Too much excitement!

Well, our busy week (see this post) didn't slow down a bit!  On Thursday we again trekked to Des Moines to cheer on the IMS boys at the state tourney.  We took Braden with us, and, as we figured, he loved it -- so many lights and so much action to look at . 

During the game he played contentedly on someone's lap (in this picture, Grandma Jane's)

But all the excitement can wear a fella out . . .during the fourth quarter, we looked down and saw:

After the IMS game (great game, but we lost to a team of giants!), we watched another exciting game between Solon and the defending 2A champs - Hull Western Christian.  Apparently Braden was done with watching after his bottle:

When we'd had our fill of basketball, we went to Valley West to do some shopping - I was eager to get to Baby Gap to use a gift card from a friend (our mall doesn't have Baby Gap), and I was even more pleased to find some great stuff for Braden on the sale rack for his 6 month pictures.

Then we visited friends in Ankeny and met their cute little guy, who is just a couple months older than Braden.  We got to see their great new home and catch up with them over dinner.  I am so disappointed that we forgot to take pictures of our little fellas together!  Maybe we'll just have to go back soon . . .

We finally made it home at 10:30ish and fell into bed - whew, what a fun, full day!  On Friday I worked, and Billy was home with Braden.  At some point during the afternoon Braden started making a wheezing type noise when inhaling.  He didn't seem distressed or like he couldn't get air, but it was a little worry-some.  I actually fell asleep right after supper, and when I woke up, Billy was getting more concerned about the sound.  So we called the local ask-a-nurse hotline, and they paged the doctor from our pediatrician's office that was on call.  The doctor called us, and from our description, thought it was nothing serious, but advised us to keep an eye on him, and maybe put him in his carseat to sleep to keep his airway open.  

Later the ask-a-nurse called back to check in, and seemed a little surprised that the doctor didn't have us come in.  She said that if we'd feel better coming in that we should, and reminded us that we could keep calling her if we had questions - but that if there was something in Braden's airway causing the wheezing, and it happened to shift it could cut off his airway and we would need to call 911.  

Well, that didn't help us feel better, and by the time I got off the phone with the nurse, Billy was getting out the carseat and was ready to drive to the ER.  So we did.  Long story short (I know, it's already long!), we spent 4 hours in the ER. They took x-rays (side note - infant chest x-rays are not a whole lot of fun!) to see if anything was in his airway, and there was nothing - but his airway was a little constricted/swollen. The doctor thought that maybe there was some mucus down there (Braden has a touch of a runny nose) that could have caused the wheezing noise . . . He also said that if it continues or seems to cause distress to come right back in.  That made us feel like we did the right thing; you hate to overreact to every little ailment, but the though of his breathing stopping during the night was so scary - I knew we wouldn't sleep and we were still exhausted from our busy week.

So - at 12:45ish we finally rolled into bed, feeling much better and relieved. Braden slept great, and even slept in till close to 9:00 today (praise the Lord, because I need sleep too!).  He's been  extra sleepy today (I hope his days/nights don't get mixed up - he didn't sleep a wink the whole time we were in the ER) . . . but has been his happy little self.  While we were in the ER and I was holding him in my arms waiting for the doctor to read the x-rays, I told Braden that this would be our last trip to the ER - and that he needs to just stay healthy. We hope he listens! (But are grateful for the doctors and nurses in the ER who are there to help when we need it.)

We are hoping for a little less excitement this week!