Stella Has Turned The Corner!

Stella is feeling much better today...finally. She woke up and ate a sausage patty, a chocolate chip pancake and drank water without much difficulty and she hadn't even had her medicine yet.

Also Aunt Sill is here visiting for the weekend so that probably helped take her mind off of any pain or discomfort.

When Mama asked her how her throat was feeling, she said, "it feels much better today".

Now the task is for us to fatten her up because the skinny min has already lost a lot weight the past week when she wasn't eating anything.

An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

With his 3rd cold and ear infection out of the way, Des is back to his happy, healthy self and he sure doesn't want to get sick again for awhile (and neither do we!). So he decided to take the old adage "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" to heart. With his new found top two center teeth, Des crawled over to his Dada and took a bite out of his apple. He was happy to be nibbling on this healthy snack while watching some Sunday football with his Dada.

We also let Desmond indulge in a "not so healthy" snack when he decided to sample some of his Dada's popsicle. We bought these popsicles, along with jello and pudding, for Stella to eat during her recovery from her tonsillectomy, but Stella had no interest in any of these. Des was sure happy to sink his teeth, literally, into the popsicles as well as the jello.

If you haven't noticed, our boy is a food lover and without a doubt, if you are ever eating food, he knows it and will crawl over to you, pull up using your leg, and beg for food. He will taste it a few times to see if he wants more or if he doesn't like it. Some of his other antics include pulling stuff off of the dinner table (like juice boxes and Stella's glass full of juice) and throwing his sippy cup off of his tray when he is done with it.

While Des was enjoying his sister's popsicle, poor Stella girl was just hanging out on the couch next to her Dada, watching her favorite show...Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

She's saying cheese in this picture but doesn't want to take her eyes off of the TV.

Amamma and Appachen left Sat morning. We didn't take many pics due to everything else that was going on with Stella's surgery but Dada managed to take a few pics of Des enjoying a shoulder ride with Appachen.

Stella, Post Surgery-Day 5

Stella's doing a little better but still in a lot of pain. Poor girl is drooling a lot because she doesn't even want to swallow her saliva due to the pain. She doesn't talk at all really...just shakes her head yes or no to answer our questions. Stella will get a tiny burst of energy 20 minutes after her Tylenol dose but otherwise, she just sits/lays on the couch. Trying to get her to drink and eat is a battle and very exhausting. Hoping to see improvement as the days go by.

Stella Post Surgery-Day 2

Stella was miserable today when she woke up, refusing to drink or swallow anything. We had been giving her Tylenol with Codeine every 4 hours per the doctor's instruction round the clock but apparently that was doing more harm than good. You see, Stella apparently had an allergic reaction to Codeine...she had red flat spots all over her legs and arms which appear to be hives.

So we called the doctor and we stopped the Tylenol with Codeine and were told to give her just regular children's Tylenol every 4 hours. Within a half hour of getting the Tylenol, Stella perks up and drinks and eats upon our request but by 3 hours post dose, her demeanor and appearance deteriorates rapidly. It's because she is in a lot of pain (even though she doesn't complain but just lays there on the couch) and will not swallow any fluids. Unfortunately, there aren't many narcotics that are prescribed for children so our doctor is going to look into it and see if Stella can take something else for the pain besides Codeine. Luckily, her hives have mostly disappeared since we stopped the Codeine.

Home

We are back home from Stella's surgery. The surgery went smoothly and Stella is such a tough little girl. I think what upset her the most was not the pain, but rather all of the nurses and doctor's poking and prodding her. She is dealing with the pain rather well. She is on Tylenol with Codeine every 4 hours and she hates taking it because it doesn't taste all that great. The nurses and doctor's told us that the first 3 days are going to be especially rough. Our main job is to keep her hydrated, hydrated, hydrated...otherwise, we will have to go back to the hospital to start her on IV fluids. Here is hoping to a speedy and full recovery.

Amamma & Appachen Are Here!

Amamma and Appachen got in late last night and are having a great time playing with the kids today. Desmond took to both of them right away by smiling at Amamma as soon as he saw her this morning and crawling over to Appachen when he first saw him. Stella is having fun reading her books to her grandparents...she can read 8 stories now from Book 1 & 2 from the first series.

Amamma and Appachen are here to watch Des tomorrow while Mama and Dada take Stella to the hospital for her tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. Please keep Stella in your thoughts and prayers and pray that the surgery goes smoothly and that Stella has a speedy recovery.

Des's 3rd Ear Infection

Last Friday, we took Des to the doctor's because he wasn't acting right and we feared his cold had progressed to an ear infection and he was diagnosed with a mild ear infection in his left ear. The doctor gave us a Rx for antibiotics but told us to wait and see if he would be able to fight it off on his own, give him Motrin to help relieve the pain, and only start the antibiotics if he gets worse (fever, screaming in pain, etc.).

We made it till last night (Wed) but last night he was screaming his head off and sobbing in pain grabbing his ear and so we had to start the antibiotics. He is much better today. Poor guy, that is 3 colds in a row and 3 ear infections each time.