Motherhood

Motherhood is a beautiful thing. It's not always beautiful though...

I have found lately that prayer is so important in being a mama. I pray constantly that I can be the best mama my kids need. Sometimes I have to stop in the kitchen and pray while all three are screaming at me. I am not perfect. I 100% know that. But I do know I can be a better mama when I rely on the Lord and not myself. 

I know time with my babies is so important. Our time is limited during the week. But I do savor the moments I have with them in the mornings on the way to school. We love to talk and sing and pray on the way to school. I love the bedtime moments when they have calmed down and are all clean. I love hearing them talk to each other in the bathtub while the Mr. gives them a bath and I am folding clothes. I love those sleepy eyes in the morning looking up at me. Goodness, there are so many moments I love. But I have to keep myself focused on these sweet moments during the tough moments. And relying on the Lord more in those moments of frustration. 

Sometimes I wonder why I was blessed with three babies so quickly and close together. And as soon as I question the Lord always reminds me...this is my task in life. Yes, I have a job outside of our home but being a mama is the job He gave me. I am so thankful for this job and I will never become tired or sick of it. Even in tough moments. My prayer is that my children will always know I love them and always make them feel important and that they will know they are the best job I've ever been given. 

Motherhood is a beautiful job. 

Ear Tubes for EK

Emma Kate had her ear tubes put in today! It went PERFECT! We had only heard positive things about ear tubes...but of course as parents were were super nervous because she had to be put to sleep! 

It was so smooth and the place was great that we did it at! Of course we already knew her ENT but we didn't know the nurses and all at this place...but they were amazing! 

We had to arrive at 6:30AM....I just picked her up out of bed and changed her and we were on our way. She couldn't eat after midnight so no breakfast or milk before going. 

We had to do a little paperwork and get her signed in and pay. And then we waited like 5 minutes before going back. 

Once we went back she had to change tops...this was the only thing that made her mad! :) 

She got her little hear rate monitor on and got a Frozen sticker for being such  champ! 

They gave her a little medicine for her heart and all. And then we waited a little bit. 

She was so good at waiting. She talked a little...wanted to look at pics of sister on my phone and of course cuddle. 

She did ask for snack and juice a couple of times but didn't ever get upset about that. 

She was so funny about the heart rate monitor...she liked it and thought it was cool but made some silly mad faces at it! :) 

Daddy came and waited with us right before they took her back. He stayed back with Livi so that M (our amazing neighbor) didn't have to come to our house super super early. 

They cuddled for like 5 min and then they came to take her back. She cried for a few seconds as they took her away. They took us (me and the Mr.) to a little waiting room and we both used the restroom and then her doc came in....she was only back for  a total of 10 min! We were so impressed! He did warn us that she would be super cranky and scream as she came out of the anesthesia but when we got to her she wasn't crying at all and never did! The nurses said this never happens and kept on bragging about how good she was doing. We just cuddled with her for about 20 min and had her drink some juice and then we left. We arrived at the place at 6:30am and left at 8:45am! So smooth and quick! And when we got home she ate and played a ton with Livi and then they took naps at normal time. :) 

Thank you to all of our friends and the Mr.'s family for praying of her and texting and calling us today. We have really felt your prayers and love! 

We are excited for her to feel better and for her hearing to improve!:) 

A students loss

Some of you may know about the awful tragedy that occurred in our town last week. It really affected me and my school because 5 children(our students) lost their father. 

We had very high winds last Wednesday morning. Pedro was on his way to work and a tree fell right on top of his van. He was killed instantly. He left behind a wonderful wife, and 5 amazing kids, and a new house(that they hand't finished fixing up) that they had just saved for years for. 

What was even more hard is that all of us teachers would know for hours before the children were told. We kept them calm and believing it was a normal day until their mother could come tell them. 

I taught one of the precious girls two years ago. And I've worked with the only son throughout the years here at our school. This family is precious and so sweet.

This just tore my heart apart because I can't imagine losing my husband and the father of my children. I can't imagine losing a parent. I just can't imagine any of this pain and what this sweet family was going through.

What amazed me was my school family. We all came together and were a solid rock for this family during the first few hours and days of this tragedy. Many of us went that evening to a ceremony in their neighborhood where the event took place. And the next day many of us attended the viewing and or the funeral. But even more than attending the events the people I work with LOVED on these children. Prayed and held their hands.

My community  has amazed me too. Almost $10,000 has been raised for this family! I know this is all been possible because of God. He's laid this family on so many peoples hearts.

This article is a beautiful description and explanation of what happened.

Please continue to pray for this family. We are hoping as a school and community to be able to finish the house that they bought so that Rufina and her 5 children can move in and live in the house that was bought and worked on by their precious father/husband!

As a teacher, sometimes you don't really even know what you'll be called to do. In the past week it's been clear to me that God placed these children in my life for a reason. I am so grateful to work and teach with such amazing people. 

EK's Colic Journey...so far

As many of you know Emma Kate is colic. Yes, we know that word is OVER USED a lot. But she truly is colic. We aren't just making it up because she cries for 30 minutes. This child is pretty miserable and it breaks our hearts!

Emma Kate was breech for 20 weeks and was Baby A...which means that Olivia sat on her head the whole pregnancy. Can't be comfortable right? 

The girls were born at 37 weeks...full term for twins. Were super healthy and were good weights. Emma Kate was 6 lbs 14oz at birth. I did notice in the hospital that her cry was SO LOUD.  She left the hospital at 6 lbs 6 oz...she did lose a good amount of weight. We left the hospital supplementing her with breast milk through a system called SNS. 

We took her to the doc the day after we got home and she was down to 6 lbs 5oz. We continued to supplement with breast milk.  She did cry a good amount at night. It would take a long time to get her to sleep after feedings. At her one week doc appt she was up to 6 lbs 8oz. But we told the doc about the green/bright yellow stuff coming out of her nose. I was worried she was sick...but Dr. G told us that was acid reflux. Well, we had been through acid reflux with Tucker so we weren't worried at all. We filled her Zantac that day and thought things would get better. We also stopped waking her up at night to feed because it was making her tummy hurt so much and our nights were just awful. 

Well the Zantac didn't really work as fast as it had with Tucker...but we did keep reminding ourselves that each child is different. When we went to Bundles of Joy (nursing group) when EK was two weeks old she was back up to 6 lbs 14oz...her birth weight! I called Dr. G after we left that afternoon to tell him she was back up to her birth weight but that Zantac wasn't working. He switched her to Prilosec. Also after she got back up to birth weight I stopped the SNS...she was getting plenty from just nursing and it was making her tummy hurt at night. 

After we got stopped waking her up at night to eat and changed the meds we saw a difference at night...she slept longer stretches. There was still a TON of crying...but we didn't want to say it was colic yet. We took EK to the Mr.'s chiropractor at 2.5 weeks old. The Mr. had read a lot about it helping babies with colic and tummy issues. And Dr. A has worked with tons of babies in his 30 years of practicing. She didn't cry one peep at her first appointment with him. She LOVED it! 

The chiropractor helped a little bit but we were still dealing with a  lot of crying. We knew she was getting enough nursing, she would be dry but she would still scream and scream. One way to calm her down sometimes was for me to just to wear her. I would wear her in the Moby wrap for hours and hours during the day. The next thing I did was cut dairy from my diet. And if you know me and how picky I am you know this was tough. But I did it always! :) Of course we knew we wouldn't see results immediately. 

October 10th was their one month appt. Dr. G was very impressed with her weight gain...she was 7 lbs 14oz at one month. I told him all of our worries and everything that we had done and he looked right at me and said,  "She is full out colic." Those were the words I fought he would say, but was praying he wouldn't. We told him that she was sleeping pretty good at night but during the day she basically just screamed and nursed. And we also told him that she startles very easily....you can be holding her and slowly move your hand and she jumps like you have just slammed a door.  He said there is really nothing you can do for colic and it's because her gut and nervous system aren't fully developed. He said she could have used another month in the womb but because she was a twin that wasn't possible. He did give us another med to use with her.  You can only give her 4-5 drops every 6 hours. These give some relief....but not enough. Dr. G told me that she will most likely grow out of this by December. :( 

Dr. G did say it's not a food allergy...if it were a food allergy she would have some sort of rash or very strange poop. And we might even seen blood in her poop. This wasn't the case at all. But as soon as I cut dairy she quit going to the bathroom everyday. She is not only pooping once a week...which I know has to be awful. I slowly started putting dairy back into my diet after two weeks of none. 

One month pics...she had just nursed and was dry. :(

This is where EK spent most of her first month and still is worn by me A LOT. 

Emma Kate really is a sweet baby and we love her to death. But this is hard...not being able to comfort your own child is the worst thing ever. If TJH gets hurt I can pick him up, kiss him, hug on him and he's good. If Olivia starts crying I can change her, feed her, love on her and she is good. But Emma Kate isn't like that. And we know that all of our children aren't going to be the same, but not being able to calm your child is awful. 

TJH has been so patient with her too. :) He will hold her even when she is screaming. Ethel hasn't been too bothered by it. Lucy isn't a fan of the screaming...she will usually leave whatever floor we are on when EK is screaming. 

The Mr. and I have taken shifts with her daily...it's too much for one parent to deal with. And it's good that both of us are able to be at home right now with her. 

So we of course have taken any and all suggestions for how to help our sweet girl! We were on our nightly walk and one of our neighbors told us about how her son was colic 28 years ago and they used catnip. She said they made it into a tea and gave it to her son and it worked. Well that evening the Mr. went to out and got some! EK loves it and we call it her "Kitty Cat Juice". We give it to her after she nurses and it just calms her tummy and usually helps her go to sleep. I was a little worried at first about this, but the Mr. read a ton of stuff about it and made me a cup of it too and it's not bad at all. It's a very safe way to help her. 

We stopped giving her the Prilosec almost two weeks ago, she has no signs of the acid reflux and we thought it might be stopping her from going to the bathroom. I also wanted to see if just using natural stuff would help more. The nights have been good but days are really hard. Up until this week she has been gaining weight. At 6 weeks she was up to 8 lbs 11oz.  But then this week at Bundles of Joy at 7 weeks she hand't gained an oz. I almost cried right there at the scale. But L (nurse/lactation consultant) calmed me down. She is getting almost 4.5 oz at each feeding...where is it going? L told me again for the 3 or 4th time since EK was born that she is burning  so many calories crying. I still felt like the worst mommy ever. 

The Mr. looked up the weight gain issue along with colic and found out that some babies need probiotics added to their diet.  So off to the store he went. 

I love Instagram for more reasons then just the pictures...it's a community. I looked up the hashtags for colic and found out some other mommies had used Hylands Colic Tablets and probiotics. We love Hyland's products so the Mr. ordered these...they should be here this week in the mail. 

We also read that changing the bottle could help...she only take a bottle before bed but when I go back to work she will have a lot more bottles...so I got these this week. They seem to help..we could hear her taking down air before and now we can't with the Dr. Brown's bottles. 

We've also been using the Colic Calm and Gripe Water.

The Mr. also ordered the Happi Tummi  and it should be here later this week too. Like I said, we are willing to try anything to help her!

But since starting the probiotics and her chiropractor appt this week she has had three poops instead of just one! And we are starting to see a happier side of her during the day! 

Colic is no joke y'all! I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy. It's stressful and heartbreaking. I have prayed and prayed for patience. I have only had two really bad days during all of this. And with the support of my husband, friends and family I have been able to pick myself up those two days and keep going. I am thankful for those of you who have been through life with a colic child and have shared what you've done...you don't really fully understand unless your child has been colic. 

We love this little girl to pieces and know this is just a phase in life. We are praying for it to go away fast for her sake. Seeing your child in pain and not being able to help them is horrible and we want her pain to go away so fast! 

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Prayers Please

Seems in the past week I've heard and seen so much bad stuff. I know the Lord is in control, but there is so much sadness going on.

A dear sorority sister of mine delivered her sweet baby G a week and half ago and she had to have heart surgery on Monday and she isn't doing well. Please pray that baby G can get through all of this so she can live a healthy life. 

My best friend lost her uncle on Monday evening. This is her mom's brother. And my best friend lost her mother in December. Please pray for my best friend H and her entire family. But especially her grandmother...she has now lost 3 of her 4 children. 

My best friend L had a death last week too. Her childhood best friend's father died. Please pray for L and her friends family.

A very sweet co-worker of mines father had a massive heart attack and they think a stroke too last week. Please pray he has a full recovery. 

Monday when I was driving home from my nursing group I witnessed a man standing on a bridge that goes over a major road trying to jump. There were about 10 cop cars with lots of cops trying to talk him down. Please pray for that man and his life. 

Please pray for all of these situations and anymore that I didn't mention. I know we serve a very mighty God and he has BIG plans for all of us. Sometimes it's just hard to see the rainbow after the storm. 

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. 

Nana

Today marks a sad/happy day. Today is the day that Nana passed away 3 years ago. She was such a special lady to so many people. She touched so many peoples lives by loving them, praying for them and always encouraging them. 

The Mr. and I talk about Nana pretty often. And I really think Nana has a lot to do with our children. You are probably wondering how and why. Well, I always joked with Nana that I wasn't going to have ANY children born in the month of February because there are already SO many birthdays in our family in February. Well, TJH was born in February and I am so glad he was! :) Then, we found out we were pregnant again...but we knew we weren't due in February...but we did find out it was TWINS on Nana's birthday which is February 28th! :) Love both of those stories...I just know she is up in heaven having so much fun talking with God about all of her children, grandchildren and GREAT grandchildren! 

We love and MISS you so very much Nana! :)

Happy but Hard

I'm going to open up this post with some thoughts...

1. I am BEYOND thankful that the Mr. is able to keep our sweet boy.

2. I love my job, my co-workers, my students and being a teacher.

3. I am grateful for all that I have...beautiful home, cars, and my family.

4. I keep it real on this blog...yes, I share mostly good things, but occasionally I share things that aren't so happy. 

So with all of that being said...

(I truly LOVE the fact that his Daddy makes him laugh this hard!)

This evening was hard. 

The Mr. made a yummy dinner and we all three ate together. We played and laughed. We videoed Tuck going up all of the stairs and we kissed his bo-bos when he fell...

But why was it hard...because Tucker only wants the Mr. 

When he fell and bumped his head...he wanted the Mr. When we woke up from his nam he wanted him. He wanted him to feed him, change him, bathe him...you get it right?

Well it hurts so much. I want him to want me. But I am away from him for 10 hours a day. I want to be the one who stays at home with him and reads to him, plays with him, feeds him foods he's never had, felt new teeth growing, puts him down for naps, teaches him new things. Like I've said, I am SO blessed to have an amazing husband who takes such wonderful care of our son. He's so amazing with him. And he does everything with him with love. But I just never imagined it being like this. 

It's been like this for a couple of weeks...I know it's probably just an attachment thing, because the Mr. is home with him everyday and he's the one TJH sees the most. But it's so hurtful that I can't even hold him without him reaching for his Daddy. 

I know this may sound like I'm complaining but really this is coming from my heart. It's so hard to see TJH not want to come to me, or play with me or let me be the one who takes care of him. 

I know this will pass eventually...well, I hope it does. And I know it will be different in the summer when I'm home, but it doesn't change how it makes me feel now. 

I'm praying that I can settle with all of this better. I know the Lord is so faithful and this is part of His plan for us...but right now this part isn't super easy for me. 

RIP

One of my best friends is really hurting right now.

She lost her mom last Saturday. 

I am so heartbroken for her. 

H is the rock in her family. She is so positive and is always helping her family out emotionally. H is probably the STRONGEST person I've ever met in my life. She handles stress and tragedy with the most grace. She remains calm at all times and always has the right words to say. 

I'm praying that she is able to rely on someone else in this horrible time. I know she is being surrounded by so many friends and her family. I didn't want to let go of her on Sunday when I was hugging her. 

Today is the viewing for her mom and tomorrow is her funeral. I pray that her family is able to say goodbye to their sweet mom/wife/daughter/sister and friend. 

Lord, please be with H and her family. Hold them tight right now and guide them in the way that you want them to be led. Please be with H as she is carrying her sweet unborn baby and protect them as she mourns her mothers death. Thank you for sending your son to die  for all of our sin. Amen.

Sandy Hook

There aren't the right words to put on my blog about the events that took place on Friday, December 14th in Newtown, CT. 

I don't have an elaborate blog post ready with explanations. 

I just have my Savior and my prayers. 

My sweet Sunday School teacher is just amazing...she always listens to the Lord before speaking or acting and she wrote this post on her blog....I loved it and thought I would share it with you all. 

As a teacher this really hit home. And as a mother it shook me. 

I can't imagine what any of the victims are going through. I'm praying for all of them like so many other people. 

But I do know that I had a deeper look into my students sweet eyes yesterday morning. I hugged them even tighter when they came in and when they left. 

I know that God called me to be a teacher and to pour into childrens lives. I pray that I can be the best teacher each of my students need and always protect them in anyway that I possibly can.

I pray for healing for all involved. 

My heart is breaking for all of the victims...

Causes and Future...

Thank you for the great response on sharing about Tucker's experience last week. Thank you for the continued prayers.

Many of you have asked what caused this to happen to TMan. Well there are a few things that could have caused it, but not one was pin pointed.

1. Bad Luck-it could of happened randomly.

2. Respiratory-it can happen after a series of respiratory problems...Tucker did just have croup and an ear infection...so maybe from that.

3. Genetic-my biological father has intestinal problems. So it could be from that too.

4. Rotavirus Vaccine-(this is what the doctor at Scottish Rite believes it comes from most often) This vaccination is given to children before they are 6 months old. The older they are...4 and 6 months it can cause Intussusception before the age of 1. The doctor told us that this vaccation isn't really necessary because it only prevents a child from extreme vomiting and diarrhea.

Another question we've gotten is that could this happen again to Tucker. Yes, but since he's already had it, it would be less likely.

The one big advice we got while at Scottish Rite was for our future children not to get the Rotavirus vaccine. Because this has happened with one of our children is is VERY likely to happen to future children.

So, with all of that being said, we are very thankful that Tucker was able to recover from such a scary thing.

And as you can see in these pictures, our sweet boy is bouncing back!

Thank you again for all the prayers!

Tucker's First Thanksgiving...what an adventure!

Here is Tucker’s first Thanksgiving and adventure we will never forget. But forever be thankful for our family and friends praying, the doctors and nurses and our sweet boys strength.

Tucker started to not feel well on Tuesday. He was sleepy and fussy. If you know Tucker you know that the child never is fussy and is always laughing and smiling. We thought it might be teeth or the fact that he was still getting over an ear infection in the right ear and croup. He was on day 7 of his antibiotic, so we thought that wasn’t really the problem.

Tuesday evening we went to my mom’s for Thanksgiving dinner. Tucker was very fussy and not himself. He didn’t want to eat his solids (which is very unusual…our boy loves to eat!) We gave him a bath early and he went to sleep at 5pm at my mom’s. He woke up at 8:30pm and was super hot. We gave him some Advil and a bottle and headed back to the Mr’s parents house. When we got home we took his temperature and it was 104.8. Of course we started to really worry about our little guy. We called the nurse hotline for our pediatrician and talked to the nurse. I called L(she is basically my sister and she is an RN) and she told me to just watch him and give both Advil and Tylenol  at the same time. We gave him a cool bath and put cold cloths on him. We kept him up until the fever came down some. The fever went down to 102 by 11pm. We put him down in just a onesie and then woke him up at 1:30am for more meds and to check his temp. His temp was 101.6. I just prayed over him and asked God to break the fever and for him to sleep well. He woke up again at 4:30am…he nursed and then went back to bed for another hour.

6am on Wednesday Tucker and the Mr. went downstairs to play. He played like normal and ate a good amount of his cereal. He was acting pretty normal. Then he went down for his morning nap about 8:30am and slept until about 10:15am. We got dressed and went and took our Christmas photos. Tucker was sleepy  but not too fussy. After pictures we went home and the Mr. gave him some Advil and put him down for a nap. When he woke up from his nap about an hour and half later he was very fussy. He then had diarrhea. I tried to feed him some yogurt for lunch, but he didn’t want it. Then we thought we could distract him by taking him on a golf cart ride because he loves to be outside. While we were getting ready for the ride he started to throw up. This is when we decided to take him to urgent care. Since we were away from home we couldn’t take him to his pediatrician. We went to an urgent care in PTC. The doctor told us that he just had a fever and he would be okay. He checked his ears and throat; he said they were fine and that he would be okay. He then proceeded to say, if he’s not acting himself then you  should be concerned. Well, he wasn’t acting like himself and I was VERY concerned. Needless to say I was VERY upset when leaving the urgent care. I KNEW that there was something wrong with my sweet boy. I cried and cried because I felt like no one was taking this seriously. The Mr. and our family was but no doctor or nurse was. We called his pediatrician office and talked to the head nurse. She was like the stomach bug is going around and that’s probably what it was. I still wasn’t satisfied. He was so sad looking and just would whimper and sleep in and out.  So, we went back to the Mr’s parent’s house. We just rocked and watched Elmo to try to keep him happy. I went to change his diaper and it was filled with blood. I knew at that moment that this was something serious. We immediately got in the car and went to Fayette Piedmont.

On our way to Fayette Piedmont I prayed over my sweet boy that the doctors would find out very quickly what was wrong.  We arrived at Fayette Piedmont about 3pm. We didn’t have to wait long to get back in a triage room. The nurses were quick to get in our information in and the ER doctor came in and decided that this was serious but he wanted the Peds doctor to see him. The pediatrician would be coming in at 5pm. In the meantime they hooked Tucker up to an IV. He threw up during this, but the nurses were so quick and swift with him. We were put in a room not long after the IV was put in. Then Dr. Coles came in and within 5 minutes he knew exactly what was wrong with Tucker. He told us that Tucker had Intussusception. We had no idea what that big word meant when he told us. He explained it to us in very clear terms. Basically Tucker’s intestines had tangled up inside of each other and went into themselves like a telescope. This would explain the lack of appetite, throwing up, diarrhea and blood coming from his bottom. Dr. Coles then went on to tell us that Fayette Piedmont did not have the equipment needed to fully diagnose what he had. He told us that he worked at Scottish Rite too and that is where he would be sending us. He originally said that we would travel by ambulance. But after making some phone calls and checking Tucker out he decided that we needed to get there very quickly and a helicopter would be the quickest way. My heart dropped when he told us this, this meant it was very serious. The Mr. and I decided that I would go with Tucker and he would drive and meet us there. Within 15 minutes the helicopter was there for us.

Let’s just say the only highlight of all of this was the helicopter ride. It was AMAZING. Not the reason for the ride but the view and how quickly we got there was great. By this point it was about 6:15pm and it was dark and Atlanta was all lit up. We flew right over the airport, the GA dome and through downtown Atlanta. I sat up front with the pilot and the nurses in the back would talk thru the headset to me about what Tucker was doing. He slept most of the flight. We arrived at Scottish Rite about 6:35ish and were in a room in the ER by 6:45pm. The Mr. texted me that his arrival time was 7:10pm. He later told me that he was driving 95 mph. (Pretty scary.) As soon as we arrived at Scottish Rite we had a great nurse that checked us in and within 10 minutes an ER doctor was there to see Tucker. He ordered an ultra sound and X-ray for Tucker. The Mr. made it in time to go back with us for the X-ray and ultra sound. By 8pmish we had the X-rays and ultra sounds and were just waiting for the results. The doctor came in and told us that Tucker needed an air enema to reduce the Intussusception. This would be done while he was awake and we could be in the room for it. A radiologist performs this because there is an X-ray on while they put their air inside of him. By 10pm he had the procedure done. We were able to sit  in the room and watch on a screen the doctor perform the procedure. The nurses and doctor said that after he should have a lot of gas and go back to himself pretty quickly. We didn’t notice any gas and he was still very lethargic and fussy. We got into our room at about 10:45 and his fever was 104. The Mr’s mom came up and brought us some things we needed to stay the night. She helped us get settled in our room and then headed home.

We went through the night with him having a pretty high fever…between 102-104. We had the nurses test him for the flu because we thought that the procedure had worked so maybe it was something else. At 6:30 am they came in for another X-ray. But we hadn’t heard from the radiologist. By 9am Thursday morning we were asking a lot of questions. Dr. Linn was his doctor once we were put in a regular room and she was wonderful. The high fever really worried here.  She called the radiologist and wanted to know the results of the X-ray. While she was calling the ultra sound department came and got us very quickly. They started another ultra sound on him. This part was pretty horrible. He cried the whole time and the ultra sound took a good thirty minutes. The tech was great but we could tell it wasn’t good. Our nurse Patti had gone with us and on our way to the ultra sound room was prepping us for surgery and asking us all the questions that are required. The Mr. and I held on to Tucker tight and loved him while they were doing the ultra sound. After the ultra sound they had us sit in the hall and I could tell there was something really wrong because the nurses and techs were talking in the hall and they moved so we couldn’t see them. Then all of the sudden we were taken back into the room where they had done the air enema the night before. The Mr. looked at me and said, I didn’t know they were doing this again. It was all so quick. They told us that the air enema didn’t completely release the Intussusception. And they needed to do it again and if it didn’t work then it would be surgery. This is when I became really quiet and just kept praying. At this point Tucker was in so much pain and I knew it wasn’t going to be good for him to have it done again but it was needed. We were able to stay in the room and watch on the monitor. This time is worked. Immediately after he had horrible (but good) gas and his color in his face changed. We were so thankful that it worked the second time and there wasn’t a need for sugery. So by 11:45am we were back in our room and resting. Tucker hadn’t been able to eat at all and he was still restricted because they wanted his bowel to rest.

By 2:30pm he was allowed clear liquids. He only took about a 1/2 ounce at first. And we knew we would be staying another night at this point because Dr. Linn said she wanted him to have another X-ray in the morning to make sure it had completely worked. We just rested and tried to keep him comfy. My mom came and stayed most of the day with us. She was good company and held Tuck while I went to the bathroom, showered and pumped. He took a couple really good naps. By 6pm he was a little bit back to himself…he wanted to play a little bit. He drank a couple ounces of Enfalyte. The Mr’s parents and brother came up Thursday evening. They brought some Thanksgiving leftover and a big stuffed Elmo for T. He was happy to see them. It took us a while to get him calmed down to sleep, he had his first dirty diaper since the procedure and it was painful for him. After that he did sleep for about 6 hours.

By Friday morning he was taking the clear liquids just fine. Dr. Linn came in and said she didn’t think she was going to order another X-ray because he had improved. His fever finally went away. By 9am we were able to nurse again. This really helped. She said she wanted to check him again around lunch time. We took a few wagon rides around our floor and played in the big playroom on our floor. He was more like himself then he had been since Tuesday. We were happy with the improvements for sure. Dr. Linn came in about 1:45pm and was happy with his improvements and was going to get the discharge process going. The Mr. packed up so quick and took all of our stuff to the car. We couldn't wait to take our sweet boy home. And by 2:30 we were walking out to our car. Praise the Lord!

What an experience! But we are so thankful for the staff at Scottish Rite…the best nurses and doctors ever. We were happy with everyone that worked with Tucker. And a children’s hospital is the way to go…they know what they are doing with your baby. The whole place is just so kid friendly and the staff is so great.

The power of prayer is something else. The Mr. posted on Facebook and within minutes our phones were being blown up with people telling us that they were praying for us. We had family calling friends and friends calling friends. The prayers were just coming from everywhere and it was soo comforting that we had so many people praying for our baby boy. We are SO very thankful for everyone that prayed, texted, called, and sent emails. They all were so much appreciated.

We truly believe that all of the prayers helped in the process of God healing Tucker so quickly.

We love you all and thank you again!