away, evil germs!

With all the registration papers filled out, crib sheets and nap blankets all set to go for a start at a new preschool on Tuesday, we had to cancel because we were visited by evil germs. On Monday at about midnight, J called out saying her stomach hurts. I told her to go to the bathroom to go get a drink of water and go back to bed. Half an hour later I hear her scream that she had just thrown up. I tried to give her a bath and clean up her bed at the same time without waking Daddy up, but it wasn't possible. So I did wake him up and put him on bath duty. The man was gagging the entire time. I thought I would have to clean up after two pukers. Thank goodness he didn't.

An hour and a half later we're all back in our beds, but moments later I hear J vomiting again. So I set up a cot in the girls' room and slept there. Every hour or so, poor little Miss J vomited. So there was no sleep for either of us. Even K didn't sleep with all the excitement.

Fortunately by morning, J has stopped. She had a mild fever during the day but that was it. Today is Friday and noone else has been struck by the evil germs. Daddy and I were bracing for this bug to decimate our family, reminiscent of Christmas 2007. It also reminded us of our 2009 summer in NC when both K and J battled some sort of bug for weeks at a time for a period of 2 months. Thankfully this one doesn't seem to be any of the sort. Or did I just now jinxed my family? Oh, please. Stay away stomach bug!

Sick kids and the dutiful littlest brother

Last week Big M came home sick and missed 2 days of school. Little M kepy him company. Today K came home sick, and Little M is keeping her company too.

what a night! - a milestone

Last night marks the first night Little M slept through the night. I opened my eyes at 5:45 am and realized he never woke me up. What a feeling! This is also his second night without breastfeeding. The night before last was a noisy one. He woke up and screamed when he realized I was withholding the boobies.  But I can't give in because I am on a stronger antibiotics.

I finished my 10-day antibiotic course to fight off strep throat for the second time. And 5 days later I felt my tonsils was a little tender. By the next morning (Sunday) my throat was starting to hurt. We were going to a friend's house for a pool party  in the evening and I didn't want to ruin it by feeling miserable. So I went to a CVS Minute Clinic and waited 2 hours to be seen. Sure enough, the swab test turned positive for strep. The nurse gave me Zpack since she said the Augmentine (my PCP gave me Augmentine for the past 2x of strep) was not doing the job. My throat was not hurting at all by that evening and by yesterday my throat didn't look so red anymore. But Zpack is a stronger antibiotic. It is category B, which mean a little amount passes through the breastmilk, but since I am already weaning I decided to go ahead and stop breastfeeding completely.

Having seen the nurse at CVS and am now feeling better, I don't know when to talk to my regular doctor about this 3rd bout of strep. He said we need to talk about going to the ENT if I get this again, and here we are. Right now though I am too busy. This is the last week of school for Big M, the girls birthday is on Saturday, and I know I'm forgetting a lot of important things. ARGH.

recovering from strep

Back in the spring of 2009, I managed to get strep throat 4 times in 5 months. How that was possible, I don't know. In the 4th course of that battle against the nasty bug, under 2 very strong antibiotics I got pregnant with Little M. How it was possible that Daddy didn't get strep throat, I don't know either.  So this time around, I was very paranoid. My first symptom was the mild achy throat, then the migraine that never went away. After 4 days of that, the fever came. The next day I hauled my bootie to the doctor and thank goodness I did. That afternoon the misery started: the achy body, the chills, night sweat, the migraine. That lasted until a full 24 hours later when the antibiotic finally kicked in. 

Interestingly enough, I think I got the strep throat from my kids. Big M came home with severe headache one day and vomited that evening. He complained that his throat hurt. A full 24 hours later he was fine, except for the store throat. After that he was completely fine, though mildly tired. On the same day of the headache, J also got it. She had a fever for 2 days and then she was fine. So by the time I went to the doctor and asked weather I should take the kids to the doctor, my doctor said that there was no need because they were already feeling better. I am both amazed and thankful that they seemed to have fought off the strep better than I did.

When I came home Daddy asked if tonsilectomy came up. I didn't bring it up, and the doctor didn't either. This is the first time I have strep throat under his care. I'm praying there wouldn't be a repeat of the spring of 2009. I don't know the down time needed in order to recover from a surgery. Having four kids is not easy when you're sick. Daddy picked up the kids and drove them to school the next day, and handled the night-time duties but that's it. I have take over after that. And what happens after I get better? I have to clean up the mess from when I was sick. 

So many things to do, so little time, and so little energy to do them.

Curious George's first blood work

Late this afternoon, I rushed the kids to the hospital where LabCorp is in order to do Curious George's blood work up. I met Daddy there, since we know it was going to be difficult for Curious George. I helped Curious George, while Daddy took care of the girls.

I didn't tell Curious George what we're there for until I pulled in the hospital parking lot. "Why are we at the hospital?", Curious George asked. "Matty, we're here to make sure you're not sick. I need you to be brave." I told him. At that he started his whining, "I don't want a shot!"

I couldn't even get him in through the door when the called him in. And when we finally made it in, I sat him on my lap and the tech made me hold his arms down. With all the crying and a little trashing, I was afraid something bad was going to happen. I urged him not to thrash around or it would hurt more, which he thankfully listened to. I told him not to look at it, but with my hands occupied holding his arms, I couldn't make him not look. Then he started screaming, "When is it going to be done?"

The tech had to "fish" for the vein, which of course resulted in a quarter sized bruise. But at least he didn't have to pull the needle out and re-poke him. Finally, when it was said and done, we made him choose where we would eat for dinner and told him he could get any toy he wanted at the store.

Before we left the hospital, which happened to be a Children's Hospital, we let them play around and watch the fountains.

That's Daddy in the middle, looking like he's ready to pass out.

Thing 2 tries to climb up the elephant.

With a little help, she makes it!

Daddy rides with Thing 1. Daddy said that after he helps her up, she wants to promptly get back down saying, "Too big, Daddy."

The 3 stoogies trying to climb up the same elephant.

We won't know the result of the blood work until late this week.

we hope Curious George isn't sick

Daddy made me realize last week that the children has never gotten their H1N1 booster shot, which was supposed to be given 30 days after the first one. So today, I found a random pediatrician close to the rental house and took them.

Thing 1 is now a whoping 41 lbs and Thing 2 is 36 lbs. They are both 36 inches tall. Curious George is 52 lbs and is 43 1/2 inches tall. I knew it was smart of me to actually stop carrying anyone! I just hope Daddy realizes the same thing because it's ruining it for all of us, if you know what I mean.

Curious George didn't get shots at his 4 year check last year, so the doctor wanted him to get it today and delay the H1N1 booster until a month later (he said H1N1 isn't bad right now anyway). But after feeling around his belly, he said his liver feels lower than it should be or it is larger than it should be. So the doctor ordered blood work to check on liver functions and also to check for mono. The doctor also asked if anyone in the family has Hepatitis, which of course none of us do not. I'm a little taken aback, because he hasn't acted sick in a while, except for the occasional sniffles.

I was going to take him to do the lab work sometime tomorrow or the next day, but Daddy is worried and wants this done today. So we're going to meet at the lab today (so he could keep an eye on the girls, and I can help Curious George). Curious George has told me just the other day that "he doesn't want to have a blood pressure". He meant that he didn't want his blood taken because it looks scary. Daddy took him with him one day when he had gotten it done. While Curious George didn't act scared at the time, I guess now we know he got scared somewhat. I'm just hoping he does well. Unlike other days when I prepare him for what's to come, I think we will keep this one secret until we get there. I do hope it doesn't backfire.

Topsail Beach (8/4 - 8/7/09)

A few days after our Cherokee Trip, we headed to Topsail Beach in NC. It was the first time the kids and I have ever step foot on a beach. It was a glorious experience and one that we hope to repeat again! But our trip started out on a bad foot. A few days before our departure, Thing 2 came down with a fever. We thought it may be just a garden variety fever and that we would still be able to head out, albeit a day later than planned. But on the day we were about to leave, Thing 2 stopped talking and stopped opening her mouth. I looked at her throat and it was red. Just the night before, my throat began to feel sore. For me, it was an impending strep-throat. This was the 4th time I had gotten it in 5 months. And because Thing 2's throat was red, I was pretty sure it was also strep throat. So the morning of our departure, Daddy brought Thing 2 to the hospital (the kids were still in VA medicaid at this point and could only be seen through the ER outside of VA). And I headed to the local Urgent Care. By lunch time, we headed to the beach packed with antibiotics.

This was our first evening at the beach. I coaxed the girls to get on the water, but they were scared. I worked with Thing 1 for a while, and got her to be confident of the water. But Thing 2 was not meant to be. She was not feeling well.
(Thing 2 in pink, Thing 1 in green)

Everyone enjoyed the sand!

Thing 2 looks for the perfect sand to play in.

Curious George was the most excited of all! He jumped right in on the water with Daddy.

In between playing in the water, he played in the sand and dug tons of holes looking for crabs.

We brought a canopy with us, which allowed us to stay pretty much the entire day at the beach the next day. Here is Thing 1 obsessed with sunscreen.

Poor Thing 2 conked out. Her was low grade after being on the antibiotics, but she was very tired. On our last day, she even developed scarlet fever.

On the 3rd day, a storm came. But after it had passed, we packed up the sand toys and chairs and headed back. Daddy and nephew got to enjoy the bigger surf and had fun body surfing.

Before bed one night, Daddy had the urge to to go the beach. I don't know why. But I went with him anyway. It was pitch black, windy, but very peaceful. All we could manage is blurry pictures though. The camera fogged up the moment I opened it.

It can't be a beach trip without someone getting buried! Thing 1 and I got busy burying a very giggly Curious George.

And of course, Daddy! I had to give him a sexy figure, complete with preggo belly. He is cupping his boobies here and was a little disappointed. He said he didn't mind boobs as long as they were ginormous. I thought I did give him big ones, but apparently they weren't big enough.
We just love Daddy's sense of humor!

Sexy Daddy!

Digging around with Cousin B.

Thing 1 got a beautiful tan!

Curious George outside the beach house.

Thing 1 in our room.

Incidentally, Daddy contracted H1N1 during this beach trip. He complained of sore body the last day we were there, but we thought it was normal considering he was on the water body surfing everyday we were there. But when the body ache lasted a few more days after getting home, he went to the doctor and tested positive for Type A flu. Being in the middle of summer, Type A flu was pretty much a sure thing that it was H1N1. A week after he got better, after Thing 2 recovered from strep throat, she contracted H1N1 as well. The poor, poor little angel. Both Daddy and Thing 2 didn't have high fever, but they had the severe body ache. In fact, Thing 2 couldn't even walk for a good week. We had to carry her around, she was so sore.

Also at this time, being that this was my 4th time with strep throat, I was given 2 very strong antibiotics to finally kill off this antibiotic-resistent bug. We didn't know I was pregnant. Thankfully, baby is just fine and the strep is finally gone!

(I will post beach videos next.)

update on the 3 silly ducklings

Curious George:

He is going to pre-k 3 days a week in preparation for kindergarten. His mood continues to be dependent on the amount of sleep he gets. He is a Lego fiend at the moment asking for small Legos whenever we go to the store. For a period of 2 weeks, he kept a Lego catalog close to him at all times "reading" it whenever he finds a second and plans his future with it. "I want this for Christmas, and this one for my birthday, and the next Christmas..."

He continually amazes as with he says everyday. For instance, during past conversations I've told him that when we look for a new house it may have to be a house without stairs because Mommy's knees hurt. Then several days later, he told me out of the blue that it should be OK to have small stairs and that he, his sisters and Daddy would sleep upstairs and I stay downstairs so that I don't have to hurt my knees using the stairs.

Yesterday, Daddy and I attended a 5-week hr-long parenting class. Daddy and I were quite excited about what we learned and having an animated discussion about it. Curious George thought we were fighting and told us to stop. I explained that we weren't fighting, but instead discussing what we learned in class. He asked what we learned, so I told him it was all about what we could do so that we are not always yelling and getting mad at him. His response was, "I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THAT ALL MY LIFE!!" Daddy and I burst out laughing.


THING 1:

Thing 1 is a sassy little thing who seems to be always at odds with me. Daddy says she's just like me...stubborn. I've said a few times that Thing 1 is Daddy's girl, but she does come to me when she's sick. ;p She is a rough and tumble girl, it seems. During a period of a couple of weeks when Thing 2 was sick, Thing 1 and Curious George played a lot with each other. Curious George throws his weight around and surprisingly, Thing 1 kept up with him. Even now, she and Curious George wrestles with each other. Thing 1 sometimes protests but usually all smiles and giggles.

Thing 1 has also developed a love for her big brother's shirt. She demands that whatever shirt she is wearing be taken off and then she grabs whatever shirt she could find of Curious George's. Sometimes she grabs a PJ he takes off as soon as he takes them off.

Her language explosion was a few weeks behind Thing 2's but they are both very good talkers. She loves to watch Dora The Explorer and Diego and eagerly responds when asked to join on their adventures.

We have noticed several months back that Thing 1 seems to favor left-handedness but it was too early to be sure then. Nowadays, it is becoming more obvious that she is left-handed. All of us have noticed a few instances where she tries to do something with her right hand only to find it very awkward so she just switches hands immediately.


Thing 2:

Thing 2 continues to be a few pounds behind Thing 1. She has been sick a lot this past month, battling strep throat for a few weeks. But after only being well for 1 week, she contracted the flu. It was a mild flu, but the body soreness she experienced for a few days was unmistakable. The illnesses caused her to lose about 5 lbs.

She talks very clearly and can tell on both her sister and big brother. She loves cuddles and would rather be on our lap when the other 2 are rough-housing.

She hates buildings that look like a doctor's office. We went to the Department of Social Services one day and she let go of my hand and headed for the parking lot as soon as she could see in after I opened the door. Thank goodness she didn't take off on a run!

She loves to ask for things using a very small cute voice. "Mom, can I have milk?", she asks in the morning. Recently, she's also mastered the art of begging. She asks for something and when I don't move fast enough, she holds her hands together and puts them under her chin, closing her eyes, and says "pease, pease! [please]"

She loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! If I can't think of anything to feed her, I could never go wrong with PBJ. She also loves any kind of cereal, much to her brother's annoyance. Curious George absolutely hates any kind of cereal and would run the opposite way from it.

Thing 2 loves to pretend to read. She grabs paper with print on it and "reads" proudly, "A, F, I, B!"

off to the doctor

Thing 1 had a bout of vomiting for 3 hours straight at 3am last Sunday. Towards the end of the 3 hours, she had diarrhea. The diarrhea is just now ending, after 10 days. She vomited once a day, at about midnight when I just barely get to bed. About 2 days later, Thing 2 also had diarrhea. Let me tell you, it was nasty and stinky x2! But neither of them acted sick during the day however, so we weren't worried. But we did finally decide to take them to the doctor on Monday. Thing 2 was also due for her 2-yr well baby check. Of course the doctor is in VA, and we're here in NC. I wasn't brave enough to drive both of them by myself, so Daddy came with us.

The doctor was not concerned about the diarrhea since they are not acting sick and there is no sign of dehydration. He did however suggested we give them Tums because it was probably reflux that was causing the vomiting. As far as the diarrhea, it was going to take its course and just keep with with the fluid and food that are easy on the stomach.

Thing 2 has shot up on her growth. She weighed 31.4 lbs which is now at the 95th percentile and her height is in the 75th (I will insert height later). We aren't surprise because she out-eats Thing 1 and Curious George combined. We just don't know where she puts it because if you go by sight, you would think Thing 1 is a lot bigger (5 lbs at least) when in actuality, they are only less than 1 lb difference (Thing 1 is heavier).

deja vu - weren't we just here a few weeks ago?

Thing 1 came down with a fever on Friday night. Her fever broke the next day, but now she's feeling more miserable than before because she's very congested. Her nose stuffed up and runny making it difficult for her to sleep. Her chest is also congested making her cough horribly.

After dinner tonight, it's Thing 2 has a fever. She's now sleeping in one of the play pen in our room so that I could monitor her in the middle of the night. Thing 1 is alone in their room, coughing every now and then. They just both had the same symptoms 3 weeks ago!

I worry about the twins when they get sick because they always have wheezing. I think this comes with the territory of being preemies. When the little man was a baby, he was right there in our bed because we co-sleep. So even though I worried about him, I at least got sleep. But with the girls, it's difficult.

Last night I took Thing 1 to our bed because she's coughing and wheezing, but the minute I laid her on the bed she got excited. She crawled everywhere and climbed on , top of me and Daddy. She did this for 20 minutes until I finally gave up and put her back to her bed where she slept instantly! Today we're trying out the play pen idea next to the bed. So far it's working out. I haven't heard a peep from Thing 2.

Big brother is coughing too and having trouble getting a good night sleep. He woke up at 3 am and came to our bed, which irritated Daddy because it woke him up and he couldn't get back to sleep. He actually got mad at me as if I made the little boy sleep with us. Finally in his sleep hysterics, he stormed out of our room to the guess room to get some zzzzz's.

poor thing, it's her turn

Thing1 lays on the floor amidst the rowdiness.

It's only fair I document her lashes, too. :-)

Now that Thing2 is better, she tries to play with Thing1.

the latest virus in our household

On Sunday afternoon, without any warning, Big Bro vomited and instantly ran a fever. All through the first half of Monday, he just laid on the couch battling the fever. By early evening, the fever was gone and he was up and about. By Tuesday, he went back to school and he was back to his normal self.

On Tuesday morning (2:30am), Thing2 was fussy. I checked on her and she was burning up. Yesterday, she just laid around on the floor and would doze off whenever she could. By early evening, her fever was gone and she was starting to get up and play. Last night, I thought Thing1 may come down with this virus as well, so I slept on the floor in their room. This morning everyone was fine so we went to my physical therapy. And we actually made it back to the mall for lunch and a short romp in the play area. While driving home, I'm thinking, hey, maybe for once one of the twins may get spared and not get sick. But when I got them out of the car, Thing1 was considerably hotter. Too much for wishful thinking.

If the trend continues, Thing1's fever should keep up until late tomorrow and then it's finally over with. That would mean we may have to scrap our plan of taking everyone to the water park early tomorrow morning. Either that or we may have to break into teams and someone stays with the girls and one takes Big Bro.

Darn viruses! But I guess I should be thankful that this virus seems to only last 24 hours. And hopefully it spares me and Daddy or this long weekend would not be fun.

What a Weekend

So much happened this past weekend, I don't even know where to begin.

Let me start with Katie's bronchitis. Or so we thought it was bronchitis.

Jan. 25th, Friday - Daddy and I took Katie to the doctor after she's been wheezing for 2 days. The doctor put her on antibiotic and sent us home with our very own nebulizer. She was to be on Albuterol every 4 hours though the weekend. By Monday, though she was still wheezing, it wasn't as bad.

Jan. 31st, Thurday - Jordan was starting to cough. By 11am, she refused to breastfeed. By 2am, she still hasn't breastfed and so I was beginning to worry. Daddy suggested that I pump because she may take a bottle. Sure enough, she took it.

Feb. 1st, Friday - Jordan and Katie are due for their RSV shot, and Katie is also due for a follow up with her bronchitis. Since we're already there, I decided to have Jordan checked out. First of all, the doctor said Katie's wheezing wasn't any better and that her antibiotics wasn't working. To top it off, Jordan now has the same thing. They were given new antibiotics and were put on Albuterol and Palmicort (a steroid).

By Friday night through Saturday, even Daddy was up with me in the middle of the night. I nursed Katie, while Daddy had Jordan on the nebulizer. When Jordan was done, he took Katie on the nebulizer, and I pumped so that I could feed Jordan through a bottle. It was a very long Friday night and very long Saturday.

Feb. 2nd, Saturday - Jordan finally takes the breast, making life a bit easier. Daddy suggested that I take away the bottle in the middle of the feeding and I quickly offer the breast. It worked!
We had to resort to this trickery for the rest of the day. Oi!

Feb. 3rd, Sunday - Katie is no longer wheezing, so I have weaned her off the Albuterol. But she's still on the steroid. Jordan still sounds like she's smoking 4 packs of cigarettes a day, so she's still on continuous round of Albuterol and steroid.

Today Jordan is only wheezing intermitently, but Katie is wheez-free.

Phew.

Kitty Kat & Bronchitis

This was taken yesterday when everyone was happy.



Bronchiolitis and Bronchitis. Just take out a few letters in the middle and the two become 2 different things. First it was Brochiolitis and now it's Bronchitis. Poor Kitty Kat. She has been wheezing intermitently for a few days, but today it was constant. She also turns red in the face every time she coughs, so the hubby and I decided to take her to the doctor. She was put on the nebulizer at the doctor's office, which improved her breathing dramatically. So, we've been sent home with our very own. Katie must be on the nebulizer every 4 hours through the weekend (more often if needed) and then as needed after that. She is also on antibiotics.

Unfortunately, it started with Big Bro. But with him, his coughing wasn't that bad so we weren't worried (besides, since he started pre-school, I can count in one hand the weeks he was cough-free). Jordan is once again spared, though. I don't know how she manages not to get these upper respiratory crap that seem to bother Katie, but she does. You'd think the bigger of the two is more bug-resistant.

For this weekend, instead of me manning Camp Ducklings, the hubby is pitching in. He is going to handle the big boy's 3-4x/night wakings (just to check that he isn't alone in his bedroom) and I will be with the girls. I need good nights sleep in between the nebulizer sessions.

An Unforgettable Christmas

We used the camcorder for Christmas so I do not have pictures. But here is a documentary of the after-Christmas happening. These pictures were taken about noon and shortly after, Daddy started throwing up. At about 6pm, my stomach didn't feel well and by 7:30 it was my turn to empty my stomach. Matty started doing the same thing at 3am the next day. Katie had her first vomit session at 5am, and then Jojo at 10am. It was a family affair.

Here is Matty with the trike that Santa left him. He was so excited! He rode it around and around the house tirelessly.

This is Katie with Daddy (just before he got sick) while he uses the laptop. Katie didn't warm up to her grandparents until the next day.

Jojo showing off a lovely smile just for Daddy.


Matty with his Papaw lounging around watching some Noggin shows. Matty ran around until he got tired and sleepy, he would then crash on the couch and watch TV to recharge and then he was off again.

Jojo and Matty hanging out with their Nana.

We were all so happy until after lunch on the 26th and then it went downhill fast after that. I have heard some friends on the opposite coast go through the same thing and I believe it's the same bug. It spread like wild fire through us, affecting 10 people in a matter of 2 days.

The Rock Star!

In between a high temperature of 102.2 F and a low of 99.0 F, this is the Sunday night jam session brought to you by Matty himself. Matty on guitar, Mommy on baby rattle, Daddy on drums, Katie & Jojo as audiences. Rock on!
(Click on the picture to play the video.)

Me and My Team

Thank you, Dora and Diego, for keeping the little ones company. You didn't mind the germ-infested livingroom, and held down the fort with me.

Oh and thank you, DVR. I can only take "More Diego, more diego!" so many times.

And thank you, Clorox wipes. Until the next outbreak.

We make a great team. We'll do lunch.