Home Sweet Home

We are home!!! After a looooong week, we finally were able to go home today. Caleb made it all day yesterday and all night (with the exception of 1 hour after his nebulizer treatment) without oxygen so we were given the okay to be discharged. Praise God!!! We arrived home about 12:30 this afternoon and were met by a very excited Kiera and a wonderfully clean home thanks to my mom. What a blessing she has been. I was able to take a 4 hour nap and probably would have slept all night had my alarm not been set. It is so wonderful to be home and in the peace and quiet (I guess that relative...but at least there's no beeping). We want to thank all of you for your prayers and notes of encouragement. We are so thankful for answered prayer and that Caleb is back to himself again (a little lighter, but very happy). Pray for continued healing and health for all of us. We'll try to post some pictures later this weekend.

Still here...

Sorry we didn't get a chance to update things yesterday. Things were a little crazy. Caleb's x-ray came back clear. We were thankful for that good report. He spent yesterday morning off of oxygen and I was hopeful that we would be going home. However, he needed to be back on the rest of the day. So we spent another night here. All night his respiration monitor was going off and we couldn't get the thing to be quiet. And when it wasn't going off, his oxygen monitor was. I think I finally fell asleep about 6am. I am exhausted. Ryan had a pretty busy day with planning for youth group, so he and Kiera came up for awhile to visit and Kiera was able to open a few presents for her birthday.

Today (Thursday) has been a hopeful day. Caleb has now spent all day off oxygen and if he can go all night, we may get to go home tomorrow. Yeah!!!! I'm cautiously optimistic as he hasn't had a real deep sleep all day and his levels may drop tonight. We'll keep hoping. Today was a little sad for me as it was Kiera's 3rd birthday. I didn't get to spend much time with her, but thankfully my mom made the day special for her. They made a special breakfast together and then made cupcakes to share with us at the hospital later. I was able to go home for a couple hours while Ryan sat with Caleb and spend some time with Kiera and Joel. We then got a babysitter for Joel (so he wouldn't catch ANYTHING from the hospital) and we all headed to the hospital for a little party for Kiera. She had fun opening presents from cousins (thanks guys!) and eating cupcakes. We then took her to McDonalds with a playground (her favorite place to go) and she had a blast being with just mommy and daddy. My mom was able to stay with Caleb while we got out. It was such a nice break! Kiera had a fun day, but as her mom I feel bad that it wasn't what I had planned. We'll have to have our party next week sometime. I'm sure she won't mind. I know she won't remember a year from now, but mommy's always feel a little bad.

Hopefully we'll have some great news about being home tomorrow. Pray that Caleb makes it through the night and if anything that we can sleep. Sorry if all of this sounds a little disjointed...my brain is a little fuzzy and sleep deprived! Thanks again for all your encouragement, support, and prayers!

Tuesday

Last night was a rough night for Caleb and I (Sheri). After his last feeding he just would not settle down. He would sleep awhile and then just be real fussy and fidgety. I finally called the nurse in to take his temp which ended up being a about 100. After we gave him Tylenol about 4:30am, he finally fell asleep. Whew, too short of a night. Since he contracted the fever, the doctor wanted to make sure he wasn't getting pneumonia. He thankfully doesn't have an ear infection (which usually happens with RSV), but they did want to take a chest x-ray. We did that around noon and still haven't heard back the results. Hopefully he will be clear. He still is needing about 1/8 of a liter of oxygen when he sleeps, so we aren't able to go home yet. We are happy that he has started eating more of his regular amount, so maybe we are turning a corner.

We were moved to a different floor as the amount of RSV cases in pediatrics is so high and Caleb is very stable. I am now in a room with a real bed!!! Yah!!! Maybe my sleep will be awesome tonight! I do feel a little secluded now as it's kind of a makeshift pediatrics floor and they converted rooms that the surgeons were using to take naps in. At least it is quiet and a much bigger room.

Hopefully we'll have some good news tomorrow about being discharged. Until then, we'll keep on keeping on. Keep the prayers going!

Monday news

We are now on day 3 of our hospital stay. Caleb continues to remain the same. He can't seem to nap or sleep at night without needing oxygen. He has to be able to go 24 hours without it, so we continue to plug away at the hospital. He isn't eating more than 2-3 ounces at a feeding (he usually takes 5) so we have to make sure his feedings are back up to par also before coming home. Last night went much better with sleeping. I (Sheri) was able to get about 5 hours. What a welcome respite after the last week of 3-4 hours of sleep. They continue to nebulize him every 4 hours which breaks up my night some, but he always goes back to sleep very easy. My days get quite boring as there isn't much to do there. Thankfully I can catch lots of catnaps and Ryan is able to come and keep me company in the afternoon. Caleb is being so good and it's hard to believe sometimes that he's not feeling so well. We did learn that he already is quite the flirt. He loves to smile at the nurses when they are poking him and nebulizing him. What a silly boy.

We did take Joel in to the Dr. today as he was developing a similar cough as Caleb. Thankfully, he tested negative for RSV. He just has a little cold and we will continue to keep an eye on him. I am SOOOOOOO relieved that he is fine. I was not excited about starting this same journey with Joel.

My mom arrived this morning and has been watching the kids at home. Ryan is now at the hospital so that I can get home and just relax, play with Kiera, and visit with my mom. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We'll keep you updated as things progress.

Quick Update

Just a quick update on what has been going on around here. On Saturday Sheri took Kiera and Caleb to Urgent Care. Kiera had an earache and we wanted to have Caleb checked as his cough was getting worse. Kiera has a double ear infection (which we figured would probably happen) and they admitted Caleb into the hospital because his oxygen levels were pretty low.

Sheri spent the night with Caleb in the hospital last night and neither of them got much sleep. Caleb required oxygen several times throughout the night but his lungs still sound clear which is good. Most likely he will be in the hospital at least one more night. They won't discharge him until he is eating more consistently and his oxygen levels stay up while he sleeps.

Joel seems to be doing pretty well. He doesn't have near the symptoms that Caleb has. We are praying that he is able to get through this without needing to go to the hospital.

My (Ryan) parents are coming up this afternoon to watch Kiera and Joel so I can give Sheri a break for a few hours in the hospital. We don't want to take Joel to the hospital and possibly further introduce him to RSV.

A big answer to prayers is that Sheri's mom was able to find a reasonable ticket to fly out here and she will be flying in Monday morning.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!

Prayers Needed

We send this blog out with an urgent request for prayer. Our little Caleb was just diagnosed with RSV. On Friday night, I (Sheri) went to the ER with Kiera as she had croup. Ryan was gone (of course, as things always happen when he's gone) on a youth retreat and my mother-in-law was thankfully helping me for the weekend. We were there quiet early into the morning, but managed to come home with the croup gone. However, Kiera developed quite the cold and cough. I didn't think much of it except to keep her away from the boys. Well, last night Caleb started coughing. I took him in this morning and the doctor said that both Kiera and Caleb have RSV. Kiera is old enough to fight it on her own and is already on the upswing. Caleb is just starting and they say the 3rd day is the worst. She is pretty sure that it's only a matter of time for Joel to get it since I nurse and can't really keep him away from all the germs. She said that we are in for a long weekend and there isn't much to do unless they start struggling to breathe (which would end us up in the hospital). We know that the hospitals here are overflowing with RSV cases and that many many kids make out just fine. We just ask for your prayers for our family as we head into the next couple days. Pray for quick healing for our kids and the ability for myself especially to get some sleep. Our nights have been rough as they both can sleep through the night, just never on the same night together. I am feeling the toll of 2 month old twins, very little sleep, and dealing with sickness on top of all that. It is taking a lot just to keep my head above water. Please pray also that my mom finds a plane ticket that is reasonable to fly out and help (a deep heartfelt thanks to Juli, Randy, and Dad for making this possible...you have no idea how much this means to us). If you could keep us all in your prayers we would appreciate it. We will keep you posted as we are able.

2 month pictures

All ready for church...even though they never made it. It's a long story, but Kiera managed to cut her upper lip while she was pretending to shave. She accidentally grabbed the shaver with the razor in it . The bleeding took FOREVER to stop...we tried popsicles, kleenex, washcloths, and finally a binky holding a bandaid holding a kleenex in place did the trick! Whew! What a morning. I (Sheri) was a little frustrated having gotten everyone ready for church (the boys had already gone through 2 outfits and were actually in their car seats all ready) and then couldn't go. The sacrifices we make as parents.

Joel's 2 month picture (Kiera's bunny is our measuring tool)
Caleb's 2 month picture
They were all smiles!!!
Amazing what a full tummy will accomplish!

Smiles!!!

Joel showing off his grin and adorable dimple
Caleb smiling (no dimple showing...his is on the right)
Caleb (I think...kind of sad that I don't know)
To Opa with love...we're waiting to play trains!!!
Get your finger out of my mouth!!! Kiera & Caleb
Caleb in the bumbo...why is everything leaning???