Scary Stuff

Monday night was one of the scariest nights of my life, but let me back up.

Saturday, we had gone to Sunapee for the day. Given that I had severe allergies whenever I was in Sunapee when I was a kid, I thought that Eliot's runny nose and other symptoms were just symptoms of his allergies (not that he had ever exhibited environmental allergies before; I just thought he must be like his Mama).

When we got home that night, I put him in the shower/bath. I thought if we cleaned him up, got all the allergens off his skin and clothes, he would feel better.

We put him to bed.

The next day, he was still having all the same symptoms (mostly nasal symptoms, watery eyes, etc.) and I wondered how long allergies last once removed from the situation. Then, the cough started. It was a productive, junky cough. He sounded awful. That's when I realized he was sick, though, I thought it was just a cold.

We put him to bed that night (Sunday night) and he woke up quite a bit. He really couldn't sleep because he was coughing so much and his nose was running like a faucet. He had a fever of about 101. I wasn't too concerned. Over the Winter, when he was sick, I took him in and assured me it was"just a virus." When he still had the same symptoms days later, I took him BACK in and they told me that his chest was clear and it was "just a virus." I have heard the "just a virus" line SO SO many times in my OWN life as well (which is why when I was sick two weeks ago with Strep C, bronchitis & sinusitis, it took me 5 days before I went to the Dr. Who wants to waste time going to the Dr. and be told (again) that it's just a virus?) So, I didn't take Eliot in either. A fever of 101 is nothing in kids.

As the day went on, I started to notice his breathing was quite fast. About an hour before Ted got home from work, I really noted to myself how odd it looked. When Ted got home, I asked him to go sit near Eliot, listen to him breathe and tell me what he thought. At this time, we could also hear a little bit of a wheeze. This is when we knew that we had to get him checked; the question was just of when.

Just then, my Mother-in-law called and she told us to call right away. We did. They told us to go to their after hours center in Boston or to the Winchester Hospital ER. All of my experiences with the ER have been wait, wait, wait, be seen, wait some more, go home and 2:00AM. However, I knew we wouldn't be able to make it to the Boston office by the time they closed. Ted and I decided to take him to the prompt care center about 20 minutes North of us.

We got there. They called his name for him to go into triage.

"You should have gone straight to the ER"

And then she called out to the area of Doctors behind her " THIS BABY IS GOING TO NEED A ROOM. HE IS RETRACTING"

I think both Ted's and my hearts sank simultaneously right then. We knew that our little guy was sick, but we didn't realize that it could be anything really serious.

They put us in a room and started him on breathing treatments.

We were waiting for the Doctor to come in and that's when things got worse. He became very pale and his eyes started to roll into the back of his head. He wouldn't even really respond to me.

I honestly thought that I was going to end up with a patient bracelet around my own wrist. Honest to God, I thought I wasn't going to make it through the night without passing out or going crazy or something. I was just so scared. Scared for my son and scared because I am scared about ANYTHING medical in the first place! Combining the two is pretty much my worst nightmare.

Nurses flooded the room. One gave him an IV while another gave him a dose of a steroid called prednizone.

They told us we were going to the Winchester Hospital ER and that the ambulance was on it's way. I could NOT believe what I was hearing. Only one of us could go into the ambulance with him and of course, it was going to be me. I had never been in an ambulance either. When they have truck day, I don't even like LOOKING in an ambulance; it gives me a panic attack. And here I was having to ride in one with my sick son.

The ambulance got there and they brought the stretcher in. They strapped in his car seat to the stretcher and they wheeled him out. (Did I mention that the EMT driver was very possibly, no, absolutely the MOST handsome man I have ever seen in my entire existence? Of course, he was driving and the other one sat back with us). We had an OK ride. Eliot was starting to become a little bit more aware at this point. He kind of thought it was cool that he was in an ambulance. When we were almost to the hospital, he asked for cake. That was pretty funny.

We got to the ER and they took him right into a room. He had several nice nurses and Doctors and Eliot was SUCH a trooper. Everyone commented on what a good boy he was. He just let them take his BP, temp, oxygen levels, etc. without so much as a fuss. One nurse had bubbles that were "magic bubbles." You could catch them on your fingers (or hair, leg, or wherever they decided to land). Ted pointed up to the vent in the ceiling and you could see them all stuck up there, haha.

Then my Mom came. I was so happy to have her there. I felt like I needed someone for Eliot and someone for me. Eliot was so happy to see "Manya." They sat in the bed together and read stories. She also brought him some of his favorite snacks (yogurt melts) which he ate as well. (Which was so nice because he hadn't eaten all day).

We went for a chest x-ray and went back to the room to wait some more. The x-ray was pretty much clear (no pneumonia like they had first thought), but his breathing was still quite rapid so they wanted to admit him.

I snuck home to take a shower and by the time I got back, Eliot was in his own room (waiting for me). We made ourselves comfortable in the bed and Ted went to the front desk and requested Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder DVDs for us (both are Eliot's favorites). We watched Thomas until 2:30 AM when Eliot finally drifted off to sleep. (Did I mention that those steroids are uppers? He was wired).

The nurses came in every 2 hours and the respiratory therapist came in to give him breathing treatments every 3 hours. Eliot slept through it ALL. Of course, it woke me up every time, but that's a small price to pay. I was so happy that he was responding so well to the treatments and that he was resting comfortably.

Eliot had lots of visitors the next day. My Mom, Dad & sister, My Nana & Papa, Eliot's other Grandma and Grandpa and also his little friend, AJ who lives downstairs from us. Out of all the people, I think he was most excited to see AJ. Of course, AJ came after a dose of the prednizone so he was wired and ready to play. Because Eliot had a fever when he was first admitted, he wasn't allowed to leave his room so the child life specialist came in and brought Eliot a big cozy coupe car to keep in our room. He was so cute playing with it. He kept parking it in the 'garage' (bathroom). He and AJ had a swell time playing with the car.

By mid-afternoon, we got news that Eliot was going to be released. He was responding well to the treatments and as long as we kept them up at home, he could go home. Thank GOD! We were home by dinner time.

My parents bought and brought us the most delicious dinner (and dessert) from Friendly's and I slept better than I have in years last night from being so tired.

Eliot is doing much better today. He still has a cough, but that's pretty much the only evidence that we have left of the whole ordeal. Well, that, and his repertoire of medicines. We have an appointment at 3:00 today for a follow up with his pediatrician, but I suspect that will go fine too. I am SO proud of my son and how strong he is. He amazes me.

(ALL PICS TAKEN WITH EITHER MY IPHONE OR MY SISTERS P&S CAMERA)

Sunapee

This past weekend was my first free Saturday of the Summer (can you believe it?) so we made plans to trek up to Sunapee to see my grandparents and have a nice fun-filled, sun-filled day. Ted never made it up there last year due to his packed travel schedule for his former job (glad that's D-O-N-E!). I took Eliot once last year with my parents for the day, but we knew that he would appreciate it so much more this year-- and he did. He swam, played in the sand, played with the hose, went for a boat ride (Great-Grandpa even let him drive the boat!), got to sit in not ONE, but TWO diggers (my grandparents neighbor owns two), went out for ice cream & walked around the Sunapee Harbor and watched all the boats. He loved the boats.

We really had such a nice day. We thought that Eliot might have allergies just like his Mama had up there when she was little, but he's not got a cold so we're not sure if he was just getting sick or if it maybe was a little bit of both.

The weather was really nice... not quite as hot as I would have liked it for a day in NH, but I actually did go in the water anyhow. The water was actually quite nice (yes, I said that!). Eliot was freezing at one point, shivering, but refused to get out of the water. I'm sure that didn't help with his cold situation much, but he really loves the water. He has no fear about the water either, which in turn scares me.

It was a really nice day and I hope we get the chance to go up once more before the Summer's end.

Noah

The Cape 2010

We had our annual trip down to the Cape last weekend. Ted's family rents a nice house there for the same two weeks in July every year. We were down there with Ted's parents and his two sisters' and their families. I think we had 13 people staying in that house with 5 of them being children 6 years or under. It was a little crazy at times, but it was fun and of course, Eliot had a wonderful time with his cousins. He absolutely loved the beach. He asked to go back to the beach several times a day. He enjoyed digging in the sand with his "diggers" and shovels, but even more than that, he loved swimming in the ocean with Daddy.




When we weren't at the beach, we were just hanging around the house playing with bubbles, or coloring sand art with chalk, snacking, or listening to Auntie Carolyn read stories:


And of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some great photos of the kids in front of the beautiful blue hydrangeas:

It was a nice time with great weather. It's always nice to get away, even for just a few days. The change of pace is nice. We really enjoyed our family time together and there's no question that Eliot did too.

"Nat"

This summer I decided to try out a Mommy & Me Gymnastics class (or "nat" as Eliot calls it). He loves it! There are so many different structures and things to play on. He loves to somersault, go down the slide (go figure; we have one of those at both grandparents houses), play parachute, especially with "popcorn" (small, soft balls that pop off of the parachute and go everywhere. Eliot loves picking them up and putting them either back in the middle of the parachute or away in the bucket), he loves the scooters (he gets on his belly, holds onto a hoola-hoop and either I or one of the teachers will pull him around the gym, and he loves anything that looks (even a little) like a tunnel. I think gymnastics is one of his favorite times of the week for sure.

Last week, I asked if I could take a few photos (for the blog of course!) and the teacher was thrilled. She asked if she could have a few copies to put on her website. Normally, I don't work for free, but I was shooting anyhow and I figure lots of parents will see the website (with my watermarked photos) so it can't be a bad thing.

So come Fall, I'm pretty sure Eliot will be featured on the Flips & Giggles Gymnastics website. Here are a few photos that I shot. (I just want to mention that I don't love any of them, but they get the point across).

(Also want to mention that I blurred out Eliot's classmate for privacy purposes).

July 10th; My Birthday

For my birthday this year, my parents were kind enough to take Eliot overnight from the 9th into the 10th so that Ted and I could go on a nice date, come home, sleep through the night and late into the morning. Ahhhh... it was nice :)

We picked up Ted at my parents house just after lunch time and he hadn't napped yet so we took him home to nap. When he woke up, we had just had a few sunshowers outside which left behind some decent puddles. I was inspired to dress Eliot up a little and have a mini shoot of our own. Eliot was unsure about walking in the boots, but he really loved splashing in those puddles!


Oh, and Ted let Eliot pick out whichever card he wanted to buy me for my birthday. Ted insists that he showed Eliot all of the "Mother" cards, but he said no to each one. This is what he ended up picking for me (I will cherish it forever):

4th of July Festivties

One year later and here is my 60th post! I am so proud of myself for keeping up this blog as well as I have (though some months, I have been better at it than others). This is (just about) my one year blogging anniversary. Many more to come!

These photos are a little late because I have been so busy with my photography business that personal photos and edits have to take a backseat (usually). But today is my birthday and I want to do MY pics on MY birthday. That's fair right? (Although I do have a client waiting for theirs-- I'll be playing catch-up this week).

For the 4th, we went up to stay with my grandparents in New Hampshire. We went to the Laconia parade. The adults weren't too thrilled with the parade (a lot of political campaigning and not much else), but Eliot was beyond thrilled. He got to see fire engines, and people waving at him (and him waving back and saying "hi" (which actually sounds more like "ha"), and he even got a few lolipops thrown his way. What's not to love for a 21 month old little boy?

His mouth dropped wide open when he saw the line of fire trucks!
This one is actually one of my favorite photos; my Papa Dick :)

When we got back from the parade, we were hot and tired... and Eliot was sticky from all of his parade treats. I suggested we turn on the sprinkler and let Eliot run through it. It was freezing cold and it wasn't as slow and soft as the sprinkler we have at my parents house. Eliot was a little hesitant to go through it ( and it really didn't help that he was exhausted), but we had a little bit of fun. What he really loved, though, is when Nana came out with the watering can. The boy loves to water the flowers... and grass... and cement.

Canobie Lake & Sprinkler Fun

These photos were from last Thursday (7.1) and Friday (7.2). Ted's company started rotating hours effective 7.1 so I thought it would be a great idea to take advantage of his new (temporary) early hours and meet him after work with Eliot so that we could head over to Canobie Lake Park. We timed it just right so we got there just after 5:00pm (when the discounted tickets go on sale). We had such a fun time as a family, but we quickly make the decision that we probably wouldn't come back until Eliot was a little taller. Most of the rides were for 48"+ and some where 36", but Eliot is only about 33". It was sad when he realllyyy wanted to go on the fire engine rides, but couldn't, but he had a blast just going on the Merry-Go-Round. I also thought it would be a great idea to take him on the teacups (anybody who can sit up on their own can go on the teacups). I seemed to remember that ride from my earliest trip to Canobie. I think I remembered it wrong because MAN, was that scary! Haha. I'm finding that I can't handle things in my old age the way I used to be able to. I mean, the tea cups, seriously? They whipped around and spun like crazy. I was so dizzy afterwards that I had to wait a few minutes before I could even get OUT of the darn thing. And poor Eliot. He didn't cry, but he was scared. Ted and I tried to hold him close and keep him assured that he was fine and that this was "fun". Yeah right. He can't go on the mini fire engines that go 2 mph, but THIS they let him go on? Nuts!

He really enjoyed playing games, though. At the arcade, he had a blast driving the cars. Mostly, we just let him pretend. Once we did put the $.50 in and let him drive. I did the gas for him while he steered. He didn't do so well. I'm pretty sure he came in 40th out of 40. I'm sure I didn't help his cause any.



Perhaps his favorite thing at Canobie was the duck game. They have floating ducks (probably close to 100) that float down a 'river.' Each duck had a number written on the bottom that corresponded with a prize. He got to pick two. He loved it! He won some silly little trinkets (an airplane and a mini snake), but he just loved that game. He is still talking about the "quack" game.

One of our last adventures at Canobie was taking a ride in the antique cars. Eliot drove, with Ted next to him in the front, while I sat in the back. Thank goodness that the cars are on a track ;) But he really did have so much fun.

On our way out, Ted stopped with Eliot to show him the "starblaster" where they lift you up three stories high and drop you and repeat. And repeat. His face watching that ride was priceless!


Friday was much less eventful, but still resulted in some cute photos. Friday= laundry day at the folks house. It was beautiful out so we set up the sprinkler (that I got on $5 clearance at the end of the season last year) and just let Eliot play away.



(Bottom two pics were from just before the sprinkler adventures)