How does something like c-diff happen? How did we 'miss' it for so long? What are you gonna do? Why not just give them meds and move on? Why can't we come over to play? Why can't you bring them to school?
We 'missed' it because if you read back about a month ago the girls all had croup. This is a virus and along with a virus comes fevers and sometimes diarrhea. The diarrhea didn't go away. So we figured it was just another prolonged virus that was carrying on longer than the 'norm' for other kids their age. 2 and 3 weeks can go by very quickly in the life a triplet family. We called the doctor at the beginning of last week and over the phone decided to eliminate the dairy in their diet. That was Monday - by Friday we took them in. 9 stool samples and 5 days later we had our answer. The test for c-diff came back +.
Treatment is a strong antibiotic (in their case right now it's Flagyl). They have to take it 3 times a day for 21 days. There is a 40% chance that this 1st round won't take care of the problem (so basically we can just assume this is only round one...and there will be more to follow). The medicine is horrible and caused 2 of the 3 to instantly throw up. I was prepared (I did my homework and read up on the med). I gave it to them again and they kept it down. Then the 2nd dose they kept down but the 3rd wasn't so easy. Emily was smart enough to hold it in her mouth - walk out of the kitchen and spit her medicine out in the garbage in the living room. (Pete happened to be in there and saw her!). Hmmm...gonna have to find another way around these smarty pants kids.
You can't come over cuz it's contagious. Once we get the antibiotics in them for a few days we can start to decon the house. BLEACH. That's the only thing that'll kill the virus. Wish me luck - it should be fun.
See above reason for the answer to why we can't bring them to school.
What causes c-diff is being on too many antibiotics. The girls were given a plethora of meds for constant ear and sinus infections. The meds killed the bad and good bacteria - causing havoc in their digestive tracts. Along with these 'different' antibiotics - they are also getting probiotics ($25 for a 10 day supply...each).
And the scary part? If they do happen to get an ear infection or sinus infection that needs treatment...they'll have to be hospitalized for IV antibiotics. Let's pray that doesn't happen.
On a bright note? I get to be home with my babies for a while :) AND they love to clean...so lucky for me we're gonna have a cleaning party soon. Wanna join us?
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Same stuff different day
Today was another day full of poooooop! But I didn't get a chance to blog about our triplet playdate we had the other day! We had a blast with the Dudley crew!!! It was the girls 1st triplet playdate and they were actually better than I thought they would be. They were pretty hesitant at 1st but of course by the time we were ready to leave they were warmed up and ready to play lol. It was a great time and we can't wait to do it again. :)
Monday, September 20, 2010
Monday Monday Monday
Monday's stink! Even more when your kids are STILL pooping their brains out!!! I also learned today that the kids DO AND CAN listen to every word I say. Even when I don't realize they're listening. How do I know this? Read the following conversations:
Me at the guy who cut me off on the road today: "Thanks Asshole!"
Emily from the back seat: "Thanks Asshole!"
Me to Emily: *Gasp* "Emily - don't say that word!"
Emily back to me: "No? Only momma say that word?"
Me with defeat in my voice "Yeah..only momma."
I think we'll start working on the states or maybe presidents.
Me at the guy who cut me off on the road today: "Thanks Asshole!"
Emily from the back seat: "Thanks Asshole!"
Me to Emily: *Gasp* "Emily - don't say that word!"
Emily back to me: "No? Only momma say that word?"
Me with defeat in my voice "Yeah..only momma."
I think we'll start working on the states or maybe presidents.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Ahhhh
More fevers, more diarrhea and yet it was just another usual day in our house. Hannah was in our bed all night - and she didn't sleep very well. At 3:00 I ended up getting up with her and giving her more Tylenol, changing her diaper and giving her some Gatorade (they finally drink the blue one!). I tried to sleep in this morning after Pete got up with all 3 of them - but it's near impossible to do so!
My mom came over for a little bit and then the girls actually went down for early naps (around 10:30). They fell right to sleep and didn't wake up for 2 hours! Once they were up - we ate and headed to a new park we hadn't been to before. Hannah's fever has been holding strong but knowing that it's an ear infection - we figured there's no need to keep her locked in the house.
The park we went to had about 12 slides (it was pretty big). The girls love slides. I love slides! Thankfully I didn't attempt this outing alone because I quickly realized it was a job almost too big for Pete and myself. A 3rd adult would have been great. The girls were being wonderful...listening and making sure to stay together or wait for us to catch up. I was right behind them wherever they went and Pete was at the bottom of whatever slide they chose. Picture this - Hailey is going down one slide and her sneaker got caught on the side of the slide. Her foot stuck and the momentum of her body kept going - she went head 1st over the SIDE of the slide. My WONDERFUL multi-tasking-quick-thinking husband grabbed for her and caught her by the feet. The way he caught her actually broke her fall and she did a soft, head over heels somersault. Had he not been there...ugh. We've been through this before when Hannah fell head 1st over the top of the slide. Parks are fun but man oh man they take years off my life.
The ice cream truck showed up so Pete bought the girls a Sponge Bob pop and we sat in the shade and enjoyed a frozen treat. After making quite the mess - and cleaning up with ease (wipes are Gods greatest gift to moms), we headed back to the slides.
I don't usually do much 'people watching' when I'm with the girls since I have my own zoo to keep up with. But today while the girls were eating their pops - I noticed a dad with his 2 daughters - also enjoying some frozen treats. We were all sitting pretty close to the garbage can and one of these girls came over to throw out her wrapper. She was probably about 8 or 9 y/o. I saw her wipe her hands right down her shirt as she walked away from the garbage can and I snickered to myself because I had JUST DONE THE SAME THING! I even had a package of wipes with me - yet it was just easier to wipe my hands on my shirt. What took me by surprise was that by the time she got back to her father - he was yelling at her. "How many times do I have to tell you NOT to use your shirt as a napkin?" OMG I think I had a bad flashback because immediately I was brought back to a memory of me in Friendly's with my Dad and brother - and my dad was saying THE SAME THING! Guess what Dad? It didn't work! I STILL USE MY SHIRT AS A NAPKIN! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But come on - she didn't even have a napkin for crying out loud! They were in a park and I'll bet he used his freakin' jeans to wipe his dirty hands on. Next time I'm yelling at my kids for something ridiculous - someone please smack me over the head.
One little boy - about 10 years old - tried to cut Emily off at the entrance to the slide. Ha! She looked at him and said "No! It's Emmie's turn!" and she nudged her little butt in front of him (rightfully so because he really did cut her off) and she took her turn! Haha what I love about this is that they know 'turns' and also that she didn't take sh*t - not even from a BIG BOY much older than her! Side note: The same kid did the same thing to Hannah and after she let him get in front of her she looked at me and cried. Although my heart broke for her - I said 'Next time - say that's it's your turn and ask him to wait.' I'm learning that I simply can't fight their every battle - and if I do it will only make things worse for them as they get older. So the kid went down 1st and Hannah hopefully learned a lesson.
Then came the 'Would you like to leave right now or would you like one more time down the slide?' I dread this with Emily because leaving a park with Emily is eventually bound to get DCF called on us! She is MISERABLE when it comes to leaving the park. But - with some happy "Yay! Ok make it a good last time! Great slide! Now go stand next to daddy and wait for everyone else!" - she was fine. We walked back to the van and said "Bye bye park! Thanks for letting us play today! We'll see you soon!" Not a single tear shed. THANK YOU JESUS! Pete and I are both tired from a few sleepless nights and I don't think either one of us was ready to battle the park departure. However; I think we're making progress. It feels great to see something work that we've worked for.
Once home - the girls and I went to visit a neighbor who had their dog outside. Another 30 - 45 minutes outside and then it was time for dinner. Andy came home, we all ate dinner, then baths and bed. We've been reading the girls some Santa books in preparation for X-mas. Sounds weird right? Well when the girls know that Santa is NICE and not NAUGHTY (sort of hehe) they will be fine at the mall and when we pass a Santa in a suit. They don't take well to costumes - so some preparation is only going to benefit us. And what's even better? They are excited! And so are Pete and I..............................
My mom came over for a little bit and then the girls actually went down for early naps (around 10:30). They fell right to sleep and didn't wake up for 2 hours! Once they were up - we ate and headed to a new park we hadn't been to before. Hannah's fever has been holding strong but knowing that it's an ear infection - we figured there's no need to keep her locked in the house.
The park we went to had about 12 slides (it was pretty big). The girls love slides. I love slides! Thankfully I didn't attempt this outing alone because I quickly realized it was a job almost too big for Pete and myself. A 3rd adult would have been great. The girls were being wonderful...listening and making sure to stay together or wait for us to catch up. I was right behind them wherever they went and Pete was at the bottom of whatever slide they chose. Picture this - Hailey is going down one slide and her sneaker got caught on the side of the slide. Her foot stuck and the momentum of her body kept going - she went head 1st over the SIDE of the slide. My WONDERFUL multi-tasking-quick-thinking husband grabbed for her and caught her by the feet. The way he caught her actually broke her fall and she did a soft, head over heels somersault. Had he not been there...ugh. We've been through this before when Hannah fell head 1st over the top of the slide. Parks are fun but man oh man they take years off my life.
The ice cream truck showed up so Pete bought the girls a Sponge Bob pop and we sat in the shade and enjoyed a frozen treat. After making quite the mess - and cleaning up with ease (wipes are Gods greatest gift to moms), we headed back to the slides.
I don't usually do much 'people watching' when I'm with the girls since I have my own zoo to keep up with. But today while the girls were eating their pops - I noticed a dad with his 2 daughters - also enjoying some frozen treats. We were all sitting pretty close to the garbage can and one of these girls came over to throw out her wrapper. She was probably about 8 or 9 y/o. I saw her wipe her hands right down her shirt as she walked away from the garbage can and I snickered to myself because I had JUST DONE THE SAME THING! I even had a package of wipes with me - yet it was just easier to wipe my hands on my shirt. What took me by surprise was that by the time she got back to her father - he was yelling at her. "How many times do I have to tell you NOT to use your shirt as a napkin?" OMG I think I had a bad flashback because immediately I was brought back to a memory of me in Friendly's with my Dad and brother - and my dad was saying THE SAME THING! Guess what Dad? It didn't work! I STILL USE MY SHIRT AS A NAPKIN! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But come on - she didn't even have a napkin for crying out loud! They were in a park and I'll bet he used his freakin' jeans to wipe his dirty hands on. Next time I'm yelling at my kids for something ridiculous - someone please smack me over the head.
One little boy - about 10 years old - tried to cut Emily off at the entrance to the slide. Ha! She looked at him and said "No! It's Emmie's turn!" and she nudged her little butt in front of him (rightfully so because he really did cut her off) and she took her turn! Haha what I love about this is that they know 'turns' and also that she didn't take sh*t - not even from a BIG BOY much older than her! Side note: The same kid did the same thing to Hannah and after she let him get in front of her she looked at me and cried. Although my heart broke for her - I said 'Next time - say that's it's your turn and ask him to wait.' I'm learning that I simply can't fight their every battle - and if I do it will only make things worse for them as they get older. So the kid went down 1st and Hannah hopefully learned a lesson.
Then came the 'Would you like to leave right now or would you like one more time down the slide?' I dread this with Emily because leaving a park with Emily is eventually bound to get DCF called on us! She is MISERABLE when it comes to leaving the park. But - with some happy "Yay! Ok make it a good last time! Great slide! Now go stand next to daddy and wait for everyone else!" - she was fine. We walked back to the van and said "Bye bye park! Thanks for letting us play today! We'll see you soon!" Not a single tear shed. THANK YOU JESUS! Pete and I are both tired from a few sleepless nights and I don't think either one of us was ready to battle the park departure. However; I think we're making progress. It feels great to see something work that we've worked for.
Once home - the girls and I went to visit a neighbor who had their dog outside. Another 30 - 45 minutes outside and then it was time for dinner. Andy came home, we all ate dinner, then baths and bed. We've been reading the girls some Santa books in preparation for X-mas. Sounds weird right? Well when the girls know that Santa is NICE and not NAUGHTY (sort of hehe) they will be fine at the mall and when we pass a Santa in a suit. They don't take well to costumes - so some preparation is only going to benefit us. And what's even better? They are excited! And so are Pete and I..............................
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Ugh
Had a great day but can't blog about it now. I'm just getting home and Hannah has a fever of 102.2 - so she's in our bed and hopefully will be better by morning.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Society sucks!
I was taught a lesson today. It's that society in general thinks that kids are always wrong. No matter what they do - it's them against the adult world. And I truly mean this!
After the girls went to the doc (2 ear infections, 3 possible parasites or infections...9 rounds of poop scooping to get to the lab) we came home and I started to make dinner. Pete and Andy took the girls for a walk to give me some free time to get it ready. Well all day we planned on pasta, sauce and meatballs so we could have pasta and then probably meatball grinders tomorrow. But somehow we didn't have any sauce.
I hopped in the car and found the crew walking back home. I jumped out, grabbed Emily and figured the 2 of us would get some one on one. Well Hannah & Hailey threw such a fit that I just said fine - I'll take them too. So all 3 of them got in the car and off to the store we went (Pete & Andy opted to stay behind). At the store I decided that it would be in my best interest to let the girls walk. They were already in rare form so I knew that if I chose to put them all in a carriage they would A: fight over who got to sit in front and then B: the 2 that sat in the back would just bicker over who was touching who. So walking it was. I gave them each a bag and let them help me shop.
1st stop - pasta and sauce. They each got a box of pasta in their bags and then I got to carry the sauce. Then at the end of the aisle there was a rack of pretzels. I instantly had 3 childless grocery bags on the floor and 3 children with bags of pretzels in hand. This is actually to my benefit. Rather than argue over them getting 1 bag - I figure if they're each carrying a bag - they won't be picking anything else up! I can always leave 2 bags at the register (yes I'm one of those people). I grab the grocery bags, and let my 3 little ducklings follow behind me. Through all the 'awwwws and oooohs' I hear someone say to Hailey 'Watch out for the carriage little girl!' My instant (non-5 second rule) reply was 'Why doesn't the carriage watch out for my daughter?'
See - instantly an adult thinks the child should watch out. Mine, yours, anyone's. Doesn't matter. Do you think for one minute the guy that told Hailey to watch out would have ever considered that the person pushing the carriage probably wasn't looking where she was going because she was scanning her choice of products? No. So instead of telling said carriage pusher to watch out - he yells at Hailey.
Next we walk over to the milk, grab some lactaid ($4 for a quart!?!?) and then head down the bread aisle. Now I try to practice the 'one finger' rule with the girls. As any child would be - they're very curious. Touching things is how they learn. So rather than constantly tell them 'No! Don't touch that! Put that down!' I say 'You can use one finger to touch anything - but one finger only.' This allows them to touch and explore and saves us from purchasing broken items we don't need/want. Hannah was putting this one finger rule to good use. She had her pretzels in one hand and with the other she was using one finger to touch all the peanut butter and jelly jars as she walked by them. She was doing exactly what I wanted! Not picking anything up, keeping up with me, and experimenting! I love it! But some other adult felt the need to say "Oh don't touch that! You could break something!" Now it was in 'good faith' and I'm sure this person was trying to 'help'. But - why? She wasn't doing anything wrong in my eyes and she was just being a kid (a really good one!).
Now - we're at the cash register. The kids are hovering around me while I'm paying for the groceries. I sort of bumped Emily with my big butt and she scooted over into the cashier spot behind me (which was empty - that lane was closed). She was just standing there - staying out of my big butts way and the guy behind us said 'Oh - don't go in there honey...come - come out of there.' I looked at him and said 'I see her, she's fine thank you.'
Lucky for this last guy - he caught me on a good day because by this point I would normally be irate and out for blood.
The point is - kids are NOT always in the wrong. So next time you're about to scold or correct a child...may it be yours or someone else's - try to give yourself a minute and ask if it's really necessary. I'll bet more than 1/2 the time it's not.
After the girls went to the doc (2 ear infections, 3 possible parasites or infections...9 rounds of poop scooping to get to the lab) we came home and I started to make dinner. Pete and Andy took the girls for a walk to give me some free time to get it ready. Well all day we planned on pasta, sauce and meatballs so we could have pasta and then probably meatball grinders tomorrow. But somehow we didn't have any sauce.
I hopped in the car and found the crew walking back home. I jumped out, grabbed Emily and figured the 2 of us would get some one on one. Well Hannah & Hailey threw such a fit that I just said fine - I'll take them too. So all 3 of them got in the car and off to the store we went (Pete & Andy opted to stay behind). At the store I decided that it would be in my best interest to let the girls walk. They were already in rare form so I knew that if I chose to put them all in a carriage they would A: fight over who got to sit in front and then B: the 2 that sat in the back would just bicker over who was touching who. So walking it was. I gave them each a bag and let them help me shop.
1st stop - pasta and sauce. They each got a box of pasta in their bags and then I got to carry the sauce. Then at the end of the aisle there was a rack of pretzels. I instantly had 3 childless grocery bags on the floor and 3 children with bags of pretzels in hand. This is actually to my benefit. Rather than argue over them getting 1 bag - I figure if they're each carrying a bag - they won't be picking anything else up! I can always leave 2 bags at the register (yes I'm one of those people). I grab the grocery bags, and let my 3 little ducklings follow behind me. Through all the 'awwwws and oooohs' I hear someone say to Hailey 'Watch out for the carriage little girl!' My instant (non-5 second rule) reply was 'Why doesn't the carriage watch out for my daughter?'
See - instantly an adult thinks the child should watch out. Mine, yours, anyone's. Doesn't matter. Do you think for one minute the guy that told Hailey to watch out would have ever considered that the person pushing the carriage probably wasn't looking where she was going because she was scanning her choice of products? No. So instead of telling said carriage pusher to watch out - he yells at Hailey.
Next we walk over to the milk, grab some lactaid ($4 for a quart!?!?) and then head down the bread aisle. Now I try to practice the 'one finger' rule with the girls. As any child would be - they're very curious. Touching things is how they learn. So rather than constantly tell them 'No! Don't touch that! Put that down!' I say 'You can use one finger to touch anything - but one finger only.' This allows them to touch and explore and saves us from purchasing broken items we don't need/want. Hannah was putting this one finger rule to good use. She had her pretzels in one hand and with the other she was using one finger to touch all the peanut butter and jelly jars as she walked by them. She was doing exactly what I wanted! Not picking anything up, keeping up with me, and experimenting! I love it! But some other adult felt the need to say "Oh don't touch that! You could break something!" Now it was in 'good faith' and I'm sure this person was trying to 'help'. But - why? She wasn't doing anything wrong in my eyes and she was just being a kid (a really good one!).
Now - we're at the cash register. The kids are hovering around me while I'm paying for the groceries. I sort of bumped Emily with my big butt and she scooted over into the cashier spot behind me (which was empty - that lane was closed). She was just standing there - staying out of my big butts way and the guy behind us said 'Oh - don't go in there honey...come - come out of there.' I looked at him and said 'I see her, she's fine thank you.'
Lucky for this last guy - he caught me on a good day because by this point I would normally be irate and out for blood.
The point is - kids are NOT always in the wrong. So next time you're about to scold or correct a child...may it be yours or someone else's - try to give yourself a minute and ask if it's really necessary. I'll bet more than 1/2 the time it's not.
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