Dylan's surgery

As most of you know, Dylan has had chronic strep. After the 5th time, the ENT decided to take his tonsils out. We scheduled the surgery for 1/28 and in the meantime, he got strep for a 6th time. Luckily, he was over it by Monday, surgery day.

Surgery went well. His tonsils and adenoids were huge for his size, but the surgeon was in and out in half an hour. He had to stay overnight due to his size/age (tonsillectomies under 2 years old are fairly rare). He also refused to eat or drink, so they had to keep him on the IV.

They normally don't let the parents back into recovery, but I had told the anesthesiologist ahead of time that he has separation/abandonment issues, so I wanted to be there when we woke up. He said if he was acting scared, he'd come get me. 10 minutes after the doc came out, the anesth. came out and asked me to come back. He said he was 'agitated.' That's one word for it. The nurse was MAD that he let me back there. She kept saying a mother should never have to see her child like that, straight out of surgery. Two other nurses later said they can't believe they let me back there. Anyway, it was really rough. He just had this look in his eyes. He was screaming, kicking, flailing. I had to restrain him because he felt out of control and needed control (that's what they told me). But I didn't cry (until later when he was asleep). It was very difficult to witness, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. He probably doesn't remember it, but I was there, telling him not to be scared, telling him mommy would never leave him and that I loved him. I think it helped.

Once we got a room, we immediately tried some water, but he wanted none of that. We tried a popsicle, but he was not interested. He wouldn't eat or drink ANYthing. So they kept the IV going. By 3pm, he still hadn't wet a diaper, so the nurse said he had until 3:30, then they would use a catheter. She did a bladder ultrasound and consulted with some other doctors. Around 3:15, he FINALLY wet his diaper. After that, it was like a flood. He was soaking through the diapers very often. But he still wasn't eating/drinking.

Around 9pm, he decided he was ready to eat. My mom had brought tons of pudding and juice. He ate a whole pudding cup!! We were SO excited.

Nighttime was rough. He slept with me in the hospital bed (I don't have a great back so Chris wouldn't let me sleep in the chair). He slept from 9 to 11, then woke up in pain. I asked for pain meds and he went back to sleep pretty quick. He slept until 2 and we got more pain meds and watched Cars (thank GOD for our portable DVD player!! we only had 5 channels in the hospital-that DVD saved us!). He went back to sleep and slept until 7am. But he coughed a lot in his sleep and would cry every time.

He ate a whole scrambled egg for breakfast, but still wouldn't drink a thing. The nurse came in and said our surgeon/ENT had a fever and didn't want to have that around the kids, so he'd call throughout the day to check in, and if all was well, he'd let him go home. Since he still wasn't drinking, they said he had to eat lunch, then he could go home. They said there was enough fluid in the foods. They went ahead and removed his IV after breakfast.

He took a nap 10-12, then woke up grumpy and hurting. More pain meds, and we ordered lunch. We got all his favorites-mac and cheese, green beans, rice and corn. He wouldn't touch it. We were convinced we'd be there another night. Once the pain meds kicked in, though, he chowed down AND finally drank some juice. They sent us home at 1:30.

He did really well and was so brave. He's still in pain and his voice is scratchy, but it's getting better every day. He's running a low-grade fever (still), but that's normal.

Here are a few pictures.
Pre-op:




Post-op, with grandma:


and Daddy:




and Mommy:


Ready to go for a walk:





The IV is out!


Playing:

We're coming, Madison!!

We got our approval today! We're on day 45 of the 60-day timeframe they gave. We don't have a travel date yet, but we're thinking we'll be going in 2 weeks or so. Time to start packing! We got all the suitcases out a few weeks ago, but never started packing anything other than orphanage donations and caretaker gifts.

We're so excited!!!

No news is NOT good news

Still nothing. We did get more pictures of her with the care package. I have a picture of her looking at a picture of us. It's sweet, but sad. Mommy and Daddy and big brother are all together and our baby is halfway around the world without us. Going by current estimates, it's going to be the end of February/beginning of March before we go. She'll be 8 months old, same age Dylan was when we got him. We really wanted her to be younger. He was crawling when we got him, and walked a week after coming home. I don't want to miss those firsts with Maddie, too.

Happy half-year birthday baby! Mommy and Daddy love you more than you'll ever know.

Happy happy joy joy

We got new pictures last week, plus a weight. She's up to 15 pounds, which is great! She's right on track for her age. And she's catching up to Dylan QUICK! He's only 22 pounds. We also found out today our adoption is moving along, but still no approval. We're hoping for an approval before Christmas, but who knows.

We also got to send her a care package. We sent some scabies medicine, though the newest pictures show some improvement there, a blanket, a couple footed sleepers, some toys, and a few other small things. We had to fit everything in a 12x12 ziploc bag. It was STUFFED, but we got it.

Dylan is not doing too well health-wise. He has strep for the 5th time in 3 months. We saw an ENT last week who put him on 20 days of an antibiotic (he didn't have strep at that point-just trying to knock out any remaining strains). Sunday morning, he woke up with a fever. Monday, still a fever, so we went to the doc. Amazingly, he had strep. He caught it while on antibiotics. He also has a nasty cough. I think his tonsils will be coming out soon. :-( But it will have to wait until we get back from Vietnam. I imagine we'll be there over Christopher's birthday (1/15). Sooner would be better, but that's a realistic expectation, I think.

Madison turned 5 months old Monday. Happy month birthday, little girl! We love you and can't wait to meet you!!

Still nothing and 1st Forever Family Day

No new pictures, no new measurements, no news at all. We submitted our I600 under the new process a month ago and haven't heard a word. It's not looking hopeful for travel in early December. In fact, it definitely won't happen. Once we get approved, it will be about 2 weeks before we go. Since today is the beginning of December, if we get approved now, it will be mid-December before we go. But we really have NO clue, which is more depressing than knowing the date and it being a month away. As it stands now, it COULD be February before we go. I certainly hope not.

We were so excited about getting Maddie at 5 months. Dylan was 8 months old when we adopted him. He was already crawling, and started walking a week after we got home. We were just hoping to go through some of those earlier phases (sitting up, crawling) with Madison.

On a happy note, a week from today will be our first forever family anniversary! It's hard to believe it's been a whole year. At the same time, it feels like we've always had him (in a good way). We're planning on taking him out to eat (maybe Chuck E Cheese-we've never been there) and giving him a present (a dump truck-shhh...don't tell him!).

Possible delay

I'm trying not to lose it here. As you all know, the wait between referral and travel is approx. 3 months. We're almost 2 months into the wait, so a month from travel. Probably closer to 5-6 weeks away.

USCIS just announced yesterday that there will be a change to the processing of adoptions in Vietnam. Instead of going there and filing the I600 and having 2 interviews with USCIS in Vietnam, parents will have to file before going. This will incur a 60-day wait. It's effective Nov. 1. So if we don't travel before then (which we won't), we'll have to file our I600 now, and wait at least 60 days.

This is SO not fair. It's going to affect dozens of families with referrals who are waiting on travel. I'm waiting to hear more from my agency on how to proceed. I have the form ready, but even if I file now, we won't be going this year, probably.

My baby is sick. She has a bad case of scabies. She's so young, and so miserable (I'm sure-because of the scabies) and I just want to get to her ASAP. All this red tape crap that changes with no notice is NOT cool. I don't know if I should write my senator, start a petition, wait it out, or what. I'm really distraught over this and trying not to get too upset until I know more.

We have one of the best facilitators working for our agency. Please pray/send good thoughts/whatever that he can make this happen quickly and our adoption won't be delayed.

Getting closer!

Still no news on travel, but we did get updated pictures of Madison last week. She's so beautiful. I wish I could post pictures on here, but I'm not allowed until she's officially ours (G&R). No updates on weight, though. She does have a bad case of scabies, so she's probably miserable. I wish we could just go on over there and give her the medicine she needs.

Dylan is doing well. He's getting over strep (3rd time in 6 weeks). We hope to keep him well until after we travel!

Our travel partner, my sis-in-law Susan, had an accident and broke her leg badly, so she won't be going with us to Vietnam now. It'll just be Chris and me, with Dylan and Maddie. It's going to be tough, but we'll make it.

We're estimating we'll go around the same time as last year-December. We're so ready to go NOW! Well, except we haven't packed. But we could do that quickly. LOL

Dylan is learning so much at his new day-care. He can sign 'more' and 'hungry.' So even though he's not talking well, he can communicate. But the past week or so, he's been talking up a storm. Mainly just repeating words we say, but he's doing so well. It's like nothing happened for months, then the words just started coming like an avalanche.

We're loving cloth-diapering. It's expensive, but he seems more comfortable and SO cute! We also do wool, which works like a diaper cover over the 'fitted' diapers that aren't waterproof. Here are some new pictures.

IT'S A GIRL!!!

And she's beautiful. She's 2 months old and she's in the same orphanage Dylan was in. We're so excited and proud. She weighed a healthy 11 pounds at 6 weeks. I can't share photos online until after the G&R, but most of the people that read this saw pictures last week.

I did ask for reasoning on this restriction. For one, she's not legally our daughter. I wouldn't want people posting pictures of Dylan without my permission, so I can see that. Two, there have been shady facilitators in the past that 'bought' referrals from orphanages after seeing them posted online. Or agencies that complained to a province that another agency was getting more referrals and the province would take the referrals away and give it to the 'squeaky wheel.' Therefore, if I post pictures where these type of people could access them, I risk losing Madison. And that's a risk I don't want to take. Obviously, it's ok to email them to family and friends.

Now begins the LONG wait to travel. Hopefully, it will be in December again (or earlier). We're ready to bring her home. The nursery was finished a couple weeks ago. Did I post pictures of that? I can't remember. Here they are again.






And here's some new pics of Dylan:










At his baby dedication Sunday:

Very scary moment

So, Dylan has had a little cough for a few days. Nothing big, no fever. Friday morning, it was 99, but that's not very high, so I took him to daycare. They called me at 4:30 (right before I was heading out to get him) to tell me his temp was 101 and I needed to come get him. By 6, it was 103 and he was really clingy and tired.

At 7, he had a seizure. His eyes rolled back in his head and his lips turned blue. I just started sobbing and Chris was panicking asking what do we do. I knew it was probably a febrile seizure, but when your baby's lips turn blue and their eyes roll back in their head, you lose it. I didn't even think about 911 (which they told me later I should've called instead of driving). I got in the passenger seat with Dylan in my arms and Chris drove.

The seizure had stopped, and he was breathing, but not very well, and he was not staying conscious. His eyes kept rolling back and I just kept blowing in his face to keep him awake, me sobbing the entire time.

I ran into the ER and they called back that a non-responsive baby had come in. A nurse comes running out and grabs him from me. At that point, he woke up and looked at her. They found a room and got his stats. His blood oxygen was low, so they had to put an oxygen mask on him. His temp was 105.

We were in the ER for 3 hours. Long story short, he has strep throat and pneumonia. He got a shot for the pneumonia and we have to start antibiotics today, along with Motrin every 6 hours and Tylenol every 4 hours.

He still has a fever this morning, but not too high. They said once a baby has a febrile seizure, they're prone to more, so we have to treat every fever instead of riding them out.

August 22-a very important day

Two things make today a very special day. One, it's been exactly one year since we got Dylan's referral and I first saw my baby's sweet face. Here's the post I made last August 22.

Two, today marks the day when Dylan has been with us longer than he was in the orphanage. He was in the orphanage for 257 days, and has been with his mommy and daddy 258 days. What an amazing coincidence for both of these things to fall on the same day.

I've been thinking a lot today about how lucky we are to have Dylan as our son. How blessed we are to be such a close, loving family of three. And how excited we are to become a family of four.

Painting and Brownies!

We had lots of fun this weekend. We painted Maddie's nursery during Dylan's nap times and after he went to bed at night. We got that part done. Next weekend we'll do the trim (chair rail). It's starting to look like a little girl's room!

Yesterday, Dylan and I made brownies. It was so much fun. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Today is Dylan's first day at his new daycare. He did really well this morning. I had to stay a little while, but once they brought in breakfast, he jumped right down off my lap, ran to the table, turned to me, waving and said, "Bye-bye!" LOL. Food will distract him any time. The boy is an eating machine!

His teachers seem really nice and I'm waiting on the webcam to start working. I'm excited about that.

More miscellaneous pictures:

We're almost there!

August 22 will be the one year anniversary of the day we got Dylan's referral. Ironically, it will also be the day that he has been with us longer than he was in the orphanage. That's pretty awesome.

Things are going well. We're loving the cloth diapering. Daycare is doing it, too, without a problem.

We're still #8 on the list, but we're hoping for a referral within a month or so.

Our vacation in Gatlinburg was a dream. It went so smooth! He fell asleep easily and slept all night, right between us like at home. We went to the aquarium, Ober, and walked around alot. He really enjoyed it.

Here's some new pictures!

Our new venture

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I have some exciting news. We're going to start cloth-diapering (CD'ing)! I've ordered several diapers and plan to start as soon as I get them all in and washed.

So now you're thinking, why in the world would you cloth diaper?? Let me tell you. The biggest reason is comfort. Dylan has never gotten diaper rash, but the plastic really bothers him. He's always scratching at the elastic around his legs, and his lower back. I want to make him more comfortable.

Second is cost. Start-up costs of CD'ing is pretty expensive ($200-$500, depending on the 'system' you go with), but long term it's cheaper. Add in another baby in diapers, and we'll be saving big bucks on disposibles.

Third, they're SO cute! And they're not that much more trouble than 'sposies. People imagine a rectangle of cloth and pins. Well, that's certainly an option, but most CD'ers use pocket diapers (with velcro or snaps and an absorbent insert with a waterproof outer layer), all-in-ones (insert is built-in), fitteds with a cover, or pre-folds and a cover. We're trying a few of each, but I imagine we'll like the pockets and AIOs best.

Lastly, it helps the environment. Those who know me, know I'm not big into the whole environment thing, but it does help, so there's a reason to CD.

Everyone wonders about the poop factor. Here's the deal-for solid poops, you just roll it into the toilet and flush. For more messy poops, we have a toilet sprayer (like the sprayers on kitchen sinks, but next to the toilet) to spray off any sticky stuff. Then it just goes in the washing machine. Easy as pie (so I've heard-I hadn't had to do it yet!).

I'm not sure if I can convince daycare to use them yet. He starts his new daycare on Aug. 21, so I'm not even going to bother with trying it with his current provider.

On another note, we're going to Gatlinburg this weekend for one night. We need to test the hotel issue again and get him used to it before we travel. He had quite the difficult time with sleeping at home over the past few weeks, but we've gotten that under control now, so we're ready to give the hotel a shot. I'll have lots of pics from this weekend, I'm sure. We're planning on visiting the aquarium, and riding the sky tram to Ober.

Here are some pics, including the cloth diapers. Never in my life would I have thought I'd be a co-sleeping, breast-feeding, cloth-diapering, baby-wearing mama. I'm really loving the mom thing even more than I ever imagined.

Dylan playing with my brother's puppy that is actually a friendly stray:


Bedtime (the dog moves when I come to bed):


What Dylan thinks about his new diaper:





Checking out our new lizard (bearded dragon):