On a happy note

It was my Birthday on the tenth of this month so I decided to use some of my Birthday money to go to the fair with my family. I love the fair and we've been lucky to be able to go the last three years. It's also a good excuse to pig out. This all happened before the hospital stay. First we went to the stalls where they hold a lot of the farm animals. Ashlynn loved the cows and she got to pet them. She really enjoyed seeing all of the animals.

Next we went over to the kiddie area and Ashlynn didn't reach many of the height requirements but there were a handful of rides she could do. We went on Winkie the Whale and one that looked like hot air balloons, but Ashlynn's by far most favorite ride was the Carousal. We went on it three times, and one of the three times was on the huge one in the big kid area. She loved it and shook her head no when it was time to get off. (She's been doing that a lot lately :) )

We took a look at most of the vendors, didn't buy anything, and we of course ate a ton of food. Cotton candy, shaved ice, funnel cake, those Australian potato things, and Ashlynn's favorite, a GIANT hot dog.

Irony

Ashlynn's friend Anslie was recently hospitalized at Rady Children's Hospital and Ashlynn and I were able to visit her while she was there. What is so ironic about this is that only a few weeks later Ashlynn was admitted to the same hospital.

I first noticed what looked like a quarter sized red, raised, firm bump on Ashlynn's butt on a Tuesday and took her to the pediatricians office where we were prescribed antibiotics. Two days later Ashlynn would rather crawl than walk because it was too painful. I took her back in on Thursday and it had grown from a quarter to flattened tennis ball size.

We were admitted latter that day to Children's Hospital because they believed that since it continued to get worse with the antibiotics Ashlynn must have MRSA (a resistant strain or Staph) They put her on stronger IV antibiotics to "ripen" the sore to make it softer so they could drain it.
They had to put a booty on it because she kept chewing on the tubing


It took until Saturday for the sore to "ripen" and they took her to the operating room. They had to give her general anesthesia which knocked her out in seconds. It was sad to watch. We couldn't be there for the procedure but it only took 35 minutes till we could see her. This was the worse part of the entire stay because when she woke up she went crazy. Nothing I've ever seen. Crying, screaming, flailing her arms and legs, wanting to be held but wiggling to get down at the same time. It was horrifying and went on for an hour. She finally passed out and woke a few hours later totally fine.

While we were at the hospital Ashlynn was put on isolation, she was not permitted to leave the room and anyone who came in put on gloves and a gown, this was to prevent it from spreading to other patients. It was hard to keep her entertained in the little room and she often watched people go by out the window of her door.

Ashlynn is home now and feeling much better. We still have to care for her sore and keep her on antibiotics so it doesn't reestablish. Because Ashlynn has eczema and can easily get breaks in her skin she is more prone to getting infections like these and others more often.

Bath Time

For those of you who have had the opportunity to go swimming with Ashlynn you know how excited and happy she gets in the water. The same goes for bathtime. She would stay in for over an hour if I were to let her. Here is a clip depicting her excitement.

Still not enough hair fo a clippie

I am no longer allowed to go swimming the rest of my pregnancy (or take a bath) so my mother in-law got a great inflatable pool for Ashlynn that sits on our porch. It has been to cold the past few days to use it but she is really excited to just splash her hands in it until it warms up. I can't wait to get some cute pictures of her in it. So anyone who wants a playdate in our pool come on over.