Ups and Downs

Waverly has been up and down this week, but today had a really rough day with lots of coughing and getting up gobs of junk (technical terminology there). Her o2 sats have been all over the place (as she's moving around mucous and mucous plugs in her lungs, presumably). Her heart rate has been elevated some, and she was working really hard to breathe this evening-her little chest was really pushing and pulling air. Please please pray for our little one, for her comfort, for wisdom for us as her parents.

Back home

We are happy to report that Waverly came back home yesterday afternoon. She's got a new medicine on board-tobramyacin (an inhaled antibiotic) and is on another strong antibiotic. We are trying to see if we can help get her lungs cleared out a bit more. We also got her bipap better situated (we had a bad connector on it that was making it less effective than it should have been), so we will be using that more consistently at night. 

We are glad it was a quick hospital stay, but it was still quite difficult as a lot of difficult things were brought up. Please pray for our hearts as we walk this road. 

Back in PICU

Waverly is back in the PICU again. She'd had a sort of up and down week, and was coughing up a lot more mucous plugs, but nothing terribly alarming for the most part. On Thursday night her sats were all over the place (again, not that uncommon), but late at night she seemed more "off" than normal, and then she vomited and started running a fever. And although her sats were actually better, her hands and feet were blue. So we decided to go ahead and take her in to the ER, where they admitted her. Her lungs don't look worse than they typically do, but her typical is pretty icky. So we've been doing lots of breathing treatments and deep suctioning on her to try to get the nasty junk out, and she's been on IV antibiotics. We also just started an inhaled antibiotic via the nebulizer to see if that helps clear up her infections and make it easier for her to breathe. We've had her on bipap more here, and have been working on adjusting the settings to make it more beneficial for her and work better at home. 

The sad thing is, we had planned to go away for the weekend for a "family vacation". As you may recall, we had to split up for our vacation this year, and that was hard on my mama's heart. So we had planned to go this weekend to a friend's house about an hour and a half away, and talk all THREE kids. They have a pool (all my kids really care about), so we would go swimming (what you do on vacation, right?), hang out as a family, and visit with some friends in the area. The kids were so excited, and I was excited to have an opportunity for our WHOLE family, all FIVE of us, to do something together where Waverly could be a part and mommy and daddy could be together with all the kids. But because of this we couldn't go (Johnny went just for the day with the big kids because they were so disappointed to have to miss). I really wanted that memory for the older kids, instead of having one more instance where one parent was with them and the other parent was with Waverly because she was too sick to come. But, in all this, I know that God is in control, and that even though I *think* my plans would have been a lot nicer, He KNOWS what is best and He loves us and is GOOD. 

I'm glad Johnny was able to still take the kids for a little day trip. Hopefully they are having a great time, and we can still try for something some other time. Instead, we had a family pizza party in the PICU last night (see the last pic).   :)    It does stink that when I get home I have a lot of unpacking to do from a trip that didn't even happen!

In the ER feeling icky.

Snuggles with a tired mommy (3 hours of sleep).

Family pizza party in the PICU!

"Talking" face

The other evening Waverly had a lot to say. Her eyes were very expressive and she seemed to have much to tell me about her day and the trees outside as we looked out the window. 

New Business and a $10,000 Bonus??

So, as I mentioned in this post announcing my transition out of full time work and back at home more, I have recently started a home-based business in order to help my family financially. What's really cool about the business is that I also get to help others in and through it as well! It's called It Works! Their best-known product are "those crazy wrap things", but we also have many other health and wellness products. I have tried and use many of them myself, and they are excellent. It Works! creates naturally-based products that are made with organic, non-GMO ingredients. I have really enjoyed sharing about these amazing products with others, offering hope and health to friends and family. I don't want to turn this post into a commercial, but if you'd like more info, please comment here or message me, or check out my website: https://cristens.myitworks.com 

Most of those connected with me on Facebook already know about it, but I wanted to make sure to share with you all too. My main reason for starting this business was in hopes of finding a way to make a little income yet still be able to stay home with Waverly. Working full time was one of the hardest things for me to do with leaving her every day, and I hope to be able to continue being home with her more from now on. So, as people who care about and love our little girl, I wanted to share. I am up for a big $10,000 bonus this month, and would love to get there, but I am in need of a few more people to check it out. Thanks in advance, and thanks for sharing in our excitement in our new adventures!

Announcement-Transition back home!

As many of you know, I (Cristen) have been working full-time since the middle of September. While my job has been amazing and we know that God provided it, it has been so difficult to maintain such a schedule in addition to all of Waverly's needs (not to mention the two older kids!). We've been praying for a while for God to provide a way for me to be able to stop full time work, and He has answered. As of the end of this month, I will no longer be working full time. While it is a bit scary and a huge step of faith, we really feel the Lord leading us in this direction. Waverly's health has really declined since last fall, and I have been feeling the pull to be home with her more, able to go to all her appointments, etc.

I will still be able to do some contracted work through my current employer (I had originally requested being part-time, but they did not have a position available for me part-time at this time, but were gracious in offering me the opportunity to do contract work, as they have opportunities arise).


I've also started working a home-based business that has been a tremendous blessing to our family. I will share more on that in another post to come soon!

I hope to be able to start blogging a little more frequently as well. I have so many thoughts and things to share, but by the end of the day, I am just too tired to get it out. Be on the lookout for a plethora of posts once the juices start flowing again! 

Cipro started

Oh, I have so much on my heart and in my mind to write about. But I simply lack the ability at the end of the day to create much. Soon, my friends, I promise I will be more present soon.

In the meantime, just a quick note to let you know that we did start Waverly on the antibiotic cipro on Saturday. She started seeming like she wasn't feeling well on Thursday, so we watched her and waited to see what she'd do, and by Saturday it seemed like she was getting worse. She's acting like she's feeling better now, and we've even seen some smiles again recently, so I think it was about time. She saw the pulmonologist yesterday and he was pleased with how her lungs sounded, for her, this time. That was a welcome surprise to hear!

Thanks for your continued prayers, as always. (We can't say thanks enough!)