WHAT?!?

Blakely has salm.onella.  

Now can someone please tell me how in the world she got that?  

The only food that she has had that wasn't cooked is mangos.  But she had mangos from the same batch multiple times.  She has had no meat or dairy.  I don't get it.  She has had my frozen breast milk.  I am about to goo.gle and see if she could have possibly gotten it from that. I wouldn't think she could but I don't really know.  I know she had some last week that was from December but it is in a deep freeze so it should be good for 6 months.  And I would think that the milk could go bad but not get salm.onella?!?  

Ugh...

We are starting her on antibiotics today.

She has also now developed a wicked diaper rash from all of the pooping.  She cries hysterically every time I change her diaper...which is about every hour because that is how often she is going.  The only way to calm her down is to give her the boob.  Lordy, I don't know what I would be doing if it weren't for them!  

I feel terrible for her.  She seems to feel a little better today, but still not normal.  It just makes me want to cry. I know this is stupid but I feel like it is my fault.  I mean, she had to have INGESTED it and I am the only one who feeds her!!!  I just wish I knew how she got it.  I am so sad for her....

She is sad too...

It's all just too much...

Fever and shit...

Blakely is sick.  We have been swimming in shit for the past four days.  Fever and shit actually.


It all started when she woke up on Sunday morning and I thought she was way hot.  Took her temp (rectally) and it was 102.  Not cool.  We had Lonnie's family down for the holiday weekend so this was not really great timing.  We gave her Tyl.enol and Ad.vil and her fever got better.  But then the diarrhea started.  Like seriously 10-12 times a day.  Although today it has pretty much been every hour.  


She was so miserable all day Sunday.  I stayed inside with her and we cuddled and slept all day long.  On Sunday evening her temp was 103.9 and I noticed she had blood in her diarrhea.  The crazy mommy freak out was on at that point.  We gave her more meds and put her in a bath to help cool her off.  Her temp got better and we put her down for the night.  We decided if she wasn't any better in the morning then we would call the doctor.  Why does this always happen on holiday weekends?!?!?!


On Monday morning she seemed a little better...no fever and no diarrhea.  I had checked on her every hour during the night to make sure her temp didn't go back up.  I thought maybe she just had a little tummy bug.  Her fever stayed down the first half of the day although she kept having diarhea (sometimes with a little blood).  Her fever spiked in the afternoon and she had quite a bit more blood in her diaper.  I decided to call the dr.  Well they use a nurse hotline through Arkan.sas Chil.drens Hosp.ital.  She asked me a bazillion questions.  Finally she told me that they go by a protocol and that it was saying that we needed to go to the emergency room because she had more than 8 poops in an hour and more than 3 were bloody.  By this time it was 5 pm on MEMORIAL DAY.  Are you kidding me??  I thought they were going to say something along the lines of "take her to the pediatrician first thing in the morning".  The ER sounded like a horrible idea to me.  We would have to wait for a good 8-9 hours....maybe more since it was a holiday.  They were going to jab and poke her and she would be traumatized.  AND AND AND there wouldn't even be a pediatrician there...so it would be just an ER dr taking care of her.  Not ok with me.  So we decided to watch her and keep her temp down and take her in the next day.  Small sidenote.  The only reason I felt ok with this is because Lonnie did.  I always defer medical decisions to him and if he thought we needed to go to the ER you bet your ass we would have been there in a second.  I trust my husband to make medical decisions more than I do most ER doctors.  So that is why we waited...just a little disclaimer :)


We took her to the doctor yesterday even though she seemed to be feeling better.  She would at least smile and play.  Her temp was about 102 but would go down with meds.  She was still a pooping machine but the blood was minimal.  The weird part about all of this is that she hasn't been throwing up.  She has still been eating just fine.  Not as great as she normally does but eating plenty.  They wanted a stool sample so I took two diapers with us.  He is thinking it is probably something viral and but they wanted to test for E.Co.li and Salmon.ella and a few other things.  Most of which you don't treat, you just let it run its course.  


I got a message this morning telling me that they couldn't get a sample out of those diapers.  I called the lab tech back and she told me that the diapers soak it all up and they can't get it out of the diapers.  SOOOOOO, she suggested putting Sar.an Wr.ap between the diaper and Blakely and "catching the poop".  Yeah, how easy does that sound to y'all???  Her poop is like green water.  Not very "catchable".  I really can't describe to you my morning of trying to do this.  I took one sample up there and she didn't think she could get enough out of it.  So I tried again and FINALLY got a puddle.  I was so damn happy that was over with and so was Blakely.  I'm certain that Sar.an Wr.apped ass is not very comfortable. 


Now we wait to see what they find.  She obviously doesn't feel good today either.  She grunts and groans to poop for about 10 minutes and doesn't get much relief when she does go.  Her temp has been ok today but not normal.  She hasn't let me put her down all day.  She SCREAMS when I do.  So we have just been snuggling all day long.  She is in the jumparoo right now and I have about a minute and a half left before she loses it.  


On top of all of this poop....my washing machine broke.  Which wouldn't be that huge of a deal except that I use CLOTH DIAPERS.  Yeah....we've switched to disposables for now.  Also, my brother in law's law office burned to the ground on Sunday as well.  They were here for the weekend and he got the call.  He had to leave early to go deal with that.  Very sad stuff.  AND THEN, we've had drama with the shaved ice stand.  We were in it with another couple and we all had specific jobs for the stand.  The other woman was an accountant so she was dealing with the money, payroll, and staffing.  Well she just up and decided to QUIT...not like "oh I don't want to do this anymore, here is all of my information" quitting but more like "I quit, don't call me, don't text me, I'm going to make this as hard on you as possible, GO AWAY" quitting.  We haven't spoken to her since and I don't plan on ever speaking to her.  I plan to blog about this situation in detail when I get time to give me some closure with her.  Because, honestly, I want to punch her in her throat right about now.  


Ok the baby has shut down.  I wrote all of this in about ten minutes so I hope it makes sense!  

Beach baby

We had such a wonderful time at the beach this year!  Blakely was at a great age to be there....able to enjoy everything but not yet mobile.  Although she really wants to be...dear God.

We left Saturday morning at 530.  In our car it was me, Lonnie, my mom, and Blakely.  In the other car it was Grand, Jenni (my aunt), Casey (family friend although more like just family), and my great aunt Jerry.  My cousin Jan lives in Colorado and she meets us down there.  It took us 12 hours to get down there.  Blakely did well the entire way.  My mom was in the back with her so she was able to keep her entertained.  We only stopped 3 times total.  But those stops each lasted about an hour.  With 7 adults and a baby it just takes forever to do anything.  By the time we got there we were all ready to get the heck out of the car.  We dropped Grand, my mom, Blakely, and Aunt Jerry off at the condo and the rest of us went to the grocery and liquor store for the week.  We always hate doing that but it helps to just get it over with.  

This was just one of the carts  :)

We were all exhausted from the trip so it was early to bed.  We had two condos each with two bedrooms.  It was me, Lonnie, Blakely, Grand, and my mom in one.  And the rest were in the other.  

The next morning we got up leisurely and drank our coffee/cokes and ate our traditional cheese toast topped with fresh tomatoes.  It was so yummy and even Lonnie liked it!  Then we got all ready for the beach.  I got Blakely naked and lathered her up in sunscreen.  And then I did it again.  She was a gooey gooey mess.  She didn't mind it though.  She actually giggled while I was putting it on her.  A friend of mine suggested getting a baby swimming pool and putting that under the shade with all of her toys.  That turned out to be such a great idea!  She could just sit there and play without getting sand everywhere.  If I had just put her on a towel it would have been a huge mess and I wouldn't have been able to take my eye off of her for a single second.  Of course, there were times that I did let her play in the sand.  Just not sitting in it constantly.  

Blakely with her grand cousin Jan and then with daddy.  

Toes in the water....ass in the sand....

The first night (Sunday) we always go to dinner at Staff's.  Blakely wore the dress that I MADE HER.  You read that correctly...I made her dress.  Kinda wish I had a better picture of her in it!

The next morning everyone got up and did the cheese toast/coffee/cokes thing.  And when I say everyone, I mean everyone but me because, apparently, I consumed a wee to much alcohol the night before.  So daddy was on baby duty while mommy recovered.  After that it was pretty much a lazy day in the condo.  We just played on the balcony and took naps all day.  That night we did go to eat at a place called Louisiana Lagniappe.  This place has the best shrimp and grits ever.

The next day we decided to take Blake to the pool.  This was her first time ever in a pool.  It was a little chilly at first so I had to ease her in so she wouldn't cry.  I held her for a bit and then I sat her on the ledge of the pool.  She loved it!  

Then I put her in her little boat and she REALLY loved it!  She kicked her little legs constantly.  It was adorable :)

We finally got out of the pool and we were both all wrinkled up.  We sat out by the pool and played for a little bit before it was time for her nap.  

The next day we went to the beach in the morning but then it looked like it was going to rain so we went back up to the condo for the afternoon.  We played games and Blakely just sat and watched and entertained us.  She loved the UNO cards and helping mommy play :)

That night we went to a restaurant called Captain Dave's in Destin.  It was super yum!

Beach again the next day.  She played in her little pool for a while but she really just wanted to be climbing all over daddy.  

redo solo cup of course....

For being so out of her element Blakely did well.  She didn't really want to nap in the pack n play though.  Naps were a struggle unless I nursed her and then laid down with her for a little bit.  I think she felt like she was going to miss something.  This day she didn't nap at all.  I knew if she didn't nap before we went to dinner it would not be pleasant.  So I nursed her right before we left and she fell asleep.  SOUND asleep.

I thought she would sleep through dinner for sure but she only slept for 30 minutes!  This was the only time she was cranky.  And since she didn't nap well that day she didn't sleep good that night.  Up at 2,4,and 6....  I was tired!  Oh well...we got to sleep in at least!  And, daddy made us breakfast!  You know you married a great man when he goes on vacation with 7 women and a baby and also cooks you breakfast on said vacation!  

That evening Lonnie and I decided that we wanted to take Blakely for a walk on the beach instead of going to dinner with everyone else.  We strapped her into her daddymobile and off we went.  We walked a LONG way and stopped to eat some dinner.  It was great family time. 

This is what it looked like on our way back.  BEAUTIFUL!

The last day we did more beach!

Look MOM!  I stood up!

This was the view from our balcony.  

The last night Lonnie took some pictures of us before dinner.  Here we all are!  

Four generations :)

All in all it was a great trip!  Blakely did great and Lonnie did great dealing with all of us.  My Grand got to spend a lot of time with Blakely which makes me happy.  I had a few moments when I got emotional.  Everything has just come full circle.  We do this trip every year and there were a few years that I yearned to be pregnant or have a baby at the beach.  Then last year I was pregnant.  And now I got to take my beautiful baby girl on her first beach trip...perfect!  

I have to say though, I am happy to be back in our normal routine.  Even on vacation, mama doesn't get "vacation" ;) 

We're back!

I wish I had time to do a long and thoughtful Mother's Day post, but I just don't!  We got back from the beach last night and I am still recovering.  We had a great time but it was definitely exhausting!  

Today has been wonderful.  I have just been spending time with my sweet girl and soaking up every second of her.  I am so thankful to have her in my life.  She makes me a better person.  Speaking of the sweet girl...she is 7 months old today!  How has this happened?  That sounds old!  She will be turning 13, like, tomorrow or something...GAH!  

Full beach post and seven month post coming this week!  But just to tide you over until then...here is some cuteness!!!!

TVT

Thought Vomit Thursday...because I don't have time for anything coherent right now.

1.  I am frantically getting everything ready for our beach vacation.  Laundry, errands, packing, but most of all baking!  I am making 2 batches of "just the best cookies" and then 2 batches of peanut butter fudge.  Yeah, I'll probably gain weight on this trip...

2.  Since we are going to be gone, I am also busy trying to make sure our shaved ice stand is stocked up so our partners don't have to deal with any of that.  This means making a shit ton of syrup...I'm thinking about 40 gallons.  It's messy...

3.  I am going to use our cloth diapers on our trip.  I'm a little nervous about it and have considered backing out of it but I feel like I need to try.  Wish me luck!

4.  Blakely has figured out how to actually jump in her jumper.  And, OMG, it is the most awesome thing EVER!  She wants to bounce constantly and she gets a look of sheer excitement on her face...I love when she's happy.  

5.  Speaking of B, I'm not sure if I posted this pic or not....preview of 6 month photos

I mean seriously.....I can't believe I am even still alive after seeing that picture...

both photos from Melanie McKnight Photography

6.  I've stopped pinning.  I know this is a sad thing but that damn Pin.terest makes me feel like a LOSER!!!  There are so many things on there that I want to do and when I don't have enough time to do a single one I feel like as asshole.  I had some great ideas for Mother's Day....yeah, none of them happened.  I pinned some things to do for Father's Day and I'm sure those won't happen either.  I get on there and I want to eat and workout at the same time.  So I just eat the crap I have here and get sad that I don't workout.  See what I mean???  It was actually making me stressed and anxious to PIN!!!  Sweet Jesus!  So I've backed off...not to say I won't ever pin again but not now ;)

7.  I am, however, completely addicted to Insta.gram.  Heart it bunches...  If you want to follow me just let me know :)  

8.  Blakely has 11 new outfits for our trip.  We are only there for 7 nights.  Hmmmmm........

9.  If I don't get a pedicure before we leave for our trip, I am going to hurt someone.  Probably my husband...

10.  Hope y'all have an amazing weekend!!!