This last week has been a rough one. We realized how incredibly blessed we truly are to have our little man at home and (almost) healthy with us yet again. On Wednesday of last week Lincoln came down with a very nasty bronchialitis aka very bad respiratory cold isolated to the lungs. On Thursday night while Toby was attempting to feed Lincoln his night time bottle he noticed how hard he was struggling to breathe, his chest was retracting and his tummy was bulging out it was so scary. So we called the nurse help line wondering what to do and she could hear him over the phone and told us to immediately take him in to the ER. So we did and we are more than glad we listened to her. Once there they got us in within minutes of arriving. They also did not like the way he was breathing and he had not been eating more than an ounce or two per bottle for the majority of the day as well so again another red flag along with his oxygen levels were also dropping into the mid 80’s which is NOT good they should be up around 98-100 at all time and lowest around 94 and to top it off he still had a fever. The decision was made he was to be put on IV fluids and admitted over night for observation. To say the least our worst nightmare. If anyone has ever had a child hospitalized it is the scariest thing in the world. For me it brings back nightmares...there is no way to explain the feeling. The moment a beep goes off, his sats go down, his heart rate elevates it’s all raw, raw in my mind from the days spent at his bedside during his heart surgery. Yes, I know children’s is the best place we could be but I also hate it for all the memories, PTSD and anxiety it brings back to me it’s indescribable. As we got situated into our new room at children’s that night I sat and watched his monitors like a hawk...I think the nurses thought I was crazy because I knew what all the numbers and monitors were for. They kept joking how easy of a night it would be for them because “mom” knew what she was doing haha gave me a boost of confidence. But it still didn’t take away the fact my baby was back there. Back hooked up to those monitors, had an IV in his hand because he wasn’t eating and was sick, sick to the point where doctors didn’t want him sent home. All night and day he was watched closely they kept him on the fluids, constant suctioning of his nose which he hates and I don’t blame him it’s literally like getting your mucus in your nose vacuumed out but it sure made a difference! By morning we had no progress with his eating but we continued trying and by mid afternoon he started taking a little more! (I swear it was because auntie Cassie came and hung out with us...shes our good luck charm). We also had a great visit from Pastor Kyle from our church I cannot say enough about how absolutely amazing and supportive the pastors at St. Andrew’s truly are...they are family to us 💙🙏🏼  through all of this we are made stronger and count our blessings great or small. Lincoln by the end of the day on Friday was taking about 2 to 2 1/2 ounces per feed. To put into perspective he normally eats 6 ounces per feed. But in order to go home he had to eat 4 ounces within 4 hours. Which he finally did and we were able to go home. The word home is the best thing ever. How we after you’ve been in the hospital going home brings some anxiety as well because you worry if they will be okay going home without all the monitors and doctors just feet away. But we of course were just fine and now 4 days later Lincoln is almost back to himself after lots of rest and snuggles. It defitnely was an eye opener and we again thank the amazing nurses, doctors and staff of children’s hospital for taking such good care of our little Lincoln. Other than this small hiccup in the road Lincoln has been doing amazing and continues to grow and is becoming his own little person. He can now sit by himself when we set him up, he’s found his voice, loves his puppy, books are his ultimate favorite and he’s attempting baby food...if it has bananas in it he will eat it lol. He’s such a strong little boy and continues to amaze us everyday. We are beyond blessed.