Yay!

It's over! Jake is feeling sooo much better and his appetite is slowly returning...yay! Can you believe he lost 2 lbs last week as a result of this swine flu? Poor little fellow! All in all, we escaped this thing pretty luckily. Ironically, I took care of this little 11 year old girl this weekend who was diagnosed with the flu (most likely swine flu) the same day as Jake; in talking with her mom, she wasn't nearly as sick with the flu as Jake, but she ended up developing encephalitis as a result of the flu. I felt awful for them. Like I've said all week long, we are so blessed.

Speaking of being blessed, I am also so blessed to have such a wonderful mom. As you can probably tell from my posts, last week was very difficult for me. Not only was my baby sick and needed me more than ever, but I felt pretty crummy. And then add to it all the normal household things a "single mom" (thanks to football season) has to do...I was overwhelmed to say the least. Don't get me wrong, Tyson did the best he could (he even got up with Jake several times at night while he himself was so sleep deprived), but last week was too crucial of a time for Tyson to miss work. Anyways, mom took care of both Jake and me and helped me so much, and she even stuck around to keep Jake so I could work Saturday and Sunday night. The lady is a saint. Thanks, Mom. I don't know how we would have survived without you.

Things we have learned this week...

Here are a few things we have learned this week after being quarantined at home from the swine flu:

• The best way to cool off from a fever is to sit in the refrigerator! (pictured above)
• Speaking of refrigerators, we sure do have a lot of soft drinks, don't we?

• Jake's comfort foods are chocolate ice cream, McDonald's french fries, and milk...I wonder where he gets that from?....well, other than the milk part :)
• "No means Yes"--let me explain this one...Jake kept saying "no" over and over again when we offered him anything, it actually was pretty cute, so we smiled/laughed everytime (which is horrible negative reinforcement)...so now any time we offer him anything, he immediately says "no" and thinks it's funny. Well today, I asked Jake if he wanted a french fry, and he said "No!" and then stuck his hand out and said, "Peezzz?"
• Whenever Jake sucks his left thumb, it is imperative that his right hand is available to hold his left foot so that his left big toe can stroke his face! Kinda hard to explain, but at one point this week, that little booger laid down next to me and started stroking my face with his left big toe!
• I wish our families lived closer.
• Sleep exhaustion does not just occur during the newborn period.
• That big purple dinosaur on TV is not right.
• Jake is definitely ready for a big boy bed. Not only is he trying really hard to climb out and probably needs to, but I actually think he can handle it. For the last two + weeks, he's been telling me when he's ready to go "night night" and leads me to his room and asks me to put him in the crib. I think we might attempt this after his illness has resolved and he is sleeping through the night again. Just a thought.
• The next time I have to stand in line for 4 hours at the DMV, I might throw around the words "swine flu" and see if I can clear the line out a little faster! :)
• Only the truest of friends (especially those who also have little ones) will offer to bring you something when you are stuck at home in quarantine with the swine flu. Thanks girls!
• I hate two-a-days. Jake and I both need Daddy at home.
• Infant Motrin bottles don't come with enough liquid in them.
• Tamiflu tastes awful.
• Swine Flu for a 19 month old should automatically come with a free pass to the Children's Hospital for IV fluids.
• My mom rocks!
• When you are sick with the swine flu and don't want to brush your teeth for several days, that's ok.
• Jake's favorite color is "blue" and his new favorite animal is the "moo."
• Jake can count to 3, and he knows that "A" is the first letter of the alphabet. Too cute.
• WASH YOUR HANDS!

As you can tell from the pictures, Jake is feeling better today. In fact, he hasn't had a fever all day (cross your fingers!)...thank goodness! We still can't get him to eat (minus a few fries and some bites of icecream), though, so that's a problem, and he still isn't sleeping well. This is definitely a long process, longer than I imagined, but I knew it would be. I do realize how blessed we are, though-blessed to have a healthy little boy that can fight through this thing; blessed to have such amazing friends and family; blessed to have such wonderful resources (aka Tamiflu!); blessed to have such an awesome head coach who is understanding of these situations; and blessed to be on the down-swing with this thing (I hope!). Thank you all for your prayers! I will continue to keep everyone posted! Have a great weekend!

Day 4 of Swine Flu

Another bad day. Too tired to type in complete sentences. Too tired to post a picture. Still not eating. Still getting up every hour. Still has fever. Should have been hospitalized. But slowly getting better. Exhausted.

Gotta work this weekend. Ugh.

2-a-days. Ugh.

Swine flu. Double ugh.

Day 3 of Swine Flu

"Pre-Swine Flu" Jake with Granddad
Jake getting "the tickle" from Granddad!

Well, we are surviving the swine flu thus far. Tuesday (the day of the diagnosis) wasn't bad at all except for the fever, but Wednesday was just plain awful. Jake's fever wouldn't break at all Wednesday even despite getting Tylenol and Motrin around the clock; he was miserable, wouldn't eat, couldn't drink, and had to be held the whole day. He spent most of the day in my lap watching Barney with his thumb in his mouth and drool rolling down his elbow straight onto my shirt. If he attempted to swallow, he screamed out in pain and cried for a good 5 minutes; it was pitiful. And the poor thing couldn't sleep either; he literally woke up every hour screaming in pain. Today has been a little better, though. His fever is starting to slack off and he's a little more playful, but he is still refusing to eat and drink. Somehow he's staying hydrated, though...thank goodness for that! I hope tomorrow is the day he makes a turn around...poor baby is starting to look so frail!

I am exhausted. I don't know if I'm just plain rundown or if I'm actually getting this stuff, but I'm just not feeling right. Luckily my mom knew how bad I was feeling and hopped in the car this morning to come take care of me and Jake. She was already planning on coming up for the weekend to keep Jake so I could work, and she decided to come a little early...thank you Lord! I don't know what I would have done without her today.

Like I said, we are surviving. This has been tough, but I know it could be a lot worse. We are so blessed! Anyways, Jake is supposed to be quarantined for 7 days, so please keep us in your prayers...it's gonna be a long 4 days!

Swine Flu

Jake couldn't stop "cheesin" for the pictures!
Even when he's sick, he's a character!

And a cutie!
He must be sick, though....all he wanted for dinner was "peas."



So a couple of months ago when this swine flu made the headlines, I remember thinking "whatever...it'll never happen here." And then I got to work that weekend, and anybody that had some semblance of a cough was put on airborne precautions (mask, gown, gloves, etc). "A little extreme, isn't this?"...I might have said to my co-workers. And then when my mom suggested keeping Jake out of Mother's Day Out because of potential exposure to swine flu, I laughed in her face. All of this has come back to bite me....Jake went to the pediatrician today and "probably" has the swine flu.



I won't reveal where he might have been exposed, but it was not malicious in any way, and I am completely fine with that. Afterall, I probably bring home nastier things from the hospital! (Hello MRSA!) Anyways, Jake was a little "off" last night and this morning, but I thought he was just exhausted from our busy weekend...I sure was. So I took him to school...bad mama! His teacher, who happens to be a nurse, informed me when I picked him up that Jake wasn't "quite himself" and seemed warm; I took one look at him and immediately called the pediatrician.



We got to the doctors' office and were quickly taken back to a room. I could hear them whispering about us outside the room; it was awful. Anyways, Jake had a fever of 101.2 and his throat looked "pretty bad." (On a happy note, he did weigh in at a whopping 29 lbs 2 oz!) Long story short, due to our exposure, Jake's symptoms, and the fact that it isn't flu season, the pediatrician said he had to report the case to the CDC as "probable swine flu." They aren't sending specimens to the CDC any more unless you are hospitalized, so we will never know for sure. Jake was prescribed Tamiflu and has to be quarantined for a while.



Jake seems to be doing better than I ever expected (see pics above); he definitely gets to looking pretty bad when he is febrile or if it is time for Tylenol/Motrin, but other than that, he is doing pretty well. I am starting to feel pretty achy, so only time will tell if swine flu is in my future. I sure hope not, though, it's hard enough taking care of my sick child when I'm well! And poor Tyson, he's been ordered by the UAB trainer not to come home...crazy huh? Heaven forbid we be the cause for the UAB Football team to come down with swine flu! I don't think he'll be able to stay away, though...he hasn't seen Jake in a whole week! Oh, fun times in the Summers' house!

Our Weekend with Family

Silly...
Sillier...

Silliest!

(minus Jake who wouldn't smile for anything!)

Amy and Jace

Amy, Jace, Jake, and Mom...

...again (too many cute pics to choose just one!)

Grandmama and Jake

Jake ate with the big kids in the kitchen all by himself!!

Gettin' a lift from Granddaddy

Chase, Jake, and Ryleigh Kate

Look at the look on Jake's face! He's like,

"Get this girl off of me before I punch her in her mouth!"

Spenser lovin' on his cousin!

MaMa sneakin' Jake some food as usual!

And last but not least, my beautful nephew!

Whew!! I think we have pretty much travelled from one end of Georgia to the next over a course of 3 days, and we're exhausted!! After we left the aquarium on Friday, we headed back to Thomaston to celebrate my Dad's 67th birthday (Happy Birthday, Dad!). I should designate a post just on Jake's behavior at dinner that night, but for now, just know that Jake showed off like never before...he was a riot! Needless to say, I think my Dad really enjoyed his quiet, peaceful birthday meal! :) We woke up early Saturday morning and hit the road and headed to Tifton to see some more family. It was Amy's 33rd birthday that day, so we stopped by and spent some time with her, Jace, and Courtney. Jace is getting so big! And he is smiling so much these days...love it! We also got to spend a lot of time with Grandmama (Tyson's mom), so we really enjoyed that trip. To wrap it up, we headed to Cochran to see my mom's family. My grandmother, as usual, made a really big Sunday lunch and the crowd quickly followed. Jake had a blast playing with his cousins (pictured above), and just fit right in like he was around them every day! Like I said, we are exhausted, but we had the best time! Thanks so much, Mom, for making the trips with us...we couldn't have done it without you! And thanks to everyone for hosting us! We can't wait to come back!

The Aquarium

In true Jake fashion, he looked at all the big sharks and said "ROARRR!"

The underground tunnel

"HEYYEE!"

Jake insisted on having his shoes off...did we look like rednecks or what?

At least he didn't have grocery store feet!

Kissing the fish

This was as close as Jake would come to petting the stingrays and sharks!

"LOOK AT ALL THESE FISHES, PAT PAT!"

"Cheese!"

"This is all so overwhelming!"

Please forgive me for all the pictures; I tried putting them together in a slide, but couldn't get it to work. Anyways, I knew Tyson would want to see what he missed out on. :( Tyson did get to go to the aquarium with the Georgia Football team when it first opened, but I don't think it meant as much to him at that time as it would have today. We missed you, Daddy!

Jake, my mom, and I made a trip to the Atlanta Aquarium today, and Jake was fascinated with all the "aminals!" He did a lot of waving to the fish, kissing them through the window, making fish faces and sounds, and saying "hey!" to anyone or anything that was in his periphery. He was precious...well, until we let him out of the stroller. Jake was "that kid" that every non-parent talks about...you know, the ones who say "my child will NEVER act like that." Yep, that was my child- running around like a mad man, weaving in and out of crowds, screaming at the top of his lungs, hiding from us, trying to get lost and/or picked up, and just acting like a crazy child!! He was out of control...or should I say that I was out of control...of my 19 month old child! I can honestly say I have never seen him act like this, and I hope he never does, but it was totally worth it today.

Thanks Pat-Pat for making the trip with us! We had so much fun! We can't wait to go back again!