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I am an artist & teacher with a ❤ for visual expression, educational methodology, homesteading, & Jesus. My geek-love is The Joshua and we have three peanut-butters: Caleb, Jack, & Louritta.

Last Week Was Scary

07/29/2009

Holter Monitor 4
So, last week was not the best week for the Lewis family. The quick summary is that I started having health symptoms that are scary, and the cause was likely linked to problems with my heart and blood. So, after lots of fatigue, dizzy spells, heart monitors, doctors visits, and obsessing over fine details about what possibly be causing the problem, I am finally getting (sorta) better. The rest of this post includes finer details of this for those who are interested, because who doesn’t like to read the many details of other peoples’ health problems?
My pregnancy (then at 19 weeks) had been going along pretty smoothly with only minor symptoms. I had been getting treatment for low progesterone (shots & prescription), but other than that, I told Josh that this pregnancy was “a gift from heaven” compared to my last pregnancy. Then I went to the car show.
On June 20th, the Lewis and Petersons clans went with Pop Lewis to the 50’s Car Show at the MN State Fairgrounds to celebrate Father’s Day. While there I experienced ringing in my ears, followed by sweaty chills, then crazy vertigo, and then everything in my vision “folded” and turned to blackness. I was able to sit down and get back to some sense of normal by eating a bratwurst smothered in kraut and drinking a coke. I chalked this episode up to being hungry and hot.
But, I continued having those episodes after that, although I had finally figured out the order of symptoms before I blacked out and would just sit as soon as I got ringing in my ears. I started getting really tired most of the time and then started having almost constant dizziness and vertigo. I would regularly have to tell myself, “The ground is actually flat, just move your feet and trust that you won’t fall.” I was also so tired that I would sometimes have to take a break half way when walking down my stairs. At that point I thought, “Okay, I know pregnancy makes you tired, but this is insane.”
So, I called the doctor and she had me come in. They did a bunch of blood tests & other tests, but here are the results that are pertinent. My blood pressure was 90/56. My resting heart rate was 115. That’s bad. My blood work turned out normal except that my iron was borderline low. So, I was sent to the hospital to get a Holter monitor. Luckily, this test showed that my heart had no abnormalities, other than an elevated heart rate.
After talking with the cardiologist and pouring over my medical history, the doctor found that less than 1/2 of 1% of patients receiving progesterone [shot form] had the symptoms I was having. So, they took me off the progesterone shots and I’ll continue taking my daily progesterone prescription. Because of my borderline low iron, I started taking an iron supplement. Because of the messed up blood pressure and heart rate, I now have a really fun diet (no salt, no sugar, no bad oils, etc.). That, and I get to monitor my blood pressure and heart rate for the remainder of this pregnancy. I have to call the doctor if my pressure goes under 90/60 and my resting heart rate goes over 100. While all of this is a pain, it has so far been helping me feel better. I still get tired and mildly dizzy, but so far no blacking out and no vertigo.
I am also supposed to “say no to everything” and sit with my feet up as often as possible. Because of the low blood pressure, that brings a higher concern for swollen ankles, blood pooling in the feet, and blood clots. So, I guess that brings my volunteering to an end for awhile, and gives me lots of time at home with Caleb. (Luckily, Caleb has really taken to painting and coloring with markers over the past couple of weeks, he will do this for 1-2 hours!!! Can I just say that this is so far the art teacher’s dream child?)
Because my last pregnancy ended in preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome, it is important that we watch my progesterone levels in this pregnancy through to the very end. It is also important for the health of the baby that my progesterone levels remain high and stable. Because the prescription progesterone has unpredictable absorption rates, unlike the shots which are in the high ninety-percentiles, I may end up “taking one for the team” during this pregnancy. That means I would need to start the shots again and go on some kind of bed rest to keep my blood pressure and heart rate as close to normal as possible. So, I’m pretty much walking a fun line between kidney/liver failure and losing the baby OR heart failure. I think with all the progesterone monitoring and heart monitoring it should be pretty manageable. Not fun, but manageable. However, prayers are certainly appreciated!
Also, if you have any really good heart healthy food recipes, please send them my way! I mean, seriously, no salt, butter, or sugar? It’s getting rough on me. Wait, there is one good thing from all of this. My doctor told me that when I feel really weak and my blood pressure starts dropping, I should have a couple of cups of coffee. The caffeine raises blood pressure! WOO!
I told Josh that I think I should start doing our taxes for next year, if that doesn’t raise my blood pressure, I don’t know what will.

Caleb @ 22 Months

07/13/2009

I did an unofficial weight & measurement of Caleb when I went to the doctor today. Here are his current stats:
Weight: 24.3 lbs.
Height: 33.5″
I’m also glad I scored on his “next size of shoes” last week. I came home and he wanted to wear a pair and I put them on him, thinking they were too big. But, he was just fine in them and was running and climbing with no problems. Then, when I went to put his smaller size shoes on him he said, “No!” and went to get the other pair. So, he’s wearing his size 6 shoes now. He’s also wearing size 24 month pants & shorts, but I have to take in the waist on them because he’s so skinny. His 18 month pants look like high waters on him, but the waist fits correctly.
So, that’s where Caleb is at size-wise these days!
P.S. We had a rockin’ time painting pictures outside today. Today was the first time he actually tried to follow the lines of drawn shapes with his paintbrush. (I do still encourage him to experiment with the paint rather than do the anal-retentive paint-by-numbers method. Sorry, the art teacher emerges and encourages process over product at this age.)

iPhone Recording Device

07/11/2009

So, Josh’s new iPhone has this recording device on it that’s pretty good. So, here are some recordings we’ve done with Caleb. Caleb is 21-22 months in all of these.
Caleb is playing the piano while I talk to and sing with him. I try to get him to sing too. (actually, this first recording is done with the old iPhone)
Caleb on the Piano – Steph Interviews.m4a
Josh and Caleb were home for the night and were acting silly as usual.
CalGiggles.m4a
Caleb was going on and on about something he saw outside in our back yard, but Josh and I couldn’t understand anything he said. So, we tried to figure it out and learned that he is either an excellent storyteller, or is seeing things.
SomethingOutside.m4a

Google Reader Wishlist

07/11/2009

GoogleRdrBlog
I love Google Reader. I used to read blogs and news by actually going to a million web pages regularly, but their designs were usually heinous looking and it took way to long to load them all on my browser. When I finally switched to using Google Reader, I was relieved to see that they were stripped of their ugly design and displayed in a highly readable fashion. That, and only unread stuff would come up, so I never again had to go to a friend’s blog and sigh, “No update… again.”
So, thank you, Google Reader, for being so awesome.
I do, however, really wish that it included a few features that would make it even awesomer.
Ability to Mark Things as “Read Later” – Often there is an excellent article and I just don’t have the time to really absorb it, so I want to read it later. Josh has some weird hack where he adds the article URL to a list (maybe on Delicious?) then subscribes to that news feed via RSS so it will show up in a “Read Later” folder on his Google Reader. ***Ha! Oh my gosh, I actually just went to Google Reader to figure this out and noticed a “Keep Unread” checkbox at the bottom of each article. And it works! I swear this wasn’t there a week ago and now… have I mentioned that I love Google? It’s as though they’re in my head absorbing my innermost thoughts and… okay, that’s creepy.***
Ability to Rank Articles with 1-5 Stars Instead of Just One – Currently I have the option to “Add Star” to an article and that’s it. I have been in conversations recently with other Google Reader users and we all use this feature for different reason. I use it to mark things I may want to easily access later and think are useful (Josh uses Delicious for that). Josh uses it to mark things he likes. Truth is, I wish I could add more stars to review the quality of an article, and, after a period of time I could look at how I have been ranking articles in a blog to determine if the blog has good value to me or not… see next wish.
More Individual Statistics on My Reading and the Ability to Send Feedback to a Blogger or News Site – So, I think that people who read blogs through a reader system take in a lot of information. And the truth is, the quality of that information is constantly in flux as bloggers fall off the face of the earth or suddenly start blogging only about their new baby (who would do that???). And, I want to be able to stop reading things that aren’t of value to me and continue reading things that are. So, if I could rank articles with 1-5 stars, and even add a comment to each individual entry as to why I ranked it as such, I could use that compiled information to organize and edit my reading list. And the bloggers could even access the information submitted by all of their readers to see how people are taking their posts. For example, I think I would continue reading a couple of blogs but block certain irritating authors who never have anything good to say. Currently, I have difficulty figuring out who they are because of the sheer volume of articles I read. I recognize that we could use comments within an individual’s blog to review an article, but those are more used for discussion of the topic at hand (or questioning a person’s sexuality or calling people douchebags or saying “wow! you’re so great! i love everything about you!” or saying “are we still on for pizza friday night?”). A review, on the other hand, is feedback on the type of content you’re presenting, the manner in which you are presenting it, learning what appeals to readers, improving writing style, etc. And, with Google’s awesomeness, they could compile statistics for bloggers and blog readers to help both of us read and write better.
The thought of these things makes me drool and feel happy.

Syrup Pancake Pants

07/10/2009

Today Caleb and I were eating pancakes. He kept asking for more pancakes and more syrup and was very delighted as he ate them. When we were done, I cleaned him up and we went off to do some errands. Somehow, though, I kept getting sticky or I noticed that he was sticky somewhere I had already cleaned. I finally stopped to do a full search to see where the problem was.
Turns out that as we were eating, Caleb had been stuffing syrup and pancakes in the pocket of his shorts. As I emptied it and did my best to clean him off, I asked, “Caleb, WHY did you put pancakes and syrup in your pocket?”
In his best toddler-English, he replied (using spoken language & sign language), “Wait…. Eat!”
I think he was saving that sticky goodness for later.

Baby Due in December (w00t w00t!), or Introducing Hyper-Hypo Lewis

07/03/2009

This is the official announcement that Josh and I are expecting baby #2 in mid-December!
So far the pregnancy has gone very well and we have finally been over the many positive markers that make us feel open to tell others (especially the fact that people have started looking quizzically at my growing belly). At this point we are very excited, and feeling tired in advance of all the extra hoopla that a second child will bring. I am glad that I feel much more confident this time around.
As many of you know, I have a history of miscarriage – 4 to be exact. With Caleb I was doped up on progesterone supplements (just a random dosage) until I was 20 weeks along and was also put on several bed rests. I was eventually induced with him after being diagnosed with preeclampsia and HELPP Syndrome. After a lonely 6 day hospital stay, we finally brought Caleb home along with blood pressure equipment and regular calls to our nurse. (Really makes you want to try for another child, doesn’t it?)
I will say that my tumultuous pregnancy history has left me both smarter and more skeptical about medical processes and my body in general. It has increased my faith in God immensely. That being said, I think this pregnancy is going much better in part due to much more informed medical care and a very good doctor. I have been getting progesterone weekly, this time it is regularly adjusted to make up for what my body is (or is not… usually the case) producing. (Caleb likes to go into the clinic and loudly announce, “Mama SHOT!!!” to the receptionist.) I have also had regular ultrasounds to show that my cervix has developed correctly (unlike 2 of my miscarriages where it just fell apart while the baby was still alive). My doctor has also been doing more regular physical check-ups as well as monitoring both my nutrition, my activity, and my hormone levels.
After nearly blacking out at a car show a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a pattern of ringing in my ears, dizziness, nausea, clamming up, and near fainting whenever I am “up and about” for awhile. My doctor looked into this and said that my body basically cannot handle activities that rely on the large blood vessels, so I am not to do them anymore. The obsessive workaholic in me feels like a slacker, but I do treasure the health of this child over my fantastic work ability, so I sit and make lists for other people when I need help with something.
During my last doctor visit my doctor said, “Would you listen to that baby move? I haven’t heard a baby move like that for a long time.” She paused, looked at Caleb, and asked, “Did he move a lot?”
I replied, “Oh, yes. I actually had bruises down the left side of my rib cage from his moving.”
She said, “Well, I think you’re really going to have your hands full with these two.”
I have recently been nick-naming this child Hyper-Hypo since I’m a little over 15 weeks and his/her movement sometimes makes me stop and consciously refocus my breathing & balance. I don’t think I felt Caleb moving until I was maybe 19 weeks or so. So, perhaps little Hyper-Hypo Lewis is just living it up in there right now. Like a little hummingbird swimming in nectar.
Also, I am not bringing anything to any Christmas gatherings, so be forewarned. I’ve actually started mapping out my Christmas gifts (crazy, I know) already so I can have them ready well in advance of the “launch date.” We are also working on reorganizing Caleb’s room to accommodate two little monsters instead of just one. I am in the market for a toddler bed, but am really eyeing this one. Last, I am working out a plan to get back in shape & lose some weight after I’ve healed from this baby. I didn’t lose all of my baby weight with Caleb and I don’t want to keep tacking on a few pounds with every child. I’m so serious about this I wish I could start now, but you know, the whole high-risk, passing out, still nursing the toddler thing is keeping me from that. But, I can put together a plan and imagine myself in my favorite jeans again.
So, there’s the news. Hooray and hooray! We pray that, Lord willing, we will add this fourth member to our family come December. Thank you in advance for all of your love and prayers.
(Here’s Josh’s post on this news.)

Caleb is 21 Months Old! Here’s an Update.

06/05/2009

Caleb is officially 21 months. I had to go to the doctor today and he was my little sidekick while I went. Beginning yesterday he has started taking off if I’m talking to someone (he used to stand and wait nicely… what happened?). Today the receptionists at the check-in desk got quite a kick out of him as he took off and I had to chase him down. “Look at him go! Man, he’s quick for his size!” They thanked me for “making their day” and said I brought back lots of memories for them. Can I start charging for these “services”? I’m sure I’d make some serious cash if I could. The ad would read, “Watch an exhausted mother chase down her active toddler boy! It’ll get more whoops and hollers than you’ve had all week!”
When the doctor came in to the check-up room, I told Caleb that it was the doctor. He went right up to him and said (shouted? He’s really loud when he talks.), “Hi, Dah Tah!”
The doctor said hello back and then asked, “What is your name?”
Caleb pointed to himself and said, “You.” (He always refers to himself as “you.” We’re pretty sure that he thinks it is his given name. You Lewis.)
The doctor said, “Hello there, you! Can you give me five!” Caleb slapped the doctor’s hand and then said, “YEAH!”
During the visit Caleb had some great fun with the mirror and also with drumming on different things in the room. One of the metal cabinets was very rattly when he hit it, so he spent some time banging on it. He of course danced the whole time.
When we left the doctor said, “And I’m pretty sure that you have the cutest kid ever.” Awwwww, warms a mama’s heart. And then Caleb took off down the hall. Also, the doctor gave him a sticker with a car on it that Caleb put on his shoe. He likes to see his stickers when he walks.
Other updates: he repeats everything you say and is saying several new words each day. My favorite word mispronunciations are bumblebee (“Gmm Gmm Bee!”) and one version of yes (“Ahh-Dee!” usually said with much gusto.). He likes counting things, “Unnn, Dooo!” He is very good at running and kicking different balls while running. His is interested in potty training and will poop & pee in toilet 3-4 times a day (but he still has no problem going in his diaper). We give him an M&M when he goes, which he loves. I think he would stay outside all day long if I let him, especially if he’s around Grandpa’s horses and pigeons. He adores dirt and anything that digs, sifts, and transports dirt. His favorite songs are “Mahna Mahna” by Cake and “The Yeah Yeah Yeah” song by The Flaming Lips. He also loves jazz piano so I bought him some Meade “lux” Lewis and Marian McPartland albums. He claps at the end of every song. He is still my helper and is in charge of feeding Ella in the morning, helps to wash the table, takes laundry out of the washer, and several other tasks we do together. He loves helping me give Ella baths. He is super awesome at climbing and is not afraid to go down any slide at the playgrounds, even the high super fast ones. He loves putting on hats & mittens and dancing around. Actually, he pretty much dances all the time. He also will risk his life to acquire any piece of technology and has successfully paused shows playing on our T.V. (while saying “All Done!”), updated my sister-in-law’s Firefox, hooked up his vTech game on the T.V., and can work my mom’s CD player until he finds the song he wants. We’ve started playing Memory games (as in Memory, The Game – the one with cards to match) and he loves it and will even play by himself (in his own weird way). And did I mention his love for balls and dirt?
Favorite books that we read way too much:
Kitten Red, Yellow, Blue
Goodnight Gorilla
Good Morning, Sweetie Pie! (a collection of poems)
Time for Bed
This Little Chick
How Much is that Doggie in the Window?

Fighter Verses

05/09/2009

I have been maintaining a site at fighterverse.com for several months now, but have decided to give up my domain to the fighterverses.com guys. Mostly it’s because I’m just not able to be consistent with it, and a lack of consistency will kill a blog. Especially one that needs to be consistent. I normally wouldn’t just give a domain away, but these guys go to my church and have been doing a great job with keeping their site updated with relevant and interesting commentary. (Sidenote: I’d love to see them add some testimonials to memorizing Fighter Verses, just to get out of the “heady” commentary sometimes and into real lives… but that’s not really their focus. Anyway…). So, to encourage them (and to encourage your weekly memorization of scripture), please check out their site and delve into committing God’s Word to memory.
That being said, I’m archiving a few of the things I wrote here on this blog just to keep them around before my old site disappears into the neverworlds.
What is a Fighter Verse?
Fighter Verses are short passages of Scripture that an individual, a small group, or a large body (such as a church) may choose to memorize each week. These verses can then be:

  • Meditated on:“This Book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)
  • Delighted in:“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:1-2)
  • Trusted in: “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” (Titus 1:9)
  • Prayed: “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:6-8, see in context)
  • Stored Up: “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11)
  • Put on with the full armor of God: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:10-13)
  • Used in evangelism: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

What Verses Should I Memorize?
Desiring God and Children Desiring God ministries have the Fighter Verses broken down into sets. Choose a set, print it out, and begin! Once you have gone through all of the sets, you will have memorized 232 Bible passages, which is over 500 verses!
Set A, Set B, Set C, Set D, and Set E
Where did Fighter Verses Start?
While I’m not sure exactly where Fighter Verses started, my story begins with being a new mom at home and wanting to deepen my relationship with Christ while doing seemingly mundane day-to-day tasks. My mother-in-law suggested memorizing Fighter Verses, something her church was doing. I googled “fighter verses” and was brought to Bethlehem Baptist Church‘s (BBC) Verse of the Week page; I began memorizing. While I cannot confirm this as fact at this point, I believe that people from BBC started the Fighter Verse program and have shared resources for it on their homepage, as well as through Desiring God and Children Desiring God ministries.
Why should I Memorize?
Besides the scriptural reasons I listed above, I believe that having the Word of God committed to memory allows you to call upon it during the many ups and downs in life. They have comforted me, disciplined me, taught me, and helped me minister to others. In addition to the thoughts I’ve written here, I strongly recommend reading John Piper’s message, “Why Memorize Scripture?”
What Bible Version do you use and why?
I began memorizing using the NIV, because that was the Bible I had used for many years. I have switched, however, to the ESV Bible primarily because it is the version my church uses, but also because of some compelling thoughts from John Piper.
Resources
The following is a list of resources I have put together to help you in your quest to memorize scripture.

Resources to Read Regularly

  • FighterVerses.com – This is a site run by some fellow Bethlehem Baptist Church guys. They are pastoral apprentices there and have good things to say.
  • Desiring God Blog – Although not directly related to the memorization of scripture (they strongly advocate it), this is one of my favorite blog reads to help me understand Scripture. They also have excellent resources in the form of podcasts, videos, etc.

Resources to Download

Resources to Buy

  • Bible Memory Resources – I use the ESV Fighter Verse Pack at home and also have the CD, which has recordings of people speaking the verses. I have used the two together to listen to verses in the car, and also read and review verses. They also have a set of Foundation Verses, which I hope to start learning with my children when they are a bit older.

Articles to Read

How to Memorize Scripture
The bottom line is that you need to find the way that you memorize the best and practice regular self-discipline to memorize your verses. (Note: Memorizing with others will help keep you accountable as well!)
That being said, I usually memorize using the following steps:

Prayer and Studying Verse Context
Memorizing God’s word begins with prayer. I pray for God to:

  1. Give me strength to mediate on His word day and night (Joshua 1:8)
  2. Help me to delight in His law (Psalm 1:1-2)
  3. Hold firm to the trustworthiness of His Word (Titus 1:9)
  4. Bring the verse to mind when I am praying (Matthew 6:6-8)
  5. Store up His Word in my heart so that I don’t sin against Him, and also that I will not forget the verses I have memorized (Psalm 119:11)
  6. Help me to stand firm in battle (Ephesians 6:10-13)
  7. Use these memorized verses when I evangelize to others (Romans 10:17)

Reciting
I take a print copy of the week’s verse (I use the fighter verse pack) and recite it as I go about my day – at breakfast, washing dishes, in the car, etc. I listen to my words as I say the verse out loud and also concentrate on the cadence of the language. Once I’ve heard the verse numerous times, it helps me to externalize the verse.

Externalizing
For me, this step makes the verse more permanent in my mind and also boosts my personal reflection. I choose to turn the verse into something that will “burn it into my mind” better. This includes, but is not limited to, using the verse to do one or more of the following:

  • Compose a melody to make the verse singable
  • Learn sign language
  • Create a work of art (painting, drawing, cartoon, collage, craft, etc.)
  • Make up a dance or motions to act out the verse
  • Use digital media to make an animation, movie, slide show, etc.
  • Speak the verse to a rhythm, use clapping or other rhythm instruments
  • Learn the verse out loud with others, do a call and response, etc.

Personal Reflection
Once a verse has been rolling in my mind for awhile, I continually pray that God would make it real in my life. I trust that God, in His own time, will impress the truth of His word upon me. I try to reflect on what I am learning by discussing it with others and journaling (usually through this blog). I thank God for all that he teaches and changes in me as a result of learning His word.
Reviewing Past Verses
I go back regularly and review verses by reciting them (from my fighter verse pack and from what I have posted on this blog). I praise God for verses that stick and further review verses I don’t remember.

What Does a Mama Do?

05/02/2009

Caleb has loved playing house with his Little People house and car lately. It has a dad, a mom, and a baby. He keeps them very busy. They all use the potty and then take a bath afterwards. The baby goes night-night frequently. And then he loads them all in the car and drives him to our door that leads to the garage. When I ask where they are going he exclaims, “Grandpa! [horse noise]”
Today he was holding the mom doll when I was changing him for bed. I asked him, “What does a mama do?” After his first response, I continued asking him, “What else does a mama do?” Here are his responses, in order:
“Kiss!” (then proceeded to kiss the doll many many times)
“Hug!” (hugged the doll)
“Baby eat.” (give food to the baby)
“Baby drink.” (give a drink to the baby)
“Book.” (read books)
“Kiss hand.” (he had a splinter in his hand recently and I kissed it frequently.)
This is the stuff that warms a mama’s heart.

Caleb Goes to the Emergency Room

04/01/2009

Playing in the Yard 95
On Monday, Caleb and are were hanging out eating breakfast. He started showing symptoms of a cold on Sunday afternoon, but nothing past your runny nose and being tired. At night he started coughing. And, by our Monday morning breakfast time, he started showing signs of being worse. He started coughing a “barky” cough while clutching his neck and crying. Then, he started wheezing and I wondered if he had something lodged in his throat. I checked and he didn’t. He kept asking to nurse, but when I would try to nurse him he’d grab his throat and cry and say, “No, no.” So, I’d stop, and he’d ask to nurse again. The wheezing got worse, so I called the doctor.
There were no regular appointments left, so I took him to urgent care. The triage nurse checked his vitals and he had a slight temperature, but his oxygen levels were too low. He was still wheezing and coughing the “barky” cough. The nurse decided to send us to emergency, so we went there. His oxygen levels were checked again and they were still too low.
The doctor came in and ran some tests, then heard his cough and diagnosed Caleb with croup. The wheezing and low oxygen was due to narrowed airways. He was given a steroid, and within a couple of minutes was breathing normally and his oxygen levels returned to normal. They discharged us with some home care instructions.
Since then, he hasn’t shown a scare like that one, although he is still fighting this cold. He seems much better this evening. I think I caught his cold too, but it’s not effecting me as much as it has him. Also, I turn into obsessive hand-washing home-disinfecting lady when stuff like this goes down. So, hopefully Josh won’t get sick.
I also learned fascinating things about how Tylenol Cold is like cocaine for babies, and that I should never give it to my children unless directed by a doctor. The doctor gave me a nice lesson on it’s use (and seemed pretty bitter that it is still being sold over-the-counter). So, at least I had some mommy-building knowledge going on while in the ER. Pondering the profit-making of over-the-counter drugs helped me to stay strong so I could better support Caleb while there (instead of turning into a crazy, worried, emotional basketcase of a woman).

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