What a day!

Today we got up bright and early and headed down to Primary Children's to have Josh's Mickey Mini put in. LOL!!! Seriously it is called a mickey button and it is a mini one since he is small. LOL! OK.. so I am a weee bit tired tonight. But anyway....

We have been waiting for this day, partly to finally have it done, and because we were having enough problems with his temporary PEG tube to make anyone want to scream.

So here is our day...

This is Josh in the pre-op waiting room in his lovely hospital issued jammies. He is not happy, but if you look hard enough you can see the bubbles Scott was blowing to make him happy.

And one picture of him in the 2nd pre-op waiting room. This was after the IV was put in... and he only got off our laps this one time.

That was all the pictures from the hospital. We took him back to his OR room and was able to stay with him until he was so drugged he didn't know we left. It was kinda funny to see him so loopy. He was done in like 20 minutes and then we went back to recovery with him. He had to have Zofran again because of nausea, but other than that he couldn't get out of there fast enough. It was nice to be able to leave and not stay!

He had a couple visitors tonight to see how he was doing. Of course his grandpa came. My dad comes after every little procedure or surgery he has had to cheer him up. No wonder he loves his grandpa so much! He also likes to take his hat off and wear it on his head for a few seconds. It's a game they have been playing together for as long as I can remember. Thanks dad for coming to see him!

He finally got to take a bath!! Since his site was healing, he has only had his usual wipe down daily. Before the PEG tube, he was bathed in the sink since March because of his NG tube. So this was his first bath in the bathtub since March 22. Even though he looks drugged... he was so happy!!! Loved the smiles we got!

And finally... I am posting a before picture of what his PEG tube looked like.....

And this is his MIC mini Button. Now you can see why we were so excited to get it put in finally! He is going to wear a small dressing under it, but his Dr. showed us how to do it without taping it to his skin. You can see the rash and what his skin looks like now from the last 2 months of tape being torn off daily.

We are so excited to be done with this!!! It has been a long road, one that is not over yet, but at least we are through the healing stage. He is sore and bleeding a bit from the tube change, but this is the only time that will happen. From now on when we change the button (every 3-4 months) it will just be fast and no hurting on his part. Yea for Josh!!!

Photo Shoot

I took some pictures tonight with my camera in black and white. I have wanted to get a cute picture of my kids in black and white for soooo long. My camera is not a great camera, so I have never even tried. So tonight while Josh was in a playful mood I thought he could be the guinea pig. They aren't what I was going for, but maybe taking them outside in really good light will help. I am going to try that with all three kids as soon as I can. Let me know what you think.

A Single Mom?

As most of you already know I have been a single mommy these past couple days. Scott left on wed. morning to take Trevor and Jordan on the annual Father and Sons camping trip with his family. I have been on my own with just Josh for 3 full days and part of today as well.

I didn't have any expectations really, other than enjoying the fact that I didn't have to cook while they were gone, and it would be quieter. And it has been pure bliss to not have to cook anything, and the quiet has been just what I needed. Josh is not really a noisy child, so it truly has been quiet here.

Now... the things I didn't expect. Josh is alot of work! I think I have been so busy this summer just doing all sorts of things and going a million miles a minute, I didn't really think about what I was doing for whom, when. You know how it goes. I FELT like I was doing alot for Trevor and Jordan, but I guess they really are pretty self sufficient. Josh is not. And I tended my nephew Parker for a few hours on thursday. He is almost 5 months older than Josh. He was so easy! He played with toys the whole time, I didn't have to keep a CONSTANT eye on him like I have to with Josh. He sits and eats his own food, so other than making sure he is fine, I just had to put it on a plate and give it to him. It was a little bit of an eye opening experience for me. I know that Josh is an easy going kid and I love that. But he is alot of work and keeps me busy. I have been so much busier with little things than I thought I was going to be. I just thought it was interesting realization. I do miss Scott and that help he provides. I can't wait to see them this afternoon!

The Christensen Family Night Life!!!!

See this?





Every night my counter becomes a bath/medical table. Since I have had a few questions on how we take care of Josh's G-tube site, and what the care is on a daily basis... I thought I would photograph it for you and let you see for yourself. Don't worry... I didn't include any close ups of the hole in his tummy for your viewing pleasure.



Here is a closer picture of what I get all lined up before we get Josh up here. There is a bowl of soapy water for his wipe down (he has to be sponge-bathed right now), Q-tips for cleaning his site, a small med dispenser with soapy water for that, two different creams for his incision, three different sizes of Mefix tape, dressing sponges, and his nightly meds.

Here we go...... the wipe down/bath. He loves to play with the wash-rag when I let him. It depends on how much of a hurry we are in. But he does get to have some fun.

Then we give his meds. His tube can sometimes shoot stuff out of the port (opening) that the food goes in... so this way if it does go everywhere we will already be taking off his dressing.

Daddy is cleaning his tube site. He doesn't seem to mind it all that much now, but still watches with curiosity.

The lovely re-taping of the tube. We do have it down pretty fast. I am a little faster than Scott since I do it almost every time, but we both have gotten faster at it.

Some times he even helps! He is holding the tube upright while Scott finishes the taping around the tube. He has been more into pulling on it lately so we haven't let him touch it as much.

This is usually how he kicks back every night while we do this. I am telling you, this kid is an amazing little boy! He just sits there and relaxes while we do this. What 2 year old would really hold still? We are thankful every day for his patience and easy-going personality.

And finally..... this is what he waits for. Scott will pull him off the counter and swing him around a few times before laying him down to get his jammies on. He just gets a big grin on his face the second I tell him he is all done. Then he looks for Scott and waits with his arms up for daddy to swing him around. It's become a little routine we do and he loves it. Anything we can do to make this experience is good.

So there you have it..... our nightly routine. I won't lie to you and say I love it. Believe me, some nights I wish we could just get him dressed, or throw him in the tub, but that will come in time. For the most part I don't mind it all that much, but I am looking forward to his MIC button being put in so we can bathe him normally.

Fun at the Castle Park

We went to the Castle Park today. Scott helped build this a couple years ago for a community project. It's been a long time since we had been there so Trevor and Jordan didn't even remember it. We went with my sister, Chantel and my nephew Parker, and my dad. It was great fun.



Believe it or not.... Jordan's head IS in this picture. Sorry it is so small!

And Josh on the swings........ are you shocked???

Josh and Parker on the swings in the area for small kids.

Josh going down the slide. Scott took him the first time, but he was going on his own after that. He is getting so big!

Here he goes! His aunt Chantel was willing to catch him. Thanks Chan!

Trevor and Jordan on a tire swing. They had never been on one and were soooo amazed with the idea of sitting on a tire. Scott got em' pretty dizzy!

I love days like this that are spent with family. I was so glad my dad, sister and nephew could come. We missed my brother-in-law since he was working, and my mom is sick. One day we will all be able to go do something together again!

Fun in the Sun

Today we finally made it to the Splash Pad here in South Ogden. Early Intervention had a field trip there and so we decided to go. Josh isn't supposed to be getting wet yet, but his therapist had a waterproof patch big enough to cover his tube. So off we went.

Here is Josh right when we got there. This is the only time he even stood by himself. He did not like it one bit and cried if we put him down. So he spent the whole time on Scott's lap while Trevor and Jordan played.







And this is where Josh stayed the whole time. Looks like our worry about his tube was for nothing. Oh well.... one day he will like it, I'm sure.