Perfectly Content

Colin came home from the hospital on Saturday and he was doing much better than he had three days before, but not quite 100% yet. A week later, I'm not quite sure we're "there," but we're improving daily. His breathing is still raspy, but they think it may be caused by him aspirating his milk at most feedings. So we're scheduled for a Barium Swallow Study on Tuesday, followed by double hip ultrasound follow ups for both Colin and Claire. Adam did the swallow study too because of his excess spit up, but it came back okay. I'm seeing a big difference between how Adam was and how Colin is (Colin really struggles to eat sometimes, and always has). Both boys have extremely sensitive gag relexes.

Reunited

Feeling Much Better

I heard of one mother who had two kids and the first time she ever had to clean up vomit was when her youngest was 2. Ha. I think if I go three days without cleaning up vomit I'd consider that a vacation. And I've been doing it since Adam was tiny.

Adam started a stronger form of antibiotics to kick the sinaus infection before we found out he had probably also gotten the different form of RSV, and it still took a toll on him and was a real challenge for him to overcome. He was on Cefdinir, then Suprax, and for the last week or so he was an absolute mess. Talking back, refusing to do anything just for the sake of refusing, feeling sick, not being able to sleep, not being able to cope... at first I thought, "just a two year old phase," then I thought, it's probably stress from Colin's hospital stay and not really understanding what's going on. Four days in, I started to really worry that something was very wrong that he couldn't express. And then Shannon read an article about antibiotics and obesity in children, and it dawned on me that the antibiotics might be triggering a behavioral issue... or that it's making him feel sick and he can't say why. So on day 9 of a 10 day course, we quit the antibiotic. 2 days later, he's back to his cheerful self and is an absolute angel. I really missed him. And I'm putting Suprax on the list of medications to avoid. We'll put that right under Albuterol Sulfate and Amoxicillan.

Adam, the "unhappy two year old," during his struggle with the nasty antibiotics

Feeling much better

Speaking of Amoxicillan, it's on Claire's list of "do-not-take" also -- turns out, that "acid reflux" where the milk was shooting out of her nose and she was writing in pain was really a terrible reaction to the antibiotics she was on for her fetal hydronephrosis. A week after we quit, she was perfectly fine. It's also why they didn't see it in the NICU. She started the antibiotic 2 days before she was discharged. And I had only started to suspect that was the cause about 3 days before she was done with it.

Happy Claire

EXTREMELY Happy Claire

Speaking of antibiotics. I know of a mom with three kids who didn't have to fill an order for antibiotics until her youngest was 2. Ha. In my dreams.

I can see major changes in all three kids lately. Colin and Claire are smiling more often and are more awake... Claire has a six sense for knowing when someone is going to sit down to eat or decides to leave the room while she's sleeping. She is so like Adam was in that you can already see her determination to improve her physical abilities. She pushes herself to sit in the Bumbo, to sit up in your lap, to turn her head from side to side and see whatever is around her. She loves her pacifier. She grins the biggest grins I've ever seen, awake or asleep. She is social and independent and active, and I think the nickname "Mae Ham" (Mayhem) will actually be quite fitting for her.

Colin is incredibly strong, And uses his strength when he feels like its necessary, and no sooner or later. His pacifier philosophy is that he will take it... Briefly... If he's starving and expects that you are making him a bottle, like, immediately. He'll also take one if he feels sick and just wants to sleep, but even that takes some "spotting" from mom and dad. Mostly, though, if he's upset and you stick a pacifier in his mouth, he'll act like its the most disgusting thing he's ever tasted. If you insist, he'll take it to appease you, and when you finally let go he'll spit it out right away. Either he really doesn't want it, or he finds it completely unacceptable for you to not just give him what he needs. I think his philosophy is: "Don't pacify me, FIX IT!" But when it's fixed, he's the most laid back person in the whole house. He loves to cuddle and when he looks at you, you know he's thinking a million different things... and it makes you wonder how you're adding up. Mr. Wisdom.

Claire and Gus

Colin and Eli

A very patient cat.

Cuddles

Adam petting Eli.

Hey, get off my brother...

Why won't you move??

Bumbo time.

Adam is able to string together sentences and conversations almost like a three year old, and creates new thoughts in an intelligent and creative way. He calls his toy guitar a violin. He turned to Mamie while watching a show, put his hand to his ear and said, "Oh, I hear a trumpet!" And he was right. But he still does the cute little toddler-speak. When the lights go out, he says, "It's darky!" (And despite my English, Literature, and Educational background, it's too cute to correct).

This was our discussion about whether he should take a nap on Friday. For the record, after discussing whether or not he was sleepy for 10 minutes, he went to his bed and fell asleep immediately.



He has changed Grandpa's name to "The Grand Pe-Pa." I have to admit I like that name better and it definitely fits my dad, who says it makes him feel like he should be the president of a lodge and wear a cloak and carry a scepter. Adam's memory is phenomenal and his ability to deduct and analyze is very advanced. Papa and Shane came in town last weekend and Shannon took them to the airport for a trip they were taking. Yesterday I was talking to Adam in the kitchen and he pointed at the refrigerator, where there were a strange set of keys hanging on a hook.

Adam: "Keys!"
Me: "You're right, there are keys there."
Then I stared at the keys, baffled, for about ten seconds, trying to figure out where they came from or what they went to. It never came to me.
Adam: "They Papa's keys."

Uh, duh. He was absolutely right. They were Papa's keys to his truck parked out front.

The three of them are great together. Adam's new favorite thing is to pose for pictures with the babies and see them together. "It's Baby Claire and Colin and Adam!"

Terrible quality. Cute picture.

Adam dotes on Claire and is on paci patrol - last Saturday while Colin was in the hospital, I was home with Adam and Claire, who were both on our bed while I picked up the room. Adam was digging through a bucket of baby things (wipes, lotion, etc.) and got excited. "I found 4 pacis!" They were all the baby pacis. So he gave one to Claire, and I left the room. When I came back 20 seconds later, she had a different one. I left again, and when I came back she had yet another one. This went on for some time and she sat there happily, testing out each paci as he pulled them out and stuck them back in her mouth. Colin mostly saves his smiles for mom or dad, and especially the Grand Pe Pa, but Claire, when she sees Adam, grins so big I think her cheeks must hurt. And when she's near Colin, she still snuggles in close.

Claire says: "Stop showing off, Adam."

Adam caring for a sick Colin

Cuddling with Claire on a Saturday morning.

My friend Megan suggested a photo editing software that I could try out at a fraction of the cost of Photoshop, and I ran out and got it. I have a little bit of experience with editing software because of work, but am at best an amateur when it comes to using the camera and even worse when it comes to editing, but I enjoy playing with it. I've done some fun things that could use improvement but maybe I'll get better... eventually. I pulled out some old pictures and played with some of them.

I was taking pictures of them together and got a few where Colin was smiling and a few where Claire was smiling, but never where both were smiling together. So I did a "photo blend" and put them together. I'm sure this will come in handy for... oh, the next 30 years or so.

Adam 4th of July 2011

Adam's first birthday May 2011

Adam and Dad Summer 2011

Adam at 5 months old

Claire 7 weeks

Colin 7 weeks

Colin 7 weeks

New picture for the Family Book

I am tired, I feel like if I wash one more sinkful of bottles or do one more load of laundry I may lose it. Somedays I feel like literally all I do is feed babies and change diapers, and I feel constant guilt that they don't get enough one-on-one time with me. I know that as time goes on, Adam, Colin and Claire will get bigger and my life will get a little easier, but as tired as I am, if I could freeze time in this moment forever, lying on our bed with my three smiley babies watching Curious George on a Friday morning while I write, I would be perfectly content.