Our Week With Croup

Many of my friends' babies have had Croup, and I thought it just came with high fevers and a seal-bark cough. And it does. But when it was my baby, my world was ending. 

Monday, he was great and playful, but when I was putting him to bed he coughed and I heard the first of many barks.  That bark sticks closely to his first cry in my mind. I thought he would be fine because he didn't have a fever, and I laid him down.  About midnight, he woke up and we brought him to our bed where we noticed he was burning up.  Still he was sleeping and breathing fine, so nothing was thought about it.  Jackson kept him home Tuesday just as a precaution, and took him to the pediatrician that morning. 

They confirmed it was croup and gave him a steroid shot. 

Cue Mom guilt.

Jackson said he was doing great, but after he woke up from his nap he would cough and wince, and cry because he just didn't feel good.  That night, his fever spiked to over 104 and his poor body shook and shook with chills. I took him to the bathroom and ran a hot shower in hopes the steam would make him feel better (because of course we caught it in the summer and going outside in the cold wasn't an option). After he threw up all over him and me, we got in the shower, fully clothed, to cool down.  It was the first time I had heard him laugh all night and was well worth it. 

Wednesday, Jackson and I both stayed home because we were terrified.  Plain terrified.  

Wednesday was the worst of it all.  He was lethargic, weak, and pitiful. His fever reached 104 at points, but he stayed in good spirits when he could stay awake. Wednesday night was awful and he could not keep down motrin to save any of our lives (and if I couldn't get him to keep down 1.875 mL of Motrin I wasn't going to attempt 5mL of Tylenol). So again we got in the tub where he and I sat in cold water in hopes it would bring his fever down. It was a success, but by Thursday we were all exhausted.  

Thursday came and he still had a fever, but was starting a cruddy cough instead of the bark, hallelujah! Friday was more of the same with a low grade fever never reaching 100, which we determined was probably his overachieving and cutting all four canine teeth at once.

Saturday came and he was good as new, and Sunday brought us back our babbling, giggling, running baby!

This was the worst week of my life. Not being able to help my baby feel better is the worst thing I've ever experienced. I am so thankful for answered prayers, and I cherish that sweet sweet smile. 

Milestones!

I wrote this for a friend's photography page as a review for our Milestone photos and figured I'd share it here so you can cry along. 

When I was pregnant, I found myself aimlessly scrolling through Pinterest and pinning the cutest baby photos I could find. Don’t we all? I dreamed about what my baby boy would look like - Whose nose would he have? What color would his hair and eyes be? The day he was born, he was the spitting image of my husband, my husband’s dad, and my husband’s grandfather; the Hinners genes run deep.  A few days after getting him home, as he lost the swollen newborn features, his features started to change. They changed so quickly, that I look back at pictures a couple of days apart and they look like two different babies!

Lindsay came to our apartment when Remington was a couple of weeks old to do newborn pictures.  She seemed to effortlessly capture his personality, even catching one of those sweet sleeping smiles. Even still, he was changing. His cheeks were still chubby and pinch worthy, his eyes were widening a bit, and his hair was growing so quickly. It was all going so quickly and I couldn’t imagine losing one more second of each fleeting phase! I reached out to Lindsay to ask if she would do his milestone pictures, and she agreed!

Looking back, I couldn’t fathom not having these pictures. They are some of our favorite memories hanging in our home. I can look at them and remember who my little baby was at that point in time.  At his three month pictures, he was barely able to push up enough to keep his heavy head held high. He had recently found his tongue and was obsessed. Lindsay also captured our first professional picture as a family of three; it is something I will always cherish!!

                Between Remy’s three and six month pictures, he developed quite the personality. He was precious and he knew it. He had the silliest smile and was still a little wobbly when sitting up. He had just found his pointer finger and, much like his tongue in his 3 month pictures, was obsessed. I remember crying quite a bit after his 6 month pictures because I couldn’t believe my sweet baby had changed so much!

                By nine months, my sweet boy had gone from being precious to being a ham. He loved being in front of the camera. I remember by these pictures that crawling had just entered his skill set and he had just found his voice. I was reminded, after looking through the 9 month pictures to pull my favorites, how much Remy had started to love daddy’s duck calls. Lindsay was so thoughtful to incorporate it into the pictures!

And lastly, for his twelve month pictures (which I really feel like they were taken the week after his newborn pictures), I was already a teary eyed mess going into them because I was in partial denial that my baby was already a year old! He was trying so hard to walk, and would take his first steps two days later! We incorporated a cake smash session, too! Words of advice – opt out of chocolate icing! You’ll thank me! ;)

Holding each set of pictures next to the ones before both breaks my heart and makes me smile. (I don’t dare hold the one year next to the newborns unless I want to cry!) I can go back and watch him grow all over again! This has been the best investment we made in Remington’s first year!

Summer Loving

This week has been a trying one to say the least. I'm home with Remy Jones by myself in our brand new house and not enough furniture to sit next to him and not be touched.  Everything has a sticky spot and the ants are finding them more quickly than I can.

This week I have learned a few things about myself as a mom. I had lots of anxiety going into this week, but am trying to enjoy it more than count down until Daddy comes home. 

I have learned that I can squeeze myself onto the tiniest slice of my own queen sized bed to make space for my cuddle bug. That slice on the right is my piece of dream land.

I have realized that I love the movie Trolls, and we watch it for me more so than him.  

I have learned that he loves water when playing and hated bath time because it was a chore.  Thank you, Splash Pad for fixing bath time for us

  

I have come to be okay that popsicles and the stains to follow are perfectly acceptable. 

Mostly, I have learned that I am a good mom. The world is quick to try to tell me otherwise, to tell me he can't have a popsicle because he may stain his shirt... I am a good mom and my child is so happy.  I am learning that God is using my anxieties for reassurance, to remind me that I can (He can) even when life is telling me I can't. 

Remy Jones: 10 Months

(everything is blurry now. everything.)

Sleeps:  from 8pm-1am in his bed and the rest of the night with Mommy and Daddy in their bed.   Eats: 6 ounces per bottle, lunch, and dinner. We have tried adding thicker, more textured foods this month with no luck.  Cheerios have been about as far as we've gotten. And Avocado. But I figure it does not count if it induces vomiting. So much vomiting.  Wearing: all 12 month clothes. Except for pajamas because the loose fit warning tag wrecked me.    Nicknames: Remy Jones, Remy, Chunk, Brother Bear, Baby Bear, Bubs, Booger, Chomper, Booger Bear, Bubby. Celebrated: New Year! Likes: standing unsupported, eating cheerios, car rides, being flipped by daddy, and STILL everything Mommy.  Dislikes: being tired, hungry, put down, told no, or too far away from Mommy. Still. Send help. 

Remy Jones: 7, 8, and 9 months!

So, we are closer to 10 than 9 months, and I am realizing how busy life has been. Too busy.  No one told me how busy holiday season is with a little.  WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME!? 

My little baby is an almost toddling toddler, mama obsessed, and 25 pounds, 28 inches of love. Being his mama is my favorite thing I've done in my short 26 years. 
Sleeps: See also: still doesn't. Every time I think we are hitting a good run, Remy gets sick, or starts cutting teeth again, or hits a sleep regression. Send help.   Eats: 6 ounces per bottle, lunch, and dinner. And crunchies. So many crunchies.  Wearing: 9 month clothes, 12 month jeans. Baby's booty doesn't fit in his 9 month jeans anymore.   Nicknames: Remy Jones, Remy, Chunk, Brother Bear, Baby Bear, Bubs, Booger, Chomper, Booger Bear, Bubby. Celebrated: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mommy's birthday, Grams' birthday, and lots of little milestones in between! Likes: standing unsupported, eating, car rides, being flipped by daddy, and everything Mommy.  Dislikes: being tired, hungry, put down, told no, or too far away from Mommy. Send help. 

RemyJones: 6 Months

(Month 1) ( Month 2) (Month 3) (Month 4) (Month 5)   Sleeps: We hit a regression. A mean, angry, every two hour regression. Send Help. haha.   Eats: 3-4 oz of formula every feeding which is about 6 times a day. We still have him on the easy to digest formula. He eats organic oatmeal cereal and baby food every night. We LOVE sweet potatoes, peaches, carrots (anything orange), bananas, and pears so far.  Wearing: Mostly nine month onesies now.  Break my heart, why don'tcha.  Nicknames: Remy Jones, Remy, Chunk, Brother Bear, Baby Bear, Bubs, Booger, Chomper, Booger Bear, Bubby. Celebrated: The Lunar Eclipse! Likes: standing (supported of course), sitting up, naps on his belly, his Dr. Brown giraffe teether, and his fingers Dislikes: being hungry or tired... so hey! He's still normal!