LIFE with LEXIE

Here's my little Princess patient wearing her new princess Aurora gown, complete with gloves, necklace and purse - the hat is all Lexie. THANKS Jon & Teri. It made her smile and dance for a little while. I even got a little water down her by bribing her with it!!
Thanks also to everyone for your great advice and comments. It's helped to know I'm not the only one to have gone through this. I don't know why I expected Lexie to sail through this but clearly I did. She's such an agreeable little girl even when she's been sick in the past, I just figured we'd do a little snuggling on the couch, eat some ice cream, do a few craft projects and then she'd feel better. But she's really just not been herself and hearing a very firm NO from her or having medicine spit out at me has been a big surprise. Even my mom, the mother of 5, has been stumped over how to get her to drink or take her meds let alone eat. So it's been a week of challenges. But we saw some progress yesterday with her having a little more energy and drinking & eating more. Unfortunately she woke up about 5 times last night choking and coughing so I think the scabs are starting to come off which they warned me about. The doc said just when you think she's getting better this happens. So I think we'll have a few more days of yuks around here and then I hope I'll have my happy little Lexie Lou back especially since Mom will be heading back home this week and I need to get some work done. I'm going to stay optimistic and hope for the best!!!

I'm afraid Lexie's recovery from the surgery is not going as well as the surgery itself. Monday night she woke up screaming and crying. After an hour of this I called her surgeon who said it was the anestesia still wearing off. I also told him Lexie had refused to take the pain meds and her antibiotics. He said as long as she didn't get a fever, which would indicate an infection, than not to worry about either of them even though they would make her recovery faster and less painful. But keeping her hydrated with any kind of fluid was the most important thing. I'm afraid Lexie didn't want to do any of the above. For the last 2 days Mom and I have tried tempting her with Popsicles, shakes, soda, chocolate milk, cookies, candy, fruit, whatever her little heart desired with VERY little results. Then I tried threats of going back to the hospital if she didn't at least drink. She'd cry and say "no Mommy, I don't want to go back" but if she sipped at all it was just the tiniest bit. I have to say you can not reason with a 3 going on 4 year old! We even tried forcing it down her or tricking her. That just got things spit in my face or she'd just clamp her jaw tight or choke on it. None of it worked and it just made me feel terrible and it showed a stubborn side of her I didn't know existed. So she's had maybe 3 oz of water or juice on Tue along with a little chocolate egg and  a couple of bites of Mac-N-Cheese and today maybe 2 oz of water or juice and that's it. The nurse from the surgeons office has checked in both days and today she said if she hadn't had at least 16oz of fluids by 2pm I'd need to take her into the ER for IV fluids. Sadly I waited until about 5pm without any luck so we headed off to the ER in Tacoma where she had the surgery at the children's hospital. We just returned at 10:30 pm and it wasn't fun plus my poor baby has already lost 1 pound! Needless to say Lexie was scared to death and it took myself and 2 nurses to hold her down while the 3rd nurse put in the IV. I'm not sure who was crying more me or her. But about a half an hour into the fluids Lexie was perking up and asking for water to drink and a Popsicle. Then one of the nurses gave mom some bubbles for her to blow in the room and Lexie was laughing and having fun. It was nice to see my sweet happy Lexie Lou back.
So thank you everyone for your prayers and good wishes. It's been great knowing so many people have had us in their thoughts and prayers. And Mollie I took the princess books with us to the ER and once she started feeling better we were looking for all the hidden princesses. It was a great way to keep her calm and her mind off the needle. Thanks again! Now I just hope she'll keep on drinking and eating and taking her meds. If not then I'll remind her about our little trip tonight and hope it scares her into it! I know it scared me. It's the New Scared Straight Program at our house!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Lexie's surgery went well. The surgeon said that her tonsils were extremely large so I'm glad they are out along with her adenoids and there was fluid behind both ears so again glad the tubes are in. But recovery....not so much fun. She threw up the 3 red Popsicles they gave her in post op in the car on the way home and has refused her pain meds and anti-biotic. Clearly it's going to be a long night and an even longer week. But as a friend of mine said - sleep is over rated.

Thanks for everyone's prayers and good wishes!

So this is the reason my sweet Lexie Lou will be having her tonsils & adenoids removed and new tubes put in her ears. Sadly that is just during an afternoon nap and not at night when she's really loud!! Her Ears, Nose & Throat surgeon said her tonsils & adenoids are so big that they are blocking her airway and she's simply not going into a deep sleep. She's sleeping 12 hours at night and takes a 2 hour nap and is still tired. It's also causing sleep apnea which is really freaking me out. Before her snoring was keeping me awake, now when I don't hear the snoring I wake up to make sure she's breathing. So on April 5, the Monday after Easter Sunday, Lexie will have the surgery and hopefully she'll get her first good night sleep in months (and so will Mommy!) I've been warned the recovery will take about 10 days and is pretty painful - poor baby. And the 7-10 days are surprisingly painful due to the scabs from the cauterized wounds coming off in the back of her throat (yikes!) Mom is coming up to help with her and she's looking forward to some GaGa bonding time. Once she's healed Lexie should be a healthier, happier girl who will sleep like an angel again. And her tubes should help her hear better and improve her speech. I'm not sure if I'm ready for more talking though!

Today was a beautiful spring day in Washington so Lexie & I spent a lot of it at our favorite park on the water. We got home later than I would like but hey these kind of days just make a late bedtime worth it. So we had a quick dinner and I let her watch Go Diego Go while I changed the laundry etc. Then I told her she needed to hurry up and go potty, wash her hands and brush her teeth so she could get to bed as it was very late. I am cleaning off the table and I look up to see Lexie standing right there in the hall having not moved an inch.

Mommy: "Lexie, I told you to hurry to the bathroom to get ready for bed."

Lexie: "I am hurrying Mommy."

Mommy: "Lexie you haven't move since I told you to go."

Lexie: "I know but I'm a 3 toed baby Sloath and they move VERY SLOWLY."

What could I say to that? At least I know she's paying attention to Diego. And this girl is WAY too smart.