Our Sick Household!

Well as you know our family has been battling RSV and all the other lovely things that come with this season in West Texas and just yesterday Thad came home and said he thought he had the flu! He said that he had run fever and that his body ached all over! So I went on "single mom" duty last night taking care of a sick husband and a baby who is trying to go everywhere these days and then pulled another "single mom" chore this morning when I got up an hour and half earlier than normal to get myself ready, then Berk, then drive her to town and then back to school, all by 7:45 AM! Thad is going to the doctor this afternoon and hopefully they will say that it is just a cold but I have a sinking feeling that he will be in "isolation" (our guest bedroom with no human contact) again tonight! (And I will be on Lysol duty whenever he leaves "his" room!) And then to add fuel to the fire, Gran calls this morning and says that the nebulizer isn't working!!! (When it rains, it pours!) Of course it did work this morning when I gave her her first treatment but would of course stop working during the day when she gets most of her treatments! So, Pops is picking one up in Lubbock today (not a cute little penguin) and we will hope that she does OK through the day. She has been just a little stuffy here lately, which around here at this time of year is totally normal and with how much the weather changes, I am sure she will have that probably until the summer!
But enough about all the troublesome things! Berkley is becoming quite the little go-getter! We think she will be crawling by the beginning of next week! She is getting good at getting her legs under her, now all she needs to do is figure out how the arm part works! She is such a roller too! Last night I was folding clothes and I would look at her one minute and she would be one way and then look back and she would be the other way and vice versa! I know that once she starts crawling she will be hard to stop! She is also cutting teeth and is quite the little toot when those teeth are hurting her! The two teeth that seem to have the biggest "bump" on them are her bottom fang teeth; we will be the people whose child looks like a werewolf for the first few months of teething!! :) She is still eating like a pig and has gotten in a routine and knows when YOU are not sticking to HER routine! As a matter of fact, I have a funny story: when we took pictures on Sunday, I took bottles and formula thinking that that would hold her over! Well she was quick to let me know that that was not the time for a bottle but rather her normal morning food! She was horribly cranky and Thad had to go to Wal-Mart and purchase food just to suffice the baby! But she definitely holds you accountable! She is also getting really good at her hand-eye coordination; she can take her pacifier and stick it in her mouth! Most of the time she just likes putting it in there and pulling it out so she can do it again; plus I think it feels good on her gums! I am going to try to get a video of her doing it so I can post it on here! But anyway just keep us in your thoughts as we are battling this horrible health season! Check back for that video; oh and definitely check out her pictures at www.rollsoffun.photoreflect.com! Pamra did such a great job and we can't wait to get some ordered for the new house!
Meadows

RSV Update!

Well the doctor's visit went really well and she was happy with Berk's progress! (Thank goodness!) We now only have to do breathing treatments when needed instead of every 4 hours. She said that we would probably need to do them in the morning and then before sleep but that she probably won't need them during the day! Her cough is not "chesty" at all anymore which is such a great thing! She did say that her left ear was still a little pink but said she was not prescribing anything else just for us to finish the Amoxicillin. She said that she might just be a slow healer with things like that and not to worry about it unless she becomes agitated and acts like it is hurting her. (Which we all know that she probably won't because that isn't her "style!") She now weighs in at a hefty 15 lbs. 14 oz. which means she gained 13 ounces in 8 DAYS! But Dr. Landry was also happy that she had gained weight being sick because most babies will fall off a little bit; but then again that isn't Berk's "style" either! She is now eating carrots and loves them except that she is "spitting" when she eats (doing like raspberries) and it gets all over mom! She only has one more vegetable to do (green peas) and she will have tried all of them and one more fruit which we will do on Sunday (peaches). She is a little connoisseur of food and will not let you miss a feeding! Well I think that is about it for this update! No new pictures but we are taking 6 month pictures early on Sunday with the same photographer that did our wedding photos, so we are SUPER EXCITED! I know she did a great job on our wedding photos and also on Rance's senior photos last week!! You should check her out at www.rollsoffun.photoreflect.com! She will probably post Berk's pictures on Tuesday or so, so be sure to check on her website and look at her "early 6 month pictures!" Hope everyone has a great weekend and can't wait to get some great pictures of our little girl who is growing so fast (too fast if you ask me)!
Meadows

Valentine's Day Sneak Peak!

I just thought I would upload this picture because Valentine's Day is right around the corner and this should get you in the "love mood!" So I hope you enjoy the picture! Look for an update tomorrow about her RSV!! Oh yeah and did I mention that she will be 5 MONTHS OLD TOMORROW!! Time flies when you are having fun! :)

Meadows

New Pictures and RSV Update

Well Berkley is doing great with her breathing treatments and her medicine and really doesn't even act like she is sick! I know that her appetite has not failed her while she has been sick; yesterday evening she ate a whole thing of green beans, a whole thing of prunes AND 2 ounces of formula! She is becomine quite the heavyweight and I am anxious to see how much weight she has gained in a week and a day. We go back to the doctor on Thursday for a follow-up and hopefully they will say that that she is doing much better! No matter what they say, we know that she is doing much better as she doesn't cough as much and when she does, it isn't as "chesty." Her nose is also not running 24/7 but does still run after a breathing treatment which is normal. One thing I do know is that we are so grateful that we have good insurance as a the 4 boxes of her breathing treatment medicine only cost us $10 but without insurance it is $371.99!!! She is still quite the personality around the house and there really isn't a time when we aren't cracking up about something she is doing or a face she has made. I think Webster (the cat) knows that it won't be long until she is crawling and chasing him because everytime we put her near him, he just looks at us like "ARE YOU CRAZY!" Last night I put her near him to see what she would and I swear she lifted her whole body up and then just fell back down! Of course Thad wasn't paying attention so I just seem like the delirious one, but I know she did it! We know it won't be long before she is crawling everywhere and then of course walking! We think that she won't be in the crawling phase long and will probably be walking a lot sooner than we hope! Well that is about it, I just thought I would post some new pictures and give a quick update about how she was doing with her "condition!" I will post again on Thursday for sure!!

Meadows

1/27/09...I just thought this was a cute little outfit to lounge in

1/29/09...Thursday we stayed home; she was napping and had her blankie over her face! Don't worry I periodically made sure that she was breathing!

1/29/09...Same day we stayed home; she doesn't look sick does she?! And of course we are gearing up for NASCAR to start this weekend! Go Dale Jr.!

1/31/09...Well she has finally gotten big enough to wear the robe and slippers that Nicole and Levi got her. I think she loved something other than a towel to be wrapped in!

2/2/09...She got this cute outfit and I wanted to get a good picture for the Valentine's Day special in the newspaper but I failed. But of course I got plenty others!

2/2/09...After finishing off her prunes! Looks more like chocolate pudding to us!!

2/2/09...Webster wants nothing to do with her right now!

2/2/09...And then he just teases her because he knows that she can't get him! Boy is he going to be sorry here pretty soon!

Forgot the Best Picture!

Oops forgot that this one was on the camera!

An Unpleasant Happening!

So, Wednesday I get a call from Gran about Berk's cough sounding worse. (She has had a cough her recently but it is Winter and we live in West Texas where one day it is 70 and the next it is ice, so we had contributed it to the weather!) Well on Wednesday she was wheezing and her cough sounded more "chesty" so I took off from work at 2:45 to get her to the doctor by 4:30. Well my hope was that it was something like bronchitis or a bad cold but our worse fears were confirmed when she tested postitive for RSV. For those of you who do not know what RSV is, here is the CDC's definition:

*Respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus, or RSV, is a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages. Most otherwise healthy people recover from RSV infection in 1 to 2 weeks. However, infection can be severe in some people, such as certain infants, young children, and older adults. In fact, RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia in children under 1 year of age in the United States. In addition, RSV is more often being recognized as an important cause of respiratory illness in older adults.

Now, thankfully I think we caught it fast so we don't have to worry about pneumonia at this point but she is doing breathing treatments with Xopenex every 4 hours and Budesonide twice daily and Amoxicillin for an ear infection for ten days!! So that is how my Wednesday went: got to Lubbock about 4, out of the doctor's by 5, to Walgreens to check on the perscription, to Care Source for the nebulizer, call the guy because they were closed, to Sam's for diapers and formula and then back to Walgreens for meds and then to another Walgreens for the medicine that the first one didn't have! All in all we got home about 9 Wednesday night and then I stayed home with her on Thursday. The child must have a high pain tolerance because she NEVER screamed like babies typically do when they have ear infections and she has acted like her normal self. The thing that threw us for a loop was that she NEVER ran fever, her snot never changed and she never stopped eating like they say most do! So I don't know what we are going to do if she gets sick and continues to show no typical signs! But we go back on Thursday for a check up and hopefully she will be all clear or at least the doctor will be pleased with the progress! And kudos to whoever invented the pacifier for babies to suck on for the nebulizer; it has made our life pretty easy! Well I am posting pictures of her nebulizer and her first go at it on Wednesday night! Keep us in your prayers that her little body heals and this doesn't turn into anything worse! Have a great weekend!

Meadows

1/28/09...The cutest nebulizer EVER! And the coolest tool for her to take her breathing treatments!

1/28/09...A little help from Mom.

1/28/09...This isn't so bad!

1/28/09...And of course I have to put my hands wehre the cold mist comes out!

Big Girl Bed!

Well our transition to the "big girl bed" went very smooth and she slept her normal 8 hours! Dad, on the other hand, did not have it as easy and the first thing he said was "I feel like we are kicking her out of our room!" But she did really well and I know she loves the colors in her bed and of course her velour sheet! I think she knows that she is a "big girl" now and just sinks right into her bed when we put her down at night! The pack 'n play is now officially at Gran's for naps and a place of her own! This weekend we also had some tummy problems, but have fixed them with mineral oil in her bottles and just doing cereal one time a day instead of THREE! We also switched over to barley cereal instead of rice which seems to be better. She also got her first taste of white-grape juice and drank 2 ounces and then was really mad when she finished it, so I went ahead and gave her anouther 2 ounces. (You can only give them 4 ounces a day so she drank it all then!) She also got to taste squash over the weekend and LOVED it! This was the first time that she has actually opened her mouth before you got the spoon to her mouth and if you aren't fast enough, she starts making noises like "HURRY UP!" But she is still growing and changing! I can't believe that almost 5 months have passed and yet all the little things she does still surprise us! Today it was FREEZING cold this morning and I had her all bundled up to go to Gran's and then dad decided to wait the weather out and so we all went back to sleep for a little bit and she was in bed with me until I got up to get ready and then dad came in and laid with her! It was such a cute picture that I just had to capture it! Well hope everyone is keeping warm and enjoy the pictures!

Meadows

1/23/09...First night in "big girl bed!" She went to bed at 10:15 and woke up at 6:30; a normal night for us!

1/23/09...Sound asleep! I think she loved the feel of the soft blanket! We didn't hear a peep out of her all night!

1/26/09...Last night in her ducky pajamas! She was in a great mood before bed and was quick to fall asleep!

1/26/09...With her paci! She doesn't suck on it for very long and usually spits it out right after she falls asleep!

1/27/09...Early this morning when dad replaced mom in bed. She was sound asleep and so was dad until mom snapped the picture!