So what if we live in California and won't be seeing one speck of snow? 
I've also been trying to get organized. I figure if I'm not packing and selling a house, I might as well be doing something constructive! Here's my system:
It's earth-shattering, I know. I get a plastic bin for my kids' clothes, one for each age/stage. I tend to buy clothes ahead of time if I see them on sale. Henry's ready for the next year:
But here's my question: Do you have any other tips for buying and/or storing kids' clothes? What has worked well for you? The only problem is that sometimes I duplicate items when I buy ahead, because I forget what I've already got. 
Yesterday was a bigger day than usual. After I posted the "Day 12" blog, the doctors came for rounds and decided to switch Henry back to the ventilator after all. We were surprised, but have gained such a confidence in the Attending Physician that we felt fine about the decision. And it was a good one! Henry was switched back to the vent yesterday morning and was able to come off the paralytic medication at the same time. We hadn't realized we would see him wake up from his medical "slumber" yesterday, so it was really exciting when he began to open his eyes and realize we were there. He focused on each of us and even started to try to cry when he made eye contact (it was SO heartbreaking . . . especially as he struggled with the ventilator while crying . . . because we can't pick him up to comfort him).
He has been alert for long intervals since then, and it has been a joy to catch a glimpse of our Henry behind all the wires, tubes and swelling. He is losing some of the swelling, especially in his face, but his body has a long way to go. He weighs an extra 3 kilos right now, which is over 30% of his body weight. The lasix is helping him lose the edema, but it's not a quick process.
We were on a bit of a high yesterday as such a BIG step was taken, and I have to admit I've hit a low today. It felt like the pace was picking up and giving us hope yesterday, which all came to a screeching halt as not much has changed today, but I do remind myself that no news is still good news at this stage. We're back to baby steps today, but we are so thankful that they are in the right direction.
A clear picture of Henry is that he is on an oscillator, which has taken over the job of breathing for him so that his body can rest while it fights off the numerous infections which are threatening his life. He is heavily sedated and often needs additional medicine to be paralyzed because sometimes he starts to move around a bit and they have noticed changes in his vitals when this happens. We really need for him to just rest peacefully as the many treatments (antibiotics, blood transfusions, platelets, etc) do their work.
Our sweet boy does not look like himself right now. His whole body is swollen from the medications, and while they can give him (and have given) some lasix for this, it's a delicate balance and they have to watch his blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, ventilation, etc. One affects the other, which affects the other and so on. Sort of like "If You Give a Pig a Pancake," but not nearly as much fun.
The diagnosis of what caused all this (a virus is suspected but not confirmed) is still a mystery and may always be. Last week, diagnosis seemed important. Now, as I watch my baby fight for his life, I don't care what the initial cause may have been. I'm sure I'll care again later, but for now I just want my Henry back.
Scott and I feel so loved and truly appreciate all of the prayers and concern from our dear friends and family and what feels like thousands of others who are lifting us up.
Prayer Requests:
* Continued improvement. We are taking baby steps, but they are in the right direction.
* Our older boys, who haven't seen us much and are also very worried about the brother they adore.
* Strength and endurance for us and for my mom who is watching the kids so much of the time while she is dealing with the emotional toll as well.
Baby Henry is nine months old, and is currently facing pneumonia, a horrific secondary lung infection, blood transfusions, oscillators, you name it. He is a very sick little man. Henry and the doctors are fighting hard, and I'm asking if you would just take a minute and pray for him.
My almost-one-year-old baby Henry didn't think it was so fabulous.
Little troublemaker decided that Mama's pot looked better on the floor. And that the dirt looked better in his ear. (Don't worry, he wasn't hurt...just entertained by the big crash he made!)
So, I did a little redecorating.
No cropping. No editing. Just lots of dirt in my boy's ear and a nice, non-breakable pot.
This makes me very afraid for the Christmas card photo. Very afraid.
One night I couldn't sleep, and this idea came to me. I just took off the "wings" of this table and patched the resulting holes.
Then I sanded down the top of the table and re-stained it. The previous color was a bit too orange for me. I added a few coats of polyurethane in a satin finish.
I painted the legs a creamy white and then sanded the edges to make it look a little antiqued.
No more 1970s!
I have been randomly searching "brown rug" on Craig's List for weeks. The other day, this one popped up. It's the Graham rug from Pottery Barn, now discontinued but still gorgeous! And the best part was that it was in great shape, was a mere 15 miles up the highway from me, and cost only $275. That's compared to the original price of $700 or more.
Henry likes it too!
I will take a moment now to apologize that I have not been around much this week to visit all of you in blogland. My little girl, above, started pre-school yesterday, and this mama's heart has been breaking a little bit all week. Toss in the fact that today is her 3rd birthday, and that we have planned not one, but two parties (one for family and one for all her little friends) this weekend, and I am barely functioning.
...who then proceeded to wander the neighborhood, eventually getting picked up by someone and dropped at a local dog shelter, where we didn't find him until the next morning. So our anniversary dinner at the fancy new restaurant was spent staring across the table at each other, imagining our dog dead in a ditch. Romantic, huh?
In other weekend events, Henry had his first taste of rice cereal. I love the photo above. He looks like he's saying "Mama, what IS this crap?" But he eventually came around!
Lastly, I snagged a few minutes for this little project below. I have a strange thing about topiaries. Other people gravitate towards shoes, or purses, or chocolate. Me? Topiaries. Weird. I picked this one up last weekend at Goodwill:
I liked the height, but didn't like the greenery. In person it looked really fake. And the pot wasn't doing much for me either. So I clipped all the old greenery and bought some new (fake) stuff at Michael's. Using some floral wire and my glue gun, I attached the new greenery to the top. Then just popped it into a new terra cotta pot.
Much better, don't you think? The best part was when I went to Lowe's to buy the pot. I brought the new topiary with me so I could test it out, and someone asked me "Is that plant hard to maintain?" To which I replied, "Well, it's fake, so...No." Love it! 
So I decided to make a big pot of this (recipe follows...oh my gosh, YUM!):
I hung out with my most favorite people in the world (who had just come in from a little romp in the snow!):
And watched as this little guy turned on the charm:
I just love snow days! 
4. My latest obsession: Cookies and cream ice cream. I figure that the baby needs the calories to grow big and strong, right? 
In other news, Henry James got his first bath. He is not a fan!
We've also been sleeping a lot. Not as much as we'd like (at least for Mama and Dada!), but still.
Next, you may remember that my sister and her husband live about a mile from us. They were expecting their first baby, and last weekend the little bundle arrived! Here is a photo of my brother-in-law right after he came into the hospital waiting room to tell us the baby was here!
It's a girl! We ALL thought it was a boy, so WOW, were we shocked! Welcome to baby Caroline! Isn't she precious?
And just to prove that Caroline and Henry are indeed related, here's a photo snapped of Henry tonight, asleep on his daddy's lap. Gotta love that pacifier!
Yep, those are two different babies. They look so similar with those pacifiers, don't they? I love how they both bring their hands up to their faces like that.
More to come soon...really!
Slowly, we are adjusting to life with two kids. Henry is such a sleepy baby, and generally mellow when he is awake. He is such a joy! It does seem like everything, from nursing to the overnight wake-ups, is easier this time around. Plus, who could get frustrated with this little face?
Big sister Nina is proving to be sweet with Henry, though she is undoubtedly more work than her baby brother. I find myself saying what everyone says, "Why didn't I realize how easy I had it when I just had one kid?"
Here he is meeting his big sister, Nina. She gave him lots of kisses and sang "Rockabye Baby" to him!
Today has been so much fun getting to know this little guy and sleeping a lot (thankfully Henry has been as sleepy as his mama!).
Thank you so much for your well-wishes and prayers! I am so blessed to have so many friends in the blogging world. And now I am off to have some more sleep!
Posts
All Comments
