Before bed tonight, Hannah asked if she could look at pictures in bed on her IPhone (and by "her IPhone" I mean my old one that houses her music, a few non-internet dependent games of hers, and some pictures she has taken). She excitedly goes to lay in bed and I am sitting on the couch hanging out and taking pictures of Zach while he is deliriously sleepy and giggly.
After about 30 minutes I check on Hannah and she is almost asleep in her dark room while Little Einstein's Bedtime Lullabies is playing on her IPhone. I went in to give her a kiss goodnight and she looks up and me and this happens...
Hannah: Are there King Cobra's here?
Me: Um, What?
H: Are there King Cobra's here? (at this point I can tell she had heard something at school that clearly sent her mind on a tail spin)
Me: I am not sure
H: Are they only in San Diego?
Instantly I started laughing
Me: Sweetie, that is the most random thing you could have ever said to me. San Diego? Why would you say that? What did you hear about King Cobra's?
H: Why? Have you been to San Diego?
Me: Yes. Many times. I don't think there are King Cobra's there. At least I never saw one.
At this point Chris walks in to give her a goodnight kiss... so I tell him about her concerns and he assures us that they are in India. And Hannah drifts off to sleep.
Showing posts with label Hannah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hannah. Show all posts
Friday, September 6, 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
As heard...
Every night at dinner we discuss the best parts of our days and the worst parts of our day. The other night we got to Hannah... she had a couple good parts of her day.. no bad parts and we'd moved on to someone else... then....
Hannah: "Oh! Mom! I have another best part of my day!"
Me: "Oh yeah? What is that?"
H: "For snack today... we had salad. With SARDINES!"
Me: "Oh yeah? Did you like them?"
H: "Yes! They were SOOOOO good"
Me: "Really? Can you tell me about them?'
H: "Yeah. They were like... these square crackers"
Me: "Ooooooh... you mean saltines"
Hannah: "Oh! Mom! I have another best part of my day!"
Me: "Oh yeah? What is that?"
H: "For snack today... we had salad. With SARDINES!"
Me: "Oh yeah? Did you like them?"
H: "Yes! They were SOOOOO good"
Me: "Really? Can you tell me about them?'
H: "Yeah. They were like... these square crackers"
Me: "Ooooooh... you mean saltines"
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Parent Teacher Conference
There have been many days in my 8.7 years of parenting that I questioned whether or not I was doing it right. Wondering how bad I was screwing my kids up and running the numbers in my head of how much therapy would cost.
Today was not one of those days.
This afternoon we had Hannah's second trimester parent teacher conference.
Her teacher gushed about what a lovely child she was. She maxed out the report card. Everything was either the top mark she could receive or something they have not yet done evaluations on yet. Because neither Mrs. H, Chris or I had many concerns or pressing issues to discuss, we were chatting at the end of the meeting.
Then Mrs. H made me cry.
She told me about how today she was discussing the poem "Star light star bright first star I see tonight.....". She was asking the students what they would wish for. If they were to walk outside and it was dark and there was one star in the sky... what would they wish for. Kids were saying many predictable things. A new puppy. Candy. Then it was Hannah's turn. She stood up and while waving her hands over all of her classmates said "My wish would be for everybody here to be healthy". I instantly had tears. Mrs. H said she felt the same way when it happened. She was taken aback because in all of her years of teaching, no child had ever said such a thing.
This girl is amazing
Today was not one of those days.
This afternoon we had Hannah's second trimester parent teacher conference.
Her teacher gushed about what a lovely child she was. She maxed out the report card. Everything was either the top mark she could receive or something they have not yet done evaluations on yet. Because neither Mrs. H, Chris or I had many concerns or pressing issues to discuss, we were chatting at the end of the meeting.
Then Mrs. H made me cry.
She told me about how today she was discussing the poem "Star light star bright first star I see tonight.....". She was asking the students what they would wish for. If they were to walk outside and it was dark and there was one star in the sky... what would they wish for. Kids were saying many predictable things. A new puppy. Candy. Then it was Hannah's turn. She stood up and while waving her hands over all of her classmates said "My wish would be for everybody here to be healthy". I instantly had tears. Mrs. H said she felt the same way when it happened. She was taken aback because in all of her years of teaching, no child had ever said such a thing.
This girl is amazing
Monday, April 9, 2012
Happy Easter!
We had a fantastic Easter weekend.
We spent a great evening with friends the night before we left out of town for Easter. Mandy hosted. The main reason for gathering was to dye Easter eggs with the kids. We made homemade pizza. Mandy and I shared a bottle of red. Sarah and her beautiful pregnant self brought the cheese and plastic eggs filled with goodies for an Easter egg hunt. Luckily Holden's mood improved and Tara and Arabella were able to join us too. Poor Chris ended up being the only guy but as we all know... he is a good sport. :) Zach chose to go out of town a day early with Nana and miss the gathering so we missed him!
The kids waited patiently before wandering the yard looking for the eggs. They were each given a red solo cup to collect their finds. Joseph started singing some red solo cup song??
The hunt is on
We then lined up more red cups to do the egg dye. We all agreed that doing this process as a group was definitely less stressful and fun for us all!
Mandy recently got the OK to have her chickens and this was their first day in their new house. They were a little sketchy over the kids chasing them trying to pick them up and then all these eggs. They kept trying to jump up and peck at them.
At the end of the night the kids were happy that the chickens were tired and they were actually able to carry them to the coop.
(Jackson - he said he is going to marry Hannah and brought her a flower to school :) )
I think technically Arabella picked up the chicken(s) and handed them to Hannah but she was SO excited to hold them
The tree got a workout this evening. Only 1 incident that was fixed with kisses and a band-aid.
The next day we headed out to my hometown and had an early Easter dinner at my grandmothers house. GG is 88 this year! It was nice and relaxing and I failed to take many pictures so here's all I got.
The next morning we had an egg hunt and brunch with Chris' mom and step dad.
We had an uneventful drive home and we spent Sunday afternoon home preparing for the week ahead.
I definitely feel blessed this year!! Hope you all had a memorable weekend as well!
We spent a great evening with friends the night before we left out of town for Easter. Mandy hosted. The main reason for gathering was to dye Easter eggs with the kids. We made homemade pizza. Mandy and I shared a bottle of red. Sarah and her beautiful pregnant self brought the cheese and plastic eggs filled with goodies for an Easter egg hunt. Luckily Holden's mood improved and Tara and Arabella were able to join us too. Poor Chris ended up being the only guy but as we all know... he is a good sport. :) Zach chose to go out of town a day early with Nana and miss the gathering so we missed him!
The kids waited patiently before wandering the yard looking for the eggs. They were each given a red solo cup to collect their finds. Joseph started singing some red solo cup song??
The hunt is on
We then lined up more red cups to do the egg dye. We all agreed that doing this process as a group was definitely less stressful and fun for us all!
Mandy recently got the OK to have her chickens and this was their first day in their new house. They were a little sketchy over the kids chasing them trying to pick them up and then all these eggs. They kept trying to jump up and peck at them.
At the end of the night the kids were happy that the chickens were tired and they were actually able to carry them to the coop.
(Jackson - he said he is going to marry Hannah and brought her a flower to school :) )
I think technically Arabella picked up the chicken(s) and handed them to Hannah but she was SO excited to hold them
The tree got a workout this evening. Only 1 incident that was fixed with kisses and a band-aid.
The next day we headed out to my hometown and had an early Easter dinner at my grandmothers house. GG is 88 this year! It was nice and relaxing and I failed to take many pictures so here's all I got.
The next morning we had an egg hunt and brunch with Chris' mom and step dad.
We had an uneventful drive home and we spent Sunday afternoon home preparing for the week ahead.
I definitely feel blessed this year!! Hope you all had a memorable weekend as well!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
3 little birds
About a week ago after dinner Hannah started singing "Cause every little thing... is gonna be alright". I was so proud to hear her singing such amazing song and knowing the words and the melody as if she'd known it for years. This has always been a favorite of mine and it is Bob Marley after all.
After singing it a couple times with her and still kind of beaming that me and Chris' great taste in music had worn off on her and she wouldn't fall victim to the Justin Bieber Fan club ... Chris says "they play it on Nickelodeon commercials".
My bubble totally burst. I hadn't exposed her to inspirational music of the generations but some damn Cartoon Network had. I felt like the biggest asshole of a parent.
Another seemingly unrelated story:
So a few weeks ago my mom went to Arizona with a friend and while shopping she found a squirrel proof bird feeder.
Sidenote: I have not been able to successfully plant anything on our back deck or back of our property because these huge bastard squirrels dig up everything. So my mom was very excited to try this somewhere in our yard.
So I finally get the feeder up about a week ago and I put it outside my kitchen window. I didn't want it somewhere that they could crap all over the deck and because I didn't know what kind or size of birds would use this feeder I didn't want it somewhere that if it was empty and the birds get mad they would dive bomb the kids where they played so I put it off to the side not over the deck. It is about 7 feet out from my kitchen window. We were home this whole weekend and in between the rain and hail storms these cute little birds would come and eat the food. We don't often see this small of birds in our area but I think since the bigger birds and too big to fit in the cage these ones have free reign.
So all weekend we got to look at all these cute little birds take turns eating the seeds. The kids loved looking out the windows at them and they were just such a bright part of our weekend. It made me sing "3 little birds" often with the kids.
It made me think of my teenage years and listening to the Legend album in my first car. It reminded me that Mandy posted this video to my Facebook wall the morning Chris was going in for heart surgery and that I posted it to her wall when she was going through the early stages of divorce. It made me think of palm trees. To me it is just one of the most soothing songs.
It also made me realize I really need to stop singing Katy Perry with my kids and put on the classics!
After singing it a couple times with her and still kind of beaming that me and Chris' great taste in music had worn off on her and she wouldn't fall victim to the Justin Bieber Fan club ... Chris says "they play it on Nickelodeon commercials".
My bubble totally burst. I hadn't exposed her to inspirational music of the generations but some damn Cartoon Network had. I felt like the biggest asshole of a parent.
Another seemingly unrelated story:
So a few weeks ago my mom went to Arizona with a friend and while shopping she found a squirrel proof bird feeder.
Sidenote: I have not been able to successfully plant anything on our back deck or back of our property because these huge bastard squirrels dig up everything. So my mom was very excited to try this somewhere in our yard.
So I finally get the feeder up about a week ago and I put it outside my kitchen window. I didn't want it somewhere that they could crap all over the deck and because I didn't know what kind or size of birds would use this feeder I didn't want it somewhere that if it was empty and the birds get mad they would dive bomb the kids where they played so I put it off to the side not over the deck. It is about 7 feet out from my kitchen window. We were home this whole weekend and in between the rain and hail storms these cute little birds would come and eat the food. We don't often see this small of birds in our area but I think since the bigger birds and too big to fit in the cage these ones have free reign.
So all weekend we got to look at all these cute little birds take turns eating the seeds. The kids loved looking out the windows at them and they were just such a bright part of our weekend. It made me sing "3 little birds" often with the kids.
It made me think of my teenage years and listening to the Legend album in my first car. It reminded me that Mandy posted this video to my Facebook wall the morning Chris was going in for heart surgery and that I posted it to her wall when she was going through the early stages of divorce. It made me think of palm trees. To me it is just one of the most soothing songs.
It also made me realize I really need to stop singing Katy Perry with my kids and put on the classics!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Happenings on a preschool playground....
Last night over dinner Hannah was telling us about her day.
She informed us that H (a boy at her school) "is the best boy ever because he likes girl stuff. Like clothes and lip gloss and necklaces".
A bit later Hannah says "H and C (girl at her school) are married because they kissed"
I asked "Do you think you guys are a little young to be kissing?"
"Well C is 5 so she is older. But H is only 4"
I am SO not ready for this.
She informed us that H (a boy at her school) "is the best boy ever because he likes girl stuff. Like clothes and lip gloss and necklaces".
A bit later Hannah says "H and C (girl at her school) are married because they kissed"
I asked "Do you think you guys are a little young to be kissing?"
"Well C is 5 so she is older. But H is only 4"
I am SO not ready for this.
Monday, March 5, 2012
As heard...
The other night while we were eating dinner... this was heard at our dinner table.
Hannah: "What is this meat we are eating?"
Me: "It is turkey kielbasa"
Hannah: "Turkey what??"
Me: "Kielbasa"
Hannah: "That's a fancy word"
Hannah: "What is this meat we are eating?"
Me: "It is turkey kielbasa"
Hannah: "Turkey what??"
Me: "Kielbasa"
Hannah: "That's a fancy word"
Monday, February 6, 2012
Dancing Queen
Ever since we took Hannah to see The Nutcracker she has been very interested in ballet and asked to take dance classes. Conveniently, a new dance studio opened close to our house this month! She had her first class on Saturday and while she was the only student this week, she loved it. She learned some steps and started learning the routine for their recital in May!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
As heard...
The other day Hannah and I disagreed on something and she got upset and stormed into her room, threw herself on her bed, and sobbed. (seriously... she's only 4?!?!)
I went in and we talked about it and I left her room. She continued to lay there. Chris went in and lay down next to her.
Hannah turned to Chris and said "Daddy. You are the only one who understands me".
Seriously?
I went in and we talked about it and I left her room. She continued to lay there. Chris went in and lay down next to her.
Hannah turned to Chris and said "Daddy. You are the only one who understands me".
Seriously?
Saturday, January 21, 2012
As heard...
We joined some of my family at Gilroy Gardens to experience the Holiday Lights that they put up during the season. Walking in we were overwhelmed with the beauty of the light displayed. Hannah had fallen asleep in the car so was quietly in the stroller under a blanket. As we were walking in Hannah says to me
"Mama... My eyes are watering because it is so beautiful, I have tears."
"Mama... My eyes are watering because it is so beautiful, I have tears."
Monday, September 12, 2011
Happy Birthday Hannah!
Dear Hannah,
You are now 4 and the lovely sweet girl that you are is re-emerging. 3 was hard. Really hard. You pushed every boundary you could find. You averaged more fits a day than I can keep track of. You told me and your dad that you hated us.
The fog is lifting and we are communicating better. It was definitely not all you. I am still learning how to effectively parent a "spirited" child. It is a learning process for us both.
Your gigantic heart is emerging and showing us that compassionate, loving, smart, beautiful girl that I know you are.
You recently started at a new preschool and you are learning so much. You are becoming even more independent and confident.
I am so proud to be your mom. That fog, that was 3, just goes to show how strong willed and passionate you are going to be as you grow to be an amazing young woman.
I love you more than you will ever know Hannah.
You are now 4 and the lovely sweet girl that you are is re-emerging. 3 was hard. Really hard. You pushed every boundary you could find. You averaged more fits a day than I can keep track of. You told me and your dad that you hated us.
The fog is lifting and we are communicating better. It was definitely not all you. I am still learning how to effectively parent a "spirited" child. It is a learning process for us both.
Your gigantic heart is emerging and showing us that compassionate, loving, smart, beautiful girl that I know you are.
You recently started at a new preschool and you are learning so much. You are becoming even more independent and confident.
I am so proud to be your mom. That fog, that was 3, just goes to show how strong willed and passionate you are going to be as you grow to be an amazing young woman.
I love you more than you will ever know Hannah.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
As heard....
This morning we were discussing sleeping arrangements for the night. Chris' mom is coming for an overnight visit and we are going to have her sleep in Zach's bed. We asked Hannah if she was ok with Zach sleeping in her room with her. Her response...
"No... it will smell like boy"
.........
"But Hannah... Daddy sleeps in our room and he is a boy... does my room smell like boy?"
.........
"True"
"No... it will smell like boy"
.........
"But Hannah... Daddy sleeps in our room and he is a boy... does my room smell like boy?"
.........
"True"
Sunday, May 1, 2011
As heard...
The other day Hannah was eating an apple and had some interesting things to say
Hannah: "Mom... an apple tree is going to grow in my stomach"
Me: "Why, did you swallow an apple seed?"
Hannah: "No"
A few moments later....
Hannah: "Mom... a booger tree is going to grow in my stomach"
Me: holding back the laughter "Why, did you eat a booger?"
Hannah: "Yes, the other day at Miss Cindy's house"
Me: "Hannah... please don't eat your boogers"
Hannah: "Mom... an apple tree is going to grow in my stomach"
Me: "Why, did you swallow an apple seed?"
Hannah: "No"
A few moments later....
Hannah: "Mom... a booger tree is going to grow in my stomach"
Me: holding back the laughter "Why, did you eat a booger?"
Hannah: "Yes, the other day at Miss Cindy's house"
Me: "Hannah... please don't eat your boogers"
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Happy 3rd Birthday Hannah Rose!!
Dear Hannah,
It is hard to believe that 3 years has passed already yet I cant believe it has only been 3 years. You fit so perfectly into our family. You bring such an energy to our lives and you and your brother are the best of friends. You understand what he is saying better than we do. You can out talk and out smart most kids your age and ask quite often if you can go to school. However, you don't want to just go to any school, "Princess School" is what you ask for. You have a way of melting my heart with your smile and the sweet things you say. You love to give us kisses when you know we need them most.
You also have a way of making me want to run screaming from the house. You have an attitude. A big one. You also have a shriek that makes us cringe. If you don't get your way, it generally results in a long drawn out crying fit that does not end until we can come to some sort of compromise. You run us. And you know it. But I know this just means you are going to be a strong minded young woman and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I love you more than you will ever imagine my sweet girl.
Love,
Mommy
You wanted a party this year and you asked for a princess party so that is what you got!
It is hard to believe that 3 years has passed already yet I cant believe it has only been 3 years. You fit so perfectly into our family. You bring such an energy to our lives and you and your brother are the best of friends. You understand what he is saying better than we do. You can out talk and out smart most kids your age and ask quite often if you can go to school. However, you don't want to just go to any school, "Princess School" is what you ask for. You have a way of melting my heart with your smile and the sweet things you say. You love to give us kisses when you know we need them most.
You also have a way of making me want to run screaming from the house. You have an attitude. A big one. You also have a shriek that makes us cringe. If you don't get your way, it generally results in a long drawn out crying fit that does not end until we can come to some sort of compromise. You run us. And you know it. But I know this just means you are going to be a strong minded young woman and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I love you more than you will ever imagine my sweet girl.
Love,
Mommy
You wanted a party this year and you asked for a princess party so that is what you got!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
As heard...
Hannah: "Mooooom"
Me: "Yes Hannah"
Hannah: "I want a kitty and a doggy and a baby brother"
Zachary: "No baby brother! I not a baby! I'm a big boy!"
Me: "Yes Hannah"
Hannah: "I want a kitty and a doggy and a baby brother"
Zachary: "No baby brother! I not a baby! I'm a big boy!"
Sunday, January 24, 2010
As heard...
The other night while Hannah was taking a bath, she pointed to a birthmark on her tummy and asked me what it was... this is how the conversation went...
Hannah: Mommy, what's this?
Me: That's your birthmark
H: Birthmark?
Me: Yes, something you were born with. See, I have one on my neck
H: YOU have one?
Me: Yes, see (pointing to it)
H: Mommy, you have sparkles on your back??
Me: No, I don't have sparkles on my back
H: Mommy... you have sparkles on your privates?
Me: No, Hannah, no sparkles on my privates
I walk out of the bathroom and tell Chris "Guess what Hannah just asked me?" and told him the conversation.
Chris says.... "Freckles. She is asking you if you have freckles"
Yes... that makes much more sense.
Hannah: Mommy, what's this?
Me: That's your birthmark
H: Birthmark?
Me: Yes, something you were born with. See, I have one on my neck
H: YOU have one?
Me: Yes, see (pointing to it)
H: Mommy, you have sparkles on your back??
Me: No, I don't have sparkles on my back
H: Mommy... you have sparkles on your privates?
Me: No, Hannah, no sparkles on my privates
I walk out of the bathroom and tell Chris "Guess what Hannah just asked me?" and told him the conversation.
Chris says.... "Freckles. She is asking you if you have freckles"
Yes... that makes much more sense.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
As heard....
Today we took Hannah to the ER. (not the point of the blog, but I will explain). She has had croup this week. It seemed to clear up as she slept great last night and sounded great this morning. I had to go back to work and Chris was working a half day so we took her to daycare in the morning. Cindy called around 1:30 saying she woke up screaming from nap and was short of breath. I called her pediatrician and they closed early today because of the holiday. One of the parents whose child also goes to daycare with the kids is a nurse so she came by and listened to Hannah's chest and said it sounded crackly and if it were her, she would take her kid in. So our only choice was the ER. Her lungs were clear and she did have a slight fever. They gave her a shot of steroids and sent us on our way.
Anyway, not the point of the blog. The point was, Hannah said something that cracked me up. Just a little history, before our Disneyland trip this year (yes I know, I haven't blogged about that yet... soon... promise) Hannah would ask about all her favorite characters and ask if they lived at Disneyland. She would ask about Dora and if she would see Dora at Disneyland....
So at the ER, she came back to the reception area after they checked her weight and the lady at the desk asked Hannah "who is that on your shirt?" and Hannah says "Dora. She doesn't live at Disneyland. She lives in Mexico."
Anyway, not the point of the blog. The point was, Hannah said something that cracked me up. Just a little history, before our Disneyland trip this year (yes I know, I haven't blogged about that yet... soon... promise) Hannah would ask about all her favorite characters and ask if they lived at Disneyland. She would ask about Dora and if she would see Dora at Disneyland....
So at the ER, she came back to the reception area after they checked her weight and the lady at the desk asked Hannah "who is that on your shirt?" and Hannah says "Dora. She doesn't live at Disneyland. She lives in Mexico."
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Hannah's hospital stay
Last Thursday night I was changing Hannah before bed and her... girl parts... seemed swollen, red, and hard on one side and she was very uncomfortable when I wiped her. Having seen way too many staph infections with Zach, I of course instantly panicked. Although I couldn't see any starting point, a pimple or scratch, I had her take a soak in a hot bath so I could try to drain it. I was unable to get anything to drain. She goes to bed.
The next morning it was about the same. I called the pediatricians office as soon as they opened and got their earliest appointment. Which was in the afternoon. So she hangs out with me at home for the day. She took a short nap and when she got up she was very clingy and just laid on me for awhile. She felt very warm so I gave her some ibuprofen. Before it had a chance to work I took her temp so I had an idea of where she was without meds. Her temp was 102. We went to the doctor. Her normal pediatrician was on vacation but we saw an equally as wonderful doctor. He took one look at it and said "This is more than I can do here. You need to take her to the ER so they can lance it, drain it, and pack it." We have been through that process with Zach and it is not pleasant and the healing process is just as bad. Because of our insurance, we normally go to a certain ER in town. The one that doesn't have a childrens unit. He told me "Go to Sierra Vista, just in case she has to be admitted." He must have seen the panic all over my face because he then says "There is about a 1 in 200 chance she will need to be admitted."
I called Chris when I left there and he came home from work to drive us over the hill. I went and picked up Zach from daycare knowing that we would be there later than daycare is open. We got to the ER and waited for a bit. Still thinking it would be a quick procedure and we would be on our way home, I was frustrated with the wait time. We never had to wait at the other ER. I went and asked them for our paperwork so that we could leave and go to the other ER but they said we needed to talk to a nurse before we could leave. The nurse came out and he was very friendly, they said that there had been a car accident and that all involved were leaving so it freed up several beds, and we were taken right back. Chris and Zach had left and taken a walk to the park. After telling the story to nurses and the doctor, the doctor comes back and says that because her fever had spiked so high, and her young age, they were admitting her for IV antibiotics and observation. I called Chris and told him to go home but before he left, to bring me the DVD player from the van. Him and Zach come back and stay in the room with us for awhile.
They needed to get blood from Hannah to run labs/cultures so they were going to do it at the same time they started the IV. The nurse and the phlebotomist came back to get it going. The nurse tried, couldn't find a vein. The phlebotomist tried, couldn't find a vein. And they don't just try, they put the needle in her arm, and then go fishing for a vein. Each of them did that for about 10 minutes. All the while Hannah is screaming and fighting and we are trying to hold her still. Zach sat off to the side of the room saying really sweet words to his sister. "I know baby". "It's ok baby". He is so good to his sister. So they let Hannah rest for awhile and then tell us that they are getting another nurse who used to work at a Childrens hospital. He came in and tried twice and could not get it going either. They decided to let her rest and try again when they got her in her room. A little while later they came in with an ultrasound machine and did an ultrasound on the area to check if there was any kind of lump inside or some sort of puss pocket. They didn't see anything, only fluid, causing the swelling. Chris and Zach leave for the night. After probably 2 hours, right after Hannah falls asleep on my lap in the ER room, they finally take us upstairs to our room. I have learned that whenever shift change is for a hospital, that is when our family needs to be admitted or have something done because we always run into shift change. Always.
We get upstairs at about 8pm. Get all checked in and learn the rules of the ward. Hannah is still sleeping a bit. My mom came up at shortly after and brought me some dinner since I hadn't eaten anything since about 7am.
The plan is to have her on IV antibiotics all night and then they would try and drain the infection the next day. The nurse in the peds unit gets all set up to attempt to put in the IV. She explained that they would try once and if she was unsuccessful she would stop and get a NICU nurse, that they didn't want to torture her if at all possible. Hannah had woken up, but was exhausted. The nurse tries with no luck. She brings in the NICU nurse who starts looking over all the obvious places for veins. Then she starts looking at her head and I said "why are you looking there?" and she said "well, sometimes that is the best place for it." I panicked. I could not bear to see them shave my baby's head and put an IV in it. I was hoping and praying they would find another spot for it. Since they could not locate their papoose, they got a blanket and swaddled her. My mom and I tried to comfort her and keep the top half of her body still while they poked around in her feet for a vein. After about 4 tries, they got one! That was the last attempt before they were going for the head. I was so relieved, yet so worried she would move around and end up blowing it so I was watching her very close to make sure she didn't move too much.
At that point they started the antibiotics and Hannah was able to go to sleep. My mom left around 10:30 or so and I pulled out the roll away cot. Hannah rolled over in her sleep and I jumped up to untangle her IV tubes and I figured I would be better off sleeping in her bed with her. Needless to say I didn't sleep too much, but I was right next to her if she needed anything, which was all that mattered. The next morning when she woke up and saw me next to her she was so happy. She squealed "Mama" and put her arms around my neck. That was great. Then she dozed off for another hour and woke up very unhappy. I think she realized we were still there. She slapped her bed a couple times. She does this sometimes when she is angry.
The next day (Saturday) they applied warm compresses to the infection several times to try and bring it to head. It never looked like it was something they could drain, they felt it was a deeper infection, not something on the surface like the kids had in the past. And hers had spread a bit. The swollen area didn't, but the red surface area had grown quite a bit by that time. They continued with the IV antibiotics and Motrin every 6 hours. Hannah spent the day playing with toys and watching DVDs. Nana took Zach for the day and for a sleepover so that Chris was able to come spend the day at the hospital with us. With H1N1 so bad right now, they don't even allow siblings to come visit. We took Hannah for a walk in a wagon, she enjoyed being out of her room. She loved drinking chocolate milk. It is not something she ever gets, so she liked that. They told us in the early afternoon to expect to be there one more night since the infection wasn't improving. The pediatrician that saw her on Friday came by to check on a patient of his and was surprised to see us there. He came in and checked on her and looked at the infection. He told the nurse to make a note for the doctor treating her that "it does not just look worse... it looks significantly worse". That wasn't pleasant to hear. He told them he wanted another ultrasound done to see if they could see puss. The rest of the day was about the same. Hannah was such a trooper. She did a lot of coloring, playing with a doll house that they had there, and watching movies.
The next morning the doctor came in and said she would be going home that day. I asked about the ultrasound and he didn't seem like he wanted to have it done and I said her pediatrician wanted it, so he went ahead and ordered it. The results were the same, just fluid. About 1 or so my brother showed up to visit. We started chatting with him and packing our stuff up. I asked the doctor what to do if it looks like it comes to a head. Do I drain it? He said that would not happen, there was no puss in there, but no, not to drain it. She would be on an oral antibiotic and to follow up with her pediatrician in 2 days. We finally got out of there around 2pm. We were so happy to get home. Hannah was tired, so we lounged around the house and took a little nap. Nana brought Zach home. That night I gave Hannah a bath and the thing looked like it needed to drain, it had a white head to it (so much for no puss). I didn't touch it though. The next morning I stayed home from work and I called the peds office when they opened and talked to the doctor who had been seeing her. I explained what was going on and asked if they wanted to see her. They said no, just take her to the ER. She would need to be sedated and have it cut open, drained and packed. We start getting ready to head to the hospital and Hannah said she needed to go potty. There was some drainage in her diaper and as she is going potty, it literally starts dripping into the toilet (having dealt with this before, I know that if it is draining, it doesn't need to be cut open and drained). I laid her down and just kept wiping the puss away as it came, I didn't force anything. I would guess probably 3 tablespoons came out of that poor baby girl. I called the ped back and explained again. Telling them that I really thought maybe they could look at her before I put her through the ordeal of the ER. They agreed and we went in. They cultured it and it did end up being MRSA . They had me just continue with hot baths a couple times a day and to keep draining it. There wasn't much left at that point and it healed really quickly. She is still pretty traumatized and when she needs to be changed she says "No touch my owie", but she is healed.
The next morning it was about the same. I called the pediatricians office as soon as they opened and got their earliest appointment. Which was in the afternoon. So she hangs out with me at home for the day. She took a short nap and when she got up she was very clingy and just laid on me for awhile. She felt very warm so I gave her some ibuprofen. Before it had a chance to work I took her temp so I had an idea of where she was without meds. Her temp was 102. We went to the doctor. Her normal pediatrician was on vacation but we saw an equally as wonderful doctor. He took one look at it and said "This is more than I can do here. You need to take her to the ER so they can lance it, drain it, and pack it." We have been through that process with Zach and it is not pleasant and the healing process is just as bad. Because of our insurance, we normally go to a certain ER in town. The one that doesn't have a childrens unit. He told me "Go to Sierra Vista, just in case she has to be admitted." He must have seen the panic all over my face because he then says "There is about a 1 in 200 chance she will need to be admitted."
I called Chris when I left there and he came home from work to drive us over the hill. I went and picked up Zach from daycare knowing that we would be there later than daycare is open. We got to the ER and waited for a bit. Still thinking it would be a quick procedure and we would be on our way home, I was frustrated with the wait time. We never had to wait at the other ER. I went and asked them for our paperwork so that we could leave and go to the other ER but they said we needed to talk to a nurse before we could leave. The nurse came out and he was very friendly, they said that there had been a car accident and that all involved were leaving so it freed up several beds, and we were taken right back. Chris and Zach had left and taken a walk to the park. After telling the story to nurses and the doctor, the doctor comes back and says that because her fever had spiked so high, and her young age, they were admitting her for IV antibiotics and observation. I called Chris and told him to go home but before he left, to bring me the DVD player from the van. Him and Zach come back and stay in the room with us for awhile.
They needed to get blood from Hannah to run labs/cultures so they were going to do it at the same time they started the IV. The nurse and the phlebotomist came back to get it going. The nurse tried, couldn't find a vein. The phlebotomist tried, couldn't find a vein. And they don't just try, they put the needle in her arm, and then go fishing for a vein. Each of them did that for about 10 minutes. All the while Hannah is screaming and fighting and we are trying to hold her still. Zach sat off to the side of the room saying really sweet words to his sister. "I know baby". "It's ok baby". He is so good to his sister. So they let Hannah rest for awhile and then tell us that they are getting another nurse who used to work at a Childrens hospital. He came in and tried twice and could not get it going either. They decided to let her rest and try again when they got her in her room. A little while later they came in with an ultrasound machine and did an ultrasound on the area to check if there was any kind of lump inside or some sort of puss pocket. They didn't see anything, only fluid, causing the swelling. Chris and Zach leave for the night. After probably 2 hours, right after Hannah falls asleep on my lap in the ER room, they finally take us upstairs to our room. I have learned that whenever shift change is for a hospital, that is when our family needs to be admitted or have something done because we always run into shift change. Always.
We get upstairs at about 8pm. Get all checked in and learn the rules of the ward. Hannah is still sleeping a bit. My mom came up at shortly after and brought me some dinner since I hadn't eaten anything since about 7am.
The plan is to have her on IV antibiotics all night and then they would try and drain the infection the next day. The nurse in the peds unit gets all set up to attempt to put in the IV. She explained that they would try once and if she was unsuccessful she would stop and get a NICU nurse, that they didn't want to torture her if at all possible. Hannah had woken up, but was exhausted. The nurse tries with no luck. She brings in the NICU nurse who starts looking over all the obvious places for veins. Then she starts looking at her head and I said "why are you looking there?" and she said "well, sometimes that is the best place for it." I panicked. I could not bear to see them shave my baby's head and put an IV in it. I was hoping and praying they would find another spot for it. Since they could not locate their papoose, they got a blanket and swaddled her. My mom and I tried to comfort her and keep the top half of her body still while they poked around in her feet for a vein. After about 4 tries, they got one! That was the last attempt before they were going for the head. I was so relieved, yet so worried she would move around and end up blowing it so I was watching her very close to make sure she didn't move too much.
At that point they started the antibiotics and Hannah was able to go to sleep. My mom left around 10:30 or so and I pulled out the roll away cot. Hannah rolled over in her sleep and I jumped up to untangle her IV tubes and I figured I would be better off sleeping in her bed with her. Needless to say I didn't sleep too much, but I was right next to her if she needed anything, which was all that mattered. The next morning when she woke up and saw me next to her she was so happy. She squealed "Mama" and put her arms around my neck. That was great. Then she dozed off for another hour and woke up very unhappy. I think she realized we were still there. She slapped her bed a couple times. She does this sometimes when she is angry.
The next day (Saturday) they applied warm compresses to the infection several times to try and bring it to head. It never looked like it was something they could drain, they felt it was a deeper infection, not something on the surface like the kids had in the past. And hers had spread a bit. The swollen area didn't, but the red surface area had grown quite a bit by that time. They continued with the IV antibiotics and Motrin every 6 hours. Hannah spent the day playing with toys and watching DVDs. Nana took Zach for the day and for a sleepover so that Chris was able to come spend the day at the hospital with us. With H1N1 so bad right now, they don't even allow siblings to come visit. We took Hannah for a walk in a wagon, she enjoyed being out of her room. She loved drinking chocolate milk. It is not something she ever gets, so she liked that. They told us in the early afternoon to expect to be there one more night since the infection wasn't improving. The pediatrician that saw her on Friday came by to check on a patient of his and was surprised to see us there. He came in and checked on her and looked at the infection. He told the nurse to make a note for the doctor treating her that "it does not just look worse... it looks significantly worse". That wasn't pleasant to hear. He told them he wanted another ultrasound done to see if they could see puss. The rest of the day was about the same. Hannah was such a trooper. She did a lot of coloring, playing with a doll house that they had there, and watching movies.
The next morning the doctor came in and said she would be going home that day. I asked about the ultrasound and he didn't seem like he wanted to have it done and I said her pediatrician wanted it, so he went ahead and ordered it. The results were the same, just fluid. About 1 or so my brother showed up to visit. We started chatting with him and packing our stuff up. I asked the doctor what to do if it looks like it comes to a head. Do I drain it? He said that would not happen, there was no puss in there, but no, not to drain it. She would be on an oral antibiotic and to follow up with her pediatrician in 2 days. We finally got out of there around 2pm. We were so happy to get home. Hannah was tired, so we lounged around the house and took a little nap. Nana brought Zach home. That night I gave Hannah a bath and the thing looked like it needed to drain, it had a white head to it (so much for no puss). I didn't touch it though. The next morning I stayed home from work and I called the peds office when they opened and talked to the doctor who had been seeing her. I explained what was going on and asked if they wanted to see her. They said no, just take her to the ER. She would need to be sedated and have it cut open, drained and packed. We start getting ready to head to the hospital and Hannah said she needed to go potty. There was some drainage in her diaper and as she is going potty, it literally starts dripping into the toilet (having dealt with this before, I know that if it is draining, it doesn't need to be cut open and drained). I laid her down and just kept wiping the puss away as it came, I didn't force anything. I would guess probably 3 tablespoons came out of that poor baby girl. I called the ped back and explained again. Telling them that I really thought maybe they could look at her before I put her through the ordeal of the ER. They agreed and we went in. They cultured it and it did end up being MRSA . They had me just continue with hot baths a couple times a day and to keep draining it. There wasn't much left at that point and it healed really quickly. She is still pretty traumatized and when she needs to be changed she says "No touch my owie", but she is healed.
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