Goodnight Moon and the surprise hospital trip

Kayden has a new obsession...the book Goodnight Moon. First thing when he wakes up and all throughout the day, he says to me, "Nie Nie Moon" and wants me to help him find it. When we do, he gets a big smile, climbs up on my lap, and we read it. Then he says, "Nie Nie Moon again," so we read it again and again. A few minutes later he'll come back to me with the book and say, "Read it again, Nie Nie Moon." I love the way he says it, it's just so sweet.

I often catch him sitting and reading it on his own, too. It's so cute to watch. He reads his favorite parts over and over out loud:

Goodnight Moon, as read by Kayden:

He says, " Nie Nie Moon."

"Jumping. Cow. Moon broken (as he points to the "broken" crescent moon)"

"Nie Nie chairs."

"Nie Nie stars."

And then he turns back to the page with the moon again...

I just love listening to him and watching him.



I was sure glad that I threw this book in my bag before we left to take Zac to preschool on Thursday morning...what I thought would be a quick drop-off at preschool, an errand, and then back home again turned into being gone until 6:30 that evening.

Kayden had suddenly started breathing really heavy like he was having trouble breathing, so we took him into the pediatrician. Since he had no other signs of being sick, he recommended taking him to get a chest x-ray to see if he had swallowed something. So, Kayden and I spent the morning at the radiologist office, reading Goodnight Moon and trying to keep him occupied so he wouldn't run around the office.

Shortly after we left, his pediatrician called me and said that the radiologist thought he detected a pocket of air in his lungs, which could indicate that he had swallowed something, so he needed to go in to have a scope put down his throat right away
....and the whirlwind began.

It went something like this:

-Sat in the car, freaking out, trying to find something to do with Zac and waiting for the pediatric surgeon to call

-Franticly called Matt to let him know we had to take Kayden into Sunrise Children's Hospital for a surgical procedure right away

-Picked up Zac, dropped him off at Brinley's house (thank you!), met Matt and his cousin to give Kayden a blessing

-Rushed over to Sunrise

-Went into the ER and were immediately whisked off to the room in the OR that was awaiting us

Meanwhile, Kayden was tired, hungry and thirsty (it was lunch time and nap time). When they called they told me he couldn't have anything in his stomach, so I had to tell him no when he cried for "a gink" (drink) over and over :( It was so sad! We read Goodnight Moon several more times while we waited.

-The pediatric surgeon, with her abrupt and less-than-comforting bedside manner, explained how they were going to put him under, stick a probe down his throat, then take out anything they could find--then she sold us it was risky but had to be done, just in case, and listed all the things that could possibly go wrong, without so much as a hint of concern or comfort towards the mother that was now freaking out.

-Waited for the anesthesiologist while worrying about all of the possible problems she had just listed, trying to keep the tears back. Luckily they had a whole room full of fun toys. (and we had Goodnight Moon, of course)

-Anesthesiologist arrived, talked to us for a few minutes (she was very nice and made me feel a little better), then they whisked Kayden off without us and told us to go to the waiting room.

-Torture!!!

-Finally the doctor came in, told us she hadn't seen anything and that his lungs were clear, then left.

-Pediatrician called, said it was better to be safe than sorry and said he should be fine but to let him know if he still had problems the next day. Basically, it's still a mystery that they can't figure out.

-A little while later we were taken in to where Kayden was trying to wake up, crying and kicking. Tried to hold and comfort him for the next couple of hours while they made us sit there. He was so mad about the IV, the monitor hooked to his toe, and was so groggy from the anesthesia that he just cried and wiggled and kept saying he wanted to "get down."

-Not such a fun day, but we were so grateful that everything was okay.

-Finally got to go home, where Kayden scarfed down as much food as we'd give him as fast as he could. Slept better, super grouchy the next day, but breathing much better.
Poor Kayden, but he's a good sport and such a little sweetheart.

All in all, it was a crazy, emotional day. I guess that's what happens when you have kids. It did make me more grateful for and aware of each moment with my precious little ones. I'm hoping for a little less excitement next week!