So yea, I'm soo bad at this. I never can seem to have/make the time to update on even a semi regular basis. Part of this is actually having the time and brain power to sit down and update, and the other part is, I don't really know more than 2 people that actually look at this. And those 2 get updated a lot easier and quicker on FB. So, here's my question: Who actually looks at this? If you do, please leave a comment saying so or send me a msg/comment on FB. If it's only these two ppl that I know of, I'm probably going to call it quits for a while and maybe just pick it up later or update when there is major stuff going on.
So on to the update:
Things are going pretty well for us right now. Anna and Max are doing well. Anna is on zyrtec everyday to help her out. Not for allergies though. She got sick again on the 13th of July w/ Broncialitis (basically the same as RSV) and 3 weeks later, she was still having the wet, nasty coughing/gagging stuff going on. So it was decided we'd try the zyrtec to help dry her up. The nastiness was mostly upper, and to the point where if she could just cough really well a couple of times, she'd be fine. Her low muscle tone is basically the cause of the problem. Her lungs aren't as strong, so she can't put as much force behind the coughs. Zyrtec has been helping a lot and she's been sleeping a lil better too finally!! She's starting to cough more again though in the last couple of days, so I'm going to be keeping an eye on her. Not sure if it's from switching the time of meds or if she's picking something up, or the med just isn't helping anymore. Anna had her appt w/ the Developemental Pediatrician on Tuesday and that went well. Based on the Dr. eval, Anna is developementally about 5mos, w/ a few 6mo skills. She's learning new stuff and working those muscles, so she's getting better each day. She can now sit (we sit her) by herself for about 5mins. Anna has physical therapy once a wk and has now started speech therapy every other week. She's had about 3 sessions of ST now. We are working on gestures (clapping, waving, etc) with her and wanting her to babble (she only says ahhhh every once in a while). She is working her way (hopefully already is!) back up to her 6mo weight of 15lbs, 3oz. At her last dr appt (about a wk ago) she was 15lbs, 1oz. She's 27inches long now! Still wears NB shorts.
Things are going pretty well for us right now. Anna and Max are doing well. Anna is on zyrtec everyday to help her out. Not for allergies though. She got sick again on the 13th of July w/ Broncialitis (basically the same as RSV) and 3 weeks later, she was still having the wet, nasty coughing/gagging stuff going on. So it was decided we'd try the zyrtec to help dry her up. The nastiness was mostly upper, and to the point where if she could just cough really well a couple of times, she'd be fine. Her low muscle tone is basically the cause of the problem. Her lungs aren't as strong, so she can't put as much force behind the coughs. Zyrtec has been helping a lot and she's been sleeping a lil better too finally!! She's starting to cough more again though in the last couple of days, so I'm going to be keeping an eye on her. Not sure if it's from switching the time of meds or if she's picking something up, or the med just isn't helping anymore. Anna had her appt w/ the Developemental Pediatrician on Tuesday and that went well. Based on the Dr. eval, Anna is developementally about 5mos, w/ a few 6mo skills. She's learning new stuff and working those muscles, so she's getting better each day. She can now sit (we sit her) by herself for about 5mins. Anna has physical therapy once a wk and has now started speech therapy every other week. She's had about 3 sessions of ST now. We are working on gestures (clapping, waving, etc) with her and wanting her to babble (she only says ahhhh every once in a while). She is working her way (hopefully already is!) back up to her 6mo weight of 15lbs, 3oz. At her last dr appt (about a wk ago) she was 15lbs, 1oz. She's 27inches long now! Still wears NB shorts.
Max is doing well. He loves the Wheels on the Bus song and sings it along w/ Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy-Bitsy Spider and ABC's. Wheels is def the clearest, he knows it the best. He's going to be starting a new class soon. He's going to start going to the CDC soon. We wanted to move him to the preschool at his daycare, but decided that CDC was better financially and logistically. There isn't a waiting list for his age, so now we just have to wait for an opening. Until then, he'll continue going to Cherry Blossum. We love his daycare, I hate to move him b/c of that, but he's getting to where he needs a more structured class, and we'd rather him be w/ kid shis age or older, not his age or younger. His class right now is 6wks-3yrs. If we moved him to the preschool class it'd be 2.5yrs-5. Going to CDC he'll be in the toddler class which is 2-3yrs old. He's doing very well with potty training too! We haven't put him in underwear all the time yet, but he spends most of the day in them. He does great at daycare too! Many days when I pick him up they'll let me know he still has on the same pullup as when I brought him b/c he's used the potty everytime he needed to go! He's getting to be such a big boy! He's being a little rougher though lately. I think all the demands, appts, and extra stuff we have going on w/ Anna is most of the cause of it, so we've just got to make sure and give him plenty of attention and praise. Which isn't alway as easy as it sounds unfortunately. Toddlerhood makes it more difficult sometimes. But we will do our best and make it through. 
Matt is staying busy with work. He's still enjoying having his own unit and working by himself. Unfortunately he still has to deal with people up at his old unit and put up with some of the stupid stuff they do (or don't do that Matt has to do), but hopefully that'll change soon. Matt was chosen out of the 3d MLG career planners to be submitted for Career Planner of the Year, so we are hoping he gets it. We'll find out in October. He says he's not 'pretty' enough though. If only they knew exactly the mess he deals with out here, he'd probably be the prettiest one there lol.
I am getting ready to start classes at the end of this month. I just got my eligibility and plan approved from MyCAA, so I have a $6000 grant for schooling for a 'portable' career. I want to get my bachelors in sociology, and that falls into the category. I'm actually going to be using it at first to get certified in Medical Transcription though. That way I can do some work, and work from home. I think it'll be nice, give me another outlet and another way to contribute. I find that I need a break with the kids sometimes, something else I can do and still contribute, so I decided that college and working a few hours at home each week would be a great way to do it. I'm very excited about it all. I haven't taken a class in 3 yrs, and though 3-4yrs ago I was probably thinking "thank goodness when this is done!" I'm soo ready to take it on again. I miss it actually. I've also started going to the gym with a friend, typically about 4 times a wk. Once the kids are in bed, I head out. Means later nights for me, but so far it's been ok. I feel better going and I know it's good for me.Well, thats all I can think of for updates. Not much more going on. We keep watching weather, waiting for a typhoon, but they have all gone the wrong way or missed us. The one that just momicked Taiwan, was originally supposed to hit us. Sounds like it was a good thing it did. Though the storm wouldn't have been as strong.
I'll update again when I can, or at least post when I decide whether I'm going to drop this for a while or just post even more infrequently. Hope all is well with everyone!!
She wasn't having any difficulties breathing or anything so they just sent us home w/ some amoxicillian and an inhaler for her. I brought her back on the 3rd b/c she threw up and was also breathing really fast, plus her coughing was just as bad as before the albuterol and antibiotic. This time she saw her Dr (who we LOVE!) and he did the RSV test and she was positive. Both days when the corpsman did the O2 sat and vitals she would be be 88-89 and then come up to 94. The first day though the corpsman -- AFTER TELLING ME THE HIGHEST {and i saw it too} SHE WAS, WAS 94 -- WROTE DOWN 98!!!!!!!!! Which is a BIG difference! When the NP looked at the vitals and said something about her being a 98 so there wasn't any problem, I was a lil perturbed and told her why, so they redid it. This time a different person did it, and they got the 94 as well. When I took her back in, the highest she has was 94, but she was staying around 88-89 as well. So they watched it for a while and gave her a nebulizer treatment to see if that would help, and realized she was staying in the high , sometimes mid 80's most of the time. So they put set up the blow by oxygen and that helped a lot and got us set up w/ a room. We ended up there for 7 days, mostly b/c (after the first few days) she was still staying in the high 80's while laying down or sleeping. 
We had her on the nasal cannula and that seemed to work the best for her. She was getting neb treatments ever 3hrs, then every 2 then every 4. She'd get albuterol if she was wheezing, otherwise it'd just be saline to help loosen everything up. We (drs included) think it took longer for her to recover b/c of the low muscle tone she has throughout her body. Her lungs just needed a lot of help. She got chest PT (vigorous cupped-hand (or infant CPR mask lol) hitting on her back and chest) as well. The ICU staff there were great! They were so caring and encouraging and just made our stay there so much better. Anything we needed (they even gave me some scrubs to wear so i didn't have to bring a bunch of clothes) they provided and helped us find, or watched Anna while I went to the hospital shoppette to get it. We couldn't have asked for better corpsmen and nurses. They all had nicknames for her and just loved to play with her. They let us go walk a few times when she was off the oxygen during the day, so that was nice to stretch our (my) legs. Matt and Max brought breakfast and dinner for me as well as clothes, snacks, books, toys, etc. Matt stayed out of work the whole time we were there. He's unit was great about it, didn't even make him go on leave. 
Anna is doing a lot better now (we got out the evening of the 9th). She's had two followup appts since then to check her out since she'd been in the hosp for so long w/ it. They say she's at a higher risk for asthma since she was hospitalized while/because of wheezing and a low O2 and she'll be RSV + for a while. And Unfortunately she an pick RSV right back up. The body doesn't recognize it right away like some other viruses. They sent us home with a nebulizer and saline and albuterol to give her scheduled treatments as well as just as needed, but she hasn't needed it in a week, so we're turning it back in at her 6mo well check on Tues. At her last appt (monday the 15th) she was 14lbs, 13oz and 26inches long. She's made some good weight progress, though she'd dropped down while in the hospital. She gained it back and then some once home. She's been gaining a lot better since we started solids. I think Sweet Potatoes are her fav, but she seems to like butternut squash too. Doesn't seem to care for plums or avocados, but maybe she'll grow to like them. She finally was able to start PT this past week. Her first 2 sessions were cancelled since she was sick of course. That went very well and the therapist was happy to see the progress she'd made in that time. Both therapists that see her are great about getting Max involved as well, so he gets to help and be apart of all of it. He is doing very well, though he looks pretty rough. Lol, he's a boy, ALL boy, so he's covered in scrapes, bruises, scratches, etc. We had a birthday party today and he just looks like he was in a fight or something. With a cat... and maybe a rock. There was a big inflatable slip in slide type thing and he has scratches and such all over his back from the seams of it as well as from other kids. They wrestled all over that thing. He has a blast being able to play and rough house with those kids. There are two older boys that he just LOVES, and they were there, so he had a blast playing with them and their lil brother. Max and one of the older boys knocked heads though one time, so he has a nice bruise on his forehead from that. He looks like we tied and drug him down a rocky road or something. He's been fighting bed and nap times bad lately though and getting up at 530-545 numerous times, which is HORRIBLE! He just gets up, turns his light on and plays. for a while, then bangs on the door and hollers. Put him back in bed as soon as we know he's up, but he just gets right back up a few mins later. I don't know how to get him to sleep later!! It's driving me batty! I finally got Anna back on a decent schedule since we got home from the hospital, but it no longer matters since Max gets up at the crack of dawn. 
