Day 18 - We have an answer finally!

 Over the weekend things took a turn for the worse. He was not drinking, eating, or sleeping much. He had about 1 wet diaper every 6 hours and I couldn't handle it any more. My poor baby was a mess. So we went to the ER. Yes he was dehydrated. No they didn't want to do an IV. Too traumatic for a little dude. So instead we did a protocol called oral hydration. Every 5 min we squirted a syringe of pedialyte down his throat.

And that ladies and gentleman was my entire weekend. It was awful. Naturally with all the liquid coming in the diarrhea started back up again full force. Come on! When will this madness end? Sunday he was better though. He started eating a little bit and actually played a little too.

The next day was Monday I was sitting in my vehicle on my break from work when I finally got a call from the doctor confirming Noah's lab results. Tested negative for e-coli and salmonella and giardia. Then there was a long strange pause....... but he did test positive for a parasite infection called cryptosporidium. Say what!? Seriously say what? Please repeat that word I have no idea what you just said.

Long story short this microscopic parasite is a bitch. She's awful and mean and I don't like her. Mr. Noah contracted it through either contaminated water, fecal matter or even contaminated food. Pretty much could have been anywhere! Literally anywhere an infected person's feces touched. So basically we will never know where. Symptoms in children last up to 3 weeks. We currently are on day 18 so almost done!

Treatment is extremely expensive and not very effective in littles. And since we are nearing the end and he is acting himself again, drinking and eating I feel fine in letting it run its course. I will say that this has been awful though. Never ending, no sleep, no answers, no relief and poor suffering pirate for what seemed like eternity. I'll say it again. WE ARE DUE FOR A DAMN COLD NEXT TIME!!!!!!!

Peace out world I'm done. Need to catch up to some serious sleep.

Over and Out

Sick little man is breaking my heart

Day 13

 Riddle me this, why is it that my poor little dude has to get all the nasty long recovery horrible sicknesses? I mean really, I would argue that we are due for a simple common cold thrown in there every once in a while instead of total complete misery. Chicken pox, pneumonia, now this awful thing?

We are currently on day 13 of a very nasty viral tummy bug. Diarrhea, off and on fever, not eating barely drinking, raw little booty, restless sleep, moaning in misery, tummy bug. Seemed to be getting better a week ago then out of no where took a turn for the worse. The very worse.

Went into the doctor sometime last week and they said just a viral stomach thing, should work its way out in a few more days. And he did seem to be on the mend until Wednesday/Thursday hit.  Liquid poo, no appetite, very sad little peanut. I've never seen so much poop in my life!

Yesterday I brought him back in to find no answers at all. But we got assigned the extremely fun task of trying to collect stool samples to take back in to be cultured. How does one collect a stool sample that is supposed to fill a certain line on the container when the stool is made entirely of liquid? I'll inform you that it is thought provoking, time consuming and nearly impossible.

They suggested placing plastic wrap inside the diaper so the liquid would not get absorbed. Nope. That would be a no go. Plastic clung so tight on his sore bleeding bottom he cried. Next tried the plastic with diaper cream. Nope. Plastic wrap just crinkled up in the diaper. Then I thought of an ingenious idea, using a clean plastic Tylenol syringe to suck up the poop! Boom. genius award. We sat and waited all evening, no such a diaper was enough to collect.

He fell asleep very early last night, so before I was about to go to bed early myself I figured I'd go in and change his diaper super fast in case he was sitting in diarrhea.  Which of course he was. Smothered him with some prescription butt cream called poop goop (incredible stuff by the way) Gave him a sippy of water and we cuddle and rocked for a while.

To my surprise he inhaled the whole cup of water! And then about 1 minute and 47 seconds later to my even bigger surprise he projectile vomited the contents of his tummy with all that water all over me. Just when I thought we could take a step forward we go waaaaaaay back. Naturally his temp decided to rise at that moment as well. So much for going to bed early!

That leads us to today. I had to work a morning shift so my mother in law stayed with Noah. Worst thing in the entire world is having to leave your child when he's horribly sick and weak. No matter who's hands their in you just want to be there yourself to care for, hold, and comfort them.

Very weak, slow moving, sad, moany, and miserable time little guy has had today.  Best news is that I was able to complete the poop collection task. At least now we can get that sent out and maybe be one step closer to being done with this crap. I have never seen, touched, thought about, smelled, or been worried about poop so much in my life! Geez the conversations I've had with mom's about diarrhea lately have been ridiculous and comical. I guess its the price we parents pay for loving our littles so much.

That's all she wrote for today. Here's to hoping tomorrow is a much much better experience! Lots of prayers going out for my bubba, his little body cant handle anymore. God knows this and is watching out for my little one and preparing to make him healthy again. I know it :)

I'm going to drink wine now and take a shower. A long, hot, disinfecting shower.

-Over and Out

whoopsie poopsie

Wow I'm horrible at consistency. Apparently really really horrible at consistency. Can't hardly believe I haven't written anything all summer. Oops oh well what do you do? Must mean its been a pretty eventful one I suppose.

To sum up the last few months we.......

• Went to lakes and beaches A LOT

• I went to the north shore by my lonesome and hiked

• 4th of July at Lake Mille Lacs

• Parades/fairs

• Yard work

• Ruthie's cabin

• 1st solo flight to AZ with pirate man

 

 

• Weddings

• Fashion show

• Apple orchard

And there you have it. Our summer in a very small tiny itty bitty nutshell. I know I have missed a ton of exciting Conner adventures but alas..... winter is around the corner. There will be plenty of time to sit and write while I am sitting under 8 blankets and drinking hot coffee/tea/mocha's/cider all the live long day!

Over and Out

Nap time bliss

I love nap time! May it be a productive accomplishing mom break or just a relaxing do nothing one, its pretty great. So far I'm 43 minutes in and I have managed to take a shower, throw in a load of diapers, make a giant batch of iced tea, finish a father's day project, clean up the kitchen, drink 40 oz of water, realize I forgot to schedule Noah's 15 month appointment last month, schedule said forgotten appointment, feed myself, and start blogging! I'm leaning on the side of productivity today!

Practicing our motor skills and using a small brush

Dad's day art project!

Last night we went to my cousin's kids BMX bike race it was a lot of fun! Really close to our house and its only an hour which is a good amount of time for a busy toddler. Maybe a future activity for this little pirate we shall see!

He is totally obsessed with wheels and tires right now

Aaaand for no reason what so ever I have decided to make a layer cake. Complete with dark chocolate frosting and sprinkles of course. I figure, it has to be someones birthday out there somewhere. I should probably celebrate by indulging in unnecessary caloric consumption.

-Over and Out!

Outside or bust

And its gorgeous out ladies and gentlemen. This little family of three has been enjoying every single second of it too. Walking everyday, playing in the yard, going to the park, gardening, bonfires, splashing in water, blowing bubbles, picnics, hiking you name it we have done it. My body is on vitamin D overload and I'm not complaining!

This is the very short lived golden season that shall be referred to as : BEFORE THE BLOOD SUCKING BUGS TAKE OVER THE LAND.  In the the lovely state of Minnesota we never cease to get a break from anything. May it be frigid winter, copious amounts of snow, road construction season, humidity that makes straight hair curl, or being literally eaten alive by mosquitoes. So when spring has finally sprung its marvelous beauty and the blood suckers have not hatched, run to the outdoors, RUN!

For memorial weekend we went to the Minneapolis farmers market (which was insanely busy), planted a garden, went to a BBQ and took a day trip to Taylor's Falls. Typically this weekend is always rainy and cold so everyone and their mother had to take advantage of the 80 degree temps. My skin got fried and I liked it, I liked it a lot.

As part of my mother's day gift the hubs got us tickets for a river boat tour in Taylor's Falls. Noah was a complete nut. Upstairs to the top deck, downstairs, inside, outside, say hi to the captain, try to help steer the boat, eat a snack, flirt with people, try throwing sippy cup into the river, try to jump into the river, chase the big kids, watch paddles spin round and round, eat another snack aaaaaaad repeat. And repeat again. Busy toddler doesn't begin to describe it!

The hubs and I needed a seriously cold beer after chasing around that silly pirate!

Hope everyone else has enjoyed their nice weather as well!

-Over and Out

Yay for good news!

I am absolutely elated to announce that my hubby is back at work! Next month would have made it 1 year that we have been dealing with this struggle in the Conner household. And man what a year it has been! Oodles of difficult times, dead end job opportunities, crying, stress, emotionally and physically draining and at times down right depressing year.

Throughout the challenge of these 330 some odd days have brought us, one thing is sure. GOD IS GOOD. So completely, entirely good. A lesson I have learned before but never can forget. He will not let you go through more then what you can possibly handle. It is this truth that kept me going, kept me plugging along after each and every hit we kept getting slammed with. Towards the end of all of this I was at my breaking point. Literally felt like I was losing my mind. Working overtime while short staffed at work, not seeing enough of my small pirate boy, depressed husband at home wanting nothing more than to provide for his family. Drained doesn't even begin to describe it.

So we prayed. We pray regularly together but this was a different kind of prayer. This prayer was of total and complete helplessness, letting everything go and proclaiming "Alright God THIS, is it. We trust and love you and are looking for your directions but this is all we can take. We can't handle any more we are going insane!" For some time now all we prayed about was for the right job to come along. Money doesn't matter (yes you need to pay the bills) but if your unhappy and stressed then whats the point? We prayed that if we need to move out of state or take a pay cut we would do that. As long as He guided us into the right direction and the right fit for my husband, we would go.

It was only 1 week after we had that prayer session with God that Matt got offered a great position. Days, no pay cut, 8 miles and 2 stop lights away. Just when we were about at our wits end, God provided for us in a big way. Its such a challenge to be so vulnerable and put your trust in God and then wait. Wait and wait and wait for what seems like all of eternity. But then again things never seem to happen in the timing we think it should now does it?

For now I am just enjoying getting back to a normal routine. And starting off every day with a joyful and thankful heart! Clearly this will not be the last hardship we endure but I sure am enjoying the break. Difficult experiences can strengthen your relationships. Install a grateful heart. And grow your skin just a tiny bit thicker. A lifetime without hardships and trials would be rather dull I would assume. So cheers to well rounded life experiences!

-Over and Out

Spring. Or Winter. Sprinter.

I can confidently say that the Conner household is right back on crazy mode. Aaaaaand no, I'm not enjoying it. Things have been insane to say the least. Matt's still in search of the perfect job. I'm working much more than I ever care to. And Mr. Pirate himself is getting over pneumonia. Also if it snows just one more time my marbles will be totally lost. Gone. Done. Finished. That's all she wrote.

The other week it starting raining. Then turned into rain/snow. Which then proceeded to just straight up snow and ice all over like an abominable snow man puked continuously until the end of time. What was expected to be 1-4 inches turned into over a foot of snow in my area. Taking me over an hour to get home. Only seeing my Noah for 30 minutes before he went to bed. And yes, I was cranky. Alright mother nature no more! We are moving on to spring and I advise you to do the same. For the sake of my sanity please. For the love of all that's holy please!

All dramatics aside I really am looking forward to warmer weather. And the first person to complain about the heat who isn't largely pregnant or without air conditioning shall receive a swift kick in the shin.

Any who, we are short staffed at work and I am working too many hours for my personal preference. My house is a mess. There isn't enough family time. Not enough alone time/blog time/cleaning time/ meal planning time/sanity time. Bla the list goes on and on. I give mad mad props to all those full time working moms out there. I do not know how you accomplish anything at home or keep your mental state of mind working 40+ hours a week. Especially when all you want is to spend time with your little peanut. Hard stuff. Extremely hard stuff.

Yet Noah and I managed to do a few projects on my limited time off.

So two weeks ago I was working when Matt messaged me saying that Noah had a fever. I wasn't too surprised since he had been sick with a cold and cough and was also getting a ton of teeth at one time. Sometimes he spikes a low grade fever while teething. That evening we were supposed to go out for my Birthday. All it took was one look at him when I walked in the door and I knew we weren't going anywhere. My poor miserable baby boy. It was most definitely a snuggle day.

That night I woke up to him crying at 2 a.m. and I immediately knew something was wrong. It was one of those mom moments when you hear your child's voice in a strange I'm not ok kind of a cry and race to their room. He was burning up he was so hot. I stripped him of his clothes and diaper and took his temp. 104. Gave him Tylenol, walked around the house, put a cool cloth on his neck, read stories. Finally got the temp down to 102, low enough for him to go back to bed but I knew we would be going to the urgent care in the morning.

Having worked on the nursing staff at urgent care for 2 years I knew what they were going to do before they did it. On my end it was nice to know what to expect and help hold the little muscle man in place for his x-ray. Sure enough he got his very first pneumonia. Poor bubba. He still had a very high fever the whole day and was just a miserable mess. Nothings worse than watching your very own little human struggle with being sick and miserable.

whelp, that pretty much brings things up to speed on the exciting life of the Conner family. Noah's doing better still a lot of coughing at night but no more pneumonia.

- Over and Out