Busy Once Again

This past week was the first week since Lauren has been home that we did not have either a doctors appointment, weight check, occupational therapy or speech therapy. However, on Friday I ended up taking Lauren to the doctor. I guess we just can't stand a week of being appointment free. She started developing a cough on Wednesday and I thought it was pollen related. By Friday she was not feeling well at all, so I decided to take her in. She had a slight fever when the nurse checked her temperature. It hadn't been up when I had checked it. I was happy to be able to get an appointment with her regular pediatrician. She said her lungs sounded a little congested and wanted to do a breathing treatment. I had been giving Lauren her albuterol thinking it was pollen related and would help her. The doctor was concerned that it might be pneumonia, but if the crackling in her lungs cleared up after the breathing treatment, we were just dealing with a respiratory cold. Lauren hated the breathing treatment. It was very different than the albuterol we give her at home, but her lungs cleared up after it, which I was so thankful for. We were sent home with directions to do a treatment every 4-6 hours for 3 days. While she is eating better and overall seems to be feeling better, she still has the yucky cough. I called her ped today and she said to continue to give her the albuterol 3 times a day for another 3 days. Lauren's big issue is she can't clear her airway like a child with good lungs, so her cough seems more persistent and worse. Paul and I had planned to go away for the weekend for our 6 year anniversary. I felt like a bad mother leaving Lauren sick, but my mom and dad were watching her and I knew she would be taken care of. I remember being sick and all they would do for me to make me feel better, so I knew we would come back and she would be better and very spoiled! We took Kristen to the circus on Saturday, which she started out being very interested, but then wanted to go home. I guess once you have seen one clown, person jumping in the air and elephant you have seen them all. After that we dropped her by my mom and dad's and headed to Shenandoah Virginia to a cabin in the woods. It was such a peaceful and relaxing time. The cabin we rented was beautiful. The irony was it was right beside the train tracks and we have train tracks right behind our house. There was just no getting away from those trains! While one comes by our house every 30 minutes (sometimes closer together) on this track we only saw 4. We stayed Saturday and Sunday and came back on Monday. We went to Luray Caverns, fishing, shops, a garden maze and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows on the fire pit at the cabin. It was a much needed vacation. While we enjoyed ourselves, we were very happy to come home and see our girls. Lauren had started trying to walk while we were away. Of course, those little milestones have to happen on the one weekend I am away from her. It is more memorable because we were told that was something she would never do. I was so happy when we came back to see that. We did have an appointment with her developmental doctor today and he said she looks great. If she is walking by her next appointment, which is in August, he is going to release her. One less specialist will be great. As far as the MRI goes, it is up to us whether we want to have it or not. He said that it isn't a bad idea to get a look at her brain, but not something that is important to her care plan because she is doing so great. That being said, I don't think we will have it done. She would have to be put to sleep and there are risks for that. There just isn't any reason for us to put her through anything else. God is in control and no matter what the MRI would show, he has planned her future...not the doctors.

Here are some pictures of the circus and our trip.