The Boys

We have survived July. July only brought 7 days in the hospital for Jackson and 3 hours in the Emergency Department for Carter. Did you know it is no longer call the Emergency Room? Sadly we've been there enough to know this. More on Carter's visit later. We left Primary Children's hospital with Jax on July 31st at 6 pm...so we haven't tainted the month of August yet. We hope to stay out of the hospital for the entire month of August. Not counting the 3 dr. appointments we already have scheduled! Jax was at Logan Regional for 1 day and then a week later at Primary's for 6 days. His electrolytes were a little bit off and so they considered doing his reconnection surgery. Known as a Take Down in the medical world. After getting our hopes us, they decided to wait until he is about 6 months old. So almost halfway there. We can make it...............

After a very stressful week and thanks to free tickets from Neil's work, Carter and I escaped to Lagoon (or The Goon as called by carter).

The morning of Lagoon was the morning we spent in the Emergency Room with Carter. Apparently he is Deathly allergic to cashews. Neil grabbed a handful as he was walking out the door to work (who eats cashews at 8 am?) and Carter asked for one. He gave him 2. We thought that we had found everything that Carter was allergic to and that Milk and Eggs would be his only demons. I guess the list will go on. Carter ate 1 cashew, and 40 seconds later said his mouth hurt. Luckily we both knew what was coming, but praying that it wasn't really that.....seconds later he started vomiting and immediately after that his airway started to close off. We had his EPI pen handy and I made Neil give him the shot. Carter stills remembers the fateful day when he snuck cheese off someone's plate and remembers the shot Grandma had to give him. So he was crying and kept saying "Don't give me a shot, I didn't eat yuckies." Because to him, yuckies are eggs and milk. I covered his eyes and cried with him. My emotional state was very fragile at this point. Luckily epinephrine is a FAST acting drug and he could breathe a bit more easy after that. But Epinephrine only lasts for about 15 minutes so Neil loaded him in the car and sped to the ER. He did run one red light(carefully of course) and once there, they pumped his poor little body full of all kinds of steroids to keep his reaction from coming back. Carter was so brave at the hospital and didn't even fight the IV they placed in his arm or the oxygen sensor placed on his finger. He slept peacefully while the drugs flowed and after 3 hours with no more reactions he was released. We came home and got ready for Lagoon.

We were only here for about 5 hours but we had a great time and drowned our sorrows in Icees. Not even kidding. Carter went to Lagoon with his cousins and grandparents the week before and so he knew exactly which rides he wanted to ride and which ones to avoid. He is getting much braver in his old age and ventured farther than the train that goes around the park.

This was his favorite ride. He loved shooting things with the gun on front. I was shocked that he knew what to do with a gun and the sounds it made. He sure didn't learn that at home. I guess it is part of being Boy.

Carter has wanted more to do with Jackson lately. He tries to boss me around in my care for Jackson by telling me what to do when he's crying. Such as "Put his binkie in Mom," or "He doesn't like being unwrapped mom." He talks to Jackson in the cutest, highest voice I have ever heard. Melts my heart.

Carter is really into baseball since getting some baseball stuff for his birthday. I am so excited and hoping he'll share my love for the game. I spent some time with him one evening showing him how to stand, hold the bat, and even spit while at the plate. He even prefers having the ball pitched to him, verses hitting it off the tee. And he is quite good and makes contact about 75% of the time. I am already dreaming of his days in the Major Leagues!

Both my boys. Don't worry, Carter was actually being soft with Jax and not choking him.

My big helper.
Doesn't he look like a pro at holding a bottle?

Now that Jackson is a bit older, eating more and more, and feeling so much better, he has started smiling. I haven't been able to capture a full smile yet. This is as close as I've gotten. He has a darling smile, complete with 2 dimples that make all his care well worth the time. He is starting to find his voice and will have a little conversation with you. His fussiness has almost disappeared since eating more and feeling top notch. He sleeps like an angel and can now be awake without crying. What a wonderful change! This picture shows the PICC line in his arm quite nicely, if you've ever wondered what it looks like.

Jackson doesn't mind a little tummy time even with all the hardware on his stomach. He is almost 3 months old and is weighing in at a little over 10 lbs! Only in the 10% for his age but hey, we'll take what we can get. The Doctors are so impressed with his progress and the fact that he is gaining steady weight. Want a little anatomy lesson? The typical baby is born with about 250 cm of small intestine. Jackson only has 30 cm left. I cannot believe the things they can do now days and how they are helping my baby to live a normal life someday. Today, it is far from normal but we have every hope that he will live a normal life. The human body is truly amazing. The doctors said that his body will compensate for less bowel by growing bowel that is bigger around instead of longer. And having been this way since birth, they said the body will learn to cope and deal with what it has. He is our little fighter.

I am so grateful for my 2 little boys. Allergies and bowels and all!