Check This Out!

Here's the deal - my best friend from high school, Denver Bierman, has a big band called 'Denver and the Mile High Orchestra'. They are going to be on a new tv series premiering Friday, Oct. 19 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. The show will air in its regular time period on Fridays (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) after that.

From the auditions, the show's judges will narrow down the hopefuls to 10 semifinalist bands who will perform weekly in front of a live studio audience. The judges will have their say after each performance, but viewers will vote for their favorite bands to determine who stays in the competition. Voting begins immediately after each show, and the results will be announced at the beginning of the following episode.Each week, the bands will perform either original music or covers of varied styles. The range of genres will test their musical limits.

The season finale brings the ultimate battle of the bands, with the last three groups competing to secure a contract and the title of "Next Great American Band."

I just wanted to put the word out so that if he moves on you might put in a vote for him when the time comes.

[Here is a photo from when Denver and the Mile High Orchestra played in Marion for New Year's 2000. L to R - Brad, Kari, Denver & Amy Bierman]

Good news... bad news

The good news is that Sarah is much better. She went to the doctor on Friday and was about the same as Tuesday when we went, which is wonderful for RSV patients. I guess the early cases of RSV aren't as bad a later in the season. It didn't really go to her chest and affect her breathing - just lots of yellow goo in her nose. She's still sleeping in her car seat at night to keep her head elevated. She actually slept 7 1/2 hours on Friday night! We usually get 4-5 to begin the night, so 7 1/2 was a welcome change! Of course, we kept waking up wondering when she was going to get up, and Daniel was up during that time. She also hasn't slept that well since then, but we appreciated the effort. The doctor put her on an antibiotic for a secondary infection and the goo is clearing up. All three of my children were on antibiotics at the same time - that's a first!
The bad news is that since this was so early and relatively easy, she could get it again this winter. Ugh. I'm thankful this one wasn't bad, though. We'll pray that if she does get it again and we're going to end up in the hospital, please allow it to happen before the end of the year so that we don't have a new $3000 deductible to meet! The insurance is paying everything 100% at this point.
So, once again, please remember to stay home when you're sick! I hope you're feeling better, Robin!

I hate RSV

RSV is a respiratory virus that is basically a cold in adults, but is more dangerous in small children. This virus produces lot of mucous that babies can't handle. Daniel had it when he was three months old and was in the hospital for three days. He had a terrible cough and would cough so hard he would throw up mucous - usually all over me. We were in the doctor's office a few times before they admitted him to the hospital so that he could receive oxygen to help him breath. RSV can be rather scary, but it was nice to have a good doctor who could talk me through everything and reassure me that all we had to do was help him breathe with the oxygen and breathing treatments and then it would go away. I also got the "cold" and it triggered my asthma. I had trouble for weeks afterwards and ended up with sinus surgery to clear out the goo that was stuck in there from the chronic sinus infection that started with RSV. I hate RSV.

Last year on Christmas Eve, we took Daniel to the ER in Florida. He had RSV then as well, but it wasn't as bad because he was older. He did end up with pneumonia, but he didn't have to stay in the hospital. I also got it and was sick for the rest of the winter. Did I mention that I hate RSV?

When Sarah was in the doctor's office for her two month well-baby checkup, I asked when RSV season begins. Paul (pediatrician and good friend) told me that they start seeing some cases in December and then it gets worse from there. I wanted to be mentally prepared for it since we'd had it the last two seasons. However, I was not prepared to be dealing with it in October. Sarah was diagnosed with RSV this afternoon. Grrr... I hate RSV. So far, she is just congested and has yellow goo coming out of her nose. Her eyes are also a bit gooey, so we have eye drops for that. This is the way Daniel's started, and then it just gets worse from here. Some babies don't have a lot of trouble with it, and we're praying that Sarah will be one of those babies! We go back to the doctor on Friday... meanwhile, I'll be watching to see if she's having any trouble breathing. Please be praying!

Also, if you are sick, stay away from children and stay home! Even if you don't think you're sick, don't touch babies' hands, faces, etc. unless you are the caregiver! It seems like this would be a no-brainer, but I'm shocked at how many people don't think about what they could be spreading to children. I'm also shocked at how many people think that it's necessary to come to work when they're incredibly sick and contagious. They even think that it's something to be commended! "See, here I am at work when I feel so awful. The workplace could not go on without me." Did I mention that I hate RSV? I think we'll stay home all winter...

Change...

Daniel is a boy who likes routine... which is why he has routinely decorated with his own excrement. After another episode - this time decorating the wall in his bedroom - I decided that he had just spent the last night in his crib.

To accomplish the switch-over to the new bed, I had to rearrange some furniture to push his twin bed up against the wall and then assemble his safety rail. While I was trying to get his "big boy bed" ready for his nap, he took off his Pull-up and then proceeded to potty on the carpet. I ran him down the the hall to the potty and then he refused to go. Back to the bedroom we went just to repeat the process of pottying on the carpet and running to the bathroom. This happened SIX TIMES. However, on the SIXTH trip, he went in the potty!!! Now, you might ask why I let him stay naked only to have him go on the carpet, but this actually is a really good way to potty train if you can stand the potential messes. While I was working on his new bed, he was contained in his bedroom with me so I could catch him in the act and race him down the hall to the potty. In the end, I think he learned when he was about to go - quite the accomplishment. Now if we can convince him that he needs to go every time, we'll be all set!

While we're working on that, now I have to work on convincing him to stay in his bed. So far, so good. Friday night was the first night all week that we had to spank and return him to bed a few times. It's a work in progress. I must admit that it was pretty cute to hear him coming down the stairs that first night... he very carefully came down and slowly walked into the room and said, "Ma?" - asking if he was allowed to do that. Too cute. Then Daddy had to take him back up to bed.

Daniel has figured out that Sarah is often in mama's arms when he wants to be. He will try to move her head when she's nursing or shove her little body out of the way. He has also been known to point to her and then point to the pack n play and say "nigh-night," so that I will put Sarah down and pick him up. We've been working on sharing mama and being kind and gentle to Sarah.

So, we've had lots of changes for my routine-boy - please pray for all of us as we're adjusting...