Just a small break please

Maddie

Things have been a tad hectic here lately, thus the delays in any posts. Last week Maddie had her tonsils and adenoids removed, new tubes put in her ears and her nasal turbinates shaved down. The goal here was to help her breath better and hopefully help with her snoring and sleep. She has always been a restless sleeper and always seemed tired. We are hoping this surgery will be the fix we have been looking for. The surgery in itself was easy and over within an hour. The recovery has been more than I ever anticipated. I knew she would be in pain, I knew it would be hard to watch and I knew it would take at least two weeks for her to heal. What I did not know, was the extreme pain she would be in. That she wouldn't have much of an ability to eat anything, (lately she has started to eat pretzels and will only drink water and chocolate milk from McDonalds...at least she is eating) I didn't realize how much weight she would lose. She initially lost 4-5 pounds, but has put 3 of those pounds back on  now that she is eating, hopefully the other two will come back quickly since she only weighed 33 pounds to begin with and we have fought hard to get her to that weight. I also did not know that her nose could get clogged with some of the thickest, hardest, grossest snot I have ever seen. We had to go to the doctor twice to have it manually removed. The first time some long tweezers were used to extract it, the second time I had to sit and hold her head while she screamed that she wanted it over and wanted to go home and the doctor literally used a small vacuum to suck the stuff out. The things that have come out of her nose are beyond gross and I had no idea things like this could come out of a person. We also had to make a trip to the ER because she couldn't keep anything down and we thought she was on the verge of being dehydrated. Luckily the were able to give her some Zofran and they changed her pain medication and she has been better since. We are currently on day nine after the surgery and she is finally starting to come around. Is trying to eat more foods and is up and playing more and her nose is clear!

Natalie trying out Maddie's Glasses

Natalie on the other hand has an ear infection and pink eye...good times let me tell you! So for now, I am hoping that Maddie continues to heal and Nat gets better fast and that the rest of us don't get the stinky pink eye.

Wow, Four Months Already

The last month has been crazy and most of it was spent travelling. We went to Florida in the beginning of April and then a mere week after returning from there we went to Ohio for Easter. Tanner is an excellent traveler and follows well in his sister's footsteps, which is a good thing since we travel several times a year. I always get a lot of looks when I travel alone with all three kids, some are looks of pity, others are awe. Travelling with children is really an art, and luckily I have this art down to a T. I am also lucky that all three of my kids are good travelers!

In other news Tanner is four months old already and a big four months at that! He is officially 17 pounds 13 ounces. Just 3 ounces shy of 18. He is 26 inches and is in the 90% for both height and weight and is wearing 12 month clothes already, but at least he is one happy and healthy boy! This month he has started to talk a lot, he coos and yells and laughs. He is very ticklish and his giggles, when we are dressing him are too cute. He is close to rolling from his back to stomach, but hates being on his stomach, so tummy time is a challenge and he hasn't shown many signs of going from his belly to his back. He has found his thumb, but still prefers his pacifier for sleeping, much to my dismay because sometimes he needs it in the middle of the night and finding it in the crib can be a challenge. We are still working on the sleeping "through" the night, and some days are better than others, but we are getting there to say the least.

The girls are still in love with their brother and it is really fun to watch the three of them "playing" together. They like to show Tanner his toys and now that he is able to sit in his exersaucer they like to show him the toys and laugh with him and it is nice to see their relationships growing. We also seem to have finally found a balance and more of a routine. The first few months were a little hard and I had immense guilt over not being able to help the girls with certain things and bed time was a challenge, but we seem to have found the balance we need and I am looking forward to the next several months and what they have in store for us as he starts to move and hit other developmental milestones. I am not wishing this time away though and even when I don't sleep I try to cherish every moment I have since he is our last and he is so fun and lovable!