Spiderman Visits the Zoo

Jadzia turns four tomorrow. I have my kids signed up for many different birthday clubs. I do this because the clubs send you free gifts in the form of coupons for free items. I thought Friday would be a good day for Jadzia and I to spend her birthday coupons.

First stop was Build a bear where her birthday coupon allowed her to get a small monkey and princess outfit. She has not put the monkey down once except for a freezer incident. That is a long story and you'd have to ask Xander for precise details.
In the same mall was Barnes and Nobles where the kids get a free cafe cupcake and book for their birthday. Jadzia chose a vanilla cupcake with white frosting. She let me try it and it was delectable. We made one last stop at Chic- fila and then to the store to pick out her on her birthday cake.This morning was about Xander. I had promised him that we would go to the zoo, just him and I. Landon had the arcade day on Wednesday and Jadzia had had a movie day and got to spend all her birthday coupons so Xander needed a day.

At the zoo we stayed awhile at each exhibit. Xander played in the playground and fed llamas, goats, fish and ducks. I ended up getting him three cups for the llama and goats because he was having so much fun. He was sure the llama liked him better than all the other patrons at the zoo.Yes, I am aware in the above picture it looks like the llama is going to bite Xander's head but I assure you no head biting occurred.

We rode the train and he got his face painted. I tried to talk him into an animal since we were at the zoo but he insisted that black spiderman was the only way to go. We ate lunch and he was nervous he was going to smear his face paint. I had to keep assuring him the paint wasn't near his mouth. He ran into a little boy that had his face painted as red spiderman. The two of them couldn't quit talking about how cool spiderman is.We stopped at the gift shop and he was in a frog mood. He picked out a little stuffed frog and a frog claw toy. I had him pick out two grab bags. One for Landon and one for Jadzia. They are really cheap but you can't see what they are until after you buy them. When we got to the car we opened them. The first one was an armadillo and that one went to Jadzia and she named it "Dilla". She said it is a boy and it is married to Princess Monkey.

Landon's was a cassowary. I'm sure the real bird is beautiful but this stuffed animal is not the prettiest of items. Landon chose it over the armadillo and he absolutely loves it. He named it Fred and I think somehow his nurturing self took pity on the poor creature.

For the afternoon I decided it was time Jadzia have her first professional haircut. Her hair was extremely thin at the bottom but had grown in thick at the top. The stylist cut off the thin part leaving her for the first time ever with thick hair. Her hair curled really nicely and hopefully it should continue to grow in thick.

Outside the hair shop was a free game carnival. We played that for a little awhile and then we went to Chuck E cheese to finish off the last birthday coupon. I love birthday coupons because all the fun Jadzia and I had cost us nothing. I find it a way to give my kids fun birthdays while staying within budget. In case you are wondering Jadzia is wearing the same dress Friday as today. I washed it and she just had to wear it again.

Quick update on Ronan. He is having a hard time understanding why he can only have small amounts in his bottles. I put him in another room when we eat so he doesn't feel we are being cruel. I have to watch him like a hawk because he is very quick and when he spots a food opportunity he tries to take advantage of it. He is also having sinus problems again and keeps rubbing his head. Hopefully we'll get good news on Thursday.

On a final note Xander has two plastic caterpillars named Mr. and Mrs. Squishy. Today he asked me with a completely straight face "Mom, did they have to kill real caterpillars to make these?"

Finally Home

Ronan's surgeon wanted him to stay Wednesday night to ensure he was getting enough to sustain himself. He was feeling rather blue and it was showing through his grumpiness. He was restless and every time his hospital door was opened he would bolt for the door.

He got a big surprise Thursday afternoon when his big brothers and sister came home from their Grandparents'. My mother in-law brought them up for a visit and Ronan was beaming. He was the center of attention and they all had to take turns hugging and kissing him. He held his arms out for them to keep hugging him. He made sure everywhere they were he followed them.

I had not seen him that happy since before the hospital. He clearly had missed sibling smothering and chaos. They played games with him and Landon told him a story. When I see the way my kids love each other it makes me glad they all have each other. Five small children seems like a lot to people but I think it's perfect. They have built in best friends and they wouldn't have it any other way.

Ronan took a nap and we went home. I had promised Landon a day for awhile and since Ronan was taking an afternoon nap Isaac and I took Landon to a pizza arcade. We had fun playing several games.

Landon enjoyed the mini golf best. It was his first time and his dad had to help him. They played many more games together which included a hunting game and bowling.

This morning Landon, Jadzia and Inara all had dentist appointments. I had scheduled the kids in two groups mainly because I didn't think Ronan would feel well enough by today. I hadn't known at the time that he would still be in the hospital. I scheduled Xander with Ronan because Xander is extremely afraid of the dentist and I wanted to be able to focus more on him.

This was Inara's first dentist appointment and she did really well. Landon did well also and laughed when they cleaned his teeth. He is very ticklish on his gums apparently. Jadzia was a little scared and cried. The dental assistant used a regular tooth brush to clean her teeth because the noise from the electric one scared her. Maybe I should buy her an electric toothbrush so she can get used to it. All three of them were cavity free and it was a great check up.

I rushed over to the hospital because I hadn't seen Ronan since the night before. Just as I walked in so did his surgeon. He said Ronan could go home today because he believed everything they were doing I could do at home. He is on a strict diet of 2 ounces of pediasure every 2 hours including through the night.On Thursday he will go back to see his surgeon and they will determine if anything needs to be done. Ronan was very happy when I changed him into his clothes. He seemed to understand this meant he was going home.

After we got home I had to run to the store and took Xander with me. He found a pirate hat and sword and had to try them out. It's good to be home and Ronan is acting like himself again. He is smiling non stop and chilling on the little cars couch Grandma bought him.

What To Do About Ronan

These I'm not sure what was up with the above face other than Ronan thought it was hilarious to make that face. He attempted it several times and then laughed each time. Maybe the hospital is causing a little cabin fever craziness. Whatever the reason I'm glad he found something to laugh about. The hospital days are beginning to blur together. We are going on five nights with a possibility of being released tomorrow. Ronan would be quite pleased to escape the white walls and caged crib. But tomorrow's release has many stipulations. I wrote on Sunday how he was choking on pureed foods and no one knew why.

His surgeon came in on Monday to try and figure out the mystery. He said he'd never seen this before. I didn't find that comforting. Ronan also began refusing his bottle. He would take a few ounces and then toss it across the room. I had him demonstrate for his surgeon. His surgeon wanted to give him more time and said if he was still having problems in the morning he would order a swallow study.

For his 5:00 am feeding he had a very messy ordeal. Milk went everywhere. The surgeon ordered a swallow study because he wanted to see if the wrap from his surgery was correct. They wheeled us down to radiology and set everything up. We had to wait for about an hour because they weren't sure if this was the right test for Ronan. I didn't mind because Ronan was happy to be out of his room and our student nurse was friendly and we had great conversation.

Once they started the upper GI we could all see the problem as soon as he began swallowing. The radiologist told us to stop feeding him immediately. I've been to enough of these tests to know what was wrong. His food stopped short right where his esophagus met his stomach (right where the wrap was). The liquid basically dripped into his stomach rather than all going right in as it should. His wrap was way too tight. The radiologist said nothing will pass but liquids.


Below Ronan rocked himself to sleep. Yes, he was completely comfortable this way.

This explained the choking because the food built up until it blocked his airway. I waited the rest of the morning and afternoon for his surgeon to finish his clinic duties. When he did arrive he had a couple of ideas. We would log Ronan's intake for 24 hours and give him 2 oz bottles every hour to hour and a half. If his intake is enough to sustain him he will be sent home on a strict 2oz diet every hour. In a week he will be tested again to see if the wrap has stretched on its own. If that's the case that will be it and nothing else needs done.

However if he still can not eat then he will have to go in for a dilation and his surgeon said most likely the dilation will undue the wrap and his surgery will need repeated. The other thing is if his intake is not enough he will stay in the hospital until this Thursday and then the dilation will occur then and more than likely a repeat of the entire surgery.

I'm hoping he will be sent home and it will stretch on its' own. I will gladly give him round the clock feedings if we can avoid another surgery. Also the doctor told me he's been doing this surgery since 1980 and other than a similar case during his residency he has never had this happen. Out of the thousands he's done Ronan is the only one whose been like this. I'm not sure how I feel about that. This means there is little data on how a second attempt will affect him.

At this point I'm leaving it to God. He has gotten Ronan this far. He brought him out of the blue episode and protected his airway from many potentially fatal aspirations. I know he can get Ronan through this too. I'm also hoping Ronan will be happy again as he has been very sad the last couple of days. He loves to eat and this has been hard on him. He is also very tired of his hospital room and lights up when anyone comes to see him. The rest of the time he cries a lot and I feel bad for him.

He did have a break from being grumpy when I brought him a slinky. It is his favorite toy and he loved it. I love how it's the small things that improve his mood, a person smiling at him, a hug and something as simple as a slinky. He's one great little boy.