All Better

We went back to the doctor on Thursday, and Reagan was much better. Dr. G said he was worried about her the day before and it was good to see her smiling again. He suggested that I keep her out of school to give her time to fully recuperate. As for Cooper, he said there was probably no permanent damage done to his hand from the burns and he should be good as new in a couple of weeks.

Looking much better at the doctor's office

Cooper's all smiles because he thinks Reagan is the only one seeing Dr G today!A new movie always makes a little girl feel better!

Bless Their Hearts

Well, I won't be getting the Mother of the Year Award again this year (remember the broken arm of 2008?). Looks as if Reagan and Cooper have a slacker for a mom. First, Reagan's story...I got a call from school today around 10:45am saying Reagan had a fever of 100.7, she didn't have to go home, but she wasn't acting like herself, was a little pale and was asking for her mommy. I was riding with my manager today, so the thoughts are in my head ~ do I go get her or do I stay and work since I was out Monday because of the holiday & Tuesday with Greg's follow up appointment? Decisions, decisions... My manager was in the car (um, van) with me when the school called and he could tell that I was a little worried about Reagan and he told me to take him to his car and go get my baby if she was sick. Thank you John for being so understanding. I decide to call the doctor on the way to get Reagan and tell them that she's been going to the bathroom frequently lately, has had pain when going to the bathroom, hasn't been eating, complaining of her belly hurting, and now she has a fever. Except for the fever, this has been going on for about 4 or 5 days. If you know Reagan, you know she can be a little dramatic at times, and I thought this was just one of those times.

Not so much. When we get to the Dr. G's office, they discover she has a urinary tract infection that is about one of the worst he has ever seen in a child. Not only does she have to take an antibiotic, she has to get not one, but 2 shots right there in the office. And we have to go back to the doctor again in the morning for a follow up appointment...did I mention she was also dehydrated? He wants to check her out tomorrow just to be safe. Bless her heart!

The day started out just fine. Here's Reagan before school.

Before we go see the doctorAfter seeing the doctor and getting a shot in each thigh (which hurts so bad she couldn't walk)

Dr G's office gave her some ice cream for being such a brave girl ~ they sent one home for Cooper too

Ice cream is all she had to eat all day today

Now for Cooper's side of the story. Rewind to Thursday of last week. Being the mother of the year that I am, I was cooking Cooper a delicious dinner of frozen chicken nuggets and smiling potatoes. I take the food from the toaster oven to put it on his plate, but I forgot to close the toaster oven door ~ and I also forgot how far Cooper can now reach. He touches the door and whines a little bit, but I checked his fingers and didn't see any signs of redness or anything. I kiss his boo-boo and we eat dinner as usual, play as usual and bathe as usual. Didn't notice anything the rest of the week until Sunday after church when I'm wiping doughnut icing off his hands. I rubbed the palm of his hands and he let out a loud scream. When I looked at his hand, he had burns on 4 of his fingers at the joint where they meet the palm. Cooper still doesn't complain, so we put a little cream on it and move on. I mention this to Dr. G today while I'm there with Reagan and he prescribes a burn cream for Cooper. And Dr. G would like to see Cooper tomorrow just to check him out when I bring Reagan in for her follow up. Oh ~ he said he would be sure and have DSS there waiting for me~he's certain they'll have a few questions!

See the burns?

These burns are almost a week old and now he's picking off the scabs

Pray for my poor kids and their daddy!

Stitches and a Splint

Greg went back to the doctor today for his 2 week post surgery check up, to get his stitches out, and to get a splint made for wear in the evenings. Everyone was pleased with his progress and how well the wounds look.

Not too bad for 2 weeks

This lovely contraption was hand made with care by Paula

Greg goes back to the doctor in 2 1/2 weeks for what we hope is his final visit!

EEEW!

WARNING....the pictures that follow are not for the faint of heart.

Greg had his follow up appointment today and everything went very well (um...almost everything, but I'll get to that in a minute). The doctor told Greg that his hand was more involved than what he thought it would be and that the insides were like concrete. But, he's very pleased with the outcome and expects a full recovery if Greg does his therapy.

Bandages removed

Just a few stitches and a few open woundsOK, now for the thing that didn't go so well. I was doing great when the bandages were removed, taking pictures and talking about the care that Greg would need from me over the next few weeks (speaking of care...I actually had to give him a bath this morning and wash his hair ~ for better or worse; in sickness and in health, right!). Anyway, when the nurse came in to clean Greg's wound, he started wincing in pain and I couldn't stand to see him hurting. So, I felt the back of my neck getting warm and my knees getting weak and I needed to sit down. Then I needed to lie down and get cold. Somehow I became the patient and Greg got off of the table so I could lie down!!! I never did pass out, but if I hadn't of gotten cold at that moment, who knows what would have happened!

Greg said he couldn't let this opportunity to take my picture pass by ~ all's fair in love and blogging I guess

We go back to the doctor in two weeks for stitch removal and fitting for a splint. Wish Greg luck that I can change his bandages and not have to "get cold"!

Dupuytren's Contracture

Big name for an aggravating problem. Basically, Greg's hand won't straighten out to where he can lay it flat on a table. This is a slow process that we first noticed about 12 or 13 years ago. But the doctor back then gave us a pamphlet and said when it gets bad enough, then you'll do something about it. Apparently, Greg has had enough!

We went to an orthopedic hand surgeon on Friday and Greg has surgery scheduled for Wednesday, August 26th at noon. Recovery should be gross (he'll have an open wound for about 4 weeks because there isn't enough skin to close it up), and relatively quick if Greg does the required physical therapy.

Although we're not looking forward to the surgery and recovery ~ I know Greg is definitely looking forward to being able to do all the things he hasn't been able to do in a while. Please keep Greg and Dr. B in your prayers.

The Check Up

Today was Cooper's 18 month check up (yes, I know he's over 19 months old now, but...). Here are the stats ~ he weighs in at a whopping 27.8 pounds ~ which is in the 80th percentile(personally, I think he weighs more than that, but I liked the number when I stepped on the scale, so I'm not going to argue!) and after being measured twice because Dr Brooks couldn't believe how tall he was, he is 35 inches tall which is in the 95th percentile (he's grown almost 2 inches in 6 months ~ unheard of apparently). He only had to get one immunization, but Reagan held his hand and he only whimpered for just a second. All in all, he's a healthy boy and was the hit of the office this afternoon.

Cooper's #1

Such a happy boy, even after getting a shot

While we were there, I asked if they would weigh and measure Reagan just for the fun of it. She weighs 35 pounds and is 3'4" tall (only 5 inches taller and 7 pounds heavier than Cooper...and 3 years older!)

Finally Friday

The end of another week ~ seemed even longer since we'd been on vacation last week! Here are a few pictures from our day.

Reagan is all smiles and ready to go to school

Reagan wanted me to take a picture with herCooper brushing his teeth

Too bad daddy leaves for work so early!

Reagan picked out Cooper's balloon color at the doctor's office

He let his balloon go (inside the house, so all is not lost!)

I took Cooper to the doctor after school today because he's had a horrible diaper rash for a couple of weeks now. Nothing over the counter seemed to work. Here's the conversation with Reagan as we were walking in to the office ~

Reagan: "Why are we taking Cooper to the doctor, does his belly hurt?"

Mom: "We're going to the doctor to see what's wrong with Cooper's bottom because I don't know what it is."

Reagan: "I don't know either. I'm not a doctor."

Mom: "I'm not a doctor either. Do you want to be a doctor when you grow up?"

Reagan: "No, I'm a princess. Princess Reagan and that's all!"

Cooper said his first sentence ~ "Thank You Mama" ~ as I sat his dinner plate on the table in front of him!

15 month Check Up

A little late with the 15 month check up...but at least we got it done! Cooper weighs in at 26.8 lbs ~ up 1/2 pound since last week!! Cooper was such a brave boy getting his shots. He didn't cry with the 1st stick, and only a whimper after the 2nd shot!

All smiles before the shots! Reagan likes playing in the waiting room too!

Feeding Dr. G's dinosaur Going for a ride on the dinosaur ~ after the shots, Cooper wasn't interested in playing with the dinosaur

Reagan and Dr. G

Doctor Visit

Today we were supposed to have gone to the doctor for Cooper's 15 month well child check, but when we got there, Dr Brooks said Cooper didn't look like he felt good so today would be a sick child visit ~ make that 2 sick child visits. Reagan has had a cough and runny nose for about 5 days, so why not check her out while were at the doctor's office, right? We'll go back next week for the well child visit and shots!! By the way, Cooper weighs in at 26.2 pounds and is 2'8" tall. Reagan weighs 33.8 pounds. We'll see how much weight Cooper can gain in a week!!

In the waiting room, waiting for our names to be called and having a snack

Reagan asked for a purple balloon for her, Cooper a white one, mommy got green and daddy got red. I felt like I was leaving the circus!
Cooper glad he didn't have to get shots today!

Reagan finally let Cooper have "his" balloon.

Got all 4 and he's not letting them go!

Reagan got them back!

Frenulum

Our word of the day today is frenulum ~ the membrane between the upper lip and the upper gum. Why do we know this word? Cooper!! He was moving furniture today at school when he fell and tore his frenulum. I took him to see Dr. Brooks and he said had the laceration been anywhere else on his body, it probably would need stitches, but the mouth has an amazing ability to heal itself and it should be completely healed within 1-2 days. And his teeth are fine...no bruising of the gums, no wiggly teeth. Whew!!

Here's Cooper trying to show you his frenulum

Does this look like a child that had a traumatic day?
Smiling as always

So much fun in the bathtub

What a fake smile!

By the way, Cooper now weighs 24.2 lbs. A 2 pound increase in 17 days. Table food and whole milk does a body good!

12 Month Check Up

Cooper had his 12 month check up today. He was a very good boy and the nurses commented how strong he was. He weighed in at 22.8 pounds and is 31 1/2 inches long. He received 3 vaccinations today plus the flu shot. He hadn't had a nap all day, so was pretty restless by the time we got home.

On my way to fix him another jar of food and when I came back, this is what I found.

Slowly falling asleep Showing off his band aids

Reagan got a flu shot today too

So did I

Bath time makes everything all better

The big smile

A big smile from Reagan too!

So much fun pouring water on Cooper's back

Sweet girl

What's so funny?