{Brave Ben}

Our sweet Ben is in the ICU at Texas Children's. He has bronchiolitis and his body is not handling it well. We brought him to the ER on Friday night due to labored breathing where they treated him by suctioning his naval cavity. His conditioned improved and we were discharged at about 2 am. By the next morning, he seemed to be laboring again. We watched him over the day and saline/suctioned him. Saturday night/Sunday morning he started becoming lethargic, wasn't eating well, vomited, showed signs of dehydration and his breath count started to rise. We brought him back to the ER where the doctors tried 4 different treatments on him to improve his condition. At this point his breaths were 100 per minute (normal is 20-30). They decided to sedate and incubate him as his body was tiring out and it was becoming a dangerous situation. They moved him to the ICU which is where we are now with him. Now we give him time to fight the virus with his body not in distress since the machines are breathing for him. He is getting antibiotics, pain medication and breathing treatments as well. We are hoping that in a few days we can start weening him off the ventilator and talk about him coming home.

This has been one of the hardest, most frightening days I have ever experienced. I ask that you keep our brave Ben in your prayers tonight and over the next few days. We hope that he heals and is able to come home soon.

{Pneumonia}

You read that right...Luke has pneumonia. 

This weekend he has been running a low-grade fever, but he has been acting normal for the most part.  Then last night about 7:30, I just looked at him and knew he had taken a turn for the worst.  I took his temperature and it was 102.9, so I went running for the medicine to hopefully bring his fever down.  After taking it again about an hour later, it was 103.6.  I quickly called the pediatrician's office and waited for someone to call back.  I talked with a nurse from Texas Children's and she told me how to handle the fever and his congestion/cough.  She said no need to call back regarding a high fever unless it reaches 105.  About 10:30 pm I took his temperature again and it was 104.  Chat and I quickly pulled him out of bed, undressed him down to a diaper, laid him on the bathroom floor and started giving him a sponge bath with cool water to bring his temperature down -- he was bright red and was so hot to the touch.  Luke was very brave during all of this, only whimpering and looking a bit dazed.  The sponge bath brought his fever down to about 101 and he seemed to be much more comfortable.  So my night was spent waking up every 2 hours to take his temperature (it was around the 102.5 range all night) and give him medicine. 

Once he was up this morning, we went to the doctor and the diagnosis was pneumonia.  He has fluid in his right lung and right ear and his breathing is very labored.  She prescribed antiobiotics to treat the pneumonia and the ear infection and said that he should be getting better within 24 to 48 hours, and if not, to bring him back for xrays.  Many prayers that he has a quick recovery and that our household is sick-free very soon!!!

{Lately}

I have been a bit absent from this blog lately due to the demands of two little boys, so I am going to do an update in bullets once again so I document a few things before they disappear into my terrible memory.
 

• Ben is growing at a rapid speed.  I have a baby scale at the house and it read 15 lbs 2 ounces today, but that is with his diaper on so he is probably a few ounces less than that.  I imagine he will be hitting the 15 lb mark though by Monday -- when he will be 6 weeks!  He is definitely bigger than Luke was at this age which I thought was impossible. 
• Ben is wearing size 2 diapers and I have started putting him in 3-6 month clothes.  They are a bit long, but he is busting out of 0-3 month clothes so we are in that awkward in between stage.
• Sleep is still very irregular and sometimes even absent at times. He has made a couple of 4 hour stretches, but it will be followed by a night of 1 to 2 hour stretches.  I am hoping he starts a pattern soon and makes more of those 4+ hour stretches before I lose my mind.
• He has been going down for the night much later this week than previous weeks.  He tends to go to bed around 11:30 or 12 which makes for a very long day for this mama :).  I can't wait till he goes to bed at the same time as Luke!  Seriously, I think that is my biggest wish right now...to have 1 or 2 hours at night to call my own so I can recharge.  There isn't much recharging going on right now.
• Ben has lost a lot of his hair in the front so it looks like he has a receding hairline. His eyebrows are starting to come in though.  So he is chubby and balding...sounds like a 50 year old man already!  Just kidding.  He is such a cutie!
• His eyes are still blue but expecting them to change to brown over the next few weeks.
• Ben is nursing on demand still.  I am trying to work on going 3 hours between each feeding, but it isn't really happening yet.  He does that better in the afternoon, but mornings he is more of a snacker.  He seems to be more content though when awake if he has full feedings with time in between.   
• I have received a few smiles from him this week which is so sweet and melts my heart.  It makes it all worth it :).     
• Sickness is definitely here at our house.  Ben got his first cold this past week at the age of 5 weeks.  He is congested and has a small cough. Luke is also sick with a cold and a deep cough.  He has had it all week, but woke up today with a small fever.  I am hoping it leaves soon!
• Luke loves to let me know when Ben is crying (I guess he thinks I can't hear it in our small house).  He will run into the kitchen and point to the den and yell "baby!". 
• Luke is still refusing to take a picture with Ben.  I am not pushing it for right now, just trying to ask and sometimes trick him into sitting next to him.  The minute he sees the camera, he is on to me and he gets upset or takes off.  I am hoping we get a brother picture soon, but not holding my breath.
• I brought both boys to the store alone last weekend.  After injuring Luke on accident, Ben projectile vomiting and then Luke throwing a major tantrum (and me sweating buckets), I don't think I will be doing that again very soon.  However, I did come home with both boys and groceries, so although hectic -- a success! 
• Other than the grocery store, I have brought both boys to the park, to Luke's music class and then to a restaurant afterward by myself.  It is so much more physically demanding with two, but I am happy that I am getting out with them.  Chat and I together have taken them all over.  It is much easier when you have a partner in crime!
• I am tired, make that exhausted, but enjoying having two boys.  I know as Ben gets older and starts sleeping more, that the enjoyable moments will keep getting better and better :). 

{Ben's First Train Ride}

Today we had great weather, so Chat and I took Ben and Luke to feed the ducks and ride the train.  Luke thought it was way overdue since Ben was already 3 weeks and had not visited the train yet.  Here are my 3 boys ready for their ride (I think Ben seems the most excited)...

Luke loves feeding the ducks.  They are two peas in a pod....

Luke is not scared of any animal...this duck would come and take the food right from his hand!

Luke seeing the train across the pond and saying "choo choo" over and over again!  Chat and I estimate we hear Luke say choo choo at least 30 times a day.

{3 Week Update}

"Benjy" (that is what Chat calls Ben) is over 3 weeks now and growing like a weed.  He is still not sleeping all that well, so I am going to update in bullets because that is the only way my brain will work right now!

• Ben is definitely a big guy.  I have a feeling he is weighing close to 11 pounds now, but not exactly sure.  He is wearing his 0-3 month clothes and filling them out in girth and length.  He seems to be long and his chins are multiplying.  See proof in the picture.

• Ben had a few nights of sleeping 3 hour stretches (woohoo!), but sadly we are back to 1 to 2 hour stretches as of last night.  At night, he sleeps in his crib, swaddled with a noise machine.  I feed him and put him down around 10:00 or 11:00 at night and he is usually up within an hour or two and then so on till about 7:00 in the morning.
• He grunts A LOT in the middle of the night. 
• He usually has 2 to 3 awake times during the day that last around 1 1/2 hours each. 
• He likes to be held all day long -- whether sleeping or awake which means this momma's arms are always full. 
• I am not sure if Ben has a slight reflux issue or not, but he has projectile vomitted on me a few times.  It is typically when I try to feed him a lot right before bed in hopes that he will sleep longer.  Well, this backfires!  He then is completely awake after it happens and hungry, but I can't feed him for about an hour or it will just come up.  So we walk and bounce until I can feed him again -- usually around midnight.  Not our best nights :).
• Luke seems to be tolerating Ben pretty well.  We have gotten a few kisses from him to Ben and he loves to point out his body parts -- his nose, eyes, ears, belly button, etc.  A few times he has tried to hit him, but those have been few and far between. 
• Ben is a huge tooter!  He is constantly pooping or tooting all day long.  I laugh, but poor guy has some tummy troubles.
• He nurses anywhere from every hour to two hours during the day, it just depends on his naps.  He does take a bottle well and I try to do that once a day or every other day so he continues to do this. 
• I offer the pacifier to Ben and he will suck on it, but doesn't seem that interested in it.  He wants something to come out of it!  It almost seems to make him frustrated right now so I don't really use it all that much.  Hopefully it will come in handy when I start trying to get him to stretch in between feedings in the coming months.
• Having two kids has definitely been hard, but also very fun.  Luckily Chat has been off for 3 weeks to help, so the real question is how will I handle it on my own since he is going back to work this weekend!

That's all I got right now!