July 2013

Swimming Lessons

We sent Sarah to the "Swim Nazi" this summer for swim lessons. She learned to jump off the diving board and swim to the side of the pool. 

Another Surgery

Sarah had to have her tonsils taken out along with a third set of tubes for her ears. Adam's tonsillectomy was still too fresh in my mind. I feared the worst and should have left those worries behind. Sarah did great! She drank and ate popsicles like a champ. The morning after her surgery she ate a biscuit for breakfast. 

This was after she "woke up". I started off in bed with her but then had to get up to use the bathroom. After that she didn't want anyone on her bed. She sat there watching TV the rest of the day. She would only look away from the TV long enough for me to get a picture! 

Sarah had wonderful nurses throughout her on night stay in the hospital. One nurse was my favorite nurse from Adam's surgery. 

 Here she is the day after getting home playing dress up.

And then the next day swinging at the park. I would say she had an extremely quick recovery!

Panama City Beach, FL

Exactly one week after Sarah's tonsillectomy we piled in the car and headed to Panama City Beach for a week. Lucky for us the tenants from Mom and Daddy's townhouse moved out and it hadn't been rented it yet.  Unfortunately for them the previos tenants smoked in the house and the upstairs bathroom smelled horribly like cigarette smoke. We tried out best to air the place out for them.

 Sarah and Adam wanted Kevin to bury them in the sand.

 This is the pool by the beach. It was nice to rinse the salty water off after a swim in the ocean.

One day Jackson and Kevin went deep sea fishing while Adam, Sarah, and I played at the pool. When we weren't at one of the pools or the beach we drove out to St. Andrew's Park where they have a nice sandy beach with calm water.

 Snorkeling Anyone?

Jackson on his skim board. 

 I guess Sarah thought the lizard needed some water.

 Playing in the sand.

Last time in the pool. There were eleven, and I'm pretty sure we tried most of them out.

Too Much Trauma for This Mama!

 Yesterday started off as a pretty normal day. In fact I love Thursdays. I have a great schedule at school with two 45 minute planning periods back to back, and then I have a help session after school where I help teachers with anything having to do with technology. I headed down the yellow hall around 2:45 and ended up helping FOUR teachers within the hour before I had to leave to get my hair cut. I just love it when I am of good use to somebody- especially lots of somebodies!

Heather, my hairdresser, washed my locks and then proceeded to trim them. While she was trimming, my cell phone rang. I didn't answer because I just think that's rude. If the call is important enough I can call them back. I am not going to talk on the phone while Heather is cutting my hair. I was a little embarrassed that I had forgotten to turn it to vibrate. I told her, "I have no idea who would be calling at this time of day. It could be day care telling to come get my kids that they'd had enough of them." We both laughed, and she started drying my hair. She decided to curl my hair once it was dry and had half of my head curled when my phone rang again. I was still embarrassed that I had forgotten to put it on vibrate. How rude of me! Anyway, she insisted that I answer it, and it was Kevin telling me that the day care was trying to get in touch with us. Sarah had fallen and cut her head and would probably need stitches. Well, Heather quickly finished with my curls, I paid her, and we set up my next appointment. 

I drove as fast as I could to get to the day care and called the pediatrician on the way to let them know we were coming and would be in need of their "after hours" services. Of course, wouldn't you know I got behind every slow person on Church Street. I could not get to my baby fast enough. When I did get there, she was getting the royal treatment. She was sitting in the director's lap watching Mickey Mouse videos on the computer and eating her second lollipop. I scooped her up along with Adam and Jackson and headed a few blocks over to the pediatrician. 

It turns out that she was running to get a toy from under the swings. Supposedly one of her friends kicked her, but we think she must have gotten cut by the swing. She has a nice deep cut coming out of her left eye onto her cheek.

As soon as we walked in the door, the receptionist had the paperwork ready for me to sign and quickly took my copay. We sat down in the waiting room for less than five minutes before the nurse called us back. Jackson decided that he did not want to go and that he promised me he would take care of Adam and that they would behave. So, thinking, "Wow, they knew I was coming and they were ready for us, they'll get Sarah stitched up and out of there in no time", I left the boys in the waiting room to play with the "doctor toy" (you know, the one with the shapes that move along those tracks) and to watch the fish. Mistake #1.

The nurse said the doctor will see us shortly. I heard voices in the hall. I believed her. Thirty minutes later, Kevin calls to say he is home in the driveway. I tell him to back out of that driveway and come get the boys. Who knows what they are doing alone in the waiting room. After waiting an hour, the doctor comes in and looks at Sarah and says, "Yep, we've got to stitch that up". He says that he'll go get the room set up and call us back when it's all ready. I thought, "Good, he'll stitch Sarah up, and we'll be home eating dinner in no time." Mistake #2. I guess he forgot to mention that he was going to see the other patients waiting before he was going to stitch Sarah up.  Another hour goes by. Sarah entertained herself with my phone and was not appreciative when I "borrowed" it to text Kevin every once in a while. He finally left and took the boys to Moe's to eat.

It was finally time to go back to the procedure room. Sarah immediately recoiled and started screaming as soon as we walked in. I must interject here to explain. Two weeks ago, Sarah had that surgery where she had tubes put in her ears and her adenoids taken out. The boys had dentist appointments on Tuesday and she sat trembling terrified of Dr. Beshears and the hygienists with their masks on. Those doctors and nurses at the surgery center told us she wouldn't remember a thing about that surgery. I do believe they were wrong!!! Doctors are now very scary to Sarah. I tried lying her on the table but she was trying with all her might to roll right off. I'd never seen her twist as much as she did. The nurse held her head and I held her hands while both of us were getting kicked by her feet. Once the doctor finally got it numbed- with a needle- YIKES! She calmed down enough for us to talk to her. The doctor covered her face up with a paper covering so that only the cut showed through the hole. That really seemed to help. She didn't have to see those awful things coming at her, and she could play peek-a-boo with me and the nurse. We started asking her questions, and she finally asked for supper and her bear. Poor thing. Traumatized and starving. 

Unfortunately I had a front row seat to view the whole thing and was surprisingly not too grossed out about it. I'd never really known how those stitches worked and now I do. I'm not saying I would want to do all that again- I am avoiding it at all possible costs. 

They did give Sarah some consolation prizes. She got TWO prizes from the prize box and another lollipop.  


We got home about 3 and half hours after this huge adventure started. Sarah asked for a peanut butter sandwich and some milk. She ate it all and was ready to go take a bath and go to bed. I think at that point I may have begun to stop shaking and was ready for a bed myself.  

 

Here Sarah is with a full belly and her bear making kissy faces at the camera. She is unfazed by all the trauma that just transpired. 

She is holding her bear (which she asked for several times- never again will we leave home without bear!) and her three prizes- an alligator car, a princess necklace, and a nice band-aid on the side of her face.

She slept fine all night and seemed OK at breakfast. She did wince once with pain when Jackson started to get a little too close. I noticed this afternoon that her eyelid was looking a little purple. I'm afraid she may end up with a black eye or half a black eye before this is all over with. 

She is supposed to go back to the doctor on Tuesday to get the stitches out. I am looking for any volunteers that are willing to take her to that appointment. My suggestion- wear padded clothes for the kicking and earplugs for the screaming. Lift some weights to build up your muscles for holding her down and you'll be fine. Oh, and if anyone has a plastic bubble we can put her in to keep her safe, we'd appreciate that, too!

Sarah and the Prayer Shawl

This is Sarah with her prayer shawl. Yes, sadly, she needed some prayers two weeks ago. We found out back in October that Sarah's tubes in her ears had fallen out and that she did have a pretty bad ear infection. A visit to the Ear Nose and Throat doctor, Dr. Vaught, confirmed that yes, both tubes had fallen out and that Sarah couldn't hear very well. He said that Sarah needed to have another set of tubes and that this time he was going to take her adenoids out. So, two Wednesdays ago, we got up very early to head to the Mebane Surgical Center.

Sarah was in great spirits (despite the fact that she did not get her PopTart that morning) until the nice receptionist but a bracelet on her. Yes, this would be the child that picks things up around the house to put on her wrists. She was not having this hospital bracelet at all. She screamed and she screamed. I'm surprised the rest of the people in the waiting room didn't run away. The receptionist tried giving her a Chik-fil-a cow with a free milkshake coupon. She threw that one down. We finally just slipped the bracelet off and miraculously, she stopped crying.

They called Sarah back and she hopped off and walked back to her bed on her own. The nurse asked a few quick questions and told us to undress Sarah and put the hospital gown on her. Well, we thought the bracelet was bad... Kevin worked on her shoes while I pried her dress off of her body and out of her hands. Did you hear the screams? I'm sure the neighbors that live next to the surgical center were awakened by such a scream. She refused to let the kitty-cat gown get with in feet of her. She was not going to have it. The anesthesiologist stopped by and said that it was OK to leave her clothes on and continued to ask us some more questions. Dr. Vaught also stopped by. While all these visitors were talking with us, Sarah had grabbed her socks, shoes, and dress and had proceeded to dress herself. She actually got the shoes on the right feet this time, but the dress was on backwards which was fine with her as long as she wasn't wearing the kitty-cat gown. So, my two year old went off to surgery kicking and screaming as I'm sure you can imagine wearing her clothes- shoes and all.

Kevin and I headed to the waiting room as we heard the wailing get farther and farther away. When it was said and done, the doctor talked with us for a few minutes and then the nurse told us to follow her. We were both listening for the sobs and the crying... and there weren't any- none at all. Another nurse was holding Sarah and she was as calm as could be. I took her and held her and rocked her while the nurse gave us our "take home" directions. She did admit to hearing the screams thirty minutes earlier and was a little worried to have to deal with this patient of hers.

Sarah made it through just fine. She laid around all day on Wednesday and then was a totally different child on Thursday. She heard the garbage truck early Thursday morning, and I could tell she had never heard it before. She also started talking and singing (as this video shows) and hasn't stopped since. Her speech therapist was astounded when she worked with her last Tuesday. She said she'd never seen anything like it.

Sarah is very happy to have her prayer shawl. In fact she sleeps with it every night. I 'm not sure she is the one that needs it. The only way Kevin and I are going to make it through the next 16 years with her is through some major praying.

Heeee's Baaaack!

I know it's not obvious in this picture, but Adam is back. Here, he was still feeling a little puny , but today, he's back to feeling great. He woke up in the best mood yesterday morning, and I don't think he has stopped talking since. Jackson was asking me what tonsils look like. This aroused some curiosity in Adam, so he asked where his tonsils went. I told him we would have to ask Dr. McQueen on Monday. He's also back to pointing out all the yellow vehicles on the road. Last week I missed the babysitter's house because I was in a trance and Adam usually announces our arrival. With his sore throat he wasn't talking. This morning he was loud and clear when we got close to Ivy's house. There are moments when I miss the quiet Adam, but I am so glad to have the "real" Adam back!

I Want the Old Adam Back

This new Adam talks funny, is too quiet, whines way too much, and is mean. His voice has changed since he has no tonsils. It sounds nasally and whiny. I have been told that this is just temporary. I hope so because I don't think I can take much more of the whining. I can't understand a thing he says now, and I hate having to ask him to repeat stuff because I know it hurts his throat. He gets so frustrated that he ends up crying which is no good for his throat either. He resorts to grunting and pointing most of the time which I also sometimes don't get. As you can see in the above picture, the new Adam is not cooperative. The old Adam would pose for the camera with a big "Cheese!" Not this Adam. I've tried to take his picture several times and he turns away. The new Adam is not nice to his siblings. I was leaving to go pick Jackson up from bible school this morning and he stood at the door telling me he didn't want me to get Jackson. The old Adam hated when Jackson wasn't home. The new Adam is throwing things at Sarah instead of giving them to her nicely like he used to. I am hoping these new behaviors are all coming from the stress of this surgery and are going to be short-lived. I have a feeling if they continue he is going to begin spending a lot more time in time out and is going to be seeing a lot of "Spanky Spoon".

He has been feeling much better today I think. He has asked to eat on several occasions. He went to a friend's birthday party this afternoon and an ice cream social at church tonight. He had a few bites of the birthday cake at the party, and when we got home from church, he said he wanted a hot dog- Why not? They're soft. Kevin cut one up in the tiniest of pieces and Adam ate the whole thing! That's more than he's eaten in one day so far! (He also had some ice cream at church.)

Sarah's newest favorite toy- a water bottle. She carried this thing around all morning. At the birthday party I had a Coke and she was dying to get her hands on the bottle. She had some cake and ice cream, too. She wasn't too fond of the ice cream but loved the cake!

Now, do you think she would hold her real bottle by herself?- NOPE! She refuses to hold it but will sit in this beanbag and hold the water bottle. Go figure! I just knew she would crawl right out when I put her there but she stayed for quite a while.

I don't think Adam expected me to have the camera when he did this. He also made an awful face when he got up. I think this pose must have hurt his throat a little.

Tonsil Free- Day Four

When I was forced out of bed this morning at 6:00 I thought we would be back at the hospital by the end of the day. Adam came in around 4:30 and said that his tummy hurt. Kevin got up and Adam went back to bed on his own. At around 5:30, Sarah woke up, and I put her pacifier back in her mouth and she went back to sleep. At 6:00 Adam came in our room saying his tummy hurt. He made it to the chest at the end of our bed and threw up on the blanket. I couldn't believe he actually had something in his stomach to throw up. We cleaned him up and put him in bed with us hoping to get a few more minutes of shut-eye. Adam started complaining of his throat hurting so I went downstairs and got him some medicine. He took it just fine but threw it all up about ten minutes later. Sarah woke up and the three of us went downstairs. Kevin stayed in the bed and Jackson had spent the night with a friend. As I was fixing Sarah a bottle, Adam asked for water. I thought, well if he's asking for something his stomach should be fine. He drank a small cup of water. And ten minutes later, threw it up. Our instructions from the hospital said to call the doctor if he had any nausea or vomiting. I waited for the office to open and gave them a call. The nurse said it was probably a virus and to give them a call back if he didn't get any better throughout the day. Thank goodness he kept everything else down the rest of the day. He got up and played with Sarah a little and worked on a puzzle with me. We did the same Cars puzzle about 10 times. After a while I had him go lay back down to rest. He did and ended up falling asleep. Jackson came back from his friend's house around 1:30 and it woke Adam up. Jackson wanted lunch, and Adam decided that he was ready to eat, too.- except he wanted what Jackson was having- quesadillas. He wouldn't even settle for the chocolate pudding. He took a few sips of apple juice through tears. I told him to go lay back down until he could stop crying. Jackson had to eat in the pantry just in case Adam came back in the kitchen. Don't worry. I set him up a little table and a stool in there. He was all cozy. While Jackson was resting, Adam decided he was ready to eat, and he wanted breakfast. So at 4:30 in the afternoon the boy ate some oatmeal and drank some apple juice.

When Jackson got up they played nicely together in the living room. Jackson left around supper time to go to Vacation Bible School and then Kevin came home. I've decided that it is best for Jackson to stay away from the house as much as possible so Adam doesn't feel like he has to keep up with him. Jackson is definitely enjoying his excursions and Adam doesn't seem to mind...yet. While Jackson was away, Adam ate some tomato soup and drank some milk. He's asking for things like macaroni and cheese and fruit snacks, but I just don't think he's ready for those yet. He's only had one dose of Tylenol today, so he must not be in as much pain. Although all of the paperwork and the things I've read say that you have a backslide with the pain around the 4-6 day mark. Tomorrow may not be as good of a day.

I gave Adam this bucket so that if had to throw up, he could use it instead of going all the way to the bathroom. I thought it might save my couch and rug, too. Once he started feeling better he was putting it on my head. I put it on his head and then on Sarah's. I tried to get a picture of Adam but he wouldn't let me.

Sarah was quite the little monkey today. She followed me from room to room playing with whatever she could find. She has added lots of sounds to her "vocabulary". In addition to mama and baba, today I also heard some da's, some ga's, and some other stuff all strung together. If she was playing with it, she was talking to it, too. Her motor boat also ran most of the day. Oh- and she slept! She took about a 2 hour nap which I think is a record for her.

Tonsil Free- Day Three

We took Jackson and Sarah to the sitter's so that Adam could rest, and rest is what he did. He pretty much laid around the house today. He either laid on the couch, the floor, or the chair. He took three bites of applesauce and declared he didn't like it but did drink some water. Around lunchtime I offered him some chocolate pudding and he ate the whole thing! It's not exactly healthy, but he's getting calcium, right?

He took a nap and when he woke up he had more medicine, more chocolate pudding, and more water. We went to go get Jackson and Sarah. We took Jackson to a friend's house where he is spending the night. Once we got home, Adam got down on the floor and played with Sarah a little- the most active he's been all day. We played some cards and colored a little. He also started talking more. Around dinner time, he asked for some fruit snacks. I told him he couldn't have fruit snacks but he could have applesauce, Jello, or mashed potatoes. He decided he wanted mashed potatoes. I let him help me make them, and he ate a small bowl with some milk.

Today didn't start off too good but ended up being a good day in the end. I think Adam is finally making some progress. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

The Saga on Becoming Tonsil Free

About a year ago, we had Adam evaluated for his speech because he wasn't talking very much. The Speech Therapist mentioned that his tonsils were pretty big and said he should be looked at by an ENT. I didn't think it was that big of a deal so I waited until his 3 year old check-up and asked his pediatrician about them. Dr. Bailey said they were large and that he definitely should be seen by an ENT. When I called to make the appointment I was surprised that I could get one so quickly. Dr. McQueen took a very quick look at Adam's throat and said, "Yep, those have got to come out." So, here we sit today recovering from a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy.

The procedure occurred on Tuesday morning at 8:40. As soon as we got to the hospital at 7:15, they took us back to the pre-op area. Kevin and I were able to stay with him the whole time. They had a coloring book, a clown made by the Auxiliary club, and a gown for him. Sitting on my lap, he colored and hugged the clown but refused to take his clothes off. He kept asking when we could go home. I just kept telling him we have to see the doctor first. He fought about taking his medicine (some Tylenol and some sort of Valium), but we had no idea that this little "fight" was nothing compared to later. He finally got loopy enough for us to get him into the gown right before they took him back. He even sat on the bed as long as Kevin sat with him. Kevin was able to go back with him until he fell asleep. He had to put on a full length suit, shoe covers, and a hair cover. I wish I had remembered the camera! Kevin said that Adam fought the mask they put on his nose, and he had to help hold him down. Not a pleasant experience.

We sat in the waiting room for about 30 minutes when the doctor called us back. Dr. McQueen said that Adam did fine and that his tonsils were huge. He said he should be able to breathe much better now. He also said he wouldn't be back by until after his office closed at 5:00!!! There went all of our plans. We were thinking we would all be home by that time. What a surprise we were in for.

We went and sat back in the waiting room for another 1o minutes or so (it felt more like an hour) before they called us back to the recovery room. We decided that I would go to recovery and that Kevin would go wait in Adam's room. When I got back there, he was screaming, coughing, and tossing and turning all over the bed. They pulled a rocking chair close to the bed. The nurse said she was going to place him in my lap because if she let go of him for me to get him, he was going to run. He sat in my lap and I gave him bear, but he was still trying to get all the leads off of him and was trying to get to his IV. We were told that the first people he would see when he woke up would be us so that he would think we were with him the whole time. That plan backfired a little don't you think? The poor kid was scared to death and didn't recognize a soul. They did call Kevin in to join us too. We stayed in there for about 15-20 minutes while he calmed down and all the monitors said he was doing good. They transferred me and Adam to a wheel chair and wheeled us up to his room on the pediatrics floor.

He wanted me in bed with him, so we sat and watched some cartoons together. He never went to sleep. Kevin and I both expected him to just crash once he got to his room. The nurse, Christie, came in and gave him some Tylenol with codeine and an antibiotic which he took with no problem. Looking back, the heavy duty pain meds they gave him right after surgery were still working. His lunch came and he ate some orange Jello, three bites of a popsicle, a few sips of apple juice, and three or four ice chips. It all went down hill after that. He ended up falling asleep and I had no idea how often he was supposed to take the pain medicine. I also thought because he was a child, they would give him the pain medicine without us having to ask. WRONG! Just like adults you have to request it. He was in so much pain that he only ended up swallowing about half of his pain meds. He wouldn't drink anything and didn't touch his supper (orange Jello).

A bad thunderstorm rolled around about the time the doctor was supposed to come by. He had been in touch with the nurses throughout the day and called us to say that he didn't feel safe walking over to the hospital (we didn't blame him), and he felt that Adam should stay the night because he hadn't drunk enough during the day. He would be by early in the morning to check on him. Kevin left a little later to get Jackson and Sarah from the baby sitter's. He brought them to see Adam and brought me some dinner. Jackson was very curious and was asking way too many questions around Adam. He, Sarah, and I went for a little walk to answer all those questions. They left as the nurses were changing shifts.

Adam and I had gotten settled. He was laying with me in the bed watching TV (thank goodness for those channels that show kids shows all day long and into the night!) when the new nurse came in. Her name was Terry and she was a little abrupt. She just did what she had to do and didn't "sweeten" any of it up for Adam. At least he was used to the blood pressure, temperature, and heart rate checks. She put the pulsar machine on his finger (it had been on his toe but taken off for the many trips to the bathroom) and taped it on. He wanted it off and started crying. Then she wanted him to take his medicine. Of course, he wanted me to give it to him. Through tears and threatening to get Terry to give it to him, I attempted. He spit it all out. Terry just got another dose and he did take that. Again, he took the antibiotic just fine. He just hates the taste of that Tylenol. I texted Kevin and asked him to bring our Tylenol from home to see if he would take that any better. I got ready for bed, turned the lights down, and held him until he fell asleep. Around 10:00, about the time I had just fallen asleep, the nurse came in to get me to sign some papers and to give me a sheet on which to record his eating and bathroom habits. Couldn't that have waited until morning??? I think I finally fell asleep about 2-3 hours later, which was about 30 minutes before she came in again.

She checked Adam's vital signs again and said it was time to take his medicine again. My thought- Oh boy, here we go again. He got so upset that he was coughing, crying, and bleeding. I am so glad we spent the night because I would have freaked out! Terry checked his throat several times and I guess it stopped because she never really did anything about it. He did take both the Tylenol and the antibiotic. I changed his Pull-Up and he laid right down and went back to sleep. Me? I lay there listening to him, checking on him every time he coughed. I think we slept (if you can call it that) until about 6:00 when Terry returned. More medicine. More tears. This time Terry left the room and I gave Adam his medicine and he did so much better. I think he just didn't like her. He got up to potty (which was an ordeal with the IV and the Pulsar monitor) and then laid back in bed watching more cartoons. He started complaining of his belly hurting. I thought, Oh good, he's hungry. I asked him if he wanted some juice. He nodded, so I went to the refrigerator got some juice and a cup. I poured all of that juice into a cup and gave it to Adam. He held the cup to his mouth and threw up all in the cup. I called for the nurse, and she came right in. She didn't seem alarmed by it at all. She said it was from all the blood he had swallowed that night. GROSS! Again, so glad we spent the night.

Around 7:30, Dr. McQueen came in to check on Adam. He was more concerned about him eating and drinking. I asked him about taking regular Tylenol without the codeine, and he was OK with that- thank goodness! He also said he would have them turn the IV off (not take it out of his arm but at least unhook him from the machine) so he could move around more. After Dr. McQueen left, we met our new nurse, Kelly. Mine and Adam's favorite by far. She checked his vitals and turned the IV down so that not so much was going in him. She said that it would encourage him to drink and eat some Jello. They brought him 3 bowls of Jello for breakfast, but someone in the cafeteria got confused. They brought him peach Jello instead of orange. Adam took about two bites of the peach and said he didn't like it. UGH! He was actually going to eat but didn't like it. Go figure! We asked Kelly to call down for some orange Jello and asked her about giving him our grape Tylenol from home. The hospital apparently only has cherry- Adam's least favorite flavor. She had no problems with that which was good because I could make sure he got it every 3-4 hours instead of having to wait for the nurse to get it. He was a little more tolerant of the grape flavor but still fought a little before taking it.

His orange Jello came and he ate all of it! He also had a few sips of water. At this point we were pros at taking him to the bathroom and he became one too. We would have to unplug his cord from the pulsar machine and unplug the IV machine to take it with us. Adam would hold his pulsar cord, I would hold the IV line and push the machine. He knew he couldn't walk too fast. I think he enjoyed going to the bathroom because he could get up and move around.

After lunch (an orange popsicle, some water, and some orange Jello) and a nap, the nurse came in and unhooked his IV completely. She didn't take it out of his hand but at least he could move around better. He went for some short walks to the fish tank by the nurse's station and discovered the cart of books. He kept going out to get more books. There was a wagon in his room and he started climbing in and out of that getting a little more adventurous- a little more like Adam. I think that the codeine had been bringing him down. Around 4:00, we decided that we had had enough of the hospital and went to ask about a departure time. Kelly called Dr. McQueen, and he said that we could go home as long as Adam continued to eat and drink at home. She wrote up his discharge papers, went over instructions with us, and took out Adam's IV. He whimpered a little but was a trooper through the whole thing.

We left the hospital around 4:45 and went to get Sarah and Jackson. Seth, Ivy, and Jackson made get well bags for Adam with some goodies. He smiled so I know he appreciated them. We got home around 5:30. While Kevin fed Sarah, I tried feeding Adam some Jello. Our orange Jello must not taste like the hospital's Jello. He said he didn't like it. A Highlights Puzzle Book came in the mail with some stickers. I told him for every bite he took he could put a sticker on the page. It worked, and he ate the whole thing. Now, if only that would work for the Tylenol!

He colored with his crayons from the Lamoreaux's and Jackson, took a bath, and went to bed. He slept all night until about 7:30 the next morning which is great for Adam.

This whole ordeal was nothing like I expected. I thought he would take the Tylenol so we could stay on top of the pain and he would just bounce right back. I am now thinking he may not be ready to go back to the sitter's on Monday. Only time will tell...