January II

All three boys love morning snuggles in my bed.

Perry loves when the boys leave their toys on the floor.

His only contained space besides bed is the highchair.

Scott was sick all week with fevers and croup.

He stayed home while Jonah went to preschool and lined up all of Perry's bath toys for him.

I feel like a better mom when the kids have creative time, even if it's just play-doh.

Catching up on some sleep. Scott is not a napper, so I could tell he needed the rest.

We finally got a referral for a pediatric dentist and took Jonah in for his first check-up.

The boys loved the tablets in the waiting room, tv screens on the ceiling over the chairs and prizes.

Perry loved this kid-height sink.

The boys did great and were cleared for another six months.

I picked up the activities Scott missed at preschool so he wouldn't miss out. They made the cutest penguins.

When I volunteered in class, we were matching things with the letters they started with and the boy put this sailboat on y for "yacht." I wish my kids knew what yachts were!

I finally bought an outie-outie piece so we can officially use every train track piece now.

Happy boy in his bath.

Escaping from the roomba.

Sometimes the only way I can make dinner is to have Perry sampling in his highchair, but then he's no longer hungry by the time we're eating. So he hangs out on John's shoulders.

Jonah couldn't reach the balloon so he fetched the step stool.

Grumpy morning face.

People kept saying it was nice to have 2 boys in a row because I could re-use clothes, but they were opposite seasons and most of it didn't overlap until the bigger sizes. Now by the time things get to Perry they're stained and worn out. I know by the time I sew his toes, he'll have outgrown this.

The boys got a tool set for Christmas from a sweet neighbor. I knew they would love it at first, then lose interest. Which was exactly what happened. What I didn't foresee was Perry loving it. He chews on the pieces and crawls around holding them.

Trying to get a picture of Perry and Jonah couldn't stay away from him.

Helping with laundry. 

Perry play house ie baby jail.

The day after Scott got better, Jonah and Perry woke up with croup and fevers. That night Perry was in the highchair and became nonresponsive and was turning blue. We didn't know what was going on. John called 911 and I tried sweeping his airway in case it was from food, which we didn't think he had left on his tray, and suctioning his throat in case it was phlegm somehow impeding oxygen flow. He came back around and the paramedics had us drive him to the er. After an exam and xrays they think it was just a febrile seizure.

Four nights later he woke up at 3am crying, but settled back down. I was really nervous about how labored his breathing was, but John figured he was sleeping again, so he'd be fine. I called the advice nurse to be sure because I felt so anxious. 

We were already doing every possible thing they recommended and had been since he got sick. Eventually the doctor listened to his breathing over the phone and told me to take him to the er immediately and if he stopped breathing on the way to pull over and call an ambulance. So my anxiety went through the roof and back to the hospital we went. These pictures are all from the second visit, because I was taking them to send to John as I updated him.

His stridor actually cleared up a lot in the cold air, but they thought it sounded awful in the waiting room and took him right in. He had a steroid shot and mist nebulizer. By morning he was still not totally clear, so they admitted him to the hospital to try an epinephrine breathing treatment. They gave him tiny newborn bottles of milk. I said he'll need about 4 of those and I think he drank 5.

They sent us home with another steroid dose if needed, which I appreciated because I didn't want to have to go back to the emergency room if he had it come back. I was exhausted and don't like waiting for treatment and we were out of flex spending funds. The next day we gave him the medicine and thankfully he didn't need it after that. Other than being tired and clingy, he was still such a sweetheart.

The croup lingered for a few weeks, but the stridor was gone and he mostly slept better after that. Ironically, Jonah, who has always been the sickest kid, was fine after 1 day. Scott went in for an earache the next week, but it was just a little inflamed from his cold and not infected. He was upset about being sick a second time and missing preschool again. It was a rough month for all of us.

In the midst of all that, John's sisters came to visit and we missed out on almost all of it. Once they weren't contagious, we went to the discovery museum with Olivia and Annabel.

Perry still looks sleepy and out of it, but I didn't realize it at the time because he was so much better than the previous week.

The boys loved getting out of the house and I put our admission toward an annual pass so we can go back again all year.

Perry helping daddy at his office at church. 

I hate Perry getting bigger, but I wasn't sad when January was over.