18 Month Well Check

Hi everyone,
The boys had their 18 month well check today and both got a raving review. Even though Thomas has croup, both boy's ears were clear--no infections. We are to give them Primocort throughout the winter to help keep away the the respiratory infections they have had in the past (RSV and Croup). Both boys are very advanced on their language skills (the doctor said way past the 18 month normal) and Matthew is showing interest in using the potty so we are going to set that out for his "use". Their stats were:

Thomas:
Weight 28 pounds 4 oz
34" tall

Matthew
Weight 23 pounds 8 oz
32 " tall

They got their 2nd H1N1 shot today (and so did Mommy at her doctor appointment) so hopefully (after Reed gets his) the household can avoid the worst of that.

Otherwise both boys are doing really good and Matthew will have some more testing done for his reflux (see the post from yesterday).

I will try to post some pictures tomorrow.

Love,
Reed, Sue, Matthew & Thomas

Matthew Reflux Update

We just wanted to give you an update on Matthew as he saw the Pediatric GI specialist this morning (we did not think that was going to happen until January but they called two days ago and said he could see him either Wednesday morning or Thursday morning otherwise it would have to wait until March). We went over Matthew's history and the doctor said that it could be reflux or it could be that he just does not want to sleep by himself and has become accustomed to sleeping with one of us. But he would like to rule out a medical issue as there are enough signs and concerns that this could be a serious reflux issue. So we need to bring Matthew to Portland to the children's hospital for some tests. They are going to do an Upper Endoscopy and an Impedence test. The Upper Endoscopy will be done while he is under anesthesia and they will put a scope down the esophagus to see if there is any inflammation and will take a tissue sample to see if there are any allergies. Then before they wake him up they will put a tube down his nose into the stomach. He will have this for about 24 hours and during that time a little computer will record everything that happens so the doctor will be able to determine if he has reflux and if so what kind and to what extent. We don't know when these tests will occur but we will keep you posted.

Oh What A Night

Good morning everyone,

So we (Matthew and Mommy) had our first trip to the emergency room in an ambulance last night. Matthew went into a coughing fit and could not breathe, and when he started turning blue around the lips, cheeks and eyes I called 911. I was getting Thomas changed up for bed and Matthew appeared at my side crying and coughing so hard he could not get a breath and he sounded so "juicy" it scared the crap right out of me. Needless to say, they did a chest xray and compared it to the one they did last Thursday (he had a follow up check for his ear infection and while there the doctor did not like the sound of this lungs-he had had a coughing fit in the car on the over) and it looked fine. It seems that his lungs went into a spasm and they could not relax enough for him to get a good breath. My parents were here with me while Reed was at school for Parent teacher conferences so we called Reed and he was waiting at the emergency room for us. Matthew fell asleep in the ambulance and was all smiles once he saw his Daddy. So needless to say, we are seeing our share of the emergency room and hospital lately and I will not be sad if we don't see it again for a very long time. And hopefully that will be Matthew's only excursion in the ambulance during his childhood (and hopefully Thomas will never need it).

Love,
Sue

Aunt Erika's Visit

Well the boys were finally able to meet their Aunt Erika, as she came to visit us in Maine on her trip home from Thailand. Of course the boys got sick while she was here (see posts below) however they had some good quality time with Aunt Erika. Matthew and his Auntie bonded very quickly and Thomas only took a few minutes longer to open up!! See some pictures below--as you can see Matthew loves to dance and enjoyed his dancing with Aunt Erika and even started down the path of being a photographer (note that the photos of Erika by herself were taken by Matthew with Mommy holding the camera)! We hope to see Aunt Erika again very soon and hopefully Aunt Petra will be with her!

Sick Boys

Ok so Thomas went through a very bad case of Hand, Foot and Mouth and ended up being admitted to the hospital on Sunday with fevers of 106 after being in the emergency room Saturday as well. He came home late Monday night and stayed home with me on Tuesday (and spend Wed-Friday with Memere and Pepere on Friday). By Thursday of last week he started feeling better. Matthew was back to daycare on Wednesday (he had not gotten anything yet but daycare was all sick)then started throwing up on Thursday so he stayed home with me on Friday. Saturday Reed had to work so we all spent the day with Memere and Pepere and everyone seemed to be doing much better until Matthew started throwing up again and then Thomas all night long. Then Reed on Sunday. All three boys seem to be doing better today (the younger ones better than the older one) and the younger ones are once again with Memere and Pepere. Lets hope all are better by tomorrow and that I don't come down with it. I think this might be a long sicky winter.

Poor Thomas

So Thomas has been really sick since Saturday--he was rushed to the emergency room Sat night with fevers of 106 and then back in on Sunday when the Motrin and Tylenol could not keep the fevers down. Sunday night he was admitted to the hospital--checked for they flu, swine flu, pneumonia, and strep throat--all negative--he has Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. He still has a bit of a fever and now is covered in the rash and has the sores in his throat which he constantly reaches up to and says "ow". My poor poor Thomas. So far Matthew has not come down with it and we are keeping our fingers crossed that he won't. I will post another update in a few days to let you all know how he is feeling.

Halloween Pictures

The boys had a great time on Halloween. They were both dressed in oversized Spiderman PJs that had a web under the arm so when you lifted up your arm you could see the web spread out. We only went to a few houses as they really don't understand about Halloween yet and they (and us) certainly don't need the candy. It was more for family and friends in the area to see the boys dressed up. I am posting a few pictures below.

There are a few that are not Halloween pictures--these are the boys looking for their Daddy who was in the basement. I just thought they were too cute not to post and of Aunt Sara giving us a bath.