We're still here!

Levi is still not 100%, though. However, he is on the mend. I have a few pictures to share of Levi taking a breathing treatment, but we recently got a new computer and haven't put the camera software on it yet. Maybe this weekend...

Kevin and I had quite a scare Tuesday night. Levi had a fever of 103.3 (rectally) and 102.5 in his ear. We gave him some Tylenol, and we called the doctor's after-hours number. The on-call nurse called us back, and we checked his fever again. It had started coming down. But, since he had woken up, the nurse suggested that we give him his latest antibiotic. It was cherry flavor, and Kevin dropped about one or two drops into his mouth. Levi threw up everywhere. We tried two more times - with the same result! It was horrible. I gave Levi a bath again, and we put him to bed in just a onesie (at the nurse's direction). I checked his temperature throughout the night while I gave him his breathing treatments. Since Tuesday, he's had a low-grade fever most of the time. We're not sure anymore if it is his body fighting the infection or his body reacting to him teething.

I've been staying at home with Levi, and I am loving it. I have to leave him tomorrow to go to work, and I dread being away from him. His grandma and granddaddy Hughes are going to watch him, though, so no school for Levi.

Breathing Treatment

Finally, some pictures! Here are a couple of Levi getting his breathing treatment. As you can tell, he is asleep, which simply amazes me. This machine is NOT what you would call quiet. The machine itself is neon yellow, and his "face mask" (that we don't put on his face, as you can see) is supposed to be a dinosaur.

Not So Fast

After Friday's visit to the doctor, we were hoping to be out of the woods with Levi's sickness. We weren't quite so lucky.

I received a call from Levi's school on my way to pick him up Monday afternoon. The school director told me that Levi took a 4-hour nap (a "long" nap for Levi is usually 1-hour!!) and sounded like he was wheezing. I picked up Levi, and off we went to the doctor. Kevin met us there, and the doctor quickly informed us that Levi does indeed have bronchiolitis. The nurse set us up with a nebulizer (breathing machine) in the office, and Levi received his first breathing treatment. The doctor listened to Levi's chest again. Satisfied that Levi sounded slightly better, he sent us home with our own breathing machine (to keep "forever and always") and a prescription for the medicine to put in the machine with instructions to give Levi a treatment every 3 hours throughout the night and to bring him back for a check up on Tuesday morning.

So, last night, I woke every 3 hours to give my baby a breathing treatment. He took them like a champ. He actually somewhat slept through two of them. His sleep overall was fitful, waking several times because of his coughing, but it was not nearly as bad as I had feared. He slept "late" until almost 7:30 this morning. (Levi is typically an early-riser like his mama.) Levi and I made it to the doctor for his 9:00 appointment, and the doctor said that Levi sounds much better. He gave us instructions for continuing the breathing treatment until our appointment next Friday. He also warned me that because Levi has had bronchiolitis, he now has a predisposition for asthma "later in life" (as in 12-18 months from now).

Side Note: The receipt of the call from Levi's school is in and of itself a miracle. It is safe to say that the plant where I work is in THE middle of nowhere. Typically, I have at least a 13 mile stretch of my trip on which my cell phone does not work - i.e. NO bars. I was on that long stretch of road, when I heard my cell phone ringing. Not only was I able to receive this call to talk to the school director, I was also able to call the doctor to set up an emergency appointment for Levi that afternoon. I know that this might seem silly to some of you, but I see these phone calls as miracles. God really does care about the "little things".

What I find most amazing, though, is how much better Levi sounded this morning. God truly does hear and answer our prayers and petitions.

If I may be so bold to request your continued prayers for Levi's health, particularly that he will continue to breathe more and more easily and that he does not develop asthma.

Checking in

We all made it through this week. Levi did well in school. He still isn't sleeping really well at night, though. He seems to be waking up hungry, which I've read happens quite often around 6 months during a growth spurt. We've decided to add more cereal to his day. We think he is ready for some baby food, too, but I'm having a hard time letting go. I mean even his cereal has part of me in it, so it is just sad for me to think he'll start finding nourishment elsewhere. But, that is a good thing, I know. Just means my baby is growing up!!

Today when I picked up Levi from school, one of his teachers tole me that two of Levi's classmates had bronchiolitis (a winter RSV) that also went to their ears. I promptly called Levi's doctor when we got home because his cough hasn't gone away. I wanted to make sure that we didn't need to do anything else or if there was anything for which we needed to be watching. Levi was not acting sick at all. However, the doctor suggested that we take Levi to the after hours clinic tonight - just to be on the safe side. Levi was checked out VERY quickly, and he is just fine. Well, his ear infection still hasn't cleared up completely, but no bronchiolitis. Praise God!!

Heart Breaking

Well, if you couldn't guess from my last blog when I admitted to having held Levi through the night feeling his fever going up and down... I caught the bug. I just cried yesterday. Yes, I felt bad, but my tears were because I knew that Levi had already felt all that pain and yet couldn't even begin to tell us what hurt. I could completely understand why he'd been so inconsolable. Everything hurt for a while! And then thinking about hurt made me think about Jesus, that he felt the pain for all the sins of everyone in the world, and though He could have yelled, screamed, cursed from all the pain, He bore it. He cried out to His Father, but He bore it - for us. Amazing... And since I am no theologian, I'll get back to blogging about us.

Around noon yesterday, I was so weak with fever that Kevin's mom came to help with Levi. I skipped work today to go to the doctor (my bug became a sinus infection), and Kevin's mom again watched Levi for me. (Thank you, Grandma!) The doctor was able to put me on the same medicine that Levi's taking for his ear infection, with no worries about the effects on Levi. That makes me feel better about taking it, and there really is no other way to get rid of a sinus infection except medicine. Levi is still not 100%; he is coughing quite a bit and is still stopped up. His sickness seems to be working through him but just slowly. He slept a little bit better last night, and so did we. We resorted to making him sleep in his bouncy seat. That keeps him propped up and helps him feel a little more confined, as if being held. We'll keep him in that for a little bit longer. We're going to attempt to take Levi back to school tomorrow since he hasn't run a fever and is on an antibiotic. Hopefully he will adjust back to going to school after having so many days at home with Mama and Daddy.

Very Sad Firsts

Thursday night, Levi didn't sleep very well. He seemed to be developing a cold of sorts. Kevin didn't have kids at his school on Friday, so he took Levi to Grandma and Granddaddy Hughes for the morning. By the afternoon it was quite evident that Levi didn't just have a "cold", he was really sick. Levi had his first fever not caused by immunizations when we took his temperature Friday evening. He was so sad-acting. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see his little sad, weak eyes. I ended up having a very long night, holding him all night long - another first for us. His sleep was very fitful. Honestly, though, it was precious to have him so close, even if it was because he was so sick and it cost me a good night's sleep. I could feel his fever going up and down throughout the night. His fever finally seemed to break very early this morning. He wouldn't eat well, and then mid-morning, he was just beside himself. Levi is usually so well-tempered, so easily consolable, we knew that Levi was really sick. Thankfully, our pediatrician is part of a group of doctors who work together to have an after-hours clinic. The clinic opened today at noon; we were there at 11:50 and were still fifth or sixth in line. Our pediatrician was the on-call physician. He listened to Levi's chest and had me lay him down on the table to check his ears, nose, and throat. The doc touched Levi's left ear, and my baby started boo-hooing. Yes, Levi's first ear infection. Kevin filled Levi's prescription for amoxicillin - his first antibiotic. Kevin and I gave him the medicine tonight, and Levi took it much better than either of us imagined. Levi fell asleep on his own tonight, so I am praying for a better night than last night. Also, Levi's afternoon was much better than his morning; he was still a little weak-eyed, but he played and read. Please say a prayer for quick recovery and no more pain for my little man.

Six Months

Levi had a pretty good day at school today on his six month "birthday" - ate and napped relatively well. He was happy when I got there, and he was very happy to see me.

Levi slept really well last night. He slept for a little more than 8 hours without even moving! I even got about 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Again, I'm not holding my breath that this new "pattern" is really a pattern at all - but I'm praising God for the past two nights. Honestly, though, I really do praise Him for all nights - "good" and "bad", because I am so thankful for, so amazed by, and so in love with the gift He's given to us.

Time really does fly! I can hardly believe that Levi is six months old. He is growing up so fast! Here are some pictures we took tonight.

Oh, what a night!

Levi woke up twice between the time I put him down and Kevin and I went to bed. We were dreading the night, thinking we'd be up every hour or so. But, we actually didn't hear a peep out of Levi until 3:30 this morning. It was wonderful - over five hours of uninterrupted sleep! Amazing. We'll see how he does tonight, but I'm not holding my breath...

Levi did really well at school today, according to his teachers. I think he actually may be a favorite - at least they made me feel like it today. One of the girls in the room this afternoon usually works in the office. She just went on and on about how precious Levi is, all "huggy and snuggly". She said that a baby has to be pretty special for her to say he's one of her favorites. When I got there, Levi was all smiles. We had a pretty fun evening, too.

The fun of the evening included eating cereal. Levi is so cute, and Kevin and I were finally able to capture it for your viewing pleasure!!

Week One

We all made it through week one of work, Kevin school, and Levi school. Levi did okay on Thursday and Friday at school. He naps more often at school than when he's home, based on the reports we get, but I guess that is just the way it will be until he gets more used to being there. He slept better Thursday and Friday nights, though, so I guess the naps were okay.

Levi had a very fun day today. He went to McDonald's with his daddy, walked through Wal-Mart for a little while, read, played, and even went for two walks. He also really fought the two naps he took today. He waited a while before taking his morning nap because of his McDonald's and Wal-Mart trips. This afternoon, Levi really fought sleep - even to the point of tears. Guess he just didn't want to be away from us. He's so sweet.

Levi finally turned over from his back on his right side. Today, he seemed to even prefer that side. He still doesn't seem interested in turning over from his tummy. He is getting more and more stable while sitting up. We had to change the height of the exersaucer legs to their highest setting. Our little boy is growing up!

Days 2 and 3

Levi didn't do all that well on Tuesday at school, particularly with his eating. He just wouldn't take a bottle. All of his teachers tried to feed him around 1, and he would have nothing to do with them. A teacher from a different room offered to try to feed him, and Levi took the bottle from her right away. He took another bottle from one of his regular teachers a little bit later that afternoon. When I picked him up, there were no tears; although he still didn't seem super happy. We had fun Tuesday afternoon, though, and he slept really well Tuesday night. (He didn't sleep well Monday night at all.)

Today, Levi did much better, according to his teachers. He took all of the bottles we sent, from one of his regular teachers. When I got there to take him home, he was very happy in a bouncey activity center they have.

Thank you all for your prayers; we definitely saw positive results today. Please continue to pray for his adjustment.

Splish, Splash

Levi was takin' a bath.

Obviously, Levi had quite a good time. After bathtime was finished, water was EVERYWHERE! The countertop had probably 1/4 inch of water on it.

First Day of School

Having been with Levi for over two weeks straight over the holidays made today extra hard. But, we all survived Levi's first day of school. Kevin dropped Levi off this morning and got himself to his own school with time to spare. I had the joy (literally) of picking up Levi from school. Levi was not a very happy little boy when I got to school, though. He was trying to stay in an upright position and seemed to be getting frustrated with that. One of his teachers picked him up and brought him to me, and while he was approaching I was rewarded with a BIG grin (through the tears, which very quickly evaporated). He is so precious. Levi didn't do very well with his eating while at school. One of his teachers said the room was rather active today and Levi just wanted to take it all in. She said something like, "I can tell he is very inquisitive." He never eats very well in new places the first time or two we're there whether while nursing or taking a bottle, because there is too much for him to see. Throw in a bunch of new people to watch, too, and he wants to watch and learn rather than eat. Please pray that he'll adjust to the location and people so that he can eat more normally.

Typically for his late afternoon feeding, I've been feeding him cereal before he nurses. Otherwise, he'll get too much from nursing and end up spitting up everything after he eats some cereal. He's been cute about his cereal lately, too, making all sorts of "yum" noises and eating every bit of cereal that I make. Today, he took maybe four spoonfuls of cereal and would have nothing more to do with it. He wanted Mama. He nursed for a very long time and proceeded to spit up quite a bit. I think he overate to a certain extent, because he just wanted to be near me.

Gosh, I missed him today - but like I said we did make it. I really appreciate all your prayers - and please continue to pray for us and particularly that Levi will adjust.

Boot Scootin' Boogie

Most nights lately, Levi rolls over to his tummy to sleep but then starts crying when he decides he would rather be on his back. (Yep, he still hasn't rolled from his tummy to his back.) Last night, Kevin and I found him on two different occasions in the corner of his crib. He scooted himself all the way from the middle of the crib to the corner! Our little "scooter"!

Tomorrow is Levi's first day of "school". I'm not looking forward to it at all. I am very thankful, though, that I'm not the one dropping him off. Kevin has that heartbreaking task. I get to pick him up in the afternoons.

We all made a trip to the school Friday to drop off his diapers and wipes. All the girls are very sweet who will "teach" him, but I still just don't want to leave him. Please say a prayer for us all.