Ianchito is home!

Thank the Lord! It was a big surprise but the drs felt that Ian was up for coming home today! Instead of a 5 day dose of steroids, he only got 3. Apparently he was responding well & they didn't feel the need to keep giving him more. It is a "less is better" type of situation. His ataxia has already decreased quite a bit & he is able to get his hand to his mouth quite a bit now. His movements are more deliberate & he seems to be more relaxed over all.

Of course, we have not gotten anywhere near close to where we were before all this happened. He is being referred to ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) & will need the physical & occupational therapy to relearn gross & fine motor skills. The drs also said he will do much better at home, being motivated by familiar surroundings as well as his 2 sisters.

Honestly, we are just glad he is well. I have missed having my whole family under 1 roof. Through all this, we have had an outpouring of support. I want to particularly thank the mommies in my Just Mommies Playroom, the Northwest MOM group & also JV Baptist Church for reaching out to us. We are relieved to not have to cook meals as time is very precious around here & it happens to be used up on caring for the kids rather than cooking. Todd & I are very blessed to have the family & friends we have. There have been endless phone conversations & shoulders to cry on these past 2 weeks. THANK YOU GOD! We are some of the luckiest people in the world!

Making progress & pics!

Our little boy is making progress! Today he wasn't nearly as "spastic" w/ his movements as he has been. We really think the steroids are working. We have some AMAZING drs working w/ Ianchito. I'm not sure of them all but I believe they are Dr. Clark, Dr. Hopkins, & Dr. Luko (not sure about this last one though). I'll have to verify tomorrow when I go in & make sure to thank them every day for helping my boy.

Ian's movements are a bit more controled today which is a huge difference. He was able to get his hand to his mouth on several occations, something that hasn't happened since before the illness began. He also was able to put his hands on his bottle tonight. YAY!!!! When I went to visit, he was able to breastfeed & did it like an old pro. Another big WOOT! He is able to control his neck a bit more & isn't so floppy when he is sitting up. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Here is my little man & his IV. His hair was all spiked b/c of the gel they used to connect the electrodes to his head.


My boy & his flirty smile.


My man & my boy!


I also have to share a couple of cute pics of the girls. On Sunday while I was worried sick, they decided to be cute & sit back to back.



Also, that same morning, my parents got the girls right after they woke up & played w/ them in bed. TOO CUTE!


I want to also thank so many of my friends for coming through & providing us dinner. Thank you Erica & Phil, Amanda & Mark, & our neighbor Julie for coordinating dinners for the rest of the week. WOW!

Post-infectious Cerebillitis

Ian has been officially diagnosed tonight. Ian has a condition call post-infectious cerebillitis. Basically, his body's autoimmune system went in to hyperdrive & after finishing off the flu decided it needed to continue to destroy things so the antibodies decided his central nervous system sounded good. I'd like to refer to the antibodies as being on crack.

The course of treatment is 5 days of pretty serious steriods, enough to keep him in the hospital through Saturday. It is going to aggravate him, not allowing him to sleep well or be able to sit still much but this is what we have to do to shut this thing down. He will also need some physical therapy & possibly occupational therapy to catch him up on the skills he may have lost. It could also be that he regains them after the course of treatment but there isn't a way to know until after.

I am so relieved at this point. I can't even begin to let you all know how much your support has meant to us. We still need prayers. The next 5 days are going to be hell for Ianchito.

MRI this afternoon.

The MRI had to be pushed back to 4:30 this afternoon so here is to more waiting...grrrrr. Nothing has changed as of yet. I am about to leave to go see him. Please pray for a good outcome on the MRI at 4:30.

Testing has begun.

The testing process started last night. They did a CT scan & it came back normal. They also did a spinal tap & have ruled out meningitis. We will have results for 3 other tests tomorrow that were done from the spinal. Also, an MRI will be done tomorrow, his 2nd in 10 days. They want to make sure everything is ok. I assume they will do another EEG also.

Mentions of a metabolic issue (such as sugar low/high), reaction to medication, autoimmune system attacking motor functions. If anyone has any experience w/ any of the mentioned issues, please comment.

Keep the prayers coming!

Ian is back in the hospital.

Mother's instinct is strong for a reason. I KNEW something was wrong w/ my boy & I'm glad that I was insistent enought w/ Todd to send him back to the ER. Ian has been readmitted to the hospital. They are doing the same tests all over again (CT scan & EEG) but are also going to do a spinal tap. Encephalitis has been mentioned & I have a feeling from what I have been able to gather that this may be the answer to what is going on w/ my son.

PLEASE PRAY! We need them all for our boy to be ok. I will update tomorrow.

Still waiting...

My little boy is still not back to normal. I talked to Dr. Nguyen yesterday & she restated that we needed to wait a while (up to a month) to allow his motor skills to get back on track after everything he has gone through. That is not helping ease my worries. He has a beautiful disposition, giggling & smiling at us & overall enjoying life, or so it seems BUT he doesn't have any motor skills back. He is not doing anything that he was doing before. It seems like he has reverted back to being about 3 months old. If that is the case & he relearns the skills, I don't have a problem dealing w/ that. I just hope there isn't something bigger going on. Everyone around me seems to think the trauma he suffered warrants this type of reaction. I really hope that they are right & I'm just being an overly worried mommy.

Anybody out there in blogger land have any ideas? Feedback/comments are welcomed!

Our 9 month well baby...perfect timing!

Well, as it turns out, yesterday morning Ian had another seizure. This time it only lasted about 3-4 minutes so we didn't have to administer the meds. Thankfully we also had a dr's appt already set up for their well baby exam. Dr. Nguyen said that it is not uncommon to have another seizure w/i the same sickness & that his lethargic state was to be expected. She said that influenza A has been making its rounds in the Houston area & that many teens have had to be wheeled out of the office b/c they were so weak. That at least gave us a little bit of peace.

While she was checking him out, she also discovered that he had a double ear infection. Poor guy can't catch a break. Now he is on TAMIFLU & an antibiotic. About 4 hrs after giving him the antibiotics, you could see a big change. The flu & a double ear infection...wow! On top of everything else, he is constipated.

Today he is doing 100 times better than in the past 6 days. He is actually quite alert & has been awake the way he normally is. Of course, I'm not letting him play but he is hanging out in the bouncy chair watching his sisters & me. I hope tomorrow is even better than today & that by Friday my little boy is somewhat normal again. Dr. Nguyen believes he will be.

Now, for the weights & heights of these precious babies!

Ian ~ 18 lbs (15%), 28.5 in (50%)
Sofi ~ 18 lb 13 oz (50%), 28.5 in (75%)
Gabi ~ 19 lb 12 oz (60%), 28.75 in (75-90%)

I was so worried that Ian would have lost weight but when we went in last Thursday, he weighed 17lb 15oz so he actually gained an ounce in all this that has happened to him. Thank God for little favors. Below is a picture of my little boy right as he was getting sick. He looks miserable.


I've been meaning to post these pics b/c it is a huge milestone! We no longer have to prop bottles for the babies. They are going solo.





I also want to give another big THANK YOU to Sheila for coming over to help & bringing yummy food. We are enjoying it!

HE IS HOME!

PRAISE GOD! Thank you for the continuous prayers! Our little boy is home & feeling much, much better! All the tests (CT scan, EEG, MRI) came back normal. He will finish his TAMIFLU protocol & we will also have a valium suppository for the next time...of course we are hoping that we DON'T have a next time but in case we do, we are prepared.

I would like to take a minute to thank several people that have been helping us...

Our next door neighbors, Jane, Katie, & Steve, for not only watching the babies as we raced off w/ Ian Thursday night BUT also for staying last night w/ me & taking care of the girls. I wouldn't have slept otherwise.

To Julie for dropping everything & coming over on Friday all day to help me w/ the girls. Without your funny ways, I would have been a MESS!

To my parents for coming straight over on Thursday night & staying w/ the girls, for helping the next day & for supporting me. I couldn't have done it w/o your support.

To Todd's parents for going up to the hospital & holding Ian when I couldn't & for supporting Todd, & for helping throughout the weekend.

To my mommy friends at Just Mommies, Northwest Moms of Multiples & Space City Triplets, for being there in thoughts & prayers!

To Diana, for bringing dinner Friday night!

To Nikki, for spending the night & staying all day to help us out.

To the medical personnel (the paramedics, the ER staff, the doctors, & the nurses) for taking care of our little boy. We can't thank you enough times. You helped find out what was wrong w/ our little boy & helped him get better.

I know there may be more to thank but I'm so exhausted I can't think anymore. Thank you!

We have a diagnosis!

He has influenza A. The seizure was most likely caused by a spiked fever, thus it being a febrile seizure. The neurologist said that he is doing fine & passed the test w/o any problems. He does not forsee any setbacks b/c of the seizure. They went ahead & did an MRI just to make sure b/c the seizure lasted so long. I'm not sure how long he will be there, probably until Sunday, if not a day or 2 longer. They are treating him w/ TAMIFLU, 2 doses per day for 5 days. We also coordinated w/ their regular pediatrician to dose the girls also. They are on a prophylactic dose of 1/2 tsp per day for 10 days.

I am so relieved but at the same time I am absolutely stumped at how the flu got in to our home. Here I was, thinking that RSV was the worst thing that could happen to my babies. Not so much...the flu is what is eating us alive. PLEASE keep your children healthy. My trio has been healthy this whole time & this has really impacted our lives. My baby boy...I know he is safe in God's hands.

Thank you for all your prayers. Please keep them coming. I promise to continue to update daily, if not more.

Ian is in the hospital, prayers please!

Ian is in the hospital after having suffered a seizure yesterday night. We are not certain of the cause although we thought at first it was b/c of a bump he got from taking a tumble. We took him to the pediatrician yesterday to check everything out. He was fine until about 10pm. He vomitted & then started w/ labored breathing. I took him downstairs & he started seizing in my arms. We called 911 & he seized for 50 minutes. He was intubated to protect his airway. It didn't stay in for too long before they felt comfortable taking it out.

To make a long story short, they have already done scan & there is no bleeding on the brain or swelling. They will be doing an EEG & MRI to try to figure out what is going on. PLEASE PRAY that our little boy is ok. We need God's strength.

Runny noses :(

This morning when I woke up the kids, I noticed dry snot & that was just the beginning. Man, I thought I was going to get us through winter w/o having 1 baby get sick. That is obviously NOT going to happen. I can't figure out where it came from b/c no one has been sick around the babies. I'm hoping it is the weather.

**Sorry, this post got cut short b/c of what happened w/ Ian.**

More signing!

I'm so proud! I can't stand it! Seriously, my trio is developing like crazy! It's like growth spurt but developmentally. It is amazing to watch them grow like this. I know I have said it before but I am really rediscovering the world through their eyes!

Let me tell you the story behind getting Gabi on video this time. It was Saturday morning & I hadn't had breakfast yet so I brought a bagel up to the playroom. Well, the kids were very interested in watching me eat, as they always are now days. Gabi was sitting there & then all the sudden she signed "eat" 2 or 3 times! Todd & I freaked out b/c she connected what *I* was doing to the sign meaning she understood that I was eating & told us that. Of course, for positive reinforcement, we busted out the puffs. The video shows how she is also signing for milk as well as eat. The sign for eat is bringing the hand to the mouth. I think she is also signing milk b/c she thinks of eating & milk as the same thing right now. They both fill her little tummy, LOL! Anyway, we were very proud & cheering her on.



I am now hoping the other 2 will catch on & start signing too. I know it is only a matter of time. We are also looking to purchase either some Einstein DVDs or Signing Time DVDs. It is very exciting! That's the news for now!

SLOW DOWN SOFI!

Dr. Adam warned us about "Baby A". She said that the "A's" were spitfires. They were the babies that held everyone in & ended up being the ones that were the feistiest. She was right. The thing is that I don't think any fair amount of warning can prepare a parent for how quickly the spitfire has developed in the past 2 weeks!

"Baby A" is Sofi. Sofi is our hyper child, the one that also happens to sleep the best. I wonder if there is a connection to the 2? This all started on Christmas w/ her sitting on her own, you know from laying down or being on all 4's. Well, it has been FULL SPEED AHEAD since that time! Here is a list of what she has accomplished...

*Sitting on her own
*Army crawling
*Real crawling
*Pulling up on her knees
*Pulling up to standing
*Holds her own bottle
*Claps her hands

Here is the little monkey on her hands & knees crawling a few inches.


Here is the story on this one, I went to go get Ian to put down for a nap & when I left, she was like this BUT by the time I got back, she was standing so I had to immediately drop the crib b/c you can see how low the top is w/ her just kneeling. I was afraid I would hear a big THUD after I closed the door & see her on the floor.


Here is the little one standing on her very own. I missed it again b/c I was changing a diaper in the nursery & when I came back w/ Ian this is what I found.


Here is the little munchkin holding her own bottle. She has been doing this for about 5 days. Yes, the whole bottle from start to finish!


What am I going to do? This is just WAY TO FAST for me! I want them to slow down a bit! I can barely relish in the accomplishment of 1 task when I get thrown another! I want time to slow down a bit. I want them to stay small just a bit longer. This is most likely the only time I will experience this. I would love to have another child but let's face it, chances of that happening are slim. That makes all these times that much more special. I am experiencing firsts & lasts at the same time & although I get to experience it times 3, the truth is that it is still bundled up together as a package deal. WAAAAAA!

I can't not share some other pics of the kids, you know me!

This is the lovely sight I see every time I come up the stairs. You can see Sofi is visibly upset. When it comes close to bottles/solids & I leave, she gets a bit pissy.


Gabi was not going to nap yesterday morning in her crib so I eventually got her out, she played & then got fussy. I put her in the bouncy chair & this is what immediately happened. What am I going to do when they grow out of the bouncy chairs!?!


This is Ian's attempt at getting up on his knees. Either that or he wanted in his bouncy chair since the girls were in theirs, lol!

Welcome 2009!

Is 2008 really over? Um, where did it go? It seems like yesterday I was just getting use to being on bed rest & now we are a whole year down the road! WOW! Along w/ a new year comes many new milestones for the kids. I'm just in awe at how rapidly things are happening. It seems like yesterday I was putting them under the playmat for the 1st time. Now, we have a baby gate up to keep them in the playroom w/o having to close the door! Let's share a little of the fun!

On the December 31st, I was happily caring for my children & had to go to the nursery to change a poopy diaper. Not thinking anything of the situation, I left the other 2 in the playroom which is right next to the nursery. No biggie, right? WRONG! So there I am changing the diaper when I look towards the door & who is coming through it? IAN! Yeah, he decided it was VERY IMPORTANT that he be WITH me & not in the playroom. HUH! How did that happen? Well, his army crawl has been perfected & he is super fast. That's how. I went downstairs & got the baby gate sitting in the garage. I put it up immediately. Poor kids, now it looks like they are sitting in jail.

We don't use the exersaucer much anymore but Ian has been having fun hanging out below it. You can also see his 2 bottom teeth!


Ok, so all the while, Sofi has been working really hard at sitting on her own. On Christmas Day she did it all by herself. Since then, she has been diligently working on how to get from laying to sitting to being on all fours to sitting & back to being on all fours. She has also been working on coordinating her legs/arms & crawling just a bit here & there. She can only go for a couple of "steps" but it is better than nothing. She has also discovered how to army crawl but is no where near at the proficiency level as Ian.

Sofi loves ribbons. She especially loved Nikki's ribbon on her jacket. She played for it for well over an hour!


Finally we have sweet Gabi. She doesn't like to be the most active although when she has the floor to herself, she is quite mobile. She just isn't as physically agressive as her siblings which is fine b/c not only does she sign milk, but she can also sign EAT! Yep, you read right. She now has 2 words in her signing vocabulary! She is very difficult to catch on video being that I am alone during the day w/ them & am normally feeding all 3 at the same time but I am working on it, I promise!

Here is Gabi sitting up like a big girl. She will sit for ever!



Speaking of signing, the other 2 are catching on. They have both randomly signed either milk or eat but not enough to make it a regular thing like Gabi. Either way, it is motivation to keep signing w/ them. I have heard that the Baby Einstein signing DVDs & Signing Times DVDs are great for the kids. Is there anyone out there willing to share their copy, especially if it isn't being used? We would really appreciate it!

Oh, I have to share this video. It is of the kids practicing their "pincher grasp" which is what they need to get down in order to self feed. You can see that Ian & Gabi have it down really well & love to eat their puffs but Sofi is quite the innovative thinker. Pay close attention & drop me a comment!