RAISING JOEY

Wordless Wednesday & Special Exposure Wednesday

I’m a little behind on posting pictures, but this one is from before Joey’s surgery when we finally got to meet Leticia from Cause of Our Joy and her daughters!

For more Special Exposure Wednesdays, go visit 5 Minutes For Special Needs!

For more Wordless Wednesdays, go visit 5 Minutes For Mom and the Wordless Wednesday Headquarters!

Usborne Books Black Friday Sale!

Usborne Books at Home presents their Black Friday Sale! Bring smiles to everyone on your list and save money, gas and time too. Choose from a huge selection of Books, Games, and Activities the whole family will enjoy! This Friday, skip the long lines, traffic, and stress and Save on GREAT Holiday GIFTS on SALE from Usborne – this weekend ONLY!

While you’re there, take advantage of these EXTRA savings!

-Check out Usborne’s Internet Specials - available while supplies last.
-Stock up on Fabulous Reading Sets - savings are substantial!
-When you order over $35 retail, you are eligible for Customer Specials.
-The Wonderful Winter Sets are a huge savings and make great gifts!

Pictures from hospital

My poor baby in recovery…

After he pulled his NG tube out.

The morning his eyes were swollen shut and the doctors had to give him lasiks.

I still can’t get over how small the incision is and how good it looks. I was expecting so much worse!

Hanging out with Daddy in the crib

Going home!!!

Short update

I’m so behind on posts! I’ve been so busy chasing Joey around the house since we got home. You wouldn’t even know this child had major surgery a week ago! Joey’s incision looks so good! It doesn’t seem to bother him at all. He’s already climbing up on furnicure and dancing again! It’s amazing how strong kids can be!

I took pictures at the hospital, I’ll upload them later and post them.

Dinosaur Excavation Kid Kits!

For the dinosaur lover in your family, this one is a great choice for Christmas! Dinosaur Adventure Excavation Kid Kit comes in either Stegosaurus, Triceratops, or T-Rex.

Each kit comes with a dinosaur skeleton in clay that your child can excavate all by themselves (tools included)! For ages 6 and up!

Why didn’t they have something like this when I was little?!

5 Minutes For Mom Christmas Giveaways!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the ladies over at 5 Minutes For Mom?! They’re hosting several awesome giveaways just in time for Christmas!

Some of my favorites are…
Two copies of the 3-Disc standard definition DVD Version of WALL•E
$50.00 Gift Certificate toSudz N Bubbles
Epson Artisan 800 Printer
Multiple Moms Rock t-shirt
CARES Aviation Restraint System
Mrs. Goodbee Talking Dollhouse
$100.00 Gift Card to Sears
Get Cozy this Christmas with Lands’ End
Wholesome Groovy Girls
HP Photosmart Printer
Christmas DVDs for all ages and stages
Natural Wooden Toys From Cheekeyes
PlayStation®2 LEGO® Batman™ Bundle
Custom Photo Jewelry from J Woods
Educational Fun With All Star Buddies
StukOnU - Some Smart Jammies!
Win Warm Whiskers
Joe’s Jeans
PeaceLoveMom
Christmas Fun with RUSS
Super Toys from Step2
Stuff Their Stockings with Playskool/Hasbro

We’re home!

Too tired to post much else. Better update tomorrow!

Update #10

Ok, so we’re not getting out of here today but it looks like tomorrow! He pooped again this morning and is currently drinking milk! The doctor gave the ok for a liquid diet (applesauce, yogurt, milk, ect…) so we’ll see how it goes! And if he keeps drinking, they’ll take his IV out today so he’ll be able to walk around!

Update #9

Joey pooped! I’ve never been so happy to see my child poop before! YAY! So the nurse paged the surgion but a resident was on call and said no solid food, so we’ll wait till morning and see if surgion says yes. At least let me give the kid some apple sauce or something!

YAY for poo!!!!

And boy was it a stinky one!

Prayers please

My cousin’s little boy back home in Ohio, who is also named Joey has just been diagnosed with Still’s Disease. Please say an extra prayer (or two or three) for him and our family. It’s taken weeks to get an answer to why he’s been so sick and in pain, I’m grateful for an answer just not this type of answer…

Update #8

Thankfully the vomiting stopped and he slept all night and most of the day. He did finally eat one cup of jello and 3/4 of a cup of juice!! He also went for a ride in a wagon and sat on the floor and played for a few minutes. Not much else to update on since he’s been asleep so much today…

My parents did bring Leah for a visit this afternoon so I finally got to see my baby girl!

Update #7

Poor Joe-Joe, he just can’t catch a break. He finally got ok-ed to have clear liquids and he was refusing. About 2 hours ago he started vomiting so they gave him zofran for nausea. He fell asleep about 45 minutes ago. Hopefully he’ll stay asleep for a while.

The surgion came for a visit earlier and it doesn’t look like he’s going to get out of here until Friday or Saturday. I miss my bed and Leah….

Update #6

Joey is sleeping at the moment so I thought I would post another quick update. He’s doing a little better, his nose isn’t running nearly as much as it was earlier. They did also start him in lasik and his eyes are looking a little better. They took him off the toridol and morphine. The surgion did allow him to have tylenol by mouth a little bit ago, but that’s it. Possibly later today he can start on some clear liquids.

He did also pass gas for the first time since his surgery (which is a GREAT thing). I actually thought he had done a #2 since it was so STINKY. That means in tummy is in working order! So toot away Joe-Joe!!

Well, I guess that’s it for now!

Update #5

Oy vey….. figures….. Joey came down with a cold over night. He’s very congested. So on top of still being swollen as he!!, he’s sick. The surgion resident was just in and he’s going to check into getting Joey something for the congestion and also some lasik to get the swelling down. Since he slept on his right side, his right eye is swollen shut!

The good news is, he seems to be feeling ok at the moment. He’s sitting up in bed watching The Wiggles and playing with his favorite toys from home.

When the resident was in, he removed the dressing from his tummy and I can’t believe how great it looks! All the stitches are in the inside on his tummy and it’s steristrips on the outside. It looks wonderful (for an incision that is).

Last night went ok, it took me forever to get to sleep since our little neighbor was screaming for a couple hours last night. Then about 2am, a little rough at one point when another nurse took Joe-Joe’s vitals while I was finally asleep. Thankfully he went back to sleep fairly quick.

The resident is going to check with the surgion to see if Joey can have clear liquids today! Keep your fingers crossed!!!

Update #4

We’ve had a pretty good afternoon/ evening. Joey has been awake for almost 3 hours now. We got him up and took him for a ride around our floor in a wagon then Dillon and his mommy Melissa came for a visit! Ever since them, Joe-Joe has been sitting up in bed watching Elmo. THEN, Penelope’s mommy, Maureen came for a visit and brought us dinner. I am so grateful to have such AWESOME friends! You two are the best!

Unfortunatly, due to all the increased fluids to help Joey pee, now he is EXTREMELY swollen. His eyes look so bad. He doesn’t even look like himself. He looks like a completely different child. It’s so sad.

He doesn’t appear to be in much pain so we’ve cut back the morphine.

Patrick just left for the night since he has to work tomorrow, so it’s just me and Joey tonight. Wish me luck!

Update #3

Joe-Joe had a very good night, he slept most of the night thanks to the medications they gave him. His fever went away and he finally peed.

Onto this morning… geez, where do I start?! The nursing student came in to take his vitals and woke him up which made him VERY upset. Needless to say, he pulled out his NG tube which made his nose bleed. His tummy started to get upset, he didn’t vomit but we thought he was going to so they gave him zofran for nausea. It took us about 45 minutes to calm him back down. And he’s sleeping again…

I will be taking his vitals from now on which they don’t seem to mind.

Update #2

Joey has a low grade fever, so now they’re monitoring him a little more. He hasn’t wet a diaper since this morning before the surgery so if he doesn’t pee by 10:00pm, they’re going to increase his IV fluids. Besides that, he’s doing great. He’s still pretty sedated, so when he does wake up, it’s only for a few minutes. The good news is, I did get a smile out of him about 20 minutes ago!

Update #1

OK, well we’re up in a room now and one of the staff was kind enough to hunt down a laptop for me to use! Anyways, at the moment Joey is resting. Poor little guy. They had to take a small section of his small intestines. There was a pouch (I can’t remember the name of it) but it had to be moved. They weren’t expecting to cut into his intestines so we might actually be here a little longer than we thought but we’re still not sure. It all depends on Joey. Anyways, I guess that’s it for now!

ps. is anyone having any problems reading my blog with this new winter layout??

We’re here

Joey is currently having his surgery. There is a computer in the waiting room. We’ve already been waiting one hour, so approximately 1 1/2 to go!

Patrick walked with him back into the OR and stayed with him until he was asleep, I couldn’t go back. I started crying, darn hormones…

Today is the day

Well, this is it, there’s no turning back. His surgery is today, we have to be at the hospital in 2 1/2 hours which means we’ll be leaving in one hour. I’m trying to keep my act together, I’m trying not to be nervous in front of Joey. It’s so hard to stay strong but I have to.

Anyways, I will post as soon as I can with an update.

PS, I will fix my blog layout as soon as I can, it may take me a few days, LOL!

One more day…

Tomorrow is the big day, Joey’s surgery. Thankfully, my parents drove up from Ohio yesterday. I feel so much better having my mom here. There’s nothing more comforting than your own mother!

Joey is so happy having his PahPaw here playing with him! The two of them are currently sitting on the couch watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

I did have a dream/ on the verge of a nightmare about his surgery last night. Won’t go into details but I just can’t wait to get this surgery done, Joey fully recovered and back to his old self!

Trucks and Diggers Magnet Book

This is one of my new favorites! The Trucks and Diggers Magnet Book is great for any little boy (or girl) who loves big trucks! The book comes with 10 magnetic trucks that actually stick to the pages and your child can not only read the book but drive the trucks across the page as they do so! How cool is that?!

Trucks and Diggers Magnet Book
• Ages: 3 years and up
• Size of book: 10 7/8 X 10 7/8 inches
• Pages: 10 and 10 magnetic pieces

Some details…

The OR nurse just called with instructions for the day of Joey’s surgery. His operation isn’t until 10:30! I hate making him wait that long, but what can I do… at least he can have clear liquids until 8:00am that morning.

The actual surgery will take 2 1/2 hours! Xanax anyone, lol!

Toofers

We just got back from the dentist, thanks to my friend, Cecily tagging along, I got BOTH kiddos into the dentist and was able to get Joey’s teeth cleaned! Of course, we had to hold Joey down to do so, but his teeth are now clean and shiny! At least he’ll have clean teeth for his surgery on Monday…

New Look

Let me know if anyone has any problems with viewing Raising Joey.