Some people go to Florida for March Break....

....instead we went to the hospital.  Last Sunday, Finn spiked a fever (102.5F/39.2C).  It magically disappeared later in the afternoon.  Well, maybe not magically, I'm sure the Advil helped....it was more magical that the fever didn't come back that day or night.  He woke up Monday morning happy as a clam and his usual self so we didn't think much of it.  Unfortunately the fever came back around lunch time on Monday.  Monday night as I was putting Finn to bed, I noticed he was wheezing.  I was having a minor freak-out but he went to sleep and the wheeze disappeared.  Since it disappeared I decided we were okay for the night - no sense traipsing off to the hospital if the kid is sleeping!  James was on March Break so it was his job to be up with Finn in the night and while I wasn't entirely coherent it felt like Finn was up a fair bit.  Around 5 a.m. I heard Finn crying so I got up to give James a break.  We were snuggling in our chair when I noticed that he was really struggling to breathe.  As in, I could feel his entire chest and stomach lifting off of my chest with all of the effort.  So scary.  Somehow Finn fell back asleep.  I put him in his crib, informed James that I was taking Finn to the hospital and quickly changed.

I'm not sure what I expected when I got to the hospital.  I think I thought that they would check him over and tell me that he was okay but maybe give him some medication.  As soon as the nurse stuck the monitor on his toe in Triage, I knew that wouldn't be the case.  His blood oxygen level was about 93% (98% is good, you need supplemental oxygen once you're down around 90%) and his heart rate was around 150 beats per minute.  It wasn't long before we were in a room and a nurse was bringing him an inhalation treatment to help open up his lungs.  A doctor quickly saw us and told us that Finn would need a chest x-ray and that it would be horrible.  He was right.  They stick your baby in this contraption that holds their hands over their head:

Obviously this is not Finn...he was nowhere near this happy!

I understand the why, but the reality is that your kid is absolutely SCREAMING and then, because I am pregnant, I have to leave the room.  I have to leave the room and listen to my baby boy screaming as they take pictures of his chest.  How absolutely horrible.  I think this was the most traumatizing experience of our entire stay...for me, anyway.  The doctor quickly got the results of the chest x-ray and told me it was abnormal.  This means that Finn is automatically put on antibiotics and as well, he will be admitted so that they can continue to give him inhalation treatments and keep an eye on him.  Wow.  So now we're actually going to be staying at the hospital.  This is something I never could have predicted.  Out in the hall I can hear nurses talking about RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), which ends up being Finn's diagnosis.  A nurse comes and does a professional booger suction - disgusting and seems like it would hurt, but very effective.  Another nurse comes and takes blood.  Of course, Finn has fallen asleep in between each procedure - sleep, chest x-ray, sleep, booger suction, sleep, blood work, sleep.  Poor little man!

Getting an inhalation treatment in his room...sometimes he was okay with it, sometimes not-so-much.

Eventually we make our way up to the Pediatric Unit where James joined us.  Because RSV is so contagious, Finn was in isolation.  During his brighter moments, Finn would point at the door of the room as if to say, "Get me out of this place!"  Who could blame him?!

When can we go home???

They brought us a high chair - super thoughtful.  While Finn didn't eat much during his stay, it was another place for him to sit and play.

He was there for two days and two nights.  Inhalation treatments and vitals every four hours.  Steroid injections and antibiotics every 12 hours.  Blood work every morning, and twice on Wednesday because his blood samples clotted.  I have no idea how parents endure weeks and months of hospital stays because it is incredibly hard.  I also have no idea how single parents do it.  I am incredibly thankful and lucky to have an amazing husband!

We were happy to bring Finn home on Thursday even if he still was a really sick little boy.  It was kind of like having a newborn again since he basically wanted to drink milk, sleep and snuggle.  Thankfully, on Saturday afternoon he started to perk up and get active again.  He still has some work to do but there are times when we can't feel the rattle in his chest and when his breathing is normal (not fast or loud).  Tomorrow we go see our family doctor for follow-up.  We're hoping that he tells us we don't have to give him his puffer every four hours...especially during the night when he's dead asleep and giving him his puffer wakes him up and keeps him awake for the next two hours!

Oh yes, and for the record, we were supposed to be in Florida this March Break with my parents, niece and nephew.  We had decided that with baby #2 on the way, we should probably stay home.  Thank you baby #2 for saving us from a hospital stay in Florida!

Turning 1

While Finn's birthday was awhile ago...as in three whole months ago, I'm still feeling like I should write a little something about it.  Before James went off to work in the morning we let Finn open his presents.  The hit of the day was his new 'baby'.  All fall, every time we went somewhere with a doll, Finn just had to have it.  He particularly liked the dolls at daycare so we decided to get him one of his very own.  This one came from Scholar's Choice and seemed perfect since the little guy even has a soother - just like our own soother addict!

Happy boy!

Figuring out the baby's soother...

In the afternoon we met up with a bunch of our mom and baby friends at Kidscape.  I remember having the whole day planned out - when he would nap, when we would leave to meet everyone, all details taken care of.  Of course Finn's naps didn't go according to schedule that day....and of course he didn't nap on the way to Kidscape the way I had planned, but it was his birthday and he had fun and that's all that really matters!

"What do you think, Eddie?"

He loved riding the animals!

When we got home it was time for supper and brownies.  Since we were having his birthday party the following weekend, we thought that making and eating two cakes seemed a little excessive.  So instead, the birthday boy had a brownie.  Unlike most one-year-old's, our boy did not dive into his brownie treat.  No big bites for our boy.  Just itsy-bitsy pieces. ;)

The chocolate actually made him giddy to the point of giggles.  So absolutely adorable, not to mention hilarious!  The caffeine bought us an extra 45 minutes or so of awake time with him, so instead of going to bed at 6 p.m. (as per usual) he made it until almost 7....rock on!

Happy birthday, Finnybean!  I can't believe it's been a whole year since you came into our lives.  I'm so glad I could spend the whole day with you, celebrating YOU and all of the wonderful things that have happened over the past year.

Love Mommy