And Now Johnny's Sick Too

Aww ... poor sick Johnny

Nose running like a faucet

Sick brothers looking happy for a minute

Sammy practicing sitting up

Sams feeling MUCH better

Now that Johnny has come down with the same RSV illness that Sammy has, it is clear that Johnny had this particular one before. When Johnny first started school in January last year, he immediately came down with a horrible illness that gave him an awful emphesema sounding trumpet-like cough that racked his whole body and made a rather alarming choking gasp for air at the end of each coughing fit. Well, that's what he has again. Johnny came down with it the day before Thanksgiving, so the three of us stayed home from the family Thanksgiving celebration so we wouldn't infect everyone else's kids. Today Johnny is the worst he's been, and I'm hoping he'll start to feel better tomorrow. He woke up in a fit of coughing and gagging at 1 a.m. this morning and ended up sobbing "Mama I don't feel good." Poor honey. We had a record amount of mucous flying around the house today as Johnny's nose was like a faucet and every time he sneezed it was like the germs were trying to repel out of his nose. Is there such a thing as projectile sneezing? We went through a ton of kleenex and hand sanitizer. The cough is supposed to last up to 3 weeks. Last time Johnny had this he was sick for a solid month and I took him to the pediatrician more than once to make sure he didn't have pneumonia (in addition to calling them regularly). One of these days we will regain our health. I'm thinking about living in semi-seclusion for awhile ... no friends over, no play groups, no going to the mall or other crowded places with Sammy ... at least until we can stay healthy for a little while. I'd hate to miss Christmas Day with the family because we're all sick next month. Maybe we'll live in a bubble until then.

Sammy's Sick Again

Crying actually helps him breathe the medicine more deeply into his lungs

Sammy fell asleep during the second treatment

Poor Sammy. What started out looking like a cold turned into a horrible wet cough and wheezing that makes Sammy sound like Darth Vadar. In addition to the wheezing, the threw up on me 3 times yesterday, probably in part because of all the phlegm he's gagging on. After trying all of the home remedies I could think of and not being able to stop the wheezing, I took Sammy to see his pediatrician yesterday. Turns out, he has Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) which acts like a common cold in adults and older children, but can turn into a life threatening condition in babies. Sammy got a breathing treatment at the doctor's office with a nebulizer and some bronchodilating medication. I had to buy a nebulizer and will have to do these treatments on Sammy 6 times a day for a few days and then taper them off a couple days at a time. In severe cases, RSV can turn into pneumonia or require hospitalization, but my prayer is that we will be able to treat it at home effectively with his breathing treatments, humidified air and lots of rest and cuddling. Poor Sams has seemed to inherit my crappy immune system. I hope he isn't destined to get sick as often as I have. :( Unfortunately, this means Sammy and I will be home by ourselves on Thanksgiving. The doctor said this illness is "highly" contagious and I should definitely stay away from other people, especially young children. I'm still thankful for all of our blessings, in spite of our health challenges. :) Update: last night Sammy projectile vomited all over himself and his bed without waking up ... now that is scary. :( Keith changed his bedding and I changed his pajamas and he never did wake up.

Airplanes

Johnny in cockpit of fancy jet

Mark Frnka and the Klevenski boys




Sammy clutching airplane toy

Johnny in Mark's plane

Co-pilots

Keith's new best friend, Mark Frnka, invited us to come see some planes at the Sugar Land Airport yesterday. We all had a great time climbing up into the cockpit's and pretending we were flying. We lounged aboard a fancy jet with cushy leather seats that looked fitting for transporting movie stars and professional athletes. Next, we climbed in a small four-seater airplane and admired all of the controls and navigation system. Last, and most fun, Mark took us into his own 6-seater plane and we all pretended to fly and steer the plane pulling back on the yoke and trying not to break anything by being too rough. At some point, Mark said he would take us all up in the plane for a joyride. This sounds like terrific fun to me, although I guess it would be smart for me to make sure it's actually safe for little babies to go up in what I am assuming is an unpressurized cabin. Well, I hope it is safe, because it would be a blast, especially for Johnny!

Sammy in the Bouncy Swing

I'm a happy boy!

Johnny took this photo of Sammy

Awww!

Sammy is still a little floppy when he bounces in the swing, so I added the Boppy pillow for added upper body support. He enjoyed it quite a bit for a little while, but when he decided he was done, he wanted out of there in a hurry! I'm going to investigate exersaucers to find another way for him to get some exercise and stimulation and let me have my hands free for a few extra minutes.

Johnny's Play Date

Ella and Johnny listening to the car radio

Tristan enjoying the flying saucer

Christopher tidying up our yard

Johnny cruising with the chicks

Maya hanging out in the Corvette

Peter looking concerned in the sandbox

Juliana enjoying a ride in the swing

We had our first group of friends over from school today ... something I hope to do more of in the near future. Ella, Tristan and Christopher came to play with their siblings Juliana, Maya and Peter. Sammy slept through most of the event, which was fine with me as it made it much easier to try to be a good hostess, which is a skill that does not come naturally to me. We were sorry that Ally and Charlie couldn't be here this time ... we all missed them and hope to have them over soon! Thanks to all of our friends for coming over to play with Johnny! :)

Sammy's Sitting Up ... Sort of

SS Klevenski sitting up in his periscope Tee

Holding himself up

This was seconds before he did a faceplant

Timber!

Okay, I know I've posted a lot of Sammy photos recently, but he has been learning some new skills and his proud Mama wanted to share with you some of the excitement. Sammy seems pretty tickled to be able to sit up and roll over. I think he is really enjoying a feeling of independence and mobility. He looks pretty happy to me!

Sammy's Rolling Over!

Ready ... set ...

ROLL!

Boy, isn't he proud of himself?

Doing some push ups

Jolly Sammy

Johnny is showing Sammy how to build a Lincoln Log house

Sammy has finally started to rolling over and that has made tummy time a lot more fun for all of us. Johnny and I cheer him on and encourage him to roll, and Sammy is quite pleased with himself when he makes it over. The pediatrician said he should be rolling over about now, but maybe he hadn't started yet because he's too pudgy to sling that load of a belly over. Ha ha! Well, he's rocking and rolling now!