There's no place like home...

We are finally home from two nights in the hospital. Owen has been sick since Monday and just sort of progressively got worse and wasn't eating or drinking much. By Thursday afternoon he was just laying on the floor crying about how bad he hurt. At one point he was on the ground in a fetal position, chewing a chicken nugget (his request I promise and by this point i was willing to give him about anything that he wanted) when he said that he couldn't swallow it because his throat hurt. I called the doctor assuming it was strep throat and made and appointment for Thursday afternoon.

When I took him to the doctor he proceeded to puke twice in the waiting room...an awesome experience when I had my purse, the puke bucket and him to carry around. After a few minutes of uncomfortable glances from the office staff, they finally agreed to take him to a room, even though the doctor wasn't ready to see him yet...thanks girls, really appreciated that! The doctor came in a few minutes later and took one look at him and said that we had to go to the main hospital for IV fluids. By this point I became pretty emotional, feeling horrible about how sick he has gotten and that I should have been doing a better job of trying to force fluids at home. I tried my best to not be emotional around him and drove to the hospital. We were taken back within five minutes and the process was quite smooth from that point forward.

We did rule out early on that he did not have strep. The ER doc ordered an X-ray and Ultrasound since he was having so much stomach pain. They were looking for appendicitis. Boy would I have felt horrible if it was something like that...all week I had just assumed it was a bad bug and that he would come around in no time.

Here he is getting ready to be taken to x-ray. He was a bit scared.

He wasn't happy about his IV. It was horrible to watch. As a mom, I would have done anything to be in his place at that moment. I hated hearing him scream and it was a heart wrenching feeling knowing that I couldn't do anything for him.

All three of us waiting for some results. And finally they changed him into a little gown since they had started his IV at this point.

X-ray results showed fluid pockets in his intestinal tract. Very common with so much vomiting and diarrhea, but they wanted to still take their time and rule out an ileus, an obstruction of the bowel.

Ultrasound results looked good....nothing suspicious for appendicitis which I was thrilled about, however then the doc shot me down by saying that the ultrasound wasn't necessarily the only indicator or having appendicitis and that they would keep him overnight to monitor him and to give him continued fluids through the IV. Also he had an overwhelming amount of key tones in his urine so they needed to make sure to keep an eye on those too.


We finally got to his room about 1230am. The staff was super great. He was the only kid on the floor (thankfully there weren't many at all) with the HUGE contact precaution bag hanging on his door. Most of the nurses and doctors just wore gloves when visiting him. But in the middle of the night, the technicians who didn't know him were fully gowned when they came in the room.

Here's my baby getting some much needed rest.

Playing with some action figures that my sister brought up for him, and props to EE for bringing him the BIGGEST balloon ever! He LOVED it!

Still not eating much. He had maybe a bite of jello and then they gave him chicken broth both mornings for breakfast. I get it, I really do, I mean if you're an adult that actually might sound good. But when you are a four year old who is a picky eater as it is, really? Chicken broth!! Ummmm, yeah, I'd like to know how many of you could get your kids to eat soup in general, let alone broth. (He was served beef broth for dinner, nice change up eh?!!)

Finally permission to try to eat regular foods. He picked fruit loops and cocoa puffs. Kris was still sleeping this morning so I took him down to the aquarium to have his breakfast. He loved watching the fish swim.

That yellow fish is Owen's new friend. He named him Nemo....very original buddy!

They had a pretty sweet toy room for all the kids to go play in. Owen thought it was the greatest room ever. We went down there a couple times each day, and every time a new visitor showed up he had to take them down to the playroom too. And as soon as we would walk in he would say "You don't know where to start, do you?" There was a cabinet full of VHS tapes. And we took a Thomas one back to the room for Owen to watch. When Kris came back later in the day Owen said "hey daddy, we found that black thing in the toy room. It's what you and uncle steve and ee used to watch when they didn't have DVDs." Wow!!

However two times when we were playing he managed to set off his alarm. The alarm is annoying and loud and doesn't stop beeping until the security staff makes sure the child is okay and he is with the responsible people (we all had corresponding bands on). The first time it went off I didn't really think anything of it. The same day though it went off again and the same security guard comes huffing and puffing down the hall, and says angrily, "what is he doing, playing rough? Why does he keep setting it off." I apologized and said I didn't know why it was being triggered but that he wasn't playing rough at all, he was just sitting on the floor. I later learned that each time the alarm sounds that the WHOLE hospital goes in shut down mode. All of the elevators return to the third floor which is the Pediatric floor and none of the doors in the hospital work until security comes (running up flights of stairs) to assess the situation. Then I realized why he was a tad upset. They ended up replacing Owen's security tag and it didn't happen again, thankfully!

Finally we were released this morning to come home. He was still dry heaving a lot so they gave him zofran through his IV for that, and Tylenol for his stomach pain. He also has diarrhea and they couldn't do much for that so that was kind of hard. A lot of accidents for this poor kid.

They concluded it was gastroenteritis and colitis (inflammation of the colon), and possibly rota virus. But the weird thing is that he's been sick for 6 days now and Wyatt and myself nor Kris have gotten a touch of anything. So it's just odd that what he has is supposed to be super contagious but we are all fine....anyway.....

We were released and on our way out of the hospital when I saw a comforting picture in the main lobby....my mom! I said, "hey Owen, Nana's here." So Owen and Kris are looking all around and I wheeled Owen up to this picture of my mom. He said, "There's my nana, she's on the poster!" Yep bud she sure is!

Home sweet home. He did throw up and had more diarrhea since we have been home but at least we know he is hydrated. And his spirits, man oh man is he in good spirits. A little demanding which I think is partly due to the fact that we have all given in to his every want and need over the last three days. He was coming around though and by this evening he was being his polite respectful self again.

Right after a nice warm bath. And all of his bedding was washed so his bed was so comfy and inviting for him. Oh and of course I had to set up the whole neighborhood (his stuffed animals) so that they could all sleep together. It was a nice moment.

It is so good to be home! Thanks for your prayers for Owen over the past few days. Please continue to pray that he continues to improve and will stay hydrated so we don't have to go back to the hospital anytime soon. And thanks to all of you who visited Owen. He loves you all and was glad that you stopped to see him. Especially you grammy!

And thanks to my parents for keeping a good eye on Wy the past three days so that we could give our one on one to Owen....I think everyone will sleep well tonight!

Poor sick Owen

I got a call today from Owen's preschool....he was throwing up. I was hoping he was just carsick since that often happens to my boys for some reason....but I'm afraid to say that he has a little bug. I'm hoping that me and Wyatt don't get it, but I'm also realistic in knowing that we will likely ALL get it.

Here is Owen right after he got sick. Poor sweet boy. And finally get some much needed rest.

At dinner tonight he asked if I could pray for God to heal his body because he hates feeling this way. Broke my heart! So we prayed at dinner and again at bedtime and I'll pray again tonight that he wakes up in the morning completely refreshed and full of energy.

Happy Spring!

Hope you all had a good weekend....we sure did!

Oh Owen...

I was having a slow day at work today so tried to get in a cat nap while Wy was sleeping. When I got up I started to get ready for an appointment that I have tonight and was in the bathroom freshening up a bit. Owen came in the bathroom and said "mom, when you and wyatt were napping a ghost came into my playroom and was eating peanut butter, two yogurts and lots of raisins....and then the ghost spilled the raisins all over my playroom." So when I came downstairs this is what a found.....a huge raisin mess....oh and by the way, he is still picking them up...one raisin at a time!

Enjoy your weekend!

Owen's first Science Fair

Owen's preschool class was able to partake in the science fair today. These middle school students were pretty smart and creative if you ask me.

Here is one experiment....seeing which hand you are faster typing with. This one was great! This kid had chopped up potatoes and apples. He made the kids eat each and had them try to figure out what they were. If you couldn't tell, this picture was taken with a piece of potato in Owen's mouth!
Sinking ships....will a ship sink faster with it weighed down in the front or the back?....creative!
And marshmallow slingshots.... I think Owen was just hoping to be able to eat the marshmallow.

It was a fun morning and I'm glad I was able to help out in Owen's class and be able to be with him at his first Science Fair. Good times!

Who likes ice cream?

Wyatt likes ice cream....he was literally licking it out of the bowl!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We had a great St. Patrick's Day today. We started our day with our usual breakfast out at the local donut shop. Owen and Wyatt had green frosted donuts....yummy!

After breakfast Owen and I ran all kinds of crazy errands and picked out Easter outfits...so fun! He is also going to his first "friend" birthday party next weekend so we picked up a gift for that too while we were out.

When we got home Wyatt was up from his nap and playing outside. We planted these mini blue spruces last fall....he has never been interested with them until tonight.
My boy decked out in green.
Cheese!

I took this picture before we went grocery shopping tonight. Wyatt discovered the well tonight too, a night of discoveries for this kid, and he kept sitting on it....it was too cute! Of course as soon as I ran to get my camera he was "all done"! What a stinker!

I hope you all enjoyed your day today.....we sure did!

Walks with Wyatt

This is what Wyatt does while we are on walks in our neighborhood....he just sits in the middle of the street and won't move. Thankfully our sub is very quiet in regards to motor vehicle traffic. I don't know if his shoes are bothering him or what but he just sits down and starts to whimper a bit.....we learned to take the stroller with us so Kris and I don't have to carry him for the majority of our outing...

Wyatt

It's hard for me to believe that this kid is almost two years old. It is truly amazing how fast time goes by and I know it sounds so cliche but I keep on telling myself to slow down and soak it all in. He was hating that I was trying to take pictures of him. As soon as I would have the perfect opportunity he would say "no" or "all done" and get up in a hurry and run away from me.

Playing on the swing set.

He doesn't require any assistance on the swing set....he has it mastered!Pushing around his big truck.

What a tough guy!

We were outside almost all night long. It was super! I can't wait for the weather to stay like this. I'm sure it will get cold again, but for now we are taking advantage of every minute we can.

Owen

I had some one on one quality time with Owen this afternoon while Wyatt was napping. We played outside and it was GORGEOUS! Owen pulled his chair to a shady area of our yard to rest a bit from swinging on his swing and playing in the dirt. Hanging out.Loading up his truck with some dirt. Playing with his bulldozer.

Ready to go down the hill in the bucket of his dumptruck.

And he's off........

Pushing the truck back up the hill and ready to do it all over again, and again, and again....I can't say how much I love this weather. It makes me feel alive again! I'm hoping to be able to start 'jogging' soon if my body allows it. For now though, I'm thankful for the walks I've been able to enjoy with my boys. I can't wait until I'm done working today so we can head outside again and enjoy the day with Wyatt too.

Outdoor fun

What a gorgeous day we had today! We headed outside after I got done working and enjoyed some fresh air and sunshine.

The boys are fascinated with the lines in the sky that jets make. I learned tonight that they are called contrails. I had to take a picture of this one, it was perfect! And I explained to Owen that it made an upside "A" or a "V". Owen thought that was pretty cool. It was awesome! I tried out some new settings on my phone and took this picture of Wy while we were out for a walk. I love this setting...it's called vintage! (I didn't even know I had settings to choose from, so it was a cool find for me)

This setting is called beautiful....

The boys running "free" on the path behind our house. I had to carry Wyatt half of the way, but it was a good sweet little cuddle.

Another choke hold from Owen.

I found a house in our sub that has their mailbox surrounded by brick. I was hoping for a cool picture and I think it turned out pretty neat.

I know they were kind of dirty. We had finished dinner and they had been playing outside for a while and their hair wasn't done, and they didn't have on cute outfits, but I love them anyway....they are my boys....my boys how they are every day, plain and simple without all the extras that I put them through. Love. Them. So. Much.

Lazy night

We had a pretty good day today. After I worked we headed outside and enjoyed some decent weather. We played on the play structure, went for a walk and attempted a bike ride, but Owen wasn't up for trying to ride his bike alone so we ended up just playing in the yard.

We came inside a while ago and got ready for beddie time. Here is our sweet baby boy who is almost 2 years old!! Check out how long he is!

Watching tv and Owen being goofy.

and still being goofy.Cuddly boys. Check out O's lip, it is now a huge blister.......gross!I think when Wy can handle himself, he is going to sock Owen in the face one of these days for all of these bear hugs around the neck.

My loves!

I think they had enough by now.....but I think I got some cute ones.

So now we are all comfy and cozy and waiting for the storms to arrive. Apparently we are supposed to have severe thunderstorms tonight. Should be a nice night to cuddle with my boys.