C-L-A-I-R-E

Love,
The Scott Family

Merry Christmas 2012

Santa was good to us this year!  Merry Christmas to you and yours!

 

 

Love,
The Scott Family

It's been a while

It's been quite a while since my last post.  Quite honestly, way too long.  But there has not been too much to report or record.  Claire is still sick.  Yes, seven weeks of sickness for her.  Last weekend she was diagnosed with croup for the first time and yet another ear infection.  She is just finishing off her 3rd antibiotic.  We are praying she is well by Christmas if not sooner!!! 

 

 

I feel totally out of the loop as I haven't had time to even check my blog list to see how everyone else is doing. 

 

Anyways, here are a few pictures of the last few weeks. 



 

Picking out bridesmaids dresses with Aunt Amanda.  Claire enjoyed hiding in the dresses and carrying her spoons around. 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

Calling Santa on my cell phone to tell him what I want for Christmas!

Shirt says "Elf in Training" - need I say more

Helping to decorate (or undecorate) the tree

Once again best present under the tree!  PS - notice all ornaments have been moved to the top half of the tree...



You might notice something different about our tree this year.  I have learned to never say never.  I have always been determined to have a real tree.  I mean, come on, I am a granddaughter and daughter of loggers and a am a farmer's wife.  Artificial just is not a word that is used around here.  But I came home Friday night and Trent said he had made the "exectutive decision" that we were going to get a fake tree this year.  And I wholeheartedly agreed.  A real tree is just to much.  Last year after we wrestled with getting it in the stand and level in the house, it dried out pretty quick and we couldn't even turn the lights on but for a few minutes on Christmas day.  And I am allergic to most real trees and break out in hives of some sort.  So with our busy lifestyle, a fake tree with no watering sounded nice.  Plus since we got it so late, we can keep it up a few days after Christmas if we want to.  So, needless to say I am pretty pleased with our fake tree.  When Claire gets old enough to really enjoy picking out a real one we will revert back to the olden days.  :)

Claire is talking a lot lately.  She spells everything.  And gets 99% of the letters correct.  Sometimes she spells words from left to right and sometimes right to left.  She can recognize all 26 letters in the alphabet and can say them.  She only recognizes capital letters at this point.  But she really likes to spell.  She has gotten excited about the Christmas lights and likes to talk about Santa ("Tanta").  She hasn't seen a real Santa this year because she has been sick and we haven't ventured out much.  But she likes to see him in books and on TV and on our window clings.  When asked what Santa says, Claire says "Ho, Ho, Ho!  Merry Christmas!"  Super cute.  She also likes to "sing" Jingle Bells. 

Hopefully I can find more time to blog and update and catch up with everyone else's blogs soon! 

Love,
The Scott Family

Blogging Hiatus

I guess that is how you spell "hiatus"?  Anyway, I have sort of taken a break from blogging.  One, not much is going on.  Two, I can't download any pictures still.  Others have said they are having the same problem and that Blogger is working on it.  Three, Claire is still sick.  Yes, you heard me right.  And four, I just haven't had the time. 

Claire is talking a lot and singing a lot.  She knows all of her ABC's and can recognize all of the letters.  She spells everything!  Santa is working hard to make this a fun Christmas for her.  Claire recognizes Santa, and says "Ho Ho Ho!  Merry Christmas" when she sees a picture of Santa.  We haven't taken her to see a real Santa yet this year so not sure how that will go.

Hopefully soon, I will be able to upload more pictures.  And I will have something more to say than Claire is still sick.  My brain has just not been in the writing mood! 

Love,
The Scott Family

Still here

We are still here!  And still sick!  Claire seemed to be getting better, but now the runny nose and lots of congestion are both back.  :(   Please pray that this cold will go away and not get bad like this last one.  I am beginning to wonder if the whole winter will be this way!

Oh, and I would be posting some pictures but it keeps telling me I have no space.  So I am working to try figure out what to do......

Love,
The Scott Family

Taylor Swift

Trent wanted everyone to know that Claire has been enjoying listening to Taylor Swift songs on his iPhone this weekend.  Seriously?  A 2 year old jamming out to Taylor Swift??  What is in store in the next few years......  :)  Are we going to have to be attending these concerts sooner than later?  Or worse - like Justin Bieber concerts?!?!?!

Love,
The Scott Family

Rash and cold update

The rash has seemed to fade some today.  When Claire woke up, she had a few more "dots" around her right eye.  I am sure she had more on her body but it was hard to tell.  They do not look as angry today and they don't seem to bother her or itch at all.  Her diaper rash got a lot worse today though. :(

The body rash, as it is fading, seems to be making those circle shapes.  It's not really a bulls eye, but it's almost like a ring worm.  Like a red outline of a circle where the inside of the circle is faded or skin color.  It's really weird.  The rash remains pretty flat and not raised.  I have tried Googling rashes a lot and still don't really see one that matches what Claire has.  She keeps saying "oww" like it hurts but I also don't know if that is just something she is saying as it is a new word. 

Claire still seems stuffy and is coughing a little.  She is off all antibiotics and breathing treatments.  She is still taking Zyrtec and Mucinex Cough.  Please pray she is well ASAP!!!  I don't want it to relapse.  Trent seems better today and I finally broke down and got antibiotic and steroid shots today. 

Thanks for all of the prayers for our family!

Love,
The Scott Family

Aannnnd now a rash

 

And the rash came today.  It was very little this morning - maybe 10 dots plus her ears.  Tonight, it's gone wild!!!  I got lots of good advice and opinions by posting on Facebook from friends.  I also sent pictures to Dr. Rachel for her advice.  She thinks it looks like hives probably from one of the antibiotics (more than likely the azithromyacin).  All I can say is I know how stressed I am about this whole sick episode.  I can only imagine how Claire feels.  :(

 

 

Love,
The Scott Family

Sick, sick baby

We almost made a trip to Duke yesterday morning.  I was really scared about Claire’s wellbeing.  She did the fast breathing all night Saturday night and slept til almost 8:15 am on Sunday.  When she woke up she was very lethargic, still breathing fast, and I could feel her heart pounding.  She was really hot and glassy-eyed.  Her skin was a weird color where it made her scars on her chest and stomach look really white.  I had not seen that look on her face since she was at Duke after her surgeries. 

I was really scared.  I knew Claire was in trouble some sort of way, just not sure how.  We gave her some fluids and a breathing treatment while we tried to decide what to do.  After that she seemed slightly better.  So we took it hour by hour.  As the day went on, Claire seemed to get a little better but still spent most of the day in my lap which is totally abnormal for our child.  This weekend was the most I have held her since she was in the NICU!  It’s so hard with a heart baby to know if something is going on with her heart or if it is something else.  You just cannot overlook anything. 

Claire’s color was really pale but her cheeks seemed to get pinker throughout the day.  By last night, she was smiling in the tub a little and laughing at me singing Itsy Bitsy Spider.  She has probably lost 3 or more pounds which on a 30 pound child is 10% of her body.  So it makes her look really small now.  Her size 5 diapers are basically falling off of her.  She looks so sick. 

We kept up with the breathing treatments and today is her last day of azithromycin.  I even did the breathing treatments to her while she slept during the night and this morning.  She still seems a little weak this morning, but when I dropped her off at my mom’s she was eating really well (raisins and doodles) and dancing to Baby Einstein. 

But I did notice that while changing her diaper this morning that she has these little red dots all over.  Not a whole lot but several on her legs, her belly, belly button, one on her chin, and then her ears are covered with them.  It’s weird!  I texted a picture to Dr. Rachel and also to the pediatrician.  The pediatrician seems to think that since they blanche when we press them, they are probably a viral “rash” that sometimes comes out after fever or viruses.  She said we may see more come and then they will go away.  So we will watch them too.

Hard to see on her ear in the picture.  They look pink but they are really red all around the outside of her ear.

It’s just been a long 3 almost 4 weeks.  Claire is exhausted but she is such a trooper.  Trent is finally feeling a little better but all the steroid shots he took are making his blood sugar way out of whack.  Me – I am still hacking my head off.  I took one of Claire’s breathing treatments this morning in hopes it might help me too. 

Thanks for all of the prayers.  Please keep them coming as we still don’t really know what Claire has/had and if it’s over or not. 

Love,

The Scott Family

World Prematurity Day and the never ending cold

Today the world celebrates and recognizes World Prematurity Day.  We celebrate our little girl who was born too early at 29 weeks weighing 3 lbs 2 oz and only 16.25" long.  She had a rough start to life but she has sure made up for it these past 2 years!!!  Happy World Prematurity Day out there to all of our preemie friends - Aunt Sarah, Eliza, Remi, Jake, Parker, Chase, Leah, and many more!!

And this cold that we all have must be some mutant cold.  Seriously, Trent went back and got more shots, I went and got a z-pack of my own, and Claire was tachypnic all night last night so I laid awake all night listening to her breathe.  I don't freak out about much (well, depends on who you ask) but last night I was really worried.  Breathing fast may not mean a whole lot to many people, but the word tachypnea freaks out any preemie mom - especially a preemie heart mom. 

Thank God I was able to talk to Dr. Rachel last night and ask her opinion.  Why can't she just live here so she can be Claire's personal doctor?!?!  :)  She told me the "bad" signs to watch for such as really labored breathing where I could see Claire's lungs/ribs and flaring of her nares/nose.  Of course I couldn't really see any of that since she was sleeping but her breaths were short, fast, and shallow.  I start freaking out since Claire was also super clingy last night and basically just wanted me to hold her.  That is TOTALLY out of charachter for her.  So as I started worrying, Dr. Rachel talked me down and calmed me down. 

She said a lot of times with viral pneumonia and infection in the lungs, tachypnea happens.  So I am praying that's all it is and nothing heart related.  You can never be too cautious.  I will watch her this morning when she gets up and see how it goes.

Please continue to pray for healing and health for our family!  This cold/virus is crazy!

Love,
The Scott Family

ClawDia Kitty

Well, the past 3 weeks have been full of snot, coughing, congestion, fever, up all night, cold medicine, antibiotics, doctors visits, more antibiotics, shots, Vicks, and now a new addition - ClawDia Kitty.  I will explain more about her in a minute.

About 3 weeks ago before the Big Game Hunt, Claire was starting to get congested and even ran a fever.  I called the doctor that weekend and pretty much begged for advice over the phone instead of bringing Claire in since she is mortified of the doctor's office.  The nurse told me to give her Zyrtec and Mucinex Cough and so I did.  She stayed congested the next week but didn't have any runny nose or anything and the fever went away.  That next weekend, she wasn't any better. I called again and the nurse said to keep doing what we were doing and hopefully it would go away soon. 

That following week Claire was up for 2 hours almost every night hacking her head off.  Nothing was helping.  That led us to last weekend. Saturday morning Claire woke up with terrible snot running out of her nose and a wet, nasty cough.  I decided it was time to brave the trip to the doctor.  We went in and sure enough, Claire had a sinus infection and ear infection.  They put her on Augmentin (supposed to be top of the line antibiotic) and told us to continue the OTC meds. 

All this past week we have not seen ANY improvement on the antibiotic.  Tuesday, Claire got sent home from preschool with a low grade fever.  I called the nurse again and we were told to wait out the antibiotic.  I called again Wednesday because she was no better, but the fever was gone.  Wait another few days.  I asked if we could switch meds because she was still not any better.  No switching meds.  

So after we were up for 2 hours last night with Claire unable to breathe, coughing continuously, and breathing fast, and waking up with a low grade fever, we went back to the doctor today.  The doctor said she didn't think it was RSV which is good.  But it could possibly be a viral type cold that really is not responding to antibiotics.  Her ears looked better but still had fluid on them.  The doctor decided to add another antibiotic (Azythromycin sp?) on top of the Augmentin.  She said she thought Claire may have a little bit of pneumonia, but not enough to hospitalize her (thank God!!!). 

I have stopped by the pharmacy enough this past week they know who I am when I walk in.  The pharmacist even said today that he thought Claire would end up being an Olympic gymnast when she got older because she has such strength and determination and has been so strong through everything she endures.....

The doctor also prescribed breathing treatments.  Hence, ClawDia Kitty:

ClawDia Kitty is our newest addition - she is Claire's nebulizer!  I think it's cute that they make them like this for kids.  Claire loves ClawDia as long as she is not on.  Tonight to give her the first treatment, we had to put ClawDia outside and feed the tubing under the door to Claire's highchair.  She freaked out of course with the mist/smoke blowing in her face.  But I pulled out the DVD player and that seemed to help some.  I am praying with the new meds and the breathing treatments, this cold will let loose it's major hold on her.   She had even lost a pound since she was seen on Saturday.  :(

Of course, Claire DID NOT put the mask on.  I was not even dumb enough to think she might.  But we did hold the tubing by her face so as she was crying, I am sure she sucked some of the medicine up.  I think it's Albuterol that is in her nebulizer. 

And on top of Claire being sick, she so graciously has shared it with me and Trent.  Trent is so sick he has already been to the doctor twice this week and has received I think 8 Rocephin shots, 4 steroid shots, is taking 40 mg of Prednizone a day, and 2 z-pack pills a day for the next week or 2.  Plus ear drops.  I am trying to survive on DayQuil and NyQuil.  But of course with my stress, my face has  broken out in that weird bumpy rash again like it did 3 weeks ago.  It's so strange and makes my face feel weird and itchy and burning.  Ugh.  If Trent and Claire would get better, I know I would feel better. 

So that's what we have been up to lately.  Not much fun.  Please pray that Claire is on the mend.  I know how I feel, I cannot imagine how she feels. 

Love,
The Scott Family

Artwork

Sorry it's been so long since I last blogged.  It's just been really busy lately!  Plus Claire's had a cold for 2 weeks so I haven't really had a lot to blog about.

This week we went to the annual spaghetti supper at Clarie's preschool. They decorate with all of the kids' artwork.  Here are a few shots of Claire's artwork.  So cute!!

Love,
The Scott Family

Trick or Treat 2012

Here are a few more Halloween pictures!

 

 

A good one of all the kids at Jack's party!

Trunk or Treat

She found the piano!

Trunk or Treat with Granny's bag of Nerds

Getting some candy as she runs through the parking lot.

Claire and her buddy Will from preschool

Claire with Ms. Caroline

I am trying to hold her still for a picture with Jack aka Super Why but it wasn't working

Claire with Uncle Phillip and Jackson (she calls him Turkey)

Claire and Miller and Ace (Miller has on his festive tshirt!)

Claire and Aunt Amanda

Picking M&Ms just for Claire

Despite the cold and the meltdown at the end of the night, Claire had a pretty good Halloween!! 

 

Love,

The Scott Family

 

Birthdays, hunting tournaments, and Halloween parties, oh my!

This past weekend was super busy.  Add in a little Hurricane Sandy and that made it even more crazy.  I mean - really - when has there ever been a hurricane here at the end of October?!? 

 

Pollocksville Volunteer Fire Department (where Trent is chief) worked really hard all year to plan their biggest fundraiser - the Big Game Hunt.  Of course, a hunting tournament is held outside.  This year, it was held outside in the rain and wind.  Friday wasn't so bad - a good day for hunters.  Claire came out and visited us for a little bit. 

 

 

 

 

The tournament lasted all day Friday and Saturday, so we were beat after that.  Sunday Claire and I attended Jack's 2nd annual Halloween party.  It gave us something to look forward to in the middle of such a rainy day.  Claire had a blast and was the cutest bumble bee ever. 

 

Cousins Claire (bumble bee), Connor (Woody from Toy Story), and Anna (fairy princess)

Claire, Anna, Jack (Super Why), and Connor

Seriously - this little stinger on the butt was so cute!

Claire's miracle friend Parker (cutest bat ever!!!)

Best attempt at a group picture

 

Carrie, Parker, Claire, me

Connor (aka Woody)

Anna and another Toy Story character

She actually let me put the hood on!!!!!  Curls galore!

 

Friday was Trent's birthday, but since we were at the BGH, we didn't get to celebrate until Sunday evening after the Halloween party. Sunday morning in the rain, we were looking for something fun to do.  We tried going to the mall to run around but it was closed.  So we went to Dollar Tree.  I had read on a friend's blog once that she took her kids to Dollar Tree each year for her husband's birthday and let them pick out a few things - whatever they wanted - to give their dad.  I thought this was hilarious because the things they picked out were so funny!  So I thought I would let Claire do the same.  Whatever she picked up, that was what Trent got. 

 

As we were walking up to the store, I heard Claire saying "D", "R", etc..   I looked up and realized she was reading the letters off of the Dollar Tree sign!!!!!!  So smart!

 

 

 

She ran through the store and had a blast.  She stopped and picked up 4 things as you see below.  A box of garden vegetable crackers, a paint roller, a bag of dog treats, and a yellow dog squeeky toy.  Trent loved all of his gifts.  Claire almost also picked up a box of dog bones.  She walked by and studied them for a while.  I was beginning to wonder if she was giving us a hint about wanting a dog....

 

 

 

I think this will be our new tradition each year!  Really fun!

 

Grandma Neat Neat fixed supper for us Sunday night to celebrate.   Claire had helped her the day before fix and decorate Trent's cake.  She helped with the icing and then gave it her "special touch" and added the chocolate Teddy Graham. 

 

 

 

We had a great weekend but were all exhausted when today came around.  Claire's got some sort of cold going on also, so she is battling that.  We are hoping to have more fun with Halloween stuff this week.  Tomorrow at preschool they will celebrate.  Then Wednesday at my parent's church, they will have a Trunk or Treat.  We can't wait!!

 

Love,

The Scott Family