A week we'll hopefully not have to repeat (warning, long post ahead...)

Last week was, well let's just say, exhausting. Here's a run down:

Monday -- I had to go in early to take my 3 hour glucose tolerance test since I failed the 1 hour one. If you're not familiar with this test, you have to go in fasting (not so easy for a woman pregnant with triplets), have a blood draw and then drink a not-so-tasty bottle of glucose. Then, every hour for 3 hours, you go back to get your blood drawn. And, you can't have anything else to eat or drink other than water for those 3 hours. Nevermind the fasting part, just the having to be somewhere other than in my bed or recliner at home for 3 hours is exhausting enough. I was grumpy about taking the test, too. I was certain I was going to fail it so part of me just wanted them to diagnose me as having gestational diabetes and forego the test all together. On our way home from the hospital where I was taking the test, a friend of mine called and said that she was on her way to pick up her kids from school because they had lice. Not really that big of a deal, but she and her kids had just been over to our house on Sunday to play for about an hour. That meant we had to treat everyone and everything in our house for lice that night. Not fun, but luckily we didn't find any bugs -- whew! 

Tuesday morning -- I take my nearly 13 year old dalmatian, April, to the vet for a checkup. She has congestive heart failure (CHF) and over Christmas break she also developed a horrible bacterial ear infection. In the previous 6-8 months she had lost about 7lbs due to her heart condition. So, when she stepped on the scale and it showed that she had gained 3lbs in 2 weeks, I was happy and attributing it us having increased her food intake. However, as soon as our vet looked at her, he said that her weight gain was not because of her change in diet. She has a ton a fluid in her belly. He also stated that in the 6 weeks since he had seen her (we saw a different vet for her ear 2 weeks prior), her CHF had significantly progressed and he thinks she's in the end stages of the disease. Needless to say, this started a discussion of when is the right time to euthanize her. I have never had to make this decision before and it's definitely not an easy one. My family is taking care of her since I can't do it, she has a hard time controlling her bowels and bladder, and I know that if I wait too long and am hospitalized due to my pregnancy, I risk not being there for her when it's time for her to go. I hope that I have the strength to make this decision for her when it's time.

Bailey and April 

Tuesday afternoon -- I have a regular OB check up. Everything looks good, they do another fetal fibronectin test, and tell me that I passed my glucose tolerance test. YAY!!!!! 

Tuesday night -- Owen had a bit of a cough and cold since Sunday, but was happy and playing this evening. A good friend of mine came over for a visit and it was wonderful to see her. At about 11pm, Owen woke up crying and was obviously warm with a fever. We gave him some motrin and then tylenol when he didn't seem to cool off after about a half hour. He woke up again at about 5am so we dosed him up again. 

Wednesday -- Owen woke up, ate some cereal, and acted like he just had a little cold, but when I checked his breathing later that morning, it was apparent he needed a breathing treatment (Owen has asthma that kicks in when he has a cold). So, we gave him a treatment and I made a pediatrician appointment for 11am that morning. By the time we got to the pediatrician, Owen had significantly declined. He was struggling to breathe and still had a temp despite us having given him a dose of motrin before we left. They gave him another breathing treatment there after finding his oxygen saturation was only 88% and while his oxygen saturation didn't go down after the treatment, it didn't go up either. They sent us directly to the hospital and after getting just a little oxygen via a nasal cannula, his sats were up to 96%. After being poked and prodded and having a chest x-ray, they found that he had pneumonia in his right lung. The next 24 hours were rough --- he was wimpy and wouldn't talk, his fever was still high and we had a hard time getting it down so we had to torture him with wet wash cloths. Also, his IV wasn't in right so his machine kept going off every 15 minutes. My mom stayed with me and Owen in the hospital and neither of us got any sleep that night. 

Owen napping in the hospital right after we arrived

Thursday -- We finally got a nurse to fix Owen's IV and we were free of the beeping from then on out, thank goodness. My mom and I took turns going home to nap and shower, and Owen finally started feeling better on Thursday afternoon. He still refused most food and drink, but we were able to get him to eat a few french fries and a cookie and some chocolate milk (not an ideal diet but when your kid hasn't eaten in more than 24 hours, you'll give him whatever he asks for, believe me!). He perked up that night and even wanted to play. Hearing him laugh and watching him play with his toy cars that night was wonderful. He even adopted a little attitude (I guess he was a bit spoiled in the previous 36 hours), but we all figured that could be reversed when we got home. He had been taken off the oxygen and his O2 sats were good, but the pediatrician wanted him monitored over night because O2 sats decrease over night even in healthy people. Sure enough, 2 minutes after he fell asleep, his O2 sats went down to 88% again and they put him back on oxygen and had to increase the amount 2 more times that night. At some point before 5am, he pulled his nasal cannula off his face and his sats stayed up, so they just left him on room air and he did fine. 

Owen playing in his hospital crib Thursday evening

Friday -- The pediatrician came in and noted how well he was doing. However she wanted him to stay that day long enough for his O2 sats to be monitored during his nap and to get a third dose of IV antibiotics (they couldn't give him that dose until after 3pm).  They disconnected his IV and his pulse oximeter monitor so that he could get up and walk around for the first time in 48 hours.  He looked a little wobbly, like a miniature drunk, but he had fun playing with the phone in the room (see pic below).  Later that morning, he passed the nap test with flying colors, so we were set to go home after his last dose of antibiotics. We couldn't get out of there fast enough! :o) When we got home, we discovered April had diarrhea in her crate at some point during the day. My poor hubby (god bless him) came home, cleaned up the entire mess, and gave April a bath. Owen was back to his old self that evening and even had to sit in timeout before bedtime.  :o) He's quickly figuring out that his fantasy hospital world of getting anything and everything he wanted, when he wanted it, is over. 

Owen playing with the phone in his hospital room

Saturday -- My mom and I both slept most of the day. Owen is still on breathing treatments around the clock and gets worn out pretty easily, but you can tell he feels much much better.

Sunday -- I'm still emotionally and physically spent but looking forward to this week and hoping that it'll be better than last week. I'm 30 weeks tomorrow and promise to post a belly picture at some point tomorrow.