Loud mouth Marsh men on Saturday morning

Not so loud...

Questioning Cooper

Cooper has been able to answer yes/no questions, animal sounds, how old are you, what do you want to eat, etc for awhile, but for the first time he answered a non-yes/no question about what happened in the past.

I asked him, "What did you have for dinner tonight?". He answered, "Lulu's house". I asked, "What did you eat?". He answered, "Spaghetti with covered cheese". (this means spaghetti covered in cheese)

Not all that interesting a conversation, but I have a feeling it is the beginning of something. He is about to start pre-school so I am curious how much he will come home and tell me about.

First lollipop!

I was looking through the photos on Chris's phone and discovered this gem. (Reagan and I were in the hospital - note Grandma's voice in the background.)

It's just all a bit too much sometimes

Over the past few weeks Cooper has started to fall asleep in his stroller, something he hasn't done for almost a year.

Maybe it is the warmer weather? Or him deciding to be more efficient with his time? (if he is stuck in the stroller might as well use the time wisely...)

Fattening up

Reagan has been on an eating binge since he got out of the hospital. I think he is trying to make up for lost time! He weighed in at 11.7lbs yesterday, which means he has gained about 1.3lbs since getting out of the hospital 10 days ago.

Bathtime!

Ah, one of those videos that will be so much fun to show Cooper when he is 16... :)

Remind you of anyone?

Reagan, two days ago:



Cooper, two years ago:

Is this worse than Mommy's finger in my ear?

Daddy was home when it was time for Cooper to wake up from his nap the past two days. Who do you think Cooper prefers?

Some people have teddy bears...

Cooper thinks his scooter is a better thing to take to bed.

Watch out Cooper, I am coming to get you!

Look at that head strength!

Rolling over???

Bad video, but he did it repeatedly (just not while I had the camera ready...)!

Dangers of waking your parents up at 6am

Payback! Cooper used to sleep until 9am, for the last week he has been waking up earlier and earlier, this morning it was 6am... He then follows this with a 3-hour midday nap. I think not! Today I woke him up from his nap after an hour, he was a very good sport about it!!

On our way home!

I forgot what he looked like!

Such a handsome boy without all that junk on his face!

We are hanging out at the hospital waiting for someone to tell us we can go home!

Reagan update - hopefully the penultimate

Another good day today! The oxygen tubes have been removed and his stats are holding strong. We should definitely be going home tomorrow!

Cooper came to visit again:

And... The unsung hero of the last week has been Grandma. I called her a week ago and said "I need my mommy!". She arrived the following day and has been doing the day shift all week. I am not sure what we would have done without her!!

Has moves like a healthy baby

Doctor and nurse both noted that Reagan looks bigger today, I agree!

He ate and slept very well last night. The last thing is the oxygen.

We have just turned it off and will see how he does today. The doc still hears a bit of wheezing in his chest, but she said that can last for awhile and does not need to clear completely before we go.

Tomorrow?? Home, tomorrow? Please!!!!

Reagan update

Reagan was taken off oxygen for 6-7 hours yesterday and coped very well for awhile. His stats then started to drop around midnight so we turned it back on.

The big news however is his eating! Without the feeding tube! He has been doing very well, taking down 80-100ml every 3 hours. That is about what you would expect of a totally healthy baby his size. Yeah!

We still have a bit to go as he is still working too hard to breathe and eat. His chest is still drawing in too much when he breathes and his heart rate is going up too high when he eats. However, he is definitely getting better. I am still optimistic about a Monday or Tuesday discharge.

Here he is chilling in his bouncy chair, without the feeding tube.

Take that, lung infection!

Reagan has had some ups and downs the last few days, but he is definitely getting better. The doctor is hearing less "crackling" sounds in his chest, he is having more of his feeds from the bottle, and is eating more every feed - we are up to 60ml every 2 hours.

However, thinking we would be out of here on Friday was overly optimistic. It is looking more like early next week.

Cooper, keeping Reagan company

Reagan update

It has been a long road, but I think we are definitely near the end. Reagan is on very low oxygen and has been for the last 48 hours and is doing very well. He is also taking many of his feeds from a bottle, instead of tube.

We have also increased his feeds from 40ml every two hours to 50ml and he still seems hungry! We will continue to increase feed size and time between feeds until he gets to about 90ml every 3 hours.

My guess at this point is that we will be going home on Friday.

Business class...

We were moved to a shared room on Monday afternoon. We stayed overnight, but by noon on Tuesday the alarm on the other baby's monitor, the Mother's hacking cough, the cell phone rings of her friends, etc, etc, we're driving me crazy and Reagan was not sleeping well.

We called our insurance company and after a short ambulance ride we are now in a private room at a private hospital down the road.

And they have room service that will deliver me coke with ice!!

Reagan and the nebulizer

He just loves it! The sound or the sensation, not sure what it is, but it really calms him.

Still sick, but in good spirits

Reagan is still having trouble breathing and eating, but he is not miserable (see video). He slept well last night and was rudely awoken by doctor taking blood this morning! He took it like a man though, and is calm and collected.

No one is making any predictions about when we might be going home, but it is looking like Tues/Wed at the earliest.

Cooper comes to visit

Cooper and Lou decided to come with Chris to the hospital this evening. Cooper loved the playroom, but was frustrated that all the toys were locked up.

He came in the room to see his brother, and when we were leaving he said "Come on, Reagan". :)

(Yes, he picked out his own shoes... And it was after bath time, hence the pajamas!)

Reagan: Update

Again, not a lot to report but wanted to let everyone know how Reagan was doing.

He is still on oxygen, they tried to lower the level but his O2 saturation went down so they raised it back up.

He continues to get feeds every 2 hours. We had minor success with the bottle today but most of his feeds have been through the tube. This is mostly because he has been peacefully sleeping at the 2 hour mark and no one wants to wake a sleeping baby, especially a sick one!

He also continues to regularly get suction and nebulizer treatments. While he hates the suction, it really seems to help, or he coughs and chokes on the mucus.

We are hoping to go home on Sunday, but that is still very up in the air at the moment.

Reagan: Update

I was informed that I never actually explained what was wrong with Reagan. . .

He has a viral lung infection called bronchiolitis.

You can find more info about it here:
http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/lung/bronchiolitis.html

It is hard to say, but he is pretty much no better and no worse than 24 hours ago, however, we seem to be doing a better job of making him comfortable. He is now regularly getting secretions sucked from his nose and mouth, saline treatments through a nebulizer and paracetomel. He has a mild temperature, but the paracetemol just seems to calm him down in general.

They have taken him off the continuous feeding and he is now getting fed every 2 hours, to make sure his system can handle a full stomach. We are also trying to get him to eat from a bottle again, but have only had mild success with that this afternoon. This is, of course, a requirement for him going home.

Most of the doctors we have seen say that the illness tends to peak at day 5, which will be tomorrow, Friday. So we should hopefully start seeing improvement by Saturday.

Big brother doesn't seem worried!

We got a new baby monitor that allows you to login through an iPhone app and get the video/audio feed no matter where you are. I decided to check how Cooper was doing while I am here at the hospital with Reagan. Looks pretty happy!

Reagan: Update

1:30am: Reagan is now getting a continuous feed through the tube. This seemed like a good idea as we aren't dependent on his nurse being free every hour to feed him, but the machine keeps having errors and alarms... Add that to the alarms for his O2 saturation and heart rate (neither are a problem but just fluctuate alot and cause alarms) that I don't think either of us will be getting much sleep tonight.

He is using a dummy (pacifier) for the first time and seems to like it. It does make his heart rate go up alot, we are thinking frustration that no milk is coming out??

Reagan: Feeding tube...

He is now getting fed through a tube in his nose. The idea being that he is putting so much effort in to breathing that he is not eating well because he is tired.

Admitted...

And on oxygen. :(

Back at the hospital with Reagan

They want us to stay here at least for the day to observe him (He isn't getting enough oxygen.). He got a paracetamol suppository which appears to have worked wonders. He fell asleep almost immediately and without assistance and is sleeping calmly.

Sick again!

Cooper and I spent the night on the floor in the living room. (I have no idea why this was his spot of choice...) Reagan and I spent the morning at the emergency room. (We went to regular doc in the morning and he sent us there.) Luckily we are all home now and both boys seem to be on the mend.

Smiling Reagan?

The Bathtime Ritual

Things to note:
1. Holding up his feet for socks
2. My favorite, bending his legs to take diaper off
3. Not common, but funny, closing the door on Mommy!

Two glasses of wine with dinner...