March Madness

Here's an update of the madness that been hanging out with us for the last couple of weeks.

Isla was born on March 9th. That night, Max got sick. Talk about bad timing. That week, we packed up, cleaned up, and moved a few days later.

It's hard on a little kid to have a new sibling come along. It's even harder when that little kid gets sick and all he wants is his mom. Not wanting to risk getting Isla sick during her first week of life, we sequestered Max away from Isla and Shayla. Not easy for a sick little kid. Max had a high fever, a prevalent cough that would not stop, and he was also throwing up once or twice a night. After about three days of this, with no sign of it getting better.

We made an appointment with the doctor, but since he wasn't available, we met with one of the doctor's assistants . She checked his ears, listened to his breathing, and told us that he looked fine and we just needed to give him Children's Motrin and wait it out. So wait we did. We continued to keep him away from his mom and Isla. I even started sleeping in Max's bed with him to help him through the night. He would wake up almost every hour in a coughing fit that would last about five or ten minutes.

Then Saturday came. On Saturday, we moved out of Shayla's parents house and into a new house in Bloomington Hills. Max was still deathly sick, Isla was only five days old, and so I've got to thank everyone that helped us out! We wouldn't have been able to do it by ourselves!

Over the next few days we slowly unpacked boxes and tried to get settled into our new home. Max was still sick and not showing much improvement. I was still sleeping in his room, waking up hourly with him during his coughing fits, and Shayla was up every few hours with Isla, feeding her and changing diapers.

On Wednesday, we took Max back to the doctor. This time we were able to meet with his actual pediatrician. After checking Max, he told us that he had a double ear infection, and also that he had Reactive Airway Disease. Wait, what? Apparently, Max's lungs had siezed down and were clamped closed, causing him to have short breaths and causing a buildup of mucous in his airway. This is what was causing the cough and the fever was the result of his body trying to fight through it. How all this was missed during the first doctor visit is beyond me! The doctor prescribed Max an antibiotic for the ear infection and also an inhaler (like the use for athsma) for the Reactive Airway Disease. Over the next few days, Max got remarkably better! His cough is almost completely gone, and he is now only waking up about once a night. Life is slowly returning to normal.

Also, in the middle of all of this, Shayla's parents came home from their mission in Kirtland, Ohio.

So now, after a new baby, a new home, a sick kid, and Shayla's parents coming home, we can finally breathe a little. Here are a few pictures of the madness:

Packing up and moving out!

Our first night in our new home! Max was so sick all he did was sleep, we had Jimmy John's for dinner, and Isla hung out on the floor!

Isla Ruth Wells

Isla's First Saint Patrick's Day!

This is how Max spent the last two weeks.

Finally starting to feel better! Max, Isla, and Bob.

Max and Isla, testing out the new baby swing.

Max, Shayla, & Isla