80 degrees, Kawasaki, and other thoughts on spring

March came in like a lamb--that was for certain.
In other places across the country there were snow storms, tornadoes, rain, cold weather...nasty things.  But here, it was a calm, beautiful day.  I had to explain to Maire that even though it felt like the first day of spring it was not really spring yet.  In the afternoon I even had to remind Rachael that it was March and Sarah said, "Oh yeah, it's March 1st today!"

And the next two weeks went just like that--"Wow, beautiful weather!!"  "Mom can we play outside?"  "No, I don't have any homework."  And it was so nice outside and i wanted them to play outside, so I hardly called them in to do housework either, and we got used to lazy beautiful days.

This is what my baby looked like on those beautiful and normal days.  She would 'help me around the house.'  (And the house looked like that too, because of, you know, the baby).

She would play with me, do "toss it in the oven" from Pat-a-cake and started to take a few steps.

But then strange things started happening.  Well, they weren't so strange at first, just a cold.  She got a runny nose and a little bit of a cough--but not too often.  That was on a Wednesday.  By Thursday night, something else was wrong.  She wasn't sleeping--hardly at all.  She got a fever, she was pulling at her ears and hair, she wasn't easily comforted.  The next day being Friday I of course took her to the doctor because I don't like weekends without answers.  The nurse practitioner said that an ear infection is probably the culprit, put her on Zithromicyn and we went home.  

Friday night was worse.  The tylenol wasn't bringing down the fever  of 102.8 and she wasn't sleeping or feeling better.  Saturday we started ibuprofen to try to bring down the fever, but that didn't seem to be giving her any relief either.  On Saturday afternoon we noticed a rash.  

rash on her face and neck--sad mouth and eyes :(

her tummy and back were all like this

Rashes and fevers aren't so strange in places that might get sweaty or warm, like in skin folds or underneath clothing.  But she got a rash on her face?  It was around her eyes and mouth.  She did not look well.  It did not subside and then i noticed it on her trunk and back--all over.  A call to the doctor suggested it might be an allergic reaction to the anit-biotics.  So we went to the ER.  Without looking at her mouth, nose, ear, or anything the ER doctor said, "It could be an allergic reaction, but it looks like a viral rash so the change in antibiotics might not do anything.  But here you go."  

Another sleepless night.  The fever was up high again.  

She stopped eating.  She would take a bottle for a little bit but not very much.  She vomited the ibuprofen so I was afraid to give her more unless she got something down her tummy.  She spend most of Sunday on my lap in and out of sleep.  I thought to myself, "This is the worst day, the antibiotics will bring the fever down and she will start to feel better tomorrow."  

Monday I decided I didn't want to pay the $20 co-pay to have the doctor confirm that she had a virus and i just needed to wait it out.  So I just called to let them know she went to the ER and we'd followup in a few days.  But by the afternoon her rash got worse.  A few spots were raised and it spread down her arms and onto her hands.  

rash on inside of her elbows

can you see the rash on her hands?

But by then, i couldn't get an appointment with the doctor, he was booked.  I set up something for Tuesday morning and prayed that she would make it through the night OK.  In the evening when we took her temp under her arm (she didn't like the ear one any more) it read 104.5.  I took her to the ER again.  She registered at 103.8 at the triage and they gave her motrin and her fever came down. (Remember I wasn't giving her ibuprofen except when I could get her to eat at least 4 oz in one setting so she wouldn't vomit).  But she did not vomit this time and the fever came down for the first time since Thursday.  It was at 99.5.  They also tested her for flu (negative).  She was feeling better and actually tried crawling around.  But I asked if there was some other test they could do.  There was something more going on than just a viral infection, I thought.  The doctor replied that there were many more tests they could do, but he didn't think they would be needed.  

I should have stuck to my guns. 

Monday was a horrible night again.  I kept my doctor's appointment from the day before, brought her in and they could tell right away something was not right with Erica.  "THANK YOU!"  was all i could think.  The nurse practitioner called and consulted with the doctor.  The Doctor went and consulted with...someone, or something else.  (internet?  a book?  another doctor?)  He came back, said it might be Kawasaki Disease and told the nurse to contact the "Infections Diseases" doctor and get Erica in to see them that day.  I'm thinking, "Kawasaki? Infections? Disease?"  

The nurse returns telling me to take Erica to the Fairfax Children's Hospital and go straight to the ER.  She gave me a piece of paper and told me Erica would probably be admitted.  

??!!  great.

Actually it happened really fast.  I was overwhelmed and relieved all in the same moment.  Overwhelmed because I was taking my baby to be admitted to the hospital.  But relieved because someone finally agreed that something serious was wrong with my baby. 

I went home, called and asked my mom to drive me so the car would be available at home, googled "Kawasaki" on the internet, read one site that said 1% of children die from it, stopped reading anything on the internet, packed a bag and left.  

The hospital visit was for 5 days and 4 nights.  It was long but i did feel peace about what was going on.  I felt assurance from God that Erica would be all right and that these doctors knew what they were doing.  There was a team of doctors--the attending doctor at the hospital, the infectious diseases doctor, and then a cardiologist.  She was hooked up to an IV for the majority of her stay (although she pulled it out twice).  She hated getting her blood pressure taken, hated getting medicine (tylenol and motrin and baby asprin), and hated being awakened from sleep in order to do any of those things.  She loved going for a 'walk' in the hallways, even when attached to the IV, and waving to the nurses and other patients.  

At home my mother, sister, and mother in law took the kids and got dinner.  Then other friends from church and my visiting teachers offered help and even came to do laundry and clean my house.  Papa took on another full time job and hardly got any rest between going to work and then getting everyone fed, in bed, and completing homework.  I could feel the prayers of so many people giving Erica strength and health and giving me peace and frankly enough energy to keep me coherent.

Erica came home on Saturday night.  All was well again.  I was ready to go back to March being like a lamb again.

But that was not to be.
The week of March 19th:  Maire came home from school early crying because of a bad ear ache.
Rachael came home with a fever.
Elizabeth came home with an upset stomach.
Rachael went to the ER because she was having trouble breathing and they gave her some epinephrine and  told us she had croup.
The next day Rachael and Maire went to the doctor.
Maire got zithromax for her ear, and Rachael got some steroids because of her cough and she also got another breathing treatment.
Rachael continued to wake up every night with a fever and/or difficulty breathing.
Sunday I couldn't get out of bed.  My throat hurt and I was too tired.  Seriously, i didn't get out of bed.  Until 2:15pm. And then only because Eric woke me up because he had to take the girls to church and he couldn't take the baby because he had to teach primary.  Somehow I got downstairs. Somehow I sat on the couch for an hour.  Then gave the baby a bottle, put her down for a nap, and went back to bed.  I woke up in the middle of the night when Rachael came in with another fever.
Monday, March 26th Rachael got zithromax for bronchitis.  I couldn't get a doctor's appointment.
Tuesday I got penicillin for strep.
Sarah's throat started hurting too.  But her strep test on Tuesday was negative--they sent it to a lab.
Rachel still had a fever, but was finally feeling better (and sleeping).
By Thursday the test came back that Sarah did have strep and she got penicillin.

Today, we are all well.  Sarah and I gag down our penicillin (that is nasty stuff) twice a day, but we are feeling better.
And here is April 1st.
Thank goodness March 2012 is over.

Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas

I have not done a good job of keeping this blog current.  The last few months of 2011 flew by and I didn't share what happened.  I won't be able to do them all justice, but here is a little re-cap of our holiday season.

1-Thankful turkey

2-Christmases--we celebrated Christmas twice.  On December 16-17th we had Christmas with all the Erickson clan that lived in Virginia.  Nina was only home for a short time and we wanted to be able to celebrate with her, so we hung stockings, had a sleepover, woke up early and all opened presents!  Then the next week--the real Christmas we celebrated Christmas eve with just the seven of us.  Christmas morning we opened presents and ate breakfast and went to church to sing in the choir.  We were still busy with family after church with a visit to the Ehlers and the Ericksons.

3-rounds of stomach flu--Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.  don't ask.

4-elves help set up the tree

5 pills taken every 8 hours to calm the pain in my mouth. (3 Advil, 2 acetaminophen)

6 months old when Erica learns to crawl, climb, and gets her first 2 teeth7 days off school (not including weekends). that's not a very big Christmas vacation. 

11 Grandchildren together on the Ehlers' side for Thanksgiving

12 years old is how old you had to be to go the John Schmidt fireside the same night as the ward trunk-or-treat.  So Elizabeth went to the fireside and sacrificed getting lots of candy, but she got a photo, an autograph and  LOVED it.

Halloween 2012: golden princess, Daisy from Mario, Athena, and Hippie

17 piece dollhouse furniture set that Maire got for Christmas.  the girls painted it different pretty colors.

37 people gathered together for Thanksgiving and to visit with Great-Grandma Alley

20 of us got the stomach flu

a visit from the Tooth Fairy

Well, we are having a lot of happenings revolving around teeth these days!

Erica now has 6 teeth, two on bottom, four on top!  It looks like there are more ready to burst and she is gnawing on everything, but especially loves metal.  Her diet is varied, which is normal for her age I understand, but somedays she doesn't eat much more than Cheerios and formula, while other days she feasts on pears, corn, vegetable soup, chicken, mac and cheese, and banana bread.  




Maire lost her first tooth on Tuesday!  Boy that was a long run.  It has been loose for at least a month, along with the one next to it.  They have both been bothering her.  They were loose enough to give her discomfort and stop her from eating even the foods she likes (which are not many) but not loose enough to get out of her mouth.  We tried and tried.  Then yesterday before school she accidentally twisted her tooth! It caught her off guard and Rachael yells, "Pull it out Maire!"  And she did.  So glad the trauma of that tooth is over.  Because it came out with very little pain and no blood, I hope all her nervousness of loosing a tooth is gone and the other loose teeth won't be as dramatic.  Having a tooth bother you is really a pain in and of itself.  It affects how you eat and talk.  You can feel the abnormality of it all the time.  It has happened with all our girls that with certain loose teeth, they become distracted and drawn into themselves while either wiggling it with their tongue or testing how far it can go.  In those moments they aren't very attentive in school or to friends or to their mother.

And on the other end of the spectrum, I have been experiencing severe mouth pain centered around a specific tooth for over 3 months.  I had been to the doctor four of five times since October and told him a specific tooth that was bothering me but x-rays and visual exams showed nothing, just some recession that floride and a special toothpaste for sensitive teeth should fix.  But it didn't.
--I started going into a very long story.  But the short version is that finally, last week an x-ray showed a 'dark area' that could be a root canal.  HURRAY!!  if it is a root canal then it is fixable.  I got the root canal today.  I will still be sore for at least 3 days, maybe as many at 7 because it was so inflamed, but hopefully, by next week the sensitivity to hot, cold, and air will be gone.  By next week perhaps i will stop clentching my teeth so much because the pain is gone. I hope that all will be well.  I am so DONE with the dentist!

Lovely

Savings

Daylight Savings.  It ended today.  Again.
Every year when we get one extra hour.
If feels pretty good until April comes around again and we start 'saving daylight' again.
And every year I try to be conscience of how I use that extra hour.  But that gets tricky.  When is that extra hour?  Is it before I go to sleep?  Is it when I try to sleep in in the morning?  I hope the extra hour isn't really at 2am because then it is wasted when I am not around to enjoy it.
But this year, I knew exactly when my extra hour came.  At 9:30am I was up and showered.  The kids were also cleaned and dressed and mostly fed (it is fast Sunday so they weren't all fed), and ready for church.  We usually aren't this ready until after 10 for sure.  So there I was...staring at my extra hour.
I played with my baby.
Part of me thought, there must be something better I should be doing with this hour.  I still had one more chapter to read for Sunday School, I still hadn't called either of my Grandmas to see how their new houses are.  I didn't change the batteries in the fire alarms (i still need to do that).  Nor did I review the contents of our 72 hour kits.  I laughed and cuddled and sang and smiled with my baby.
OK, maybe I only actually played with her for 30 minutes, the other half of the hour I was getting her dressed, changing a diaper, trying to see if she wanted to eat.  But all the while I was with my baby.

Then it hit me.  This may be the last time I get to spend daylight saving extra hour with one of my babies.  :(
I don't know if I will have another baby.  I think right now the chances are 50/50.  Life is crazy.  Life is expensive.  We still live in a townhouse.  And, I am getting older.  This last pregnancy took quite a toll on me and in turn the whole family.  It may be that another baby just isn't going to happen.  And...6... ... ...that is a lot of kids to take care of.  With all of these thoughts in my head, it makes each moment with Erica more precious to me.  I want to savor it, to NEVER forget it.  She is still so little. So demanding. So constant.  But I can't imagine my life without one of these little souls clinging to me and I clinging to them.
I know I am blessed.  And I have 5 wonderful daughters to care for, to teach and to raise.  There will be tough roads ahead and they will need me, just like I needed my mother.  Being there for them as they grow up is just as important as being there for them when they were babies.  But, I will miss being the mother of a baby.

Elizabeth 

Rachael

Maire

Sarah

So for now I am making memories,
and saving them.

Reading Snapshot-October

One blog I saw had a list of the books the kids were currently reading.  It sounded like a fun idea so I thought I would do it too.  

Elizabeth is reading: Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson.  Where one sister is cursed to have jewels and diamonds fall out of her mouth and one sister is cursed to have toads and serpents fall out of her mouth.  Follow that with tough choices, possible 'prince charmings' and life lessons.  She read it in a day (typical).  I picked it up and started reading it in between lunch and dishes but there were a lot of Indian names that tied my tongue so I got frustrated.  I find that if I can't pronounce a name in my head, I can't keep the characters straight.  But I am going to try again because it sounds really good.

Sarah brought home Rapunzel's Revenge!!  I was very excited for this one.  It is one of Shannon Hale's stories (she did it with her husband and brother).  I read about it on the cover jacket of one of her other books but couldn't find it at the public library.  Sarah found it at the school library this year!  It has a long list of 'holds', but one of Sarah's friends checked it out and after she read it, she let Sarah bring it home (what a nice girl).  Loved it!  It is a graphic novel/comic book, but other than that it is done in true Shannon Hale style.  Rapunzel grows up in a 'wild west' like setting.  She escapes from her tower without a prince and her quest is to free her mother who she found out was being held captive by Mother Gothel.  Along the way she--and her new friend Jack--help many people who have also been affected because of Mother Gothel's selfishness.  The pictures are fun and I love how Rapunzel uses her hair against the 'gun slingers.' 

Rachael is reading all of the above as well, but she also read "Tumtum and Nutmeg" stories about a nice mouse couple who live in Rose Cottage with a family who have two children.  It is a compilation of three sweet stories.  I love how Tumtum and Nutmeg love each other and care about the family of humans they live with and the other mice they meet.  Rachael loves these feel good animal stories.  In fact when I was pregnant last year at this time, and feeling so sick, she would read to me from the books that she checked out of the library while I lay down in my bed.  She is as sweet as these mice.

Maire has library day once a week now!  I love kindergarten :) 

She came home this week with Princess Penelope Takes Charge.  When Penelope gets a baby brother, she is very disappointed because boys can't be princesses, and she wanted the baby to be a princess with her.  But as the baby gets older Penelope realizes that he can be just as fun to do things with and finally realizes he is a prince.

Maire has adjusted well to Erica being around.  I don't think she wishes Erica was a boy, but perhaps that Erica was more fun to play with at this point.  But for now, Maire sings her songs, makes her laugh, picks up the toys that are dropped, and reads books.  And, she likes to check out new books every week.

Six Months