February 27, 2006

February 27, 2006 | Updates

I will be SO GLAD when winter is over! This winter, we have been through so many colds and flu’s, etc, that I have just about had it! Samuel woke up yesterday with an infection in his eyes. Ben woke up with a cough and runny nose. I coughed a little throughout the night, and Wesley is coughing also. I just about kicked something ;)! (Just kidding, but I was pretty mad since it’s just been a week since we got over our last cold.)

Samuel was really sleepy, all day Sunday. And the goop in his eyes just kept getting worse. Having had 4 kids, I’ve seen those puffy, yucky eyes before and decided I wasn’t waiting to take Samuel to the doctor because it was clear he had an infection. So I called the doctor and took Samuel in to see him yesterday afternoon. His ears, throat and nose all look fine. And his lungs sound good. I’m surprised that the eye infection would make him so tired, but it was all good news. So we left with a few eye drops, and his eyes look MUCH better today.

Otherwise, our week was pretty normal. Samuel had therapy everyday. And we even got adventurous and took him on a little outing this week. Tom’s cousin (just 31 years old) passed away the day before Valentine’s. She had some pretty painful health problems, so although it was hard to hear that she was gone, we are certain she is happier now. Her family held a gathering for family and friends Friday night in Providence just a few miles from our home. We decided to see if Samuel would enjoy it. We drove separately and I planned on staying only about 30 minutes - being pretty certain that the noise and commotion would be too much for Samuel.

Surprisingly enough, Samuel seemed to like it. He just sat and looked around and watched everyone that came up and talked to him. He even took a nap in the middle of all the noise. He did very well and we were able to stay for about 2 1/2 hours. The only downside was that he screamed in the car all the way there and all the way home. I’m not quite sure why he hates the car, but he definitely does. In fact, as I tried to strap him in his car seat for the trip there, he totally freaked out. He was getting himself all twisted in the seat and pushing against the straps so hard that I was afraid he was going to hurt himself. So I very strongly said, “Samuel, you’re going to hurt yourself! Do you want to get out?!” He INSTANTLY stopped posturing and held perfectly still while I got him out of his car seat. He understands so very much, it is amazing.

Since Friday night went so well, we carted Samuel along with us Saturday afternoon for a memorial service. That, however, didn’t go as well. He was really good, but he wouldn’t let me sit down with him, so I stood and rocked him in my arms for about 1 1/2 hours during the service. He finally fell asleep for the remainder of it. Thank heavens - because my back was killing me! After the service, he soon got upset, so we brought him home. I think the combination of the 2 activities in 2 days was too much. But he did better both times than I had ever expected, so that is a good thing. Somehow, though, we have got to get him to be content in a stroller or wheelchair or something. He is just too long and heavy and wiggly to hold for more than a short while - especially if he thinks we need to stand and hold him!

Well, today he is driving me a little batty. I’m not really complaining, just sort of at an impass with him right now. He does not like to hold still. He is constantly wiggling and moving and arching and grunting and trying, I think, to do SOMETHING. He can move all around the floor, but not in any purposeful direction. He hates to sit in anything and he is always posturing, but it seems to be his own doing. I finally started putting him on his stomach as much as he will tolerate. It seems to help. I am hoping he will figure out how to scoot or move or crawl across the floor. I would rather be chasing him around the house than have him unhappy all the time that we can “get” anywhere. Let’s hope he figures it out. But it will take some doing since he does not realize he could push himself up with his hands and he usually pulls one leg under him and points the other one towards the sky. He also tends to get a lot of rug burns wiggling around the way he does. We’ll just have to keep an eye on him.He is still making lots of good sounds with this voice. And he is keeping his bolus feeds down better, though he does still spit up a bit.That’s it for now. Sorry the update was so long this week - I tend to ramble :). Hopefully, we will start hyperbarics again soon. We need to get another 40 treatments in sometime soon.

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