Never a dull moment!

When I say Riley keeps us on our toes I am not exaggerating. A couple of weeks ago Riley came down with some kind of viral infection. We went to the doctor and of course he told us there wasn't much we could do. She eventually started feeling better and things seemed good for a couple of days. Then she started coughing and not feeling great. We had already planned to take her to the doctor this past Friday to get her number 2 flu shot so we decided to get her checked out again. Now they said she had a double hear infection and the cough was due to nasal drip. The Dr. said after a couple days of antibiotics she will be feeling much better. The next morning, Halloween, went well. You can check out my previous post, she looks great. After playing in her costume she took a good nap. After waking from her nap she was no longer happy and was wheezing a little. That evening and night was rough as she wasn't feeling good and continued to wheeze and cough. This only worsened on Sunday. We decided to take her to the ER. Being first time parents we realized we could be overreacting but thought we would be better safe then sorry. When we got to the ER they took us in right away as they were concerned about her breathing. After hooking her up to the monitor we realized her oxygen level was at 88 (should be above 95). Suddenly there were a handful of people in the room. They immediately put her on oxygen and gave her an hour long breathing treatment. After the breathing treatment Riley had a chest x-ray done which revealed she had pneumonia on both sides of her lungs. Needless to say they started antibiotics right away and admitted her. She was admitted on Sunday and we were finally able to come home today (Thursday). Except for two hours on Tuesday when I went home to shower (at the request of hospital staff - no just kidding) I never left her side. Needless to say it has been an extremely long week for all of us. One of the lessons learned: go with your gut. If you think your kid is sick (even when you took them to the Dr. twice in the last week and a half) do something about it.

But Riley is feeling so much better and we are so happy to be home. Trying to keep a 13 month old down (with a cannula, an IV and hooked to a monitor) is almost impossible but she did great. I am so proud of her. Don't get me wrong she had rough moments but overall she handled everything great. I am definitely looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. Which makes me ask why I am still on the computer. So I am going to bed. Here is a pic of Riley once she started feeling better.

Riley 1st Halloween (kind of)

We are counting this Halloween as Riley's 1st Halloween. Technically she was home last year but she had only been home for a couple of days and weighed a whole 4.5lbs so really this was her 1st.

Riley was a cat and was the cutest cat ever! Although I might be biased :) She loved being dressed up and loved watching all the kids trick or treating.
























Yes, that's a mouse in her mouth! The costume came with a toy mouse.












Creama decides he wants the mouse! Can't blame him, all his toys look like mice.

Happy Birthday Ri!!

To my girl,

Today is your first birthday. I just cannot believe it. The year went by so fast. You will hear the following story a millions times in your life so the first one might as well be now.

I had been hoping a praying for you to come into our lives for a long time. When I found out you were on your way I couldn't wait to hold you and kiss and tell you how much I love you. Your daddy and I prepared your lady bug room and counted down the days until we could meet you face to face. But a year ago today we found out you had to unexpectedly be born early. Not a little early but 8 weeks early. I was so excited to meet you but so scared for you. You came into the world on September 30, 2008 (a Tuesday) at a whopping 3.5 pounds. Becuase of mommy's booboos I couldn't see you until Thursday, my hugs and kisses had to wait. Becuase of machines that were helping you get better mommy couldn't hold you until the following Monday. Almost one WHOLE week after you were born! Finally, on that Monday I was able to do the things I had been dreaming about: kiss and hug you and tell you how much I love you. The following days and weeks were hard on all three of us. But we all made it through toghether, just like we always do. And after 3.5 weeks in the hospital we brought you home. Thankfully you won't remember those first weeks but mommy will never forget them.

Since bringing you home you have been growing and learning at every turn. You never cease to amaze me. I always tell people, because it's true, that I don't know how you turned out so beautiful! Looking at where you started a year ago to where you are today should prove that you can do anything.

So happy birthday little girl. I couldn't be more proud of you and I couldn't love you more.

I love you,

Mommy

Labor Day 2009 = No Labor!

This is my kind of Labor day (or any day for that matter) :)

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy 4th of July everybody!! We hope everyone is enjoying a long holiday weekend. We took Riley to the city for the first time on Friday. We went to the Taste of Chicago. She liked watching all the people. We told her next year will be better when she can actually eat the food!

Here is Riley in her 4th of July dress!

Pool Party!

Riley went swimming for the first time in her pool this past weekend! She loved it!

Ahh, sweet slumber!

Well, it's no secret to many people that we have had a hard time transitioning Riley to sleeping in her crib. Up until about 2 1/2 months ago Riley slept in an infant seat which was put into her crib. This really helped with her acid reflux. It finally came time to transition her into sleeping in her crib. I figured it would probably take a couple of days but she would adjust. Big surprise, I was wrong! After two months of Riley waking up 3-6 times a night we were at our wits end and willing to try anything. So we tried the Ferber method. With the Ferber method you let the baby cry and go in to soothe at varying intervals but you don't pick them up (which is what we were doing). After deciding to give it a try I thought it would probably take up to a week to see results. Big surprise, I was wrong again! After one night of Riley crying for about an hour she has pretty much slept through the night ever since. I am still amazed that it worked the way it did. What can I say, she's a fast learner :)

My Beloved Sister

It was brought to my attention this past weekend that I forgot to include my sister in the email I sent out inviting people to check out our new blog. This was completely unintentional.

Kristy, I am so sorry I didn't include you in the email. I would never leave you out on purpose. You are one of the main reasons I started this blog. Consider this my public apology and your official invitation to check out our blog.

Here is me with by beautiful sister last summer (please ignore my fat pregnant butt)

Our Inaugural Post

Hello everybody!

Thank you for checking our our blog. I have been meaning to start a blog now for the past year so family and friends can watch Riley grow. With so many friends and family so far away I figured it was a great way to keep in touch. Riley is almost 8 months old so I decided it was now or never. If you know if anybody who might be interested in checking out our blog please feel free to pass it along.

Here's our girl!