A Ride On the River

Sunday was a really nice day, not too hot and not too cold. Daddy had finished painting the new baby's room (it's really pink!), so we decided to hop on the boat for a quick ride on the river. I had a really fun time, and we took my doggy with us too! As soon as I got on the boat, Mommy put my life jacket on me and I thought it was really funny. It made good scratchy noises, and I liked chewing on the strap.

Then I noticed that there was water on the other side of the boat, and I really wanted to splash it around. Daddy helped me carefully reach over the side so my fingers could touch!

Then we were off! I didn't like going fast at first, because I don't like the wind bothering my ears. But I quickly got used to it, and I had lots of fun! I even got to help Daddy drive the boat! And the wind was blowing my hair back and making it look so silly!

We took the boat all the way to Lake Monroe, and the lake was so smooth. It's a must faster trip now that Daddy has a bigger boat! We turned the motor off (after we started filming--oops!) and drifted around while I played.

The only times I started to get a little upset was when we were going fast and Mommy had to hold me in her lap. I wanted to get down and walk around, and watch the water splash up. Mommy and Daddy were laughing because the few times they've taken me out on the boat, I was throwing a fit either because of the noise, or the sun, or the life jacket. But this time it was none of those things! I just wanted to explore!

We stayed out on the boat for a couple of hours, and then we headed back to the dock. I was pretty mad when I realized that we had to get out of the boat. I was complaining and hitting Mommy the whole time she was taking off my life jacket and carrying me to the truck!

Mommy said although she wishes I would express my anger a little less aggressively, she was happy that I had such a good time! =)

Great News!

Mommy got the results for my sleep study today and they were even better than she was hoping for! Hopefully, my ENT feels the same way!

You may remember that after I had my tonsils and adenoids taken out in November of 2007, it cut my sleep apnea levels in half. However, they were still really high and it was still considered severe obstructive sleep apnea. Well, guess what?!?! Not anymore! Before the surgery, I had 330 episodes of shallow breathing caused by partial airway obstruction. After, one year ago, I had 198 episodes. And this time....drum roll please....I had NINE!!!!! My "severe OSA" is now called "occassional OSA."

The only number that didn't really change is the number of times I stopped breathing completely. Last time it was 35 and this time it was 32. However, throat surgery wouldn't do anything to help that. It's a neurological thing. And my levels are considered mild.

Everyone do a happy dance!!!!

Over and Done With!

Well, my sleep study is over with! Good thing they were studying me, not Mommy, because she was awake most of the night! She has a hard time sleeping now, and the bed was not very good for her aching back! But Mommy said it's okay, because I slept and that's all that matters.

It was very cold last night so Mommy bundled me up in my fancy jacket so I could stay warm on my way to the sleep lab. Daddy carried me to the car and he said he felt like he was carrying Maggie from the Simpsons when she wears her star-shaped snowsuit...

This new sleep lab is much nicer. Instead of folding up the beds during the day so they can be a doctor's office, the doctor's office is downstairs and the sleep lab is upstairs. So I had a twin size bed to sleep in and so did Mommy. The bed was much bouncier than my bed at home, and it didn't take me long to figure that out!

Of course, I was pretty upset while they were putting all the wires on me, and Mommy thinks I am much stronger this year than I was last year! It's a good thing Mommy loves me so much because she sustained a few injuries from my behavior. =) The only good thing about getting that worked up is that I fall asleep very fast. Otherwise, it would be virtually impossible to fall asleep with all this stuff on.

But this time I slept all night, and I didn't wake up until 5:00 when the tech came in to fix the wire under my chin. I decided not to go back to sleep, so he came back in to take all the stuff off of me. They were out of adhesive remover, which Mommy was not happy about, but I did really good while they were taking the stuff off of me. Mommy made the tech leave some of the bigger pieces on me so she could just let them come off in the tub later. She knew I was going straight in the bath when I got home, because we had to get all the glue out of my hair!!

We came home, and it didn't take long at all for Mommy to get me all cleaned and refreshed. We're kind of pros at getting the glue out now!

The tech couldn't tell us much about the study except to say that my oxygen level seemed to stay high all night, so that was good! We should get the results sometime early next week, so we'll let you know what they find as soon as we hear something.

Very Resourceful

I found a new use for my Bop and Wobble Penguin!

Let's Try This Again!

I am doing much better with my coughing. I never did have another croup episode, so that's good. Mommy rescheduled my missed appointments, so now I go for the sleep study tomorrow night. We should have the results sometime next week. Although Mommy is not looking forward to the sleep study, it will be interesting to see what the results are. They are in a brand new building, so Mommy is hoping they have something a little more accomodating than a recliner for the parents to sleep in. And maybe rails on BOTH sides of my bed so she doesn't have to worry about me falling out!

Honk Honk

Well, I was supposed to go to school yesterday, then the eye doctor, then my sleep study. But I managed to get out of all of it because I am sick! See how sick I look...




But really, I promise, I really am sick. Wednesday night I woke up with a "honking" cough and sounding like I was gasping for air. Mommy and Daddy don't even remember how they got out of bed, across the house, and over my baby gate...but they did it with lightning speed! They'd never heard me breathe this way, not even when I've had pneumonia or bronchiolitis. In fact, Mommy almost called 911 except she could tell the sound was just that--a sound. I was taking deep breaths and I wasn't struggling to breathe. It just sounded horrible!

They did several breathing treatments and I fell back asleep for the rest of the night. The next morning, I still sounded the same way and still had a honking cough, but I wasn't acting sick at all. No fever, no stuffy nose or anything. Still, Mommy was worried because she's never heard me sound like this. I usually sound congested or wheezy. So Papa came right over, Mommy packed me breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner (we've got this emergency stuff down pat now), and we left for the pediatrician's office. As the morning went on, and as we waited in the office, I started sounding better and better. By the time the doctor came in to see me, I was going crazy laughing and yelling and playing with Papa. No one would even know I was sick!

The doctor listened to Mommy's description of my honking cough and my noisy breathing and diagnosed me with croup. It's a viral infection of the larynx (voice box) and trachea (windpipe). It's usually caused by allergies or an upper respitory infection. Most of the time, viral croup comes on gradually after a cold. But the most frightening kind is called spasmodic croup--it comes on suddenly and without warning. The episodes are usually just at night and can last for a few days. The doctor said there's not much that can be done to treat it, just relieve symptoms like using a vaporizer or sitting in a steamy shower. Sometimes driving around with the windows down in the cold air can help too, but Mommy said it's our luck that we'd wind up back in there with pneumonia!

The doctor prescribed a steroid for me to take, and Mommy is doing breathing treatments like crazy with my nebulizer. Good thing we already had that so we were able to use it right away that night! Fortunately, I did not have any episodes last night, and I sound a million times better today. What a way to get out of a sleep study! =)