Entries in BamBam (11)
I am going to be with BamBam by myself on the flight to Aruba Wednesday. Hoping that these make the trip pass a little quicker:
OK, so George of the Jungle is more for me. Brendan Fraser in a loin cloth...meow.
(Oh, and yep, I will earn a couple of pennies if you click on the links and actually buy something at amazon.)
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Sorry I've gone MIA on you. I pretty much slept away the weekend in a cold medicine induced fog. I woke up this morning and finally felt human again. There's some serious shitz going around these parts.
Enough about me...
SO, BamBam is doing OK. His fevers haven't returned, however, he is having horrible night sweats. His little hands and feet are also freezing cold at times...something is going on still.
He doesn't have pneumonia or bronchitis, no strep, no flu A or B, no mono, no CMV, no bacteria in his blood, pretty sure he doesn't have appendicitis. His CBC is fairly normal, a few things slightly off, but nothing crazy.
Enough about what he doesn't have. What do we know?
His sed rate is a little high. He has swollen lymph nodes around his appendix. He's pretty tired and pale at times with horrible night sweats. His appetite is improving.
Our doctors? They're stumped and concerned. We're being referred to an Infectious Disease Specialist.
To keep everything in perspective...he's doing OK, really. My friend's beautiful baby...the one I mentioned here...she has a hole in poor little heart. They're finding out today just how bad it is. She's so tiny and sweet and I got to hold her again last night...and, yes, my ovaries were glowing.
If you're looking for a laugh, I'd love to have the energy to tell you about the blackmail church visit my husband and Princess had this weekend, but I think I've lost my funny. Last saw it in Aruba...might need to go back to retrieve it. I'll try to muster up the energy soon.
Any good thoughts/positive energy/prayers you can send this way would be greatly appreciated...and returned when you need it.
THE Mommy
BamBam was in good spirits yesterday. He was almost back to his normal 2 year old self while at the doctor's office. They went through his file and did a complete time line of his symptoms with us.
The Bad News: They still don't know what is going on.
The Good News: Since he's gained back 3 of the 4 pounds that he lost and isn't having fevers, they are going to rule out leukemia, malaria and a dozen other very scary scenarios. They are pretty confident that he is on the mend. We are going to do a stool sample (THAT should be a joy collecting!) to rule out a parasite or other bacteria. We're going to follow up in a couple of weeks with another ultrasound to check his lymph nodes.
SO, unless he spikes another fever or has severe abdominal pain or his lymph nodes are bigger in a couple of weeks, we're back to life as usual :):)
I think he understood what they were saying to us because he decided to sleep in his own room last night and stayed there the entire night. It was the best night sleep I have gotten in a long, long time.
…or lack there of. I took BamBam for his abdominal ultrasound early this morning. It was such a strange thing to have him on the table, seeing the insides of his little belly on the screen. Just 3 years ago, he was growing inside me and we were looking at those same little organs. At one point, he looked up at me and asked to hold my hand. It flashed me back to being in the exact same position, reaching for my husband’s hand. Scared because they were trying to figure out why I was suddenly bleeding and having contractions. What a trip. I didn’t have any expectations of learning anything from the ultrasound tech. I know how it works. They’re not allowed to say anything. You wait until the doctor receives the results and they get back to you. Today, not so true.
OK, not quite up to 101 yet, but we’re adding to the list daily.
*Wait until fever gets to 103 to bring out in the freezing cold
*Poke around inside infected ear
*Force to take “yummy” medicine 2x/day for 10 days
*IV in ER, 5 tries until one “sticks”
*Flu swab up nose
*Strep swab in back of throat
*Sit very still for chest x-rays, twice
*More needles for more blood work, poke around until you hit the vein
*Put sticker around penis and pull off in order to collect urine sample
*TB test, another needle with stingy substance put into arm
Something to look forward to tomorrow:
Withhold food or drink in morning for ultrasound of abdomen
The good news = no fever yesterday or today
The bad news = they’ve consulted an Infectious Disease Specialist (OK, that’s not exactly bad, but it sounds a bit scary)
They lost me at abdominal ultrasound. The rest sounded like Charlie Brown’s teacher saying @#$ @#$ @#$. Something got mentioned about the possibility of more tests down at Boston Children’s Hospital. Doctors should really offer a tape recording of their conversations with parents…it’s so difficult to absorb everything while trying to console a crying 2 year old.
I could really use that SuperMommy sidekick about now…or maybe a clone of me so that one of us could get some sleep and a little work done.
Heather, can we add cloning machine to our list for the Shining City Upon a Hill? If we can have a portal to Aruba, I think that can be done too, right?
Sorry, if you're looking for an actual HOW TO, not gonna find it here...yet. If you give me to the end of the day though, I'm sure to be an expert.
They want me to take him to go pee in a cup. He's 2 1/2. Still in diapers. Lucky if I can get him to pee in the potty once a day. He certainly does not know how to pee on command...into a little itty bitty cup. If they can't get a sterile sample the "easy" way, they are going to insert a catheter. Ouch baby, very ouch.
Also, they want to do more blood work...damn vampires. There goes my promise of no ow ows. That didn't last for long. Bad Mommy.
A little secret? I'm not strong enough for this today. I have a fever, chills and ache from head to toe. I seemed to have misplaced my Super Mom cape...anyone seen it? Check over there, behind the couch cushion...that's where Princess keeps shoving her dirty snot rags.
If I can't find my cape, maybe we'll find that portal to Aruba while we're at the hospital...THAT way, Mommy.
THE Mommy
Peeing in a cup didn't actually happen. BamBam tried. A for effort. Luckily, they offered a back up plan before sticking in a catheter. They gave us what they called a "pediatric urine bag" to try out at home. It was a sterile bag that with a hole and tape in the appropriate areas. I was able to stick it on him and put a pull up on him. He sat down this morning to eat breakfast and yelled out Mommy, pee pee bag! when he had gone. I was a bit skeptical, but he did indeed fill the pee pee bag. I was able to safely rip it off him and dump the contents into a sterile cup. No spillage, not too much damage to sensitive areas.
Two thoughts about the pediatric urine bag. 1) If he had pooped, that would have been soooo very gross. and 2) I wonder if they make these in adult sizes...this would be cool for long road trips...although the rippage factor on an adult...oh, I won't go there.
The blood work yesterday was a bit more than I bargained for. I convinced him that it would just be a little ow ow before entering the hospital. Although it wasn't as bad as the 4 failed IV attempts, I'm still a big fat liar. The blood culture tests required them to take a sample from two separate areas. They took a total of 3 vials from each of his little arms. At least they were equipped with SpongeBob bandaids.
He was asleep before we left the parking lot of the hospital. I'll update again later when we get results.
BamBam ended up back at the hospital yesterday. Despite being on an antibiotic for 7 days, his fever returned. With. A. Rage. It was up to 103.3 on Thursday when he woke up from his nap. It keeps spiking in the 103 range in between doses of Tylenol and Motrin. We’re alternating the two now, at the advice of our doctor.
His ear infections seemed cleared up, but they’re worried about his lungs. This go around, they did a flu test. Stuck a swab up his nose. THAT was a joy.
They then followed up with a strep test. Stuck a swap in the back of this throat. Good times.
Off we went to get an x-ray of his chest. Thank GOD for Go-Diego-Go and Scooby Doo stickers. These people understand what it takes to make a kid happy after torturing him.
Every time they came at him wanting to poke or prod, he would look at me and say Mommy, no ow ow. He is referring to the IV in the ER. Remember, it took 5 tries to finally get it. I keep promising him that they will not be sticking a needle into him…I whisper this time each time. God help me the next time he does need a shot or IV…the look on his face is going to break my heart.
The verdict? It’s definitely viral, although we still need to finish the round of antibiotics to make sure the ear infections are gone for good. They are not sure if this is the same RSV (?) virus from 2 weeks ago popping up, or if he has since come down with the flu (?).
The poor kid only got 3-4 good days before getting struck down again. Luckily, he gained back 3 of the 4 pounds that he lost from the first round. Hopefully that will carry him through if he goes on another hunger strike. My beefy little BamBam is looking a little skinny these days. And pale, despite 6 ½ weeks in Aruba.
SO, here I am. Stuck under a sick 2 year old again. Time is standing still while I catch up on…TV. It wouldn’t be bad if he didn’t insist on me being underneath him 24/7…I could possible do something, oh, like work or laundry perhaps.
When we were at the hospital, he kept pointing to a door that said “Employees Only”, saying Mommy, Aruba THAT way.
I wish, little one, I wish.
BamBam is now 2 years and 5 months. I was hoping to let him run around naked down here in Aruba to help speed up his potty training. He has taken an interest in the potty about 25% of the time that he needs it. He's simply not ready to make the full leap. It's a novelty to him...a toy...a way to earn jelly beans as treats...not quite a way of life yet.
Enter the Pull Up.
He loves his Pull Ups. He likes to be a big boy and change his own wet pull up. He's so darn independent these days. I am completely fine with this. I even encourage him to take responsibility for them. He loves the attention he gets when he can throw away his "old up" and put on a new one. I love that I don't have to change every single one of his diapers all day long.
The problem?
Poop.
Ever had a 2 year old try to change his own poopy pull up? I did. Bright and early this morning. A nice, squishy poop that smeared down his legs, all over his feet and on the floor. All in 2.2 seconds. I was standing right there.
Gag! I *heart* bleach.
I mentioned recently that Princess and BamBam are so addicted to blueberries that they will eat them until they literally poop them whole.
They were sharing a bath last night. I was sitting with them in the bathroom reading a magazine while they played. Truly the only times I get to read a magazine these days is when they are in the tub or when BamBam decides to attempt a rare poop on the potty.
I get pulled out of Martha Stewart’s world of things I’d love to have time to do for Christmas, but don’t…to Princess screaming:
MOMMY, BamBam pooped!!!
OH, YES…HE DID.
I look into the tub expecting to see a lone floaty…instead I see that he had diarrhea…and the kicker…a random floating blueberry in the water.
*gag* Bleach is my new best friend.
I almost don’t want to ask if this has happened to you. I’m still feeling like I want to throw up and your stories might send me over the edge.
I said almost. Go ahead. I’d love to hear your gross bathtub stories. Leave a comment. Please? My kid can’t be the only one pooping in the tub? Can he?
Good News:
I got to watch the ENTIRE Patriots Game without interruption yesterday. And what a great game it was! The Patriots remain undefeated…and even better, the Colts lost…nah, nah. Hey, I never claimed to be the mature one .
Bad News:
You didn’t think I’d be able to sit and watch football for about 3 ½ hours uninterrupted without having to PAY, did you?! Of course not. BamBam was on top of me the whole time…a puddle…he had a fever of 103.
--
For the record, Peyton Manning bothers me…more like he gives me the “ick”. This has nothing to do with the fact that he is quarterback for the Colts and they are the Patriot’s Rival Team…really, nothing to do with it. The ick started WAY, WAY before. I have yet to put my finger on exactly why he bothers me so much. Isn’t it weird to have such strong feelings against someone you’ve never met? I’m not usually that judgmental. But I’ve got to say it: I think the guy is dumb as rocks and speaks like he has potatoes in his mouth.
BamBam’s fever seems to be better, right around 100 this morning. He didn’t eat dinner last night, but just demanded 3 packages of oatmeal for breakfast. Needless to say, I’m keeping him home from school today. That should be a joy. Hope I don’t regret the oatmeal.
I have a ton of work to do…the kind that is time sensitive and needs to get done asap. Should be a fun, fun day!
Our 2 year old, BamBam, went for his first dentist appointment today. In case you haven’t been following along, I felt like the Loser Parent of the Year when I took 5 year old Princess for her first visit and found out that she had 7, yep, 7 cavities…and ended up getting a crown put on one of her molars.
I had very low expectations today for BamBam’s visit. He is still not letting me help him brush on a regular basis. BusyDad recommended declaring war on the “Tooth Germ Army” setting up camp in his mouth. Cool idea, loved it. Yep, that worked for a day. There have been times when I’m tempted to try Joeprah’s approach of intimidation and hitting…but I’m pretty sure certain he was just kidding.
I must say that The Kid’s Dentist is awesome. I don’t think they’re a chain, but I would highly recommend finding someone who markets being "kid friendly" near you. They’ve spent a lot of time and creativity pimping out their office. BamBam was sooo in awe of the birds and the snake in the waiting room. (I got a little nervous when we couldn’t find the snake in his cage, but they assured me he was hiding somewhere in there!) He wore his special sunglasses and opened wide like a shark. My little man charmed the heck out of the technician and let her count his teeth, scrape plaque, shoot water into his mouth and use “Mr. Thirsty” to suck everything up. He made his Mommy proud.
And, the good news, he doesn’t have any cavities!
Isn’t that the reason why you have more than one kid? You learn your lessons by messing up on the first one and do things (somewhat) right the next time around? Oooo…I should add that to my reasons why we SHOULD have a 3rd…maybe we’d succeed at keeping that one in his/her own bed all night! Really screwed that one up with Princess and BamBam!
Anything within the parenting realm that you’d like to do differently if you got a “do over” with a next child? Anyone with 3 (or more) kids want to share reasons why we should/should not have another? Please leave a comment.
