Prayers needed for this little boy

A friend of mine from high school posted a link on her facebook page about a little boy named Noah. Noah was shaken on April 20 by his daycare provider and has been in a coma since then...the prognosis for this little guy is not good and my heart was breaking reading the pain that his parents are currently going through.

I would encourage all of you to visit www.noahsroad.com and read their story. This couple has an amazing faith and are learning from this experience, but it is painful and they need prayers for comfort and peace.

Tonight I would ask all of you to kiss and hug your children for they are a gift from God. I know that I have been a little more gentle in my words the last few days.

Oops, it's been a month?

I logged on to my blog today and looked at the date of my last blog...March 7. Wow! Where did the month go? I can tell you where it went...it went into late nights at work, a busy schedule for Kevin and raising two very adventerous boys.

I promise to get on in a few days to upload some new pictures, but for now I have a crying baby and in-laws on their way...gotta run!

Alex at 7 months

I was feeding Alex this morning and noticed he started doing something that I had never seen him do before. Check out the strange thing he keeps doing with his tounge.



What a strange little child I have. He is 7 months old now. Doing very well at his new daycare and is crawling all over the house like a little mad man! Matthew and I just got back to Del Rio to visit David and Laurie. It does my mood good to be in the nice, sunny weather for a few days in February. It was 95 degrees there! YAHOO!

Matthew got the chance to hang out in the cockpit for a few minutes before our flight from Seattle to Spokane. He really thought that was cool.

I am the mom

I totally stole this from my friend Misty, she is right...it was a lot of fun!

I'm the Mom

You should do this, it's fun. Just ask you kids for their answers!

Matthew's answers:

1. What is something mom always says to you? I love you

2. What makes mom happy? My blanket

3. What makes mom sad? A sad movie

4. How does your mom make you laugh? Tickeling me

5. What was your mom like as a child? Playing on the computer

6. How old is your mom? 29

7. How tall is your mom? (holding up his hand to my head) this tall

8. What is her favorite thing to do? Watching TV with me

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Work

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Dancing (hahahaha, yeah right!)

11. What is your mom really good at? Wii Fit

12. What is your mom not very good at? Tennis

13. What does your mom do for a job? Work at the hospital

14.What is your mom's favorite food? Spaghetti

15.What makes you proud of your mom? Cleaning up my room (his room)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Minnie Mouse

17. What do you and your mom do together? Go on a date

18. How are you and your mom the same? Same eyes

19. How are you and your mom different? I am short and you are tall

20. How do you know your mom loves you? By giving me kisses and hugs

21. What does your mom like most about your dad? Going on a date with him

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Dinner at Wingers

Alex at 6 months old

The first 6 months are gone...where did the time go? The poor kiddo has been through so much in his short little life, but 6 months seems to be the magic number because all of a sudden he is a lot less spitty and doesn't puke up most everything he eats. Could it be because he is crawling and sitting up?

Alex continues to do very well. We recently had to switch care providers because Leighanna decided to go back to school, but it is working out well and Alex and Matthew both love the place we found for them. Alex is drooling like it is going out of style and loves to put everything in his mouth..hmmm..do I sense teeth in the near future?

And in true little brother style, he was crawling around the other night and found one of his brother's favorite toys...I can already hear the fights. I can only hope that his choice in toys is a little more improved...I am so sick of Star Wars!

First 5

First 5

So I got this from a friend's blog, I think it's such a great idea and can't wait to do it.

{Lucky you!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be photography or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may sew or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!}

Closer to a diagnosis

This blog is going to be quick, as I am on my way to work. We think that we have a diagnosis for Alex. It is called gastroparesis and is the result of a really bad stomach bug that he caught in early December (when this whole thing started). The good news is that we are with one of the best pediatric gastroenterologists in the region, the not so great news is that it can take 3-12 months for this to go away and we have to continually watch his weight and keep him on the $200 per week formula. ARGH!

We go back to the doctor on the 22nd for a follow up and review of all of the tests. I will post more after that visit.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. It has been a long road, but I can see the end of this journey.

Our collection of hospital bracelets

We just increased our collection of hospital bracelets by 1 more last night. Kevin and I were watching a movie with our cousin Jenna. I was looking at Alex and noticed that his ears were VERY red and even red down the back of his neck. I thought maybe I had used too much detergent on his clothing, so I didn't give it much thought. Plus, he had been rolling around on the floor for about 15 minutes and is often red after that.

When I brought up on to couch to sit with me again I noticed that he had hives all over his face. I asked Kevin to come over and look and further examination showed that they were all over his trunk and into his diaper area. So, Jenna rushed me to the emergency room (again) while Kevin took Matthew up to Leighanna's house. We got right back to see the doctor. They gave him some benadryl right away and the doctor told us that we were dealing with...wait for it, wait for it...an allergy to his hypoallergenic formula! Can it get any worse?? This conclusion was made due to the fact that the redness started about 30 minutes after he ate his bottle.

Just add it to the list.

Alex Update

Just when I thought it was safe to go back to feeding without a muumuu on. Dr. Abou-Harb took us off the EleCare formula and put us back on the Soy formula to see how Alex would do. Anyone wanna take a guess? Yesterday he was cramping so badly and spitting up so much that my babysitter finally called because she was getting worried. Everyone that has seen him in recent weeks have made the same comment "he just doesn't look like he is feeling well". We did a weight check yesterday and Alex has only gained 11 ounces in the past 3 weeks.

I am tired, I am frustrated and most of all, I am getting very worried. Alex is having more testing done on Monday and Tuesday and hopefully we will have some answers after that. He will be sedated for the test on Tuesday, which will involve staying at the hospital for a few hours after.

Please say prayers that we get some kind of a treatment plan in the near future. Kevin and I are still laughing, but we are both exaughsted and need to get this all figured out as soon as possible.

A Letter to Mr. Snow

Dear Mr. Snow,

If we promise to miss you will you please go away?

Love,

The snow weary, wish-school-was-back-in-session, tired of the crappy driving conditions, had to wait three weeks for the garbage truck to make it up our street, worried that our roof might cave in, and did I mention all the ice, residents of Spokane, WA.

Happy New Year?

I am ready for 2008 to be over with. I am taking a brief break from end of year financials (try not to be jealous) to share with you the major events that 2009 will be bringing, hopefully, to our family

* My first born, Matthew, will be turning 5 in a couple of weeks! It seems like I was just pregnant with him.

* I am turning the big 3-0...tears to follow.

* Kevin will be looking for a new job

* My last baby will turn 1.

* Hopefully my sister and her husband will announce an upcoming addition to their family.

* More good times with our friends and families...either in person or sharing through these blogs!

Thank you to each of you who are a part of our lives. Even if we don't see you or talk to you much, please know that we are greatful for all of our friends. Now, as for Alex - quick update...Upper G.I. scheduled on Tuesday, January 6. More information to follow after that!

Hospital Pics

Here are some pictures of the stay at the hospital. We went for several walks in the skybridges and around the hospital. Matthew had a great time holding his little brother in the red wagons provided for us on our walks. Enjoy!










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Christmas Eve

Well, we got to go home from the hospital last Monday and everything was going well...then Tuesday night the diarreha and vomitting started again. I seriously thought I was going to come undone. We called the pediatrician and got in on Wednesday morning. Since it was Christmas Eve, our pediatrician wasn't in, but the ANRP was. She said that Alex was doing well as far as his hydration was concerned, and there was nothing that we could do. I asked for a referral to the Peds G.I. doctor and she said that they would start working on it. About 30 minutes later I got a phone call from their office saying that the Peds G.I. doctor would review his file in a couple of weeks and decide if he was going to see Alex. At this point the tears started flowing uncontrolled. How long was this going to go on? Alex was so pale on Tuesday night I was afraid to put him down.

To make a long story short, I called my mom hysterically crying. She made a phone call to the VP of the Children's Hospital, who made a phone call to the Peds G.I. doctor on our behalf. At 12:00 that afternoon Alex was being seen by Dr. Abou-Harb. THANK GOD! Alex is scheduled for an upper G.I. next week sometime to review his anatomy and find out what is causing all of this stomach upset.

Christmas Eve only continued to get better. That same morning, dad's garage heater went out, later in the day they were out shopping for a new oven because their existing oven quit and my parents were hosting people for Christmas Eve dinner, then the prime rib caught on fire on the grill. We had a great time at dinner and playing our annual family game. At about 12:20, I heard Matthew crying in the basement and he wasn't stopping. Just as I was going downstairs Kevin opened the door and said "Matthew is throwing up". And so it went. Matthew was up every 2 hours vomitting and crying. It quit after exactly 12 hours.

Did I mention all of the snow??

Alex Update - Sunday

We managed to make it through the night with just a little skiff of diarreha in the diaper. Alex was offered Nutramagin last night around 8pm...and promptly spit it back out at us. He is not too impressed with his new diet.

This morning we had more blood work drawn to see how his bi-carb level was...and it is still only at 18, so still considered to be low. We need to get him at 20 and sustain it there before they will consider allowing us to go home. It will help if we can get him to eat some more formula. The hospitalist was just in to see us and said that if he continues to refuse the Netramagin she will write for a formula that is a little more vanilla flavored...and is covered by our insurance! :)

Until tomorrow...

Alex Update

So I was wrong about it being a C-Diff. That came back negative, surprisingly. The only other thing that the doctor can figure out is that we are dealing with a milk protein allergy. They drew more blood this afternoon to try and determine if an allergy is possible. We are at Sacred Heart until the diarreha stops and he can tolerate solid foods (i.e. formula). They are going to back us off of a formula with soy and put us on a special formula (that insurance will cover, thankfully, with a prescription).

On Monday the Peds G.I. doctor will be in to talk to us about a possible scope of his digestive system if nothing has improved significantly. At this point, Kevin and I are hoping that we are discharged in time for Christmas.

More to come....

Elbows deep in...part 2

Well, I am typing this from my office at Sacred Heart while taking a break from our hospital room. Alex was hospitalized last night for the same stuff we have been dealing with now for almost 2 weeks. We are waiting for the lab results to come back on a C-Diff or Rotovirus, but at this point they are leaning towards a C-Diff. We are likely "in" for one more night. Alex is doing mostly well. He doesn't like the IV in his hand and is not too impressed with his current diet...pedialite.

More when I have some news.

An Annual Family Event

My mom has this thing about Christmas...she goes nuts. At her house there are 3 (yes, t-h-r-e-e) Christmas trees, an obnoxious looking train attached to her balcony and the lights on the front of the house as well. The only reason that there are lights on our house this year is that she convinced Matthew that Santa Claus won't be able to find our house unless the lights are up and on. It took me 15 minutes to calm him down the other night after they were turned off at 10:00pm.

Another family tradition is our trip to sit on Santa's lap. We usually end up downtown since the tree is so much prettier and the Santa doesn't look like the anorexic one at the Valley Mall (seriously, for those of you living in Spokane go check him out...he looks like Santa after a year of Weight Watchers). Of course we have to get the picture. So, for your viewing pleasure, here is the Couture-Buck-Wilson family Christmas picture.

Elbows deep in....

So, Alex had his first official illness...the stomach flu. Better known as Gastrointeritis. It started out all innocent with a few soft poopies, but quickly manifested into a full on diaper changing event. Just to give you an idea...Kevin changed 5 diapers between 2am and 8am, all nasty. Then the vomitting started. After 5 days of Poopie Madness 2008 and then 2 days of vomitting, we decided to call the pediatrician. No luck getting him in there. So, we considered urgent care...then I realized that we would most likely be sent to Sacred Heart anyway for rehydration. Kevin and I ended up just bringing him to the ED so that we weren't waiting for 2 hours at urgent care, and waiting again at the ED for an IV.

Alex took his IV like a champ. They were able to rehydrate him and he acted like a whole new baby...but it was sad to see the IV sticking out of his poor little baby hand. And what kind of parents would we be if we didn't take at least one picture? It is on Kevin's phone, so I will get it off and add to this post soon.

I think that the baby has had more than his fair share of trips to the doctor recently, so I am hoping that the poop and vomit fairy won't be visiting him again for a LONG TIME!

Alex at 4 months

Month 4 finds us introducing fresh fruits (yes, I am making my own) and Alex rolling over in his crib. We had a minor emergency on Thanksgiving when Matthew accidentally tripped over Alex and landed on him with his knee straight to the sternum. Matthew was so upset and we were all crying (me because Kevin scared the crap out of me when he started screaming my name). Thankfully, no one is seriously hurt, just bruised a little bit. Alex is currently 16 lbs 12 oz and 25 inches long. He is in the 75th percentile for both height and weight and was not too impressed with Dr. McManus' feeble attempts to make him smile or laugh. He just wanted to go home! For your viewing pleasure, here are some pictures and an attempt at a video of the little guy.

Update on dad

Dad went to the neurosurgeon last week. Apparently the spot that they found only showed up on one of the MRI films, so the doctor was not overly concerned that this is something serious and certainly is not life-threatening. All I can say is thank you for all of your prayers.

Dad is going to have another MRI in January to make sure that the spot hasn't grown at all. If it has, the doctor is going to do a needle biopsy to see if it is a cancerous tumor, but said that even if it is, the tumor is growing in a very treatable area.