And another Dr. visit...

Yes, that's right - another doctor visit for our family, and this time it was for Mr. Brecken again. Sunday evening and Monday morning, he was extremely fussy and irritable (having complete meltdowns over everything!), which is just not like him at all. He also was starting to pull on his right-ear again. I thought uh-oh, does he have another ear infection already even though he just ended the antibiotics on Thursday morning? He didn't have a fever, but since he didn't run a temp last time either, we can't really use that to help us figure out if he has an actual infection or not. Our pediatrician wasn't able to see him yesterday when I was off for President's Day, so D.J. snuck away from work again today and took him to the dr. Well it turns out that the infection is completely cleared up, but he has "a ton of fluid in that ear." She also saw a little fluid in that ear back at the end of December when we were in for his 15-month check-up. The other concern is that we're leaving for Fort Myers on Saturday, and we really don't want any sort of ear infection going on when we get on the plane...so since that fluid can very easily turn into an infection in no time, she prescribed a type of antibiotic (Sulfa) that is used to help prevent ear infections. Otherwise, she said we'll probably end up having to go to urgent care down in Florida. However, even with this medicine, she warned us that it might be quite a rough plane ride because they've never been able to find a way to get rid of the actual fluid. Oh joy! I'm not sure if I'm most worried about Brecken having pain, us parents dealing with a screaming child, or the poor people on the plane with us! I guess we'll just give him ibuprofen before we get on the plane and hope for the best :) The dr. said we can bring him in again when we get back from Florida if he is showing any symptoms at all (or if we just want to get it checked out) because if that much fluid stays in his ear, it can cause hearing issues which is definitely not good at this age when they are developing their language skills so much. After hearing about the infection being gone and just having the fluid in the ear, I think his fussiness was more related to his teething (eye teeth) than ear pain, but it was probably good because it got us to take him into the dr. and otherwise we may have had an even more interesting plane ride.

D.J. has bronchitis

Well we're STILL not healthy. D.J. has pretty much had a cold ever since I started spreading this illness, and last week he also went in for a strep test but that was negative. On Friday he really started to get miserable, and this week he started coughing up green junk so then he decided to listen to his wife and go back to the doctor ;) Well low and  behold, he has a sinus infection and bronchitis! Now he's on more Mucinex, antibiotics, and codine cough syrup at night. Ughhhh...will we ever all be healthy at the same time?

In more positive news... in addition to Brecken cruising all over the house, he's now starting to say a few real words like cheese, cookie, thank you, ni-night, and wuv you! It's so fun to see him making all of these accomplishments. He's also started to blow me kisses when I drop him off at daycare in the morning...it is so adorable and nothing melts my heart quite like that! Oh, and did I mention that at just 16-months of age, he is able to open doors! Yeah, he can pull the lever down on a door that has been completely pushed shut, then pull the door towards him, move out of the way, and then sneak out of the room in a flash. I think we're in trouble!

Well I think I'm heading to bed (Yes, I know it's only 8:30), but I'm completely exhausted! School is absolutely insane this year. I'm working 9 hours a day with about a 15 minute lunch, bringing work home, and still feel like I'm completely floundering in my to-do lists which just include the very basics like corrcting papers, e-mailing parents, and making copies. I've cut-out over half of the "extra" school stuff this year just so I can spend a little time with my adorable little boy! (But really,  I feel like I'm a half teacher and half mom and don't do either job up to par!) Now on top of all that usual school stuff, I'm trying to keep the house running and care for my sick husband.  Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Ok, thanks for listening to me vent. I know this is just pretty much typical life for families with young children. Please say a prayer for me :) I will make it to June, I will make it to June!

Thank God tomorrow is Friday and only one more week until our mini-vacation in Fort Myers! A little light at the end of the tunnel :)

Have a great weekend!

I spoke too soon!

Well, I definitely spoke too soon because
1) I guess we're not "almost healthy" as I had said, and
2) I can no longer say that Brecken has never been on antibiotics! (I knew I would jinx myself!)

Here's the scoop:
Late last week, I started to think hmmmm... Brecken's cold should be wrapping up very soon, but I guess mine lasted about a week-and-a-half so maybe he is just about to round the corner. I thought about taking him in to the doc just to have him checked out, but since his symptoms weren't getting any worse and he didn't have a fever, I figured we'd just give him the weekend and hopefully he'd come out of it. Well over the weekend, his cough started to get SLIGHTLY worse, so we decided we better take him in just for "peace of mind" even though he was still running all around the house laughing, smiling, and saying "google, google, google" (his new favorite word that he uses for everything). Well, the dr. squeezed him into her schedule yesterday afternoon, and D.J. found out that Brecken has a right ear infection, a sinus infection, AND strep throat! Poor thing!

I feel like a bad mom for not bringing him in sooner, but seriously, how is it possible to have THREE infections, yet not run a temp and not act the least bit sick?! This fall he had a temp of 102, wasn't sleeping well, and was super cuddly. When I brought him in that time, it was "just a virus." Now when he really is super sick, he doesn't have a fever, and is eating and sleeping totally fine...go figure!
I'm home with him today, as he obviously has to be on antibiotics for 24 hrs due to the strep throat. I must say that I'm loving every minute since he doesn't act one bit sick.

Well Brecken will be awake again soon, so I better get a few more things done.

Brecken is in a Photo Contest!

Brecken is in a photo contest through our photographer, West Meadow Photography. If you'd like to vote for Brecken:
1) log-in to Facebook
2) search "West Meadow Photography"
3) "like" the fan page
4) Click on the "canvas giveaway!" album
5) "Like" Brecken's pic (#27) - The photo with the most "likes" WINS!

OR, try this link and log-in to Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39660&id=110434902311531#!/photo.php?fbid=188893684465652&set=a.188893184465702.39660.110434902311531
(Again, I think you have to "like" West Meadow Photography before you can access the album and vote for Brecken.)

Hurry - the contest ends sometime on Wednesday, February 9th.
Thanks everyone!

Almost healthy :)

Well some of you may know that all 3 of us have recently been sick. I unfortunately started it all...with the stomach flu AGAIN. (I had the stomach flu so bad Thanksgiving weekend that D.J. had to take me to the ER for IV's, and I passed out while giving them all of my information :( So needless to say, I was NOT happy when I got the flu for a 2nd time in one season! Thankfully though I had the drugs from my ER visit, so I was able to stop puking much sooner this time :) Anyway, I was home recovering from the flu when all of  a sudden I started getting super congested. After two days being home and having 2 different random subs, I decided I had to go back to work even though I was actually feeling worse because of all the awful sinus congestion. Thankfully DJ and Brecken never did get the stomach flu (either time), but they both did get cold/sinus stuff that lasted over a week for each of us, and Brecken is still coughing a little. We are so blessed that Brecken has stayed so healthy - this was only his 2nd major cold and he's still never been on antibiotics (knock on wood), which is completely amazing for a preemie!

Anyway, in more exciting news, Brecken is walking (well, running is more like it) all over the place! It is so fun to see him explore now that he is up and about and can get to more things.

This Sunday night, Brecken has his first swimming lessons, which should be fun for all of us. Then we're off to church for a Super Bowl party. AND in about a month, we're all headed to Fort Myers, Florida to soak in some sun and catch a Twins Spring Training game :)We are so ready for a break from this cold, snowy winter!

Stay warm everyone!