feeling the love

need i say more?

start it off with a bang

this year started off with a bang.  the three big things that happened between new year's eve and new year's day are:

1.  minnie ate her first pork rind.  (kind of a big deal)
2.  christian went to a colorado avalanche game with his dad, brothers and sister.  (bigger deal)
3.  hope was admitted to the hospital and we ended up staying in colorado for an extra 10 days.
     (biggest deal)

i think hope was thinking, "pork rind...seriously minnie?  i can beat that."

hope was sounding congested for a couple of days.  for about 24 hours, she wouldn't really eat and she wasn't wetting diapers.  at that point i started getting nervous.  on the night of new year's day, i was holding her and she sounded wheezy to me.  worse than that, she sounded like she was breathing really fast.  i remembered our pediatrician telling me that was one of the things to be concerned about if a little baby gets sick.  i made a call to him and he said that she needed to be taken to an urgent care or emergency room.  christian and his dad gave hope a blessing and then christian, hope and i headed to the hospital.  minnie stayed with "gumpa and gumma".  side note - thank goodness for amazing in-laws who are SO good to us and the kiddos.

pediatric urgent care highlights (or lowlights, depending on how you look at it):
-there were tons of people rushing around hope taking stats and asking us questions.  i felt a little overwhelmed and frazzled.

-hope was given oxygen.

-the doctor, nurses and aids were amazing.  responsive and giving us information so we knew what was going on.

-hope had a breathing treatment.

-the doctor told us that hope's oxygen levels were too low.  she would need to be admitted to the hospital.  she said that some children stay in the hospital for as short as 2 days, 5-7 days is average and up to 10 days is always a possibility.  i was sure we would be in that 2 day range...

-hope was dehydrated and had to have an IV.  i have never heard her cry like that, and hope to never hear her cry like that again.  i had to help hold her down on the table, when all i wanted to do was hold and cuddle her.


the long of the short of it all is that hope had bronchialitis, which was making it hard for her to breath.  it took 10 days for her to get her oxygen levels high enough that she could be released from the hospital.  she and i had some quality bonding time.  we read sarah, plain and tall, black beauty and roll of thunder, hear my cry.   i think she liked them.  i learned that she doesn't like fast changes.  she likes to take things slow.  she was a really good baby the whole time we were there.  (not to brag, but i think she was the favorite patient of all the nurses on the floor.)  christian had to fly home for about 2 1/2 days because the semester was starting and he had to be there for some things.  minnie was a trooper, as were grandpa and grandma sabey.  while i wouldn't ever choose for this to happen, it was a blessing for minnie to have a good, solid 10 days with them.  i think they all loved it.  minnie also became somewhat of a celebrity on the peds floor, and she had her little routine when she would come.  she would come in to the room and say hello to us.  then she would want to go get the toy car or wagon and drive/ride it up and down the hall a few times.  she would get a pudding or jello from the nutrition fridge.  she would hang out with hope in her bed for awhile.  she also really loved to play in the water in the sink in hope's room.  it was always an adventure when minnie would come.  she usually came twice a day.  one visit in the morning, and one in the afternoon.  one day mel and sandy had some appointments so they had to skip brining minnie in the morning.  sandy said that before minnie's nap that day, she looked up at her and said, "go visit hopey and mama?"  she was not about to let the routine be disturbed.  cute little thing. 

when hope was finally released, she still needed oxygen.  she had oxygen for most of the month of january.  it was an adventure that made me very grateful that she doesn't have oxygen all the time.  the drive home from colorado was pretty rough.  thank goodness mel and sandy insisted that we take their car so that i could sit in back with the girls.  it also came in handy when there was a snow storm through logan canyon.  that last leg of the trip home took much longer than we would have liked, but could have been a complete nightmare in our car.

when we got home, hope seemed to be doing pretty well.  then she went downhill for awhile.  after a trip to the ER, a couple of visits to the dr. and a few visits to the outpatient respiratory clinic, hope got better.  we are now overzealous hand sanitizers and hand washers.  we are also very, very careful to stay away from people who are sick.  it just isn't worth it - financially, emotionally and physically.  started 2014 off with a bang?  i'd say so.  

minnie ended 2013 eating pork rinds and watching curious george on dada's phone.  

probably the best new year's eve she could have asked for.

hope celebrating 2014

and, celebrating again.  poor, little pumpkin.

minnie insisted on getting in the bed with hope on her first visit.

she grabbed hopey's hand and just lay there with her.  

sweet sisters. 

minnie also insisted on having a tea party with hope. 

she packed up her new tea set and brought it to the hospital. 

stylish hospital gown. 

don't you wish they had this pattern in the adult sizes?

grandpa and dada fixed minnie's bike to help keep her entertained.

taking one of her rides at the hospital.

eating her jello and owning the place.

getting ready to play in the snow with daddy to pass the time. 

and, playing in the snow.  

so excited to be home sweet home.

hope's accessories are compliments of her sister. 

 

finally off the oxygen.  

we had to take a picture to document the monumental occasion. 

p.s. i don't want to forget something sweet that happened when we took hope "home" to grandpa and grandma's house from the hospital.  mel and sandy were cooking up a feast of delicious smoked chicken, veggies, rolls, etc.  it was amazing after 10 long days of hospital food.  as we were hanging out in the kitchen, hope and minnie were bonding on blanket in the adjoining room.  you could feel their excitement in being reunited again.  we looked over and minnie was sharing her coloring experience with hope.  she had her new coloring book open and she was holding one of her crayons in hope's hand, helping her to color the page.  these two little girls love each other enormously.  i'm so grateful for that love.  it is felt all around anywhere the two of them happen to be.