you never know what you're going to get...

Our life never has a dull moment. If you weren't aware, Cody spent a couple days in the hospital this past week.

Last Saturday Cody started to notice a very different feeling with his heart. He mentioned it to me that day, saying he just "didn't feel right."  After that, he never said another thing.

Monday night he had gone to bed before me and I heard him hollar at me from the bedroom. He wanted me to come in and listen to his heart. I laid my head down on his chest and immediately could tell something was not right. He said it had been doing this continuously since Saturday and he thought maybe he should go in.  ya think?!?  I'm not kidding, his heart was out of control!!

So I left the room, shut off the light, and soon the snoring began. I started to get nervous, so I called My Sanford Nurse to get some advice. She asked if I could tell what his heart rate was. I said, it was soo fast and irregular that there isn't anything I would even be able to count. She had me go in and do it anyway. So you can imagine, he wasn't very impressed that (#1) I woke him up and (#2) I had called the nurse.  I counted right around 100 beats per minute, but I knew that was a way low estimate because those were strong beats, there was all kinds of other stuff going on in there too. She told me that if it were to get to be 130 or higher, he needs to go to the ER. In the back of my head, I knew it had to be higher than that. But I also knew I wasn't going to get him out of bed to get to the emergency room. She told me this is not something to take lightly and that in the morning he MUST call and get into the dr.

The next morning I made him an appointment in Brandon. They did an EKG and his heart rate was between 130-140. The dr. said Cody needed to see Cardiology right away, hopefully yet that day. When the nurse called over to Cardiology, they didn't even want to see him, they said he had to go straight to the emergency room.

We drove over to the ER and things moved pretty quickly when he got there. Once in the ER, his heart rate was running between 160-180 beats/minute and very irregular. (everyone is different, but we were told an average heart rate should be around 70). They started some medication to help slow his heart down. Did another EKG, a chest x-ray and labs.

They said he had Atrial Fibrillation - an electrical problem within the heart causing an irregular and often fast heart rate.  The upper chambers of the heart were basically shaking, beating very chaotically and irregulary- out of coordination with the two lower chambers. This doesn't allow for efficient pumping of the blood throughout the heart, therefore blood pools within the upper chambers and can cause blood clots. Common treatment includes a cardioversion (an electrical shock) to get the heart back into a regular rhythm. But because Cody had let this go on for more than 48 hours, he was at an increased risk for blood clots. They said they would need to admit him to the heart hospital and do further testing. They don't want to shock you without looking for a clot, because if there were any clots once the heart starts beating regularly, it could push the clots right through and now be at an increased risk for stroke.

Once in the hospital they did an ECHO, which is an ultrasound of the heart, to take a closer look. Other than being out of whack, he has a nice strong, healthy heart. All of the tests came back normal, indicating that there wasn't a specific cause for this to happen. Sometimes, it just happens.

He was scheduled on Wednesday morning at 7:15 for a TEE test, putting a tube down the esophagus to get a better look at the back of the heart, looking for blood clots and if there were none, they would do the electrical shock, all while he was sedated.

But around 4:00 that morning, after the medication had gotten his heart rate slowed down, his heart flipped back into a regular rhythm all on it's own!! We were a little nervous about the treatment, so the fact that he didn't have to do it, was awesome news! Wednesday, Cody said he felt so much better. He could tell that his heart wasn't about to burst out of his chest, he didn't feel so tired or out of breath, and he was a lot cooler. His heart was no longer running a mararthon like it had been for the past four days.

We're not exactly sure why we have been put through so many trials and tribulations at our young age, but what we do know is that God is truly in control of it all.

Cody is nothing short of a miracle!!

Christmas #5



Christmas #4



Christmas #3



Christmas #2

Christmas with Cody's Dad

 



Christmas #1

Finke Family Christmas

 



let's go swimmin'!

Kaden was actually more interested in Diego on his swim diaper :)

He was brave enough to go down the slide...

you can't tell by the look in his face, but he really did like it!

 



lovin' our first snow!



what do you think of this little man?

The other morning, Paxton was up early to eat and as his wide eyes gazed up at me, I knew he wasn't planning on going back to sleep. So because I needed to get in the shower and start getting ready for work, I put him back in his crib with some toys. He was very content.

As I'm in the bathroom I hear a crash....

my heart sunk, I thought --oh my gosh, he just flipped himself out of his crib, what am I going to see when I walk in there, I don't know if I can go, what should I do, I don't hear any crying, is he still moving, is he that hurt, what should I do, could he really flip himself out of his crib, no he couldn't have just flipped himself out, what the heck was that then, oh my gosh did he really just flip himself out of the crib---

ok, so I know you're thinking that's a little over the top, but honestly that's how my anxious freakish mind works these days (it's a little out of control, but we're working on it). 

I walk into his room, and there he is standing up in his crib. Thank the Lord, he's still IN his crib. But what the heck! He's standing?!? How is my baby already pulling himself up to stand??  How is this happening??

He had reached over and knocked down the lamp on the side table next to his crib.

And oh was he proud!

our gift from God

 



 

We celebrated Paxton's baptism over Thanksgiving weekend. What a beautiful day it was. We kept it small. Because my sister and her family are currently living with my parents, my mom was just slighly panicked about having people over to the house. So we just had our immediate families and grandparents. But it was nice. Of course our little man was a rock star!

 



a 6 month old?

 

Who can believe we have a 6 month old in our house already?  Not me! Where has my baby gone? Because he certainly isn't a baby anymore, by any stretch of the imagination :(

 

6 month well baby check:

Weight: 20lbs. 12oz. (91%)

Height: 28" (91%)

*still eating rice/oatmeal cereal but now eating a variety of fruit and veggie purees. cries when his bowl is empty. i usually have to dish up some more.

 

*started eating gerber puffs. he doesn't always get them to his mouth, but he sure gets excited when he does. they also occupy him just enough that i can get his dinner ready without a fit.

 

*poor sleeping habits. short naps. likes to nap in my arms. often wakes up screaming. wakes throughout the night. we're trying the cry-it-out sleep training technique but with little success.

 

*wearing size 3 diapers

 

*wearing 9 month clothes

 

*crawling EVERYWHERE! trying to baby-proof with two 2 year olds in the house is like shoveling snow when it's still snowing!

 

*just started pulling to stand.

 

*doesn't care for his jumperoo much (not like the other two did). i think he's too confined and would rather be on the go.

 

*has 2 bottom teeth and chews on everything

 

*loves taking a bath. still uses the infant tub and splashes like a wild man.

 

*loves his brother and sister and will follow them around the house.

 

 *he really loves any attention and gives the best smile when you talk to him.

 

 

Other than some difficult nights...Pac-man is the best little baby. I don't know how we got so lucky!

Love you to the moon and back little man :)

 

 

I find it interesting to compare him developmentally to the twins. He is meeting milestones FAR AHEAD of both of them. While it's fun to watch, it makes me a little very sad. He's not supposed to be doing these things already. I feel like he's growing up on me way too fast :(

 

                          (sorry, not sure why these videos are so large)
 

                      *Paxton crawling at 5 months

                         *Paxton crawling at 6 months

wrap your head around this

What do ya think?

Triplets?

 

 

You do know they were all three "conceived" at the exact same time, right?

So wouldn't that make them triplets?

 

It messes with your mind a little to think that they are all "technically" the same age, but that little Pacman was frozen for a year.

 

Crazy right?



you know you're a parent of twins when...

I found this on Facebook and thought it was too cute. I'll share the ones that I felt we could relate to :)



YOU KNOW YOU'RE A PARENT OF TWINS WHEN...


...you must have two of everything or it's World War III.

...you do EVERYTHING twice.

...you've fully delivered a baby and they tell you to push for a second time.

...you take just one out with you and you feel a little lost, but shopping becomes a whole lot easier!

...it takes an hour to get 3 things at the grocery store because everyone stops to see the babies.

...everything takes twice as long.

...you count heads.

...going to a store it takes longer to get out of the car than the actual purchase, if you even do it at all!!

...you become A human jungle gym... and end up with more bruises than the babies.

...anytime you look at a price tag, your mental math default is "double that"

...you think you just might go a little nutty on the next person who says, "WOW you really have your hands full!", "Oh do twins run in your family?" 

...you have an appointment at noon and you start getting ready at 8.

...your entire wardrobe is 2 sizes bigger than before and still nothing fits you anymore.

...you spend more on diapers and formula than your actual mortgage.

...doing anything with one feels like a piece of cake!

...you find a super cute outfit, but leave it behind because you couldn't find one to match it.

...you use the word "singleton"

...no one can ride in your car because it's full of car seats

...you take one of your twins to the doctor because they are sick and you ask the doctor for two prescriptions

...you have one baby after having twins and you can't believe how easy it is


Happy Friday :)

anxiety

So many things lately are causing me a lot of anxiety...I mean A LOT!!  This blog being one of them.

I so badly want to document our days, but our days keeping slipping through my fingers. I have so many ideas to blog about, but then time passes by and it seems like old news.

Do you ever have so much to do, that everything seems so overwhelming, and then you do nothing?
Happens to me every.single.day!

I don't want this post to seem disorganized, but I think it'll make me feel better if I just throw it all out there in a big mish-mashed way. (mish-mash, is that a word?)  It's kind of how my brain has been working lately :)


First up...the 3 precious souls that are fast asleep in their beds.

Now that Paxton is 5 months, I'll give you the stats at his 4 month well baby check:
          Weight: 17lbs. 12oz. (84th percentile)
          Height: 26.75 inches (92nd percentile)
*This kid is rockin' life!
*We started him on cereal and he loves it.
*He rolls and scoots himself all over the floor.
*At times, he is soo very quiet and just takes it all in. Other times he is as social as they come. He loves to smile, laugh, and talk with anyone who will talk to him.
*He loves his baths (and pees 100% of the time).
*He chews on EVERYTHING.
*He's wearing size 2 diapers and 6-9 month clothes. He is soo long! I am constantly rearranging his closet, taking out the old and putting in the new. I can't keep up with the pants that more often than not look like capris :)
*He goes to bed around 8pm.
*He still gets up at least once (if not twice) a night to drink a bottle.
*He has the brightest blue eyes and brown hair that stands straight up.

He seriously is the BEST baby. I don't know how we got so lucky. I could sit and snuggle him all day. Watching him sleep in my arms or rubbing that fuzzy hair against my cheek, my heart melts. We are smitten with this little guy!

Kaden and Kenley:
*Wow! These are two crazy 2 year olds! They have developed soo much personality. I don't even know where to start.
*Most recently, we switched them from their cribs into their toddler beds. Even though they've only been sleeping in their beds for a few nights, it's definitely been a challenge but I guess it could be worse. They think it's pretty exciting so they are very wild when they climb into bed. They like to get out (but haven't yet left the room) and they like to climb into bed with the other one. Kaden is scared. When we get after them to get back into bed, he hustles his butt and feels bad. Kenley on the other hand, not so much. She will say "NO", stare you down, and inch herself further and further off the bed. It's lovely.
*They have started asking "why" to every thing we say...this is driving Cody nuts :)
*Kenley responds with "no" or "no way" to everything we ask her to do. And as of lately, she's started adding "dude" behind it. She's a nut!
*They are soo very independent. They want to do it all by themselves. We've learned to just get used to spending a little extra time to let them do things on their own, or we will have complete melt downs.
*Speaking of melt downs...we're still having them...a lot!
*They've been able to open the doors for a while now, but they have also now figured out how to unlock the doors. So there has been more than one occassion where we've caught them out the kitchen window playing in the back yard...man they're quick! What the heck!?!

Oh, how these two keep us on our toes. They make parenting the best job and at the same time make me question why I wanted to parent in the first place :) They can be so much fun or they can make us want to pull our hair out.


Onto my anxiety. Remember I shared with you that I was put on an antidepressant after Paxton was born to help with my emotions and anxiety? Well, my emotions have settled down greatly. I can count only a couple of times where my eyes have even gotten teary (this is huge people)! But my anxiety...holy cats! This still seems to be getting the best of me at times. Maybe I'll post on this topic more in the future.

My house is going under in a big way. Laundry is a full time job. I can't stay on top of the dust. The mail keeps piling up. I can't seem to get on top of anything. It takes everything I've got just to maintain.

And money. Oh my. If that isn't a stressor.  But what's new right?


Why the heck can't i get it together?

life lately

So apparently I'm not very good at keeping this blog updated :(  We started school mid-August and it seems like something is taking my time away from the computer - LIFE!

We've been busy!