RSV Symptoms & Awareness

If you have been following me on Facebook you know that my middle child got super sick just after Christmas. When he gets a bad cold he has always been wheezy a little, and it really takes a toll on him, but 4 days after Christmas he just started to get sick. And right away he became super snuggly with me (I don't mind that at all!) By the next morning he was really wheezing and was having difficulty breathing. His shoulders were rising quite a bit with each breath and you could just see it in his face he was struggling. Also Elyse was starting to get sick too. So I called the pediatrician right away. I always get scared having such a young baby during the bad cold and flu season.

Day 1: Pediatrician office

Day 1: Just after being admitted

When we arrived to the office, our doctor asses both Collin and Elyse (Mason already had the crud and was over it. We call him Patient 0). Elyse was showing signs of being sick but wasn't wheezing. Collin on the other hand, we ended up doing 3 breathing treatments in office for Collin to help his breathing. After the 3rd treatment the amount of oxygen he was getting was actually getting worse, they wanted him above 92 and he had dropped down to 87 and we were sent straight into the hospital to get him admitted. Once there he got tested for RSV, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, which is a severe respiratory infection.

Day 2

New Years Eve: Day 2

We spent 7 days, doing breathing treatments, keeping him on oxygen, 104 degree fevers, a chest x-ray, 2 blood draws and antibiotics trying to figure out what this was. The main thing was he was sick with a really, really, really bad cold that can lead to pneumonia, and they did find some stuff in his lungs on the x-rays so he was put on antibiotics. But the one thing that was keeping us there the longest was his pulse oxygen levels. He would dip as low as 81 (Again the prime number they wanted was above 92) It was scary. He acted like he was fine most of the time, unless his temperature spiked, which it did a lot! The main thing is when your mommy brain goes off that "my kid isn't right!" GET YOUR KID TO THE DOCTOR! I was going to wait a day before I took Collin but just something in my head said, "NOPE GO NOW!" And we did. It was the first time I had a truly very sick child and I hope we don't have to go through that again.

Day 3

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF RSV:  
Cough
Congestion
Fever
Wheezing
Rapid breathing
Effort To breath
Extreme Fatigue
Change of color to skin due to lack of oxygen

Day 4

Day 5

PREVENT THE SPREAD OF RSV: 
Good hand washing is key to help contain the spreading of germs. But that can be difficult when an older sibling brings them home from school. (Patient 0). If you do have a sick child or sibling try to isolate them from your other kids to avoid the transfer of the sickness. RSV is highly contagious. We were in isolation for 6 of the 7 days we were there.

Day 6

Day 7

8pm on day 7- Collin is getting discharged! 

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Elyse Cheyenne: 3 Months

Elyse is 3 months. We have passed out of the 4th trimester! She is such a great baby! I can't believe how amazing she is. She sleeps like a champ. She doesn't cry all that much, if she does cry she is either hungry or tired. Matt can get her to sleep while holding her. I can't. If I am holding her she wants to be eating! And the best part...her personality is starting to shine! I LOVE IT! (Be sure to view all the way to the bottom to see her outtakes!)

Her Stats: 
Weight: 11 pounds 2 ounces

Christmas outfit #1

Christmas outfit #2

Christmas outfit #3

"HELP!" 

Christmas outfit #4

Christmas Morning with all 3 in their Christmas Church outfits

Christmas morning before the boys came downstairs. she got to see everything first since it was her first Christmas.

OUTTAKE:
My little helper trying to get her to smile!

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How To Get A Baby On A Schedule

I will be the first to admit that I AM NOT A PERFECT MOM! I have ginger snaps quite often, thanks to my red headed short fuse. But I will say, that my kids are on a schedule. #2 and #3 seemed to fall into their brother's schedule. They love their schedules. They BEG to go to mommy quiet time every day and we know the signs when they are ready/beyond ready for bed. That is why, my kids are on a schedule! #1 when he was a baby, did not have a schedule until he was about 9 months old, when I realized that I needed some quiet time. Before that we were just flying by the seat of our pants trying to make everything work but once I got him on a regular schedule and routine our lives got much more calm and less crazy!

A typical school day in our house now looks like this:
Everyone up around 6:30am.
Breakfast by 6:40am
Get #1 ready for school at 7:00am
Bus by 7:15am
Back to the house for my breakfast and morning activities
Mommy quiet time by 11:30am
Get #1 from bus stop and wake baby from mommy quiet time 2:45pm
7pm reading time
7:30 get ready for bed
 all kids go to bed by 8pm

Even on the weekends #1 follows the same schedule. If you ever ask me to do play dates, they will always happen in the mornings. I desperately try not to schedule anything during the hours of 11am-3pm. If my kids don't have their naps/time away from me/me away from them. We ALL will but heads!

So how did I get even my newborn on this schedule? 

Consistency! Consistency is the Key to setting a schedule. In the beginning even when others were taking care of the boys I still tried to keep her on the same schedule. Making sure we were trying to sleep by 11am for the afternoon nap. She would always have a nap before then, but I made sure she was awake then back to sleep by 11am. Then making sure she was up by 3pm everyday. I have to have her on a schedule since I teach private music lessons out of my home 3 days a week. And she needs to be up and fed and happy for when I pass her off to my hubs while I teach.

Tips To Set A Baby's Schedule: 

• Make sure you are consistent everyday with your schedule. They will pick up on it. Make it a priority in your household and for everyone to be on the same page

• Know it takes a few weeks for the baby to pick up on the regular routine. It does not happen overnight

• Be forgiving. Sometimes during growth spurts or other times, the schedule just won't happen. Or you have an appointment during the "no appointment time". Be flexible and forgiving.

• Pick 2 times in the day that you HAVE to be consistent with. Mommy quiet time and bed time are our, must have, every day. The other times in the day are more flexible. But I have to have my mommy quiet time to get my workout in, lunch and work done. And night time. Well, if we don't get the kids in bed by 8pm it is bewitching hour and man, my kids can get pretty crazy!

• Talk to your baby and explain what you are trying to accomplish. Yes they are just a baby but telling them and trying to help them understand gets you used to explaining the rules to your kids. Even as they get older, you are going to have to explain it for the 1,000th time. 

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Elyse Cheyenne: 2 Months

Elyse is 2 months. and boy howdy did this past month FLY BY! It is kind of bittersweet how fast this month went. As we are talking about if we are going to have any more kids. And if she is our last one...well, it's really sad and hard to think about! Anyhew, back to Elyse. Baby girl is getting into a sleep pattern. She is very particular about her sleeping time. She is a little beauty so it is doing her quite well in that department. (Be sure to view all the way to the bottom to see her outtakes!)

Her Stats: 
Weight: 10 pounds 1.2 ounces
Height: 22 1/4 inches tall

A Day in the life of Elyse:

• 7:30pm - she starts to get cranky. Elyse wants to be asleep around this time but that is when the boys are getting ready to go to bed, so she waits until the boys are in their room and she gets to feed. 
• 8:30- out cold. Generally she falls asleep on my chest but then I move her to her bassinet which she is sleeping in and napping in all the time now! It is so nice! 
• 1am give or take an hour for midnight feed. 
• 5am for morning feed.
• 7am- forced up to take brother to the bus stop
• 9am- another nap after big morning feed
• 11:30am- MY favorite time of day...11:30. Mommy quiet time. Both her and Collin go down at the same time and it is AMAZING! This is new for us for about a week now where I don't have to be in the same room as her when she is napping. So I have been getting work done for coaching, making my lunch and EXERCISING! 
• 2:50pm- Forced up again at to pick up brother from the bus stop again. 
• 4pm- another nap after another feed.

 IT is so nice having a good schedule. She is feeding well before every nap time too!

I'm still exclusively nursing. No pumping. No bottles. So I am attached to her all the time it seems. Can't go long without seeing her or being around her and that is ok. I don't mind at all. She is all smiles now too. She loves to smile at us now! She thinks it is the funniest when I buzz my lips at her. That always gets a great grin!

So a little behind these monthly pictures of her. The way I got her to stop crying and look at me...I had to say "Pretty girl!" And mean it. She loves being told how pretty and beautiful she is. It even worked for Matt. He didn't believe me when I said that she loves it but when he did it and she just looked at him, softened her gaze at him he was impressed! She is a pretty girl! So blessed to be her momma!

Also beginning on MONDAY, December 5 I will be starting my Health Up The Holidays group. Join me as this is my first month back doing a strength training workout since I had her and really since I was about 32 weeks pregnant. I will be brand new basically. So if you want to be in a group that is for beginners and support for that. THIS IS THE GROUP TO JOIN! Let's get our healthy on before the holidays and already be rocking our goals out before January 1! Want to start right in with 21 Day Fix, which I personally think is the BEST beginning workout program out there...CLICK HERE to get your own copy and a month supply of Shakeology to help cut your cravings and to help you get even better results. When you order you will be added to my private Facebook group to get access to the tools you need plus support and daily accountability from me. Plus I will send you an email with your welcome guide to help you stay on track!

OUTTAKES: 



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How To Help Siblings Adjust To New Baby

One of my biggest fears about having a new baby was being outnumbered by my kids. Knowing that I was going to be pulled in 3 different directions and that each sibling was going to outdo each other. I'm a red head, and I don't have the longest fuse and can often feel overwhelmed easily and just the idea of being outnumbered FREAKED ME OUT! So what is a new mom to do with the demands of 3 kids?

Not going to lie, it was a bit rocky in the beginning with the 3 of them. I would hideout in my room with Elyse so I wouldn't get overwhelmed and we had people here to help meet the boys needs. But when it was up to me and I was all on my own, I didn't do too bad. We made it work. We all survived, and the house didn't burn down! It might of been a mess but we still survived. So here are my 5 tips to help with the transition for older siblings.

1) Talk about the new baby with your older children before the baby arrives. Let them know that a new baby is coming and things are going to change and be different. We actually watched the Daniel Tiger Episode about new baby Margaret joining the Tiger family. Those 3 episodes helped teach the changes that happen and even how Daniel had to be patient when wanting to talk to his parents but baby Margaret needed their attention.

2) Try to spend alone time with the kids after baby arrives. Your older child/children will want attention from you too. They might act out against you just to get your attention. That is what #2 did for us. Collin, we nicknamed him Gremlin after Elyse arrive, because he was always causing problems, on purpose! It was so frustrating but all he wanted to my attention again. And when I would snuggle with him, without sister he just loved it.

3) Have the older sibling be a mommy's helper. Give your older kids a job to do to help you around the house. Most siblings feel really awesome when they are a big brother or big sister because THEY ARE THE BIG ONE around the house. Giving them a job or duty to help with makes them feel extra special. And they will more than likely be excited to help out, most of the time at least!

4) Teach them boundaries and limits to the baby. If your kids are like mine, they want to be around the new baby ALL THE TIME! Which might not be the safest. If they are sick or if they don't know how to act gently around the baby they will need to be talked to for sure for the safety of the baby. Mason gets it. To be gentle and soft. He is 5. Collin is only 2, and I have to constantly remind him he has to be gentle and soft. He has almost fallen on her twice though just because he doesn't get it. So be diligent about safety and teaching safety to the older kids. Tell them that it is their big brother/sister duty to make sure that their new baby brother or sister is safe at all times!

5) Always show them love. All of them, no matter what. It is easy to yell and scream and get upset when the older kids don't listen. When they don't clean up their dinosaurs on the ground and you step on the T-Rex for the 5th time that day. Or when thy fight with each other. They are going through a big change too, and if you show them love they will respond so much better and there "should" be more peace in your house. I have to separate the boys sometimes when they are just picking on each other and being brothers. But always try to approach them with love and less screaming and yelling. It is a work in progress for me, but I am trying.

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Elyse Cheyenne: 1 Month

Elyse turned 1 month old this past weekend. What a crazy month it has been. Surprisingly the month didn't go too fast or too slow. It was just right. I had plenty of help for the month which was a huge blessing. My family and Matt's family both came out at different times to help us and I was so glad that things worked out as well as they did so that we had someone here to help for the first 2 weeks. Then Matt had 2 weeks of half days after that.

Elyse has been such a good baby for us. The first couple of nights were rough in the hospital. All she wanted to do was cry, but once my milk came in she fell right into a schedule of eat for an hour, pass out for 3. She is a very regular baby in that regards still. Though she isn't feeding for an hour straight now, more like 30-40 minutes, but then she is good for at least 3 hours. She does give me generally 4-5 hour stints at night.

She sure has grown too! She currently weighs 9 pounds .3 ounces and is 21 inches long. Way to go baby girl!

Recovery has actually been really good. I didn't tear so I didn't hurt as badly as I had after having both boys. The only annoyance I have had has been the postpartum bleeding. It has been surprisingly light compared to the boys but it is just never ending as usual!


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Finding The Perfect Homecoming Outfit For Baby

I don't know about you, but for me, getting a special outfit, which is their very own, to come home from the hospital just makes the whole experience all the more REAL! With Collin, I really made a point to find him a cute coming home outfit. Since we were using all of Mason's hand me downs it just was something that I really wanted to do. I found this perfect little teal blue onesie and stripped pant,s from Gymboree, that were just too cute, but the hat, totally sold it for me!

HOW CUTE IS THAT HAT! 

For Elyse, I wanted to find something that was super special. Something that told her story. We have been waiting for this little baby girl for years. We knew we would have 2 boys and a girl shortly after we had Mason. I thought for sure that she was going to be the middle child, and when we found out that Collin was, well, a boy, I was a little upset. I started to think that maybe we weren't really meant to have a girl. But through faith and hope. We really did know that she was meant to be with us, when the timing was right. 

We knew that last year she was trying to come join our family. But then the worst thing happened. We lost her. I felt after a few weeks that she had sacrificed her time then so that we could both be healthy when it was her time to come back. I honestly didn't know if she was still going to be with our family or not, but when we found out we were pregnant, we had the peaceful feeling that this was Elyse's turn. That it was really going to be happening. So we have been waiting for YEARS for her to join our family. YEARS! So, when I found this adorable Worth The Wait onesie made by Mamabijou over at Etsy, I couldn't resit. (make sure you like her on Facebook too, so you can see all the cute new items!) Call it #TheElyseEffect but I had to have it. I also picked up the adorable leggings and bow from her too and I just can't wait to put her in this outfit, and hoping that she doesn't have a massive blowout in it on the way how so that she can wear it for a couple other important events! 

FINDING THE PERFECT COMING HOME OUTFIT: 

1) Make it personal to you and your story

2) Have fun with it

3) Don't forget about the siblings or pets! Get them a fun shirt to wear too!

4) Get it personalized

I also picked up a pair of fun shirts for the boys to wear when they meet baby sister for the first time (I have fallen in love with ETSY!) It is a huge change, welcoming a new family member, and often times the siblings need something to help them still feel just as special as baby. So for us, we get them a cute big brother shirt to really emphasize how important they are to the whole family! Check out these Big Brother Again and Big Brother Finally shirts for Mason and Collin made by Little Boo Kid Shirts at Etsy.

While you are planning for your new bundle of joy, take some time to really find something that is special for your family. It really makes the whole brining your baby home from the hospital so much more special! Comment below with your pictures of coming home outfits for your kiddos! 

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