C'est la vie

With Justin's crazy schedule leaving me little time for downtime with the kids, it's difficult to find time to write blog posts. So, I suppose I will do the best that I can for now!

We are doing PT for Devin, Luke is fully into his terrible two's (woops - I mean "terrific"), and Justin is out from the break of dawn until just before the boys get to bed.

To make things easier for myself I have started to use the baby backpack ALOT more; This means that when we are on a walk and Luke throws a tantrum I have two free arms to carry him back. Usually he does this while we are walking the dogs - so I have two dog leashes in one hand, a baby on my back, and a toddler that I am carrying in a football hold. But we do have to get those dogs walked and also get out of the house.

I also usually refuse to go grocery shopping unless it is on the weekend. While it is busier, Luke will not be still/quiet/have ANYWHERE. Any thoughts of having a third child anytime soon while this far from the support structures of grandparents and aunts and uncles has been wiped from my mind. I tip my hat to those with small children and deployed spouses. My GOODNESS toddlers are.. a challenge?

Lukas has those wonderful spontaneous displays of affection and alot of cute things that he comes out with. To get him to eat broccoli I rip the heads into tiny "baby" broccoli's and Luke says they're going "WAH!WAH! They're crying." He turned to me today and said that "Trees are happy." He loves Thomas the Train, all things chocolate, and is smart as a whip. Though I am his biased mother.

I LOVE Trader Joe's

For those of you who don't know, Trader Joe's is a specialty grocery store similar to Whole Foods except alot better. I was going to Whole Foods for months to pick up special things that I am unable to find at the grocery store on base, but Trader Joe's is so awesome I will never be going back to Whole Foods. Here is why I love it there:

1. The food - including produce - is actually CHEAPER! than on base. I like to buy organic, but I had stopped for awhile because of the heavy hit it puts on my wallet.

2. They are committed to having tons of gluten-free stuff, and label everything prominently. I love their labels. No small font, but HUGE handwriting-looking stuff. At Whole Foods it's difficult to find "organic" on the labels and annoying when I'm in a hurry (which I am, always).

3. Their employees are SUPER friendly. They invite me over to the checkout, and actually help when they see me struggling with a two-year-old. SO so nice to a mom that is trying to get in and out quickly. The last time I went the checkout girl asked Luke if he wanted stickers, gave him a whole long string of them, then proceeded to ask me if I found everything on my list. I said that I didn't find the beef jerky and right away someone steps up beside her and says he'll go back. And he brought the beef jerky right up! After reading the labels to make sure that they were gluten-free.

4. Not only are the employees nice, but the people that shop there are too!!! Everyone smiles, chats, jokes with Luke. The first time we went, a gentleman came over and handed Luke a cookie from a sample table and said he loves to do that since he is diabetic and can't eat them himself. The second time, we were checking out and as I am bagging my groceries an elderly couple starts chatting with Luke about the choo-choo train he was carrying. It's AWESOME!

5. They have a huge selection of store brand stuff - delicious chicken sausage, nuts, different kinds of flour, pasta sauce - and it's good for you and cheap!


If there was one thing I could say I didn't like about Trader Joe's is that they aren't everywhere. It makes me sad that when we move from DC I probably won't be able to go to one.

Sorry about the excessive CAPS use, but I was just so excited to write this blog. I always leave Trader Joe's with a good feeling and don't think I'll be visiting my commissary for much anymore!

Crossfit Kicked My A$$

Justin has recently started going to Crossfit classes at the Gym and proposed an arrangement that we exchange the kiddos in the morning so that he'd go to the early class and I'd go to the one right after on days that his schedule allowed. Well, my first opportunity came during Julie and Dave's visit to our house this last Friday.

The workout on the board looked deceptively easy - 3 x 15 reps some strength move, 15 reps burpees (a cardio move). We warmed up with butt kicks, jumping jacks - all standard stuff. Then we moved onto the other part of the warmup.......... 10 Pullups/10 pushups/ 10 squats. Right there I probably would have left if Julie wasn't standing right next to me. However, Julie jumped right in and suggested that we use the boxes and do jumping pullups as a modification. Thankfully I was able to get through the warmup doing those, and I did eventually switch to girly pushups during the warmup (thought I was going to get yelled at for that).

After the warmup and before the workout the instructor joked about how he'd gotten 6 people to throw up so far, which made me a little wary of what was to come. Sure enough about halfway through I started to feel vomit in the back of my throat. The end eventually came and I was left with a feeling of giddy accomplishment. Though I had gone the girly route with pullups, pushups, and weight, I had actually finished a Crossfit workout.
I'm hoping to go back soon and maybe someday do a proper pullup/burpee/any olympic weightlifting technique.

On another note, I did go to a Zumba class the next day and got my grove on even though I was the only white girl there and it was my first time ;)

p.s. Big thanks to Julie for being there and jumping in with modifications because I probably would've walked out before the instructor offered one!

Devin's Do's

Took these a few weeks ago when I was having some one-on-one time with Devin. Figured I might as well try to style his hair since it goes crazy and usually looks like a mess. I even named them all but couldn't get the subtitles below the pics. Enjoy~

I call this one the Jerry Curl

SO BUSY

Summer is full of so many things to do. We visited North Carolina and saw Crandall two weeks ago. Justin then had the debut of "Air Strike" at the Tattoo last weekend. The first show was good, but the second was AWESOME!! They tweaked a few things and it looked fantastic.

Devin now has two bottom teeth. AND it is already time for bed..

Luke's Pet Fly

A poor fly got stuck in our house the other day and Luke decided to make it his pet. For about 20 minutes, Lukas laughed at the top of his lungs and followed this fly around trying to get it to land on him. He would hold his hand so close to the fly and ask him "please." SO CUTE. Eventually the fly escaped and I found him dead on my bedroom floor that evening. I haven't told Luke yet! SHhhh.

Life takes us weird places sometimes

Devin now! 4 months old

In the last two months we've been on a crazy rollercoaster ride that seems to be coming to an end right now. At the end of March, after a trip to playgroup, Devin started coughing and sneezing (just like Luke was doing). This rapidly turned into about 2 days and nights of unending screaming fits accompanied by fevers of 103 (keep in mind he was only 7 weeks old). Devin would only fall asleep held upright on my chest for only about 20 minutes at a time - AROUND THE CLOCK. Friday at about 5am I packed Luke and Devin up and took them to Andrews Air Force Base ER, where after 7 hours we were discharged with a diagnosis of RSV and directions to give Devin tylenol for his fever.

Not giving the diagnosis much thought - I had never heard of RSV and the doctors made it out to be like the common cold, I went home and dosed Devin every four hours. Things seemed to get better until Sunday evening just before dinner I noticed Devin was trying to cry, but couldn't make any noise. We left right away for the ER, where after I told them Devin was having trouble breathing, they had us wait in the lobby for an hour before taking us back to have his temp taken. Even after they saw that his fever was over 103, they sat us back out in the lobby where we waited a long time to be taken to a room where we waited again to have someone to listen to his lungs. All the while I sat there telling myself that if it was something serious, they would have a sense of urgency. Anyway, after 6 hours there and an x-ray, an ambulance was finally arranged to transport us to Walter Reed Army Medical center. We waited about another 3 hours before that got to there to take us. Devin received NO antibiotics, no treatments whatsoever, except for a 10 minute neb-treatment. In fact, I was told by one of the techs that he couldn't hear a problem with Devin's lungs, which further solidified my belief that I was being a crazy over-worrying mother.

Why am I telling you this? To caution you. Because no matter how crazy you think you are being, you have to speak up and advocate for your children. I think back on both trips to Andrews ER and wonder if Devin would've gotten so seriously sick if I had been adamant that they give him quick and better attention. What I know is that I learned a really important lesson and have an experience to share with other mothers.

En route to Walter Reed, the nurse and EMT decided that Devin was sick enough to go straight to the ICU. About 12 hours later, Devin's left lung had completely collapsed and he was fighting for his life. During a planned intubation (which took doctors 3 attempts) Devin had a bad reaction to vent support and his lungs clenched shut. If you know medical lingo he had a 'hypoxic episode' and 'bronchospasms.' His heart rate fell and in order to bring that up and help save him, the doctors drove an IO needle that delivered dopamine and epinephrine into the bone of his right leg. The doctors breathed for Devin manually with a bag for approximately an hour before they were able to stabilize his blood pressure and heart rate and successfully place him on the vent.

The best way I can describe the feeling of being told that your child is dying is sort of being filled with this impotent energy. Like being in one of those dreams where you are running toward or away from something as fast as you possibly can and not moving. You can't breathe and the pit of your stomach is hollow. That came after the initial shock that my healthy, full-term baby was 'not doing so well.' All along I was being told that this was standard, just give him some tylenol, then just give him some antibiotics and neb treatments, he'll be FINE. The sight of his white and completely motionless body laying on the table with a doctor breathing for him with a bag is forever seared into my memory.

Devin was transported to Children's National Medical Center in the event that his condition would further deteriorate and he'd need ECMO - the heart and lung machine that bypasses both and does all of the work. He was intubated there for two weeks, on a nasal cannula for one, then finally released home where we administered antibiotics and anti-withdrawal medication (he was on morphine while intubated) around the clock.

Devin day 1 at Children's National Medical Center

Withdrawal was a hellish experience and I'm sure he didn't have it as bad as he could have since the medication was very slowly being weaned. Lots and lots of sweating, crying, throwing up. Urine and sweat both have this really strong distinct smell when you are on antibiotics and I think that'll be a memory trigger for me.

Fast forward 8 weeks and Devin is a whole new baby. Happy and healthy, he is doing just what he should, right on time. He is on no medication and is done with his follow-up rsv/pneumonia visits. We are now seeing an orthopedic doctor for injuries that he sustained from medication leaking out of his IO needle during the emergency. Devin has lost feeling in the bottom of his foot (it is dulled in his toes and top of his foot) and is no longer able to voluntarily move his foot or toes. He has muscle and arterial damage, the extent of which we will probably never fully know. The foot, which has curled into a pointed position, will be placed into a cast and then brace to correct the position. As Devin grows and tries to walk, his doctor will make changes to care and assess what needs to be done to give him the most function of his foot and leg. We are told that he will walk and run and jump and play just like a normal child, but with his own special modifications.

We are so happy to have our healthy baby who now seems to be growing way too fast! We're back to the grind, back to normal (kinda), and hopefully back to blogging!

* Please take this story as a caution. RSV is serious, especially in small babies - EVEN IF THEY ARE COMPLETELY HEALTHY BEFOREHAND. You need to be your child's voice. Don't worry about what other people think! You are mom (or dad) and trust your instincts!

Lukas's 18-month well-baby appointment, at 19.5 months :)

Coming soon..

Along with - "Our Thursday's"
- "Hooray for our New Bissel Spot-Bot"

Devin is 4 weeks old!

Devin turned 4 weeks last Sunday! He's getting so big so fast and though he hasn't been weighed in awhile, I'm pretty sure he's up over 8 pounds. Devin started cooing at around 3 weeks and had his first awake smile the at right around 1 month. I couldn't believe it the first time I saw it :) It totally transformed his face and melted my heart and turned on all those mushy feelings I've been waiting for since he was born. I don't know about everyone else, but the stress after birth of a newborn crying to be fed/changed/rocked/held does NOT turn on my maternal bonding instinct. But seeing him smile, boy, that sure did. :)

I think Devin has a normal temperment; He has good 2-3 hour blocks where he fusses every day and he really just wants to be held ALL the time. Devin cries alot, but I am pretty sure it's at the same level as other babies. I really don't have alot of experience with that since Luke was WAY EASY in comparison. I just keep in mind that this hard part where we don't have a schedule or really know eachother will be over soon.

Anyway, he's growing well, managed to avoid getting sick, and hitting all of his milestones right on time.

The Weekend of Sickness

Saturday morning started just like any other weekend-day - full of promise of all the things Justin, Luke, Devin and I could go out and do.. That is until Luke regurgitated all of his breakfast. We were shocked as Luke has NEVER thrown up before; He spit-up quite a bit as a baby, but never full on puking. This continued for a few hours until the diarrhea started. And didn't end. The house had never smelled so foul and plastic bags with diapers piled up at the bottom of the stairs.

One horrible incident occurred right after nap time. In a hurry to put on Luke's diaper, I neglected to check the new diaper's placement. I didn't realize that it was only covering one but cheek until we heard a farting noise come from Luke as he was playing and looked down to see a pool of yellow-orange diahhrea at his feet. Ew. Poor little guy woke up after nap that same day yelling "MOMMY!" "YUCKIES!" I walked in and Luke was pressed up against one side of his crib, as far away as he could get from the puddle of puke at the other end.

Even though Lukas was throwing up and had nasty diapers, he played normally. He was a little lethargic but had no fever and was drinking plenty of liquids.

FAST FORWARD TO SUNDAY EVENING -

Justin complained after dinner that he wasn't feeling to good. I didn't think anything of it, figuring that it was just something he ate not sitting well. 11:30 rolled around and Justin began vomitting too. SO at 12:30am we packed up the kids and drove to Andrew's Air Force Base ER for Justin to get paperwork to have the day off. They diagnosed him with a viral infection, gave him a prescription for anti-nausea meds (which we didn't pick up), and sent him home at 2:30am. The kids and I waited in the car while Justin visited with the doctors. We were home and back in bed around 3:30am. Needless to say, there was not much sleep to be had that night.
The next day Justin slept and I took care of the kids, housework, and went to the grocery store. Luke was feeling much better. Justin was queasy, but not puking. So I went about my day as usual and made the mistake of not napping when Devin was asleep that afternoon. I even went so far as to tell Justin that the reason I wasn't sick was because I always take my multi-vitamin and eat a ton more vegetables than him. WELL I ate my words later that night.

In the middle Devin's second night feeding at 1:30 I started feeling not so great. I woke Justin up, gave him the kid, and hung myself over the toilet waiting for the relief that throwing up would bring. Sure enough the spaghetti and meatballs I had had for dinner made a reappearance. Thankfully Justin was able to tell his boss that I had become sick and to stay home to help me since I was barely able to function that morning. Justin even took Luke to his 18month well-baby appointment so that I didn't have to cancel!

Today is Wednesday and Luke is completely normal, Justin still feels a little weak, and I only had a few moments of queasiness today. Devin has remained mercifully unaffected.
A few things this has taught me: have a little more compassion for my child when he isn't feeling well (since I have no idea how much he is actually suffering), always disinfect my hands after changing a diaper, don't lecture my husband on healthy eating habits, and always ALWAYS clean my toddler's hands after playing with other children.

Devin's 2 Week Appointment

Devin's first appointment was cancelled because of the snow, but one of the wonderful ladies at DeWitt Pediatrics called to reschedule for that Saturday, February 13th. The pediatrician was wonderful, taking the time to explain different things and chat about the things I was concerned about.
Devin (at 20 days) gained a pound since birth, weighing in at 7lbs, 8oz (16th percentile for weight) and grew an inch and a half - making him 20.5 inches long (47th percentile for height). According to the doctor he has great neck strength and is completely normal and healthy. She mentioned that Devin has a small umbilical hernia, but that that is common and should go away by the time he is 5. No shots this time and we head back for our next appointment in roughly one month.

Jess and Reese invade!

Our good friend Jessica Crandall visited us with her daughter Reese in the beginning of February. We hadn't seen Jess since we left Germany back in June, so we were very excited to see her and how much Reese had grown.

The first day of the visit Jess and I took the kids over to a small playground by our house. Reese and Lukas had a great time going down slides and running around, but played separately for the most part. On Friday we visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - which also happened to be the same day that Snowmageddon began. Jess hadn't brought any winter-wear with her, so her toes froze in her tennis shoes :(

The rest of the weekend we spent bumming around the house watching T.V. and letting the kids play.

Monday rolled around and Jess decided to catch a hop back to Germany since there were a couple flights going out and no way to know if there would be more available the next day. Before she left, Luke and Reese had a good 20-minute dance party in the living room. They both twirled around, falling down laughing and screaming. It was super cute :)

While we were sad to see them leave, we know they'll be back at the end of March. Can't wait to see you guys!

Snowmageddon in DC

For the past 5 days DC has been getting snowed on like crazy. We have gotten around 3 feet and it has basically shut the city and surrounding area down. The snow plows stopped plowing today because it is too dangerous, and even before that the roads were very bad. Roads are covered with packed snow making it super dangerous to travel - which I had to do on Monday.

Devin's 2 week well-baby appointment was on Monday, so Jess and I packed the kids up, met some of Jess's friends for lunch, and headed over to Fort Belvoir. After driving on some perilous roads that made a 20 minute trip into a 45 minute one, we were met with a big sign that said all medical appointments had been cancelled. This morning Justin received a message that all medical appointments were cancelled for the remainder of the week. No weight check for Devin this week!

The base is now operating on emergency personnel only and Justin has gotten a bunch of days off of work now.

The plus side of the snow is that we can play in it! Justin built an igloo on our back porch using the table, some chairs and, of course, the snow. He's quite proud of it and has some water on the back porch waiting to pour over it and freeze. Also all of the weather and news stations are covering the snowstorm exclusively and have given it funny names like "The Curse of Snowbama," "Snowmageddon," and "Snowpocalypse."

The negative to all the snow is that Justin has had to shovel the driveway over 10 times now.. but I guess it's good exercise. :)

Devin Is Here

1-24-10

Devin Miles Lemmon arrived at 11:30am on Sunday, January 24th after 13.5 hours of labor. He weighed in at 6lbs 8.1oz and was 19 inches long. At first he had a little breathing difficulty because of fluid, so he was taken to the nursery for about 4 hours for observation. My nurse was Lori (she was an angel helping me through the bad part of labor) and I had a nice, short stay in the hospital - we were out a little over 24 hours later. Devin was born with lots of black hair, just like his brother and my first impression of him was that he was so unbelievably tiny. Everyone commented on how much hair he has and 2 weeks later it is starting to fall out. :(

He is now 2.5 weeks old and we are starting to get into a nice rhythm. Devin sleeps very well at night (usually 11-3 then until 6). Lukas is very loving to Devin, wanting to hold, hug and kiss him all the time. I'm pretty sure these two are going to be best buds in the coming years. Devin doesn't seem to be colicky at all, though he does like to eat ALL the time. He wets out of his diapers pretty frequently. I think that it is because I only bought diapers that fit 8+ lb babies.

It's funny how much less you worry about or agonize over when you are past your first child. I remember bathing Luke much more frequently and keeping track of every feeding/diaper change/etc. As long as he seems healthy, I'm not going to get excited :)

There isn't too much more to say. Devin eats/sleeps/poops and that's about it for now. Luckily we've had lots of snow so Justin hasn't been able to go to work - meaning I have extra help! I am a little bit nervous about when he goes back to work. Surviving a day with a 19 month old and a newborn solo is going to be a challenge!

I really need to keep up with this/Happy New Year

Yes, it's a new year and I haven't posted since August. 5 months. I resolve this new year to keep better track of memories by posting more often on this blog. Starting with highlights from the last 5 months:

- Moved to D.C.
- Justin graduated Honor Guard Tech School
- Preparing to have baby number 2
- Luke changed in innumberable ways
- Justin and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary

The move was pretty smooth and we are adjusting to D.C. well. We haven't done much sight-seeing yet and have spent most of our time decorating and doing everyday things. We've made some great new friends here and while we miss Germany terribly and our good friends from there, this is starting to feel like home.

Everything looks great with baby 2. Another boy! We (I) are (am) just impatiently awaiting his arrival :)

I am planning on doing a post just for Luke in the near future.