One Month...Praise God

Our sweet tiny Clara is already one month old for which we are very thankful. We had quite the scare last week - Clara was very fussy on Friday afternoon/evening and didn't sleep much when we put her down. I tried to feed her at 1:00 AM but she refused to eat. I got her up again at 2:00 and she felt warm - I took her temperature and it was 100.7 which is considered a fever in an infant under 3 months old. Since she wasn't even 4 weeks old yet, I knew that a fever meant she was more likely than other babies to have a very dangerous bacterial infection that could kill her within 24 hours. I panicked and texted one of the PA's at our office, who thankfully called me right back. She told me to go straight to the ER at St. Luke's Hospital in Boise. So, we got Fin up and headed in. The ER doc was very kind, and she immediately started what's called the sepsis work-up - it's a number of tests to rule out the most common bacterial infections. Clara got a chest x-ray, a urine test via bladder catheter, blood tests, and a lumbar puncture (where they collect fluid from around the spine). Unfortunately, Clara has very tiny veins and it took them 5 attempts to get an IV in her little arm. Also, the doctor couldn't get the fluid from around her spine after two attempts - the poor, poor baby was poked 10 times total!!! I had a very difficult time dealing with that - she just screamed and cried and cried. I eventually had to leave the room and went outside and bawled. It is heart-wrenching to see your child suffer so. Once the IV was finally in, Clara was started on doses of two different antibiotics and we were transferred up to the pediatric unit. We stayed in the hospital two and a half days total while we waited for all of her tests to come back and so they could monitor Clara around the clock. Thankfully, all of her tests came back negative - she ended up having a viral infection of some type which she most likely contracted from Finny who loves to kiss his sister!

Little Clara in her hospital crib - I love this picture because she is finally at peace after all the trauma she went through


Her precious little face


Dru was great through the whole ordeal, and even stayed with Clara when I had to leave the room because I couldn't take her suffering any more - and Dru's the squeamish one!


With her little IV hand in the air. Look how chubby she's getting! As Dru would say, she has more chins than a Chinese phone book!

We had to spend Halloween at the hospital. I had gotten the kids Halloween costumes long before, so we brought them to the hospital and let the nurses enjoy them.

Clara was a little banana

And Fin was a monkey

The monkey with his banana

The monkey peeling his banana

We had visitors, too! My niece, Callia, dressed as a raindrop - adorable!

And my other niece, Gretchen the Ladybug - so darling!

Mommy poses with the banana

And the monkey

We thank God for His mercy and grace. We are grateful that all turned out well and our little Clara is back home and okay.

On a lighter note, Clara has given us much joy these past 2 weeks and has been experiencing many new things. She had her first bath - she didn't mind it nearly as much as Fin did his first bath. In fact, she just kind of relaxed and enjoyed it.

And she definately enjoyed the warm towel afterward

She's gone on several walks and has charmed the neighborhood kids with how darling she is

She's enjoyed being wrapped up tight

And cuddle time with Mommy (I love this picture because it reflects how exhausted yet truly happy I am with my babies)

Cuddle time with Daddy

And cuddle time with big brother! - it melts my heart how much he loves her

She's also done a lot of deep thinking...

...and some serious spying

And lots of just being cute!!

And not to be outdone, our little man has had some cute times the past 2 weeks as well. One day I got him up from his nap with his hair like this.

Hamming it up for the camera with a mouthful of cracker....nice

He's also starting to understand and follow directions! One day I told him to go get his shoes. He looked at me, and I repeated the instruction. He then scampered off and brought me his shoes! Now, every time he wants to go outside, he brings me his shoes. Even if we can't go outside, he still wears his shoes around the house.

And he likes to crawl into anything that's his sister's, even if he's way too big.

And he's decided he likes to play with Clara, even if she can't play back yet. Here he is contemplating her in her gym.

"C'mon sis, let's play!"

Then he crawled right under the cross bars, sat down, and entertained Clara.

When she went down for her nap, he decided this was an excellent place to play by himself, too.

And he insisted on wearing the hat that I made for his sister - it was obviously way too big but Finny loves it - too bad it's pink and yellow! :)

We are so blessed!!!