Back to Work!

This week I went back to work everyday all day. Jakob is doing better. He is still struggling to be comfortable during the night, but is on fire all day.
He is eating much better. He has till Sunday on his medication and hopefully he will be cleared up by then. The breathing treatments are getting less and less, so that is good too.
His diapers to say the least have a long way to go, before they are solid. I guess that is a nice way to put it. We have had some entertaining moments. Yesterday morning I was changing him and he decided to get up before I had the new diaper on, and yep poop all over. Luckily it missed the carpet and only landed on the blanket we had down, but NASTY!

Anyway, hoping for some fun fall pictures tomorrow for Halloween and Saturday.
Looking forward to posting them this weekend.

Lots of Love,
Mandi

Back to the doctor!

So for the past 3 nights Jakob wakes up every 45 mins to 1 hour. He is having trouble breathing when he sleeps. So we haven't had much sleep. I called the doctor today to check in. We needed a refill on his breathing treatment and it has almost been 2 weeks since he was in ER. (Hard to believe, where does time go). The doctor requested to see him again.

Off to the doctor we go. His lungs sound "awesome" she said. We have to give him nasel drops to loosen up the congestion and try to suck it out. Won't that be a treat. In addition he now has an ear infection in his right ear. So drops for the ear and more medicine. Another weekend at home, playing toys.

Otherwise he is doing well.

We will keep you posted.
Lots of Love,
Mom, Dad & Jakob

Then & Now!

It is hard to believe that we have been home with Jakob for almost 7 months.
The summer has flown by. He is starting to feel a bit better, but still has a lot of congestion. He has trouble sleeping on his back right now. Hopefully that will clear up, so we can all get more sleep soon. We have had fun spending lots of time together. Thanks goodness for the fun playroom. I have never spent so much time in our "dining room" before.

Here are some pictures on reflecting back from the 1st day we saw him in Ethiopia to yesterday playing in the playroom.
He really liked to cuddle, now he likes to jump on us. He still cuddles when he is really tired. I used to be able to wear earrings. Now they get ripped out.

Even when he is sick he still smiles.He still plays with the green frog that we brought him in the orphanage.
He loves to play with other toys too. Particularly the ones that make lots of noise.

He weighed 14 lbs when we picked him up. He know weighs 25 lbs & 9 oz.
He has learned so many new things. He has met so many people. His progess over the past 7 months has been terrific. He is right on track with kids his age.

Thanks again to everyone for all their support over the past 7 months. We couldn't have done it without you.

All our love,
Mom, Dad & Jakob

The Next Adventure!

Last night Jakob broke out in a rash all over his legs and arms. We called the doctor on call and he said to have him come in today. So we took Jakob in this afternoon. He now weighs 25 lbs and 9 oz. Up 7 oz in 1 month. His temp was down to 98.5. They said the rash has nothing to do with the RSV. It is a viral rash and could be ruebella, but they said to watch it for 3 - 5 days and it should clear up. Maybe it was from the fever???

We asked more about the RSV. It is a inflamation of the passage way to the lungs. It causes trouble for children to breathe. It is very contagious between children. The breathing treatments seem to be working well. We do them every 4 - 6 hours and it has seems to loosen things up.

We are ready to go into hibernation for 2 weeks. He is very contagious for 2 weeks, so we are going to be spending a lot of time at home. It is good rest for all of us.

Maybe we will have time to update lots of pictures on the blog. :-)

By the way, he is still walking everywhere, happy and smiling most all the time.
See you in 2 weeks. :-)
Rick, Mandi & Jakob

My 1st Emergency Room Trip!

What a beautiful day to be sick! Last night I had a fever but it wasn't too bad. Mom gave me some yummy juice and thought I would feel better. She thought that I had more teeth coming in.
Well she was up with me all night. Daddy woke up so mom could sleep. After about 2 hours we woke mom up and said let's go to the hospital. At 6:00 AM this morning we arrived at the ER. It was not busy at all so we got right in.

The nurses really liked me. They thought I was cute.
The doctor thought I was 2, because I was so big.

When we got there I had a fever of 102.3 and just didn't feel good.
They gave me some medicine and my fever went down. I had to go through several test including a chest x-ray. I cried ALOT. They determined I have RSV, basically bronchitis. So I had a breathing treatment and it made me feel much better. We got home about 9:00 and I slept for along time. I need to have breathing treatments every 4 - 6 hours, but the doctor said I should be better in just a few days.

Please pray that I am feeling better soon and that I can sleep more at night.
Mom could really use the sleep.
All My Love,
Jakob, Mom & Dad

Playing, Playing & More Playing

Hi Everyone!
It has been so long since my mom has let me put pictures on the computer. However I have been very busy playing with all of my birthday toys. We have turned the nice formal dining room into a complete playroom. I will try and send a picture of my master piece sometime. I spend most of my time playing. I have started walking some. Last night I was walking quite a bit. I take about 6 steps and then decide to crawl. I am not quite ready for a marathon, but I am getting close. Mom says by the weekend, I should be walking on my own. I am trying to climb up on furniture, but it is just too high.

I have now been home with mom and dad for 6 months. I really like it. The time has gone so fast.
This cold weather really isn't my favorite, but I get to play with lots of toys. Here are some pictures of me. I am really growing. Everyday, mom could change my closet. I am already in a size 6 shoe and well over 25 lbs. My teeth are still coming in. It is painful and I cry alot, but dad and mom have been taking care of me as best as they can. I like the "Yummy Juice" (tylenol). Enjoy these pictures.




I really hate having my diaper changed. This time I crawled away while mom was trying to change me. She had to get a picture.

Here is the evidence of my 2 bottom teeth. One has a lot of white showing, the other is still pushing through.

Otherwise nothing new around our house. Mom has an ultrasound tomorrow and is hopefully going to take home pictures of the new baby. I have no idea what this means, but she says I will have to share my toys. Not too sure about that.

Have a great week.
Lots of Love,
Jakob, Mom & Dad