Team Newman / Ferme

The last couple of nights have been really quite difficult. Dan has recovered from his tummy bug without any further problems, but the night before last he was really out of sorts and wouldn’t sleep. I was up with him from 11:30pm until around 1am trying to get him to settle down. I tried panadol, mouth paint, singing, patting, rocking and in the end I think sheer exhaustion, on his part, won out. I was then up again at 4:30am because they woke early for a feed. Then last night Lachlan refused to sleep. I had gone to bed early at 8:30pm, but he was so restless and upset that I didn’t get to sleep until midnight. And then I slept on their floor until they woke me at 4:00am. I really don’t know what’s going on. Again we tried panadol, mouth paint, and we even changed his clothes because we thought he might be too hot. It might also have been reflux related, because we stopped his medication a few days ago. (We’ve started it again now, because I really need some sleep tonight.)

I’m convinced that Lachlan is teething, but Richard has his doubts. I can feel something on his lower gum, but it hasn’t changed in a few days so it may not be a tooth. He has to start soon, he’s over seven months (corrected) now!

Yesterday I took them to a kindergym for the first time. It was really good and I think they enjoyed it. Daniel was escorted by one of the staff, and I showed Lachlan around. Dan was very brave and seemed to enjoy it, but Lachlan was a bit unsure. I caught him enjoying himself a couple of times, but he’s so anxious that he just looked worried most of the time. For those that don’t know, a kindergym is a place that provides swings, slides, climbing equipment, tunnels and other activities to enjoy. Obviously, some things were too advanced for my boys, but it won’t be long before they’re enjoying them. They liked the swing and they were bounced on the trampoline for a while. I think it’ll be good for them to get out of the house once a week, and to interact with other kids.

I just finished the last post when Dan had a nappy blow out. Diarrhoea all down his leg. He wasn’t upset about it, but we dumped him in the bath to clean him up. Then I’d just gotten him dressed again and he vomited all over me. Poor kid. (Poor me!) Again, he wasn’t upset, but he went straight back into the bath. He’s asleep now. I think we’ll take him to the doctor when he wakes. So much for the relaxing barbecue we were planning this afternoon!

A week has passed since my last entry, and not much has changed. The boys are quite happy most of the time. Dan still isn’t any closer to rolling, but Lachlan is very good at it now. It worries me a bit that Dan is so reluctant to even try, but I guess he’ll do it in his own time. He’s getting more used to the nasal prongs now. The first time we changed them he cried so hard that he vomited – all over me. Now he still cries a little bit, but he gets nowhere near as hysterical. We did our latest swimming lesson yesterday, and the boys handled it much better. We aren’t going to go back for a while, though. It’s a bit expensive and they find it quite tiring. Still, they slept better last night than they have for a while!

Sleeping has become quite a big issue recently, with the boys becoming much harder to settle. They progressively get more and more difficult during the day, until it’s next to impossible for them to settle themselves at the end of the day. Then Richard and I have to spend up to an hour trying to get them off to sleep at night. I’m not sure what’s changed, but I suspect that Lachlan is very needy and feels quite anxious if he’s left alone. He seems to have worsened since my stay in the hospital too. Then it can spiral into a complete mess if Lachlan sets Daniel off, and vice versa. It’s especially hard because they’re often overtired by the end of the day. We’re trying to work out different techniques to help them settle themselves, but the biggest worry is how they’re going to go sleeping in childcare, if they require constant assistance to settle.

Anyway, here are a couple more pickies of the boys.

We got home from hospital on Saturday morning after being admitted on Tuesday night. It was a tough week. I spent the whole time at the hospital with Dan and Richard had sole responsibility for Lachlan. Dan is now on oxygen when he sleeps, so we’ve got tanks of the stuff here at home. He’s wired up permanently with nasal prongs, but he’s still gorgeous. He was so good in the hospital – I think all the staff were impressed with what a lovely boy he is. He slept when he was supposed to (most of the time) and he was very stoic with most of the tests he got. He had an EEG, ECG, cranial ultrasound, x-rays of his throat and chest, a barium swallow (for his reflux) and a number of blood tests. He had to fast for some of the tests, but he didn’t complain too much. The tests all came back normal and the final oxymetry test on Friday night showed that only a trickle of oxygen is required to keep his levels up. The barium swallow showed that he’s still getting reflux but it’s minor. The only concern is that his cranial ultrasound showed a bit of extra space around the brain and in the ventricles. It’s still within the range of ‘normal’, but it’s of enough concern, along with the fact that he had a bleed when he was born, that they’re going to do an MRI in May. He has to have a general anaesthetic for that, which is a bit scary. We’re also doing another oxymetry in March for both Daniel and Lachlan. We need to check Dan’s progress and Rich and I both want to check if Lachlan has the same problems.

Lachlan also had a tough week with me and Dan away. His routine was completely rearranged, and I think he really missed us both. Whenever he arrived at the hospital he was so excited to see both Dan and I. The reverse was true too, with Dan in fits of excitement whenever he saw Richard or Lachlan. Lachlan did pretty well most of the time, sleeping in the pram when he was tired. He hasn’t been so well over the last couple of days unfortunately. He had a tummy ache yesterday and was very upset and wouldn’t eat. Then last night I went to check on him around 2:30 and found he’d had a vomit. I had to change the sheets while Richard changed the boy. It wasn’t very pleasant, but he seemed much happier. Dan woke up as well, but after we gave them both bottles they went back to sleep straight away. They then let us sleep in until 6:30!

On a positive note, Lachlan is now rolling from back to front and Dan is very close. They’ve both discovered their feet in the last couple of weeks and that’s finally allowed them to roll. They pull their feet up in the air and then use the weight of their legs to roll to their side. From there Lachlan can roll onto his stomach, but Dan hasn’t done that yet. I’m trying to encourage him, but he’s pretty reluctant. He’s sitting up really well now and only topples over occasionally. There have been a few bumps and a few tears, but they’re both getting better every day.

Dan has also cut his four top teeth. They’ve all broken the skin and his smile is very, very cute. It’ll be a couple of weeks yet before they’re all the way through, but I think the hard part is over. As usual, he was very stoic about it, and hardly complained at all.

Last night Dan went in for his latest sleep study. It came out of the blue as they had a cancellation and offered us the spot. It was a tough night for all of us – Richard was at home with Lachlan waking every 45 minutes, while I went to the hospital with Dan. We arrived at 7:00pm as requested, and it took them two and a half hours to wire him up for the study. Considering his bedtime is usually between 6and 6:30, he handled it pretty well. I had to do a lot of singing to keep him from snapping, but he got most of the way through without any tears. It was only when they put the nasal prongs in at the end that he couldn’t take any more and started crying uncontrollably. I gave him a bottle and put him to sleep at about 9:30pm. I got a little bit of sleep overnight, but not much. Dan woke once, an hour after he went to sleep and the technician came in a couple of times to fiddle with his wires. Then he was awake again at 5:30 this morning ready for his feed.

Unfortunately, I just got a phone call with the preliminary results of the study, and it’s not good. He’s still having apnoeas and it seems they’re more severe than before, with his O2 saturation levels dropping to below 90% a number of times. He’s going to be admitted to hospital either today or tomorrow so they can put him on oxygen while they try to figure out what’s wrong. I’m quite worried as this was totally unexpected. I thought he would be getting better. I have no idea how I’m going to manage with Dan in the hospital again. Do I stay with both him and Lachlan? It was such a disaster last time, but he’s older now and needs me more. I guess I’ll work it out. I have no idea how long he’s likely to stay.

Add to all that, the poor bub has got all four top teeth coming through at once.

Yesterday the boys had their first swimming lesson. We weren’t sure how it was going to go, but it went better than expected. Lachlan absolutely loved it and was squealing in delight. Daniel was a bit more reserved, but seemed to be enjoying it until he got a mouth full of water and ended up in tears. Poor baby. He recovered though, and finished the lesson well. He may also have been a bit miserable because it seems he’s getting another tooth through. Richard discovered that one of his top teeth is cutting, though surprisingly it doesn’t seem to be one of the middle front teeth. It feels like it’s on the side.

Daniel is also very close to sitting up unaided. He can sit quite well by himself, but when he gets distracted and reaches for a toy, he topples over. It’s like he can only think about one thing, and when he wants a toy he can’t concentrate on sitting as well. He isn’t bothered as we catch him most of the time. Lachlan is only toppling over backwards now and we feel very confident leaving him to sit by himself with a pillow behind. As a reward for their good sitting, we’ve hired a jolly jumper and an activity centre. We were advised by their paediatrician and physiotherapist that they shouldn’t have one until they’re sitting by themselves. As expected, Lachlan absolutely loves the jolly jumper. He just goes mental, squealing and bouncing. When he first went in it, Daniel got the giggles watching him, which was so cute. Daniel really seems to like the entertainment centre, which is good. He also enjoys the jolly jumper, but he’s not as skilled as Lachlan yet, so doesn’t get quite the same enjoyment. Give him a couple of days though, and he’ll be right. I’ll have to try and figure out how to include some video on this site, because we’ve got some great ones.

Lachlan is being quite difficult at the moment. He refuses to sleep for more than an hour at a time (sometimes only half an hour), and then he spirals down into quite a miserable boy by the end of the day. I don’t quite know what to do with him. I don’t think it’s reflux related (since coming off the Losec) as he’s happy enough as long as either Richard or I are holding him. Yesterday I took the boys for a walk as I thought they’d like to get out of the house. Lachlan ended up in a screaming fit and I had to carry him in one arm and try to push the twin pram with the other. Richard had to come and rescue us.

I did manage to take some nice photos of the boys yesterday, so I’ll include a couple of best ones. (Lachlan is in red and Daniel is in blue.) They’re really interacting nicely together at the moment. Daniel is fascinated with Lachlan and smothers him in wet, slobbery kisses whenever he gets the chance. Lachlan is a bit more reserved with Daniel, but sometimes he takes the kisses quite nicely. Lachlan is consistently sitting unaided now, though he still takes a tumble occasionally. Most of the time, I can strategically place pillows to catch him, but he has missed a couple of times. I’ve never heard a baby scream so loud!

Daniel has found a new favourite during bath time. The other night he fell into fits of giggles whenever Richard squirted him with water. It was very cute.