Aiden is Home!!!

Aiden in the Hospital
Getting a bath with Aunt Jennifer

A very alert Aiden


Liam kissing Aiden

New spinning tops from Grandpa Morse for our Birthday

Luke and Aunt Jennifer

Liam loves the new truck!

Brothers playing!

The Five of Us

After six long days in the hospital, Aiden returned home on Monday. He is much better although he has a way to go to get rid of all the congestion he still has, but he is sleeping and eating very well. We are so thankful for the many friends and family who have prayed for us, brought us meals, and helped with Luke and Liam. In addition to Aiden's return home, Liam's test on Monday turned out fine. He appears to have an abnormal diaphragm, but at this point he does not require any type of surgery or treatment. He did so well with the testing and was amazingly good the entire day. This was a long week for us, but it would have been so much harder if it were not for the help we received from so many people. Thank you all for your assistance and concern.

On another note, prior to Aiden's illness, we celebrated the boy's second birthday. We also had a very nice visit with Aunt Jennifer. We are so thankful that Jennifer could be here during the week that things went haywire for us! I am not sure what we would have done without here help during a week where we took multiple trips to the pediatrician, trips to the ER, a trip to the hospital, etc...

We are trying to get back on track into somewhat of a routine. The boys are very happy to have "baby" back and they continue to be great big brothers despite the occasional roughness. Aiden is doing well so far and a little spoiled after being held so much in the hospital.

Aiden and the Boys

Click here to view these pictures larger

Brief Update

Due to the emails, phone calls, and prayers we have received over the last couple of very long days, I thought I would post a brief update.

Aiden is on Day #4 of hospitalization. He is progressing very well and has not encountered any setbacks, thankfully. He is, however, still on a very small amount of oxygen and we continue to work on weaning him off. He is very congested so he needs the oxygen to get the amount of air his body requires. He is eating well and is more alert than he was a few days ago. It is basically a waiting game for his oxygen saturation levels to remain at a normal level while he is breathing at rest for several hours. I am still at the hospital taking care of Aiden while John is at home with Luke and Liam.

Overall, Luke and Liam are doing much better and you probably would not know that they have been sick by looking at them. They are still typical two year olds with lots and lots of energy. They have been keeping John quite busy at home. They are a bit out of sorts with all that is going on and keep asking about "Mommy and Baby". Liam will have his additional testing on Monday due to his abnormal chest x-ray so please continue to pray for the results of this test and for Liam's quick recovery after the testing.

Thank you all again for your continued thoughts and prayers. I am posting a few pictures of the boys at a place where they have open gymnastics for preschool age kids, playing the piano at school, and a few of Aiden from about a week ago before the RSV and other medical issues that we are dealing with right now.

ER Visit #1 + ER Visit #2 + RSV=A Week to Remember

How do you entertain two toddlers at the ER? Ask Aunt Jennifer. This is ER trip #1 for Liam

This is a picture of Liam (left) and Luke (right) but I think Aiden favors Luke in this picture and the one below. See also the picture of Aiden from last week for comparison

This is Luke, but I think the picture of Aiden from last week favors this one a little.

I think John and I will both agree that in January 2011 we will likely take a vacation to some place warm and hope that it goes more smoothly than the week we are having. Our week started out on Sunday when Luke and Liam woke up with yet another round of runny noses, fussiness, fever, and coughing that sent us to the pediatrician's office bright and early. We have been battling colds, sinus infections, and ear infections since they started "school" at Montessori. The pediatrician feels like it is likely due to the additional germs we have been exposed to recently. Whatever it is, we can't seem to get rid of it and we are currently on our fourth round of antibiotic. Liam ended up having an abnormal chest x-ray that resulted in a brief trip to the ER after the pediatrician. Both of the boys are doing much better after starting another round of antibiotics. Liam, however, is going to need a few more tests next week to determine if there is anything to be concerned about with his abnormal chest x-ray.

On Tuesday, Aiden was not himself and he was not eating well. He sounded rather congested in his chest and was generally fussy. This began mid-day and gradually got worse. We ended making a call to his pediatrician and from there we were sent to the ER on Tuesday night. Very early Wednesday morning, Aiden was admitted to the hospital and later that day it was confirmed that he has RSV and bronchilitis. Obviously, because he is only 2 1/2 weeks old, any type of illness is very concerning. Most likely, he contracted something from his brothers who have been sick off and on for most of December and January. Thankfully, Aiden is not running a fever, does not have pneumonia, and is doing much better with his eating. Our next step is getting his breathing back to normal. He is still quite congested and was put on oxygen to help with his breathing.

As I type this update, I am sitting in the hospital with Aiden and John is at home with the boys. We had lots of fun things happen this week as well, but I don't really have access to our pictures so I will post those another time. We enjoyed a very fun visit with John's sister, Jennifer. We honestly would not have survived without a third person to assist us in our trips to the ER, childcare, medical advice, cooking, cleaning, entertaining, etc...


Please keep Aiden in your prayers as he continues to recover from the RSV. Please pray that he (and I) will be released from the hospital soon and he will continue to improve. It is hard for John and I to be in separate places. Secondly, please pray for Liam with his testing next week. We will keep you posted on his results. Please also pray that this round of antibiotics will take care of our colds. Lastly, please pray for John and I to keep our sanity.

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY LUKE AND LIAM!!!

Playing on the Floor

Sleeping Aiden

MMmmm Cake!


Happy 2nd Birthday!

Loving on baby

Aiden and Luke (Aiden's outfit is the one that the boys wore home from the hospital)

Liam kissing Aiden

On Monday, January 11th we celebrated Luke and Liam's second birthday. We plan to have a small party for them over the weekend as well. I am not sure they really understood what was going on until we let them open presents. They have really fine tuned their skills of opening presents over the Christmas holidays and now their birthday.

Aiden is nearly two weeks old and continues to do well. The boys still love his company and always ask about "baby". Liam is still particularly interested in his brother, which is something neither John nor I would have predicted. We are doing well and trying to adjust to being outnumbered. It is never quiet around here until everyone is in bed at night. We have been out a few times and it is quite an ordeal to get everyone out of the house, but it is well worth a few hours away.

Aiden Days 4 and 5

Sweet Aiden (the boys have the same shirt that Aiden is wearing)
Birthday Presents from Grandpa and Grandma Carrithers

Touchdown!

Touchdown!!

Aiden's first bath at home with Dad

We seem to be accumulating lots of cute pictures so I thought I would post a few updates of Aiden at 4 and 5 days old. We opened a few presents for Luke and Liam last night in anticipation of their upcoming second birthday on January 11th. We all agreed that it really does not matter what is inside the package, they just enjoyed ripping into it and pretty much went crazy when the packages came out of the bag. Aiden continues to be a relatively easy and predictable baby. He is sleeping well and eating well. We are so thankful that at this point in time he has not been fussy or difficult to figure out (at least not yet). He goes with the flow and even allows his brothers to take his pacifier in and out. Usually, if one of the boys wants Aiden to have his pacifier then the other one wants to pull it out of his mouth or if one of them wants Aiden to swing or listen to music in his bouncy seat, then the other one wants to turn off the music. That is pretty much the way it goes with two year olds, I guess.

I know I also mentioned previously that Aiden was the first baby born in 2010 at the new hospital which opened on Dec. 30th. Below is a link to an article about Aiden. The pictures on the internet are reversed, but the ones appearing in the newspaper are correct. Aiden is the one that is naked (on top picture).

http://www.pressnews.com/articles/2010/01/06/osseo-maple_grove_press/news/2mghospital1stbabies.txt

Aiden with Grandparents and the Boys

Liam got to hold Aiden for the first time and was SO PROUD!
The boys with their Big Brother/Little Brother shirts and Baby Aiden

Getting ready for a picture

Checking out the baby this morning before school

Getting Ready to go Home from the hospital

Grandma and Grandpa Carrithers meet Aiden for the first time

Since we have so many family members and friends that are following Aiden from afar, it was too hard to hold off on posting more pictures of Aiden in the past 48 hours since his birth. We have had lots of questions about how the boys are adjusting to Aiden so I thought I would post a few pictures. They love Aiden right now and could not be more interested in him. Liam, especially, has been very "gentle" with Aiden and interested in his bottle, his nose, and every sound he makes. Luke loves "baby" too although he gets a little too excited about helping at times and is still working on the "gentle" part. Grandma and Grandpa Carrithers arrived yesterday as well and enjoyed meeting Aiden for the first time and getting to see how the boys have changed since they last saw them in October. Enjoy the pics!

We are Happy to Introduce....

Luke was so excited to meet his new baby Brother

First Picture of the 5 of Us

The boys meeting Aiden for the first time

Baby!!

Daddy and Aiden John

Mommy and Aiden

My three boys

Aiden John Carrithers

Born January 2, 2010 at 7:35 am

9 lbs. 5 ounces and 21 1/2 inches long

I began going into labor on New Years Day around 6pm or so. Thanks to the help of a neighbor, we headed to the hospital around midnight and things began progressing. On Saturday morning, things continued progressing until my water broke around 5:00 am. Needless to say, Aiden is much bigger than I ever expected him to be. He has been breast feeding and sleeping very well. As I mentioned in some earlier posts, a new hospital opened in the city where we live on Dec. 30th. We were able to deliver at this hospital and have the convenience of being very close to the house. Ironically, we ended up being the FIRST baby delivered at the hospital in 2010 (the 5th baby since the opening and first vaginal deliver). We received a very nice package from the hospital with a few things for Aiden.