Random Monday - July 21, 2014

Princess gets word mixed up quite a bit.  My new favorite mix-up of hers is when she's trying to help calm Little Dude while I get something done.  "Mommy, I'll annoy him for you!"  It took me a few times to realize that she means she'll entertain him.

Someone posted this in a Facebook group for parents of little ones with feeding problems that I'm a member of and I thought it was too good not to share!

Star spent 5 minutes the other day swatting at my arm and yelling, "Shoo fly!"  I have a freckle on my arm...

Lofty goals from Little Man...
Little Man: When I grow up, I'm going to be 13! 

Princess: Mommy, when I'm a teenager, will you be old?

Star outdid herself on the "giving Mommy gray hairs" front last week.  I had to call poison control for her THREE times because she ate ant poison, mouse poison, and one of those little silica gel packets that come in shoeboxes.  Disclaimer: I have NO IDEA where she got the silica gel packet from as I haven't bought new shoes in several years, and I didn't think she could get behind the furniture to the ant poison or mouse poison.  You know how mice can fit through pencil sized holes?  I'm starting to think Star can too.

Little Man has a obstinate streak...for example: one night at supper, I said he had to eat 4 carrots. I emphasized FOUR, not one, two, or three as he tends to try to negotiate a lower number. He responded with, "Fine, then I'm going to eat five!" Okay, buddy, have it your way!

Little Man to Hubby when they met in the hallway: "excuse me, sir" 

A few weeks after we moved into our new house, the dryer broke.  Ever tried to do laundry for a family of six that includes four young children and a farmer without a dryer?  Yeah, fun times. (Side note: my mom went for years without a dryer and sometimes a washer and she cloth diapered!  No idea how she didn't go completely insane, lol)  I thought I'd be smart and get a clothesline because my clothes drying racks only fit 1 load of laundry-except that the clothesline is still sitting in the box.  Thankfully though, we'd been saving up money for expenses like that for the last few years and were able to get an amazing deal on a front loader, high efficiency, high capacity washer and dryer set.  Hubby and his dad hooked them up last night and I'm so psyched to be doing laundry again!

Adelaide's Attic Review and Giveaway

One of my favorite things about having little girls is the hair accessories.  We have tons of hairbows, headbands, barrettes, etc, but there's always room for more.  So when Julie from one of my favorite blogs, Director Jewels, started her own Etsy shop, I was pretty excited to see all the beautiful headbands she creates.  She also makes stuffed owls, pillows, party supplies, and more!  She was sweet enough to send me two headbands, one for each of my girls.

Of course, Star is in the fun toddler stage where she refuses to be photographed as anything other than a blur, but I managed to get one quick picture of the two girls together.
 

Princess was kind enough to model both of the headbands for a few more pictures.

The headbands are really well made and even when I caught Star chewing on hers, it stayed together perfectly (although I am not advocating using them as chew toys, obviously.)

The headbands themselves are made with soft FOE that is so stretchy and comfortable that the girls don't mind wearing their headbands all day. 

Julie was kind enough to let me interview her.

Q: When did you start your business?
A: I've been crafting since I was a little girl, so owning a shop has kind of always been a dream.  I opened Adelaide's Attic at the beginning of 2014.

Q: How did you get started?
A: After creating gifts for my own kids, friends, and family members wiht positive reviews and encouragement, I decided to take the leap and offer my products to others!

Q: Describe some of your products:
A: I dabble in many crafting mediums, so you never know what may pop up in my shop!  So far, my product list includes children's clothing (dresses and tie onesies), plush personalized pillows, and lovey blankets, and a large assortment of hair accessories.

Q: What inspires you?
A: There is inspiration in just about everything in the world, but I draw the most from my beautiful children and their laughter, bright sunshine after a week of rainy days, and breathtakingly beautiful music. 


How would you like a hair accessory for your little one from Adelaide's Attic?  Julie was sweet enough to offer my readers a hair accessory of choice, up to a $15 value.  Enter in the rafflecopter widget below.  You can also use the coupon code BLOG2014SUPERMOMMY for 10% off any purchase through August 31st at Adelaide's Attic.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So Much To Miss

As much as I love Little Dude, there's no doubt that he's changed my life completely in the four months since he arrived.  I wouldn't trade him for the world, but there are things about my life BLD (Before Little Dude) that I miss.  

I miss blogging.  Writing has always been my outlet and now that I don't have time to do much of it, I really miss it, especially since I could really use an outlet besides chocolate these days.  Right now, I only turn on my computer a few times a month.  I have my tablet so I can stalk browse Facebook while spending hours holding Little Dude or tube feeding, but it's just too hard to blog on my tablet.

I miss sewing.  I finally managed to snag a few yards of Frozen fabric which usually sells out within a few hours of being put up for sale.  Somehow, getting new fabric did not help me miss my sewing machine any less.

I found this super cute Bambi fabric at Joann Fabrics yesterday and bought 2 yards.  Now to stare at it wistfully and wish I could actually do something with it.

I miss my kids.  I spend so much time caring for Little Dude that I barely have time for my other kids.  They've definitely been noticing the lack of attention and acting out because of it.  Because it is so hard to calm Little Dude down when he gets upset and because most people can't tube feed him, if someone does come over to help out with the kids, they'll take charge of the older three so I can focus on Little Dude.  While I greatly appreciate the help, I desperately want to spend some time focusing on my other kids too.   

My little cutie pie wearing overalls for the first time since getting his G Tube.  I usually dress him in onesies and sleepers for easier access to the G Tube.

I miss my husband.  Between working the night shift, caring for the kids, and Little Dude's frequent doctor appointments, Hubby and I don't see much of each other these days. 

I miss sleep.  My oldest two kids slept through the night by 5 weeks old and Star slept through the night at 7 weeks *ducks tomatoes thrown by sleep deprived moms*.  I knew I was lucky and I was always afraid that my luck wouldn't hold up with each child I gave birth to.  Turns out, my luck ran out with Little Dude.  He's up 1-3 times a night usually for extended periods and up early in the morning.  I very rarely get naps during the day because the kids' naps never seem to coordinate and Little Dude doesn't nap well.  I now consider 6 hours of interrupted sleep a good night's sleep. 

I miss being oblivious to the stresses of having a special needs child.  I've always had the utmost respect for moms of children with special needs or chronic health issues, but until you're there, you don't know just how hard it really is.  I feel like my heart gets ripped out of my chest at least a few times a week when we get more bad news from a doctor or Little Dude has a rough day.  And since we still don't have an official diagnosis for all of his problems and won't for a long time, if ever (sometimes the doctors never do find a diagnosis for kids like this), there's the uncertainty and not knowing what we're up against.    




 

Long Overdue Update on Little Dude

So we've been busy....

We're up at Mayo 1-2 times a week right now for visits with different specialists, tests, etc.  When I'm home, I'm either holding Little Dude or running around like a madwoman trying to clean as much as I can before he wakes up again :) 

On July 3rd, Little Dude had a full day of appointments at the Mayo Clinic.  He had a fluoroscopy of his lungs, a blood draw, an appointment with the geneticist, and an appointment with pulmonology.  My sister-in-law (the doctor) came with and I was really glad she was there because she was able to help me figure out some of the information we came away with.  We were at the clinic for over 7 hours that day. 

The pulmonologist ordered the blood draw because Little Dude's lactic acid levels and eosinophils were really high while Little Dude was hospitalized back in May.  He was surprised that no one had bothered to re-check the levels.  He also diagnosed Little Dude with tracheomalacia which should have been picked up on earlier since Little Dude has had 2 fluoroscopies and 2 chest x-rays since 3 weeks of age.  The tracheomalacia causes breathing problems and noisy, rattley breathing.  When Little Dude cries, he often turns blue and has a harder time breathing thanks to the tracheomalacia so we try not to let him cry too much.

A friend of mine gave me this outfit for Little Dude.  She figured he should have an outfit with his blog name on it :)

Back when Little Dude first saw the geneticists while he was hospitalized in May, they said that they would run the chromosome test first and then if everything came back negative with that, move on to the longer, more difficult microarray blood test.  They said it would take about 2 months for the results of the second test and when they scheduled an appointment for him to be seen in July, I assumed that it was to see the results of it since the chromosome test was negative (as we suspected it would be).  So, I was pretty surprised when Little Dude was examined again at his appointment and then they asked if I wanted to run the second test.  Um, didn't we discuss this TWO months ago?!?!?  So now we have to wait another 10-12 weeks to find out if/what genetic syndrome he has.  They're specifically looking at Noonan Syndrome, Costello Syndrome, Williams Syndrome (one of my awesome readers actually emailed me about this one because she thought Little Dude sounded a lot like her son who has it), and Cardiofaciocutaneous Syndrome just to name a few.   
 

Little Dude tried out the jumper for the first time this week!

Today, Little Dude had a bronchoscopy, an esophageal study, another blood draw, and a urine sample.  The blood draw and urine sample were for the genetics testing because the paperwork wasn't done on that in time on July 3rd when we were at the clinic.  The other two tests showed that Little Dude has inflamed airways, but that he won't need surgery for the tracheomalacia as the pulmonologist suspected.  The pulmonologist instructed me to "spoil" Little Dude though so his breathing doesn't worsen.  Both the pulmonology and GI departments took biopsies which we will find out the results of next week.  We're specifically looking to see if Little Dude is aspirating reflux.  All the tests were done under anesthesia.  Little Dude did great although he had to be poked countless times to get an iv and for the blood draw.  Thank goodness he was asleep for that.  He's had a fever and wanted to sleep since then, but I think by tomorrow he'll be getting back to normal.

BTW, I finally caved and opened an Instagram account.  :)   You can find me here: http://instagram.com/supermommyornot       

Little Dude - 3 Months

Age: 3 months

His sunburn hadn't healed all the way yet when I took this picture.

Weight and height: 10 pounds, 3 ounces and 26" long.  He's below the first percentile for weight on the growth charts and at 7 percent for height.

Wearing size: Size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes.  He's finally fitting into 0-3 month clothes better although it'll be a little while before he outgrows them.
 
Likes: Being swaddled and toasty warm.  Being sang to.  He loves being snuggled and takes a pacifier really well.  He loves ceiling fans and will smile at them when they're moving.  

Dislikes: Not being held all the time (I've tried different baby carriers for him with no luck), going to sleep.

Eating habits: Thanks to the G Tube, he's gaining weight well now.  He still won't take much formula by mouth, approximately 1 ounce per feeding, but at least he doesn't scream when I put the bottle in his mouth like he used to.  He gets 3 1/2 ounces of formula every 3 hours and then once during the night when he wakes up.  I start each feeding by offering the bottle and then whatever he doesn't drink gets fed through the G Tube.  Because of his fussiness, feedings can take up to 1 1/2 hours which means that I spend a lot of my time feeding Little Dude.
   

Sleeping habits: He doesn't usually nap well during the day.  If I set him down, he wakes up almost immediately.  He'll stay asleep longer if I hold him, but still doesn't nap as long as he needs to.  Sometimes, he'll have a good nap where he'll stay sleeping for over an hour after I lay him down, but unfortunately, that doesn't happen everyday.  He usually is asleep for the night by 9-10 pm and then wakes up between 1 and 3 am to eat.  He's up for the day between 6:30 and 7 am. 

Milestones: He's smiling and "talking" and loves interaction.  He clasps his hands together and brings them to his mouth and will also grab things and try to get them in his mouth too.  He's just started purposely reaching for things whereas before he would only grab them if they happened to touch his hands.  He holds his head up pretty well during tummy time. 

One of Little Dude's half smiles :)

Miscellaneous:  He still cries a lot, but less then a month ago.  Still way more than the average baby though.  He has appointments coming up with his geneticist and with pulmonology for a cough and wheezing he's had since he was 3 weeks old.  He had his first G Tube change and barely cried at all.  His stoma (the hole that the G Tube goes into in his stomach) has healed well.
He got his first sunburn from being out in the sun 15-20 minutes one day (that time was spread out throughout the day and wasn't all at once).  We were at a picnic and I was really careful to keep him out of the sun, but all it took for him to get badly burned was walking from one shaded spot to another during the day.  The next day, his forehead and nose were bright red, blistered, and weeping pus.  The poor little guy was miserable.  Once the sunburn healed, he was in the sun for less than a minute while I walked from the porch to a shaded spot in our yard and back.  By the time, I got back inside, his forehead and nose had already started to burn.  We're extremely careful not to expose him to any sunlight at all now since he burns so quickly.  When he's in the stroller, I cover it with a blanket and when he's in the carseat, I put a sunshade over it that covers the whole thing. 

You Don't Know How Strong You Are

Have you ever looked at someone else's life and thought to yourself, "There's no way I could handle that."

Chances are, you could handle it if you were there.

You can read an updated version of this post here on my new blog, Sunshine and Spoons! I hope to see you there!

Random Monday on Wednesday

Yeah, I'm a little off :)  My mind is a jumble of thoughts and I can't seem to get anything straight so I'm turning this into one of my Random Mondays posts even if it is Wednesday today.

Little Man told me that he only eats on Wednesdays now.  That should save some money on the grocery bill, right?

Princess will be done with school next week and I'm really looking forward to it.  It'll be so nice to have her home and not have to get up early every morning (unless Little Dude or Star wake me up, of course).  Right now, I'm up until 12:30-1:30 am with Little Dude, then up around 3 am for up to an hour and a half to feed him again, and then up for the day at 6:30 to get Princess ready for school.  I've had three other newborns, but this is a level of exhaustion that I didn't know was possible.  I actually fell asleep while pushing the stroller to the post office last week and many times, I'm so tired that my legs just give out and I have to hang onto something so I won't fall.  Someone recently complained to me that she was tired because she has to get up for work at 7 am four days a week after staying up late the night before.  This same person also told me that she was too tired and crabby to have any sympathy for anyone-this as we're dealing with unknowns and constant medical issues with our high-needs baby.  I was already having one of those days where Little Dude was being very needy and I was stressing about medical bills and his medical problems and the way she said it pretty much sent me over the edge so I spent the next 45 minutes crying.  But that's fine.  I'm not looking for sympathy, I'm looking for understanding and support and it's become pretty clear in the last few months who can be supportive and who can't.  Thankfully, most of my friends and family have been amazing and have done more to support us in so many ways than I could've ever asked for.     

We're loving our new house.  My mother-in-law and sister-in-law unpacked a lot of boxes and rearranged furniture for me while I was staying in the hospital with Little Dude so when I came home it felt like a home instead of a house filled with boxes and furniture. 

My sister feeding Little Dude.  We've found that, as long as he isn't crying too much, the bouncy seat is a good place to feed him as it puts him in the right position and we don't have to balance him and the tube and syringe at the same time.  Plus, he loves the bouncing motion so that can calm him down if he gets restless.

Little Dude has good days and bad days.  On a good day, he won't cry as much, will nap better, and will take more formula by mouth versus by g-tube.  On a bad day, he'll cry all day and will refuse to eat anything by mouth.  But, at least there are a few good days now and that's what's getting me through this right now.  And as a bonus, we finally got him on our insurance!  There was a problem with some paperwork and all of his medical claims were being denied which was a bit stressful for us.

Finally caught a smile on camera!

We're still waiting for a diagnosis for Little Dude.  Some of the genetics testing that he's having done can take months to come back so we know it could be a while.  In the meantime, his main issue is not eating and with the g-tube, we know we can help him get enough food now so we're focusing on that instead of the unknown.  Last week, he was turning blue when he cried so I took him the ER where they did an extensive echo of his heart to be sure there wasn't something else going on besides the PFO heart murmur.  His heart checked out and his lungs also looked clear on the x-ray so we didn't have to be admitted to the hospital this time.  Little Dude has had problems breathing and has had a cough and constant wheezing since he caught a cold at 3 weeks old (which is what put him in the hospital the first time).  Those issues recently got worse and we've had to do nebtreatments to help him breath.  We'll be looking into that more next week when he has his next doctor's appointment.  

A dear friend of mine sent Little Dude a personalized hospital gown for if he has to go back to the hospital.  She's the founder of Gracie's Gowns, an organization that provides special personalized hospital gowns to children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses at no cost to the family.  It's a wonderful organization that blesses many families and if you are able to, I encourage you to support it by sponsoring a gown for a child. 

Little Dude with his gown from Gracie's Gowns

It's taken me almost 2 hours to write this post thanks to the many interruptions from the kiddos and since it's now time to feed Little Dude again, I better call it good enough, no matter how disjointed and poorly written it is  :)

Little Dude-2 Months

We've been home from the hospital since Friday evening, but this is the first chance I've had to sit down and update the blog.  I'm going to make this Little Dude's 2 month update since it's all about him anyways. 

We're still waiting for results from the genetic testing, but Little Dude's MRI of his brain looked good which was good news.  Last Wednesday, he had surgery to have a G Tube placed in his stomach for feeding.  It was a decision that we didn't make lightly, but ultimately it was the best choice for him and for us.  I'm still dealing with guilt over it because I keep thinking that maybe I didn't try hard enough to get him to eat or maybe I'm just not a good enough mom because I can't feed my baby, but then he refuses the bottle for the 4th feeding in a row and I know that we did the right thing.

Because Little Dude has some catching up to do, we're feeding him 83 Ml of formula every 3 hours around the clock at the direction of his dietician.  He gets his weight checked twice a week and we'll re-evaluate his feedings as his weight changes.  As of yesterday, he was up to 9 pounds, 3 ounces which is an amazing weight gain for him.  I start each feeding by offering him the bottle and work with him for 20-30 minutes before feeding him the rest via G Tube.  Usually he'll take under an ounce by mouth and then refuse any more, but every once in a great while, he'll finish almost the whole bottle.   

Little Dude actually cries harder and more frequently now that he did when he was starving.  I keep reminding myself that it's a good sign because it means that he's thriving and has plenty of energy and strength.  But, at the same time, it makes everything so much harder.  He cries for hours every day and cries almost every time I set him down.  Unfortunately, I have to lay him down to connect the tube extension to his G Tube to feed him and if he's crying and kicking, it makes it tricky to get it in.  I spend a lot of time walking around the house with him because that's one of few ways to calm him down and keep him calm. 

I've had quite a few people ask how I can handle all this.  Honestly, I'm not handling it.  I lose my temper with the kids more than I'd like to admit because I'm so stressed and exhausted.  Somedays, I just want to quit or leave for a while, but I can't.  I don't have a choice about all this and that's how I'm handling it.  I have no choice, but to keep going even when I've only slept for 5 hours in the last two days, haven't eaten or gone to the bathroom in 9 hours, and Little Dude has been crying for 6 hours straight. 

I do have a lot of help though.  My wonderful family and friends have helped so much with the other kids, unpacking boxes at our new house, bringing meals over, etc.  I've had to re-read my blog post I wrote about accepting help gracefully because it's hard to come to terms with the fact that I need so much help right now.  My sister and her four kids came to stay this week with us, and while Hubby had his doubts about four extra kids in the house when things are already so hard, it's been such a relief and blessing to have her here.  She's able to take care of meals for the other kids and entertain them while I focus on Little Dude.  And, the best part is that, thanks to an old job she used to have, she's had a lot of experience with G Tubes and is able to feed Little Dude for me sometimes.  No one else in our family knows how to tube feed him (Hubby and his mom are planning to learn, but haven't had the chance to yet) and I get so exhausted being the only one who can take care of him so it's a huge relief to have one other person who I know can do it too.  

My sister reading a story to all the kids except Little Dude.

And to finish off this post, how about some 2 month stats on Little Dude...

Weight and height: As of yesterday (May 12th), he weighed 9 pounds, 3 ounces.

Wearing size: He's still in newborn and 0-3 month clothes.  Most 0-3 month clothes is a little too big for him.   He wears size 1 diapers. 

Likes: Being swaddled and toasty warm.  I got him some of these SwaddleMe blankets which are great because I can keep his arms wrapped up tight while still having access to his G Tube for feedings.  He loves being sang to, snuggling, and his pacifier.  While Little Dude was in the hospital, I got him this elephant that vibrates and plays lullabyes which seems to help him relax sometimes.  

Dislikes: Being put down, having his diaper or clothes changed, eating, being in his carseat.  

No Answers Yet

I'd like to start this post with a heartfelt thank you to all who have been praying for our family and for the sweet comments I've received on the last few blog posts.  I don't have time to reply to each and every one of you right now, but just know that I deeply appreciate your prayers, advice, and encouragement.

I'm home for the first time since last Thursday night and Hubby is up at the hospital with Little Dude.  I'm looking forward to getting a good night's sleep so I can be refreshed to go back to the hospital early tomorrow morning.

Hanging out in the swing at the hospital

Hubby's sister is a doctor and is home for her vacation this week.  The timing could not have been better as she's been spending a lot of time at the hospital with me, helping me give the doctors the information they need and coming up with questions that I need to ask.  Since I'm not a medical professional, it's extremely helpful to have someone around who know what to do in a situation like this.

Little Dude's GI study showed no abnormalities and the ENT consult didn't show anything wrong either.  Two geneticists are consulting on his case now and will be doing tests to check for a genetic syndrome.  Based on the list we've put together of Little Dude's unusual characteristics and personality, they're fairly certain that they will find something.  They're doing blood tests, a urine test, and an ultrasound of his internal organs.   

Sleeping at last!

Here's an overview of his symptoms and characteristics:

• Problems eating and a disinterest in food.
• Dry skin-this runs in our family, but we're still adding it to the list just in case since his is more severe and widespread over his body than the other kids' have ever been.
• Slightly inset wide-spread eyes that have an almond shape.
• Ears that are low-set, rotated slightly, and bigger than average.
• A high arch palate-basically the roof in his mouth is abnormally high.
• An improper suck while feeding.
• Hypersensitivity-the slightest touch or movement often sets off a massive crying fit.
• Arching of the back and neck-Little Dude usually has his back arched and his neck extended in what looks like a very uncomfortable position.
• A hoarse, often high-pitched cry.
• Being extremely hard to calm down and keep calmed down.
• Heart murmur.
• Not meeting developmental milestones-he doesn't smile, laugh, track things with his eyes, put his hands in his mouth, wave his arms and kick when awake (unless he's crying about something), or coo.

On Friday night, Little Dude got an Ng tube put in which, while somewhat scary to me, was also a huge relief because we can finally be sure that he is getting enough to eat.  At each feeding (which is every 3 hours around the clock), we start by offering him a bottle.  Every once in a while, he takes it well, but usually we end up doing most of the feeding via the feeding tube.  While the feeding tube is a good thing right now, it's also the equivalent of putting a band-aid on the real problem.  But the doctors are working hard to come up with a diagnosis for him and then we can determine what the next step will be.  I've come to terms with the fact that we've ruled out all the "quick fixes" for Little Dude's eating problem and this is going to be something he will struggle with for some time.  We don't know if he'll do better when he starts eating solids, but as he'll still need a bottle for the next 10 months or so, we definitely need to come up with a solution in the meantime.  

Prayers Needed

On Wednesday, I took Little Dude in to see the doctor again (third time this week) and he'd lost another ounce despite me working with him almost constantly to try to get him to eat.  She called the pediatricians she's been consulting with on his case and it didn't take long for them all to decide that he needed to be hospitalized so we could figure out what's going on with him.  Hubby was sleeping because he was working the night shift that night so I scrambled for a last-minute babysitter for the three older kids before heading to the Mayo Clinic with Little Dude.

In the past month, we've tried 5 or 6 different bottles and nipples, 3 different formulas, different feeding positions, Zantac, etc. and nothing's helped so far.  He'll start sucking on the bottle, but will quickly pull away and start crying.  We have to calm him down with a pacifier before trying the bottle again, at which point, he'll do the same thing.  This can go on for over an hour.  Eating has become so unpleasant for him that he's to the point where he's showing very little interest in eating and, if we don't constantly push him to eat, he'll easily go 8+ hours without eating.  He's been averaging 9-10 ounces of formula in a 24 hour period which isn't nearly enough for a baby his age and size.  

Little Dude really likes the mobile on his hospital crib

So far, he's got all the doctors stumped.  He's seen GI doctors and an Occupational Therapist and will be seeing an ENT soon as well.  Today, he had a swallow study done which he did really well at and tomorrow he's having a GI study done.  The first night we were there, his nurse and I took turns working with him all night to get him to eat and we actually managed to get a good amount of food in him.  Today though, he hasn't been eating much again no matter how much we try and if he keeps that up, he'll be getting an NG tube.

Our family could really use prayers right now.  We need to figure out what's wrong with Little Dude and get him eating so he can grow.  The three older kids have had a rough two months as well because I have to focus on Little Dude so much that I barely have time to take care of their basic needs let alone spend any quality time with them.  I miss my kids and I hate that I constantly have to find babysitters for them or send them to Grandma's house for a night or two while we're dealing with Little Dude.  Add to all of this the fact that we moved two weeks ago and there's a great deal of stress on all of us.  

Anyways, Hubby is staying at the hospital with Little Dude tonight so I could come home and get some sleep.  It's already 10:30 so it's time to go to bed so I can get up in the morning and be back at the hospital before the doctors go on their rounds.