Guess the disease?

Medical Tip of the Day...This is an easy diagnosis. Hand, food and mouth syndrome which is a viral infection that consists of a rash of blisters and tiny ulcers on the hands, feet and in the mouth accompanied by irritability, decreased appetite, fever and sore throat. It is caused by the coxsackievirus. We thought at first Scott was teething, but soon realized it was hand, foot and mouth. There is nothing you can do to treat this since it's a virus and it is very contagious. We haven't been bringing Scott around children or to nursery at church since it is a germ fest. He has been hanging out with us, but we decided to bring him to nursery last week instead of sit through Sunday school with mom and dad. We think this is where he picked it up. Serves us right. The virus is not a big deal for Scott but anything is a BIG deal with Tyler. They told us to separate the kids, which is next to impossible or find a friend who owes us a favor. How can you just drop your kid off somewhere to infest other kids? This week Tyler has been really irritable and decided to not eat one day. We brought him in and they said they were signs of a virus. Our cardiologist happened to be there because he was called in for another patient, which he was irritated by because he claims it was nothing. He said he was sitting in his office, knowing there was a reason he came into the office and in came Tyler. He did an echo which looked fine and decided to send him home since the hospital is filled with germs. Our doctor calls to check up on us which mean so much to our little family. How we love all the doctors and nurses that take such good care of Tyler! He seems to be doing better and eating better. He isn't gaining much weight but that is ok. We are giving him Zantac to see if acid reflux is the reason for his constant crying. Danny and I are pretty physically and mentally drained and hoping for easier months ahead. I know we are being refined though this process, have gained empathy for parents with sick or irritable babies and learned to deal with one thing at a time. On a better note, Tyler was up for over an hour in the middle of the night and I realized that in a couple of weeks all I will want to do is hold him in my arms when he is hooked up to all his machines again and realized I should treasure this time instead of wishing I could be sleeping. There really is always a positive you can find. Sometimes it is just so hard to focus on the positive instead of the negative.

Tis The Season of Work Parties

Went to Scott's Seafood in Jack London Square with Dr. Wu's staff. It was so beautiful with the christmas tree lit up and the restaurant on the water front. We had a great meal and a great time getting to the know the staff. Everyone was so friendly! One of our greatest Christmas presents is for Danny to be settled into 3 great practices. He was working for an office that was "interesting" in many regards and happy to be in a much better setting. From left to right..associate dentist in Oakland & his lawyer wife, Dr. Wu & his missing wife who was at a gig as a professional singer, dentist & her endodontist boyfriend who works with Dr. Wu, my cute hubby, assistants and their boyfriend & husband. I can't remember anyones name. That is what happens when you marry a guy who never forgets a name.

Have you missed food shots from the didge? Well, we forgot to a get a picture of Dr. Stirm's staff but did remember to take a picture of the meal. Steak with prawns...yummy!! Out to dinner without the kids. What a TREAT! get it...referring to the food being a treat, the office being on Treat and dinner without kids being our little treat.

Walnut Creek on Ice

It should be called WC on Ice on a tennis court. Celebrating Lukes birthday we hit the downtown Walnut Creek Ice rink. Oh-so-FUN!! Laurel, one of my best friends from high school came to town and of course we needed to go ice skating to see all her impressive moves..she is semi-pro from her lessons. We headed to Walnut Creek on Ice, a temporary ice rink set up from November to January, which is a couple of blocks from our home. It was so fun. We skated from 9-11pm. Tyler slept in his car seat all bundled in blankets and Scott watched all the ice-skaters. The most humerous part of the night was seeing skater one minute and the next they'll have hit the wall directly in front of us and drop....They definitely need lessons from Laurel. Scott will be on the ice next year. Great night. This is what life is all about....fun times with the fam.

Do they look alike??

Scott's bath.
Tylers Bath/
Scott sleeping.
Tyler sleeping.

No they don't. Scott had dark, think hair when he was a baby although he is blond now. Tyler has auburn hair. Scott has dark brown eyes. Tyler has hazel eyes. Scott has a square face. Tyler has a more oval face. Scott has darker skin. Tyler has more fair skin. Scott has concerned eyes. Tyler has big eyes. Scott has more masculine features. Tyler has more petite features. Scott has no scars. Tyler has warrior scars. Lillie did this on her blog to show how much her girls look alike. We don't quite have that in this family. We don't know whose genes go to who. I guess they are a mix of the McMillan/Lietz genes.

Scott & Tyler...Are they really brothers??

Scott 7 lb 15 oz....1 week early.
Tyler 7 lb 12 oz...induced on my due date.
Scott 1 month. Chilling at home.
Tyler 1 month. Just home.

Tylers Cardiology Update

Tylers Dr. appointment went well today. Tyler's o2 sats went from the mid 80's to low 90's which is much better than Monday and he weighed in at 10.8 pounds. We are grateful for how well his heart is doing. He is still pretty fussy (truth is he is very fussy). Danny and I are going on little sleep most nights and hope that he will outgrow this stage eventually. I think it is colic or bad gas pains. I feel so bad for the little guy. He is usually so uncomfortable and there is nothing you can do for him, but at least his heart is doing better. We hope for a better nights sleep.

Train exhibit

Danny, the boys and I went to the Blackhawk Car Musuem to see their european train exhibit. Danny has an HO train set that Scott and he love to play with and watch. Scott is also really into Thomas trains these days. The musuem was neat. We weren't too into the cars, but the train exhibit was awesome and I am not even that into trains. The tracks went around the entire room and represented different european countries with music, buidlings and people. There were bridges and tunnels, water ways and towers. Scott stood in different areas and loved to watch as the trains come by. It was a fun day. Afterwards we went to a cute little burger place and sat in the shade enjoying the beautiful day. I can't believe it is December and almost too hot for a sweatshirt. I am loving it!!! Scott loved the fountains, ducks and huge contruction site pouring cement. He is a true boy. It is fun to see him at the age that he is into certain things and enjoying himself so much. I really love toddlers. It was a fun date with my hubby and boys. They are soo much fun. Tyler is doing alright. He had a rough night and is still pretty upset. Time to help him.

December Cardiology Appointment

Scott, Tyler & I strolled into our cardiology appt about 15 minutes late yesterday which I will blame on Scott. Of couse if you read my last blog, you will know I have a hard time managing my time. Anyway, Scott got new shoes, which he isn't so fond of and throws fits because they aren't his old shoes which he is VERY attached to and misses dearly even though they are too small. I guess he isn't buying our stories about how super fast they will make him run. I think I might have a shoe man in training. The shoe store with Scott is worse than the doctors office. He will look but not allow anyone to take his shoes from him. Bazaar, I know. So he had a fit getting shoes on. So, back to the important stuff...Tyler had his appt yesterday. Got his synagis shot for high risk babies to fight RSV. He weighed in at 10.5 which is great, however, we thought he weighed that on Wednesday from a feeding study we do. It might be that the scales are off. He looks well. He has been really fussy with what we think is bad gas pains, getting up a lot, uncomfortable and sometimes gets irregular breathing patterns. Danny and I don't get much sleep at night which has been hard. I am so lucky to have a husband that puts in 150% when he is home. I try to take him as much as I can and Danny tries to take him as much as he can that somehow seems to work out each night. There are days that we wake up pretty tired. Anyway, his sats started in the high 60's which isn't good. After being there for a while, feeding him, he finally settled into 85-86. The sats were all over the place. Big drop from his last 2 appts where he was 95-96. We have another appt set up for this Friday, so we will see how they are and what we can do to correct the problem if there is one. Scott does great at the office. We were there from 1030-1245 and he played with my wallet, read a book, helped the nurses and poured his water everywhere...woops. So keep Tyler in your prayers. We hope our appt in a couple of days goes better. His cath is scheduled for January 21st and surgery 1-2 days afterwards. That is if there are no unexpected hurdles along the way which there might be. I LOVE our cardiology nurse who sets up everything for us and is like our personal nurse/assistant/mentor/friend for Tyler. She admired what a great kid Scott was and I told her he was born with that personality, which he was. She said she sees a lot of parents stress and it is passed on to their children and thinks Danny and I are doing an amazing job staying calm which is evident in our kids. As much as it felt so great to hear that compliment, I do know that it isn't all us. I do agree with her that when I am stressed it is passed onto the kids. Scott usually is difficult when he is tired or when I am stressed which is when I need to sit down, realize they are the most important, spend time with them and everyone calms down. What a great reminder from her that I want to remember in my own life! I really have felt an overwhelming amount of peace with Tyler and know that he is in the Lord's hands. How grateful I am for that.