Saturday, April 23, 2011

Phew!



When I got up yesterday morning Adia joined me on the couch while Rasa was busy playing on the floor. I noticed Adia was breathing fast like she had been running around all morning except I knew she hadn't been. I thought it was weird but figured I would watch her. The girls were down to doing only one neb a day but just for good measure I gave Adia a fast acting neb because she didn't seem quite right. She refused breakfast and only wanted a little juice to drink. A couple hours later she was breathing even more rapidly and this time was wheezing. After talking to my neighbor who's a nurse and seeing my Mother-in-Law panicked I knew I needed to bring her in to be seen. She wasn't exhibiting any of the "emergency" symptoms of asthma yet but she was getting worse and starting to act lethargic right as we were out the door.

When her Pediatrician listened to her he said she was so tight he couldn't tell what was going on so they had to give her another fast acting neb at the clinic. She was breathing 50 times in a minute and should be at 20. Ten minutes later she was clear and he was able to determine it was a bad asthma attack that was triggered by something we are unsure of! Her breathing had slowed down to about 40 times a minute and he was comfortable sending us home with orders to give her a fast acting neb every four hours and her regular neb treatment twice a day. We feel like we cant leave the neighborhood because she always needs another neb!

Royce had serious asthma as a toddler that he grew out of later on. My asthma wasn't diagnosed until I was a preteen and then it was exercise induced so I used a rescue inhaler. As I've gotten older it's been viral induced too so I still use a rescue inhaler anytime I get a cold so I can breath. I've had two bad asthma attacks in my life, one of which caused me to start to black out. Not being able to breath is scary and it puts you in panic mode. Looking at Adia, so so tiny, and her shoulders going up and down so hard trying to breath was super sad and super scary! The worst part is wondering what triggered it and hoping it doesn't happen again.

So we're back at square one with trying to get the inflammation down in her lungs and it can take weeks. I feel a little overwhelmed with the logistics of all of the nebs and the paranoia of wondering what her triggers are. At the same time Royce and I were talking about how we are blessed this really is manageable and she will be okay. It surely looks easy in the eyes of parents who are dealing with more serious chronic disorders in their children and we are thankful.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

My Eeya

Lately Adia hasn't allowed me to take any photos of her. She runs away or gets mad when I pull my camera out (which ironically isn't all that often). I was having camera issues and needed to do some test pics so while Rasa was napping Adia and I went out to play for a bit.

Adia is such a little spitfire! She is NOT at all afraid to express herself. She screams with glee while jumping with her arms in the air and she will throw herself on the ground kicking and screaming when she's mad. Yesterday when we were outside it was beautiful, sunny and 70 degrees so I set up the water table. As I was pouring water in it I spilt one tiny little drop that landed on her foot. Her arms went up in the air and with a disgusted look she stares right into my eyes and yells "UGH COME ON!!!!". When Adia was a day or two old one of the nurses in the NICU said, "She knows what she wants and she's not afraid to say it". Adia was the only baby in there on her tummy in the isolate (normally they tell you to keep newborns on their backs but the babies in NICU have heart and breath monitors on so if something went wrong the alarms would go off). She wanted to be on her tummy and if you touched her or moved her when she didn't want you to she would belt out a mad scream as a warning! If you continued to mess with her she would scream and get red in the face while flailing her arms and legs. Even at a day or two old she was doing this!

She is wild but she is quiet and sweet too. She has no fear, NONE at all, I mean zero fear. It scares me to death as she runs full force into everything but at the same time I appreciate that courage and fearlessness because growing up I was a very cautious kid and was afraid to try new things. That changed eventually but those roots are still there with me and it limits me in certain aspects. Adia will learn how to use her personality to her advantage, I am very sure because she already is. I can only hope to be on the sidelines with a net trying to keep her from getting hurt while at the same time allowing her to see where her limits are.

The truth is with Adia the crystal ball says we're in for it so try to relax and hold on!

She allowed me to snap a few pictures before getting so caught up in play that she didn't notice any longer. My favorite pictures of the girls are always the ones I do without them noticing I'm shooting them.

While I've never been a fan of the cheesy smiling kid pics this one is soooooo Adia and soooooo her personality that I love it to pieces.



Planning her next move forgetting I'm even there....



This next one is one of my favorites. I'm not sure exactly way but I love serious and dramatic photographs of children. Its like they capture their intelligence and their innate wisdom instead of the playful silliness we always see. Children are so simple but so brilliant at the same time.



We call Adia "Eeya" sometimes for short because when Rasa first learned to say her name it would come out "Eeya" and it just sort of stuck.

Oh and my camera is busted up again and since Nikon repair takes ages and the busy season has begun my very supportive Hubby persuaded me to buy a new one. I'm so glad I did but I upgraded to a new model and am back on the learning curve again. Hopefully you'll see some new pictures in the future that show off some of my new cameras abilities!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Well Hello To You Too

Amazing, amazing, amazingly beautiful day here today! Sun shinning, almost 60 degrees, lots of smiles on our faces!
The girls and I had a busy day and got a wonderful fill of sunshine and fresh air! So what that all three of us have allergies, the sneezing and watery eyes couldn't slow us down on a day like today!

After "supper" we did our old summer rhythm of playtime outside and a long walk. I've missed that SO much but with cold dark winters we just aren't able to do it until spring. As Royce and I walked next to each other behind the stroller the girls laughed in unison, shouted in unison and sang in unison. They are the most perfect little pair, the yin and the yang the two of them!

The girls were caught up in their conversation and Royce and I in our own and then there was a tiny break and a split second of silence. Rasa turned around peeked over the back of the stroller at Royce and I, smiled and said, "Hi People!" followed by belly laughs out of both of them.

Spring, you took your sweet time but I'm SO glad you are here!