Friday, January 27, 2017

RSV

so, we had quite the weekend.


on thursday, rooney started with a little cough. friday it got worse & by friday night there was a fever. ashton & i were planning on going to the jazz game saturday night, but come saturday morning, i knew i wasn't going to the game. instead rooney & i laid around & before too long, i realized her fever was too high & she was beginning to act lethargic. she kept trying to open her eyes, but could only raise her eyebrows. she wasn't moving. wasn't interested in anything. just wanted me to hold her.


by the time ashton made it home, her fever was nearly 104ยบ,  her breathing was fairly shallow & rapid. jameson & ashton were able to give her a blessing. we had decided earlier that ashton would stay home with her on sunday so i could go to church to teach our primary class. ashton asked his parents if they would cover for us &, initially, i felt bad because it wasn't that big of a deal for me to go. but i am glad he did & that they were willing, because sunday was something else.



rooney hardly slept through the night. i slept in the bed in her room & around midnight she got into bed with me. she wasn't breathing right. she was very congested & would cough so hard, she'd nearly throw up. it was a rough night.

morning came. things weren't improving. ashton switched places with me so i could sleep for a couple of hours. she acted ok throughout the morning but after a bite of lunch & a nap, she woke up & didn't seem the same. she asked for a bath. i noticed it looked like her breathing was pulling in around her ribs & she was using her stomach a lot to breathe. she was still lethargic & was falling asleep in the bath - her favorite place to be. we debated taking her to instacare - the wait was really long & what if we were just being paranoid? we ultimately decided (thanks to a few texts to my mom & sister) that it wouldn't hurt to make sure her oxygen levels were ok. like a true mom, i passed on my shower, got her in the car, & off we went.

we got to instacare around 2:20. they red-flagged rooney & got us back pretty quick. for that, i am so thankful. they checked out her oxygen levels & she was in the low 80's - they want you at 90 or above. the nurse thought a deep suction would cure everything. have you ever had your child deep suctioned? i left because they were wrapping her up to keep her from fighting it, so i knew it was going to be bad. i sat outside the door & cried. a sweet nurse came to talk to me, trying to distract me, but hearing my baby scream - still makes me cry thinking about it.

the nurse was so proud of herself, because initially the deep suction got roo up to a 92. while she was gone to get the doctor though, it dropped to a 73 & when she made it back, rooney was back in the low 80's. around 3:00, they put rooney on oxygen, which is not fun either, & told us that an ambulance was coming to take us to Primary Children's Hospital.


they loaded us up & off we went. the emt's were friendly & so kind to rooney. she fell asleep quickly, probably her first deep sleep in a few days thanks to the oxygen. by 3:30 we were at primary's where things were a little bit chaotic & rooney wouldn't stop scream-crying. she was miserable & didn't like all the nurses (strangers to her) around her, the tylenol, or the oxygen on her face. it was just me because ashton was still getting to us. eventually (around 4:00) he made it & shortly after, my parents were there too. after about an hour in the e.r., they moved us into the rapid treatment unit, which meant a room with a little more space!

waiting in the e.r.

the room had a crib in it, which is what rooney sleeps in at home, but i asked for a bed & i am so glad i did - one of us needed to be in bed with her all night in order for the nurses to check any vitals. i also think it comforted rooney. she started acting like herself again. the fever went down & she was smiling & goofing around. i can't remember exactly why, but she was off the oxygen for a little bit - probably for bathrooming & stuff? plus she was seeming so back to herself, minus the coughing. anyway, they talked about the possibility of us going home that night with some oxygen. but around 9:30, after she had fallen asleep & we plugged her back into monitor her stats, her levels had dropped to 68. we were there for the night. they quickly put her on 1/2 liter of oxygen & she was consistently at a 97. i texted my mom & said, "i bet we go home in the morning."

goofing off in her room. see, no oxygen!

still off oxygen. ready for bed

 restless sleeping, back on oxygen because her levels had dropped to a 68 in her sleep.


around her 4:00 am check, the nurses noted that she was sounding a bit wheezy. by monday morning though, roo boo was up, seemed happy & alert, & was singing to daniel tiger. she started getting emotional again at 9:00 am & was still wheezy. she took a little nap & her oxygen dropped down to a 63. when she started becoming lethargic again/her heart rate was up in the 160-180's, the doctor suggested an IV. she said that while rooney is peeing enough, it's possible she was dehydrated the few days before & her body is struggling to keep up.

rooney was always trying to get the oxygen out of her nose - she hated it.

the stethascope was her favorite. checking her teddy bear's heartbeat.

of course she was napping when they came to do the iv. again, i left - i just can't stand seeing her hurting when i can't do anything to help! after some crying & snuggles, we finally got her back to sleep. around 10:40 they started her iv, with a second one immediately after.

poor boo, sleeping after the iv. but look at those sweet crossed little ankles.

at 1:15ish they did another deep suction, with me again, out of the room. this was probably the worst part of the whole experience. she was screaming. & not like baby/toddler scream. it was like a big girl in pain scream. it was awful. i hated it & ached to get back in with my baby. the nurse told us that she had never gotten so much out during a suction before & it was so traumatic for rooney that she actually pooped as they were doing it. but when i looked at rooney, things seemed off. her face was drained of all color. her eyes were swollen. i mentioned to the nurse & doctor that her color was off, something was wrong. they immediately upped her oxygen - we were at 2 liters & still her levels were in the low 80's. they had to go all the way to 3 liters. they brought in the albuterol, which rooney hated. one side of her chest sounded deflated, so an x ray was ordered to rule out pneumonia. they did a cap gas test & checked her right ear because it had looked red on sunday, but it looked like the beginning of an ear infection. so the doctor ordered antibiotics. they also did a nasal/viral swab to make sure she did, in fact, have bronchiolitis/rsv - that was also not very liked by rooney. for a good hour, things just seemed out of control. it was never serious, but it was overwhelming.

rooney's eyelids/under eyes quickly developed popped blood vessels from the crying & screaming. my poor baby went through a lot in that little time. but before long, rooney was starting to goof off again. she was brought play doh, nail polish, her favorite movies & toys. her nurse even brought in bubbles & spent a few minutes celebrating with her. it was the sweetest.

 finally feeling better after all the trauma

 i can't say enough about how much we loved rooney's nurse.


rooney's oxygen levels eventually leveled out & we got the oxygen down to .75 liters around 9:00 pm. we had to be monitored for another 6 hours to make sure her levels would stay there, which meant another night at the hospital.

tuesday morning was good. rooney had her first few bites of food & continued to improve. around 1:00, we were in the car going home - prepped in home oxygen & how to handle the tanks.







once home, rooney continued to nap while ashton & i finally got to shower & get things organized. we ate dinner, bathed rooney, & just enjoyed being home. rooney is much more comfortable & happy at home.


on thursday we met with rooney's pediatrician. she's still a little wheezy, but now we have an oximeter so that we can slowly wean her. during the day, she's already in the 95's off of oxygen. now we have to work on her nighttime weaning - which is the scariest part for me. her next appointment is tuesday. i sure hope everything is good by then, because having rooney stuck on an oxygen leash has made things pretty difficult.




that was our adventure. i am exhausted & thinking it will take a week to recover. after that, i really am blown away with my parent's as that hospital was their home with porter for 9 months. on another note, if there is a hospital to be stuck in, primary's is it. i was so impressed with the doctors & nurses. they always took the time to explain everything & answer every question. they made sure we had what we needed to be comfortable & wouldn't only check on rooney, but us too. what an amazing place.


Monday, January 9, 2017

potty training adventure

"when you have to go potty, stop, & go right away."


thank you, daniel tiger!


this week we started potty training. yay & i am so tired.


i know about sticker charts & motivators. for my daughter - all she needs is a tube of mini m&m's next to the toilet. she also requires immediate praise & reward. we could add a sticker chart on top of this, but right now, she doesn't seem to care.


we started on thursday & within a few hours i wasn't sure if i wanted to keep going. she had four accidents within the first hour. after her first one she cried & asked me to put a diaper back on her. i realized the toilet every 30 minutes was too long & eventually figured the timer needed to be set for every 15 minutes. i explained that sofia the first, doc mcstuffins, & minnie mouse were really sad when she got them wet (they were on the underwear she picked out). she then insisted on watching as much of sofia, mcstuffins, & minnie mouse as much as possible the rest of the day. no accidents after that. stayed dry all night. seriously - this girl is a rock star.


she had one accident friday afternoon, but friday night we took a trip to the aquarium & she was so good about going! then we went to my aunt's house to be with family & she let me or my parents know when she needed to go. seriously. this girl!


we stayed the night with my parents friday since sydney had a baby shower next door on saturday morning. because of this, i put rooney in a diaper, but we talked about how she needs to go potty in the toilet & not her diaper. i came down with a cold, so i spent a lot of the night up, trying to breathe. at one point, this woke her up & she stayed up with me for a good hour. then after we woke up in the morning, we didn't make it to the bathroom right away. i fully expected the diaper to be wet. it was not! rooney stayed dry again! but we were both pretty grumpy due to a lack of sleep. we ( I ) couldn't wait to get home & to have the support of ashton.



sunday we weren't quite sure how to do nursery. ashton & i teach a primary class so we were thinking one of us would leave every 20 to 30 minutes to take her. i can't tell you if that worked or not because our stake cancelled all meetings due to inclement weather.


it is now 8:00 on monday morning & rooney is still sleeping - it is very rare that she sleeps in so late. here's to hoping for another dry morning & accident free day!


*** i know rooney is a rare potty training success. i am sure baby boy will give us much more of a run for our money. so exciting. ***

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

resolutions

a new year. a better me.


i am the worst with new years resolutions and i always make way too many. there's just so much i want to accomplish or be better at.


but i have spent this week think about motto's i want to focus on this year (& probably throughout the rest of my life).


here they are -




  • focus on joy. based on this beautiful quote:

  • being present. I love these representation:


I have my next two embroidery projects & they are two that will be hanging on my walls very soon.

Sunday, January 1, 2017

and baby #2 is a...

** i fixed the link. video should actually work now!


ashton & i had gone in for the anatomical ultrasound appointment on friday. the tech was super. i closed my eyes while ashton saw the gender of our baby. but i saw everything else. baby moved a lot. kept hands over its face. everything was there. it was magical. & so comforting.


so we decided that to celebrate the end of 2016 & this baby, we needed to invite our families over for treats & a gender reveal!!!!


before the party, we started with chinese food - a tradition i think that my little family has created & i am totally happy with that.


we played games, we watched the jazz win, & then it was time for the big news! ashton took over in the planning of how it was going to happen because, well, he was the only one who knew. he took rooney into our room & had two outfits for her - one that was pink & one blue. right before he was going to open the door ---


the power went out.


not a joke. it was the perfect timing.


so we got our phones out & turned the lights on. here's video of it happening!


SURPRISE!

baby...

is...

a...



BOY!!!!

after we saw rooney's outfit, we gathered all the candles & had celebrated for 10ish minutes in semi darkness.


 the lights came back on as this picture was being taken.


we are so excited. i can't stop smiling when i think about it. or whenever i feel him fluttering around. rooney was mostly excited to lick all the frosting off her cupcake, but she is quick to give baby kisses & is so ready to be a smothering big sister.

happy new year!






i know lots of people are ready for 2016 to be over, but, honestly, i loved 2016. here are just a few of the reasons why (and only a small handful of pictures).

  •  Rooney turned ONE!!! watching rooney grow has been fulfilling, frustrating, and so much fun. she constantly keeps us laughing. she is beautiful. sassy. stubborn. & 100% perfect.
  • i began working with canyons school district again. hourly & it's been the perfect, flexible job for me.
  • we visited california & went to disneyland (twice!), new york, bear lake, & yellowstone!





  • most of our summer was spent celebrating friends & family & their marriages!



  • a new niece!
  • air traffic control opened up a bid! (lots prayers that we find out soon that ashton has made it into the academy)
  • i opened up my hoops&threads shop on etsy! 
  • we moved & now have our own space! 
  • we got pregnant (also twice) & this baby is thriving! i learned a lot about my body and was very humbled through another miscarriage. i have also learned to celebrate every single day with this baby.

  • we were surrounded by family & friends.
i just went through all of my 2016 photos (there are A LOT) & i couldn't believe how blessed we have been or how absolutely perfect baby rooney was. toddler rooney is fun, but my heart misses my baby, bad. 

thank you to all of our friends & family who have supported us, loved us, & shared memories with us during the last year. i feel immensely blessed.


*here's to 2017!

& (hopefully) better documentation of our life!