Aubrey woke at 2:50 wanting to nurse, this was great since the last time she could nurse was 3 AM! She went back down easily, but I didn’t. And, then she woke up at 4:15, couldn’t nurse, would not settle, and was miserable! At 5 AM I got dressed, got her dressed, and the 2 of us drove around Denver until close to check in time. Thank goodness for Starbucks drive thru’s! Ha!

We got to the hospital, got checked in, and waited! There was a wonderful play room in the pre-op area, and we took quite a few wagon rides.

Brad and Ella made it to the hospital at right about the time her surgery was supposed to start, the Dr. wasn’t even there yet, and Aubrey was getting screamy because she was so hungry. But, about 5 minutes after they got there, so did the Dr. then it went warp speed. He talked with us for just a minute told us how the procedure was going to go, that it takes about 6 minutes, 7 for a LONG procedure, and he would be out to see us in the waiting room as soon as the procedure was done.

I got lovely space man suited up and walked my baby girl back to the operating room. I had to lay her on the table and let them put the gas mask over her face. I think this is the most helpless I have ever felt in my life. They said she was actually amazingly easy for a 14 month old. I gave her a kiss and headed out to the waiting room to meet up with Brad and Ella. We were out playing and when we hit the 10 minute mark, I started feeling a little nervous but knew that there are other factors involved. When we hit the 20 minute mark, I was panicking inside. This 6 minutes most procedure was trying my patience. Finally, 22 minutes after I left my baby in an operating room, the Dr. came out. Tubes were placed, the left ear had still been horribly infected and they removed a lot of fluid. The right ear was clearing and had been relatively dry in comparrison to the left. Then, I saw his face change. When they had given her the pain meds her vocal cords seized. They had to place a breathing tube and an IV,  they used the breathing tube to regulate her breathing for 10 minutes. She came off the breathing tube fine.

This is the worst I have EVER felt as a mother. The thoughts that go through my head, just thinking about her back there, I can’t think them. They scare the hell out of me.

My baby girl is a trooper though, by the time they had her wheeled to her room in the PACU, she was already awake, and signing to eat. Ha!

Before the Dr. had even finished talking to us, the Anaesthesiologist had come out to talk with me about it to, and since Aubrey was awake we were able to talk while walking back to see her. I heard her crying while we were walking back to her “room” and when I got through the curtain, her nurse was rocking her and she started screaming, “Mommy, Mommy.” and reaching for me. The nurses were joking that there was no need to check out hospital bracelets, this kid knew who she belonged to. Ha. This little outburst was all adrenaline though, as soon as she started nursing she was fast asleep.

We had to be in recovery for an hour, about 40 minutes in to it she was really waking up. She noticed the IV in her hand and was angry. She started chewing on the end of it and then I had to start holding her arms down because she was trying VERY hard to rip it out of her hand. They got the IV out and we were discharged. They sent her on her way with a sippy of milk which she downed in no time. When we got to the waiting room she was so excited to see her daddy and Ella. Thank goodness is was time to go home!

I know this was LONG, and probably boring to most of you. I needed to get ALL of this out for my memory. This was the longest day of my life, and to top it all off, we got home just in time to hear about the explosions in Boston.

Many prayers go to everyone in Boston, these heartless acts have GOT to stop.

The Goings On

Where did I leave Off? I believe a Pink Eye diagnosis for Ella.

Luckily she was diagnosed on a Monday so she was home with Brad on Tuesday and Wednesday and would have PLENTY of time to get rid of the pink eye. Pink eye, yes, the hacking cough and yucky congestion that came along with is? Not so much. I worked from home on Thursday and kept Ella with me. During my lunch hour we went to the pool hoping that the steam would clear her up and then she wanted “Chinese Soup” for lunch so I figured that was a great plan since soup is excellent for colds. After nap, she was looking and sounding better. When we went to pick Aubrey up from daycare though, she seemed pretty snotty. By Friday morning, her eyes had the pink tinge to them, thankfully no goop yet. But, my situation was flip flopped and I sent Ella to school and had Aubrey home with me.

We went to the Dr. during my lunch hour and sure enough pink eye with a side of ear infection. At least, at the time, it was only one ear instead of a double. I knew we had our follow up with the ENT on Tuesday but, I called to let them know about the ear infection diagnosis just so they would be on the same page. I knew this meant they would reccomend tubes and I was still a little uneasy about it.

Of course when we woke up Tuesday there was NO new snow at our house but about 6-12″ in Denver. It took us 3 hours to get to our appointment and as soon as we were on the outskirts of the city, there were wrecks and cars off the road EVERYWHERE. (It confuses me that snow can do this when we live in COLORADO!) Anyway, we were very careful getting there. We saw audiology first where we were told that it was now a double ear infection and the fluid in her ears was causing a slight hearing loss but just 1 step below normal. Awesome, so even on the strongest antibiotics that they could give her, her other ear got an infection too.

We then went in to see the ENT and yep, both ears infected. The antibiotics weren’t touching it. When I heard that not only had the antibiotics not even been helping the already infected ear, let alone her 2nd ear was now infected too; I became much more at peace about the tubes.

I got a call from the Dr.’s office this morning and we are to be checked in by 6AM on Monday morning. Her surgery procedure is scheduled for 7:30. (I cannot think of it as the S word or I get all emotional.) I might be able to go back with her for anesthesia and hold her while she’s being put under. As soon as she’s under and I have to go to the waiting room they say it will be about 15 minutes for the actual removal of fluid and tubes and then up to 30 more minutes for her to wake up. Then I can go back with her in recovery.

My big concerns and what I am asking for specific prayers for are, she is not able to nurse after midnight on Sunday and no clear liquids after 3:30 AM. For a girl who wakes up several times a night still to nurse, this is not going to be pretty. Pray that she can nurse at midnight and be content until surgery! Also, please pray that surgery goes smoothly & quickly!!

I’ll update when everything is all said and done and we are back home on Monday.

Easter Monday (Finally!)

As I said before, we had our Easter on Monday while we were all off together. We were pretty pressed for time, unfortunately. We had an appointment for one of our dogs who needed to be dropped at the Vet before 10 AM, and an appointment for our car at 10 AM. On top of that, Ella had yucky goop eyes and I needed to make an appointment for her in the day somewhere.

The girls got up around 7, I wish it could have been later. =)

we looked through their baskets and then of course did our egg hunt. Our Easter bunny was super considerate, since he knew we were busy that morning and wouldn’t have time for it to warm up, he hid our eggs inside. Thanks Easter Bunny!

The girls had a blast looking for the eggs, although every time Ella would get an egg she wanted to open it to see what was in it. Ha, girl is candy obsessed. After the egg hunt we had breakfast, more Easter Pancakes for the girls, and then we were off!

While we were on our way to the appointments I called an got Ella a 1:20 appointment to have her eyes looked at. We dropped Cassidy off at the vet, she had to have a mass removed, and they said she would be ready to go by about Noon. Perfect!

We drive across the street to drop off the car. When we made the appointment we were told that it would take MAYBE a little over an hour, but not much. When we get there at 9:55 they tell us to come back at about Noon. Great, no car, a 15 minute drive time from home, and it’s now going to take 2 hours. Awesome.

We walked to the library and had some fun, we killed about an hour, checked out a couple of DVD’s, Ella is OBSESSED with Dispicable Me. Such a cute movie! Anyway, then we walked to the other end of town and grabbed some lunch. By the time we had walked back to the car place it was 11:55. We get there, and wait, in a FILTHY dirty waiting area, with two old dogs for an HOUR! By the time our car was done and we could leave, it was already 1 O’clock! I had 20 minutes to get to Ella’s appointment that was 20 minutes away, and we still had to pick up Cassidy! (Not to mention, I was PISSED that our “MAYBE a little over an hour” project took 3 HOURS!)

We jump in the car, pick up Cassidy, who looks like Frankenstein with all of her staples, and haul butt to the Dr.’s office. Thankfully we were only 10 minutes late. As soon as they see Ella they start lysol-ing everything she has touched. Ha! Pink Eye, let me say, if you have never tried giving a 3 year old some eye drops; it’s my own personal hell.

After the Dr. we were finally able to rest a bit, thank goodness as I was OVER it!

The girls had a blast though, that’s all that matters.

Here are our pictures from Easter Morning….

 

 

(In the Golden Egg the Easter Bunny left the girls a note on where to find their special prize. New car DVD players!)

Now, there is more to the story of what the heck has taken me so long to post Easter pictures. But I will talk about that soon, this is already long enough!

Easter Weekend

Saturdays and Sundays are our Ella, Aubrey, Mommy Days. Since Brad and I work for a ski resort, Holidays don’t really matter much, if you’re scheduled to work on a day that the holiday falls on, you’re working. So, this weekend was about Easter prep and relaxing.

On Saturday Ella and I dyed our Easter Eggs, we used Kool-aid, and she LOVED it!

She was so proud of her final product and could not wait for Brad to get home to show him. Thank goodness Aubrey actually took a decent nap for me so we were able to do these without having to hold off Aubrey.

Aubrey got her first piggie tails on Saturday, she was NOT happy with me while I was putting them in.

They didn’t bother her one bit once they were in, though. And how cute were they and how grown up does she look sitting at the table eating her snack?!

Sunday, Ella wanted to dress up. So I got the girls dressed in some dresses that I got them months ago that I am saving for some family photos! They both have such blue eyes, it kills me! I might be a little biased, but they are the most beautiful little girls!

Sister love! The bond that they have already, it melts my heart. They love each other so much.

After fashion show time, we had some art time. This first canvas is Ella’s.

And this one is Aubrey’s. They loved art time and it took their minds off of all of the talk of Easter that was everywhere.

Art time was also a HUGE mess so we then had bath time together. Ha!

When Daddy got home, Ella was so excited to show him their pictures. We then decided that it was gorgeous outside and so Ella got to ride her bike outside for the first time. She’s a pro at riding it in the house and she did not have any trouble transitioning to riding outside.

The same can be said for Aubrey’s walking skills, she loves the outdoors just as much as her big sister does.

It was a beautiful weekend, and we enjoyed every bit of it. We had a wonderful Ham dinner on Sunday night. And since Ella knew that the Easter bunny was coming that night we didn’t even have a struggle at bed time.

Also, this weekend, Aubrey started picking up this chair and carrying it around with her. I think it’s to maybe keep Ella from being able to use it. Weirdo!

Ha! Next up, our Easter Monday recap. What a Doozie!

When Zombies Walk Among Us

That Zombie would be Me!! Ha, that’s right; my almost 14 month old is still not sleeping through the night. I am hoping that at her followup ENT appointment we’ll find out that her ears are all clear and I will be comfortable doing some hard core sleep training. I am worried about this follow up though. Not for any particular reason, but something is going around the daycare making everyone sick and Aubrey is working hard on her 8th front tooth as well as her 1 year Molars. Poor girls mouth is SWOLLEN! I seriously hope this doesn’t put too much pressure on her ears. Poor girl!

Aubrey started walking last Thursday, just a couple of steps to get to Mommy. =) By the next day we had this – Must get to the cat! And last night we had her being goofy and starting direction changes.

Also, her language is exploding lately! She went from saying just Mama, Dada, Ella, doggy, Kitty, & Uh-Oh, to now adding in Bye-bye, up, Hot!, No (lord help me),  and my favorite – CHEESE!

Last night we had bath time with Glow Sticks, the girls LOVED it!

Also yesterday, the girls got an Easter box from Mamaw. The attacked everything in it, ha! Aubrey LOVED the bunny ears….

And Ella was obsessed with her new Alice in Wonderland Socks and the dress she sent.

Ha, what an outfit!

Last but not least, here is Ella’s Poster (Just for you, Jess! =) ) From the last post.

The Poster

This weekend we had some homework. Ella is the “Star of the Week” for the Toddler room. Funny since the ski program is over so she’s moving to the Pre-School room this week. Ha!

Anyway, it’s a cute little poster to color in. Where you live, a picture of your family, your pets. What your favorites are, etc. Well, the family picture, I cut out of our Christmas card from this year, the pets picture came from last years Christmas card. However, I did not have a recent printed picture of Ella that I could use.

So, after Ella’s nap yesterday we did a Photo shoot. She wanted to take pictures in her room (NOT the best lighting ever!) AND she wanted to be laying down. Ha! So we got a couple of pictures that looked like this….

My next Idea when she was more in to it was to have her stand on her bed in front of her name and her Princess poster. She did not think that was a great idea.

Well, Ella wanted to stand in front of her window. I told her it would be too dark unless she looked over at me.

Don’t smile, Ella!!!!

I said don’t smile!

As you can see, she wouldn’t look at me. I finally got here out to the living room where we have good light ALL day. Light doesn’t matter if she won’t look at me.

I tried talking to her so she would look at me…. No dice.

Keep talking……

Keep talking……………

 

BINGO! I am in LOVE with this picture!

So now she is SO excited to bring her poster to school with her. It will stay up until all of the kids in the Toddler room have done theirs. Ella will live on in the Toddler room. =)

Random

I am EXHAUSTED! I have been fighting a sinus infection since last Friday, hence the lack of blogging.

My Mom was in town last week while Brad was out of town. She watched the girls for a few days while I had to work, it was nice for the girls and it was fun to go to some places in the county that I hadn’t been before.

After I dropped her off at the airport I was talking to Brad on the phone. Ella was in the background yelling about something so I made the comment that Ella was “Grumpy that Ning Ning left.” When she heard that she says, “No, I’m sad that Ning Ning Left! Not Grumpy!” Ha! That night when I was putting Ella to bed I asked what she wanted to do in the morning, her response…”Go pick up Ning Ning from the airport.” Ha!

Tomorrow is my book club, I haven’t even started the book. Woops!

The most exciting news! AUBREY IS FINALLY TAKING STEPS ON HER OWN! Yay Aubrey, Last night she let go of a chair and walked about 3 steps to me. This morning before school she did it again, and then when I was nursing her at lunch time, she took about 5 steps to me when I got there! So proud!

And, this is officially my worst post ever. Sorry, as I said, I’m fighting this infection and I feel MISERABLE! Hopefully I’m back to my A Game next week.

Speaking of Games, can I get a Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers!!!

 

Happy Weekend!

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Ears, Ella, & Some Randomness

Aubrey’s ENT Appointment:

    On Tuesday we got up early to head down to the city for Aubrey’s Pediatric ENT appointment. Things actually went pretty well. First they had her see the audiologist for a hearing test to make sure the infections weren’t causing any damage. She and I got locked in the little room with speakers and she loved it. She would just wave at the audiologist until she heard a noise and would look towards a speaker, as soon as the noise was off she would start smiling and waving again. Rinse & Repeat about 15 times. It was so cute. So we started off well with no hearing loss. =) They really quickly did a pressure test on both ears and then we were off to see the Dr.

Dr. said the results of her pressure test were that there was some negative pressure so the ear canal was a little recessed. She looked in Aubrey’s ears, the left one still had some fluid and you could tell she was getting over a recent infection. Right ear didn’t have any fluid present, but again you could tell she had recently had an infection. So it seems her 3rd different antibiotic was actually clearing up her ears. Thank Goodness! They put her on a steroid nasal spray so that hopefully if her nasal congestion cal clear up for good that we can keep her ears from getting infected again. She goes back in 5 weeks for a recheck. If everything looks good, we’re in the clear. If her ears look worse or if she gets another infection before then, we schedule tube surgery. I will keep you all posted on how things go.

Ella:

You know the saying, “Kids say the darnedest things”. That’s my kid to a T.

Tuesday morning before Aubrey’s appointment we were eating breakfast, the following happened. Ella: “Daddy, I just saw an Eagle!” Brad: ”Oh yeah, downtown???” Ella: “Yeah, it was just walking around.” :::a couple minutes pass by::: Ella: “There’s 2 more eagles walking around.” We look outside, Pigeons! Ha. Those darn Walking Eagles!

Later that day, Brad was reaching around in his seat to hand Ella something and I caught a whiff of his Deodorant. I said, “You smell delicious” and before he could say anything, Ella says “I think Mommy wants to Eat you Daddy!” HA!!!!!!!!

Lastly, that night when we got home I let her put on a new silver Tutu skirt. It was big on her but she wanted to wear it around. A few minutes later you hear her say “Oh Man, it’s got a loose string.” Brad says he’ll get it in a minute and she says “Man, I HATE strings!” What a weirdo!

Randoms:

• This winter storm that’s coming is no fun. You’d think that since we do live in Colorado, and that it’s one of the snowiest months that up to 8″ in the city wouldn’t be such a huge deal. But no, panic must ensue and now my Mom had to change her flight so she doesn’t come in until Sunday night instead of Saturday evening. Boo.
• Pitch Perfect – I think I could watch this movie every day and not get sick of it! It’s the perfect amount of chick flick, cheesiness, and musical to be the perfect movie for me. I rented it 3 times before I just gave up and bought it. SO funny!
• I tried to take Ella for her first Mommy/ Daughter Mani-Pedi on Tuesday. Epic Fail! Ha! I had talked it up and she was so excited, she talked about it ALL day. We got there, she picked out some fun polish and we headed back. As soon as she heard the foot baths filling up, she flipped! “No, Nooooo(!!!!!!!!!!!), I don’t like it. Let’s just go!” Okay then, we’ll try again when she’s a bit older.
• Aubrey turned 13 months old on Sunday, crazy!! She still has absolutely no interest in walking. Oh well, she’ll do it when she feels like it.

• Ella came out of her room the other day wearing her “beach clothes”. The “Hot Pants” she’s wearing in these pictures, Aubrey’s OLD pants. Size 6-9 months! Ha!

• I got to go on a frozen yogurt date with my girls while Daddy got a haircut. Ella LOVEd getting to pick everything out, her yogurt flavor, the toppings. I loved spending some fun time with my girls!

Friday Thoughts

• More bullet points. I like bullet points.
• On Tuesday morning, we take Aubrey down to Rocky Mountain Children’s for her appointment with the Pediatric ENT. Any prayers or positive thoughts you can send our way that morning would be greatly appreciated. Specifically that her ears are clear and we can avoid tube surgery.
• Thank Goodness it is Friday. This week I got some news that broke my heart and kept me depressed for a couple of days. I need these next few days with my girls and my family to kind of bring me out of a funk.
• We got our washer and dryer. I think when they were in the angels started singing. Can I tell you how amazing it was to be able to do a full sized load of laundry after YEARS with an “efficiency”.

• This morning when I went in to get Ella up for school she nearly killed me with sweetness. She asked if we were going to school and I of course said yes, she looks at me with sad eyes and says, “But I wanted a family day.” She is too sweet sometimes. I need to remember these moments when she is in the middle of driving me crazy.
• When we got to work to get ready she says, “Momma, I want to hold Aubrey!” So of course I let her, and as soon as she had her she says, “Take our picture, Momma.”

• She tells me all the time how much she loves her sister and she’ll tell me, “Aubrey loves me, Momma. I’m her big sister!”
• When we were getting ready to leave to drop her off at school, she told me she wanted to work with her Daddy on the mountain today. It was so sweet, when I said we had to go to school she asked if she could at least drive a snowmobile first.

• Those three in that picture up there, they’re my world!