Sick baby :(

Maggie has been fighting a cough and runny nose for over a week but she never got a fever and acted like she felt fine.  We went to the pediatrician twice and found out she was wheezing but it wasn't too bad.  They did a RSV test and it was negative.  We started nebulizer treatments and she seemed to be on the road to recovery.  Until Saturday when she took a very sudden turn for the worse.  That morning, Campbell and I had met my friend, Adrienne, and her daughter, Emily, at the new Children's Museum in Rock Hill.  Maggie was coughing a good bit but I didn't think too much about it.  We all went out to lunch and I thought all was fine.  Until we got home.  As I changed Maggie's diaper, I realized she felt very hot.  She also seemed like she was having a hard time catching her breath.  I gave her some Ibuprofen and did a breathing treatment and she was very lethargic...but it was nap time so it was hard to tell if she was just tired.

We are very blessed to have Nurse Nana and Dr. Aunt Julie, and to be friends with one of our pediatrician's nurses.  We were talking with all three most of the evening with lots of debate about going to the ER since the pediatrician's office was closed.  Maggie's fever peaked at 103.8 and her breathing was very rapid and shallow.  We made it through the night and headed to the pediatrician 1st thing this morning.

He listened and said the "air wasn't moving well" in her lungs and we were all worried about pneumonia.  Thankfully the x-ray showed that her lungs were clear and we are hopeful the steroids prescribed will help clear the inflammation.  Her current diagnosis is viral bronchiolitis and we will be headed back to the pediatrician in the morning (through the snow which will be interesting).

I have to be honest, this has taken a toll with "mommy guilt".  With Campbell we were hyper-vigilant about germs and with Maggie we are much more relaxed.  Campbell didn't get a fever until she was a year old and didn't have a breathing treatment (aside from the NICU of course) until she was 2.  Maybe if we had been more careful, this wouldn't have happened.  Also, I stopped pumping last week, so this is Maggie's 1st week on 100% formula so I feel guilty that she's not getting the germ-fighting benefits of breastmilk.  I did have a few ounces in the freezer that we gave her today, but it's not enough to really make a difference.  **sigh**

We'll keep you posted.  Oh, and now Campbell is coughing :(  Thanks for your prayers!

Maggie getting a breathing treatment

Sara and John picture slide show

Check out this link to the "teaser" pictures from the photographer at Sara and John's wedding.  They are beautiful and I can't wait to see all of the professional pictures!

http://www.brooketurnerphotography.com/slideshows/SaraJohn/

5+ on Friday

I haven't been able to do this post for the past few weeks.  Friday before last was Christmas and last Friday was my sister's wedding day so I have a few extras this week...

Here are 5+ reasons I'm loving my girls this week:

1.  One night we heard Campbell calling from her room "Mommy!  Daddy! I need help!" Since she tends to try to get our attention some nights, we didn't immediately respond.  When the calls for help continued (but without the shrill sounds of fear or pain), we debated giving her the attention we thought she was seeking.  Finally, after one last "Help me please", we decided to grab the camera and go check out the situation.  This is what we found...

2.  I am a multi-sneezer.  When I sneeze, it's always a series of at least 3.  Maggie definitely inherited that gene and it is so cute to hear her sneeze just like me :)


3.  During Sara's wedding, Campbell got a little antsy.  Robbie let her play with our camera and this is the result:

4.  Maggie's favorite part of the day is bath time.  She loves to splash and her grin never leaves her face.


5.  We have recently been reading Campbell's first chapter book, which is about Ariel, one of Campbell's favorite Disney princesses.  We've had one little problem though...she doesn't really get the concept of reading one chapter per night and then reading the next chapter the next night and so on. On the 2nd night when I tried to read the 2nd chapter, she was not happy about skipping the 1st.  Needless to say, we've read the 1st chapter several times this week :)

6.  Some of Campbell's new favorite phrases and words that never fail to crack us up:
-"I LOVE IT!"...which can be applied to a new book, a special place, or a marker.  You just never know what will earn her love.

-"You guys"...which, when directed at me and Robbie, just seems hilarious.

-words like "cayandy" and "bayack" (translated to candy and back)...she definitely has a Southern accent

7.  Maggie is finally starting to sleep a little bit better. Despite having a yucky cough this week that landed her at the doctor for her first breathing treatment, she has been getting up only 1 time per night on average which is a big improvement and we feel like she'll be back to sleeping through the night soon!

8.  Did you know we have an alligator living in our house?  Specifically, living in our hallway?  What?  You didn't know that?  Well, according to Campbell (and her recently very active imagination), we have an alligator living in our hallway.  He occasionally comes out to try and bite us at dinner which immediately requires us all to put our feet up in our chairs so he doesn't eat our feet.  He's also been known to chase our car or try to get us on the couch.  We did catch the alligator in a cardboard box this week but he shook that box fiercely and then escaped!  Campbell has been feeding the alligator so he won't be hungry enough to eat us and apparently he really, really likes her to cook eggs.  Next time you see Campbell, be sure to ask her about the alligator.  I'm sure she'll tell you all about how he lives in our hallway :)

9.  In my ongoing attempt to tame Maggie's hair, I tried her first real pigtail.  I think it turned out pretty cute!

Congratulations, Sara and John!

This year we were so excited to celebrate New Year's Eve with my sister, Sara, and her new husband, John as they got married!  It was a unique and beautiful celebration.  They had a small wedding ceremony and reception at my parents' house and then a big party later that night at the Marriott hotel in Columbia.  I was a Bridesmaid and Campbell was a flowergirl.  Here are just some of our favorite pictures:

The Comptons with the beautiful bride

Mommy and her baby girl

Daddy and his baby girl

Love Maggie's grin in this one!

the happy couple with all the children (Potter- ring bearer, Campbell and Macy- flowergirls, Ethan- junior usher)

 

they had a sparkly send off

dancing to a Norah Jones song...we both thought it was our wedding song and then realized we were wrong. oops

will Nancy (aka Nanny and my other mother) catch the flowers?

Check out our sweet flower girls, Campbell and her cousin, Macy

March for Babies, Run for Dimes

Happy New Year!

To celebrate the New Year and continue both our pursuit of better health and our support for the March of Dimes, Robbie and I are starting a new endeavor called March for Babies, Run for Dimes.  

March for Babies, Run for Dimes is a take off on the old bike-a-thons we used to do as kids where people would sponsor you so much for every mile you could ride in a given time.  MARCH FOR BABIES, RUN FOR DIMES is similar in that you can sponsor me and/or Robbie for every mile we run between January 1st and April 15th.

Our March for Babies in Rock Hill will be April 30th.  In the past 3 years, Team Campbell has donated over $5,000.  Our goal this year is $1500. Once again, Team Campbell will be walking to support the March of Dimes.  (We will have another post soon about how you can join us in the walk.)  One little change this year is that Robbie and I will be running to celebrate the end of March for Babies, Run for Dimes.  We will also be running in our first 10k in April.  On April 2nd, we will be running the annual Cooper River Bridge Run.  I chose April 15th as our end date because it's halfway between the two races and so that we will have time to get the totals and everything submitted to the March of Dimes in time.

To train for these races, we will have to run regularly.  Through this plan you can support us by both keeping us accountable for running and raise money for the March of Dimes.  You simply choose an amount of dimes per mile that you would like to donate.  For example, if you choose to commit to donate 1 dime per mile for me and I run 100 miles between 1/1 and 4/15, you would donate $10.  Or you could choose to support both me and Robbie for 5 dimes per mile.  Say I run 150 miles and Robbie runs 160 miles.  You would then donate $155 (150 x .50 + 160 x .50 =  155).  Our training program estimates we will run about 150 miles but we will cap the miles at 200 for each of us so that when you make your pledge, you know what your max may be. 

We will check in each week on the blog so you can keep track and will have tickers on the right of the screen.  We will also post each run on Facebook so you can follow us there.  

So, please consider making a New Year's resolution to support us and the March of Dimes.  Just leave a comment and tell us if you want to support me and/or Robbie and how many dimes per mile you would like to pledge.  Thank you so much for your support!

I have to give credit to my friend, Rhonda, who is a fellow new runner and preemie mom.  We both had very similar ideas and she created the title and logo.

Maggie- 7 months

Maggie is 7 months old!

My, how the time is flying!  I can't believe she is over halfway to a year.  Maggie is growing so fast!  This  month she is eating so many more solid foods.  She has really started showing a preference for solids over purees.  At Christmas dinner, she ate broccoli and rice casserole, green beans, and part of a twice-baked potato!  No baby foods for this girl!

She's had a bit of a cough and cold so she hasn't been sleeping through the night, but we hope that will be back soon.  She still only has the 2 teeth, but she chews on everything so we won't be surprised when she gets the next one.  

Maggie continues to be lots of fun and interactive...so much that she prefers to always have someone near her.  That makes it a little hard to get any cleaning done, but one day I won't remember how dirty our kitchen was but I will remember her belly laugh and big grin.

Snow Day 2010

Well, for the 1st time since 1947, Rock Hill saw snow on Christmas day.  It didn't accumulate until today and we've had a great morning playing in the snow!

Merry Christmas!

Need a laugh?

Just check out our most recent attempts at getting a Christmas picture...

As you may have gathered from our previous outtakes post, it is 10 times harder to take a good picture of 2 girls than just one. We went twice this week to Picture People...and the results, well, let's just say the sales girl and I were laughing hysterically as each one was worse than the last.

Check it out:

What?  Smile?  No, I'm going to show off my pouty lip.

"My candy cane! MINE!!!!!"

There are no words.

Drool and snot in one picture.  Priceless.

Who has a goofy smile?  Not me!

What happened to our hair?!

Hee hee hee, I am rotten and I know it.

Maggie: "Get me out of here!"

Campbell:  "Huh?  What's going on? What am I supposed to be doing?"

No, we didn't pay for any pictures.  So much for Christmas pictures.  Oh well.

Except I had a coupon and could have gotten 6 sheets for $8...I was SO close to getting copies of picture #3.  So.close. :)

5 on Friday

Here are 5 reasons I'm loving my girls this week:

1.  Maggie really loves it when I sing "This Little Light of  Mine".  Sometimes when she's really fussy, she'll stop crying when I sing it...it's so sweet.

2.  On the other hand, if I or Robbie dare to sing (to the radio, on our own, anything), Campbell immediately screeches "NO SINGING!"  Kinda hurts my feelings... ;)

3.  Check out this cute chunkiness.  I wish I was a baby and fat rolls were cute.

4.  Campbell's language just amazes me as she gets more and more mature.  Recently we've been hearing funny grown up sounding phrases like "Oh, well" and "Oh my goodness!" in appropriate contexts which sound so funny in her little 2 year old voice.

5.  Both of my girls have amazing blue eyes which they get from Robbie.  This week our babysitter, Abbie, took some beautiful pictures of the girls which show them off.

Outtakes...

We have had no less than 4 photo sessions to try and take a good picture for our Christmas cards...here are a few of my favorites that didn't make the cut:

Ummm, girls, the camera is over here...

Pssst, Campbell!  Who is that fat guy with the beard who just climbed out of the fireplace?!

She copied my outfit!  Waaaaah!

5 on Friday

Here are 5 reasons I'm loving my girls this week:
1.  I went away for the weekend for my sister's Bachelorette.  It was the first time I've left the girls for 2 nights.  When I got back Campbell was napping and Maggie was playing.  When I picked Maggie up, she was so happy and just kept touching my face.  It was so sweet and definitely not a normal thing for her to do.  I just wanted to hug her tight and promise I'd never leave her again...but I couldn't because I know I will.  But I hope I never forget the way her soft little hands kept stroking my cheeks.

2.  Campbell and I experimented with pigtails this week.  So cute!  Unfortunately she keeps taking them out after a few minutes, but I thoroughly enjoy them while she tolerates them :)

3.  Maggie got her first little hair cut this week.  I trimmed the crazy-long pieces off the sides and cleaned up her back-mullet and rat tail.  I was going to take a cute after picture, but instead she woke up from nap looking like this:

 

 4.  Maggie's laugh...check out this video. Need I say more?

WARNING:  The final point on this week's list is a little X-rated, so you may want to skip if you blush easily, giggle at inappropriate things, or just want to believe my 2 year old never sees me nekkid.  I thought about not posting this story, but Robbie and I have been giggling about it all week and I wanted it recorded for me to look back upon.

5.  First off, I should explain that I'm an "Exclusive Pumper"  which means that rather than nurse Maggie, I pump and feed her breast milk in a bottle.  As a result, Campbell is very familiar with what a breast pump is and how it works.  Campbell has been known to take the pump cups and put one to her belly button and say "I pumping, too!" which is pretty funny in itself... 

So, now that you have that background info, here is the story:  One day this week Campbell walked into the bathroom as I was getting out of the shower.  She looked right at my breasts (which I know I have told her the proper name for before), got a thoughtful look on her face, pointed, and said  "Those your pumpees".   I'm not sure we'll ever stop using that nickname for breasts, hee hee hee.

Our mantle is complete!

My Great-Aunt Margie has been knitting stockings for all of the members of our family for generations.  My dad (along with his siblings and cousins) had one growing up and then I (along with my sisters and cousins) got one when I was born.  When I got married, she made one for Robbie and then she made one for Campbell.  Margie's arthritis is really bothering her these days so I was even more thrilled when I opened our mail today and found Maggie's stocking.  It feels like we can finally get ready for Christmas!

Here are a couple of close-up pictures...

Thank you so much, Margie!  I love this special family tradition that you have single-handedly been responsible for!

Crafty Mommy Monday- Christmas traditions

Ok, folks, I know you're out there.  We don't get a lot of comments on these posts, BUT I have tons of people who tell me they read them and look forward to them.  So, today I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Yesterday a friend posted on Facebook that she would be making applesauce ornaments with her boys.  My ears immediately perked up and I ran to Google because I had never heard of those.   Turns out you can make yummy smelling Christmas ornaments with cinnamon, applesauce, and glue.  Who knew?  Guess what Campbell and I will be doing this week?

I am in search of fun holiday traditions to start with the girls.  So, please share with me what you did as a child, have done with your children, or will do with your children to celebrate the holidays...especially crafty, fun activities!

Oh, and here is the recipe for the applesauce ornaments from allfreecrafts.com (check back next week for pictures of the process and end product!):

Craft Supplies:

Cinnamon
Apple Sauce
Craft Glue
Cookie Cutters (cut by hand if you like)
Ribbon
Toothpick

Craft Project Instructions:

Mix equal amounts of apple sauce and cinnamon and add 1 teaspoon of craft glue for every cup of applesauce.

Editor's Note:

From reader comments, it seems using equal amounts of apple sauce and cinnamon sometimes results in wet dough. This depends on how watery your apple sauce is, so begin with one cup of apple sauce and one teaspoon of white glue, plus one cup of cinnamon - but also realize that you may need to add more cinnamon, in one-third cup increments, until the dough is of workable consistency.

Mix all the ingredients until you have a firm but wet dough. If you like you can substitute small amounts of cinnamon for a little nutmeg or ground cloves.

Roll out your dough to at least 1/4 inch thickness (less than this will make your ornaments a little weak and they break easily) and cut shapes with cookie cutters.

With a toothpick, poke a hole at the top of each ornament that is large enough for a ribbon to be pulled through. Place ornaments on a cooling rack or tray to dry completely. Depending on how large your ornaments are, drying could take a couple of days; it's best not to touch your ornaments during this time.

Once your ornaments are dry and if there are a few rough edges, you can easily remove the roughness with a little fine sandpaper. Sand your ornaments gently, as it doesn't take much to remove the little edges.

Tie a ribbon through the hole and, if you like, you can paint these ornaments or add a little glitter. Be sure not to cover the entire ornament with paint or the wonderful scent will be lost.

5 on Friday

Here are 5 reasons I'm loving my girls this week:

1.  Campbell was talking to her daddy on the phone yesterday on his way home from work.  During their conversation, she was playing in her play kitchen and poured him a cup of coffee and "fed" it to the phone then prepared him a strawberry and an egg and fed those to the phone as well.  It was so cute and her amazing daddy just played right along, making smacking noises and telling her how yummy it was :)

2.  The girls are really enjoying playing with their Santa and Nativity Little People sets.  Unfortunately there is some confusion about the separate stories.  So far this week, Santa has flown around the manger, the 3 Wise Men have hung out with the elf at the North Pole, and yesterday Mary sat on Santa's lap and told him she wanted a birthday present for Christmas...

3.  I talked to the "teachers" in Maggie's nursery today and they commented on how happy she is these days.  We all agree it's like she's a new baby and it's so nice to see her so happy.  Here she is...so happy in her bath.

 

4.  This year was the first year Campbell was really able to help decorate the Christmas tree.  She was so earnest about it and it was so much fun!

5.  Last weekend Campbell decided not to take a nap but was quiet in her room for quite some time. When she came out, she announced "I'm ready to go swimming!" (complete with bathing suit over her head, swimming diaper, water shoes, and "sunscreen" aka lotion on her face and hair).  Hi-larious.  Except that it's been 5 days and her hair still smells like the lotion and is still greasy despite being washed multiple times...