Bad parenting moment

I forgot the sunscreen. Sorry Noah!

Has this ever happened to you?

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. My brother Will and his family visited from Denver. We had a super gay time. Everything went well. Our kids got along for the first time ever!! I made enough food and we played lots of games. There was only one bad part during the whole weekend. It's a scary (I'm not joking) and long story, so be warned.

It was Sunday night and some of the kids, Will, Shaina (sister-in-law), Sarah (other sister-in-law) were sitting around in the living room chatting and what-not. Sarah got up to go into another room and put her 1 year-old, Isabelle, down on the floor. Isabelle was not happy about that at all so she started to cry.

You know how when babies start to really cry, they let out a big scream and keep exhaling and exhaling and eventually take a big breath and then start screaming again? Well, Isabelle kept exhaling, but then didn't inhale again. Will, Shaina, and I were sitting there, waiting for her to take the big breath, commenting on how long she was going. Then she started to turn purple and she went ridged. Then she just went limp and laid on the floor. Will immediately picked her up to try to figure out what was going on. I grabbed a cell phone and dialed 911 while Will and Sarah tried to get her to do anything.

Then I kinda threw the phone at Will and had him talk to the 911 operator while I took Isabelle. I was certified in CPR a few years ago and then got a refresher coarse when Noah was in the NICU. I thought she was choking on something, so I hit her back a few times, then laid her on the ground to check her out. When I laid her down, she opened her eyes and then started screaming. She wasn't choking, she just stopped breathing.

We ended up with two police officers, two EMTs, and four firemen at our little place that evening. She ended up being just fine and didn't have to go to the hospital or anything. The whole thing was totally scary though!!! I was in shock a bit the whole rest of the night. I'm sure Will and Sarah were too.

I have never heard of any baby doing that. Just now, I read Sarah's blog and I guess that happens to some children. WOW! It's not very common though. I'm just so grateful that everyone is okay and that I remembered what to do. I still feel bad that I got the steps a bit out of order. The whole rest of the night, I reviewed in my head how I should have done things, but I still feel okay with what I did. Now I'll hopefully be even more ready in case something like that ever happens again. I really hope it doesn't.

There was one funny thing that happened in all of this. Later that evening, after the kids went to bed, the adults were all at the table playing games and talking about what happened. A few of us admitted that we thought about taking pictures of the fire truck and ambulance and various rescue workers for blogging or other memorial purposes. Sick, I know. But I know I didn't think that until everything was winding down and we knew she was just fine.

Well, thanks to those of you who endured this long post. This has been very cathartic for me. And now, here are some super cute pictures of Isabelle for you to enjoy!

Crazy hair day at preschool

Even though preschool for Eli is finally winding down, the teachers are still trying to do fun things with the kids. Today was crazy hair day. I didn't know about it until today because he's been gone for two weeks (he and his sister went on vacation--more on that later). I dropped him off this morning looking normal and when I picked him up, this is what he looked like:

I love it!!! I'm so glad his teacher had something for the kids who either forgot or didn't know. I'm going to be sad when preschool is all over. It's been so good for him!

Pics of the Faves

There is no fan blowing her hair. That's just what it looked like when she woke up this morning.

Noah the handyman

Apparently, Noah likes tools and building stuff as much as I do. He's a good, little helper, but he did complain a bit when I didn't let him use the hammer.

Finally a table my size

We just moved to a new place a few weeks ago. Since our old place came with a table, we didn't have one for a while after the big move. So, we improvised. This is what our dining room looked like yesterday morning. Mike and I sat on the little chairs and the older two kids sat on their stools. They liked it, but I didn't.

So, after much searching (about 6 stores worth) I finally found a table that would fit our family and not be ridiculously expensive. Thanks Ikea! And this is what our dining room looked like this morning. I wasn't sure about it in the store, but it was the best thing I could find for the price. Now, after it's all put together and set up, I think I really like it.

Pics of the Faves

Too young for Botox?

Noah's cute and all, but as I was looking at him the other day, I felt that there was just something missing. After much contemplation, I figured it out. He doesn't have the lush, pouty lips that every boy needs. So, I took him to get Botox injections for his lips. What do you think?

Before

After

Okay, so that's not really what happened. Here's the real story. I fed Noah before picking up Eli from preschool on Tuesday, like normal. After he was done, I loaded him and Leah in the car and drove off. When I arrived, Noah was sucking on his lip and was really drooly. I was unbuckling Leah, when I noticed Noah's gigantic lips protruding from his face. That sight instantly sent me into total shock!! What was I supposed to do? I had no idea. This had never happened to me or anyone I know before. I had two little kids with me while I was trying to pick a third up from preschool all while Noah's face was quickly growing bigger and bigger.


So, I ran into preschool with Noah and Leah. I had to get Eli, so in a very stern voice I said, "Eli, we need to go now!" I didn't have time for dillydallying. He could tell I meant business, so he got ready quickly. I put all the kids back in the car and raced off while trying to figure out what to do next. Since he wasn't having any trouble breathing, I thought either I can go straight to the doctor's office, or go home and call them. I chose to go home since that was on the way. On the way home, Eli kept asking why Noah's lips were so big. I pulled up, but kept the kids in the car while I ran in and got the phone. I called the doctor's office while standing outside next to the car. Thank goodness for cordless phones. The nurse just told me to give him some Benadryl and keep an eye on him. The "after picture" was taken after he got the antidote. His lips were even bigger than what is shown in the picture.


He ended up being just fine. It actually took me longer to calm down than it took for his lips to return to their normal size.


The worst part of the whole thing is I don't know exactly what caused it. I know I fed him something new at lunch, but it's not one of those single ingredient baby food things. It's something with several ingredients. So I have a feeling this isn't the last time Noah will "visit the plastic surgeon".